About the work
Le pont des soupirs is an operetta by Jacques Offenbach, with a libretto by Hector Crémieux and Ludovic Halévy. The original one-act version premiered on 23 March 1861 at the Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens in Paris; an expanded four-act version followed at the Théâtre des Variétés in 1868.
Plot
In Venice in 1321, the Doge Cornarini secretly returns from war to test his wife Catarina's fidelity. Entanglements with rivals and spies lead to his arrest, but a letter from the fleet justifies his tactical retreat and clears his name; a closing duel decides who is the rightful Doge.
Cultural significance
The work was Offenbach's third full-length stage piece and quickly spread beyond Paris, reaching Vienna, Berlin, Budapest, Brussels, London, New York and Buenos Aires among other cities. Its title is a historical anachronism, since the Bridge of Sighs after which it is named did not yet exist in 1321.