Credits:

Michael Alexander Willens

Description:

Two little-known one-act operettas by Offenbach.*The Red Apple* is a short story performed by just three singers. Because it can be performed by a small ensemble, it is a popular work that is frequently staged in Japan. It depicts, through witty music, the commotion that ensues when Catherine (nicknamed Little Apple), a housemaid sent to work for the wealthy Lavastan family, and GustaveLavastans nephewfind themselves entangled in a romantic scandal, as it turns out they were once lovers. The other piece, *On the Volcano*, is a love story between an actress and a soldier set in Dublin during the Napoleonic era. A highlight is the melancholic song sung by the father, who, though he falls in love at first sight with the young actress, steps aside to allow his sons romance to flourish. Though brief, this is another quintessentially Offenbachian, witty work, enriched by sophisticated mu