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La Belle Hélène: Komische Oper Berlin

About the Event

Monty Python à la française – that’s Jacques Offenbach, the father of operetta, and master of satirical musical theater.

Exactly 150 years ago, one of his most influential works, La Belle Hélène, caused a sensation in Paris. In an opulent staging of this hilarious classical travesty, Barrie Kosky demonstrates a striking ability to have fun, which is as much a mark of the Komische Oper ensemble as the fantastic quality of their voices.

Sparta isn't what it used to be. The quality of the sacrificial offerings leaves a lot to be desired, and among the good old gods only Venus, the goddess of love, still enjoys universal popularity. Queen Hélène, the diva who has submitted to fate, has become terribly bored with her husband Menelaus, when suddenly a mysterious and outrageously handsome shepherd sweeps into town…

In this operetta, Jacques Offenbach employs wit and frivolous sensuality to depict a society heading straight towards the abyss — while clutching a glass of champagne along the way. The performance is highly charged and grandiose, with melodies which, once heard, will long remain in the mind.

Opéra‐bouffe in three acts (1864). Libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halèvy. German version by Simon Werle.

Cast / Production

Henrik Nánási, musical direction
Barrie Kosky, staging
Otto Pichler, choreography
Rufus Didwiszus, stage design
Buki Shiff, costume design
Johanna Wall, dramaturgy
David Cavelius, chorus
Diego Leetz, lighting design

Hélène: Nicole Chevalier
Paris: Tansel Akzeybek
Menelaus: Peter Renz
Orest: Karolina Gumos
Calchas: Stefan Sevenich
Agamemnon: Christian Grygas
Ajax I: Tom Erik Lie
Ajax II: Philipp Meierhöfer
Achilles: Uwe Schönbeck
Bacchis: Hakan T. Aslan
Little Dove: Karlheinz Oettel

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