La vie parisienne
Encyclopedia
La vie parisienne is an opéra bouffe
, or operetta
, composed by Jacques Offenbach
, with a libretto by Henri Meilhac
and Ludovic Halévy
.
This work was Offenbach's first full-length piece to portray contemporary Parisian life, unlike his earlier period pieces and mythological subjects. It became one of Offenbach's most popular operettas.
, Paris.
It was first given in London
at the Holborn Theatre on 30 March 1872 in an adaptation by F. C. Burnand. The New York
premiere was at the first Booth Theatre
, on 12 June 1876.
for a Parisian holiday and ask tour guide Joseph Partout to show them the city's glittering night life. Finally, Pompa di Matadores, a Brazilian millionaire, arrives to spend a fortune in the capital.
shot a film based on the operetta in two language versions, French and English. The stars of both MLVs were Max Dearly
and Conchita Montenegro
. The script was by Emeric Pressburger
, the dialogues by Marcel Carné
and Benno Vigny
. Producer was Seymour Nebenzahl
. Offenbach's music was arranged by Maurice Jaubert
. The French version had its premiere on 22 January 1936 in Paris, the English version was released in August 1936.
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
Operetta
Operetta is a genre of light opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter. It is also closely related, in English-language works, to forms of musical theatre.-Origins:...
, composed 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....
, with a libretto 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...
.
This work was Offenbach's first full-length piece to portray contemporary Parisian life, unlike his earlier period pieces and mythological subjects. It became one of Offenbach's most popular operettas.
Performance history
It was first produced in a five-act version at the Théâtre du Palais Royal, Paris on 31 October 1866. The work was revived in four acts (without the original fourth act) on 25 September 1873, at the Théâtre des VariétésThéâtre 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.
It was first given in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
at the Holborn Theatre on 30 March 1872 in an adaptation by F. C. Burnand. The New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
premiere was at the first Booth Theatre
Booth Theatre
The Booth Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 222 West 45th Street in midtown-Manhattan, New York City.Architect Henry B. Herts designed the Booth and its companion Shubert Theatre as a back-to-back pair sharing a Venetian Renaissance-style façade...
, on 12 June 1876.
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, October 31, 1866, (Conductor: Offenbach ) |
Revised four-act version Premiere Cast, 25 September 1873 (Conductor: Offenbach ) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bobinet, a Parisian dandy | 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... or high 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... |
Gil-Pérès | Pierre Eugène Grenier |
| An employee of the railways | speaking role | Millaux | |
| Raoul de Gardefeu, a Parisian dandy | tenor | Priston | Henri Venderjench |
| Métella, a demi-mondaine | 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... |
Honorine | Devéria/Céline Van Ghell |
| Gontran, Métella's friend | tenor | Coste | |
| Joseph, a guide | speaking role | Martal | |
| Le Baron de Gondremarck, a Swedish traveller | baritone | Louis Hyacinthe Duflost | 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:... |
| La Baronne de Gondremarck, his wife | soprano | Céline Montaland | Juliette Grandville |
| The Brazilian, a wealthy person | baritone | Jules Brasseur | |
| Alphonse, Gardefeu's valet | speaking role | Ferdinand | |
| Frick, a bootmaker | baritone | Jules Brasseur | |
| Gabrielle, a glovemaker soprano | soprano | 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... |
Zulma Bouffar |
| Pauline, a chambermaid | soprano | Elmire Paurelle | |
| Prosper, a servant | baritone | Jules Brasseur | |
| Urbain, a servant | baritone | Louis Lassouche | Louis Lassouche |
| Clara, the concierge's niece | soprano | Henry | |
| Leonie, the concierge's niece | 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... |
Bédard | |
| Louise, the concierge's niece | mezzo-soprano | Breton | |
| Madame de Quimper-Karadec, Bobinet's aunt | mezzo-soprano | Félicia Thierret | |
| Mme de Folle-Verdure, her nièce | mezzo-soprano | Léontine Massin | |
| Alfred, a majordomo | baritone | 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.... |
|
| Caroline, the concierge's niece | Julia H. | ||
| Julie, the concierge's niece | Magne | ||
| Augustine, the concierge's niece | Maria | ||
| Albertine, a demi-mondaine | Pauline | ||
| Charlotte, a demi-mondaine | V. Klein | ||
Act 1
The story begins at the railway station, where the employees boast of all the wonderful places in France. Soon, Baron and Baroness Gondremarck arrive from frozen StockholmStockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
for a Parisian holiday and ask tour guide Joseph Partout to show them the city's glittering night life. Finally, Pompa di Matadores, a Brazilian millionaire, arrives to spend a fortune in the capital.
Act 2
Métella, a demi-mondaine with a heart of gold, reads a letter from Baron Gondremarck's friend, Baron Frascata asking her to give Gondremarck the same pleasure she once had given him.Act 3
At a party, the guests vow to make their pleasure long lasting as they eye one another, waiting to see who will make the first move. Bobinet rises to greet the crowd with a drinking song. The champagne flows and Baron Gondremarck (and everyone else) gets drunk. The party turns into a wild, sensual debauch.Act 4
The Brazilian millionaire is offering a masked ball. Métella, anxious to win back Gardefeu, is in league with the Baroness, who wants to extricate her husband from the perils of Parisian life. The Brazilian and Gabrielle, the pretty glover, discover the virtues of love at first sight. All ends happily.Film version
In 1935 Robert SiodmakRobert Siodmak
Robert Siodmak was a German born American film director. He is best remembered as a thriller specialist and for the series of Hollywood film noirs he made in the 1940s.-Early life:...
shot a film based on the operetta in two language versions, French and English. The stars of both MLVs were Max Dearly
Max Dearly
-Selected filmography:* Madame Bovary * The Last Billionaire * Les Misérables * A Rare Bird * Parisian Life * The Train for Venice * Nine Bachelors * Bécassine...
and Conchita Montenegro
Conchita Montenegro
Conchita Montenegro was a Spanish model, dancer, stage and screen actress. She was educated in a convent in Madrid, Spain. Montenegro had browneyes, wavy black hair, and an olive complexion...
. The script was by Emeric Pressburger
Emeric Pressburger
Emeric Pressburger was a Hungarian-British screenwriter, film director, and producer. He is best known for his series of film collaborations with Michael Powell, in a multiple-award-winning partnership known as The Archers and produced a series of classic British films, notably 49th Parallel , The...
, the dialogues by Marcel Carné
Marcel Carné
-Biography:Born in Paris, France, the son of a cabinet maker whose wife died when their son was five, Carné began his career as a film critic, becoming editor of the weekly publication, Hebdo-Films, and working for Cinémagazine and Cinémonde between 1929 and 1933. In the same period he worked in...
and Benno Vigny
Benno Vigny
Benno Vigny was a French-German novelist and screenwriter.- Life and works :Vigny was born in Commercy and grew up in Vienna. He moved to Berlin in the 1920s...
. Producer was Seymour Nebenzahl
Seymour Nebenzal
Seymour Nebenzal was a German film producer. He produced 46 films between 1927 and 1961.He got into film production through his father Heinrich Nebenzahl who in the early 1920s worked with German action star Harry Piel. In 1926 Heinrich Nebenzahl and director-producer Richard Oswald founded the...
. Offenbach's music was arranged by Maurice Jaubert
Maurice Jaubert
Maurice Jaubert was a French composer of incidental music for stage and film music, famous for his collaborations with the masters of poetic realism Jean Vigo, René Clair, Julien Duvivier and Marcel Carné...
. The French version had its premiere on 22 January 1936 in Paris, the English version was released in August 1936.