Offenbach - Keck
Les Deux aveugles (OEK critical edition) (1855)
Bouffonnerie musicale in one act
Libretto by Jules Moinaux; new German version; new English version by Richard Duployen (F,G,E)
Scoring
2T,actors;
2(II=picc).1.2.1-2.2.1.0-timp.perc-strings;
Viennese orchestration: 2.2.2.2-4.2.3.0-timp.perc-strings.
Abbreviations (PDF).
Territory
This work is available from Boosey & Hawkes for the world.
World Premiere
7/5/1855
Salle Marigny, Paris
Company: unknown
Roles
| PATACHON | Lyric Tenor |
| GIRAFFIER | Buffo Tenor |
| Passers-by |
Time and Place
A bridge in Paris, 19th century
Synopsis
Two beggars compete for the desired place on the bridge. Neither of them wants competition, for the charity business runs badly. To impress each other, they fabricate the wildest stories. In order to get hold of the few pennies dropped by the passers-by, the blind are able to see again. The contest, accompanied by singing, develops into a grotesque musiquette, whose tone lies half-way between a Beckett-like sense of the comic and a melancholy reminiscent of Chaplin.
Moods
Comic
Subjects
Relationships
