The Beautiful Helen of Troy (La Belle Hélène) Music by Jacques Offenbach; Book and Lyrics by Ludovic Halévy and Henri Meilhac Premiere: Théâtre des Variétés, Paris, December 17, 1864
One can only imagine how or if operetta would have evolved were it not for the contribution of Jacques Offenbach. It was he who personally encouraged Johann Strauss to turn his waltz talents toward the stage, and it was after seeing his works performed in London that Arthur Sullivan was inspired to write his first operetta. In none of his 100 stage works did Offenbach better capture the licentious spirit of French operetta than in his 1864 La Belle Hélène.
What's a girl to do? Helen, Queen of Sparta, and the most beautiful girl in the world, has been promised as a contest prize to the shepherd Paris, son of the king of Troy. Helen's husband, Menelaus, is conveniently summoned by the gods to leave town, but returns just in time to catch his wife in flagrante delicto with Paris, who has disguised himself as a slave and snuck into her boudoir. Helen is irate at her husband for not letting her know that he was coming home. Angry at Menelaus for spoiling all the fun, Venus casts a plague of immorality over Greece, with husbands and wives walking out on each other in droves. Menelaus summons a grand priest to fix things up—the fashionable priest arrives and relates that Venus will lift the plague if Helen is permitted to join him on a trip to Cythera. With Menelaus wishing her bon voyage, her ship departs—no sooner has it left the dock than the grand priest shuns his costume to reveal Paris. The Trojan War can begin!
