Barbe-bleue
Encyclopedia
Barbe-bleue is an opéra bouffe
, or operetta, in three acts (four scenes) by Jacques Offenbach
to a French
libretto
by Henri Meilhac
and Ludovic Halévy
based on Charles Perrault's 1697 story
.
, Paris
on 5 February 1866. Productions outside France followed swiftly: London, Vienna and Brussels in 1866, Stockholm, Berlin, Budapest, Milan and Copenhagen in 1867. The operetta was given in New York City
at the Grand Opera House
on 24 December 1870 and seen in Sydney in 1872.
Oscar finds out by chance that Fleurette is Princess Hermia, and he brings her to the happy king and queen. With the princess's identity now known, Prince Saphir comes out of hiding, removing the last obstacle to the wedding. Boulotte has become Bluebeard's sixth wife. However, Bluebeard appears at the royal wedding and falls in love with Princess Hermia. He decides to poison Boulotte that evening and to make Hermia his seventh wife. However, events take a different course.
Opéra bouffe
Opéra bouffe 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 that gave its name to the form....
, or operetta, in three acts (four scenes) by Jacques Offenbach
Jacques Offenbach
Jacques Offenbach was a Prussian-born French composer, cellist and impresario. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s–1870s and his uncompleted opera The Tales of Hoffmann. He was a powerful influence on later composers of the operetta genre, particularly Johann Strauss, Jr....
to a French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
libretto
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
by Henri Meilhac
Henri Meilhac
Henri Meilhac , was a French dramatist and opera librettist.-Biography:Meilhac was born in Paris in 1831. As a young man, he began writing fanciful articles for Parisian newspapers and vaudevilles, in a vivacious boulevardier spirit which brought him to the forefront...
and Ludovic Halévy
Ludovic Halévy
Ludovic Halévy was a French author and playwright. He was half Jewish : his Jewish father had converted to Christianity prior to his birth, to marry his mother, née Alexandrine Lebas.-Biography:Ludovic Halévy was born in Paris...
based on Charles Perrault's 1697 story
Bluebeard
"Bluebeard" is a French literary folktale written by Charles Perrault and is one of eight tales by the author first published by Barbin in Paris in January 1697 in Histoires ou Contes du temps passé. The tale tells the story of a violent nobleman in the habit of murdering his wives and the...
.
Performance history
It was first performed at the Théâtre des Bouffes ParisiensThéâtre des Bouffes Parisiens
The Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens is a Parisian theatre which was 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 entrance at the back at 65 Passage Choiseul. In...
, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
on 5 February 1866. Productions outside France followed swiftly: London, Vienna and Brussels in 1866, Stockholm, Berlin, Budapest, Milan and Copenhagen in 1867. The operetta was given in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
at the Grand Opera House
Grand Opera House
Grand Opera House may refer to:in Canada*Grand Opera House in England*Grand Opera House in France*Palais Garnier in Paris, often called the "Grand Opera House"in Northern Ireland*Grand Opera House in the United States...
on 24 December 1870 and seen in Sydney in 1872.
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, February 5, 1866, (Conductor: Offenbach ) |
|---|---|---|
| Barbe-Bleue | tenor Tenor The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2... |
José Dupuis José Dupuis Joseph-Lambert Dupuis was a Belgian singer and actor. He was principally active in opéra-bouffe in Paris, in particular at the Théâtre des Variétés.-Career:... |
| Alvarez | tenor | Edouard Hamburger |
| Boulotte, a peasant woman | soprano Soprano A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody... |
Hortense Schneider Hortense Schneider Hortense Catherine Schneider, La Snédèr, was a French soprano, one of the greatest operetta stars of the 19th century, particularly associated with the works of composer Jacques Offenbach.-Biography:... |
| King Bobêche | tenor | Karl Knopp |
| Queen Clémentine | mezzo-soprano Mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above... |
Aline Duval |
| Fleurette, a peasant woman (Act 1), later Hermia, Clémentine's daughter |
soprano | Georgette Vernet |
| Oscar, the King's minister | bass | Pierre-Eugène Grenier Pierre-Eugène Grenier Pierre-Eugène Grenier was a French actor-singer.-Life:A student of Joseph Isidore Samson at the Conservatoire, he won first prize in declamation before making his debuts at the Théâtre de l'Odéon in 1854 in the play The Barber of Seville by Beaumarchais... |
| Popolani, an alchemist | baritone Baritone Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or... |
Henri Couder |
| Prince Saphir | tenor | Paul Hittemans |
| Héloïse, a wife of Barbe-Bleue | soprano | de Géraudon |
| Eléonore, a wife of Barbe-Bleue | mezzo-soprano | Martin |
| Isaure, a wife of Barbe-Bleue | mezzo-soprano | Gabrielle |
| Rosalinde, a wife of Barbe-Bleue | soprano | Amélie |
| Blanche, a wife of Barbe-Bleue | soprano | Berthe Legrand |
| First peasant woman | soprano | Béatrix |
| Second peasant woman | soprano | Léonie |
| First page | soprano | Jenny |
| Second page | soprano | Taillefer |
| A clerk | spoken | Horton |
| A child | spoken | Mathilde |
| Peasants, Barbe-Bleue's guards, courtiers, pages and Bobèche's guards | ||
Synopsis
Prince Saphir, in love with the flower-girl Fleurette, disguises himself as a shepherd to move near to where she lives. Fleurette loves Saphir but complains that he has not yet proposed marriage. Boulotte wants to seduce Saphir. King Bobèche does not want a female heir to his throne, and so he abandoned his daughter Hermia when she was three years old. Now that his son has gone his own way, the king remembers his daughter. He asks his minister Oscar to find her within one day. Oscar meets his old friend Popolani, an alchemist with Knight Bluebeard. It is Popolani’s charge to poison the Knight’s wives upon request (at least Bluebeard believes that he poisons them), and Popolani has been ordered to find a new wife. Boulotte, having drawn the first prize in the village lottery of virtue, is brought to Bluebeard.Oscar finds out by chance that Fleurette is Princess Hermia, and he brings her to the happy king and queen. With the princess's identity now known, Prince Saphir comes out of hiding, removing the last obstacle to the wedding. Boulotte has become Bluebeard's sixth wife. However, Bluebeard appears at the royal wedding and falls in love with Princess Hermia. He decides to poison Boulotte that evening and to make Hermia his seventh wife. However, events take a different course.