Operettas on the piano

The popularity of the opéra-bouffe in late-nineteenth-century Europe is easily gauged by its extraordinary diffusion on the opera stage, both in France and abroad. Another indication of its remarkable success is the enormous quantity of transcriptions offered by music publishers.

Primarily intended for the piano, these scores allowed the imaginative melodies of Hervé, Offenbach, and their successors to be brought to the salons. Focusing on a single aria or assembling key moments from the operas in an anthology, these instrumental transcriptions could also be used to accompany social dances, such as the quadrille.