Jacques Offenbach's
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Production Staff
Producers - Philip McLeod, Denise Young
Assistant Music Director -Jenny Craley Bland Stage Manager - Linda Nadeau Choreographer - Deborah Grossman Set Design - Anna Britton Scenic Artists - Rebecca Meushaw, Anna Britton Costume Designer - Denise Young Lighting Designer - Joseph Palamara Make-Up & Hair Designer -Renee Silverstone Make-Up Assistant - Alice Drew Audition Pianist - Jenifer Craley Bland Rehearsal Pianist -Jenifer Craley Bland Master Carpenter - William Kolodrubetz Carpenters - Peter Finkel, Tony Dwyer, Les Elkins, Blair Eig, Lois Britton, Frank Adler, Ray Caron, Felicity Brown, Dave Kaysen Set Painting - Cassie Mancer, Rachael Singer, Lois Britton, Anna Britton, Tony Dwyer, Alice Drew, Donna Jaffe, Lyle Jaffe, Carl Maryott, Doug Maryott, Rand Huntzinger, Ralph Johnson Set Decoration - Lois Britton, Anna Britton Props - Carlton & Jane Maryott Photography - Harvey Levine Program - Denise Young Surtitles - Douglas Maryott Cover & Poster Art - Erika White Abrams Publicity - Ed Vilade House Management - Cassandra Stevens Set Storage - Rockville Civic Center Special Thanks to: City of Rockville, Holy Redeemer Catholic Church, Pete Silvia, Rockville Little Theater; P&G Woodcraft and all those who helped who may have been inadvertently left out of the program. |
Critical History
A Critical History of Jacques Offenbach's La Belle Hélène
By Roxanna Maisel
Jacques Offenbach's La Belle Hélène opened in Paris in 1864 and was an instant hit. Loosely based on the story of the ravishingly beautiful Helen of Troy from Homer’s epic poem The Iliad, the work also satirizes the decline of the Second Empire in France (1852-70, under the rule of Emperor Napoleon III). During this era, France underwent a period of rapid industrialization and rising prosperity. Paris acquired a world-wide reputation for gaiety. In La Belle Hélène, Offenbach parodied the vulgarly decadent society of the Parisian upper class. The 1920s saw a return of much of this gaiety, especially in America, London, and Paris, with a proliferation of nightclubs, jazz music, and dancing. Thus, it seemed fitting to update his opera to this period.
La Belle Hélène is an Opera Bouffe, a comedic operetta in the French tradition, so it is shocking to look back and read the controversy surrounding Offenbach’s opera in its early days. Reactions to the work were mixed. As an early New York Times reviewer wrote on April 3, 1868, "The critics have ... praised it to the skies or condemned it to the bottomless pit." The earliest French reviews feigned outrage. "Masterpieces profaned!," lamented a January 9, 1865 review in Le Journal des Débats; a December 26, 1864 article in Le Moniteur Universel protests, "To attempt to ridicule Homer's heroes is blasphemy!" An 1868 New York Tribune reviewer wrote, "the text is loaded with indecent innuendoes; the action in several places is simply vile; and the costumes of certain characters are more lascivious than anything we have yet seen in a respectable theater." Describing the opera as, "intrinsically unfit for the stage," the Tribune reviewer concludes, "we recommend to stay away."
In Vienna, portions were banned: "The censor found fault with the libretto as 'offending against morality and decency,'" according to W.E. Yates’ Theatre in Vienna : a critical history. The April 3, 1868 Times reviewer made some concessions: "In a moral point of view there can be no doubt that Helen was an improper person.... Society was in a loose condition.... The whole family was, to speak mildly, eccentric." Despite the opera’s indecencies, audiences flooded the theaters to view the spectacle. The New York Times’ March 27, 1868 review kindly remarks, "the house was filled with a fashionable and appreciative audience." It further memorialized that, "The music of the opera ... has become familiar to the public. It is light, rhythmic and catching....Between the music and the dialogue the audience was kept in a constant state of laughter."
Thankfully, it is Offenbach and his amusing La Belle Hélène that we remember today, not the invective of the critics. Popular opinion has prevailed in today's general perception of La Belle Hélène as a successful work of humor and considerable musical gifts. Had Offenbach been around to witness the extravagances of the 1920s, he would have seen for himself the renewed relevance of his work as a social critique of the present-day.
By Roxanna Maisel
Jacques Offenbach's La Belle Hélène opened in Paris in 1864 and was an instant hit. Loosely based on the story of the ravishingly beautiful Helen of Troy from Homer’s epic poem The Iliad, the work also satirizes the decline of the Second Empire in France (1852-70, under the rule of Emperor Napoleon III). During this era, France underwent a period of rapid industrialization and rising prosperity. Paris acquired a world-wide reputation for gaiety. In La Belle Hélène, Offenbach parodied the vulgarly decadent society of the Parisian upper class. The 1920s saw a return of much of this gaiety, especially in America, London, and Paris, with a proliferation of nightclubs, jazz music, and dancing. Thus, it seemed fitting to update his opera to this period.
La Belle Hélène is an Opera Bouffe, a comedic operetta in the French tradition, so it is shocking to look back and read the controversy surrounding Offenbach’s opera in its early days. Reactions to the work were mixed. As an early New York Times reviewer wrote on April 3, 1868, "The critics have ... praised it to the skies or condemned it to the bottomless pit." The earliest French reviews feigned outrage. "Masterpieces profaned!," lamented a January 9, 1865 review in Le Journal des Débats; a December 26, 1864 article in Le Moniteur Universel protests, "To attempt to ridicule Homer's heroes is blasphemy!" An 1868 New York Tribune reviewer wrote, "the text is loaded with indecent innuendoes; the action in several places is simply vile; and the costumes of certain characters are more lascivious than anything we have yet seen in a respectable theater." Describing the opera as, "intrinsically unfit for the stage," the Tribune reviewer concludes, "we recommend to stay away."
In Vienna, portions were banned: "The censor found fault with the libretto as 'offending against morality and decency,'" according to W.E. Yates’ Theatre in Vienna : a critical history. The April 3, 1868 Times reviewer made some concessions: "In a moral point of view there can be no doubt that Helen was an improper person.... Society was in a loose condition.... The whole family was, to speak mildly, eccentric." Despite the opera’s indecencies, audiences flooded the theaters to view the spectacle. The New York Times’ March 27, 1868 review kindly remarks, "the house was filled with a fashionable and appreciative audience." It further memorialized that, "The music of the opera ... has become familiar to the public. It is light, rhythmic and catching....Between the music and the dialogue the audience was kept in a constant state of laughter."
Thankfully, it is Offenbach and his amusing La Belle Hélène that we remember today, not the invective of the critics. Popular opinion has prevailed in today's general perception of La Belle Hélène as a successful work of humor and considerable musical gifts. Had Offenbach been around to witness the extravagances of the 1920s, he would have seen for himself the renewed relevance of his work as a social critique of the present-day.
Synopsis
Act I (Sparta, outside the Temple of Jupiter)
Paris, son of Priam and disguised as a shepherd, arrives with a missive from the goddess Venus to the high priest Calchas, commanding him to procure for Paris the love of Helen, promised him by Venus when he awarded the prize of beauty to her and refused it to Juno and Minerva. Paris wins three prizes at a contest of outrageously silly word games with the Greek kings under the direction of the bearded Agamemnon as game show host, whereupon he reveals his identity. All the world knows that he has awarded the apple to Venus, and Helen realizes that it is her destiny that has sent her the ‘chap with the apple’ The Trojan prince is crowned victor by Helen. Paris is invited to a banquet by Menelaus. Paris has bribed Calchas to have Philocomus strike the thunder gong and to prophesy that Menelaus must at once proceed to Knossus, at which point the chorus breaks into a joyful song, encouraging Menalaus on his way, which ends the act.
Act II (Sparta, Helen’s chambers in the palace, one month later)
After the Royal Game of Goose, Paris comes to Helen at night. Although she knows her fate, she seemingly resists him, and he uses strategy. He departs, but returns when she has fallen asleep. He tells Helen that what will now occur is only a dream, and she is content to risk all with this understanding at this moment. Menelaus unexpectedly returns and finds the two in each other's arms. Helen, exclaiming 'her destiny’, tells him that it is all his fault: A good husband knows when to come and when to stay away. Paris tries to dissuade him from kicking up a row, but to no avail. When all the court joins the party, berating him and telling him to go back where he came from, Paris departs, vowing to return and finish the job.
Act III (Nauplia, a seaside resort, one week later)
The kings and their entourage have moved to Nauplia for the summer season. A high priest of Venus arrives on a boat, explaining that he has to take Helen to Cythera where she is to sacrifice 100 heifers for her offenses. Menelaus pleads with her to go with the priest, but she refuses, saying that it is he, and not she, who has offended the goddess. But when she realizes that the priest is Paris in disguise, she goes on board with him, and they sail away together. The rest is "History".
Paris, son of Priam and disguised as a shepherd, arrives with a missive from the goddess Venus to the high priest Calchas, commanding him to procure for Paris the love of Helen, promised him by Venus when he awarded the prize of beauty to her and refused it to Juno and Minerva. Paris wins three prizes at a contest of outrageously silly word games with the Greek kings under the direction of the bearded Agamemnon as game show host, whereupon he reveals his identity. All the world knows that he has awarded the apple to Venus, and Helen realizes that it is her destiny that has sent her the ‘chap with the apple’ The Trojan prince is crowned victor by Helen. Paris is invited to a banquet by Menelaus. Paris has bribed Calchas to have Philocomus strike the thunder gong and to prophesy that Menelaus must at once proceed to Knossus, at which point the chorus breaks into a joyful song, encouraging Menalaus on his way, which ends the act.
Act II (Sparta, Helen’s chambers in the palace, one month later)
After the Royal Game of Goose, Paris comes to Helen at night. Although she knows her fate, she seemingly resists him, and he uses strategy. He departs, but returns when she has fallen asleep. He tells Helen that what will now occur is only a dream, and she is content to risk all with this understanding at this moment. Menelaus unexpectedly returns and finds the two in each other's arms. Helen, exclaiming 'her destiny’, tells him that it is all his fault: A good husband knows when to come and when to stay away. Paris tries to dissuade him from kicking up a row, but to no avail. When all the court joins the party, berating him and telling him to go back where he came from, Paris departs, vowing to return and finish the job.
Act III (Nauplia, a seaside resort, one week later)
The kings and their entourage have moved to Nauplia for the summer season. A high priest of Venus arrives on a boat, explaining that he has to take Helen to Cythera where she is to sacrifice 100 heifers for her offenses. Menelaus pleads with her to go with the priest, but she refuses, saying that it is he, and not she, who has offended the goddess. But when she realizes that the priest is Paris in disguise, she goes on board with him, and they sail away together. The rest is "History".
