La bonne d'enfant
Music by Jacques Offenbach · libretto by Eugène Bercioux · premiered 1856 · at Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens
La bonne d'enfant (The Nanny) is an opérette bouffe, in one act by Jacques Offenbach to a French libretto by Eugène Bercioux. It was first performed at the Théâtre des Bouffes Parisiens, Paris on 14 October 1856.
Offenbach's early operettas were small-scale one-act works, since the law in France limited musical theatre works (other than grand opera) to one-act pieces with no more than three singers and, perhaps, some mute characters.[1] In 1858, this law was changed, and Offenbach was able to offer full-length operettas, beginning with Orpheus in the Underworld.
The piece was seen in 1857 at the St James's Theatre in London, and in Vienna in 1862 with Tostée as Dorothée; it was subsequently produced there in Hungarian.
Text from the Wikipedia article "La bonne d", licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
About the Composer
Jacques Offenbach (; 20 June 1819 – 5 October 1880) was a German-born French composer, cellist and impresario. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s to the 1870s, and his uncompleted opera The Tales of Hoffmann. He was a powerful influence on later composers of the operetta genre, particularly Franz von Suppé, Johann Strauss II and Arthur Sullivan. His best-known works were continually revived during the 20th century, and many of his operettas continue to be staged in the 21st. The Tales of Hoffmann remains part of the standard opera repertory. Born in Cologne, Kingdom of Prussia, the son of a synagogue cantor, Offenbach showed early musical talent. At the age of 14, he…
Text from the Wikipedia article "Jacques Offenbach", licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Other Operas by Jacques Offenbach
- Die Rheinnixen
- Barbe-bleue (1697)
- Daphnis et Chloé (1811)
- La Périchole (1828)
- L'alcôve (1847)
- La chanson de Fortunio (1850)
- Ba-ta-clan (1855)
- La rose de Saint-Flour (1856)