J. Offenbach and His Operetta “Beautiful Helen”

Operetta; It is the name given to the lighter, shorter and simpler stage work in terms of the theme, orchestration, librettos and music. Opera Bouffe is a special kind which is designed by J. Offenbach, one of the 19th century French composers. The composer’s operetta “Beautiful Helen” was written in the style of Opera bouffe. The subject is at the beginning of the Trojan War cycle. Throughout history, the character of Helen has been the subject of many narratives from Homer to Sophist Gorgias. The myth of Paris’s abduction of Helen, which has great importance in mythology, is transformed into parodies in this work of Offenbach. In this work, the composer satirized both contemporary society and antiquity. Catchy tunes, humorous as well as extraordinary lyricism, the harmony between music and libretto are the factors that lead the composer to success. In the research conducted by qualitative research method, the partiture of the work is examined. Sources of art history have been researched. It was concluded that there was a perfect harmony between libretto and music, that he was treated meticulously in terms of prosody, and that the orchestration allowed him to hear the libretto first