He is immediately thunderstruck. Paris is quickly declared the winner. Nietzsche was among the admirers of what is considered to be Offenbach’s masterpiece. When Paris shows up, she resists him. (Ces Rois remplis de vaillance –plis de vaillance –plis de vaillance…These Kings filled with valour – folds of valour, folds of valour) Agamemnon introduces a contest intended to discover clever people. Mezzo-soprano. Is that not Helen? The dream quickly becomes a reality for the two lovers (Oui, c’est un rêve, un doux rêve d’amour. She questions Venus, who takes “pleasure in bringing down virtue” (On me nomme Hélène la blonde… They call me Helen the Blonde…). In Sparta, during a ceremony held by the divine Calchas, Helen prays to Venus, who, she knows, has made a promise to the handsome shepherd Paris.

Then the three kings come in, to play a game of snakes and ladders, which Calchas wins by cheating brazenly. Hélène, un portrait en quatre nouvelles Dans La belle Hélène Pascale Roze raconte un atelier d'écriture à Sciences-Po.L'occasion de nous présenter quatre merveilleuses nouvelles, mais aussi de nous démontrer le pouvoir de la littérature.Mission accomplie! Début juin 1865, Le Figaro donne le compte-rendu du dîner pour la 150e représentation pour l… La Belle Hélène was the triumphal result of the first collaboration among those who would become inseparable partners: the musician, Offenbach, his two talented librettists Ludovic Halévy and Henri Meilhac, and the unforgettable Hortense Schneider who created the role.

Alas for them, Menelaus returns unexpectedly, seeking vengeance, and forces the handsome shepherd to leave, defying the threats of the three kings outraged by his audacity. The work’s formidable success cannot be explained merely by this farcical verve or grand-opera pastiche in the style of Meyerbeer (difficult for a 21st century audience to appreciate); the wealth of melodic creativity, the art of adapting the score to each dramatic situation, the musical balance between distance, emotion, derision and sensuality and the refinement of instrumental inventiveness are all qualities that make La Belle Hélène a success worthy of the operas of “serious” composers, who often despised the genius of Offenbach, a victim of groundless prejudices. In her apartments, Helen prepares to receive four kings. La création a lieu le 17 décembre 1864 au théâtre des Variétés.

– Yes, it is a dream, a sweet dream of love). Then the three kings come in, to play a game of snakes and ladders, which Calchas wins by cheating brazenly. When he reveals his true identity, he astounds those in attendance and elicits enthusiasm from Helen, who invites him to dinner.

La Belle Hélène was the triumphal result of the first collaboration among those who would become inseparable partners: the musician, Offenbach, his two talented librettists Ludovic Halévy and Henri Meilhac, and the unforgettable Hortense Schneider who created the role. Le succès est « vif le premier soir et foudroyant aux représentations suivantes » note Le Figaro19. This side-splitting parody of Helen’s kidnapping by the shepherd Paris, the source of the famous Trojan War, was the excuse for a scathing critique of Second Empire society and its lack of morality and rampant thirst for pleasure.

She knows her virtue wavers despite her desire to remain faithful to her husband, King Menelaus. She questions Venus, who takes “pleasure in bringing down virtue” (On me nomme Hélène la blonde… They call me Helen the Blonde…). Hélène, plus belle femme du monde s'ennuie dans son mariage, mais souhaite rester fidèle.

The premiere was at the Théâtre des Variétés, Paris, on 17 December 1864. L’épouse de Ménélas peut prétendre à ce titre mais elle sait sa vertu chancelante. The huge success that greeted La Belle Hélène marks the debut of the “Offenbachiade”, a word allegedly invented by Alphonse Daudet to designate the apogee of the composer’s career. – Yes, it is a dream, a sweet dream of love). From the 1864 creation of this irresistible Homeric epic until the fall of the Second Empire in 1870, hardly a soirée passed in Paris without a performance of an Offenbach work. From the 1864 creation of this irresistible Homeric epic until the fall of the Second Empire in 1870, hardly a soirée passed in Paris without a performance of an Offenbach work.

Paris arrives disguised as a shepherd. Hélène Tessiture. La Belle Hélène was the triumphal result of the first collaboration among those who would become inseparable partners: the musician, Offenbach, his two talented librettists Ludovic Halévy and Henri Meilhac, and the unforgettable Hortense Schneider who created the role. In Sparta, during a ceremony held by the divine Calchas, Helen prays to Venus, who, she knows, has made a promise to the handsome shepherd Paris. Menelaus is invited to leave as soon as possible for Crete… Analyse du personnage. Reine de Sparte et femme de Mélénas. The work’s formidable success cannot be explained merely by this farcical verve or grand-opera pastiche in the style of Meyerbeer (difficult for a 21st century audience to appreciate); the wealth of melodic creativity, the art of adapting the score to each dramatic situation, the musical balance between distance, emotion, derision and sensuality and the refinement of instrumental inventiveness are all qualities that make La Belle Hélène a success worthy of the operas of “serious” composers, who often despised the genius of Offenbach, a victim of groundless prejudices.

In Nauplia, Orestes, in an atmosphere of jubilation, explains that Venus has placed an amorous lunacy in the heart of the women to avenge the departure of her protégé, Paris. The huge success that greeted La Belle Hélène marks the debut of the “Offenbachiade”, a word allegedly invented by Alphonse Daudet to designate the apogee of the composer’s career.

À Sparte, la belle Hélène attend avec une impatience inquiète la réalisation de la promesse faite par Vénus au beau berger Pâris qui doit recevoir comme récompense l’amour de la plus belle femme du monde.

In Nauplia, Orestes, in an atmosphere of jubilation, explains that Venus has placed an amorous lunacy in the heart of the women to avenge the departure of her protégé, Paris. The cortege of kings advances, coming to open the games. Paris is quickly declared the winner.