Seems odd the perfect combination between Devizes’ only theatre, The Wharf, and one of the longest-running performance group, White Horse Opera hasn’t linked before, but they are set to do so in March with a performance of Jacques Offenbach’s Opéra bouffe, La Belle Hélène…..
Okay, this is not exactly true. Barbara Gompels of the White Horse Opera told us many years ago there was a one night show at the Wharf with the opera’s touring show, but this will be the first main opera held at our wonderful theatre here in Devizes, so I’m not totally fibbing!
La Belle Hélène is a comic opera in three acts parodying the story of Helen of Troy’s elopement with Paris, which evoked the Trojan War. The premiere at Paris’s Théâtre des Variétés in 1864 rekindled Offenbach’s operas with his audience, after six years attempting to emulate his success with the risqué satire of Greek mythology, Orphée aux Enfers.
Having been promised the most beautiful woman in the world by Venus, Paris arrives disguised as a shepherd boy with the aim of cashing in that promise. Helene, currently married to Menelaus, wards off his advances. However, when Paris comes to her while she is sleeping she believes it all to be in her dreams so it must therefore “be all fine.”
Do come and see the fireworks that ensue when Menelaus comes home early and discovers the lovers!
Fully staged and sung in English with an orchestra, tickets are now available, and the show runs from Tuesday 11th until Saturday 15th March.
Tickets from Devizes Books and hwww.ticketsource.co.uk/whitehorseopera
Trending….
Katie Hopkins to Reopen Devizes Cinema in May
Picturedrone, the new owners of the old Palace Cinema in Devizes announced today that the cinema will have a grand reopening as early as May,…
Keep reading
Harmony Asia Can Do This
It’s a question I’ve asked Chippenham singer-songwriter Harmony Asia on each rare occasion I catch her for a chat; if she’s planning to capture a…
Keep reading
A Year into a Lib Dem Wiltshire Council; Chatting with Ben Reed
It’s a Friday, just polishing off a big boy breakfast at New Society. Got the window seat; I ponder how beautiful Devizes Market Place looks…
Keep reading
Battle of Bishop’s Cannings Ends in Devizes Defeat
David slew Goliath with a sling and a stone. Bishop’s Cannings Parish Council used evidence, against a group of Devizes Town councillors’ more circumstantial land…
Keep reading
How it Feels for a Bluebeard!
The first time I heard the name Bluebeard and the Desperate Hours, I presumed their sound might be folk or blues inspired. Judging a book…
Keep reading
“Underdog: The Other Other Brontë” at the Rondo Theatre, Larkhall, Bath, March 25th-28th 2026
by Ian Diddams images by Richard Fletcher How many Brontë sisters can you name? Which books did the sisters write between them? Can you name…
Keep reading
7 Hills to Trowbridge’s Old Town Hall
To clear up any confusion, Trowbridge’s old town hall is no longer the town hall, but The Old Town Hall. I have no idea, nor…
Keep reading
Wiltshire Hunt Sabs Stolen Drone Footage Reveals a Beaufont Hunt Kill
Retrieved footage from a stolen drone of the Wiltshire Hunt Saboteurs reveals the Beaufont Hunt making a fox kill earlier this month, and it’s undeniable…
Keep reading
Extended Lineup for CrownFest
It was back in October when we revealed CrownFest at The Crown in Bishop’s Cannings was returning this summer, and January when we last mentioned…
Keep reading
Vox Populi: New Album From Deadlight Dance
The difference between punk and goth is that as a punk you reject society, as a goth society rejects you. Being society lives mostly online…
Keep reading
devizine.com 
One thought on “La Belle Hélène; White Horse Opera’s Debut at The Wharf Theatre”