Le Papillon (ballet)

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Le Papillon ( The Butterfly ) is a ballet pantomime in two acts by Marie Taglioni ( choreography ) and Vernoy de Saint Georges ( libretto ). Jacques Offenbach composed the music. The premiere was on November 26, 1860 in the Paris Opera .

people

Emma Livry in Le Papillon
  • Hamza, an evil fairy who is no longer very fresh
  • Farfalla, your maid
  • Djalma, a prince who desires Farfalla
  • The emir, Farfalla's father
  • Patimate, gardener at Hamza
  • Djalma's teacher and nephew of the emir
  • a little leprechaun
  • four more fairies
  • a torchbearer
  • and numerous butterflies

action

The ballet is playing in the Orient at 1001 nights.

first act

First picture: In Hamza's castle

It's been a long, long time since the now aging fairy Hamza stole the emir's daughter Farfalla. Farfalla now has to serve Hamza as a maid without her knowing who she actually is. When Hamza looks at herself in the mirror, all she wants is to be young again. But this wish can only come true through a kiss from a young prince. However, one cannot be found far and wide. Why shouldn't she try again what used to work so easily - conjuring? The wand is still there. Only recently she has been using it almost exclusively as a walking aid.

The magic still seems to work. To the sound of the hunting horns, Prince Djalma approaches with his entourage, including his tutor. Everyone gathers around the table, enjoying the sumptuous feast and especially the delicious table wine. The head of house believes he recognizes the once stolen princess in Farfalla.

Hamza's strategy doesn't seem to be working; for when a young lad is faced with the choice of taking a rickety old woman or a dainty boy, then of course he turns to the latter. After dancing a mazurka with her, he thanks with a passionate kiss. The jealous Hamza tries to hit her maid with her magical crutch, but accidentally hits the gardener.

Because Hamza liked the wine the most, she begins to nod off. But Farfalla is tipsy too. Exuberantly she prances around her mistress like a butterfly and tickles her nose with a flower so that she should sneeze. However, the old fairy doesn't understand jokes; she gets enraged, lures Farfalla into a box and then throws her magical cane over it. The box opens again and a beautiful butterfly climbs out. Soon butterflies are fluttering into the room from everywhere: through the open door, through the windows and even through the fireplace. They swarm around the wicked old fairy and chase her out of her own house.

Second picture: In a forest clearing

After the prince and his court have left Hamza's castle, the group rested in a clearing in the forest. Shortly afterwards, the swarm of butterflies also appears there. A few ladies-in-waiting hunt the insects to pass the time. One of the ladies gives her booty to the prince. When he tries to pin the butterfly on a tree, the butterfly suddenly turns into a crying girl. The prince freezes in shock at the young lady's beauty. He quickly pulls the spit out of her. But she sinks to the floor passed out. When Djalma takes a closer look at the transformed butterfly, he recognizes him as his dance partner yesterday. But when the spirits awaken in this again, she flutters away with her playmates.

In the meantime, Hamza and her gardener have also arrived in the forest clearing. Thanks to her magical crutch, she is able to locate her maid between the trees and catch her with a net. When she leaves her magic wand unattended for a moment, Patimate uses the opportunity to free the prisoner with its help. Shortly afterwards he also touches his mistress with the crutch, who immediately freezes in paralysis. All the butterflies hurry up and wrap the net, which was actually intended for Farfalla, around the old witch. Meanwhile, Patimate goes to Djalma and reveals Farfalla's true identity to him. However, he forgot to take his wand with him. This has not gone unnoticed by a little goblin. He grabs it and hurries away with it.

Second act

First picture: In the palace of the emir

Without her miracle crutch, Hamza is powerless. She is charged with her crime and is due to be sent to prison. But just at this moment the little goblin reappears and brings back the stolen wand.

A golden carriage can be seen arriving in front of the palace. Farfalla emerges from her. Staggering with happiness, Prince Djalma approaches her and wants to hug her. To his surprise, however, Farfalla rejects him. She has not forgotten how he recently tried to stick her on a tree as a butterfly. Djalma doesn't give up, however. He tries to approach her again and kiss her. But Hamza has been waiting for this opportunity. At lightning speed she throws herself in between and receives the kiss that Farfalla was intended to receive. The miracle expected by Hamza happens: She transforms into a beautiful young girl.

Prince Djalma cannot believe that he is suddenly surrounded by two beautiful women. But actually he just longs for Farfalla. To make her jealous, he appears to court the rejuvenated witch. His plan works: Farfalla throws himself into his arms. But now Hamza is enraged again. She grabs her wand and turns Farfalla into a butterfly again. But that's not all: She puts the prince into an artificial coma, and then she also has the palace of the emir transformed into a park.

Second picture: Park

Djalma wakes up. Again he sees himself surrounded by a flock of butterflies, with his coveted Farfalla in the center. But already the evil Hamza appears again. She has brought her four sisters, all of them seasoned fairies, to reinforce them. She wants to boast before them what a great conquest she has made. She secretly dreams of marrying the prince. For the dress rehearsal planned by her, she has already brought a band made up of nothing but golden harps and a torchbearer. Desperate Farfalla is drawn to the light of the torch. When her wings start to burn, the magic dissolves: she takes on her human form again and throws herself into the arms of the overjoyed prince.

Hamza's sisters take the side of the young couple. You break the magic stick. With combined forces they manage to transform the evil Hamza into a statue. Hamza's gala is not affected. Farfalla has already had an eye on them. She enthusiastically slips into the festive clothes. Nothing stands in the way of getting married to Djalma.

background

Offenbach's operettas , which he brought out in his own Parisian theater Bouffes-Parisiens , not only mocked the social life of the Second Empire, but also exposed the pathos of the great operas by Meyerbeer and Halévy at their hallmark Grand Opéra. How much the audience must have been amazed when the name Offenbach appeared at this venue in 1860, but not in connection with an operetta or even an opera, but with a ballet. Le Papillon is the only work of this genre that Offenbach wrote himself for the stage and for which he only used his own compositions. The best-known number from it is the Sonnenstrahlwalzer (Valse de Rayon), which also appears in a slightly different form in his less successful opera Die Rheinnixen .

The premiere turned out to be a real triumph. Not only Offenbach's lively music played a part in this, but also the skills of the young ballerina Emma Livry , who was sponsored by the choreographer Marie Taglioni . Emma Lyvri was granted only a short career: in a tragic accident on stage, her ballet dress caught fire. She died from the burns.

Sound carrier

  • Offenbach: Le Papillon, London Symphony Orchestra, Richard Bonynge, Decca SXL 6588

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Web links

Commons : Le Papillon  - Collection of images, videos and audio files