La belle Hélène
In his 1980 biography of Offenbach, Peter Gammond writes that the music of "La belle Hélène" is "refined and charming and shows the most Viennese influence". He adds that although it lacks "hit" tunes, it is a cohesive and balanced score, with excellent songs for Helen. But Alexander Faris (1981) writes, "It would be difficult to name an operetta with more good tunes than "La belle Hélène" (although "Die Fledermaus" would be a strong contender)". He comments that in this score Offenbach's harmony became more chromatic than it had been in earlier works, and foreshadowed some of Tchaikovsky's harmonic effects. Both writers regard the music more highly than did Neville Cardus, who wrote of this score that Offenbach was not fit for company with Johann Strauss, Auber and Sullivan. More recently, Rodney Milnes, reviewing the 2000 Châtelet production, wrote, "The whole show is as innocently filthy as only the French can manage. And it is musically superb." In his history of operetta (2003), Richard Traubner writes, ""La belle Hélène" is more than an elaborate copy of "Orphée aux enfers". It transcends the former to even higher Olympian heights in the operetta canon. Its finales are funnier, more elaborate, and involve an even greater use of the chorus; the orchestrations are richer, the tunes more plentiful, and there is a waltz of great grace and beauty in Act II".