Barkouf, or a Dog in Power
Jacques Offenbach
[ New production ]
Opera bouffe in three acts
Libretto by Eugène Scribe and Henri Boisseaux
Premiered on 24th December 1860 at the Opéra Comique in Paris
Infos
Mulhouse
La Filature
Strasbourg
Opéra
Coproduction with Oper Köln
In collaboration with Boosey & Hawkes and Jean-Christophe Keck
Cast
Musical Director Jacques Lacombe Stage Director Mariame Clément Stage set, costumes Julia Hansen Lighting Philippe Berthomé Rewriting dialogues Mariame Clément, Jean-Luc Vincent Choreography Mathieu Guilhaumon Orchestre symphonique de Mulhouse
Artists
Bababeck, grand vizir Rodolphe Briand The Great Mogul Nicolas Cavallier Saëb, an Officer Patrick Kabongo Kaliboul, a Eunuch Loïc Félix Xaïloum, Balki's lover Stefan Sbonnik Maïma, a young flower vendor Pauline Texier Balkis, an orange vendor Fleur Barron Périzade, Bababeck's daughter Anaïs Yvoz Chœur de l’Opéra national du Rhin
Presentation
To the great relief of the citizens, who have the habit of defenestrating their tyrannical governors – a dog now rules their town. Thanks to this canine, and a young girl who interprets his growling and barking, it seems that the ruler finally has a "human" face...
"A strange piece, which, although set in India, a place of myths and fantasy, constitutes a perpetual mockery of sovereign authority of all ages in all countries," judged the censors in autumn 1860 after reading Eugène Scribe's libretto. If we add the conspiracies against Jacques Offenbach (1819-1880) and the discord among the singers, the circumstances for the premiere of Barkouf were less than ideal. Although the piece was a success, that didn't keep it from fading into obscurity for more than 150 years. So you could call this somewhat of a revival for Offenbach's 200th birthday, produced by the musical director of the Orchestre symphonique de Mulhouse, Jacques Lacombe, and returning stage director Mariame Clément.
In French
Overtitled in French, German
