- Jacques Offenbach
Ba-Ta-Clan (1855)
(A Masquerade in One Act)- G Schirmer Inc (World)
G. Schirmer controls the rights in the English translation by Ian Strasfogel for this work but does not supply orchestral materials.
- 45 min
- Libretto by Ludovic Halévy. Adapted and translated into English by Ian Strasfogel.
- English, French
Programme Note
Synopsis
The action is set in the Chinese state of Che-I-Nor, whose national anthem is the Ba-Ta-Clan. The Chief of the Imperial Guard, Ko-Ko-Ri-Ko, is conspiring to dethrone the King, Fe-Ni-Han. Ko-Ko-Ri-Ko tells the King that his supporters Fe-An-Ich-Ton and Ke-Ki-Ka-Ko are in fact traitors and persuades him to order their execution. However, when it turns out that Fe-An-Ich-Ton and Ke-Ki-Ka-Ko are in fact Parisians, Fe-Ni-Han reveals himself also to be a Frenchman and agrees to spare them. Fe-Ni-Han decides to return to France with Fe-An-Ich-Ton and Ke-Ki-Ka-Ko and hands his crown to Ko-Ko-Ri-Ko, who in the meantime has admitted that he too is French.