La Périchole
Music by Jacques Offenbach · libretto by Ludovic Halévy · premiered 1868 · at Théâtre des Variétés
La Périchole (French pronunciation: [la peʁikɔl]) is an opéra bouffe in three acts with music by Jacques Offenbach and words by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy. The opera depicts the mutual love of two impoverished Peruvian street singers – too poor to afford a marriage licence – and a lecherous viceroy, Don Andrès de Ribeira, who wishes to make La Périchole his mistress. Love eventually triumphs. The story is based loosely on the play Le carrosse du Saint-Sacrement by Prosper Mérimée (1828), and the title character is based on the Peruvian entertainer Micaela Villegas. La Perichole was first seen in a two-act version on 6 October 1868 at the Théâtre des Variétés, Paris, with Hortense Schneider in the title role, José Dupuis as Piquillo and Pierre-Eugène Grenier as the Viceroy. A revised three-act version premiered at the same theatre on 25 April 1874, with the same three stars. The work is considered more sentimental than the earlier Offenbach satires, and the score is infused with Spanish and other dance styles. It was staged throughout Europe and the Americas, and is frequently revived, particularly in France. It has also been broadcast on radio and television and recorded many times.
Text from the Wikipedia article "La Périchole", 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)
- L'alcôve (1847)
- La chanson de Fortunio (1850)
- Ba-ta-clan (1855)
- La bonne d'enfant (1856)
- La rose de Saint-Flour (1856)