Geneviève de Brabant

"Geneviève de Brabant " is an opéra bouffe, or operetta, by Jacques Offenbach. The plot is based on the medieval legend of Genevieve of Brabant. In English-speaking countries, the most well-known piece of music from the operetta is the "Gendarmes' Duet", from H B Farnie's English adaptation. As well as being a popular performance-piece, it formed the basis for the Marines' hymn.

Performance history

The two-act French libretto was written by Louis-Adolphe Jaime and Etienne Tréfeu, and the opera was first staged at the Théâtre des Bouffes Parisiens, Paris on 19 November, 1859. A new three-act version, revised by Hector-Jonathan Crémieux, was first given at the Théâtre des Menus-Plaisirs, Paris, on 26 December 1867. This was expanded into a five-act version for a production at Théâtre de la Gaîté on 25 February, 1875. The New York premiere was on 22 October, 1868.

Roles

References

Andrew Lamb, " "Geneviève de Brabant" " in "The New Grove Dictionary of Opera", ed. Stanley Sadie (London, 1992) ISBN 0-333-73432-7

External links

*http://www.boosey.com/downloads/Genevieve1859.pdf Libretto of the original two-act version as originally submitted for censorship.