Mesdames de la Halle

• Madame Poiretapée (tenor, baritone)
• Madame Madou (tenor, baritone)
• Madame Beurrefondu (tenor, baritone)
• Raflafla ( Buffotenor )
• Le commissaire ( bass)
• Ciboulette (soprano )
• Croûte -au -pot (mezzo- soprano)

Mesdames de la Halle (AKA French, German " The ladies of the Hall ", " The ladies from the state ," " The ladies on the market" ) is a opérette - bouffe in one act by Jacques Offenbach (music ), with a libretto by Armand Lapointe. The premiere took place in the carnival of 1858 on March 3, at the Théâtre des Bouffes place in Paris. In contrast to previous pieces Offenbach procured for Mesdames de la Halle, a performance full privilege that no restrictions on the number of performers more imposed upon him, and the use of choirs allowed. Also the piece in comparison with its buffo style and the excessive game coincided with gender roles from the series (half of the games are a travesty roles).

Action

Scene of the action are the halls, a bustling town square in central Paris. The more mature vegetable traders Beurrefonue and Madou be delighted by the Drum Major Raflafla who is looking for a wealthy game, but have no interest in him. Your amorous attention is the young chef Croûte -au -pot, which in turn is in love with the beautiful fruit dealer ciboulette. But there's dive with the fish seller Madame Poiretapée on another market woman, which - has a crush on the preppy Koch - despite asked to show austerity. The scene evolves chaotically, it comes to removal by police. To marry Croûte -au -pot and decide ciboulette, what evokes the unwillingness of Poiretapée.

Finally, and accompanied by some of fainting, it turns out that the orphan ciboulette in truth the daughter of Raflafla and Poiretapée is. A wedding can take place now, and also Ciboulettes parents give, rather inevitably, their marital fate.

Performance history and reception

After the Paris premiere in 1858 Mesdames de la Halle was a popular part of the Théâtre des Bouffes Bühnenrepertoirs until the "rise " managed in the Opéra -Comique in 1940. The piece was quickly exported to countries such as Germany (1859, 1867, Kroll's Theatre ), Vienna ( 1861-62, Treumann theater, Carltheater ), Hungary (1861, 1863, Nemzeti Színház, Budai Népszínház ) and London (1865, Oxford Music Hall ).

This led to various translations, which are not always doing the operetta well. While the French-language premiere in Vienna in 1861 was accompanied by " Bouffes on tour" nor the applause of the press, criticism especially at the apparently clumsy implementation ( German text by Alois Berla ) were three quarters of a year later loudly for the next showing. The actors (including Johann Nestroy ) got away scot-free no.

" The before yesterday came to the performance operetta: " The ladies from the state " ( Mesdames de la Halle ) of Offenbach has harmed the Localisirung and affects is hoped success. The Lerchenfelderstraße Maurer brush verklext the French coloring and exiled with his ultra plastic bluntness of the slight tinge tändelnder frivolity. [ ... ] The [ musical ] representation did little to raise the whole case, at least enough Nestroy, the other in toilet for good was nothing more than the janitor [ ... ]. "

The press agreed: " to parody Offenbach'sche operettas by text and music, is one of the favorite things to this stage [ ... ] The Berla'sche text is settled some grotesque absurdities, matt. The fairly unchanged music goes beyond the vocal and Krähkräfte of the members [ ... ] The Publicum behaved from beginning to end passive. "

In Hungary, the first " Bouffes on tour" version was given subsequently was led also to translations (about Mihály Havi ). 1865 there was a successful performance in London's Oxford Music Hall, which seemed to have but does not cause a translation into English.

Upcoming Performances of Mesdames de la Halle found among others in 2011 at the Opera House Zurich, and in 2012 at the Opéra de Lyon.

Context

Offenbach's operettas are to be understood against the background of bourgeois, patriarchal morality and the corresponding value system of art, and especially the cross-dressing comedy Mesdames de la Halle cleverly plays with the planes of the ( un) Sittsamkeiten. Siegfried Kracauer called the piece a satire " hergebrachter Familienrührstücke " and declared Offenbach (such as the mixing of a military march with a children's melody ) disenchanted in his music with the help of various details " grand opera ". Also, the use of quotes or the Pastiche provides cross-references to works of " high art " here. It can be found in the libretto, among other references to Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Molière's Le Misanthrope or Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro.

Mesdames de la Halle amused, especially by the aspect of cross-dressing. The three titles heroines were played by men, while the part of the young man they desired was a trouser role. The lovesick Drum Major Raflafla remained male occupied. So the story was robbed again found family and young love their bourgeois- romantic moods and clarifies the criticism of the sake of appearances. The piece end yielded two couples united in marriage, which, under the mask were apparently mixed gender but of same nature.

Playing with gender roles has lost none of its popularity and relevance, and has been increasing since the advent of second wave feminism in the 60's also more and more about basic gender and equality issues. Comedies like La Cage aux Folles, Hairspray, Victor / Victoria, or Tootsie follow Offenbach in the satirical tradition, and his moral critique of Mesdames de la Halle is about in Irma la Douce directly quoted: Again, what is happening in the halls will take place, the side streets plenty of brothels and prostitutes offered; also here the ladies are scolding alarm dissipated by the authorities.

Offenbach attacked preferably morality theater topics such as the role of money, marriage and the desire for, and confronted them with civil license. The characters in Mesdames de la Halle is bluntly controlled by these aspects: Have Nothing Raflafla feigns pleasure before to get money, the market women give themselves a prude, while actually behind covet the Junkkoch, this is driven by his own lust for ciboulette, illegitimate parenthood comes to light, to ultimately end in played desirable marriage, and even the casting of roles gives the appearance of gender conformity. Offenbach made ​​use of this grotesque exaggeration to move middle class values ​​and Staatsbeamtentum into banality.

In this context, the audience of an operetta is worth considering, because it was not located at about the broad civic center that wanted to spend a fun evening and self-critical. In 1850, offered the young operetta raunchy and spicy entertainment which aimed at -capable, male audience. According upscale bourgeoisie, nobility, and influential leaders were well-maintained guest Offenbach, accompanied by concubines or wives who definitely recognized work topics of one's state in exaggerated disguise of a working-class background piece.