''Les brigands'' (''The Bandits'') 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 ...

, or

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 ...

, 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 '' ...

to a French

libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...

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 ...

. Meilhac and Halévy's libretto lampoons both serious drama (

Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, and philosopher. During the last seventeen years of his life (1788–1805), Schiller developed a productive, if complicated, friendsh ...

's play ''

The Robbers ''The Robbers'' (', ) is the first drama by German playwright Friedrich Schiller. The play was published in 1781 and premiered on 13 January 1782 in Mannheim, Germany, and was inspired by Leisewitz' earlier play ''Julius of Taranto''. It wa ...

'') and

opéra comique ''Opéra comique'' (; plural: ''opéras comiques'') is a genre of French opera that contains spoken dialogue and arias. It emerged from the popular '' opéras comiques en vaudevilles'' of the Fair Theatres of St Germain and St Laurent (and to a l ...

(''

Fra Diavolo Fra Diavolo (lit. Brother Devil; 7 April 1771–11 November 1806), is the popular name given to Michele Pezza, a famous guerrilla leader who resisted the French occupation of Naples, proving an "inspirational practitioner of popular insurrect ...

'' and ''

Les diamants de la couronne ''Les diamants de la couronne'' (''The Crown Diamonds'') is an ''opéra comique'' by the French composer Daniel Auber, first performed by the Opéra-Comique at the second Salle Favart in Paris on 6 March 1841. The libretto (in three acts) is by ...

'' by Auber). The plot is cheerfully amoral in its presentation of theft as a basic principle of society rather than as an aberration. As Falsacappa, the brigand chieftain, notes: "Everybody steals according to their position in society." The piece premiered in Paris in 1869 and has received periodic revivals in France and elsewhere, both in French and in translation. ''Les brigands'' has a more substantial plot than many Offenbach operettas and integrates the songs more completely into the story. The forces of law and order are represented by the bumbling

carabinieri The Carabinieri (, also , ; formally ''Arma dei Carabinieri'', "Arm of Carabineers"; previously ''Corpo dei Carabinieri Reali'', "Royal Carabineers Corps") are the national gendarmerie of Italy who primarily carry out domestic and foreign polic ...

, whose exaggerated attire delighted the Parisian audience during the premiere. In addition to policemen, financiers receive satiric treatment. The satire counterpoints lively musical romps and the frequent use of Italian and Spanish rhythms; "Soyez pitoyables" is a true

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

, and each act finale is a well-developed whole. A 1983 ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' article theorized that the music of the piece influenced

Bizet Georges Bizet (; 25 October 18383 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic era. Best known for his operas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, ''Carmen'', which has become on ...

in writing ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...

'' and noted that the librettists for this work supplied Bizet's libretto, but standard Offenbach references do not mention any such influence.

Performance history

''Les brigands'' was first performed 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 10 December 1869; this version was in three acts. A four-act version was subsequently prepared for a production at the Théâtre de la Gaîté, opening on 25 December 1878. The piece achieved great success as 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 ...

came to an end. Only the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War in the following months dampened audience enthusiasm. The work was soon popular around Europe and beyond: it was produced in Vienna, Antwerp, Prague, Stockholm, Berlin, Madrid and Budapest in 1870,Loewenberg, Alfred. ''Annals of Opera, 1597–1940''. London, John Calder, 1978. . and in New York City at the

Pike's Opera House Pike's Opera House, later renamed the Grand Opera House, was a theater in New York City on the northwest corner of 8th Avenue and 23rd Street, in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan. It was constructed in 1868, at a cost of a million dollar ...

in 1870–71. Paris revivals included 1885 with

Léonce Léonce is a French masculine given name. People with the name Léonce include: *Léonce (actor) (1823–1900), French actor and singer *Léonce Bekemans (born 1950), Belgian economist and scholar * Léonce-Henri Burel (1892–1977), French cinem ...

and

Dupuis Éditions Dupuis S.A. () is a Belgium, Belgian publisher of comic albums and magazines. Based in Marcinelle near Charleroi, Dupuis was founded in 1922 by Jean Dupuis, and is mostly famous for its comic comics album, albums and magazines. It is ...

from the original cast, 1900 with

Marguerite Ugalde Marguerite Ugalde (née Marie Varcollier) (1862–1940) was a French mezzo-soprano. She was the daughter of the singer and theatre manager Delphine Ugalde.Forbes E. Delphine Ugalde. In: ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera.'' Macmillan, Lond ...

Mathilde Auguez Pauline Mathilde Lucie Auguez de Montalant (28 March 1868 – 18 July 1955) was a French opera singer (light soprano). Biography Training Auguez was born in Amiens. Her father, Auguste Jules Arsène, was employed by the railway. As a studen ...

and Dupuis and the same year with Tariol-Baugé, at the Gaîté-Lyrique in 1921 with Andrée Alvar, Raymonde Vécart and

Jean Périer Jean (Alexis) Périer (2 February 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French operatic baryton-martin and actor. Although he sang principally within the operetta repertoire, Périer did portray a number of opera roles; mostly within operas by Wolfgang ...

, and at the

Opéra-Comique The Opéra-Comique is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief rival, the Comédie-Italienne ...

in 1931 with Marcelle Denya, Emma Luart,

Dranem Dranem (23 May 1869 – 13 October 1935) was a French comic singer, music hall, stage and film actor. History Born Armand Ménard, in Paris, he began working as an apprentice jeweler in a local shop before embarking on a career in entertainment ...

and

Louis Musy Louis Musy (22 October 1902, Algeria – 19 October 1981) was a French operatic baritone and stage director principally active at the Paris Opéra-Comique. His teacher was Léon David.Kutsch KJ, Riemens L. ''Großes Sängerlexikon''. Francke, Bern ...

. More recent revivals have been produced at the

Deutsche Oper Berlin The Deutsche Oper Berlin is a German opera company located in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin. The resident building is the country's second largest opera house (after Munich's) and also home to the Berlin State Ballet. Since 2004, the De ...

in 1978 directed by

Peter Ustinov Sir Peter Alexander Ustinov (born Peter Alexander Freiherr von Ustinov ; 16 April 192128 March 2004) was a British actor, filmmaker and writer. An internationally known raconteur, he was a fixture on television talk shows and lecture circuits ...

, at the

Opéra de Lyon This is a glossary list of opera genres, giving alternative names. "Opera" is an Italian word (short for "opera in musica"); it was not at first ''commonly'' used in Italy (or in other countries) to refer to the genre of particular works. Most c ...

in 1988 (then recorded by EMI),"Jacques Offenbach: ''Les Brigands''", in Kaminski, Piotr. ''Mille et Un Opéras'', Fayard, 2003, p. 1083 1992 at Amsterdam Opera and 1993 at the

Opéra Bastille The Opéra Bastille (, "Bastille Opera House") is a modern opera house in the 12th arrondissement of Paris, France. Inaugurated in 1989 as part of President François Mitterrand's '' Grands Travaux'', it became the main facility of the Paris N ...

(produced by

Jérôme Deschamps Jérôme Deschamps, born Neuilly-sur-Seine on 5 October 1947, is an actor, director and stage author, as well as a cinema actor and director associated with the Famille Deschiens troupe founded by Macha Makeïeff in 1978. In 2003 he was appointed a ...

and Macha Makeïeff), and then at the Opéra-Comique in 2011.

English versions

The piece was translated in three acts as ''The Brigands'' by English dramatist

W. S. Gilbert Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (18 November 1836 – 29 May 1911) was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his collaboration with composer Arthur Sullivan, which produced fourteen comic operas. The most f ...

and published by

Boosey Boosey & Hawkes is a British music publisher purported to be the largest specialist classical music publisher in the world. Until 2003, it was also a major manufacturer of brass, string and woodwind musical instruments. Formed in 1930 thro ...

in 1871 but was not performed until 9 May 1889 at the Casino Theatre, New York City, starring Edwin Stevens as Falsacappa (the brigand chieftain),

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 Fiorella, Fred Solomon as Pietro (the brigand lieutenant), Henry Hallam as the Duke, and Fanny Rice as Fragoletto, with an American tour thereafter. Its British premiere was on 2 September 1889 at the

Theatre Royal, Plymouth Theatre Royal, Plymouth, is a theatre venue in Plymouth, Devon. It consists of a 1,300-seat main auditorium, The Lyric, which regularly hosts large-scale musicals, opera and ballet; a 200-seat studio, The Drum; and a 50-seat studio, The Lab. ...

, soon transferring to the

Avenue Theatre The Playhouse Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster, located in Northumberland Avenue, near Trafalgar Square, central London. The Theatre was built by F. H. Fowler and Hill with a seating capacity of 1,200. It was rebuilt i ...

in London, beginning 16 September 1889, running for about 16 nights until 12 October. It then toured, starring Hallam Mostyn as Falsacappa, H. Lingard as Pietro, Frank Wensley as Fragoletto, Agnes Dellaporte as Fiorella, Marie Luella as the Princess of Granada, and Geraldine St. Maur as Fiametta. Gilbert was displeased with his own work, which he had created merely to secure the British copyright, and he attempted to prevent its performance in London, without success. He also objected to new songs inserted in the piece but written by another lyricist. Gilbert's arch lyrics pleased operetta audiences, who were delighted to accept a rough-and-tumble pirate band speaking impeccable

drawing room A drawing room is a room in a house where visitors may be entertained, and an alternative name for a living room. The name is derived from the 16th-century terms withdrawing room and withdrawing chamber, which remained in use through the 17th cent ...

English while describing dastardly deeds to

gavotte The gavotte (also gavot, gavote, or gavotta) is a French dance, taking its name from a folk dance of the Gavot, the people of the Pays de Gap region of Dauphiné in the southeast of France, where the dance originated, according to one source. Ac ...

s and musical romps in three-quarter time. Many of the characters and situations in the piece are echoed later in

Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan was a Victorian era, Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900), who jointly created fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which ...

's ''

The Pirates of Penzance ''The Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, W. S. Gilbert. Its official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 31 ...

'' and ''

The Gondoliers ''The Gondoliers; or, The King of Barataria'' is a Savoy Opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on 7 December 1889 and ran for a very successful 554 performances (at that time the ...

''. An earlier English version by H. S. Leigh was presented at the

Globe Theatre The Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, on land owned by Thomas Brend and inherited by his son, Nicholas Brend, and gra ...

in London under the name ''Falsacappa'', beginning on 13 September 1875. Camille Dubois starred as Fragoletto, Julia Vokins was the Princess of Granada and

Nelly Bromley Eleanor Elizabeth Emily (Nelly, sometimes Nellie) Bromley (30 September 1850 – 27 October 1939) was an English actor and singer who performed in operettas, musical burlesques and comic plays. She is best remembered today for having created the ...

was the Prince of Popoli. This version had also been given an 1871 performance in London.

Roles

Synopsis

Act 1

''A wild rocky place''
The brigands assemble at dawn, but some of them complain to Falsacappa that they cannot live properly on the rewards of their work. He promises an imminent and profitable venture. The marriage of the Princess of Grenade with the Duc de Mantoue has been announced, and the band will be there. His daughter Fiorella has fallen for the young farmer Fragoletto, whose farm the gang recently raided, and she is beginning to have doubts about their calling. She shows Piétro, the second-in-command a small portrait she has had painted of herself. Fragoletto is brought in by some of the brigands, not unwillingly, as he asks for Fiorella's hand, and to join the band. Falsacappa agrees on condition that Fragoletto prove himself. Fiorella is left with Piétro, and a handsome stranger enters. He – fascinated by her – has lost his way. When Piétro goes to find help, she decides to warn him – in fact the Duke of Mantua – to flee. Fragoletto arrives with an intercepted message about the union of the Duke and the Princess of Granada, setting out the promise to the Spaniards of a large dowry instead of the debt owed to them. Falsacappa frees the messenger, replacing the princess's portrait in the briefcase with that of his daughter. Fragoletto has earned his place in the band; as the gang celebrate their new member they hear the sound of the boots of the carabinieri approaching, but they pass by without noticing the gang, and the brigands resume their celebration of their plans. Jean Sandberg som Pietro

Act 2

''An inn on the frontier''
The Mantuan delegation is heading for Pipo's inn on the border of Italy and Spain on the road from Granada to Mantua. Posing as beggars the bandits come to the inn; they quickly overwhelm the hotel staff horrified to be victims of the infamous Falsacappa. The band plan to disguise themselves as cooks and waiters; then, when the Mantuans arrive, they will capture them in turn and re-disguise themselves as Mantuans, so that when the Granadans arrive they will surprise them, don their clothes and hasten to the Mantuan court to present Fiorella as the princess whose associate (Pietro in disguise) is worth three millions. Fiorella claims her reward: Fragolettos's hand and the disguising begins. When the Mantuan party arrive, led by the Baron de Campotasso and accompanied by the carabinieri they fall into the trap, but the brigands have little time to switch clothes again before the Granadan delegation reaches the inn. After a Spanish dance, the Granadans are greeted by Falsacappa as the captain of the carabinieri and Piétro as the Baron de Campotasso. Gloria-Cassis asks about the three million payment but then Fragoletto and Fiorella (as the innkeeper and his lover) enter. The Granadans become confused when told to retire to bed (at two in the afternoon) but do as they are told. Once out of their clothes, the brigands go for them for the next disguise. However the innkeeper escapes his bonds and cries for help, but the brigands prevail over the carabinieri who, locked in the cellars, have helped themselves to the wine. The brigands head off towards Mantua.

Act 3

''A great hall at the court of Mantua''
The Duke is taking advantage of his last hours before marriage bidding farewell to his mistresses. The portrait he has received of his bride reminds him of the peasant girl who assisted him in the mountains (and for whom he has been searching ever since). The Duke is also keen to pay off his debt of three million little knowing that his treasurer Antonio has been spending the ducal money on women of his own. When the fake Granadan delegation arrives led by Falsacappa, the Duke is delighted to see Fiorella again, and she recognizes him as the stranger lost in the mountains. Fiorella, playing the princess of Grenade introduces Fragoletto as her page. When Falsacappa asks for the money it emerges that the treasurer has squandered the dowry. Falsacappa is furious, but just then the Mantuans, swiftly followed by the Granadans abandoned at the inn, arrive, along with the carabineri. The real princess introduces herself. The brigands admit who they are but when Fiorella enters in her costume from Act 1 and reminds the Duke that she saved him from the brigands, he agrees to an amnesty and they swear to lead good lives from then on.

Musical numbers

Act 1 *No.1 A – Chœur des brigands: 'Le cor dans la montagne' *No.1 B – Couplets des jeunes filles: 'Déjà depuis une grande heure' *No.1 C – Couplets de Falsacappa: 'Qui est celui qui par les plaines' *No.1 D – Strette *No.1 Bis – Melodrame; *No.2 – Couplets de Fiorella: 'Au chapeau je porte une aigrette' *No.3 – Morceau d'ensemble: 'Nous avons pris ce petit homme' *No.4 – Couplets de Fragoletto: 'Quand tu me fis l’insigne honneur...' *No.4 Bis – Choir de sortie: 'Nous avons pris ce petit homme' *No.5 – Rondo: 'Après avoir pris à droite' *No.6 – Saltarelle: 'Ce petit est un vrai luron' *No.7 – Finale A – Choir la réception: 'Pour cette ceremonie'/B – 'Jure d'avoir du courage... Vole, vole, pille, vole'/C – Orgie: 'Flamme claire'/D – Choir des carabiniers: 'Nous sommes les carbiniers'/E – Strette: 'Flamme claire' Act 2 *Entracte *No.9 – Choir: 'Les fourneaux sont allumés' (Fiorella, Fragoletto) *No.10 – Canon: 'Soyez pitoyables' *No.11 – Duetto du Notaire: 'Hé! Là! Hé! Là!' *No.12 – Trio des marmitons: 'Arrête-toi Donc, Je t'en prie' (Fragoletto, Falsacappa, Pietro) *No.13 – Choir et melodrame: 'A nous, holà! les marmitons' *No.14 – Choir et couplets de l'ambassade: 'Dissimulons, dissimulons... Nous avons ce matin tous deux' (Campo Tasso, le capitaine) *No.15 – Choir, melodrame et scene, couplets: 'Entrez-là!... Grenade, Infante des Espagnes...Jadis vous n'aviez qu'une patrie' *No.16 – Couplets de Fiorella: 'Je n’en sais rien, Madame' *No.17 – Finale: Choir, Ensemble, Scene: 'Entrez-là!... Tous sans trompettes ni tambour... Quels sont ces cris?...' Act 3 *No.18 – Entracte *No.19 – Chœur de fête et couplets du prince: 'L'aurore paraît... Jadis régnait un prince' *No.20 – Couplets du caissier: 'O mes amours, O mes maîtresses' *No.21 – Morceau d’ensemble: Voici venir la princesse et son page' *No.22 – Finale: 'Coquin, brigand, traître, bandit!'

Recordings

This work has been recorded a number of times: *

John Eliot Gardiner Sir John Eliot Gardiner (born 20 April 1943) is an English conductor, particularly known for his performances of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach. Life and career Born in Fontmell Magna, Dorset, son of Rolf Gardiner and Marabel Hodgkin, Gard ...

recorded the three-act version with chorus and orchestra of the

for

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

in 1988 (CD 7 49830 2). *Gilbert's English version was recorded by

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 ...

in 2004, Albany Records, ASIN: B00022FWVS. *There is a German version by Ernst Dohm, ''Die Banditen'', which was recorded and released in 2002 on the Capriccio label, Catalog: 60090. Conductor,

Pinchas Steinberg Pinchas Steinberg (born 13 December 1945 ) is a conductor born in mandatory Palestine. He is currently the Chief Conductor of the Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra. Early career Steinberg studied violin in the USA under Jascha Heifetz and Joseph ...

References

External links

* *

* ttp://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/dgkeysearchresult.cfm?parent_id=142587&word= Photosfrom an American production with Lillian Russell {{DEFAULTSORT:Brigands, Les Operas by Jacques Offenbach French-language operas Operas Works by W. S. Gilbert Opéras bouffes 1869 operas