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Operetta is often considered light in mood and subject matter, but for its summer show, Lyric Theatre is staging a tale of jealousy, infidelity, hubris, and the face that launched a thousand ships. And also lots of people wearing togas. Yep, it's all the stuff of a Greek epic.
Of course, even the start of the Trojan War can have a lighter side, as Jacques Offenbach demonstrates with his high-spirited, witty farce, La Belle Helene, which Lyric Theatre will present in downtown San Jose, June 2129. La Belle Helene is far more of a bacchanalia than a Greek tragedy—in fact, it actually features a bacchanalia.
This light-hearted tale about Helen of Troy looks in on the aftermath of a fateful decision. Faced with the unenviable task of choosing whom among the three goddesses Juno, Minerva and Venus was the most beautiful, Prince Paris made his choice according to which goddess' bribe was most attractive: Venus' offer of the love of the most beautiful woman in the world—namely Helen of Troy. Of course, Helen's husband, Menelaus, doesn't prove so keen on the idea. He doesn't bow to Venus' will, and as everyone knows by now, crossing the gods is never a smart thing to do.
In La Belle Helene, Offenbach spoofs the great Greek myths, but as in most farces, the story is usually about more than just the story. When the composer wrote the operetta in the early 1860s, it was meant to poke fun at the reign of Emperor Napoleon III. Though political satire never goes out of fashion—and strangely, the same jokes always seem to apply—these days, this sweeping and very silly epic is strictly for fun. Bacchus would be proud.
Lyric Theatre presents "La Belle Helene" June 2129 at the Montgomery Theatre, Market and San Carlos streets, San Jose. Tickets are $20$24. For more information, call 408.986.1455 or www.lyrictheatre.com.
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