About the work
La princesse de Trébizonde is an opéra bouffe by Jacques Offenbach, with a libretto by Charles Nuitter and Étienne Tréfeu. Its original two-act version premiered on 31 July 1869 in Baden-Baden; the now-standard three-act version followed shortly afterwards for Paris.
Plot
Fairground showman Cabriolo wins a castle in a lottery. After accidentally damaging a wax figure, his daughter Zanetta steps in herself as the 'Princess of Trebizonde' and falls for the young Prince Raphael. His father drops his objections to the match once he learns that he himself once married a circus performer.
Cultural significance
Despite its finely wrought score, the work remains one of Offenbach's more rarely performed stage pieces; its Baden-Baden premiere venue revived it in 2015, and a 2023 recording with the London Philharmonic Orchestra under Paul Daniel appeared on the Opera Rara label.