Les Brigands

by Jacques Offenbach (1819 - 1880).
Opéra bouffe in three acts. 1869.

Libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy.
First performance at the Théâtre des Variétés, Paris, on 10th December 1869.

As the Second Empire came to an end, Offenbach won great success with his operetta containing witty satire on elements in contemporary society.

Fragoletto, captured by Italian brigands, falls in love with their leader's daughter and, to prove himself, becomes involved in the interception of marriage plans between the Princess of Granada and the Prince of Mantua. The brigand chief substitutes his daughter's portrait for that of the Princess and provides his own wedding delegation to Mantua. Eventually matters are sorted out, the brigands revealed and pardoned, and Fragoletto married to the chief brigand's daughter.