Offenbach based his La Vie Parisienne on a one-act play of 1864, Le Photographe, by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy. Offenbach was so pleased with the play's cast that he wanted the same people for La Vie Parisienne, even if they could not sing: "If they are funny it's good enough for me." Although the entire company despised the book and music, La Vie Parisienne was a sensation. Of the first performance, in the Palais-Royal on October 31, 1866, one reviewer noted that the audience behaved as if "the whole house had been taking hashish." It was even more successful than Offenbach's Barbe-Bleue, staged earlier the same year. Timing could not have been better for La Vie Parisienne, for international visitors to the Paris exhibition of 1867 were intrigued by the plot, which revolves around tourists visiting the city. In the first act, a Swedish baron and baroness and a wealthy Brazilian become entangled in a web woven by two desperately amorous men-about-town at a railway station. The next four acts include all the elements necessary for a successful operetta: servants posing as members of the upper class, hidden identities, thwarted liaisons, hedonism, and the consumption of alcoholic beverages. La Vie Parisienne was Offenbach's first successful venture into operetta with a contemporary setting, topical subjects and characters in modern dress. Similarities to Johann Strauss' Die Fledermaus (1874) abound, particularly in the acts featuring parties. La Vie Parisienne is a happy, comical work in praise of Paris, but it is not without its reservations. As the Gondremarcks are shuttled about and deceived, they begin to realize that Paris is not as fascinating as they had been led to believe by their imaginations. It is, however, fascinating enough, and does have new things to offer them, namely love, dancing, and drinking.

Offenbach's score reinforces the light-hearted atmosphere drawn by Meilhac and Halévy. The cheerful msuic contains only one hint of sentimentality: Metella's rondeaux. Possibly the most playful number appears in the third act with "Votre habit a craqué dans le dos" (Your coat is split down the back), Gondremarck's response to his sight of the phony Admiral's backside at the party. This leads to a finale featuring drunken revelry both on stage and in the orchestra that closes with a can-can. Other highlights include the chorus of railroad travelers at the beginning of the first act (No. 1), which smacks of the salon-style song, and Gondremarck's "Moi, je voudrais voir les théâtres" (No. 4), in which he looks forward to seeing all the wonders Paris has to offer. These numbers contrast greatly with Metella's later waltz-nocturne (No. 24). There are polka rhythms in Gabrielle's "Au-tre-fois plus d'un a-mant" (No. 7) and a bit later, the evocation of a hurdy-gurdy during the reading of Baron Frascata's letter (No. 9). In No. 18, "Tout tour-ne, tour-ne, tour-ne" Offenbach's swirling rhythms accompany a dance and song proclaiming the collective drinking of champagne, musically depicting the sweet and grotesque aspects of life in Paris.

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