''La belle Hélène'' (, ''The Beautiful Helen'') is an
opéra bouffe
Opéra bouffe (, plural: ''opéras bouffes'') is a genre of late 19th-century French operetta, closely associated with Jacques Offenbach, who produced many of them at the Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens, inspiring the genre's name.
Opéras bouf ...
in three acts, with music by
Jacques Offenbach
Jacques Offenbach (, also , , ; 20 June 18195 October 1880) was a German-born French composer, cellist and impresario of the Romantic period. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s to the 1870s, and his uncompleted opera '' ...
and words by
Henri Meilhac
Henri Meilhac (23 February 1830 – 6 July 1897) was a French dramatist and opera librettist, best known for his collaborations with Ludovic Halévy on Georges Bizet's ''Carmen'' and on the works of Jacques Offenbach, as well as Jules Massenet's ...
and
Ludovic Halévy
Ludovic Halévy (1 January 1834 – 7 May 1908) was a French author and playwright, best known for his collaborations with Henri Meilhac on Georges Bizet's ''Carmen'' and on the works of Jacques Offenbach.
Biography
Ludovic Halévy was born in P ...
. The piece parodies the story of
Helen
Helen may refer to:
People
* Helen of Troy, in Greek mythology, the most beautiful woman in the world
* Helen (actress) (born 1938), Indian actress
* Helen (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name)
Places
* Helen, ...
's elopement with
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, which set off the
Trojan War
In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans (Greeks) after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology and has ...
.
The premiere was at the
Théâtre des Variétés
The Théâtre des Variétés is a theatre and "salle de spectacles" at 7–8, boulevard Montmartre, 2nd arrondissement, in Paris. It was declared a monument historique in 1974.
History
It owes its creation to the theatre director Mademoiselle ...
, Paris, on 17 December 1864. The work ran well, and productions followed in three continents. ''La belle Hélene'' continued to be revived throughout the 20th century and has remained a repertoire piece in the 21st.
Background and first performance
By 1864 Offenbach was well established as the leading French composer of
operetta
Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, length of the work, and at face value, subject matter. Apart from its s ...
. After successes with his early works – short pieces for modest forces – he was granted a licence in 1858 to stage full-length operas with larger casts and chorus. The first of these to be produced, ''
Orphée aux enfers
''Orpheus in the Underworld'' and ''Orpheus in Hell'' are English names for (), a comic opera with music by Jacques Offenbach and words by Hector Crémieux and Ludovic Halévy. It was first performed as a two-act "opéra bouffon" at the Théâ ...
'', achieved notoriety and box-office success for its risqué satire of Greek mythology, French musical tradition, and the
Second Empire Second Empire may refer to:
* Second British Empire, used by some historians to describe the British Empire after 1783
* Second Bulgarian Empire (1185–1396)
* Second French Empire (1852–1870)
** Second Empire architecture, an architectural styl ...
. During the subsequent six years the composer attempted, generally in vain, to emulate this success. In 1864 he returned to classical mythology for his theme. His frequent collaborator,
Ludovic Halévy
Ludovic Halévy (1 January 1834 – 7 May 1908) was a French author and playwright, best known for his collaborations with Henri Meilhac on Georges Bizet's ''Carmen'' and on the works of Jacques Offenbach.
Biography
Ludovic Halévy was born in P ...
, wrote a sketch for an opera to be called ''The Capture of Troy'' (La prise de Troie). Offenbach suggested a collaboration with
Hector Crémieux
In Greek mythology, Hector (; grc, Ἕκτωρ, Hektōr, label=none, ) is a character in Homer's Iliad. He was a Trojan prince and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. Hector led the Trojans and their allies in the defense o ...
, co-librettist of ''Orphée'', but Halévy preferred a new partner,
Henri Meilhac
Henri Meilhac (23 February 1830 – 6 July 1897) was a French dramatist and opera librettist, best known for his collaborations with Ludovic Halévy on Georges Bizet's ''Carmen'' and on the works of Jacques Offenbach, as well as Jules Massenet's ...
, who wrote much of the plot, to which Halévy added humorous details and comic dialogue. The official censor took exception to some of their words for disrespect for Church and state, but an approved text was arrived at.
In the ''
Grove'' essay on the work,
Andrew Lamb writes, "As with most of Offenbach’s greatest works, the creation of ''La belle Hélène'' seems to have been largely untroubled".
[Lamb, Andrew]
"Belle Hélène, La
''Grove Music Online'', Oxford University Press, 2002. Retrieved 14 April 2019 Although the writing of the work went smoothly, rehearsals did not. The manager of the
Théâtre des Variétés
The Théâtre des Variétés is a theatre and "salle de spectacles" at 7–8, boulevard Montmartre, 2nd arrondissement, in Paris. It was declared a monument historique in 1974.
History
It owes its creation to the theatre director Mademoiselle ...
, Théodore Cogniard, was penny-pinching and unsympathetic to Offenbach's taste for lavish staging and large-scale orchestration, and the two leading ladies –
Hortense Schneider
Hortense Catherine Schneider, ''La Snédèr'', (30 April 1833 in Bordeaux, France – 5 May 1920, in Paris, France) was a French soprano, one of the greatest operetta stars of the 19th century, particularly associated with the works of composer J ...
and
Léa Silly Léa may refer to:
People with the given name Léa
*Princess Léa of Belgium (born Léa Inga Dora Wolman; 1951), the widow of Prince Alexandre of Belgium and aunt of King Philippe of Belgium
* Léa Bouard (born 1996), German freestyle skier
* Léa ...
– engaged in a running feud with each other. The feud became public knowledge and provoked increasing interest in the piece among Parisian theatregoers.
The opera opened on 17 December 1864. The first night audience was enthusiastic but the reviews were mixed, and box-office business was sluggish for a few subsequent performances until supportive reviews by leading writers such as
Henri Rochefort
Henri is an Estonian, Finnish, French, German and Luxembourgish form of the masculine given name Henry.
People with this given name
; French noblemen
:'' See the 'List of rulers named Henry' for Kings of France named Henri.''
* Henri I de Montm ...
and
Jules Vallès
Jules Vallès (11 June 1832 – 14 February 1885) was a French journalist, author, and left-wing political activist.
Early life
Vallès was born in Le Puy-en-Velay, Haute-Loire. His father was a supervisor of studies (''pion''), later a teac ...
made their impression on the public, after which the piece drew large audiences from fashionable bohemians as well as respectable citizens from the wealthy arrondissements. It ran through most of 1865 (with a summer break in mid-run), and was replaced in February 1866 with ''
Barbe-bleue'', starring the same leading players, except for Silly, with whom Schneider declined ever to appear with again.
Roles
Synopsis
:Place:
Sparta
Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referre ...
and the shores of the sea
:Time: Before the
Trojan War
In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans (Greeks) after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology and has ...
.
Act 1
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, son of
Priam
In Greek mythology, Priam (; grc-gre, Πρίαμος, ) was the legendary and last king of Troy during the Trojan War. He was the son of Laomedon. His many children included notable characters such as Hector, Paris, and Cassandra.
Etymology
Mo ...
, arrives with a missive from the
goddess
A goddess is a female deity. In many known cultures, goddesses are often linked with literal or metaphorical pregnancy or imagined feminine roles associated with how women and girls are perceived or expected to behave. This includes themes of s ...
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never fa ...
to the high priest
Calchas
Calchas (; grc, Κάλχας, ''Kalkhas'') is an Argive mantis, or "seer," dated to the Age of Legend, which is an aspect of Greek mythology. Calchas appears in the opening scenes of the ''Iliad'', which is believed to have been based on a war ...
, commanding him to procure for Paris the love of
Helen
Helen may refer to:
People
* Helen of Troy, in Greek mythology, the most beautiful woman in the world
* Helen (actress) (born 1938), Indian actress
* Helen (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name)
Places
* Helen, ...
, promised him by Venus when he awarded the prize of beauty to her in preference to
Juno
Juno commonly refers to:
*Juno (mythology), the Roman goddess of marriage and queen of the gods
*Juno (film), ''Juno'' (film), 2007
Juno may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Fictional characters
*Juno, in the film ''Jenny, Juno''
*Ju ...
and
Minerva
Minerva (; ett, Menrva) is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. Minerva is not a patron of violence such as Mars, but of strategic war. From the second century BC onward, the Roma ...
.
Paris arrives, disguised as a
shepherd
A shepherd or sheepherder is a person who tends, herds, feeds, or guards flocks of sheep. ''Shepherd'' derives from Old English ''sceaphierde (''sceap'' 'sheep' + ''hierde'' 'herder'). ''Shepherding is one of the world's oldest occupations, i ...
, and wins three prizes at a "contest of wit" (outrageously silly wordgames) with the
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
kings under the direction of
Agamemnon
In Greek mythology, Agamemnon (; grc-gre, Ἀγαμέμνων ''Agamémnōn'') was a king of Mycenae who commanded the Greeks during the Trojan War. He was the son, or grandson, of King Atreus and Queen Aerope, the brother of Menelaus, the husb ...
, whereupon he reveals his identity. Helen, who was trying to settle after her youthful adventure and aware of Paris's backstory, decides that Fate has sealed hers. The
Trojan
Trojan or Trojans may refer to:
* Of or from the ancient city of Troy
* Trojan language, the language of the historical Trojans
Arts and entertainment Music
* ''Les Troyens'' ('The Trojans'), an opera by Berlioz, premiered part 1863, part 1890 ...
prince is crowned victor by Helen, to the disgust of the lout
Achilles
In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus ( grc-gre, Ἀχιλλεύς) was a hero of the Trojan War, the greatest of all the Greek warriors, and the central character of Homer's ''Iliad''. He was the son of the Nereid Thetis and Peleus, k ...
and the two bumbling Ajaxes. Paris is invited to a banquet by Helen's husband
Menelaus
In Greek mythology, Menelaus (; grc-gre, Μενέλαος , 'wrath of the people', ) was a king of Mycenaean (pre- Dorian) Sparta. According to the ''Iliad'', Menelaus was a central figure in the Trojan War, leading the Spartan contingent of th ...
, the king of Sparta. Paris has bribed Calchas to "prophesise" that Menelaus must at once proceed to
Crete
Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...
, which he agrees to reluctantly under general pressure.
Act 2
While the Greek kings party in Menelaus's palace in his absence, and Calchas is caught cheating at a board game, Paris comes to Helen at night. After she sees off his first straightforward attempt at seducing her, he returns when she has fallen asleep. Helen has prayed for some appeasing dreams and appears to believe that this is one, and so resists him not much longer. Menelaus unexpectedly returns and finds the two in each other's arms. Helen, exclaiming 'la fatalité, la fatalité', tells him that it is all his fault: A good husband knows when to come and when to stay away. Paris tries to dissuade him from kicking up a row, but to no avail. When all the kings join the scene, berating Paris and telling him to go back where he came from, Paris departs, vowing to return and finish the job.
Act 3
The kings and their entourage have moved to Nauplia for the summer season, and Helen is sulking and protesting her innocence. Venus has retaliated for the treatment meted out to her protégé Paris by making the whole population giddy and amorous, to the despair of the kings. A high priest of Venus arrives on a boat, explaining that he has to take Helen to Cythera where she is to sacrifice 100 heifers for her offences. Menelaus pleads with her to go with the priest, but she refuses initially, saying that it is he, and not she, who has offended the goddess. However, when she realises that the priest is Paris in disguise, she embarks and they sail away together.
Musical numbers
Act 1
*Introduction and chorus
*"Amours divins" – "Divine loves" – Chorus and Helen
*Chœur et Oreste "C'est Parthoénis et Léoena" – "It's Parthoenis and Leoena" – Chorus and Orestes
*Air de Pâris "Au mont Ida" – Air: "Mount Ida" – Paris
*Marche des Rois de la Grèce – March of the Kings of Greece
*Chœur "Gloire au berger victorieux"; "Gloire! gloire! gloire au berger" – "Glory to the victorious shepherd"; "Glory! glory! glory to the shepherd " – Chorus and Helen
Act 2
*Entr'acte
*Chœur "O Reine, en ce jour" – "O Queen, on this day" – Chorus
*Invocation à Vénus (Invocation to Venus) – "Dis-moi Vénus"– Helen
*Marche de l'oie – The march of the Goose
*Scène du jeu – Scene of the game of "Goose"
*Chœur en coulisses "En couronnes tressons les roses" – "In wreaths braid roses" – Offstage chorus
*Duo Hélène-Pâris "Oui c'est un rêve" – "Yes it's a dream" – Helen and Paris
*"Un mari sage" (Hélène), valse et final: " A moi! Rois de la Grèce, à moi! " – "A wise husband"; waltz and finale: "To me! Kings of Greece, to me!" – Helen; Menelaus
Act 3
*Entr'acte
*Chœur et ronde d'Oreste "Vénus au fond de nos âmes" – "Venus in the depths of our souls" – Chorus and Orestes
*Couplets d'Hélène "Là vrai, je ne suis pas coupable" – Couplets: "There, I'm not guilty" – Helen
*Trio patriotique "Lorsque la Grèce est un champ de carnage" (Agamemnon, Calchas, Ménélas) – Patriotic Trio – Agamemnon, Calchas, Menelaus
*Chœur "La galère de Cythère", tyrolienne de Pâris "Soyez gais" – "The ship for Cythera"; Tyrolean song: "Be gay" – Chorus and Paris
*Finale – All
Revivals
19th century
''La belle Hélène'' was revived at the Variétés in 1876, 1886 and 1889 starring
Anna Judic
Anne Marie-Louise Damiens, stage name Anna Judic (18 July 1849, Semur-en-Auxois – 15 April 1911, Golfe-Juan) was a French comic actress.
Life
Niece of Montigny (the director of the Gymnase), in 1866 she entered the Conservatoire de Paris in ...
, in 1890 with
Jeanne Granier
Jeanne Granier (31 March 1852 – 18 or 19 December 1939) was a French soprano, born and died in Paris, whose career was centred on the French capital.Gänzl K. Jeanne Granier. In: ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera.'' Macmillan, London and ...
, and 1899 with
Juliette Simon-Girard
Juliette-Joséphine Simon-Girard (8 May 1859 – 1954) was a French soprano, principally in operetta.Gänzl K. Juliette Simon-Girard. In: The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. Macmillan, London and New York, 1997. Her father, , was an actor at the ...
.
[Gänzl and Lamb, pp. 286–287]
The Austrian premiere was at the
Theater an der Wien
The is a historic theatre in Vienna located on the Left Wienzeile in the Mariahilf district. Completed in 1801, the theatre has hosted the premieres of many celebrated works of theatre, opera, and symphonic music. Since 2006, it has served prima ...
, as ''Die schöne Helena'', in March 1865. It was for this occasion that Eduard Haensch made a new arrangement of the overture, which is universally played today; Offenbach's brief prelude is very seldom heard. The work was given in Berlin at the Friedrich-Wilhelmstädtisches Theater in May of that year, in Brussels the following month,
[Gänzl, Kurt]
"La belle Hélène"
Operetta Research Center, 2001. Retrieved 15 April 2019 and in Hungary in March 1866 in German and April 1870 in Hungarian.
[
In London an adaptation by ]F. C. Burnand
Sir Francis Cowley Burnand (29 November 1836 – 21 April 1917), usually known as F. C. Burnand, was an English comic writer and prolific playwright, best known today as the librettist of Arthur Sullivan's opera ''Cox and Box''.
The son of ...
titled ''Helen, or Taken From the Greek'' opened in June 1866 at the Adelphi Theatre
The Adelphi Theatre is a West End theatre, located on the Strand in the City of Westminster, central London. The present building is the fourth on the site. The theatre has specialised in comedy and musical theatre, and today it is a receiv ...
. The original French version had two productions at the St James's Theatre
The St James's Theatre was in King Street, St James's, London. It opened in 1835 and was demolished in 1957. The theatre was conceived by and built for a popular singer, John Braham; it lost money and after three seasons he retired. A succ ...
; the first, in July 1868, starred Schneider as Helen; the second, in July 1873, featured Marie Desclauzas, Mario Widmer and Pauline Luigini. Other English adaptations (including a second one by Burnand) were given at the Gaiety Theatre (1871),[Gaye, p. 1359] the Alhambra Theatre
The Alhambra was a popular theatre and music hall located on the east side of Leicester Square, in the West End of London. It was built originally as the Royal Panopticon of Science and Arts opening on 18 March 1854. It was closed after two yea ...
(1873)[ and the ]Royalty Theatre
The Royalty Theatre was a small London theatre situated at 73 Dean Street, Soho. Established by the actress Frances Maria Kelly in 1840, it opened as Miss Kelly's Theatre and Dramatic School and finally closed to the public in 1938. (1878).[
The first New York production of the opera was given in German at the Stadt Theater, New York, in December 1867; the original French version followed, at the Théâtre Français (March 1868) and an English adaptation by Molyneux St John as ''Paris and Helen, or The Greek Elopement'' at the New York Theatre (April 1868). There were further US productions in 1871 (in French) and 1899 (in English), with ]Lillian Russell
Lillian Russell (born Helen Louise Leonard; December 4, 1860 or 1861 – June 6, 1922), was an American actress and singer. She became one of the most famous actresses and singers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, known for her beauty ...
as Helen.[ The Australian premiere was at the ]Royal Victoria Theatre, Sydney
The Royal Victoria Theatre was a theatre in Sydney, Australia, the first large theatre in the city. It opened in 1838; operas, plays, pantomimes and other events were held, and leading entertainers performed at the theatre. It was destroyed by fi ...
in May 1876.[ From its Russian premiere in the 1868–69 season in St Petersburg, ''La belle Hélène'' became, and remained for a decade, the most popular stage work in Russia. In its first run it played for a record-breaking forty-two consecutive performances.
]
20th century
Revivals in Paris included those at the Théâtre de la Gaîté-Lyrique (1919), the Théâtre Mogador (1960), Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens
The Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens () is a Parisian theatre founded in 1855 by the composer Jacques Offenbach for the performance of opéra bouffe and operetta. The current theatre is located in the 2nd arrondissement at 4 rue Monsigny with an ...
(1976) and the Théâtre National de l'Opéra-Comique (1983 and 1985) and the Théâtre de Paris
The Théâtre de Paris is a theatre located at 15, rue Blanche in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. It includes a second smaller venue, the Petit Théâtre de Paris.
History
The first theatre on the site was built by the Duke of Richelieu in 1730. ...
(1986).[ In 1999 the ]Aix-en-Provence Festival
The Festival d'Aix-en-Provence is an annual international music festival which takes place each summer in Aix-en-Provence, principally in July. Devoted mainly to opera, it also includes concerts of orchestral, chamber, vocal and solo instrumenta ...
staged a production by Herbert Wernicke
Herbert Wernicke (24 March 1946 – 16 April 2002) was a German opera director and a set and costume designer. He was born in Auggen, Baden-Württemberg. He studied piano, flute, and directing at the conservatory in Braunschweig and set design at t ...
described by Kurt Gänzl
Kurt-Friedrich Gänzl (born 15 February 1946) is a New Zealand writer, historian and former casting director and singer best known for his books about musical theatre.
After a decade-long playwriting, acting and singing career, and a second ca ...
as "sadly tawdry and gimmicky ... showing no comprehension of the opéra-bouffe idiom".[Canning, Hugh]
"I love Paris... Opera"
''The Sunday Times'', 5 November 2000, p. 18 (Culture section)
Max Reinhardt
Max Reinhardt (; born Maximilian Goldmann; 9 September 1873 – 30 October 1943) was an Austrian-born Theatre director, theatre and film director, theater manager, intendant, and theatrical producer. With his innovative stage productions, he i ...
's spectacular adaptation of the work was produced at the Theater am Kurfürstendamm in Berlin in 1931, starring Jarmila Novotna Jarmila is a Slavic names, Slavic origin female given name. Derived from the Slavic peoples, Slavic elements jary ''fierce, strong'' and mil ''favour''. Similar names are Jaromíra and Jaroslava. Nicknames are Jarka, Jarcza, Jara, Jarina, Jaromilka, ...
. The score was heavily adapted by Erich Korngold
Erich Wolfgang Korngold (May 29, 1897November 29, 1957) was an Austrian-born American composer and conductor. A child prodigy, he became one of the most important and influential composers in Hollywood history. He was a noted pianist and compo ...
.[ Reinhard directed his version in England in December 1931, with a text by ]A. P. Herbert
Sir Alan Patrick Herbert CH (A. P. Herbert, 24 September 1890 – 11 November 1971), was an English humorist, novelist, playwright, law reformist, and in 1935–1950 an independent Member of Parliament for Oxford University. Born in Ashtead, Su ...
under the title ''Helen'', starring Evelyn Laye
Evelyn Laye (née Elsie Evelyn Lay; 10 July 1900 – 17 February 1996) was an English actress who was active on the London light opera stage, and later in New York and Hollywood. Her first husband, actor Sonnie Hale, left her for Jessie M ...
. An English version more faithful to Meilhac and Halévy's original was given by Sadler's Wells Opera
English National Opera (ENO) is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with The Royal Opera. ENO's productions are sung in English. ...
in 1963 and was revived at the London Coliseum
The London Coliseum (also known as the Coliseum Theatre) is a theatre in St Martin's Lane, Westminster, built as one of London's largest and most luxurious "family" variety theatres. Opened on 24 December 1904 as the London Coliseum Theatre ...
in 1975. Scottish Opera
Scottish Opera is the national opera company of Scotland, and one of the five national performing arts companies of Scotland. Founded in 1962 and based in Glasgow, it is the largest performing arts organisation in Scotland.
History
Scottish Op ...
toured the work in the 1990s in a translation by John Wells, and English National Opera
English National Opera (ENO) is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with The Royal Opera. ENO's productions are sung in English ...
(ENO) presented Offenbach's score with a completely rewritten libretto by Michael Frayn
Michael Frayn, FRSL (; born 8 September 1933) is an English playwright and novelist. He is best known as the author of the farce ''Noises Off'' and the dramas ''Copenhagen'' and ''Democracy''. His novels, such as '' Towards the End of the Mo ...
as ''La belle Vivette'' which ran briefly at the Coliseum in 1995, and was bracketed by Hugh Canning of ''The Sunday Times
''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...
'' with Wernicke's Aix production as "horrors unforgotten".
American productions included those of the New York City Opera
The New York City Opera (NYCO) is an American opera company located in Manhattan in New York City. The company has been active from 1943 through 2013 (when it filed for bankruptcy), and again since 2016 when it was revived.
The opera company, du ...
(1976) with Karan Armstrong
Karan Armstrong (December 14, 1941 – September 28, 2021) was an American operatic soprano, who was celebrated as a singing actress. After winning the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in 1966, she was given small roles at the Metr ...
,[ ]Ohio Light Opera The Ohio Light Opera is a professional opera company based in Wooster, Ohio that performs the light opera repertory, including Gilbert and Sullivan, American, British and continental operettas, and other musical theatre works, especially of the late ...
(1994), and Lyric Opera Cleveland (1996).
21st century
Among revivals in France there have been productions at the Théâtre du Châtelet
The Théâtre du Châtelet () is a theatre and opera house, located in the place du Châtelet in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France.
One of two theatres (the other being the Théâtre de la Ville) built on the site of a ''châtelet'', a s ...
, Paris (2000 and 2015), the Opéra d'Avignon
The Opéra d'Avignon is an opera house located in Avignon, France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories ...
and
Opéra de Toulon (both 2014), the (2015), and the Opéra national de Lorraine
The Opéra national de Lorraine is a French opera company and opera house, located in the city of Nancy, France in the province of Lorraine, Lorraine, France. Formerly named the ''Opéra de Nancy et de Lorraine'', the company received the statu ...
(2018).["La belle Hélène"]
Opera Online. Retrieved 15 April 2019 The 2000 Châtelet production, by Laurent Pelly
Laurent Pelly (born 14 January 1962 in Paris) is a French opera and theatre director. He enjoys a career as one of France's most sought after directors of both theatre and opera, working regularly in the world's most prestigious houses.
Biograp ...
, was presented by ENO at the Coliseum in 2006 with Felicity Lott
Dame Felicity Ann Emwhyla Lott, (born 8 May 1947) is an English soprano.
Education
Lott was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. From her earliest years she was musical, having started studying piano at age 5. She also played violin and bega ...
as Helen. In the US productions have included those by Portland Opera
Portland Opera is an American opera company based at The Hampton Opera Center in Portland, Oregon. Its performances take place in the Keller Auditorium and Newmark Theatre, both part of the Portland Center for the Performing Arts. Portland Opera a ...
(2001), and Santa Fe Opera
Santa Fe Opera (SFO) is an American opera company, located north of Santa Fe, New Mexico. After creating the ''Opera Association of New Mexico'' in 1956, its founding director, John Crosby (conductor), John Crosby, oversaw the building of the fir ...
starring Susan Graham
Susan Graham (born July 23, 1960) is an American mezzo-soprano.
Life and career
Susan Graham was born in Roswell, New Mexico on July 23, 1960. Raised in Midland, Texas, Graham is a graduate of Texas Tech University and the Manhattan School o ...
(2003).
Critical reception
The reviewer in ''Le Journal amusant'' thought the piece had all the expected Offenbach qualities: "grace, tunefulness, abandonment, eccentricity, gaiety and spirit. ... Do you like good music of cheerful spirit? Here is! Do you want to laugh and have fun? You will laugh, you will have fun! Do you like to see a battalion of beautiful women? Go to the Variétés! For these reasons and many others, ''La belle Hélène'' will have its 100 performances. There is no better party at the theatre." The reviewer commented that the librettists were not at their subtlest in this piece, and had "painted with a broad brush of buffoonery". The British journal ''The Musical World'' thought the music "very flimsy and essentially second-rate", and attributed the opera's great success to the popularity of Schneider. '' The Athenaeum'' considered the piece grossly indecent.
In his 1980 biography of Offenbach, Peter Gammond
Peter Gammond (30 September 1925 – 6 May 2019) was a British music critic, writer, journalist, musician, poet, and artist.
Peter Gammond was born in Winnington, Northwich, Cheshire. The son of John Thomas Gammond (1892–1970), a clerk, an ...
writes that the music of ''La belle Hélène'' is "refined and charming and shows the most Viennese influence". He adds that although it lacks "hit" tunes, it is a cohesive and balanced score, with excellent songs for Helen. But Alexander Faris
Samuel Alexander "Sandy" Faris (11 June 1921 – 28 September 2015) was a Northern Irish composer, conductor and writer, known for his television theme tunes, including the theme music for the 1970s TV series '' Upstairs, Downstairs''. He compos ...
(1981) writes, "It would be difficult to name an operetta with more good tunes than ''La belle Hélène'' (although ''Die Fledermaus
' (, ''The Flittermouse'' or ''The Bat'', sometimes called ''The Revenge of the Bat'') is an operetta composed by Johann Strauss II to a German libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genée, which premiered in 1874.
Background
The original ...
'' would be a strong contender)". He comments that in this score Offenbach's harmony became more chromatic than it had been in earlier works, and foreshadowed some of Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...
's harmonic effects. Both writers regard the music more highly than did Neville Cardus
Sir John Frederick Neville Cardus, CBE (2 April 188828 February 1975) was an English writer and critic. From an impoverished home background, and mainly self-educated, he became ''The Manchester Guardian''s cricket correspondent in 1919 and it ...
, who wrote of this score that Offenbach was not fit for company with Johann Strauss
Johann Baptist Strauss II (25 October 1825 – 3 June 1899), also known as Johann Strauss Jr., the Younger or the Son (german: links=no, Sohn), was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He composed ove ...
, Auber and Sullivan.[Cardus, Neville. "'Helen!' at the Opera House", ''The Manchester Guardian'', 28 December 1931, p. 11] More recently, Rodney Milnes
Rodney Milnes Blumer OBE (26 July 1936 – 5 December 2015) was an English music critic, musicologist, writer, translator and broadcaster, with a particular interest in opera.Rodney Milnes. ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera''. Macmillan, ...
, reviewing the 2000 Châtelet production, wrote, "The whole show is as innocently filthy as only the French can manage. And it is musically superb." In his history of operetta (2003), Richard Traubner
Richard Traubner (November 24, 1946 – February 25, 2013) was an American journalist, author, operetta scholar and historian, and lecturer on theatre and (mostly musical) film. His best-known book, ''Operetta: A Theatrical History'', was first pu ...
writes, "''La belle Hélène'' is more than an elaborate copy of ''Orphée aux enfers''. It transcends the former to even higher Olympian heights in the operetta canon. Its finales are funnier, more elaborate, and involve an even greater use of the chorus; the orchestrations are richer, the tunes more plentiful, and there is a waltz of great grace and beauty in Act II".[Traubner, p. 43]
Recordings
* Felicity Lott
Dame Felicity Ann Emwhyla Lott, (born 8 May 1947) is an English soprano.
Education
Lott was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. From her earliest years she was musical, having started studying piano at age 5. She also played violin and bega ...
, Yann Beuron, Michel Sénéchal, Laurent Naouri
Laurent Naouri, Chevalier L.H. (born May 23, 1964) is a French bass-baritone. Initially beginning his education at the École Centrale de Lyon, Naouri decided to concentrate on opera in 1986 and continued his musical studies at the Guildhall S ...
, François le Roux
François Le Roux (born 30 October 1955) is a French baritone. Le Roux began vocal studies at 19 with François Loup, winning prizes in Barcelona and Rio de Janeiro. He was a member of the Lyon Opera Company from 1980 to 1985, before appearing in ...
, Marie-Ange Todorovitch
Marie-Ange Todorovitch is a contemporary French mezzo-soprano born in Montpellier.
Roles
* 2000: ''La Belle Hélène'': Oreste, at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris
* 2000: ''The Tales of Hoffmann'': Giulietta, Grand Théâtre de Genève . Musical direction Marc Minkowski
Marc Minkowski (born 4 October 1962) is a French conductor of classical music, especially known for his interpretations of French Baroque works, and is the current general director of Opéra national de Bordeaux. His mother, Mary Anne (Wade), i ...
(version given at the Théâtre du Châtelet
The Théâtre du Châtelet () is a theatre and opera house, located in the place du Châtelet in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France.
One of two theatres (the other being the Théâtre de la Ville) built on the site of a ''châtelet'', a s ...
in 2000).
* Jessye Norman
Jessye Mae Norman (September 15, 1945 – September 30, 2019) was an American opera singer and recitalist. She was able to perform dramatic soprano roles, but refused to be limited to that voice type. A commanding presence on operatic, concert ...
, John Aler
John Aler (October 4, 1949 – December 10, 2022) was an American lyric tenor who performed in concerts, recitals, and operas. He was particularly known for his interpretations of the works of Mozart, Rossini, Donizetti, Bellini, and Handel.
B ...
, Charles Burles, Gabriel Bacquier
Gabriel Bacquier (; 17 May 1924 – 13 May 2020) was a French operatic baritone. One of the leading baritones of the 20th century and particularly associated with the French and Italian repertoires, he was considered a fine singing actor equ ...
, Jean-Philippe Lafont. Musical direction, Michel Plasson
Michel Plasson (born 2 October 1933, Paris, France) is a French conductor.
Plasson was a student of Lazare Lévy at the Conservatoire de Paris. In 1962, he was a prize-winner at the International Besançon Competition for Young Conductors. ...
.
* Jane Rhodes
Jane Marie Andrée Rhodes (March 13, 1929 – May 7, 2011) was a French opera singer whose voice encompassed both the soprano and high mezzo-soprano ranges. Her most celebrated role was Carmen, which she sang in the opera's first ever staging ...
, Rémy Corazza, Jacques Martin, Jules Bastin
Jules Bastin (18 August 1933 – 2 December 1996, in Waterloo) was a Belgian operatic bass. Born in , he made his debut in 1960 at La Monnaie, singing Charon in ''L'Orfeo''. He appeared at major opera houses throughout Europe, including the Royal ...
, Michel Trempont
Michel Trempont (28 July 1928 – 30 January 2021) was a Belgian operatic baritone whose repertoire extended from the 18th century to the creation of contemporary works. His brother was Pol Trempont (1923–2007), operatic tenor and one time dire ...
, with the Orchestre philharmonique de Strasbourg under Alain Lombard, and the chorus of the Opéra national du Rhin
The Opéra national du Rhin is an opera company which performs in Alsace, eastern France. It includes the Opéras in Strasbourg, in Mulhouse, where the Ballet de l'Opéra national du Rhin, also known as the Ballet Du Rhin, is based, and in Colmar, ...
under Gunter Wagner (1978).
See also
* Poire belle Hélène
*Sköna Helena
''Sköna Helena'' ''(Beautiful Helen)'' is a Swedish musical film of 1951 directed by Gustaf Edgren, and based loosely on the story and music of the opéra bouffe ''La belle Hélène''. It was director Gustaf Edgren's last film and stars Max Hansen ...
- a 1951 Swedish film
* Libretto in WikiSource
Notes, references and sources
Notes
References
Sources
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
Libretto as originally submitted for censorship, accessed 27 July 2011
Score for Le belle Hélène
on archive.org
Recordings which appear on operadis-opera-discography.org.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Belle Helene
Operas by Jacques Offenbach
French-language operas
Opéras bouffes
1864 operas
Stefan Zweig Collection
Cultural depictions of Helen of Troy
Agamemnon
Cultural depictions of the Trojan War
Operas based on classical mythology