Video on demand: Les Brigands (The Bandits)

Brigands in search of a new exploit, a Spanish delegation, a massive heist, a not-so-honest cashier, carabinieri who always arrive too late: the ingredients, disguises, twists and turns in Offenbach’s opéra‑bouffe, first performed in 1869 at the Théâtre des Variétés, are so abundant that they make the story utterly extravagant.

But little matter ! Set to Meilhac and Halévy’s vivacious libretto, the composer of La Belle Hélène serves up a hilarious little gem, all the while mocking the financial circles of the Second Empire.

Absent from the Paris Opera for over thirty years, Les Brigands takes the Palais Garnier for the first time by storm in a new production directed by Barrie Kosky.

This aficionado of Offenbach’s music, who sees in this zany comedy a kinship with Dadaism, recreates the rhythm and folly of a joyously amoral society.