Offenbach's Fantasio

In 2017, the Opéra-Comique in Paris breathed new life into Offenbach’s masterpiece Fantasio at the Théâtre du Châtelet, 145 years after its premiere. For this momentous occasion, the illustrious Parisian house calls upon the young stage director Thomas Jolly and his artistic team, the conductor Laurent Campellone, and a cast of fantastic performers—with a marvelous and moving Marianne Crebassa in the title role.

The excellent libretto by Paul de Musset, based on the eponymous play by his brother, the famed poet Alfred, is perfectly set to music by Offenbach, the “Little Mozart of the Champs-Élysées”. It tells the story of Fantasio, a jaded romantic hero with a rebellious cynical streak, who dreams of some great and important event that might save him from languor and disenchantment. The melancholic beauty of the text inspired the composer to write a refined, elegant, and profound score, with a radiantly inventive orchestration and a remarkable dramaturgy—a unique, captivating, tender, and contemplative operatic work.