LA BELLE HELENE

Lyric Opera Of Melbourne presents LA BELLE HELENE Lyric Opera of Melbourne looks to the Gods for its final production of 2009, with Offenbach’s operetta masterpiece La Belle Helene. Directed by Greg Eldridge One of Offenbach’s most beautiful and melodic pieces, La Belle Helene is filled with stunning music, including the classic tenor showpiece Le Judgement de Paris, the moving prima donna aria Amours divins and one of the most famous overtures in popular repertoire. Originally written to mock the Second Empire of Napoleon, this glorious opera bouffe is set in ‘an unlikely Ancient Greece’, where Queen Helen of Sparta – the most beautiful woman in the world – is anxious to hear news of Paris the Trojan Prince who has recently judged a Divine beauty contest. In return for choosing her as the winner, Venus gifts Helen’s heart to the young Prince, much to her husband’s annoyance! Performed by some of Australia’s most talented emerging artists, this new production will make use of an entirely new English adaptation penned by the Director Greg Eldridge and Frederica Cunningham. With plenty of fun to be had gently mocking the institutions of marriage, fidelity and religion, Lyric Opera of Melbourne’s vibrant production of La Belle Helene promises to be full of characters as bright and as colourful as the music! 21, 25, 27, 29 August, 7:30pm 23 August, 3pm Tickets: $48 Full, $38 Concession (+ transaction fee) Bookings: 03 8290 7000 or www.chapeloffchapel.com.au Chapel Off Chapel 12 Little Chapel St Prahran Melways: Map 2L Ref J10