Title   La Périchole Composer   Jacques Offenbach (1819 - 1880) Librettists   Henri Meilhac (1832 - 1897) and Ludovic Halévy (1834 - 1908) Genre   Opéra-bouffe, comic opera (three acts). First performance   Théâtre des Varietés, Paris, 6 October, 1868. First version (two acts).  25 April, 1874 (Second version, three acts) Time of action   18th century. Place of action   Lima, capital of Peru. A square in Lima A hall in the viceroy's palace a. A dungeon under the palace b. Same place as in first act. Main parts   La Périchole mezzo-soprano     Piquillo tenor     Don Andres de Ribeira bass-baritone     Panatellas comic tenor     Don Pedro de Hinoyosa bass-baritone     Guadalena soprano     Berginella soprano     Mastrilla contralto Prominence of chorus   Large. Orchestra   2 flutes, 1 oboe, 2 clarinets, 1 bassoon, 2 French horns,                2 trumpets, 1 trombone, kettle-drums, percussion, strings. Special demands   None. Full score and orchestral parts   Available. Level   Not difficult Length   3 acts, about 2½ hours. Music   One of Offenbach's best works, full of his characteristic humour: parody (of Donizetti), verbal tricks (au mari-ré, au mari-cal, au mari-ci, au mari-trant), stirring accellerandi, whispered singing, sound-imitation (the clink of metal in the key-ring trio), hiccups (suggesting intoxication) etc.. Furthermore the Spanish rhythms of bolero and seguidilla, an Indian march, etc. Story   La Perichole (ch sounded as k) is a Peruvian street-singer, who, to escape poverty, agrees to become the Spanish viceroy's mistress. She preserves her chastity and travels on (richer than she was) with her jealous but faithful lover Piquillo. The plot is well-designed and still affects and amuses modern audiences. Costumes   Eighteenth-century Spanish (courtiers and town's people) and native Indians.