The students of Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School will perform Offenbach operetta March 28-30 (photo by Margo Drucker)
LA BELLE HÉLÈNE
Concert Hall at Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School
100 Amsterdam Ave.
March 28-30, students $15, adults $25
212-496-0700 ext228
www.laguardiahs.org
In December 1864, Jacques Offenbach’s operetta, La belle Hélène (“The Beautiful Helen”), premiered in Paris, a playful romp through the Homeric story of Helen and the Trojan War and Greek mythology. The three-act opéra bouffe, with lyrics by Henry de Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, features such characters as Agamemnon, Menelaus, Paris, Orestes, Achilles, Bacchis, and Ajax I and II. This weekend, the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts will present La belle Hélène as its annual opera, in an English-language version by Geoffrey Dunn, conducted by Lucinda Santiago, directed by Mary Ann Swerdfeger, and choreographed by Mary Brienza. Performances take place in the Concert Hall on March 28 at 7:30, March 29 at 2:00 and 7:30, and March 30 at 2:00; tickets are $15 for students and $25 for adults.