Barbe-Bleue (Bluebeard; Blaubart): Overture

Jacques Offenbach (1819-1880) wrote Barbe-bleue (Bluebeard, Eng.; Blaubart, Ger.) while travelling in 1865. An op?ra bouffe in three acts, with a French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Hal?vy based on Charles Perrault's 1697 story, it relates the tale of many wives thought dead, mistaken identities, attempted murder, love, and marriage. As Offenbach seldom wrote overtures, thinking them a waste of time as he sought to create theater, not a concert atmosphere, most of Offenbach's overtures were written by Fritz Hoffmann, which is the case for this operetta. Instrumentation: 1+Picc.2.2.2: 4.2.3.0: Timp.perc(2): Str (9-8-7-6-5 in set).