Themes from "La Belle Hélène"
Jacques Offenbach (arr. Jim Mahaffey)
General Info
Year: 1864 / 1997
Duration: c. 4:00
Difficulty: III (see Ratings for explanation)
Original Medium: Orchestra
Publisher: Southern Music
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $140.00 | Score Only (print) - $16.00
Instrumentation
Full Score
C Piccolo
Flute
Oboe
Bassoon
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Trumpet I-II-III
Horn in F
Trombone I-II-III
Euphonium
Tuba
Timpani
Percussion, including:
- Bass Drum
- Bells
- Crash Cymbals
- Snare Drum
- Triangle
- Xylophone
Errata
None discovered thus far.
Program Notes
La Belle Hélène, produced in 1864, is among the greatest of Offenbach’s hits for the stage and a favorite throughout Europe. The story is a delightful satire of the ancient Greek myth of Helen of Troy, the beautiful daughter of the god Zeus and the mortal woman Leda, and a central figure in the Trojan War. This story provided Offenbach a vehicle for broad swipes at French politics and institutions, capturing to perfection the foolishness of the day.
During the Viennese run of the operetta, Edmund Hansch expanded the brief first act orchestra prelude into a full-length overture. This high-spirited arrangement by Jim Mahaffey is based on several themes featured in the overture.
- Program Note from publisher
Media
(Needed - please join the WRP if you can help.)
State Ratings
- Alabama: Class B
- Georgia: III
- Tennessee: IV
Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
- University of North Dakota (Grand Forks) University Band (James Popejoy, conductor) - 7 March 2023
- Kansas Wesleyan University (Salina) Wind Ensemble (Carl Rowles, conductor) – 22 November 2017
- Oakwood High School (Dayton, Ohio) Band – 27 March 2008
Works for Winds by This Composer
Adaptable Music
- The Can-Can (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Thorp) (1858/2008)
All Wind Works
- Ballet Parisian (arr. Bender) (1938/1993
- Ballet Parisien (arr. Isaac) (1953)
- Barcarolle
- The Can-Can (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Thorp) (1858/2008)
- Drum Major's Daughter, The (arr. Odom) (1879/1974)
- Galop (arr. Bourgeois) (1859/2001)
- Infernal Galop (arr. VanDuren) (1858/2019)
- La Belle Hélène Overture (arr. Odom) (1864/1978)
- La Vie Parisienne (arr. Singleton) (2004)
- Le Can (arr. Whitcomb) (1858)
- Les Contes d'Hoffmann (arr. Safranek) (1880/1910)
- Madame Favart Overture
- Orpheus in the Underworld Overture (arr Binder) (arr. Binder, ed. McAlister) (1858/2004)
- Orpheus in the Underworld (tr. Nefs) (1858/2019)
- Orpheus in the Underworld Overture (arr Odom) (arr. Odom) (1858/1984)
- Orpheus in the Underworld Overture (arr. Lake and Kent) (1858/1946)
- Overture to "La Vie Parisienne" (arr. Singleton) (1866/2004)
- Overture to "Voyage to the Moon" (trans. Bourgeois) (1875/2017)
- Portraits from La Périchole
- Tales of Hoffman (arr. Safranek). See: Les Contes d'Hoffmann
- Themes from "La Belle Hélène" (arr. Mahaffey) (1864/1997)
- Themes from Offenbach (arr. Johnson) (1959)
Resources
- La Belle Hélène, Wikipedia Accessed 21 November 2017