Sunday, October 3, 2021

Jacques Offenbach, Un mari à la porte (1859)

This is a short, one-act (forty-five minutes) operetta.  I kind of want to know how these things worked.  This was popular in its time, per Wikipedia, but in what context would you perform a one-act operetta?  Was there other entertainment also?  Not that there's anything wrong with a short night out, but the evidence suggests that in general, people wanted something a little more substantial.  Also, on another note, it does feel a little cheep to release it on DVD, let along Blu-Ray, on its own.  Shoulda been a double feature.  OH.  WELL.

Very basic sort of plot where, through contrived circumstances, Forestan goes down a chimney and finds himself in a woman's boudoir.  It turns out she's Suzanne, a newlywed, and she shows up with her friend Rosita, and how are we going to get this dude out of here without him being seen?  Her husband shows up at the door (as per the title), further complicating things.

So there you go.  It's actually pretty impressive how it boils a standard opera bouffe plot down into a shorter piece of work without feeling too abbreviated.  Fun Offenbach music.  What else is there to say, really?

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