Barkouf
[3] Having found success with one-act pieces and the longer works at the Bouffes-Parisiens, Barkouf was Offenbach's first attempt to enter the repertoire of one of the major Paris operas houses, the Opéra-Comique, which was to culminate in Les Contes d'Hoffmann in 1881.
[4] The new head of the Opéra-Comique, Alfred Beaumont, took up post in June 1860 and hoped to deploy Offenbach's burgeoning fame by coupling him with the famous librettist Eugene Scribe.
[5] The latter had a libretto sketched out on the subject which was intended for Clapisson, as a vehicle for Delphine Ugalde, and Scribe's younger collaborator Boisseaux set to work to complete the elder man's plan.
By mid-August the Paris papers had announced that the work (at that point called Le Sultan Barkouf) had been cast and rehearsals had begun.
[4] There followed problems with the censor, which while noting that the "strange" piece took place in a land of fantasy and make-believe, objected to the reference that the vice-roys of Lahore were being defenestrated and banned the opera.
[6] Along with Scudo and Duchene, Berlioz was especially critical, attacking Offenbach's craftsmanship and questioning the 'twisted' minds of 'certain musicians',[7] and the introduction of 'bouffe' elements at the Opéra-Comique while stating that he never set foot in such theatres.
[6] In his Dictionnaire des opéras of 1869, Félix Clément noted the light and ingenious construction of two or three choral movements, but was otherwise disappointed by the lack of originality shown by the composer.
[10] Offenbach had gained certain respect from his peers, so long as he stayed in the genre of the Bouffes-Parisiens, but in the score of Barkouf he wrote in a more complex vein, with modern harmonies and complicated part-writing while remaining with the spirit of opéra-bouffe.
He is a widower and already a bit older, but imagines himself to be attractive and yearns for the day when, having married off his unattractive daughter Périzade, he will be able to devote himself entirely to a life as a bachelor.
Maïma also expresses her worries, and tells Balkis about the sad loss of her beloved, Saëb, and of her faithful dog, Barkouf, who were both abducted some time ago by army recruiters.
In this way, the exploited and tormented population obtains some regular breathing space, but with the result that the successor appointed by the Great Mogul usually rules the province in an even more draconian manner than his predecessor.
Among the insurgents is, as presumed, Xaïloum, who took out his anger by demolishing Bababeck's residence and therefore, upon the Great Mogul's arrival in the rebellious city, has to hide from the militia.
Maïma is able to allay his concern that Barkouf will immediately tear her to pieces, for years earlier they were the best of friends, and he literally ate out of her hand.
To Bababeck's satisfaction, and to the astonishment of the court, the dog becomes delirious with joy at the sight of her and instead of attacking her, indulges in demonstrations of love toward his former mistress.
Barkouf revokes the previously granted consent for Saëb and Périzade's wedding – his fierce barking allows no doubt, and Maïma translates it accordingly.
Simultaneously, contact is established with the Tatars who are encamped before the city, which has become easy prey after the Great Mogul's withdrawal of the military to take part in a foray in another province.
