Le voyage dans la lune (operetta) but due to the need to raise the necessary money he did not take up the project. Eventually Albert Vizentini, the new directeur of the Gaîté, took up the idea, and Offenbach's contribution was limited to that of composer. Albert Vanloo and Eugène Leterrier, in association with Arnold Mortier (columnist at Figaro), wrote the libretto. They were hoping for a repeat of the success of the novels of Jules Verne (another, the novel "Le Tour du monde en quatre-vingt jours", had been adapted for the stage at the Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin by Verne himself in 1874) and the
Les Vingt-quatre Violons du Roi or they performed together with the orchestra of the opera. Members of the "Vingt-quatre Violons" had to have an impeccable reputation and had to be Roman Catholic. Their privileges included tax exemption and the right to carry a rapier. Among the members of the ensemble were Jean-Baptiste Lully, Jean-Féry Rebel, his son François Rebel and Jacques Aubert. In 1656, under Louis XIV, the "Vingt-quatre Violons" were supplemented by an orchestra consisting of 16, later 21 strings. The new ensemble was called "La petite bande", the "Vingt-quatre Violons" were dubbed "La grande bande". In 1761, the orchestra was disbanded, mainly for