Les brigands
Encyclopedia
Les brigands is an opéra bouffe
, or operetta, by Jacques Offenbach
to a French
libretto
by Henri Meilhac
and Ludovic Halévy
.
Les brigands was first performed at the Théâtre des Variétés
, 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
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, and in New York City
at The Grand Opera House
in 1870-71.
Paris revivals included 1885 with Léonce and Dupuis from the original cast, 1900 with Marguerite Ugalde
, Mathilde Auguez and Dupuis and the same year with Tariol-Baugé, at the Gaîté-Lyrique in 1921 with Andrée Alvar, Raymonde Vécart and Jean Périer
, and at the Opera-Comique
in 1931 with Marcelle Denya, Emma Luart, Dranem
and Louis Musy
.
Meilhac and Halévy's libretto is cheerfully amoral in its presentation of theft as a basic principle of society rather than as an aberration. The forces of law and order are represented by the bumbling carabinieri
, who always arrive too late to capture the thieves, and whose exaggerated attire delighted the Parisian audience during the premiere. Les brigands has a more substantial plot than many Offenbach operettas and integrates the songs more completely into the story. In addition to policemen, financiers receive satiric treatment.
The music of the piece influenced Bizet in writing Carmen
, and the librettists for this work supplied Bizet's libretto.
The piece was translated in three acts as The Brigands by English dramatist W. S. Gilbert
and published by Boosey 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
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
, soon transferring to the Avenue Theatre 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 and 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
English while describing dastardly deeds to gavotte
s and musical romps in three-quarter time. Many of the characters and situations in the piece are echoed later in Gilbert and Sullivan
's The Pirates of Penzance
and The Gondoliers
.
An earlier English version by H. S. Leigh was presented at the Globe Theatre
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
was the Prince of Popoli. This version had also been given an 1871 performance in London.
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.
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.
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.
Act 2
Act 3
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, 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...
.
Les brigands was first performed at the Théâtre des Variétés
Théâtre des Variétés
The Théâtre des Variétés is a theatre and "salle de spectacles" at 7, boulevard Montmartre, 2nd arrondissement, in Paris. It was declared a monument historique in 1975.-History:...
, 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
Théâtre de la Gaîté (rue Papin)
In 1862 during Haussmann's modernization of Paris the Théâtre de la Gaîté of the boulevard du Temple was relocated to the rue Papin across from the Square des Arts et Métiers....
, opening on 25 December 1878. The piece achieved great success as the Second Empire
Second French Empire
The Second French Empire or French Empire was the Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 1852 to 1870, between the Second Republic and the Third Republic, in France.-Rule of Napoleon III:...
came to an end. Only the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War
Franco-Prussian War
The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and...
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, and 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...
in 1870-71.
Paris revivals included 1885 with Léonce and Dupuis from the original cast, 1900 with Marguerite Ugalde
Marguerite Ugalde
Marguerite Ugalde was a French mezzo-soprano. She was the daughter of the singer and theatre manager Delphine Ugalde....
, Mathilde Auguez and Dupuis and the same year with Tariol-Baugé, at the Gaîté-Lyrique in 1921 with Andrée Alvar, Raymonde Vécart and Jean Périer
Jean Périer
Jean Périer was a French operatic baritone and actor. Although he sang principally within the operetta repertoire, Périer did portray a number of opera roles; mostly within operas by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Giacomo Puccini...
, and at the Opera-Comique
Opéra-Comique
The Opéra-Comique is a Parisian 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 at the Hôtel de Bourgogne, and was also called the...
in 1931 with Marcelle Denya, Emma Luart, Dranem
Dranem
Dranem was a French singer and music hall comique troupier and a 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. Adopting the singular stage name of Dranem, an anagram of Menard, he...
and Louis Musy
Louis Musy
Louis Musy was a French operatic baritone and stage director principally active at the Paris Opéra-Comique...
.
Meilhac and Halévy's libretto is cheerfully amoral in its presentation of theft as a basic principle of society rather than as an aberration. The forces of law and order are represented by the bumbling carabinieri
Carabinieri
The Carabinieri is the national gendarmerie of Italy, policing both military and civilian populations, and is a branch of the armed forces.-Early history:...
, who always arrive too late to capture the thieves, and whose exaggerated attire delighted the Parisian audience during the premiere. Les brigands has a more substantial plot than many Offenbach operettas and integrates the songs more completely into the story. In addition to policemen, financiers receive satiric treatment.
The music of the piece influenced Bizet in writing Carmen
Carmen
Carmen is a French opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845, itself possibly influenced by the narrative poem The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin...
, and the librettists for this work supplied Bizet's libretto.
English versions
W. S. Gilbert
Sir William Schwenck Gilbert was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his fourteen comic operas produced in collaboration with the composer Sir Arthur Sullivan, of which the most famous include H.M.S...
and published by Boosey in 1871 but was not performed until 9 May 1889 at the Casino Theatre, 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...
, starring Edwin Stevens as Falsacappa (the brigand chieftain), Lillian Russell
Lillian Russell
Lillian Russell was an American actress and singer. She became one of the most famous actresses and singers of the late 19th century and early 20th century, known for her beauty and style, as well as for her voice and stage presence.Russell was born in Iowa but raised in Chicago...
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
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
, soon transferring to the Avenue Theatre 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 and 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
Drawing room
A drawing room is a room in a house where visitors may be entertained. The name is derived from the sixteenth-century terms "withdrawing room" and "withdrawing chamber", which remained in use through the seventeenth century, and made its first written appearance in 1642...
English while describing dastardly deeds to gavotte
Gavotte
The gavotte originated as a French folk dance, taking its name from the Gavot people of the Pays de Gap region of Dauphiné, where the dance originated. It is notated in 4/4 or 2/2 time and is of moderate tempo...
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
Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the librettist W. S. Gilbert and the composer Arthur Sullivan . The two men collaborated on fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which H.M.S...
's The Pirates of Penzance
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. The opera's official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 31 December 1879, where the show was well received by both audiences...
and The Gondoliers
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 , closing on 30 June 1891...
.
An earlier English version by H. S. Leigh was presented at the Globe Theatre
Globe Theatre (Newcastle Street)
The Globe was a Victorian theatre built in 1868 and demolished in 1902. It was the third of five London theatres to bear the name. It was also known at various times as the Royal Globe Theatre or Globe Theatre Royal. Its repertoire consisted mainly of comedies and musical shows...
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
Nelly Bromley
Nelly Bromley was an English actor and singer who performed in operettas and musical burlesques...
was the Prince of Popoli. This version had also been given an 1871 performance in London.
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, December 10, 1869, (Conductor: Jacques Offenbach ) |
|---|---|---|
| Adolphe de Valladolid | 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... |
Henri Venderjench 'Cooper' |
| Antonio, treasurer to the Duke | tenor | Léonce Léonce Édouard-Théodore Nicole , known as Léonce, was a French actor and singer.-Biography:Léonce was born in Paris. After studying law, he made his stage debut at the Théâtre de Belleville.... |
| Barbavano | bass | Daniel Bac |
| Baron de Campo-Tasso | tenor | Charles Blondelet |
| Carmagnola | tenor | Gobin |
| Comte de Gloria-Cassis | tenor | Gourdon |
| Domino | tenor | Bordier |
| Duc de Mantoue | 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... |
Constant Lanjallais |
| Falsacappa, the brigand chief | tenor | 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:... |
| Fiorella, his daughter | 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... |
Marie Aimée |
| Fragoletto, a farmer | 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... |
Zulma Bouffar Zulma Bouffar Zulma Madeleine Boufflar, known as Zulma Bouffar, born Nérac 24 May 1841, died Couilly-Pont-aux-Dames 20 January 1909, was a French actress and soprano singer, associated with the opéra-bouffe of Paris in the second half of the 19th century who enjoyed a successful career around Europe.-Life and... |
| La Duchesse | soprano | A Régnault |
| Pipa, wife of Pipo | soprano | Léonie |
| Pipetta, daughter of Pipo | soprano | Fanny Génat |
| Pipo, a landlord | tenor | Boulange |
| Piétro, the brigand lieutenant | tenor | Karl Knopp |
| La Princesse de Grenade | soprano | Lucciani |
| Zerlina | soprano | Julia H. |
| Bianca | soprano | Oppenheim |
| Fiametta | soprano | Bessy |
| Ciccinella | soprano | Douard |
| Marquise | soprano | Gravier |
| Chief of the carabinieri | baritone | Baron Louis Baron Louis Baron, , stage name Baron, was a French actor and singer , born in September 1838 at Alençon, died in 1920.... |
| Preceptor | bass | Videix |
| Chorus: Brigands, Carabinieri, Peasants, Cooks, Pages of the Mantuan court, Lords and Ladies of the Grenadan court, Pages of the Princess, Lords and Ladies of the Mantuan court. |
||
Act I
A wild rocky placeThe 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.
Act II
An inn on the frontierThe 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 III
A great hall at the court of MantuaThe 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'aivez 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!'
Libretto
- Original libretto (French Wikisource)
- 1871 English libretto translated by W. S. Gilbert
Recordings
This work has been recorded a number of times:- John Eliot GardinerJohn Eliot GardinerSir John Eliot Gardiner CBE FKC is an English conductor. He founded the Monteverdi Choir , the English Baroque Soloists and the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique...
recorded the three-act version with chorus and orchestra of the Opéra de Lyon for EMIEMIThe EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
in 1988 (CD 7 49830 2). - Gilbert's English version was recorded by Ohio Light OperaOhio Light OperaThe 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 19th and early 20th centuries...
in 2004, Albany Records, ASIN: B00022FWVS. - There is a German version by Ernst DohmErnst DohmFriedrich Wilhelm Ernst Dohm, pseudonym is Karlchen Mießnick was a German editor, actor, and translator.He was Jewish and a convert to Christianity...
, Die Banditen, which was recorded and released in 2002 on the Capriccio label, Catalog: 60090. Conductor, Pinchas SteinbergPinchas SteinbergPinchas Steinberg is an Israeli conductor.He was a violin student in the USA and a composition student in Berlin. His conducting debut was in 1974 with the RIAS Symphony Orchestra, Berlin. He was a regular guest conductor with the Vienna State Opera from 1986-1993...
.
External links
- http://math.boisestate.edu/gas/other_gilbert/letters/17.htmlW. S. Gilbert's letter to The TimesThe TimesThe Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
of 16 September 1889] - Les Brigands at the IBDB database
- Photos from an American production with Lillian Russell
- Vocal score (W. S. Gilbert translation)