Parisian life

Offenbach was at the height of his fame when he wrote this delightful and entertaining portrayal of Parisian society. With a dizzying libretto by the duo Meilhac and Halévy, he composed a delightful ode to the festive pleasures of his time. The Palazzetto Bru Zane and its members offer the discovery of the original version of La Vie Parisienne as imagined by its author in 1866. The complete orchestral material of the Orchestre du Palais-Royal has recently been unearthed and contains the music created on the evening of the premiere, as well as precious performance indications added while the composer was at work. Two new acts feature completely new music. The pre-censorship libretto and forgotten variants offer a different take on some of the most famous arias. A La Vie Parisienne that has never been performed before, but which retains the charm and presence of the pages that made its reputation. A fine team of French singers sets Offenbach's masterpiece alight, here enlivened by the colours and elegance of Christian Lacroix.

ACT ONE
The Gare de l’Ouest in Paris.
Raoul de Gardefeu and Bobinet, two young Parisian
dandies, discover that they have both been two-timed
by the demi-mondaine Métella; tired of cocottes, they
decide to go back to courting society ladies. At that
very moment, Gardefeu spots a Danish baroness,
who has just arrived in Paris with her husband. He
pretends to be a guide attached to the Grand-Hôtel
in order to try to seduce her.
ACT TWO
A salon in Gardefeu’s apartment.
Gardefeu returns home with the Baron and Baroness
Gondremarck, who believe themselves to be in an
annexe of the Grand-Hôtel. The Baron discreetly
asks him to arrange a meeting with a woman who
has been recommended to him, and whose name
is... Métella. While waiting for this rendezvous, he
insists on having a table d’hôte dinner; Gardefeu
improvises the meal with the help of his bootmaker
Frick and the glovemaker Gabrielle, who will play the
roles of wealthy guests. At dinner time, Frick arrives
disguised as a major and Gabrielle as the widow of a
colonel. They are accompanied by many German and
Marseillais friends.
ACT THREE
The grand salon of the Quimper-Karadec residence.
In the townhouse of his absent aunt Madame de
Quimper-Karadec, Bobinet organises the final
details of a supposed all-night ball, intended to keep
the Baron away from his wife and thus leave the
field clear for Gardefeu. The servants, disguised as
socialites, take it in turns to entertain the Baron; he
is particularly delighted by the seductive behaviour of
the chambermaid, Pauline. Bobinet arrives dressed
as a Swiss admiral and the company sits down to dine
just in time for the entrance of the merry bootmakers
and glovemakers, also in fancy dress.
ACT FOUR
The same place, the next day.
On returning home, Madame de Quimper-Karadec
and her niece Madame de Folle-Verdure find Baron
Gondremarck locked in a bedroom. To save the
situation, Pauline introduces him as her fiancé, Jean
the coachman, with whom she has been out on the
town. Still unaware of where he really is, the Baron
goes out to get ready for a dinner party to which he
and his wife are invited – in fact, to the same ladies’
house. Enter the Baroness, Bobinet and Gardefeu.
The Danish aristocrat informs everyone that the
previous day she received a letter from a certain
Métella, revealing the trap set for her by the two
friends and offering to take her place in his bedroom.
So it was not she who spent the night with Gardefeu!
When the Baron joins them, the masks come off to
general amazement and the house is invaded by the
bootmakers, still dancing the frenzied galop of the
night before.
ACT FIVE
A private room in a restaurant.
Bobinet and Gardefeu are invited to a fancy-dress ball
given by a rich Brazilian in a fashionable restaurant.
Dejected by his failure, Gardefeu is now nostalgic
for cocottes. Mesdames de Quimper-Karadec and
Folle-Verdure appear, along with the Baroness, all of
them masked. Métella has summoned the Baroness
to take her place... next to Gondremarck. When
the latter appears, his wife makes him promise to
return to Copenhagen the next day. The final chorus
celebrates general forgiveness and the wild gaiety of
Paris