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La belle Hélène (operetta)Year: 1864
Genre: Opera
Pr. Instruments: Voice & Orchestra
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Act 1
- 1.Overture
- 2.Vers Tes Autels, Jupin
- 3.Trop De Fleurs
- 4.Choeur Des Jeunes Filles: C'Est Le Devoir Des Jeunes Filles
- 5.Couplets: Amours Divins
- 6.Restez, Calchas ... Toujours, Fille De Léda
- 7.Chanson D'Oreste: Au Cabaret Du Labyrinthe
- 8.Mesdemoiselles, Voici Le Calchas Demandé
- 9.Monsieur, C'Est Vous Le Devin De Jupiter?
- 10.Le Jugement De Pâris: Au Mont Ida, Trois Déesses
- 11.Compliments, Félicitations, Bravo! Vénus Ordonne
- 12.Marche Et Couplets Des Roi: Voici! Les Rois De La Grèce
- 13.Rois Et Peuples De La Grèce, Salut À Vous!
- 14.Finale: Gloire! Gloire Au Berger Victorieux
- 15.Ainsi Êtes-Vous Gentilhomme
- 16.Les Dieux Decrétènt Par Ma Voix
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Act 2
- 1.Entracte
- 2.Choeur: O Reine, En Ce Jour
- 3.Mais Enfin, Madame, Vous N'Allez Pas Rester Comme Ça!
- 4.Invocation À Vénus: On Me Nomme Hélène La Blonde
- 5.Voilà, Ca Va Mieux!
- 6.Marche De L'Oie: Le Voici, Le Roi Des Rois
- 7.Scène Du Jeu De L'Oie: Alors Qu'Est-Ce Que Nous Jouons
- 8.A Calchas Qui Tremblote
- 9.Tout Ça Est D'Un Désagréable
- 10.Couplets: Je La Vois, Le Vent Du Soir Caresse
- 11.C'Est Le Ciel Qui M'Envoie
- 12.Ciel! Mon Mari
- 13.Finale; A Moi, Rois De La Grèce
- 14.Ne Criez Pas Notre Cher Hôte
- 15.Va T'En, Va T'En, Mon Amour Te Suivra
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Act 3
- 1.Entracte
- 2.Choeur Et Chanson D'Oreste: Dansons, Aimons, Buvons, Chantons!
- 3.L'Eau Est-Elle Bonne, Bouillant Achille?
- 4.Couplets: Là, Vrai, Je Ne Suis Pas Coupable
- 5.Mais, Ma Nénène
- 6.Trio Patriotique: Lorsque La Grèce Est Un Champ De Carnage
- 7.Allons! Immolez-Vous!
- 8.Quand Les Dieux Commandent
- 9.Choeur: La Galère De Cythère
- 10.Couplets De Pâris: Et Tout D'Abord, Ô Vile Multitude
- 11.Quelle Tenue Pour Un Augure
- 12.Finale: Elle Vient! C'Est Elle!
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While some of the music from Offenbach's La belle Hélène was poached for inclusion in Gaîté Parisienne, it is best heard in the context of this amusing and tuneful opéra-bouffe. The giddy heroine—beautiful, but light of intellect—proved the perfect subject for a work that poked fun at many of the conventions of the past and present. Offenbach was fortunate in securing as leading lady the beautiful and celebrated music theatre star, Hortense Schneider, for a collaboration that brought heightened acclaim to them both. With librettists Ludovic Halévy and Henri Meilhac, Offenbach created a perfect vehicle for the Schneider and provided tenor José Dupuis the sparkling role of Pâris. Thus, at the Variétiés on December 17, 1864, the two singers and the composer all enjoyed a triumph. Their collaboration continued in Barbe-Bleu (1866), La Grande-Duchess de Gérolstein (1867) and La Périchole (1868).
La belle Hélène was, if not a watershed for Offenbach, at least a defining moment. He had already known considerable success with the public and had gained genuine, if grudging, recognition from other composers for his talent. Here, however, he raised the genre to a different level. His earlier two-act comic works were delightful, but restrictive; La belle Hélène afforded him more room to stretch, to create arias, duets and ensembles which had a satisfying completeness about them.
With deft and deceptive ease, Offenbach shifts in the Introduction from the animated "March of the Kings" to a light, off-handed waltz (Paris's theme, here voiced by a solo oboe), thence to a vigorous "Galop." Pâris's bounding waltz, "Au mond Ida" has achieved popularity aside from stage performance, sung in concert and recital by lyric tenors of flexibility and elegance. When Hélène cannot resist receiving Pâris, she protests in "Dismoi, Vénus," a breath-stopping aria melding beauty and parody (Berlioz seems to be the reference here).
Offenbach sustains his invention to provide a final act full of manic attractions, from a Handelian entr'acte to the "Trio patriotique" sung by Ménélas, Agamemnon, and Calchas, all of that trumped by the whooping "Tyrolienne" led by Pâris. That Offenbach could imitate the styles of others in so winning a fashion speaks to an inimitable and treasurable gift.
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