Ba-ta-clan

"Ba-ta-clan" is a "chinoiserie musicale", or operetta, in one act by Jacques Offenbach to an original French libretto by Ludovic Halévy. It was first performed at Théâtre des Bouffes Parisiens, Paris, on 29 December 1855. The operetta uses set numbers and spoken dialogue and runs about one hour.

"Ba-ta-clan" was Offenbach's first big hit. The witty piece satirised everything from contemporary politics to grand opera conventions. It was frequently revived in Paris, London and New York for decades, and Offenbach eventually expanded it as a full-length musical with a cast of eleven. 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. [http://www.musicals101.com/operetta.htm] In 1858, this law was changed, and Offenbach was able to offer full-length works, beginning with "Orpheus in the Underworld".

Roles

ynopsis

Two French ex-patriates in "Che-i-noor," a distant Chinese-speaking kingdom, become embroiled in a plot to overthrow the king. After a lot of difficulty communicating, a bit of dancing and revolutionary singing, and a little conjugation, all ends happily.

elected recordings

References

* [http://www.boosey.com/pages/opera/moredetails.asp?musicid=17223 Information about the operetta]
* [http://www.opera-opera.com.au/ploto.htm Plot summaries to several Offenbach operettas]