Lost gem revived after 140 years - New Sussex Opera

Spokeswoman Ruth Loughton said: “Full of toe-tapping tunes and with a hilarious new translation specially commissioned by New Sussex Opera, Belle Lurette is a little-known gem, written at the very end of the composer’s life in 1880. Amazingly it hasn’t been performed in this country for nearly 140 years. We think it’s well worth it. Belle Lurette follows two recent Offenbach productions by New Sussex Opera which both received fantastic reviews in the press. The New Sussex Opera chorus is joined by top professional opera singers and with an orchestra conducted by Toby Purser while David Foster directs. It is fully staged and in costume. It will be touring three venues in Sussex with a final performance in London. Our principals include Paul Featherstone, Robin Bailey, Michael Ferguson, Giles Davies, Kristin Finnigan, Georgina Stalbow, Cameron Mitchell, Tristan Stocks and Rebecca Hughes.”

Belle Lurette has not been staged in the UK for 140 years. Amazingly, Offenbach wrote it at the same time as he was writing The Tales of Hoffmann, as he was dying. The orchestration was completed by Delibes and it had its first performance a month after he died.