Le 66
Encyclopedia
Le 66 is an opérette in one act of 1856 with music by Jacques Offenbach
. The French
libretto was by Pittaud de Forges and Laurencin (Paul Aimé Chapelle). Gänzl describes the work as "in the rustic vein of Le violoneux
and Le mariage aux lanternes
".
(Salle Lacaze) Paris, on 31 July 1856, one of nine one-acters produced by the Bouffes Parisiens that year. Le 66 remained in the Bouffes Parisiens repertoire, and was played by them in Vienna in 1862. It had already been seen at the Carltheater
in that city in 1859, was produced in Budapest in 1860, and mounted in London in 1865 and 1876. It was revived in Paris in 1984 at the Studio Bertrand alongside Pépito.
Contemporary critics particularly admired in the score the romance and tyrolienne and the entry song of the colporteur.
On meeting a pedlar on the road Frantz wins 100,000 florins in a lottery with the ticket 66. He borrows money from the pedlar and goes off to the town on a spending spree, returning in expensive grotesque clothes.
Grittly and he argue – and then discover that the ticket is actually 99.
However, the pedlar turns out to be a rich long-lost relation (and husband of Grittly's sister) who wanted to give Frantz a lesson in the dangers of extravagance.
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....
. The 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 was by Pittaud de Forges and Laurencin (Paul Aimé Chapelle). Gänzl describes the work as "in the rustic vein of Le violoneux
Le violoneux
Le violoneux is a one-act operetta by Jacques Offenbach to a French libretto by Eugène Mestépès and Émile Chevalet, first performed in 1855.-Performance history:...
and Le mariage aux lanternes
Le mariage aux lanternes
Le mariage aux lanternes is an opérette in one act by Jacques Offenbach. The French libretto was written by Michel Carré and Léon Battu....
".
Performance history
The premiere was 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...
(Salle Lacaze) Paris, on 31 July 1856, one of nine one-acters produced by the Bouffes Parisiens that year. Le 66 remained in the Bouffes Parisiens repertoire, and was played by them in Vienna in 1862. It had already been seen at the Carltheater
Carltheater
The Carltheater was a theatre in Vienna. It was in the suburbs in Leopoldstadt at Praterstraße 31 .It was the successor to the Leopoldstädter Theater. After a series of financial difficulties, that theater had been sold in 1838 to the director, Carl Carl, who continued to run it in parallel to his...
in that city in 1859, was produced in Budapest in 1860, and mounted in London in 1865 and 1876. It was revived in Paris in 1984 at the Studio Bertrand alongside Pépito.
Contemporary critics particularly admired in the score the romance and tyrolienne and the entry song of the colporteur.
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, 31 July 1856 (Conductor: - ) |
|---|---|---|
| Frantz, a young Tyrolean, travelling singer | 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... |
Gerpré |
| Grittly, his cousin, travelling singer | 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... |
Maréschal |
| Joseph Berthold | 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... |
Guyot |
Synopsis
En route for Strasbourg two starving travellers reach the outskirts of Stuttgart. Grittly has learnt that her sister is in great distress and set off to see her; Frantz has gone with her.On meeting a pedlar on the road Frantz wins 100,000 florins in a lottery with the ticket 66. He borrows money from the pedlar and goes off to the town on a spending spree, returning in expensive grotesque clothes.
Grittly and he argue – and then discover that the ticket is actually 99.
However, the pedlar turns out to be a rich long-lost relation (and husband of Grittly's sister) who wanted to give Frantz a lesson in the dangers of extravagance.
Musical numbers
- Introduction with offstage duo
- Romance « En apprenant cette détresse » and Tyrolienne « Dans mon Tyrol »
- Air « Voilà le colporteur »
- Trio « Et maintenant lisez-nous ça »
- Couplets « C’était la compagne fidèle »
- Couplets « Cocasse ? moi »
- Trio « O ciel ! ô ciel ! »
- Final « Ah ! quel bonheur »