Opéra-Comique : A Sourcebook [1 ed.] 9781443821681, 9781443821407

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Opéra-Comique

Opéra-Comique: A Sourcebook

By

Robert Ignatius Letellier

Opéra-Comique: A Sourcebook, by Robert Ignatius Letellier This book first published 2010 Cambridge Scholars Publishing 12 Back Chapman Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 2XX, UK British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Copyright © 2010 by Robert Ignatius Letellier All rights for this book reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. ISBN (10): 1-4438-2140-3, ISBN (13): 978-1-4438-2140-7

The Théâtre Royal Italien (Salle Favart 1), later known as the Opéra-Comique, in Paris at the end of the 18th century.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgements .................................................................................... ix Introduction ................................................................................................ xi Select Bibliography............................................................................ xxii Illustrations ....................................................................................... xxiv A Chronology of the Opéra-Comique (1762-1915)..................................... 1 Composers and Their Works at the Opéra-Comique (1762-1915) ........... 61 Index........................................................................................................ 729

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The composition of this sourcebook has been dependent on the work of generations of scholars—particularly the indispensable researches and records of Clément & Larousse (1867-1869, four supplements until 1881, further supplements by Pougin 1899-1904), Campardon (1877), Soubie & Malherbe (1892-1893), Wild & Charlton (2005), as well as Loewenberg (1943, 1955, 1978) and Parsons (1993). All are gratefully acknowledged. The painstaking checking of the text, the detail and cross-referencing of the indexes, are the dedicated and admirable work of Elaine Thornton— most especially the listing of the singers who feature in the chronicles of opéra-comique. Her tireless efforts have been integral to the completion of this book. So has the work of Amanda Millar, the most patient and accomplished of compositors. I am so much in their debt. Robert Letellier Cambridge 3 August 2010

INTRODUCTION

Opéra-comique, like grand opéra, is a specifically French genre of opéra that emerged from the political changes and intellectual discussion that played a recurrent role in determining the nature of artistic expression and production in Paris.

The origins of opéra-comique Opéra-comique is distinguished by its use of spoken dialogue to link the arias and sung parts, and its more restrained use of recitatives. Defining opéra-comique as a genre is challenging as the terminology is disputed. Some sources have claimed that opéra-comique is a quite literal term in the sense that it means a comic opera, but the genre of operacomique, despite its name, was not necessarily comic or light in nature. The most famous of opéras-comiques, Bizet’s Carmen, is a tragedy. Because of its origins, the genre came to be confused with the 18th-century French version of the Italian opera buffa, which also emerged in the midcentury, and rapidly spread to France where it was known as opéra bouffon. This is different again from the 19th-century opéra bouffe which came to have special associations with the new form of opérette. The opéra-comique emerged out of the popular entertainments called opéra-comiques en vaudevilles that were a feature of the suburban theatres held at the spring and autumn fairs (foires) of Saint-Germain and SaintLaurent, and to a lesser extent, at the comedy playhouse, the Comédie-Italienne.

The Comédie-Italienne The historical Comédie-Italienne presented spectacles performed by professional Italian actors to the French-speaking public. At first, these actors performed commedia dell'arte in their native Italian, but later they worked with all the French playwrights of the era, from Molière to Marivaux. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the Comédie-Italienne was supported by the king. The original Comédie-Italienne did not operate from a building of its own. Rather, the theatrical troupe performed at either

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the Théâtre du Petit-Bourbon or the Hôtel de Bourgogne, up to 1697. That year, the company was disbanded after having offended the king. The theatrical company returned to Paris in 1716 after being recalled by the Duke of Orléans.

The urban fairs of Saint-Germain and Saint Laurent The specific origins of the opéra-comique lie in small fair theatre performances in the early 18th century. At the time, there was a distinction between so-called “legitimate theatre”, which could be performed in royally-sanctioned theatres, and the more lowbrow street theatre, which did not undergo the scrutiny of royal censors. In 1714, when the high society of Paris was seen at the Comédie Française and the Opéra, small comedy plays were the preferred form of entertainment of the less well-off. Musicians, puppeteers and comedy singers would parody the great tragic classics and rewrite the text of the great operas. The urban fairs had a large popular following, and their theatres were thus characterized by demotic interests and a vulgar tone. One of the chief concerns was poking fun at public officials associated with the larger established theatres. The plays were performed with intercalated popular songs that established an immediate rapport with the audience. The song composers drew on themes from French heritage but also ideas from foreign places, which added to their appeal for performance in other countries. Their satires on political figures, coupled with a burlesque and risqué performance, brought this early form of opéra-comique into disrepute at court. Louis XIV tried to end their influence by signing several ordinances against them and even boosting other theatres in the hope that these would appeal more to the public than the vulgarity of the saucy opéras-comiques. These more substantial theatres, like the Comédie-Française, were just as eager as the Crown to quash the fair theatres and the opéra-comique. Spoken theatre was banned at the fairs, but in so doing the authorities “unwittingly promoted the ingenious dodge of a comedy sung to popular songs, which then became a far more potent rival than that which had preceded it” (Daniel Heartz). When Louis died in 1715, the early opéra-comique was at last allowed some legitimacy and was left to flourish. At this time the genre was distinctly associated with parody; it was characterised by comedy and satire, and accompanied by well-known vaudevilles. In the same year, an agreement between the fair comédiens and the director of the Académie Royale de Musique resulted in the

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establishment of a new the institution or corporate body: on 26 December 1714, Catherine Baron and Gautier de Saint-Edmé set up this unusual company in the Théâtre de la Foire Saint-Germain, calling it the OpéraComique. But the company had a difficult start. It proved to be so successful that the Académie had it closed down in 1745, but it was reopened seven years later in 1752 by the director Jean Monet, who invited the famous author Charles-Simon Favart (1710-1792) at the Foire SaintGermain to take charge of it. By giving the theatre its credentials, Favart made it a worthy competitor for the other theatres in the city. The earliest creator of opéra-comique was Alain-René Lesage (16681747). He was the leading librettist for the two suburban fair theatres for a few decades, but his preference was for the traditional and topical vaudevilles. Two competing poets began to emerge: Alexis Piron (16891773) and Charles-Francois Panard (1689-1765). They began revolutionizing the infant opéra-comique, searching for more musical novelty, using the old airs less and less. Lesage reflected on this topical situation in his libretto Les couplets en procès (1729), written for the Foire Saint-Germain.

The Guerre des Buffons Between 1752 and 1754 a troupe known as Les Bouffons performed Giovanni Pergolesi’s archetypal opera buffa La serva padrona (1733) and other Italian comic works in Paris. Their great success, and the growing enthusiasm for the fair theatres, led to a polemical war called the Guerre (or Querelle) des Bouffons (The War of the Buffoons), a clash, essentially literary in nature, centred on the confrontation between the solemn past (enshrined in Italian opera seria and the grand Baroque French tragédie lyrique) and the lively topical present (both the farce and sentiment of the newly emerged Italian comic opera and the unsophisticated popular vaudevilles). The Bouffons helped to introduce French composers to the idea that the libretto should serve to enhance the music, whereas in the fair theatres the composer had played a subservient role. The Bouffons also proved influential on musical content since many of the ariettes they used were initially borrowed popular pieces transferred to new works (in the process of parody), where they in turn then served as models for original compositions. The debate had a happy outcome in the emergence of a uniquely French form of opera—the opéra-comique—an amalgam of the fair theatre performances, the English ballad opera, the German Singspiel and the Italian opera buffa. While the debate had often been couched in nationalistic terms, subsequent compositions both by French composers and by a series of resident foreigners offered excellent examples of this

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new genre. The first battle of the Guerre des Buffons began in 1752, the year when Jean-Jacques Rousseau staged his one-act comic opera Le Devin du village (The Village Soothsayer) in the Court Theatre at Fontainebleau. Both libretto and music were his own. The music had been compiled in the manner of a pasticcio, reflecting the popular romances and vaudevilles being heard in the Parisian fairs. The score pleased both sides in the aesthetic debate, appealing to the French in its manner and sentiment, and to the Italians in its employment of recitative and continuously composed form. Rousseau had hoped to provide a model for the new French comic opera, but was not immediately successful. However, his achievement was developed, notably by the Neapolitan composer Egidio Duni (1709-1775), who settled in Paris in 1755, and began first assembling and then composing opéras-comiques after the style of Rousseau.

The merger of the Comédie-Italienne and Opéra-Comique Duni’s arrival served as a catalyst of sorts. The similarity of the type of entertainment provided by both the Comédie-Italienne and the two seasonal fairs brought the two companies ever closer, until, decisively, on 3 February 1762 they amalgamated, and found a theatre for their joint productions, the Hôtel de Bourgogne, in the Rue Monconseil—the old home of the Comédie-Italienne (and thus known variously as the Comédie-Italienne, Les Comédiens-Italiens, the Théâtre-Italien, “Aux Italiens”, Les Comédiens Ordinaires du roi). The newly combined company kept on the name “Comédie-Italienne” until 1793. The type of entertainment offered by the new company, opéra-comique, combining existing popular tunes with spoken sections, grew rapidly in popularity and soon lent its generic name to the house. The house, regardless of its changing venue, would become inextricably associated with the genre acted there, and known as the Opéra-Comique. In 1783 a new building was constructed for the Opéra-Comique. This would be its final location, the one it still occupies today. The company moved to the Rue Favart where it nonetheless continued for the while to be known as the ComédieItalienne, but also as the Théâtre de la rue Favart, and colloquially as the Salle Favart. In 1791 a rival company was established in the Rue Feydeau (the Théâtre Feydeau). This very soon ended in ruin during the dark days of the Revolution. Both houses were closed and then amalgamated in 1793, when the house and the company were decisively called the OpéraComique.

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The couplets and the dialogue The genre exercised a powerful popular appeal because of its unique fusion of fixed musical form with fluid improvised dialogue. The wellknown airs of the day, invariably strophic, came to be the staple medium of artistic expression for the genre (couplets). Here tension was heightened by the pull between the fixed melodic form and recollection of the original words, now replaced with new satirical ones, that generated an irony of comparison between old and new. The spoken dialogue similarly was not only important for the development of the plot, but provided occasion for topical and artistic licence in witty repartee among the actors who brought a vivid actuality to their improvisations. The genre thus not only made a social statement, but provided a medium for tacit and trenchant artistic observation. The success of opéra-comique was very closely tied up with the boredom of contemporary audiences with the current grands opéras. Before the arrival of the opéra-comique the people had been exposed to the stiff tragédie lyrique. The difference between the two genres attracted affectionate attention to the lighter opéra-comique and made it popular. Other distinctions between opéra-comique and other opéra genres, apart from having spoken dialogue versus recitative, became institutionalized: grand opéra, for example, was extravagant in its performances whereas opéra-comique retained a greater simplicity of style and resources. Also, ballet was regarded as a necessity at the Opéra (fashionable expectation leading to generic definition); but ballet was not insisted upon at the Opéra-Comique which preferred crowd scenes involving choral writing. Opéra-comique also preferred a single leading soprano with a “lighter” supporting soprano, where the Opéra preferred having two dominant soprano voices. The hero in opéra-comique came to be associated with a lighter male voice. The full identification with ‘comic opera’ per se, or with the type of opéra bouffon, was never sustained nor ever became established. There were many “hybrids” that derived from opéra-comique, such as comedie, comédie lyrique, comedie-parade, opéra bouffon, drame lyrique, comédie mêlée d'ariettes. Indeed, a major problem with correctly identifying opéras-comiques was that composers would often write down the wrong performance date, or sometimes not even record a date at all. Pieces would also frequently be mislabelled, or creators would sometimes even make up a new genre for their piece, calling it a roman musical, complainte, or fantaisie lyrique.

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The subject matter Pierre-Alexandre Monsigny (1729-1817), more than any other composer, developed both the subject matter and musical style in opéracomique. He helped to transform the genre from the comédie en vaudevilles, which used popular melodies, to the comédie mêlée d’ariettes (or opéra-comique), which used original music throughout. His earlier works, composed for the theatre fairs between 1759 and 1761, were all in the popular style of comic intrigue, with the statutory buffo elements of disguise, deception, misunderstanding, clarification and reconciliation. In Le Roi et le fermier, written in 1762—that decisive year for opéracomique—the story mingled the classes, royalty and nobility with rural characters (the usual social stratum depicted in opéra-comique), and showed a king dealing kindly with his subjects. His highly influential librettist, Jean-Michel Sedaine (1719-1797), emphasized personal freedom, equality, and the virtues of common people, in the manner of the Enlightenment philosophers. These ideas were significantly extended in the most famous work of their collaboration, Le Déserteur (1769). This score also illustrates how Monsigny extended the musical vocabulary of the opéra-comique, as he dispensed with vaudevilles, and wrote original ariettes in their place, and also composed many vocal ensembles, some of them of complex vocal texture French and Belgian composers readily adapted the new and increasingly dynamic variety of opéra-comique, and soon established its hegemony in the Parisian and provincial theatres. This astonishing development was by no means always confined to comic subject matter. Increasingly composers in this genre—like François-André Philidor (Tom Jones, 1765), Monsigny (Le Déserteur, 1769), André Grétry (Richard Coeur de Lion, 1784), Luigi Cherubini (Lodoïska, 1791; Les Deux Journées, 1800) and Étienne-Nicolas Méhul (Joseph, 1807)—were concerned with ever more serious content, and produced works full of progressive musical innovation that made ever greater appeal to audiences beyond the borders of France (especially the famous type of the ‘rescue opera’ that emerged from the political storm and stress surrounding the French Revolution). The genre, with its unique mixture of comedy and drama, its captivating musical fluency, its increasing handling of serious or Romantic themes—expertly crafted by its most famous librettist AugustinEugène Scribe (1791-1861)—became universally popular in the masterpieces of its heyday during the fifty years between 1820 and 1870: Adrien Boieldieu’s La Dame blanche (1825), Daniel-François-Esprit Auber’s Fra Diavolo (1830) and Le Domino noir (1837), Ferdinand Hérold’s Zampa

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(1831) and Le Pré aux clercs (1832), Fromental Halévy’s L’Éclair (1835) and Ambroise Thomas’s Mignon (1866). This was the situation, with an admixture of serious and even tragic elements, until the middle of the 19th century, when Jacques Offenbach, writing at the time of Giacomo Meyerbeer’s L’Étoile du Nord (1854), deplored the hybrid forms that were increasingly leaning more towards the traditions of grand opéra, and had led several composers away from the pure traditions of opéra-comique—a tradition he likened to a stream that had turned into a river and subsequently burst its banks. In fact, many pieces were called opéras-comiques only because they had spoken dialogue, the most significant examples being Auber’s Haydée (1848), Meyerbeer’s Le Pardon de Ploërmel (1859), Thomas’s Mignon (1866), and Bizet’s Carmen (1875). The original version of Gounod’s Faust (1859) contained dialogue (although produced at the Théâtre-Lyrique), but by 1883 Delibes’s Lakmé at the Opéra-Comique was entirely set to music. Conversely, there were pieces that were never labelled opéras-comiques, despite their lightness of touch.

The different theatres The most basic definition given to this genre is that the pieces were named opéras-comiques only because they were performed at the Théâtre de l’Opéra-Comique. The history of the various locations of the institution has played a significant role in the perception of the genre and the way of referring to it. As discussed above, the term ‘Favart’, or ‘Théâtre Favart’ (despite there having been three such houses) is enough to encapsulate the mystique of this type of opera and its history. The Opéra-Comique is still sometimes called the Salle Favart. The names of the various houses capture the chronology of the genre and its changing artistic face. Location Hôtel de Bourgogne First Salle Favart (Favart 1) Théâtre Olympique First Salle Favart (Favart 1) Théâtre Feydeau (Feydeau) (former Théâtre de Monsieur) Salle Ventadour (Ventadour) Place de la Bourse (Bourse) (Théâtre des Nouveautés)

Dates 3 February 1762—4 April 1783 28 April 1783—20 July 1801; 23 July—Oct. 1804; 2-23 October 1804 24 October 1804—4 July 1805 16 September 1801—12 April 1829 20 April 1829—22 March 1832 28 September 1832—30 April 1840

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Second Salle Favart (Favart 2) Place du Châtelet (Châtelet) (former Théâtre Lyrique) Théâtre du Chateau-d'Eau Third Salle Favart (Favart 3) (present building)

16 May 1840—25 May 1887 15 October 1887—30 June 1898 26 October—25 November 1898 7 December 1898—

The chronology and other rival theatres The aim of this study is to provide a record of the flowering of this uniquely French genre from its beginnings until the First World War, a period of 152 years. After a chronology of the works presented during this period, which provides the most helpful overview of the theatres and works involved, the main section of the book is devoted to an alphabetical listing of the relevant composers, with their operas presented chronologically. Occasionally this composer list contains works not found in the chronology of the Opéra-Comique. Such works are included either to provide greater comprehensiveness of the composer’s oeuvre (like the works of Grétry given at the Académie Royale de Musique), or because they represent the genre of opéra-comique in a distinct or notable way. Rousseau’s Le Dévin du village is the archetypal influence on the genre, but was never presented at the Comedie-Italienne. Several important 18thcentury works were given at the Royal palace or in the homes of rich patrons without a later Paris performance. Several famous earlier opérascomiques (especially by Cherubini) were produced at the rival establishment set up in the Théâtre Feydeau (1791-93) And during the full 19th-century flowering, many important works of the genre were given at other theatres. These houses include Adolphe Adam’s failed OpéraNational (which saw the premiere of his La Poupée de Nuremberg in 1852, one of his most famous opéras-comiques, yet never produced at the house of that name); and also the rather more long-lived Théâtre-Lyrique (which saw the premieres of all of Gounod’s most famous works, including Faust, Roméo et Juliette and Mireille). These alternate houses became temporary rivals to the Opéra-Comique, and in the case of the Théâtre-Lyrique, played a significant role in the evolution of the synthetic genre that came to dominate late 19th-century mainstream French opera— the opéra lyrique. This drew together the two distinct genres that had hitherto dominated the tradition, grand opéra and opéra-comique. Apart from Faust which became a grand opéra, most of Gounod’s works were later taken up by the Opéra-Comique, and in their lyricism and throughcomposed style were decisive in establishing this emergent genre of opéra

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lyrique that found its most famous later expression in Massenet’s work.

The native repertoire and production of foreign operas The vast majority of operas produced at the Opéra-Comique have been forgotten now. Many composers are remembered by name, but their works, or most of them, are neglected (like those of Félicien David and Victor Massé, regarded in their time as of decisive importance for the future of French opera). Other composers are still famous but hardly ever performed (Grétry, Boieldieu, Auber, Hérold, Halévy, Thomas). A handful of the composers from the later century still have works in the international repertory (Gounod, Bizet, Offenbach, Delibes, Massenet). All of them contributed to forming the history of one of the most vibrant and influential of the world’s opera houses, that has left a legacy crucial to the musical heritage of France, and of great importance to the history of opera. The nature of this record is a type of para-history of the culture of France, and a testimony to the vibrancy of opera as an art form. The repertoire of the Opéra-Comique (OC) also provides a gauge of the nature and popularity of foreign influences in the musical life of France, particularly the number of Italian and German operas that made their way to Paris and established a place and influence on operatic culture. The role of the opera buffa in the 18th century is germane to the history of opéra-comique, and one notes the recurrent representatives of the classic comic tradition among the visitors, from 1793 until 1931 (Paisiello, Cimarosa, Mozart, Rossini, Verdi). But some famous works assumed an importance of their own in the 19th and early 20th centuries by their French adaptations for the Théâtre-Odéon (TO) and the enterprising Théâtre-Lyrique (TL) long before making their way to the second house of Paris. It is interesting to see just when they were produced at the OpéraComique, and how this late chronology reflects the gradual weakening of the closely preserved native French tradition of this house (and its indigenous mixed genre) and a corresponding acceptance of exogenous through-composed works onto the boards, like the engagement with verismo (Puccini, Leoncavallo) following on Carmen. The situation further predicates the increasingly narrow international repertory of the 20th century. Paisiello: Le Barbier de Séville, ou La Précaution inutile/Il barbiere di Siviglia, ovvero La precauzione inutile, OC 1793; Weber: Robin des bois, ou Les Trois Balles/Der Freischütz, TO 1824, OC 1835, O 1841;

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Mozart: Le Mariage de Figaro/Le nozze di Figaro, TL 1858, OC 1872; Mozart: La Flûte enchantée/Die Zauberflöte, TL 1865, OC 1879; Rossini: Le Barbier de Séville/Il barbiere di Siviglia, TO 1824, OC 1884; Verdi: La Traviata/Violetta, TI 1856, TL 1864, OC 1886; Mozart: Don Juan /Don Giovanni, ossia Il dissoluto punito, TL 1866, OC 1896; Verdi: Falstaff, OC 1894; Wagner: Le Vaisseau fantôme/Der fliegende Holländer, OC 1897; Beethoven: Fidelio, TL 1860, OC 1898; Puccini: La Bohème, OC 1898; Humperdinck: Hänsel et Gretel /Jeannot et Margot, OC 1900; Puccini: La Tosca, OC 1903; Puccini: Madama Butterfly, OC 1904; Leoncavallo: Paillasse/ I pagliacci, OC 1910; Cimarosa: Le Mariage secret/Il matrimonio segreto, OC 1931.

The opéra-comique and cultural history The history of the opéra-comique reflects the political and cultural life of France from the last days of the ancien régime, the tumult of the Revolution and Napoleonic era, through the ongoing saga of France’s search for the right mode of governance, and the decisive battle between monarchy and republicanism that found its watershed not in the revolutions of 1789, 1830 and 1848, but in the defeat by Prussia in the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71). The mentality that had fostered the steady evolution of the opéra-comique from 1762 was altered forever by these traumatic events. The victory of Prussia, the proclamation of the Second Reich in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles, that symbol of French ascendancy in the apogee of Louis XIV’s golden reign, marked a change of direction in French thinking, a turn away from the type of musical theatre represented in the authentic traditions of opéra-comique, and a search for a new intellectualism and abstraction in both music and art. The strand of popular culture was to flow into a reduced and more vulgar form of comedy and satire in the new genre of the operetta (a process initiated in 1858 by Offenbach’s brilliant parody of the fashion for neo-classicism and aesthetic intellectualism in Orphée aux enfers staged in his own theatre, the Bouffes-Parisiens). Sentimentality and risqué manners would dominate the operetta after 1870, and confirm its break with the OpéraComique and its establishment as a new genre. The opéra-comique,

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already challenged by the growing seriousness of its subjects and the fusion of grand and comic generic elements into the opéra-lyrique, suddenly almost ceased to exist in terms of its old identity. The OpéraComique no longer determined the nature of its own genre, but became a custodian of tradition, on the one hand, and, on the other, the venue for the new experiment in dramatic music initiated by the fundamental changes brought about by Richard Wagner and his music dramas. Apart from some isolated works that sustained a brilliant recollection of the old traditions while establishing their own popularity and lyricodramatic influence—like Bizet’s Carmen (1875) (a progenitor of Realism and verismo), Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann (1881), Delibes’s Lakmé (1883), Massenet’s Manon (1884)—new operas by the younger generation of musicians were now French adaptation of the Wagnerian aesthetic. Here the record of success is very thin, and hardly any native French works in this imitative mode premiered at the Opéra-Comique between 1870 and 1914 have survived. Gustave Charpentier’s Louise (1900), with its startling realism and lyrical fluency, achieved a measure of popularity in its presentation of a romanticized portrait of Bohemian Paris that is both sentimental and fashionably alluring. Only with the musical equivalent of the pictorial genre of Impressionism was a new masterpiece discovered in Claude Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande (1902), but it remained a solitary achievement, as did Maurice Ravel’s more robust oneact farcical comedy with strong local colour, L’Heure espagnole (1907). The Opéra-Comique had become a secondary house, increasingly neglectful of the operas of its glory days, hospitable to the somewhat arid achievements of the younger generation of composers, and the place where the masterpieces of German and Italian opera were presented, with a handful of ballet adaptations. After the First World War, the ancient traditions of the house were almost entirely forgotten, and the Salle Favart became just a convenient stage space for ordinary repertory pieces (from an increasingly bland selection of international favourites) and the host to touring companies from Italy. The perspective on this radical cultural change is reflected in the attitudes governing taste and the understanding of musical history at the turn of the 19th century, preeminently as embodied in the great French dictionary of opera compiled by Félix Clément and Pierre Larousse (1897), and then edited by Pierre Pougin (1905). This survey of operas is a record of a past age, a cautious and reserved point of view covering the first 300 years of operatic history from a late 19th- early 20th-century perspective, but one whose insights into the French repertoire contain information, attitudes and opinions of interest and importance. Details of

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forgotten composers, their operas—performance dates, plot summaries, the singers who created them, notable numbers in the work from libretti and scores that are now either to be found only in the Paris libraries, or are lost completely, and often with observations about the reception of the work, the effectiveness of its dramaturgy and music—all constitute a resource that is invaluable to historians of opera, music, culture and convention, from the late 18th to the early 20th centuries. The conservative attitudes expressed in the resumés and criticisms not only provide a fascinating account of an older aesthetic, but in the process present a specialized survey of an era in the history of opera, one that reflects the radical challenges to musical traditions and mores in the exciting events of French history from the mid-19th-century until the advent of Wagnerism, Realism, Impressionism and Expressionism in the early 20th century. The record of the fortunes of the Opéra-Comique in this period provides a way into the changing culture and artistic values of an age.

Select Bibliography Dictionnaire des théatres de Paris, contenant toutes les piéces qui ont été représentées jusqu'à présent sur les différens théâtres françoise, & sur celui de l'Académie royale de musique: les extraits de celles qui ont été jouées par les comédiens italiens, depuis leur rétablissement en 1716, ainsi que des Opéra comiques, & principaux spectacles des foires Saint Germain & Saint Laurent. Des faits anecdotes sur les auteurs qui ont travaillé pour ces théâtres, & sur les principaux acteurs, actrices, danseurs, danseuses, compositeurs de ballets, dessinateurs, peintres des ces spectacles, &c. Paris: Rozet, 1767. Bartlet, M. Elizabeth C. and Langham Smith, Richard. "Opéra comique." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. 19 Nov. 2009 [oxfordmusiconline.com /subscriber/article/ grove/music/43715]. Campardon, Émile. Les spectacles de la foire. Théâtres, acteurs, sauteurs et danseurs de corde, monstres, géants, nains, animaux curieux ou savants, marionnettes , à Saint Germain et Saint-Laurent etc.: 1595 1791. 2 vols. Paris: Berger-Levrault et Co., 1877. Reprinted Elibron Classics, 2002. Charlton, David. Grétry and the growth of opéra-comique. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press 1986. Charlton, David. French Opera 1730-1830: Meaning and Media. Aldershot: Ashgate, 2000. Clément, Félix & Larousse, Pierre. Dictionnaire des Opéras. Paris: Librairie Larousse, 1897. Revised by Arthur Pougin. 2 vols. Paris:

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Larousse, 1905. Reprint, New York: Da Capo Press, 1969. Collins, I. The Government and the Newspaper Press in France 18141881. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1959. Comettant, O. Les Compositeurs illustres. Paris: Librairie Charles Delagrave, 1883. Cook, Elisabeth. Duet and Ensemble in the Early Opéra Comique. New York: Garland Publishers, 1995. Cooper, Martin. Opéra Comique. London: Max Parrish & Co. Ltd., 1959. Coquard, Arthur. De la musique en France depuis Rameau. Paris: Calmann Lévy, 1891. Crosten, William L. French Grand Opera: An Art and a Business. New York: King's Crown Press, 1948. Reprint, New York: Da Capo Press, 1972. Crozet, F. Revue de la musique dramatique en France. Paris, 1866. Gallo, Denise P. Opera: the basics. New York: Routledge, 2006. Gourret, Jean. Nouveau dictionnaire des chanteurs de l'Opéra de Paris Jean Gourret; avec la collaboration de Simone Ferdinand [et al.]; préface de Paul Seramy. Paris: Albatros, [1989]; 402p, [40]p of plates. Heartz Daniel and Rice, John A. From Garrick to Gluck: essays on opera in the age of Enlightenment. Hillsdale, N.Y.: Pendragon Press 2004. Loewenberg, Alfred. Annals of Opera 1597-1940 [London, 1943]. Second edition revised and corrected with an introduction by Edward J. Dent. New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 1970. “Opéra comique.” The Oxford Dictionary of Music, 2nd ed. rev. Ed. Michael Kennedy. Oxford Music Online. 18 Nov. 2009. [article/opr/t237/e7488]. Parsons, Charles H. Opera premieres: an index of casts/performers. Lewiston, N.Y.; Lampeter: Edwin Mellen Press, c1993; 2 vols [dates, location and cast lists]. Somerset-Ward, Richard, and Te Kanawa, Kiri. The Story of Opera. New York: Abrams 1998. Soubies, Albert and Malherbe, Charles. Histoire de l'Opéra-Comique: La Seconde Salle Favart 1840-1887. 2 vols. Paris: Marpion & Flammarion, 1892-1893; Reprint Geneva, 1978; Paris, 2010. —. Précis de L'Histoire de L'Opéra-Comique. Reprint Paris, 2010. Warrack, John and Temperley, Nicholas. "Opéra Comique". The Oxford Companion to Music. Ed. Alison Latham. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002. Wild, Nicole and Charlton, David. Théâtre de l’Opéra-Comique Paris: Répertoire 1762–1972. Sprimont: Pierre Mardaga, 2005.

xxiv

Opéra-Comique

Departure of the Comédie-Italienne (1697)

Hôtel de Bourgogne (Comédie-Italienne)

Favart

Duni

Introduction

Monsigny

Sedaine

Cherubini

xxv

Philidor

Grétry

Méhul

Marmontel

Boieldieu

xxvi

Scribe

Adam

Thomas

Opéra-Comique

Auber

Hérold

Meyerbeer

Mélesville

Halévy

Offenbach

Introduction

xxvii

Salle Ventadour (1830)

Salle Favart 2 (1840) (internal)

Saint-Georges

Barbier

Carré

xxviii

Gounod

Delibes

Paladilhe

Opéra-Comique

Massé

Bizet

Massenet

Debussy

Saint-Saëns

Dukas

A CHRONOLOGY OF THE OPÉRA-COMIQUE (1762-1915) Merger of the Comédie Italienne and the Opéra-Comique de la Foire HÔTEL DE BOURGOGNE 3 February 1762 - 4 April 1783 1762 3 Feb 3 Feb 3 Feb 3 Feb 4 Feb 5 Feb 5 Feb 6 Feb 8 Feb 10 Feb 10 Feb 11 Feb 13 Feb 15 Feb 20 Feb 21 Feb 26 Feb

Blaise le savetier (Paris, Foire St Germain, 1759) Philidor On ne s'avise jamais de tout (Paris, Foire St Laurent, 1761) Monsigny Le Vauxhall hollandais (Paris, Th. Italien, 1761) Anon. La Nouvelle Troupe (Paris, Th. Italien, 1760) Anon. Armide (Paris, Th. Italien, 11 Jan 1762) Div. comp. and vaud. La Fille mal gardée ou le Pédant amoureux (Paris, Th. Italien, 1758) Duni Le Gondolier vénitien (Paris, Th. Italien, 21 Jan 1762) Riggieri Le Peintre amoureux de son modèle (Paris, Foire St Laurent, 1757) Duni and vaud. Le Maître en droit (Paris, Foire St Germain, 1760) Monsigny and vaud. Le Maréchal ferrant (Paris, Foire St Laurent, 1761) Philidor and vaud. Le Caprice amoureux ou Ninette à la cour (Paris, Th. Italien, 1755) Ciampi and div. comp. Les Amours de Bastien et Bastienne (Paris, Th. Italien, 1753) Vaud. arr. Sodi Le Cadi dupé (Paris, Foire St Germain, 1761) Monsigny and vaud. Annette et Lubin Div. comp. La Cantatrice italienne (Paris, Th. Italien, 1761) Anon. Le Bal (Paris, Th. Italien, 1749 or 1755) Div. comp. Les Troqueurs (Paris, Foire St Laurent, 1753) Dauvergne

2

5 Mar 5 Mar 10 Mar 10 Mar 18 Mar 19 Mar 29 Mar 19 Apr 22 Apr 22 Apr 24 Apr 25 Apr 5 May 6 May 19 May 24 May 31 May 1 Jun 3 Jun 6 Jun 16 Jun 20 Jun 23 Jun 8 Jul 8 Jul 14 Jul 22 Jul

Opéra-Comique

and vaud. Le Soldat magicien (Paris, Foire St Laurent, 1760) Philidor La Nouvelle École des femmes (Paris, Th. Italien, 1758) Ruge and anon. Soliman II ou les Trois Sultanes (Paris, Th. Italien, 1761) Gibert Le Couronnement de Roxelane (Paris, Th. Italien, 1761) Anon. Les Fêtes basques villageoises (Paris, Th. Italien, 1761) Anon. Le Jardinier et son seigneur (Paris, Foire St Germain, 1761) Philidor La Servante maîtresse (Paris, Th. Italien, 1754, French version) Pergolesi Les Amusements champêtres (Paris, Th. Italien, 1749 or 1753) Desbrosses or Sodi Mazet (Paris, Th. Italien, 1761) Duni La Bohémienne (Paris, Th. Italien, 1755) Clément and div. comp. L'Isle des foux (Paris, Th. Italien, 1760) Duni Le Médecin de l'amour (Paris, Foire St Laurent, 1758) Laruette and vaud. Le Docteur Sangrado (Paris, Foire St Germain, 1758) Duni, Laruette and vaud. Les Amants jardiniers Anon. La Plaideuse ou le Procès Duni Pygmalion (Paris, Th. Italien, 1760) Anon. vaud. La Servante justifiée (Paris, Foire St Germain, 1740) Vaud. La Soirée des boulevards (Paris, Th. Italien, 1758) Anon. and vaud. L'Amant corsaire La Salle d'Offémont Les Talents à la mode (Paris, Th. Italien, 1739) Blaise Les Bouquetières Anon. Les Amants trompés (Paris, Foire St Laurent, 1756) Laruette, anon. and vaud. La Nouvelle Italie Duni, Rigade, Traetta Sancho Pança gouverneur dans l'Isle de Barataria Philidor La Bergère jalousie Anon. Cendrillon (Paris, Foire St Germain, 1759) Laruette, Duni and vaud. Les Deux Soeurs rivals Desbrosses

A Chronology of the Opéra-Comique (1762-1915)

25 Jul 1 Aug 8 Aug 18 Aug 12 Sep 18 Sep 6 Oct 20 Oct 5 Nov 22 Nov 22 Nov 1 Dec 13 Dec 29 Dec

La Fête d'amour ou Lucas et Colinette (Paris, Th. Italien, 1754) Anon. Les Racoleurs (Paris, Foire St Germain, 1756) Vaud. La Guinguette (Paris, Th. Italien, 1750) Anon. Le Coq de village (Paris, Foire St Germain, 1743) Mouret and vaud. La Chercheuse d'esprit (Paris, Foire St Germain, 1741) Vaud. Le Suffisant (Paris, Foire St Germain, 1753) Vaud. Le Philosophe prétendu Anon. Les Amusements de la pêche Anon. Le Prince de Salerne (Paris, Th. Italien, 1746) Anon. Le Roy et le fermier Monsigny Le Ballet des Anglais Anon. La Femme orgueilleuse (Paris, Th. Italien, 1759) Sodi Raton et Rosette ou la Vengeance inutile (Paris, Th. Italien, 1753) Div. comp. and vaud. Le Ballet turc et chinois (Paris, Th. Italien, 1755) Anon.

1763 1 Jan 26 Jan 10 Feb 19 Feb 21 Feb 28 Feb 2 Mar 17 Mar 22 Mar 11 Apr 21 Apr 21 Apr 8 May 14 May 21 May 4 Jul 23 Jul

Le Milicien (Versailles, 1762) Duni Le Guy de chesne ou la Feste des Druides Laruette La Bagarre Van Maldere Le Bon Seigneur Desbrosses Les Ensorcelés ou Jeannot et Jeannette (Paris, Th. Italien, 1757) Div. comp. and vaud. Le Bûcheron ou les Trois Souhaits Philidor Le Magasin des modernes (Paris, Foire St Germain, 1736) Vaud. Le Maître de musique (Paris, Th. Italien, 1755) Div. comp. La Mariée de village (Paris, Th. Italien, 1757) Anon. Les Lavandières flamandes Anon. Apelle et Campaspe Gibert Céphale et Procris Anon. Les Aveux indiscrets (Paris, Foire St Germain, 1759) Monsigny Le Chasseur déguisé Anon. Les Deux Cousines ou la Bonne Amie Desbrosses Les Festes de la paix Philidor Le Ballet militaire Anon.

3

4

23 Jul 3 Aug 11 Aug 17 Sep 10 Oct 12 Oct 20 Oct 10 Nov 12 Nov 16 Nov 24 Nov

Opéra-Comique

Les Deux Chasseurs et la laitière Duni Les Iroquois (Paris, Th. Italien, 1761) Anon. Les Deux Talents Herbain Les Braconniers Anon. Le Prétendu (Paris, Th. Italien, 1760) Gaviniès Les Jardiniers fleuristes (Paris, Th. Italien, 1761) Anon. Les Fleurs (Paris, Th. Italien, 1761) Anon. Les Sauvages Anon. Zélie et Lindor Rigade Le Rendez-vous Duni La Voleuse Anon.

1764 2 Jan 18 Jan 25 Jan 25 Jan 25 Jan 30 Jan 18 Feb 5 Mar 8 Mar 24 May 14 Jun 18 Jun 14 Jul 26 Jul 9 Aug 20 Aug 7 Sep 4 Oct 24 Oct 3 Nov 3 Nov 20 Dec

Le Sorcier Philidor La Veuve indécise (Paris, Foire St Laurent, 1759) Duni Les Noces chinoises (Paris, Th. Italien, 1756) Anon. Le Chinois (Paris, Th. Italien, 1756) Sellitto and div. comp. Baïocco et Serpilla (Paris, Th. Italien, 1753) Sodi Le Diable à quatre ou la Double Métamorphose (Paris, Foire St Laurent, 1756) Div. comp. La Noce villageoise Anon. Les Grenadiers Anon. Rose et Colas Monsigny Les Fêtes marines Anon. Nanette et Lucas ou la Paysanne curieuse Herbain Les Moissonneurs Anon. Georget et Georgette (Paris, Foire St Laurent, 1761) Alexandre, ar. and vaud. Les Amants de village Bambini Les Oiseleurs (Paris, Th. Italien, 1759) Anon. L'Anneau perdu et retrouvé Laborde Les Rendez-vous nocturnes (Paris, Th. Italien, 1740) Blaise La Foire hollandaise Anon. Ulysse dans l'Isle de Circé Anon. Le Mariage par capitulation Rodolphe Le Bal militaire Anon. Le Serrurier Kohaut Le Dormeur éveillé (Fontainebleau, 27 Oct 1764) Laborde

A Chronology of the Opéra-Comique (1762-1915)

5

1765 2 Jan 24 Jan 27 Feb 16 Mar 8 May 27 Jun 15 Jul 25 Jul 14 Aug 7 Oct 12 Oct 12 Oct 20 Oct 16 Nov 4 Dec

La Matrone chinoise ou l'Épreuve ridicule Anon. L'École de la jeunesse ou le Barnevelt français Duni Tom Jones Philidor Le Tonnelier (Paris, Foire St Laurent, 1761) Div. comp. Les Amours de Gonesse ou le Boulanger Laborde Le Faux Lord Gossec La Réconciliation villageoise Tarade La Couronne de fleurs Anon. Isabelle et Gertrude ou les Sylphes supposes Blaise, Gluck and div. comp. Le Petit Maître en province Alexandre Tambourin Anon. Les Matelots hollandais (Paris, Th. Italien, 1756) Anon. La Jardinière galante (Paris, Th. Italien, 1758) Anon. L'Amour vengé Anon. La Fée Urgèle ou Ce qui plaît aux dames (Fontainebleau, 26 Oct 1765) Duni Renaud d'Ast (Fontainebleau, 12 Oct 1765) Trial, Vachon

1766 18 Jan 19 Feb 23 Apr 19 Jul 24 Jul 25 Sep 15 Dec

Le Garde-chasse et le braconnier Schobert La Bergère des Alpes Kohaut Les Pêcheurs Gossec Le May (Paris, Th. Italien, 1751) Desbrosses La Clochette Duni La Fête du château Div. comp. and vaud. Ésope à Cythère Trial, Vachon

1767 22 Jan 26 Feb 5 Mar 20 Jun 15 Jul 26 Jul

L'Esprit du jour Alexandre Gilles garçon peintre, z'amoureux-t-et rival (Paris, Foire St Germain, 1758) Laborde and vaud. L'Aveugle de Palmyre Rodolphe Toinon et Toinette Gossec Nicaise Bambini, Fridzeri Les Amusements des Tirolais Anon.

6

9 Aug 28 Sep 3 Oct 28 Oct 5 Nov 9 Nov

Opéra-Comique

Le Trompeur trompé ou la Rencontre imprévue Blaise, div.comp. and vaud. Le Double Déguisement Gossec Le Retour des champs Anon. Le Bouquet Anon. Les Prussiennes Anon. Les Femmes et le secret Gossec, Vachon

1768 4 Jan 27 Jan 14 Feb 4 Jun 18 Jul 31 Jul 20 Aug 13 Oct 26 Oct 19 Nov 22 Dec

L'Isle sonante (Villers-Cotterêts, 1767) Monsigny Les Moissonneurs Duni Les Bateliers de Saint-Cloud (Paris, Foire St Laurent, 1743) Vaud. Sophie ou le Mariage cache Kohaut Le Jardinier de Sidon Philidor Acis et Galathée Anon. Le Huron Grétry La Meunière de Gentilly Laborde Les Sabots (Auteuil, 1768) Duni La Matinée champêtre Anon. Le Fleuve Scamandre Barthélémon

1769 5 Jan 30 Jan 6 Mar 5 Apr 11 Jun 9 Jul 12 Aug 2 Sep 20 Sep 14 Dec

Lucile Grétry La Débutante Anon. Le Déserteur Monsigny Les Artisans (Paris, Th. Italien, 1756) Anon. Les Provençaux Anon. Le Pouvoir de l'amour Sodi (?) Les Batteurs en grange (Paris, Foire St Laurent, 1752) Sodi L'Amant déguisé ou le Jardinier suppose Philidor Le Tableau parlant Grétry La Rosière de Salenci (Fontainebleau, 25 Oct 1769) Div. comp.

A Chronology of the Opéra-Comique (1762-1915)

7

1770 9 Jan 22 Jan 19 Feb 13 Jun 20 Sep 31 Oct 26 Nov 6 Dec

L'Arbre enchanté Anon. La Nouvelle École des femmes Philidor Silvain Grétry Alvar et Mencia ou le Captif de retour Saint-Amans Le Nouveau Marié ou les Importuns Baccelli L'Indienne (Th. de société) Cifolelli Thémire (Fontainebleau, 20 Oct 1770) Duni Les Deux Avares (Fontainebleau, 27 Oct 1770) Grétry La Closière ou le Vin nouveau (Fontainebleau, 10 Nov 1770) Kohaut

1771 24 Jan 16 Mar 18 Apr 17 Jun 15 Jul 24 Aug 6 Sep 19 Sep 16 Dec

L'Amitié à l'épreuve (Fontainebleau, 1770) Grétry Arlequin marchand de proverbs Vaud. L'Amoureux de quinze ans ou la Double Fête (Chantilly, 1770) Martini La Buona Figliuola N. Piccinni, arr. Baccelli Les Jardiniers Prudent Les Deux Miliciens ou l'Orpheline villageoise Fridzeri Les Défis d'Arlequin et de Scapin (Paris, Th. Italien, 1741) Anon. La Coquette de village ou le Baiser pris et rendu Saint-Amans Zémire et Azor (Fontainebleau, 9 Nov 1771) Grétry

1772 19 Mar 1 Apr 4 Apr 14 May 21 Jun 22 Aug 3 Sep 28 Sep 31 Oct 7 Dec

Le Faucon (Fontainebleau, 1771) Monsigny Le Bal masqué (Versailles, 31 Mar 1772) Darcis La Harangue interrompue Anon. L'Ami de la maison (Fontainebleau, 1771) Grétry Le Poirier Saint-Amans La Ressource comique ou la Pièce à deux acteurs Lefroid de Méreaux and vaud. Les Deux Compères Laruette Julie Dezède Le Billet de marriage Laborde Le Fermier cru sourd ou les Méfiances Martini

8

Opéra-Comique

1773 11 Jan 4 Mar 8 May 14 Jun 19 Jul 31 Aug 4 Oct

Le Bon Fils Philidor Le Magnifique Grétry Sara ou la Fermière ecossaise Vachon L'Erreur d'un moment ou la Suite de Julie Dezède Acajou Vaud. arr. Moulinghen Le Génie des dames Anon. Le Stratagème découvert Dezède Mélide ou le Navigateur (Fontainebleau, 30 Oct 1773) Philidor

1774 10 Jan 10 Feb 28 Feb 11 Apr 25 Jun 18 Jul 11 Aug 1 Oct 14 Nov

La Servante justifiée (Fontainebleau, 1773) Moulinghen and vaud. Le Rendez-vous bien employé Martini La Rosière de Salenci (Fontainebleau, 1773) Grétry La Rencontre imprévue Lefroid de Méreaux Perrin et Lucette Cifolelli La Fausse Peur Darcis Les Nymphes de Diane Moulinghen and vaud. Le Retour de tendresse Lefroid de Méreaux Henri IV ou la Bataille d'Ivry Martini

1775 1 Feb 20 Mar 13 May 23 May 29 Jun 14 Aug 16 Aug 30 Sep

La Fausse Magie Grétry Les Femmes vengées ou les Feintes infidélités Philidor Roger-Bontems et Javotte Div. comp. et vaud. Les Bûcherons ou le Médecin de village (Versailles, 1750) Des Rochers La Fête de village Désormery La Belle Arsène (Fontainebleau, 1773) Monsigny La Colonie Sacchini La Réduction de Paris Bianchi L'Arbre enchanté (Versailles, 27 Feb 1775) Gluck

A Chronology of the Opéra-Comique (1762-1915)

9

1776 11 Jan 22 Feb 8 May 12 Jun 7 Jul 22 Aug 16 Sep

Les Souliers mor-dorés ou la Cordonnière allemande Fridzeri Le Lord suppose Chartrain Le Mai Div. comp. and vaud. Les Mariages samnites Grétry La Bonne Femme ou le Phénix Div. comp. and vaud. arr Moulinghen Fleur d'épine Bayon Le Duel comique Paisiello arr. Lefroid de Méraux La Matinée, la soirée et la nuit des Boulevards (Fontainebleau, 11 Oct 1776)Vaud. La Fausse Délicatesse (Fontainebleau, 18 Oct 1776) Achmet et Almanzine (Fontainebleau, 25 Oct 1776) L'Inconnue persécutée (Fontainebleau, 25 Oct 1776)

1777 12 Feb 10 May 24 May 19 Jul 23 Jul 30 Aug 2 Oct 12 Oct 24 Nov 17 Dec

Le Mort marié Bianchi Les Gémeaux Div. comp. and vaud. Les Trois Fermiers Dezède Ernestine Saint-Georges Laurette Lefroid de Méreaux Gabrielle de Passy Div. comp. and vaud. L'Olympiade ou le Triomphe de l'amitié Sacchini Sans dormer Vaud. Félix ou l'Enfant trouvé (Fontainebleau, 10 Nov 1777) Monsigny L'Opéra de province Vaud. Pomponin ou l' Auteur mystifié (Fontainebleau, 3 Nov 1777)

1778 23 Feb 19 Mar 4 Apr 9 May 25 May

Matroco (Chantilly, 1777) Grétry et vaud. La Rage d'amour Div. comp. and vaud. Les Adieux de Thalie Anon. Zulima Dezède Les Jeunes Mariés (Paris, Foire St Laurent, 1740) Div. comp. and vaud.

10

27 Jun 12 Oct 29 Oct 23 Nov 10 Dec 23 Dec

Opéra-Comique

Le Jugement de Midas (Paris, Palais-Roya1, 28 Mar 1778) Grétry and vaud. La Chasse Saint-Georges Le Savetier et le financier (Marly, 23 Oct 1778) Rigel Le Départ des matelots Rigel Jérôme le porteur de chaise Dezède L'Amant jaloux (Versailles, 20 Nov 1778) Grétry Phaon (Choisy, Sep 1778) Piccinni

1779 15 Mar 24 Apr 7 May 22 May 26 Jun 21 Aug 28 Aug 11 Oct 13 Nov

Les Deux Amis ou le Faux Vieillard (Versailles, 26 Feb 1779) Rigel and div. comp. Rose d'amour Cambini Le Divorce d'Arlequin et d'Argentine (Paris, Th. Italien, 1741) Anon. Le Petit OEdipe ou Agénor et Zulma Désaugiers and vaud. Les Rêveries renouvelées des Grecs Vaud. arr. Prot [Ballet final ajouté aux Nymphes de Diane] Anon. Le Bouquet du Coeur Anon. L'École de la jeunesse ou le Barnevelt français Prati Les Événements imprévus (Versailles, 11 Nov 1779) Grétry Les Trois Roses ou les Grâces (Versailles, 10 Dec 1779) Le Grand

1780 3 Jan 26 Jan 26 Feb 3 May 12 May 30 May 15 Jun 24 Jul 11 Aug 3 Oct 7 Nov

Aucassin et Nicolette ou les Moeurs du bon vieux temps (Versailles, 1779) Grétry Mina Champein Cécile (Versailles, 24 Feb 1780) Dezède À trompeur, trompeur et demi ou les Torts du sentiment Dezède Nicaise (Paris, Foire St Germain, 1756) Vaud. Cassandre oculiste ou l'Oculiste dupe de son art Vaud. Florine Désaugiers Rosanie Rigel Aristote amoureux ou le Philosophe bride Vaud. La Veuve de Cancale Vaud. Les Vendangeurs ou les Deux Baillis Vaud.

A Chronology of the Opéra-Comique (1762-1915)

5 Dec 16 Dec

11

Cassandre astrologue ou le Préjugé de la sympathie (Brunoy 23 Nov 1780) Vaud. Pygmalion Bonesi Le Bal bourgeois (Brunoy, 1780) Prot

1781 1 Jan 29 Jan 20 Feb 27 Feb 5 Mar 27 Mar 17 May 22 May 7 Jul 20 Jul 31 Jul 31 Jul 20 Aug 4 Sep 25 Sep 18 Oct 26 Oct 8 Nov 26 Nov

Les Étrennes de Mercure ou le Bonnet magique Div. comp. and vaud La Mélomanie (Versailles, 23 Jan 1781) Champein L'Amant statue (Brunoy, 1780) Vaud. Les Deux Morts ou la Ruse de Carnaval Div. comp. and vaud. Blanche et Vermeille Rigel La Matinée et la veillée villageoises ou le Sabot perdu Vaud. Jérôme et Fanchonette (Paris, Foire St Germain, 1755) Vaud. Le Printemps (Marly, 19 May 1781) Div. comp. and vaud. arr. Prot Léonore ou l'Heureuse Épreuve Champein Ariane abandonnée dans l'îsle de Naxos Benda Isabelle hussard Div. comp. and vaud. Le Tuteur trompé Anon. L'Automate Rigel Richard Vaud. Les Amours d'été Div. comp. and vaud. Les Deux Sylphes Désaugiers Le Bouquet du vaudeville ou Dialogue d'un charbonnier et d'une poissarde sur la naissance de Monseigneur le Dauphin Vaud. Lucette et Lucas F. Dezède Le Baiser ou la Bonne Fée Champein Les Deux Porteurs de chaise (Versailles, 26 Jul 1781) Vaud.

1782 6 Jan 5 Feb 7 Mar 8 Mar

Le Gâteau à deux fèves Vaud. La Soirée d'été Div. comp. and vaud. L'Éclipse totale Dalayrac L'Amour et la folie Vaud.

12

9 Apr 25 Apr 11 Jun 2 Aug 6 Aug 9 Sep 27 Sep 8 Oct 5 Nov 28 Nov

Opéra-Comique

Le Public vengé Vaud. Le Poète supposé ou les Préparatifs de fête Champein Les Jardiniers de Montreuil ou le Trébuchet (chez Mme de Montesson) Vaud. Agis Vaud. Les Jumeaux de Bergame Désaugiers Les Deux Aveugles de Bagdad Fournier Le Diable boiteux ou la Chose impossible Vaud. Tibère Vaud. L'Oiseau perdu et retrouvé ou la Coupe des foins Vaud. La Nouvelle Omphale (Versailles, 22 Nov 1782) Floquet

1783 9 Jan 13 Feb 17 Mar 5 Apr

Isabelle et Fernand ou l'Alcade de Zalaméa Champein Les Trois Inconnues (Versailles, 7 Feb 1783) Hinner Le Corsaire (Versailles, 7 Mar 1783) Dalayrac Le Déménagement d'Arlequin, marchand de tableaux Vaud. SALLE FAVART (I) April 1783 - 20 July 1801

1783 30 Apr 6 May 20 May 6 Jun 30 Jun 1 Aug 3 Sep 19 Sep 15 Nov 18 Nov 3 Dec 6 Dec

Thalie au nouveau theatre Grétry Le Réveil de Thalie Vaud. Les Voyages de Rosine Div. comp and vaud. Dame Jeanne Vaud. Blaise et Babet ou la Suite des Trois Fermiers (Versailles, 4 Apr 1783) Dezède Cassandre mécanicien ou le Bateau Volant Vaud. La Sorcière par hazard (chez la duchesse de Villeroy, 1768) Framery L'Heureux Naufrage Vaud. La Kermesse ou la Foire flamande Vogler La Résolution inutile ou les Déguisements amoureux Vaud. Le Tribut du coeur à l'occasion de la paix Vaud. Le Faux Lord (Fontainebleau, 5 Dec 1783) N. Piccinni

A Chronology of the Opéra-Comique (1762-1915)

27 Dec 29 Dec

13

Un mal pour un bien Chapelle Le Droit du seigneur (Fontainebleau, l7 Oct 1783) Martini Mathieu ou les Deux Soupers (Fontainebleau, 11 Oct 1783) Dalayrac L'Amant sylphe ou la Féerie de l'amour (Fontainebleau, 24 Oct 1783) Martini Les Quatre Coins (Fontainebleau, 3 Nov 1783) Vaud.

1784 5 Jan 27 Jan 11 Mar 18 Mar 8 May 17 May 24 Jun 28 Jun 27 Jul 11 Aug 26 Aug 21 Oct 4 Nov 16 Nov 16 Nov 30 Dec

Le Conciliateur à la mode ou les Étrennes du public Vaud. and ar. Le Marchand d'esclaves Vaud. La Fête du village Prot (?) Théodore et Paulin (Versailles, 5 Mar 1784) Grétry Les Deux Tuteurs Dalayrac Le Colin-Maillard (Paris, Th. Italien, 1754) Blaise L'Épreuve villageoise Grétry Le Dormeur éveillé (Fontainebleau, 1783) N. Piccinni Léandre Candide ou les Reconnaissances en Turquie Vaud. Les Rubans ou le Rendez-vous Deblois Memnon Ragué Richard Coeur-de-Lion Grétry Les Amours de Chérubin L. Piccinni, div. comp. and vaud. Les Docteurs modernes Vaud. Le Baquet de santé Vaud. Lucette N. Piccinni Les Paysans patriotes (Versailles, 25 (?) Mar 1784) Vogler

1785 17 Jan 3 Feb 28 Apr 25 Jun 28 Jun 4 Aug 18 Aug

Alexis et Justine (Versailles, 14 Jan 1785) Dezède Les Amours de Colombine ou Cassandre pleureur Champein Théodore ou le Bonheur inattendu (Fontainebleau, 4 Mar 1785) Davaux L'Heureuse Réconciliation Lachnith Claude et Claudine Vaud. L'Amant statue Dalayrac Lucette Fridzeri

14

31 Oct 21 Nov

Opéra-Comique

L'Amitié au village (Fontainebleau, 18 Oct 1785) Philidor La Dot (Fontainebleau, 8 Nov 1785) Dalayrac

1786 6 Jan 17 Jan 19 Jan 21 Feb 2 Mar 15 May 23 May 26 Jun 29 Jul 26 Aug 12 Sep 30 Oct 16 Nov 14 Dec

Constance Vaud. Les Trois Folies Baudron and vaud. Coradin (Fontainebleau, 1785) Bruni L'Incendie du Havre Vaud. L'Amour filial Ragué Nina ou la Folle par amour (Choisy, chez le duc de Coigny) Dalayrac Les Ailes de l'amour Div. comp. and vaud. La Double Clef ou Colombine commissaire Louet Le Mariage d'Antonio L. Grétry, arr. Grétry Les Fausses Nouvelles Champein L'Heureux Naufrage Vaud. L' Amitié à l'épreuve ou les Vrais Amis Grétry Les Méprises par ressemblance (Fontainebleau, 7 Nov 1786) Grétry Cécilia ou les Trois Tuteurs Davaux Les Trois Tuteurs au l'Orpheline anglaise (Versailles, 31 Mar 1786) Anon.

1787 2 Jan 8 Jan 8 Feb 17 Mar 22 Mar 24 Mar 3 May 15 Jun 18 Jun 4 Jul 19 Jul

Le Mariage singulier Vaud. Les Dettes Champein Le Comte d' Albert (Fontainebleau, 1786) Grétry Le Mensonge officieux (Versailles, 16 Mar 1787) N. Piccinni (?) Toinette et Louis L. Grétry Les Clefs du jardin ou les Pots de fleurs Vaud. Azémia ou les Sauvages (Fontainebleau, 1786) Dalayrac La Négresse ou le Pouvoir de la reconnaissance Lescot and div. comp. Isabelle et Rosalvo Propiac Les Promesses de mariage, Suite de l'Épreuve villageoise Berton Renaud d' Ast Dalayrac

A Chronology of the Opéra-Comique (1762-1915)

27 Jul 18 Aug 15 Sep 15 Oct 3 Nov 5 Dec 26 Dec

15

Lanlaire ou le Chaos Vaud. La Fille garcon Saint-Georges Dormenon et Beauval ou le Fils corrigé Lefroid de Méreaux Célestine Bruni Berthe et Pépin Deshayes L'Amant à l'épreuve ou la Dame invisible Berton Le Prisonnier anglais Grétry

1788 15 Jan 23 Jan 3 Mar 8 Mar 14 May 20 Jun 26 Jun 28 Jul 5 Aug 28 Aug 11 Sep 13 Oct 10 Dec 20 Dec

Les Solitaires de Normandie Lescot et div. comp. Les Deux Sérénades Dalayrac Julien et Colette ou la Milice Trial fils La Fin du bail ou le Repas des fermiers Vaud. and ar. Sargines ou l'Élève de l'amour Dalayrac Candide marié ou Il faut cultiver son jardin Lescot, div.comp. and vaud. Le Rival confident Grétry Les Trois Déesses rivales ou le Double Jugement de Paris Propiac Les Arts et l'amitié Berton, Martini, Solie La Paysanne supposée ou la Fête de la moisson Blasius L'Anneau perdu et retrouvé Chardiny Fanchette ou l'Heureuse Épreuve Dalayrac L'Incertain ou l'Embarras du choix Lefebvre Inès et Léonore ou la Soeur jalousie Bréval

1789 14 Jan 2 Mar 26 Mar 28 Mar 20 Apr 5 May 30 May 1 Aug 26 Sep 31 Oct 2 Dec

Les Deux Petits Savoyards Dalayrac Raoul Barbe-Bleue Grétry La Fausse Paysanne ou l'Heureuse Inconséquence Propiac Sans adieu Vaud. La Couronne de Fleurs Vaud. Le Destin et les Parques Attrib. to Chapelle Les Savoyardes ou la Continence de Bayard Propiac La Vieillesse d' Annette et Lubin Chapelle Le Soldat par amour Darondeau Raoul, Sire de Créqui Dalayrac Caroline Lefebvre

16

Opéra-Comique

1790 13 Jan 14 Feb 1 Mar 8 Mar 15 Mar 1 May 4 May 10 May 29 May 19 Jun 10 Jul 23 Aug 4 Sep 11 Oct 15 Oct 5 Nov 20 Nov 6 Dec

Pierre le Grand Grétry Le Diable à quatre ou la Double Metamorphose Porta Les Brouilleries Berton La Chose impossible Chardiny (?) and vaud. Le District de village Vaud. et airs Les Fous de Médine ou la Rencontre imprévue Solie, div. comp. La Suite des Solitaires de Normandie Lescot, div. comp. and vaud. Jeanne d'Arc à Orleans Kreutzer La Soirée orageuse Dalayrac Ferdinand ou la Suite des Deux Pages Dezède Le Chêne patriotique ou la Matinée du 14 juillet 1790 Dalayrac Les Rigueurs du cloître Berton Euphrosine ou le Tyran corrigé Méhul Vert-Vert Dalayrac Le Nouveau d'Assas Berton Adèle et Didier Deshayes Les Portraits Parenti La Famille réunie Chapelle

1791 8 Jan 15 Jan 25 Jan 21 Feb 19 Mar 27 Mar 9 Apr 6 Jun 1 Jul 1 Aug 21 Sep 10 Oct 17 Dec 28 Dec

Grisélide ou la Vertu a l'épreuve Lefroid de Méreaux Paul et Virginie Kreutzer Les Deux Voisins Vaud. Bayard dans Bresse ou Créqui et Clémentine Champein Camille ou le Souterrain Dalayrac Les Deux Sentinelles Berton Guillaume Tell Grétry Adélaïde et Mirval ou la Vengeance paternelle Trial fils Athalie Gossec Lodoïska ou les Tartares Kreutzer Les Espiègleries de garnison Champein Agnès et Olivier Dalayrac Elfrida Lemoyne Philippe et Georgette Dalayrac

A Chronology of the Opéra-Comique (1762-1915)

17

1792 16 Jan 1 Feb 8 Feb 16 Feb 18 Feb 19 Mar 19 Mar 3 May 19 May 7 Jul 28 Jul 25 Aug 17 Oct [26 vend I] 1 Nov [12 brum I] 3 Nov [14 brum I] 21 Nov [1 frim I] 3 Dec [13 frim I]

Cécile et Ermancé ou les Deux Couvents Grétry Werther et Charlotte Kreutzer L'École des parvenus ou la Suite des Deux Petits Savoyards Devienne Clarisse et Ermancé ou les Deux Couvents Grétry La Vengeance paternelle Trial fils Mélite ou le Pouvoir de la nature Deshayes La Moisson Solié, airs and vaud. Stratonice Méhul Les Deux Sous-lieutenants ou le Concert interrompu Berton Tout pour l'amour ou Roméo et Juliette Dalayrac Les Deux Petits Aveugles Trial fils Les Trois Sultanes Blasius Bazile ou À trompeur, trompeur et demi Grétry Le Despotisme monacal Grétry Le Franc Breton Kreutzer, Solié Le Siège de Lille ou Cécile et Julien Trial fils Jean et Geneviève Solié

1793 12 Jan [23 niv I] 6 Feb [18 pluv I] 23 Feb [5 vent I] 16 Mar [26 vent I] 23 Mar [3 germ I] 28 Mar [8 germ I] 2 May [13 flor I] 22 May [3 prai I] 10 Jun [22 prai I] 1 Jul [13 mess I] 17 Aug [30 ther I] 5 Sep [19 fruc I] 9 Oct [18 vend II]

Ambroise ou Voilà ma journée Dalayrac Le Déserteur de la montagne de Hamm Kreutzer Le Peletier de Saint-Fargeau ou le Premier Martyr de la République française Blasius Le Barbier de Séville ou la Précaution inutile Paisiello Clarice et Belton ou le Prisonnier anglais Grétry Le Jeune Sage et le vieux fou Méhul Asgill ou le Prisonnier de guerre Dalayrac La Blanche Haquenée Porta Le Coin du feu Jadin Le Corsaire algérien ou le Combat naval Dalayrac La Cause et les effets ou le Réveil du peuple en 1789 Trial fils La Moisson Solié, airs and vaud. La Fête civique du village Vaud.

18

14 Oct [23 vend II] 22 Oct [1 brum II] 28 Dec [8 niv II]

Opéra-Comique

Urgande et Merlin Dalayrac L'Homme et le malheur Parenti Le Cri de la patrie Parenti

1794 4 Jan [15 niv II] 19 Jan [30 niv II] 21 Jan [2 pluv II] 5 Feb [17 pluv II] 26 Feb [8 vent II] 4 Apr [15 germ II] 20 Apr [1 flor II] 6 May [17 flor II] 10 May [21 flor II] 23 May [4 prai II] 5 Jun [17 prai II] 1 Jul [13 mess II] 4 Aug [17 ther II] 18 Aug [1 fruc II] 7 Sep [21 fruc II] 19 Sep [3 jc II] 13 Oct [22 vend III] 24 Oct [3 brum III] 30 Oct [9 brum III] 9 Nov [19 brum III] 18 Nov [28 brum III] 3 Dec [13 frim III] 7 Dec [17 frim III]

L'Intérieur d'un ménage republicain Vaud. Le Plaisir et la gloire Solié La Prise de Toulon par les Français Lemière de Corvey Andros et Almona ou le Français à Bassora Lemière de Corvey Le Congrès des rois Div. comp. Les Missionnaires républicains Vaud. La Discipline républicaine Foignet Mélidore et Phrosine Méhul L'École de village Solié, airs and vaud. L'Enfance de Jean-Jacques Rousseau Dalayrac Joseph Barra Grétry Agricole Viala ou le Héros de treize ans Porta Les Épreuves du Républicain ou l'Amour de la patrie Champein La Fête américaine Walter Arabelle et Vascos ou les Jacobins de Goa Marc Callias ou Nature et patrie Grétry L'Écolier en vacances Jadin Les Pirates vaincus par les Français Anon. Encore une victoire ou les Déserteurs liégeois et les prisonniers français Kreutzer Bathilde et Éloy Dalayrac Les Détenus ou Cange, commissionnaire de Lazare Dalayrac La Soubrette ou l'Étui de harpe Solié Albert et Antoine ou le Service recompense Grétry

1795 11 Jan [22 niv III] 9 Mar [19 vent III] 9 Mar [19 vent III] 12 Mar [22 vent III]

Le Cabaleur Jadin Arnill ou le Prisonnier américain Dalayrac On respire! Kreutzer Doria ou la Tyrannie détruite Méhul

A Chronology of the Opéra-Comique (1762-1915)

3 Apr [14 germ III] 8 Apr [19 germ III] 27 Apr [8 flor III] 12 May [23 flor III] 14 Jun [26 prai III] 25 Jul [7 ther III] 5 Dec [14 frim IV]

19

La Journée du 12 Germinal Dalayrac La Pauvre Femme Dalayrac Adèle et Dorsan Dalayrac La Supercherie par amour ou le Fils supposé Jadin Le Nouveau Don Quichotte (Paris, Th. de Monsieur, 1789) Champein Le Brigand Kreutzer La Caverne Méhul

1796 2 Jan [12 niv IV] 6 Jan [16 niv IV] 20 Feb [I vent IV] 23 Mar [3 germ IV] 20 Apr [I flor IV] 27 Apr [8 flor IV] 10 Jun [22 prai IV] 7 Jul [19 mess IV] 4 Aug [17 ther IV] 3 Oct [12 vend V] 26 Oct [5 brum V] 5 Dec [15 frim V]

Le Mariage de la veille Jadin Le Jockei Solié La Famille américaine Dalayrac Le Négociant de Boston Jadin Le Secret Solié Imogène ou la Gageure indiscrete Kreutzer Les Rendez-vous espagnols Fay Marianne ou l'Amour maternel Dalayrac Les Deux Lettres Jadin Bélisaire Philidor, Berton Christophe et Jérôme ou la Ferme hospitalière Berton Azeline Solié

1797 10 Jan [21 niv V] 4 Mar [14 vent V] 22 Mar [3 germ V] 4 Apr [15 germ V] 1 May [12 flor V] 11 May [22 flor V] 10 Nov [20 brum VI] 15 Dec [25 frim VI] 30 Dec [10 niv VI]

Lisbeth Grétry Ponce de Léon Berton Volécour ou Un tour de page Devienne Zélia ou le Mari à deux femmes (Paris, Louvois, 1791) Deshayes Le Jeune Henri Méhul La Maison isolée ou le Vieillard des Vosges Dalayrac Le Dénouement inattendu Berton Le Pari ou Mombreuil et Merville Boieldieu Gulnare ou l'Esclave persane Dalayrac

20

Opéra-Comique

1798 11 Mar [22 niv VI] 29 Jan [10 pluv VI] 7 Mar [17 vent VI] 10 May [21 flor VI] 28 May [9 prai VI] 9 Jul [21 mess VI] 5 Aug [18 ther VI] 5 Sep [19 fruc VI] 15 Oct [24 vend VII] 6 Nov [16 brum VII] 19 Nov [29 brum VII] 8 Dec [18 frim VII]

Amélie Louet Le Prisonnier ou la Ressemblance Della Maria Primerose Dalayrac Zoraïme et Zulnar Boieldieu Jacquot ou l'École des mères Della Maria L'Opéra-comique Della Maria Le Rendez-vous supposé ou le Souper de famille Berton La Dot de Suzette Boieldieu Le Château de Monténéro Dalayrac Le Cabriolet jaune ou le Phénix d'Angoulême Tarchi La Femme de 45 ans Solié L'Oncle valet Della Maria

1799 1 Jan [12 niv VII] 27 Jan [8 pluv VII] 10 Feb [22 pluv VII]

Élisca ou l'Amour maternel Grétry Le Rêve Gresnick Adolphe et Clara ou les Deux Prisonniers Dalayrac 10 Mar [20 vent VII] Roger ou le Page Dalayrac 15 Apr [26 germ VII] Montano et Stéphanie Berton 6 May [17 flor VII] Le Trente et quarante ou le Portrait Tarchi 23 May [4 prai VII] Le Général suédois Tarchi 17 Jun [29 prai VII] Le Chapitre second Solié 22 Aug [5 fruc VII] Fanny Morna ou l'Écossaise Persuis 30 Aug [13 fruc VII] L'Amour bizarre ou les Projets deranges Berton 27 Sep [5 vend VIII] Laure ou l'Actrice chez elle Dalayrac 11 Oct [19 vend VIII] Ariodant Méhul 8 Nov [17 brum VIII] La Maison du Marais ou Trois Ans d'absence Della Maria 13 Nov [22 brum VIII] Les Mariniers de Saint-Cloud Vaud. 28 Nov [7 frim VIII] La Dame voilée ou l'Adresse et l'amour Mengozzi 7 Dec [16 frim VIII] Le Délire ou les Suites d'une erreur Berton

A Chronology of the Opéra-Comique (1762-1915)

21

1800 11 Jan [21 pluv VIII] 24 Jan [4 pluv VIII] 14 Feb [14 vent VIII] 7 Mar [16 vent VIII] 14 Mar [23 vent VIII] 30 Mar [9 germ VIII] 14 Apr [24 germ VIII] 26 Apr [6 flor VIII] 22 May [2 prai VIII] 7 Jun [18 prai VIII] 8 Jun [19 prai VIII] 3 Jul [14 mess VIII] 13 Jul [24 mess VIII] 26 Jul [7 ther VIII] 4 Aug [16 ther VIII] 29 Aug [11 fruc VIII] 16 Sep [29 fruc VIII] 4 Oct [12 vend IX] 23 Oct [1 brum IX] 17 Nov [26 brum IX] 27 Dec [6 niv IX] 30 Dec [9 niv IX]

Dom Carlos Deshayes Le Voisinage Div. comp. Le Rocher de Leucade Dalayrac Le Fruit défendu Attrib. Persuis Épicure Méhul, Cherubini Le Tableau des Sabines Vaud. Annette et Lubin Martini D'auberge en auberge ou les Préventions Tarchi Une matinée de Voltaire ou la Famille Calas à Paris Solié Une nuit d'été ou Un peu d'aide fait grand bien Solié and vaud. Beniowski ou les Exilés du Kamtschatka Boieldieu Zoé ou la Pauvre Petite Plantade Une nuit de Frédéric II ou le Rappel de Potsdam Vaud. Le Locataire Gaveaux Vadé chez lui Vaud. Oui ou le Double Rendez-vous Solié and vaud. Le Calife de Bagdad Boldieu La Rivale d'elle-même Solié Maison à vendre Dalayrac La Pluie et le beau temps ou l'Été de l'an VIII Solié and vaud. Bion Méhul Le Premier Homme du monde ou la Création du sommeil Div. comp. and vaud.

1801 8 Jan [18 niv IX] 21 Jan [1 pluv IX] 12 Feb [23 pluv IX] 17 Feb [28 pluv IX] 10 Mar [19 vent IX] 26 Mar [5 germ IX] 26 Mar [5 germ IX] 19 May [29 flor IX]

L'Habit du chevalier de Grammont Eler Le Grand Deuil Berton Marcel ou l'Héritier supposé Persuis L'Irato ou l'Emporté Méhul L'Esquisse du grand tableau Vaud. Désirée ou la Paix du village Vaud. La Confession du vaudeville Vaud. et div. comp. Le Tonnelier Isouard

22

Opéra-Comique

30 Jun [11 mess IX] 6 Jul [17 mess IX] 10 Jul [21 mess IX]

L'Impromptu de campagne Isouard Il Calzolaro Attrib. Paisiello Il Maestro di cappella Attrib. Cimarosa and Paisiello

Fusion des troupes des théâtres Feydeau et Favart SALLE FEYDEAU 16 September 1801 - 22 July 1804 16 Sep [29 fruc IX] 17 Sep [30 fruc IX] 18 Sep [1 jc IX] 20 Sep [3 jc IX] 21 Sep [4 jc IX] 23 Sep [1 vend X]? 28 Sep [6 vend X] 2 Oct [10 vend X] 3 Oct [11 vend X] 5 Oct [13 vend X] 8 Oct [16 vend X] 9 Oct [17 vend X] 11 Oct [19 vend X] 17 Oct [25 vend X] 19 Oct [27 vend X] 27 Oct [5 brum X]

Les Deux Journées (Paris, Feydeau, 1800) Cherubini Les Visitandines (Paris, Feydeau, 1792) Devienne Une matinée de Catinat ou le Tableau (Paris, Feydeau, 1800) Dalayrac Le Trompeur trompé (Paris, Feydeau, 1800) Gaveaux Alexis ou l'Erreur d'un bon père (Paris, Feydeau, 1798) Dalayrac Une nuit de Frédéric II Vaud. Léonore ou l'Amour conjugal (Paris, Feydeau, 1798) Gaveaux Palma ou le Voyage en Grèce (Paris, Feydeau, 1798) Plantade Marcelin (Paris, Feydeau, 1800) Lebrun L'Auteur dans son ménage (Paris, Feydeau, 1799) Bruni Le Petit Matelot ou le Mariage impromptu (Paris, Feydeau, 1795) Gaveaux Clémentine ou la Belle-mère (Paris, Feydeau, 1800) Fay Le Chansonnier de la paix Anon. L'Amour filial ou la Jambe de bois (Paris, Feydeau, 1792) Gaveaux Roméo et Juliette (Paris, Feydeau, 1793) Steibelt La Famille indigente (Paris, Feydeau, 1794) Gaveaux

A Chronology of the Opéra-Comique (1762-1915)

12 Nov [21 brum X] 13 Nov [22 brum X] 14 Nov [23 brum X] 14 Nov [23 brum X] 3 Dec [12 frim X] 12 Dec [21 frim X] 22 Dec [1 niv X]

23

Le Valet de deux maîtres (Paris, Feydeau, 1799) Devienne Claudine ou le Petit Commissionnaire (Paris, Feydeau, 1794) Bruni Le Traité nul (Paris, Feydeau, 1797) Gaveaux La Caverne (Paris, Feydeau, 1793) Le Sueur Les Deux Ermites (Paris, Feydeau, 1793) Gaveaux Léhéman ou la Tour de Neustadt Dalayrac Lisez Plutarque Solié

1802 5 Jan [15 niv X] 15 Jan [25 niv X] 28 Jan [8 pluv X] 9 Feb [20 pluv X] 15 Feb [26 pluv X] 27 Feb [8 vent X] 25 Mar [4 germ X] 29 Mar [8 germ X] 4 Apr [14 germ X] 5 Apr [15 germ X] 26 Apr [6 flor X] 27 Apr [7 flor X] 20 May [30 flor X] 31 May [11 prai X] 24 Jun [5 mess X] 8 Jul [19 mess X] 29 Jul [10 ther X] 12 Oct [20 vend XI] 26 Oct [4 brum XI] 30 Oct [8 brum XI] 23 Nov [2 frim XI] 11 Dec [20 frim XI]

Lodoïska (Paris, Feydeau, 1791) Cherubini Lisistrata ou les Athéniennes Solié Une aventure de Saint-Foix ou le Coup d'épée Tarchi Sophie et Moncars ou l'Intrigue portugaise (Paris, Feydeau, 1797) Gaveaux Dom Mendoze ou le Tuteur portugais B.H. Romberg L'Antichambre ou les Valets maîtres Dalayrac Le Major Palmer (Paris, Feydeau, 1797) Bruni Le Retour inattendu Gaveaux Lodoïska Kreutzer Une folie Méhul La Statue ou la Femme avare Isouard La Cantate de la paix Isouard Elisa ou le Voyage aux glaciers du Mont SaintBernard (Paris, Feydeau, 1794) Cherubini Le Concert interrompu Berton La Fausse Duègne Della Maria, Blangini Le Faux Porteur d'eau Anon. Le Trésor supposé ou le Danger d'écouter aux portes Méhul Astolphe et Alba ou À quoi tient la bonne fortune Tarchi Le Valet de deux maîtres Fiocchi La Boucle de cheveux Dalayrac Joanna Méhul Michel-Ange Isouard

24

Opéra-Comique

1803 7 Jan [17 niv XI] 13 Jan [23 niv XI] 1 Mar [10 vent XI] 31 Mar [10 germ XI] 3 May [13 flor XI] 18 Jun [29 prai XI] 30 Jul [11 ther XI] 6 Aug [18 ther XI] 3 Sep [16 fruc XI] 19 Nov [27 brum XII] 29 Dec [7 niv XII]

Chimère et réalité Blangini Ma tante Aurore ou le Roman impromptu Boieldieu Héléna Méhul Les Confidences Isouard Picaros et Diego Dalayrac Le Baiser et la quittance ou Une aventure de garnison Div. comp. Henriette de Verseuil Solié L'Incertitude maternelle ou le Choix impossible Solié Aline, reine de Golconde Berton Le Médecin turc Isouard L'Heureux malgré lui Méhul

1804 14 Jan [23 niv XII] 21 Jan [30 niv XII] 26 Jan [5 pluv XII] 7 Feb [7 pluv XII] 25 Feb [5 vent XII] 3 Mar [12 vent XII] 20 Mar [29 vent XII] 16 Apr [26 germ XII] 12 May [22 flor XII] 9 Jun [20 prai XII]

La Jeune Prude ou les Femmes entre elles Dalayrac Jean Bart et Patoulet L. E. Jadin La Romance Berton L'Époux généreux ou le Pouvoir des procédés Solié Le Cigisbé ou le Fat corrigé L. Piccinni L'Amour Romanesque Wölfl Une heure de marriage Dalayrac Louise ou la Malade par amour Solié La Petite Maison Spontini Un quart d'heure de silence Gaveaux

A Chronology of the Opéra-Comique (1762-1915)

SALLE FAVART (I) 23 July - 2 October 1804 26 Jul [7 ther XII]

Les Troid Hussards Champein THÉÂTRE OLYMPIQUE 3 - 23 October 1804

4 Oct [12 vend XIII]

L'Amoureux per surprise ou le Droit d'aînesse L. A. Piccinni SALLE FAVART (I) 24 October 1804 - 4 July 1805

27 Oct [5 brum XIII] Avis aux femmes ou le Mari colère Gaveaux 17 Nov [26 brum XIII] Le Chevalier d'industrie Pradher, Dugazon 27 Nov [6 frim XIII] Milton Spontini 1805 3 Jan [13 niv XIII] 11 Feb [22 pluv XIII] 25 Feb [6 vent XIII] 12 Mar [21 vent XIII] 2 Apr [12 germ XIII] 9 May [19 flor XIII] 30 May [10 prai XIII] 24 Jun [5 mess XIII]

Les Deux Oncles Solié Fernando ou les Maures Wölffl L'Intrigue aux fenêtres Isouard Julie ou le Pot de fleurs Spontini, Fay Le Vaisseau ou Forbin et Delville Berton Délia et Verdikan Berton La Ruse inutile ou les Rivaux par convention Isouard La Méprise volontaire ou la Double Leçon Le Sénéchal de Kerkado

25

26

Opéra-Comique

SALLE FEYDEAU 2 September 1805 - 12 April 1829 30 Sep [8 vend XIV] 14 Oct [22 vend XIV] 26 Oct [4 brum XIV] 18 Nov [27 brum XIV] 23 Dec [2 niv XIV]

Gulistan ou le Hulla de Samarcande Dalayrac Le Grand-père ou les Deux Âges L. E. Jadin Chacun son tour Solié Léonce ou le Fils adoptif Isouard Le Duel nocturne Rigel

1806 2 Jan 28 Jan 8 Feb 17 Feb 1 Mar 24 Apr 17 May 9 Jun 25 Jun 15 Jul 1 Aug 30 Aug 4 Oct 13 Oct 22 Nov 18 Dec

Les Surprises ou l'Étourdi en voyage Kreutzer Les Deux Aveugles de Tolède Méhul La Prise de Passau Isouard Monsieur Deschalumeaux ou la Soirée de carnaval Gaveaux Isabelle et Gertrude Pacini Le Déjeuner de garcons Isouard Uthal Méhul Deux Mots ou Une nuit dans la fôret Dalayrac Gabrielle d'Estrées ou les Amours de Henri IV Méhul Les Maris garcons Berton Idala ou la Sultane favourite Isouard La Maison louée ou la Maison à deux maîtres Martini Philoclès Dourlen Le Marquis Tulipano ou le Mariage inattendu (Paris, Th. Monsieur, 1789) Paisiello Avis au public ou le Physionomiste en défaut L. A. Piccinni Koulouf ou les Chinois Dalayrac

1807 22 Jan 17 Feb 14 Mar

Les Artistes par occasion ou l'Amateur de Tivoli Catel Joseph Méhul Francois I ou la Fête mysterieuse Kreutzer

A Chronology of the Opéra-Comique (1762-1915)

23 Apr 9 May 19 May 9 Jun 27 Jul 30 Jul 10 Aug 24 Sep 8 Oct 10 Dec

27

L' Auberge de Bagnères Catel Les Rendez-vous bourgeois Isouard Ida ou l'Orpheline de Berlin A. Candeille Les Arts et l'amitié Jadin Le Chant du retour Berton L' Opéra au village ou la Fête impromptu Solié L' Amante sans le savoir ou la Leçon d'un père Solié La Folie musicale ou le Chanteur prisonnier Pradher Lina ou le Mystère Dalayrac Les Créanciers ou le Remède à la goutte Isouard

1808 7 Jan 30 Jan 20 Feb 17 Mar 17 May 24 May 28 Jun 23 Jul 22 Aug 10 Sep 26 Sep 22 Oct 29 Oct 10 Dec

Les Époux avant le mariage ou Ils sont chez eux L. A. Piccinni Menzikoff et Fedor ou le Fou de Bérézoff Champein Anna ou les Deux Chaumières Solié Mademoiselle de Guise Solié Amour et mauvaise tête ou la Réputation Pacini Un jour à Paris ou la Leçon singulière Isouard Cimarosa Isouard Le Chevalier de Sénanges Berton L'Échelle de soie Gaveaux Linnée ou les Mines de Suède Dourlen Ninon chez Madame de Sévigné Berton Les Femmes vengées Blangini Jadis et aujourd'hui Kreutzer Le Hussard noir Solié

1809 28 Jan 22 Feb 20 Mar 4 Apr 25 Apr 19 May 9 Sep

Françoise de Foix Berton Le Nègre par amour Villeblanche La Rose blanche et la rose rouge Gaveaux Le Mariage par imprudence Dalvimare Zélomir ou l'Intrigue au Sérail Isouard La Ferme du Mont-Cenis Champein La Dupe de son art ou les Deux Amants Dourlen

28

26 Sep 25 Oct 30 Nov

Opéra-Comique

Élise-Hortense ou les Souvenirs de l' enfance Dalayrac Avis aux jaloux ou la Rencontre imprévu L. Piccinni Le Diable à quatre ou la Femme acariâtre Solié

1810 2 Jan 22 Feb 6 Mar 8 Apr 26 Jun 1 Sep 27 Nov

Le Présent de noces ou le Pari Berton fils Cendrillon Isouard Monsieur Desbosquets Berton fils, Grandfont «Vaudeville de Mr Désaugiers » Vaud. La Partie de campagne L. E. Jadin Le Crescendo Cherubini Cagliostro ou les Illuminés Dourlen, Reicha

1811 12 Jan 24 Jan 27 Feb 23 Mar 31 Mar 19 Apr 30 May 27 Aug 14 Sep 3 Oct 4 Nov 23 Nov 21 Dec

Jeune et vieille Pradher, Berton fils Le Charme de la voix Berton père La Victime des arts ou la Fête de famille Isouard, Solié, Berton père Le Berceau Vaud. La Fête de village ou l'Heureux Militaire Isouard Rien de trop ou les Deux Paravents (St Petersburg, 6 Jan 1811) Boieldieu Le Poète et le musicien ou Je cherche un sujet Dalayrac Les Ménestrels ou la Tour d'Amboise Solié Le Billet de loterie Isouard Bayard à La Ferté ou le Siège de Mézières Plantade Le Magicien sans magie Isouard L'Enfant prodigue Gaveaux Ninette à la cour ou le Retour au village Berton fils

1812 7 Jan

L'Homme sans façons ou les Contrariétés Kreutzer

A Chronology of the Opéra-Comique (1762-1915)

13 Feb 27 Feb 4 Apr 5 May 16 May 17 Jun 30 Jun 25 Jul 12 Oct 31 Oct 12 Dec

29

Édouard ou le Frère par supercherie Barni Lulli et Quinault ou le Déjeuner impossible Isouard Jean de Paris Boieldieu Elisca ou l'Habitante de Madagascar Grétry L' Auteur malgré lui ou la Pièce tombée L. E. Jadin Les Aubergistes de qualité Catel Les Rivaux d'un moment Champein L'Emprunt secret ou le Prêteur sans le vouloir Pradher fils La Jeune Femme colère (St Petersburg, 1805) Boieldieu La Vallée suisse (Saint-Cloud, 29 Oct 1812) Weigl Marguerite de Waldemar Dugazon

1813 27 Feb 4 Mar 18 Mar 27 Mar 19 Apr 29 Apr 24 May 14 Jun 29 Jun 13 Sep 14 Oct 13 Nov 22 Nov 29 Nov 16 Dec 29 Dec

Le Séjour militaire Auber Le Prince de Catane Isouard Le Mari de circonstance Plantade Les Deux Jaloux Gail Le Camp de Sobieski ou le Triomphe des femmes Kreutzer La Chambre à coucher ou Une demi-heure de Richelieu Guénée Le Prince troubadour ou Le Grand Trompeur de dames Méhul Le Français à Venise Isouard Le Nouveau Seigneur de village Boieldieu Valentin ou le Paysan Romanesque Berton père Le Forgeron de Bassora Kreubé L'Aventurier Catrufo Constance et Théodore ou la Prisonnière Kreutzer Le Colonel ou le Honneur militaire D'Estourmel Mademoiselle de Launay à la Bastille Gail L'Héritier de Paimpol Bochsa

30

Opéra-Comique

1814 12 Feb 28 Feb 16 Mar 2 Apr 30 Apr 21 May 13 Jun 12 Jul 20 Aug 20 Sep 17 Oct 3 Nov 19 Nov 8 Dec

Bayard à Mézières Div. comp. Joconde ou les Coureurs d'aventures Isouard La Ronde de nuit Anon. Le Déserteur russe Anon. Les Héritiers Michau ou Le Moulin de Lieursain Bochsa Le Béarnais ou Henri IV en voyage Kreutzer, Boieldieu Angéla ou l’Atelier de Jean Cousin Boieldieu, Gail Le Portrait de famille Kreubé Alphonse, roi d' Aragon Bochsa La Méprise Gail Jeannot et Colin Isouard Le Premier en date Catel La Noce ecossaise Dugazon Le Règne de douze heures Bruni

1815 25 Jan 28 Feb 6 May 3 Jun 20 Jul 17 Aug 22 Aug 16 Sep 7 Nov 4 Dec 11 Dec

La Perruque et la redingote Kreutzer, Kreubé Félicie ou la Jeune fille Romanesque Catrufo La Leçon d'une femme Duret Le Procès D'Estourmel La Sourde-muette Blangini Une matinée de Frontin Catrufo Le Roi et la Ligue ou la Ville assiégée Bochsa Les Noces de Gamache Bochsa Les Parents d'un jour Benincori Le Mariage par commission ou le Seigneur allemand Bruni La Lettre de change Bochsa

1816 1 Jan 17 Jan 5 Mar

Un mari pour étrennes Bochsa La Comtesse de Troun Guénée La Fête du village voisin Boieldieu

A Chronology of the Opéra-Comique (1762-1915)

18 Mar 30 Mar 11 May 25 May 1 Jun 18 Jun 8 Aug 26 Aug 15 Oct 16 Nov 14 Dec

31

Les Deux Maris Isouard L'Inconnu ou le Coup d'épée viager Jadin L'Une pour l'autre ou l'Enlèvement Isouard Plus heureux que sage Dourlen Une nuit d'intrigue Kreubé Charles de France ou Amour et gloire Boieldieu, Hérold Le Maître et le valet Kreutzer La Bataille de Denain Catrufo Féodor ou le Batelier du Don Berton La Journée aux aventures Méhul La Jeune Belle mere Kreubé

1817 27 Jan 15 Feb 17 Mar 24 Mar 29 Apr 24 May 28 Jun 14 Jul 18 Oct 15 Dec 29 Dec

Les Rosières Hérold Le Revenant Berton Les Deux Capitaines de hussards Isouard Wallace ou le Ménestrel ecossaise Catel Le Caprice d'une jolie femme Catrufo Le Trompeur sans le vouloir Bouteiller Les Hussards en cantonnement Champein Le Sceptre et la charrue L. A. Piccinni La Clochette ou le Diable page Hérold Le Prince d'occasion ou le Comédien de province Garcia L'Héritière Kreubé

1818 20 Jan 10 Feb 26 Feb 2 Apr 16 Apr 16 Apr 14 May

Le Frère Philippe Dourlen Une nuit au bois ou le Muet de circonstance Gaveaux La Ceinture magi que ou le Faux Astrologue Chancourtois La Sérénade Gail, Garcia La Fête des souvenirs Blangini La Comtesse de Lamarck ou Tout pour l'amour Blangini La Promesse de mariage ou le Retour au hameau Benincori

32

30 Jun 15 Jul 5 Aug 28 Sep 27 Oct 17 Nov 26 Dec

Opéra-Comique

Le Petit Chaperon rouge Boieldieu Le Bohémien Chancourtois Une nuit au château Mengal Le Premier venu ou Six Lieues de chemin Hérold L'Épreuve ou Un chapitre de Zadig Catrufo La Fênetre secrète ou Une soiree à Madrid Batton Les Courses de Newmarket Strunz

1819 16 Jan 18 Feb 27 Mar 4 May 12 Jun 1 Jul 5 Aug 18 Sep 12 Oct 16 Nov 24 Dec

Les Époux indiscrets ou le Danger des confidences Benincori Les Troqueurs Hérold L'Île de Babilary Mengal L'Officier enlevé ou l'Enlèvement singulier Catel Marini ou le Muet de Venise Dourlen Le Voyage incognito Gasse Edmond et Caroline ou la Lettre et la réponse Kreubé Le Testament et les billets doux Auber La Rancune trompée ou les Deux Normands L. Piccinni Charles XII et Pierre le Grand Chancourtois Les Rivaux de village ou la Cruche cassée Lemière de Corvey

1820 27 Jan 29 Apr 8 Jun 29 Jul 9 Sep 18 Oct 25 Nov 18 Dec

La Bergère chatelaine Auber Les Voitures versées (St. Petersburg, 1808) Boieldieu L'Amant et le mari Fétis Corisandre ou la Rose magique Berton La Grille du parc ou Le Premier Parti Panseron La Jeune Tante Kreubé L'Idiote Gasse L' Auteur mort et vivant Hérold

A Chronology of the Opéra-Comique (1762-1915)

33

1821 19 Feb 10 Mar 29 Mar 10 Apr 30 Apr 7 Jul 16 Aug 11 Sep 15 Oct 27 Nov

Les Caquets Berton fils Jeanne d'Arc ou la Délivrance d'Orléans Carafa Le Maître de chapelle ou Le Souper imprévu Paër Le Jeune Oncle Blangini Le Panorama de Paris ou C'est fête partout! Vaud. Emma ou la Promesse imprudente Auber Le Philosophe en voyage Kreubé, Pradher L'Habit retourné Maresse Le Négociant de Hambourg Kreutzer Léonore et Félix ou C'est la même! Benoist

1822 21 Feb 23 Mar 13 May 27 Jul 17 Aug 11 Sep 28 Nov 19

Le Petit Souper Dourlen Le Paradis de Mahomet ou la Pluralité des femmes Kreutzer, Kreubé Le Pavillon des Fleurs ou les Pêcheurs de Grenade Dalayrac Nadir et Selim ou les Deux Artistes Romagnesi Le Solitaire Carafa Le Coq de village Kreubé Valentine de Milan Méhul, Daussoigne Les Adieux au public Anon.

1823 2 Jan 25 Jan 19 Feb 10 Mar 14 Apr 12 May 14 Jun 5 Jul 2 Aug

Les Infidèles Mengal Leicester ou le Château de Kenilworth Auber Le Mariage difficile ou les Deux Cousins Panseron Jenny la bouquetière Kreubé, Pradher Amour et colère Lubbert Le Muletier Hérold L'Intrigue au château Catrufo Les Soeurs jumelles Fétis Le Maréchal Fabert ou Une petite aventure d'un grand homme Ginestet

34

24 Aug 30 Aug 16 Sep 8 Oct 12 Dec

Opéra-Comique

Les Fleurs du château Vaud. Marie Stuart en Écosse ou le Château de Douglas Fétis Le Valet de chamber Carafa La Neige ou le Nouvel Eginhard Auber Le Duc d' Aquitaine ou Le Retour Blangini

1824 6 Mar 26 Apr 13 May 3 Jun 31 Jul 10 Aug 24 Aug 4 Nov 2 Dec 22 Dec

Les Deux Contrats de marriage Garcia L' Auberge suppose Carafa Le Pari de la duchesse d'Alençon Chancourtois Le Concert à la cour ou la Débutante Auber L'Officier et le paysan Kreubé L' Alcade de la Véga Onslow Le Roi René ou la Provence au xve siècle Hérold Léocadie Auber Les Enlèvements imprévus Pradher Les Deux Mousquetaires ou la Robe de chambre Berton

1825 5 Mar 24 Mar 3 May 21 May 7 Jun 12 Jul 6 Aug 20 Aug 4 Nov 10 Dec

Le Pensionnat de jeunes demoiselles Devienne Le Capitaine Belronde Crémont Le Maçon Auber Le Lapin blanc ou Toby Hérold Le Bourgeois de Reims Fétis La Fausse Croisade ou l'Habit de page Lemière de Corvey Les Enfants de Maître Pierre Kreubé Le Voyage de cour ou les Absents ont tort Catrufo Le Projet de pièce ou les Deux Mousquetaires Blangini La Dame blanche Boieldieu

1826 14 Mar 30 May 4 Jul

La Vieille Fétis Le Timide ou le Nouveau Séducteur Auber Le Duel ou Une loi de Frédéric Rifaut

A Chronology of the Opéra-Comique (1762-1915)

12 Aug 14 Oct 28 Nov 26 Dec

35

Marie Hérold Les Créoles Berton Fiorella Auber Une heure d'absence Berton

1827 30 Jan 10 Mar 31 Mar 24 Apr 19 May 9 Jul 29 Sep 13 Oct 3 Nov 22 Nov 27 Dec

L'Artisan Halévy Le Loup-garou Bertin Ethelvina ou l'Exilé Batton La Lettre posthume Kreubé Sangarido Carafa Les Petits Appartements Berton Une nuit de Gustave Wasa ou le Batelier suédois Gasse, Isouard L'Orphelin et le brigadier Ginestet Le Roi et le batelier Rifaut, Halévy Le Colporteur ou l'Enfant du bûcheron Onslow Masaniello ou le Pêcheur napolitain Carafa

1828 6 Feb 23 Feb 4 Mar 11 Apr 7 Oct 6 Nov 29 Nov

Le Prisonnier d'état Batton Le Camp du drap d'or Rifaut, Leborne, Batton Le Mariage à l'anglaise Kreubé Les Rencontres ou Le Même Roman Lemière de Corvey, Catrufo La Violette Carafa, Leborne Un jour de reception Rifaut L'Exil de Rochester Russo

1829 10 Jan 9 Feb

La Fiancée Auber Pierre et Catherine Adam

36

Opéra-Comique

SALLE VENTADOUR 20 April 1829 - 22 March 1832 20 May 18 Jul 26 Sep 7 Nov 28 Nov 24 Dec

Les Deux Nuits Boieldieu L'Illusion Hérold Jenny Carafa Le Dilettante d' Avignon Halévy Emeline Hérold La Table et le logement Chelard

1830 28 Jan 23 Apr 11 May 27 May 21 Aug 26 Oct 15 Nov 2 Dec 11 Dec

Fra Diavolo ou l'Hôtellerie de Terracine Auber Danilowa Adam L' Auberge d' Auray Hérold, Carafa Attendre et courir Halévy, Ruolz Trois Jours en une heure Adam, Romagnesi L'Enlèvement ou les Guelfes et les Gibelins Zimmermann L'Amazone Beauplan Joséphine ou Le Retour de Wagram Adam La Langue musicale Halévy

1831 11 Jan 29 Jan 14 Feb 7 Mar 3 May 9 Jul 11 Aug 17 Oct 31 Oct

Les Deux Familles Labarre Le Diable à Seville Gomis La Veillée Paris Le Morceau d'ensemble Adam Zampa ou la Fiancée de marbre Hérold Le Grand Prix ou le Voyage à frais communs Adam Le Livre de l'ermite Carafa Le Roi de Sicile Gide La Marquise de Brinvilliers Div. comp.

A Chronology of the Opéra-Comique (1762-1915)

1832 6 Feb 1 Mar

Térésa Rifaut Le Mannequin de Bergame Fétis SALLE DE LA BOURSE 22 September 1832 - 30 April 1840

18 Oct 5 Nov 24 Nov 15 Dec

La Médecine sans médecin Hérold Le Passage du regiment Catrufo Le Premier pas Blangini Le Pré-aux-clercs Hérold

1833 16 Jan 25 Jan 4 Mar 3 Apr 19 Apr 16 May 15 Jun 20 Jul 18 Sep 7 Nov 31 Dec

Le Mort fiancé Ginestet Le Souper du mari Despréaux Les Souvenirs de Lafleur Halévy Le Podestat (Paris, Nouveautés, 1831) Vogel Les Gondoliers Blangini Ludovic Hérold, Halévy Cinq ans d'entr'acte Leborne La Prison d'Edimbourg Carafa Le Proscrit ou le Tribunal invisible Adam Une journée de la Fronde ou la Maison du rempart Carafa Le Revenant Gomis

1834 14 Jan 23 Jan 24 May 11 Jun 7 Jul 23 Jul 28 Aug 25 Sep

Le Château d'Urtuby Berton Une bonne fortune Adam Lestocq ou l'Intrigue et l'amour Auber L'Aspirant de marine Labarre L'Angélus Gide Un caprice de femme Paër Le Fils du prince Feltre Le Châlet Adam

37

38

( ?) Oct 31 Oct ( ?) Oct 1 Dec

Opéra-Comique

Intermède Adam, Boieldieu Le Marchand forain Marliani Intermède Adam, Boieldieu La Sentinelle perdue Rifaut

1835 15 Jan 28 Feb 23 Mar 16 Jun 29 Jun 8 Jul 6 Aug 13 Oct 16 Nov 16 Dec

Robin des bois (Berlin, 1821) Weber La Marquise Adam Le Cheval de bronze Auber Le Porte- faix Gomis Micheline ou l'Heure de l'Esprit Adam Alda Thys Les Deux Reines Monpou Cosimo Prévost La Grande Duchesse Carafa L'Éclair Halévy

1836 14 Jan 23 Jan 9 Apr 26 Apr 13 May 6 Jun 30 Jun 6 Aug 7 Sep 1 Oct 13 Oct 8 Nov 21 Dec

Gasparo Rifaut Actéon Auber Les Chaperons blancs Auber Sarah ou l'Orpheline de Glencoë Grisar Rock le Barbu Gomis Le Bouffe et le tailleur (Paris, Montansier, 1804) Gaveaux Le Luthier de Vienne Monpou Le Chevalier de Canolle Fontmichel Le Diadesté ou la Gageure arabe Godefroid Le Mauvais Oeil Puget Le Postillon de Lonjumeau Adam Les Pontons de Cadix Prévost L' Ambassadrice Auber

1837 23 Jun 11 Aug 23 Aug 8 Sep

L'An Mil Grisar Le Remplaçant Batton La Double Échelle Thomas Guise ou les Etats de Blois Onslow

A Chronology of the Opéra-Comique (1762-1915)

22 Sep 31 Oct 2 Dec

Le Bon Garçon Prévost Piquillo Monpou Le Domino noir Auber

1838 11 Jan 20 Feb 21 Mar 30 Mar 18 Jun 24 Aug 26 Sep 4 Oct 31 Oct 10 Dec 31 Dec

Le Fidèle Berger Adam Un conte d'autrefois Monpou Lequel? Leborne Le Perruquier de la Régence Thomas Marguerite Boieldieu fils La Figurante ou l'Amour et la danse Clapisson Thérèse Carafa La Dame d'honneur Despréaux Le Brasseur de Preston Adam Zurich Rousselot La Mantille Bordèse

1839 17 Jan 1 Mar 15 Apr 6 May 14 Jun 2 Sep 19 Sep 12 Oct 16 Nov 9 Dec

Régine ou Deux Nuits Adam Le Planteur Monpou Les Treize Halévy Le Panier fleuri Thomas Polichinelle Montfort Le Shérif Halévy La Reine d'un jour Adam La Symphonie ou Maître Albert Clapisson Les Travestissements Grisar Eva Girard

1840 11 Feb 24 Feb 24 Apr 28 Apr

La Fille du regiment Donizetti Carline Thomas L'Élève de Presbourg Varlet La Perruche Clapisson

39

40

Opéra-Comique

SALLE FAVART (II) 16 May 1840 - 20 June 1853 18 May 17 Jun 16 Jul 2 Sep 12 Oct 17 Dec

Zanetta ou Jouer avec le feu Auber Le Cent-Suisse Ney L'Opéra à la cour Div. comp. L' Automate de Vaucanson Bordèse La Reine Jeanne Monpou, Bordèse La Rose de Péronne Adam

1841 21 Jan 6 Mar 25 Mar 2 Jul 17 Jul 26 Jul 7 Jul 17 Aug 26 Oct 1 Dec 14 Dec

Le Guitarrero Halévy Les Diamants de la couronne Auber Le Pendu Clapisson L'Ingénue Colet La Maschera Kastner Les Deux Voleurs Girard Frère et mari Clapisson L'Aïeule Boieldieu La Main de fer ou Un mariage secret Adam La Jeunesse de Charles Quint Montfort Mademoiselle de Mérange Potier

1842 17 Jan 4 Feb 9 Jul 23 Aug 13 Oct 2 Nov 18 Nov

Le Diable à l'école Boulanger Le Duc d'Olonne Auber Le Code noir Clapisson Le Conseil des Dix Girard Le Roi d'Yvetot Adam Le Kiosque Mazas L'Eau merveilleuse (Paris, Renaissance, 1839) Grisar

1843 16 Jan 3 Feb 20 Apr

La Part du diable Auber Les Deux Bergères Boulanger Le Puits d'amour Balfe

A Chronology of the Opéra-Comique (1762-1915)

28 Apr 10 May 14 Sep 10 Oct 1 Dec

On ne s'avise jamais de tout Genin Angélique et Médor Thomas Lambert Simnel Monpou, Adam Mina ou Le Ménage à trios Thomas L'Esclave de Camoëns Flotow

1844 10 Feb 28 Feb 26 Mar 8 May 15 Jul 17 Aug 19 Sep 14 Oct

Cagliostro Adam Oreste et Pylade Thys La Sirène Auber Le Bal du Sous-préfet Boilly Les Quatre Fils Aymon Balfe Les Deux Gentilshommes Cadaux La Sainte-Cécile Montfort Le Mousquetaire Bousquet

1845 10 Feb 22 Apr 28 May 9 Aug 13 Oct 25 Oct 25 Nov

Les Bergers trumeaux Clapisson La Barcarolle ou l' Amour et la musique Auber Une voix Boulanger Le Ménétrier ou les Deux Duchesses Labarre La Charbonnière Montfort Le Mari au bal Beauplan L'Amazone Thys

1846 3 Feb 15 May 27 May 5 Aug 16 Sep 19 Nov 6 Dec

Les Mousquetaires de la reine Halévy Le Trompette de Monsieur le prince Bazin Le Veuf du Malabar Doche Le Caquet du couvent Potier Sultana Bourges Gibby la cornemuse Clapisson La Damnation de Faust Berlioz

1847 16 Jan 8 Feb

Ne touchez pas à la reine! Boisselot Le Sultan Saladin Bordèse

41

42

13 Mar 27 Apr 18 May 10 Aug 29 Oct 28 Dec

Opéra-Comique

Alix Doche Le Bouquet de l'Infante Boieldieu Le Malheur d'être jolie Bazin La Cachette Boulanger Le Braconnier Héquet Haydée ou Le Secret Auber

1848 9 Feb 21 Feb 21 Mar 24 Aug 13 Sep 11 Nov 4 Dec

La Nuit de Noël ou l' Anniversaire Reber Gilles ravisseur Grisar Le Rêveur éveillé Le Prévost Il Signor Pascarello Potier La Sournoise Thys Le Val d'Andorre Halévy Les Deux Bambins Bordèse

1849 3 Jan 31 Mar 18 May 7 Jul 1 Oct 9 Nov

Le Caïd Thomas Les Monténégrin Limnander Le Toréador ou l'Accord parfait Adam La Nuit de la Saint-Sylvestre Bazin La Fée aux roses Halévy Le Moulin des tilleuls Maillart

1850 12 Jan 20 Apr 1 Jul 20 Jul 16 Oct 26 Nov 28 Dec

Les Porcherons Grisar Le Songe d'une nuit d'été Thomas Le Talisman Josse Giralda ou la Nouvelle Psyché Adam Le Paysan Poisot La Chanteuse voilee Massé La Dame de pique Halévy

1851 19 Feb 5 Jul

Bonsoir Monsieur Pantalon Grisar Raymond ou le Secret de la reine Thomas

A Chronology of the Opéra-Comique (1762-1915)

16 Aug 1 Dec

La Sérafina ou l'Occasion fait le larron SaintJulien Le Château de la Barbe-Bleue Limnander

1852 20 Feb 19 Mar 26 Mar 14 Apr 19 Jul 12 Aug 7 Sep 4 Nov 16 Nov 21 Dec

Le Carillonneur de Bruges Grisar Le Farfadet Adam Madelon Bazin Galathée Massé La Croix de Marie Maillart Les Deux Jaket Cadaux Le Père Gaillard Reber Les Mystères d'Udolphe Clapisson La Fête des Arts Adam Marco Spada Auber

1853 19 Jan 2 Feb 4 Feb 30 Mar 28 Apr 28 Apr

Le Miroir Gastinel Le Sourd ou l'Auberge pleine Adam Les Noces de Jeannette Massé La Tonelli Thomas La Lettre au bon Dieu Duprez L'Ombre d' Argentine Montfort SALLE VENTADOUR 26 June - 4 July 1853 SALLE FAVART (II) 5 July 1853 - 25 May 1887

1 Sep 20 Oct 28 Dec

Le Nabab Halévy Colette Cadaux Les Papillottes de Monsieur Benoist Reber

43

44

Opéra-Comique

1854 16 Feb 5 Jun 28 Jun 18 Aug 29 Sep

L'Étoile du Nord Meyerbeer La Fiancée du diable Massé Les Trovatelles Duprato L' Opéra au camp Varney Les Sabots de la marquise Boulanger

1855 16 Jan 13 Feb 16 Mar 7 Apr 11 Apr 2 Jun 8 Jun 5 Jul 13 Sep 8 Oct 17 Oct 22 Dec

Le Chien du jardinière Grisar Miss Fauvette Massé Yvonne La Moskova L'Enfance du Christ (concert) Berlioz La Cour de Célimène Thomas Jenny Bell Auber Jacqueline ou la Fille du soldat (Paris, Th. Italien, 15 May 1855) Costé, Osmond L' Anneau d'argent Deffès Victoire! Adam Deucalion et Pyrrha Montfort Le Houzard de Berchini Adam Les Saisons Massé

1856 23 Feb 26 Mar 26 Apr 2 Jun 27 Nov 12 Dec

Manon Lescaut Auber Le Chercheur d'esprit Besanzoni Valentine d' Aubigny Halévy Pâquerette Duprato Le Sylphe (Baden-Baden, 7 Aug 1856) Clapisson Maître Pathelin Bazin

1857 26 Jan 20 May 3 Jun 20 Jun 30 Sep 9 Dec

Psyché Thomas La Clef des champs Deffès Les Dames capitaines Reber Le Mariage extravagant Gautier Don Pèdre Poise Le Carnaval de Venise Thomas

A Chronology of the Opéra-Comique (1762-1915)

45

1858 26 Jan 25 Mar 28 Apr 28 May 2 Jul 18 Jul 4 Nov 16 Dec

Les Désespérés Bazin Quentin Durward Gevaert Les Chaises à porteurs Massé Les Deux Aveugles (Paris, Bouffes-Parisiens, 1855) Offenbach Les Fourberies de Marinette Creste Chapelle et Bachaumont Cressonnois La Bacchante Gautier Les Trois Nicolas Clapisson

1859 4 Apr 13 May 7 Jun 10 Aug 12 Aug 15 Aug 26 Nov 29 Nov 17 Dec

Le Pardon de Ploërmel Meyerbeer Le Diable au Moulin Gevaert Italie Halévy Le Rosier Potier Voyage autour de ma chamber Grisar [Cantate] Duprato La Pagode Fauconnier Yvonne Limnander Don Gregorio ou Le Précepteur dans l'embarras Gabrielli

1860 4 Feb 23 Apr 7 May 16 May 14 Jun 15 Aug 28 Aug 17 Sep 4 Dec 24 Dec

Le Roman d'Elvire Thomas Le Château-Trompette Gevaert Rita ou Le Mari battu Donizetti L'Habit de Mylord Lagarde France et Savoie Matton Vive l'Empereur Cohen Le Docteur Mirobolan Gautier Ma tante dort (Paris, Th. Lyrique, 21 Jan 1860) Caspers L'Éventail Boulanger Barkouf Offenbach

46

Opéra-Comique

1861 2 Feb 4 Mar 18 Mar 12 Apr 30 Apr 15 May 28 May 17 Jun 15 Aug 29 Oct 11 Dec

La Circassienne Auber Le Jardinier gallant Poise Maître Claude Cohen Royal-Cravate Massa Salvator Rosa Duprato Silvio-Silvia Estribaud La Beauté du diable Alary Marianne Ritter [Cantate] Duprato Au travers du mur (Paris, Th. Lyrique, 8 May 1861) Poniatowsky Les Recruteurs Lefébure-Wély

1862 10 Jan 17 Feb 25 Feb 12 May 25 Aug 8 Nov

Jocrisse Gautier Le Joaillier de Saint-James (Paris, Renaissance, 1838) Grisar Les Charmeurs (Paris, Th. Lyrique, 1855) Poise Lalla-Roukh David Le Quinze Août aux champs Boulanger Le Cabaret des amours Pascal

1863 11 Feb 21 Feb 13 Apr 16 Jul 15 Aug 24 Aug 24 Oct

L'Illustre Gaspard Prévost La Déesse et le berger Duprato Bataille d'amour Vaucorbeil Les Bourguignonnes Deffès Après la victoire! Lefébure-Wély Les Amours du diable Grisar L'Athénienne Auber

1864 11 Jan 21 Mar 11 May 26 Oct

La Fiancée du roi de Garbe Auber Lara Maillart Sylvie Guiraud Les Absents Poise

A Chronology of the Opéra-Comique (1762-1915)

5 Nov 29 Dec

Le Trésor de Pierrot Gautier Le Capitaine Henriot Gevaert

1865 8 Mar 15 Aug 9 Dec

Le Saphir David France et Algérie Boieldieu Le Voyage en Chine Bazin

1866 5 Feb 28 May 7 Jun 16 Jul 15 Aug 17 Nov

Fior d' Aliza Massé Zilda Flotow La Colombe (Baden-Baden, 1860) Gounod José Maria Cohen Les Moissoneurs Poise Mignon Thomas

1867 21 Feb 25 Feb 3 Apr 15 Aug 23 Nov

Dalila Pessard Le Fils du brigadier Massé La Grand'tante Massenet Paris en 1867 Rillé Robinson Crusoé Offenbach

1868 15 Feb 17 Apr 13 May 5 Jun 15 Aug 2 Sep 28 Nov

Le Premier Jour de Bonheur Auber Mademoiselle Sylvia S. David La Pénitente Valgrand Les Dragons de Villars (Paris, Th. Lyrique) Maillart La Bonne Moisson Charlot Le Café du roi (Ems, 1861) Deffès Le Corricolo Poise

1869 19 Jan 10 Mar

Daniel Rabuteau Vert-Vert Offenbach

47

48

10 May 2 Jun 15 Aug 11 Sep 20 Dec

Opéra-Comique

Jaguarita l'Indienne (Paris, Th. Lyrique, 1855) Halévy La Fontaine de Berny Nibelle Le Centenaire Wilder La Petite Fadette Semet Rêve d'amour Auber

1870 21 Feb 21 Feb 30 Apr 7 Jul 26 Jul

L'Ours et le pacha Bazin La Cruche cassée Pessard Déa Cohen L'Ombre Flotow Le Kobold Guiraud

1871 8 Nov

Gallia (London, 1 May 1871) Gounod

1872 18 Jan 24 Feb 24 Apr 22 May 22 May 12 Jun 12 Jun 30 Nov

Fantasio Offenbach Les Noces de Figaro (Vienna, 1786) Mozart Le Passant Paladilhe Le Médecin malgré lui (Paris, Th. Lyrique, 1858) Gounod Djamileh Bizet Bonsoir, voisin (Paris, Th. Lyrique, 1853) Poise La Princesse jaune Saint-Saëns Don César de Bazan Massenet

1873 20 Jan 24 May 29 Oct 5 Dec

Roméo et Juliette (Paris, Th. Lyrique, 1867) Gounod Le Roi l'a dit Delibes Les Trois Souhaits Poise Maître Wolfram (Paris, Th. Lyrique, 1854) Reyer

A Chronology of the Opéra-Comique (1762-1915)

49

1874 25 Feb 24 Mar 22 Apr 15 May 9 Jun 10 Nov 30 Nov

Le Florentin Lenepveu Marie-Magdeleine (concert) (Paris, Odéon, 1873) Massenet Gille et Gillotin Thomas Le Cerisier Duprato Requiem Mass (concert) Verdi Mireille (Paris, Tho Lyrique, 1864) Gounod Beppo Conte

1875 3 Mar 8 May 10 May

Carmen Bizet L'Amour africain Paladilhe Don Mucarade Boulanger

1876 11 Apr 4 May 8 May 16 May

Piccolino Guiraud Les Heroïques (concert) Perry-Biagioli Les Amoureux de Catherine Maréchal Philémon et Baucis (Paris, Th. Lyrique, 1860) Gounod

1877 5 Apr 4 May 8 Jun 31 Oct

Cinq Mars Gounod Bathyle Chaumet Mam'zelle Penélope (Paris, Th. Lyrique, 1859) Lajarte La Surprise de l'amour Poise

1878 18 Jan 20 Apr 13 Jul 19 Nov 30 Dec

Le Char Pessard La Statue (Paris, Th. Lyrique, 1861) Reyer Pépita Delahaye fils Les Noces de Fernande Deffès Suzanne Paladilhe

50

Opéra-Comique

1879 26 Feb 26 Feb 10 Mar 3 Apr 6 Jun 22 Dec

La Zingarella O'Kelly Le Pain bis Dubois La Courte Échelle Membrée La Flûte enchantée (Vienna, 1791) Mozart Embrassons-nous, Folleville! Valentini Dianora Rousseau

1880 8 Mar 14 Jun 11 Oct 11 Oct 20 Dec

Jean de Nivelle Delibes La Fée Hemery Monsieur de Floridor Lajarte Le Bois Cahen L'Amour médecin Poise

1881 10 Feb 28 Dec 28 Dec 31 Dec

Les Contes d'Hoffmann Offenbach Les Pantins Hüe L'Aumônier du régiment (Paris, Th. Lyrique, 1877) Salomon La Taverne des Trabans Maréchal

1882 11 Feb 23 Mar 13 Nov 13 Nov

Attendez-moi sous l'orme Indy Galante Aventure Guiraud La Nuit de Saint-Jean Lacôme Battez Philidor! Dutacq

1883 14 Apr 17 May 17 May 18 Jun 18 Jun

Lakmé Delibes La Perle du Brésil (Paris, Opéra National, 1851) David Saute, Marquis! Cressonnois Mathias Corvin Bertha Le Portrait Lajarte

A Chronology of the Opéra-Comique (1762-1915)

1884 19 Jan 23 Jun 23 Jun 23 Jun 10 Oct 8 Nov

Manon Massenet Le Baiser Deslandres L'Enclume Pfeiffer Partie carrée Lavello Joli Gilles Poise Le Barbier de Séville (Rome, 1816) Rossini

1885 23 Feb 11 Mar 25 Apr

Diana Paladilhe Le Chevalier Jean Joncières Une nuit de Cléopâtre Massé

1886 4 Feb 31 Mar 6 May 12 Jun 17 Nov 17 Nov 6 Dec

Le Mari d'un jour Coquard Plutus Lecocq Maître Ambros Widor La Traviata (Venice, 1853) Verdi Le Signal Puget Juge et partie Missa Egmont Salvayre

1887 23 Mar 18 Apr 23 May

Proserpine Saint-Saëns Le Roi malgré lui Chabrier Le Coeur de Paris Massa

51

52

Opéra-Comique

ANCIEN THÉÂTRE-LYRIQUE Place du Châtelet 15 October 1887 - 30 June 1898 1888 5 Mar 5 Mar 7 May 4 Jun 14 Dec

Dimanche et lundi (Paris, Athénée, 1872) Deslandres Madame Turlupin (Paris, Athénée, 1872) Guiraud Le Roi d'Ys Lalo Le Baiser de Suzon Bemberg L'Escadron volant de la reine Litolff

1889 15 Feb 15 May

La Cigale madrilène Perronnet Esclarmonde Massenet

1890 15 Jan 5 Feb 13 May 4 Oct 3 Dec 31 Dec

Hilda Millet Dimitri (Paris, Gaîté, 1876) Joncières Dante et Béatrice Godard Colombine Michiels Benvenuto Diaz L'Amour vengé Maupéou

1891 15 Apr 18 Jun

Les Folies amoureuses Pessard Le Rêve Bruneau

1892 19 Jan 9 May 9 Jun

Cavalleria rusticana Mascagni Enguerrande Chapuis Les Troyens [à Carthage] (Paris, Th. Lyrique, 1863) Berlioz

A Chronology of the Opéra-Comique (1762-1915)

53

1893 16 Jan 24 Mar 24 Apr 24 May 25 Sep 25 Sep 23 Nov

Werther (Vienna, 1892) Massenet Kassya Delibes, Massenet Les Pêcheurs de perles (Paris, Th. Lyrique, 1863) Bizet Phryné Saint-Saëns Le Dîner de Pierrot (Paris, Odéon, 1881) Hess Madame Rose Banès L'Attaque du Moulin Bruneau

1894 22 Jan 28 Feb 18 Apr 8 May 18 Dec

Le Flibustier Cui Fidès Street Falstaff (Milan, 1893) Verdi Le Portrait de Manon Massenet Paul et Virginie (Paris, Gaîté, 1876) Massé

1895 19 Feb 1 Apr 7 Jun 7 Jun 3 Oct 26 Nov 23 Dec

Ninon de Lenclos Missa La Vivandière (Brussels, 1893) Godard Guernica Vidal Pris au piège Gédalge La Navarraise (London, 1894) Massenet Xavière Dubois La Jacquerie (Monte-Carlo, 9 Mar 1895) Lalo, Coquard

1896 6 Mar 5 May 20 Jun 20 Jun 24 Jun 17 Nov

Orphée et Eurydice (Vienna, 1762) Gluck Chevalier d'Harmenthal Messager Don Pasquale (Paris, Th. Italien, 1843) Donizetti Le Jeu de Robin et de Marion (general rehearsal only) Anon. La Femme de Claude Cahen Don Juan (Prague, 1787) Mozart

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1897 8 Feb 17 May 18 Oct 27 Nov 14 Dec 14 Dec

Kermaria Erlanger Le Vaisseau fantôme (Dresden, 1843) Wagner Le Spahi Lambert Sapho Massenet Daphnis et Chloé Busser L'Amour à la Bastille Hirschmann

1898 23 Mar 10 May 13 Jun

L'Île du rêve Hahn Fervaal (Brussels, 1897) Indy La Bohème (Turin, 1896) Puccini THÉÂTRE DU CHÂTEAU-D'EAU 26 October - 25 November 1898 SALLE FAVART (III) 7 December 1898

30 Dec

Fidelio (Vienna, 1805) Beethoven

1899 2 Mar 24 Mar 20 Apr 24 May 23 Oct

L'Angélus Baille Beaucoup de bruit pour rien Puget Le Cygne Lecocq Cendrillon Massenet Javotte (Lyon, 1890) Saint-Saëns

1900 2 Feb 11 Apr 1 May 30 May

Louise Charpentier Le Juif polonaise Erlanger Le Follet Lefèvre-Dérodé Hänsel et Gretel (Weimar, 1893) Humperdinck

A Chronology of the Opéra-Comique (1762-1915)

9 Jun 18 Jun 4 Jul 14 Jul 6 Nov

55

Bastien et Bastienne (Vienna, 1768) Mozart Iphigénie en Tauride (Paris, Opéra, 1779) Gluck Phoébé Gédalge La Marseillaise Lambert Une aventure de la Guimard (Versailles, 1 Oct 1900) Messager

1901 7 Feb 20 Feb 29 Apr 2 May 25 May 6 Jul 9 Jul 20 Nov 9 Dec 14 Dec 14 Dec

Intermezzo Lemaire La Fille de Tabarin Pierné L'Ouragan Bruneau La Petite Femme de Loth (Paris, Mathurins, 1900) Terrasse Hommage à Verdi Le Légataire universel Pfeiffer La Soeur de Jocrisse Banès Grisélidis Massenet Les Rosati Massenet Maître Corbeau Vidal Le Violoneux (Paris, Bouffes-Parisiens, 1855) Offenbach

1902 16 Jan 30 Apr 12 May 30 May 16 Dec

La Chambre bleue Bouval Pelléas et Mélisande Debussy Madame Dugazon Hess La Troupe Jolicoeur Coquard La Carmélite Hahn

1903 20 Jan 18 Mar 5 Jun 13 Oct 23 Dec

Titania Hüe Muguette Missa La Petite Maison Chaumet Tosca (Rome, 1900) Puccini La Reine Fiammette Leroux

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1904 13 Jan 4 Feb 4 Feb 4 Feb 4 Feb 16 Mar 10 May 10 May 30 May

Le Secret de Maître Cornille (Marseille, 1893) G. and J. Parès Danses alsaciennes Levadé La Damoiselle élue Debussy La Cigale Massenet Féminissima Lemaire La Pille de Roland Rabaud Le Cor fleuri Halphen Le Jongleur de Notre-Dame (Monte-Carlo, 1902) Massenet Alceste (Vienna, 1767) Gluck

1905 18 Jan 3 Mar 5 May 23 May 7 Nov 26 Dec 26 Dec

Hélène (Monte-Carlo, 1904) Saint-Saëns L'Enfant-Roi Bruneau La Cabrera (Milan, 1905) Dupont Chérubin (Monte-Carlo, 1905) Massenet Miarka Georges La Coupe enchantée (Royan, 1895) Pierné Les Pêcheurs de Saint-Jean Widor

1906 27 Mar 12 Apr 8 May 13 May 6 Jun 30 Oct 9 Nov 9 Nov 20 Dec 28 Dec

Aphrodite Erlanger Marie-Magdeleine (version scénique) Massenet Le Roi aveugle Février La Revanche d'Iris Diet Le Clos Silver Endymion et Phoebé Thomé Les Armaillis Doret Le Bonhomme jadis Jaques-Dalcroze La Rencontre imprévue ou les Pélerins de la Mecque (Vienna, 1764) Gluck Madame Butterfly (Milan, 1904) Puccini

A Chronology of the Opéra-Comique (1762-1915)

1907 16 Mar 28 Mar 17 Apr 17 Apr 10 May 5 Jun 6 Nov 18 Dec

Premier Rendez-vous Thomé Scènes alsaciennes Massenet La Légende du Point d'Argentan Fourdrain Circé P. et L. Hillemacher Ariane et Barbe-Bleue Dukas Fortunio Messager Le Chemineau Leroux Iphigénie en Aulide (Paris, Opéra, 1774) Gluck

1908 26 Feb 26 Feb 19 May 22 May 28 Nov 9 Dec

Ghyslaine Bertrand La Habanera Laparra Le Clown (Paris, Nouveau-Théâtre, 1906) Camondo Snegourotchka ou la Fleur de neige (StPetersburg, 1882) Rimski-Korsakov L'Arlésienne Bizet Sanga (Nice, 1906) Lara

1909 10 Mar 12 Jun 12 Jun 12 Jun 30 Oct 8 Dec 8 Dec

Solange Salvayre Blanc et noir Toulmouche Danses hindoues La Fille du tourneur d'ivoire Saint-Saëns Chiquito, le joueur de pelote Nouguès Le Coeur du Moulin Séverac Myrtil Garnier

1910 13 Jan 7 Mar 4 May 30 May 7 Jun 15 Jun 30 Nov

Paillasse (Milan, 1892) Léoncavallo Léone Rousseau Le Mariage de Télémaque Terrasse On ne badine pas avec l'amour Pierné Athanaïs Lattès Antar Rimsky-Korsakov Macbeth Bloch

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28 Dec 28 Dec 28 Dec

Opéra-Comique

Les Lucioles Terrasse Noël Erlanger Il était un berger Lattès

1911 23 Jan 26 Apr 26 Apr 19 May 19 May 15 Dec

L'Ancêtre (Monte-Carlo, 1906) Saint-Saëns Le Voile du Bonheur Pons La Jota Laparra L'Heure espagnole Ravel Thérèse (Monte-Carlo, 1907) Massenet Bérénice Magnard

1912 7 Feb 29 Feb 20 Apr 22 Jun 29 Oct 18 Dec

La Lépreuse Lazzari Les Fugitifs (Gand, 1899) Fijan Les Petits Riens (Paris, Opéra, 1778) Mozart Le Devin du village (Fontainebleau, 1752) Rousseau La Danseuse de Pompéi Nouguès La Sorcière Erlanger

1913 1 Feb 20 Mar 16 Apr 4 Jun 5 Jun 1 Dec

Danses slaves Delibes Le Carillonneur Leroux La Pays (Nancy, 1912) Ropartz Julien ou la Vie du poète Charpentier Djali Ménier Céleste Trépard

1914 6 Jan 6 Jan 25 Feb 15 May 29 May 9 Jun 6 Dec

La Vie brève (Nice, 1913) Falla Francesca de Rimini Léoni La Marchande d'allumettes Richepin Mârouf, savetier du Caire Rabaud La Péri (Paris, Châtelet, 1912) Dukas Ballet des Nations (Paris, Trocadéro, 1903) Vidal Le Chant du depart Méhul

A Chronology of the Opéra-Comique (1762-1915)

1915 25 Feb 13 Apr 13 May 29 Jun 25 Dec

Les Soldats de France Vidal Sur le front Vidal Danses grecques Deux Pigeons s'aimaient ou l'Histoire d'un Pierrot Costa Les Cadeaux de Noël Leroux

59

COMPOSERS AND THEIR WORKS AT THE OPÉRA-COMIQUE (1762-1915)

Adolphe-Charles-Louis ADAM (1803-1856) Le Baiser au porteur Vaudeville en un acte. Librettists: Augustin-Eugène Scribe, Justin Gensoul and Frédéric de Courcy. First performance: Théâtre du Gymnase, 9 June 1824. This vaudeville provided the young Adolphe Adam with his first opportunity to write for the lyric theatre. The subject, borrowed from an old ribald tale, does not lack originality. Derville, a young and amiable officer, is going to marry Jenny, niece of the Baronne de Vervelles. While he loves his fiancée, he finds it difficult to give up entirely the risky charms of youth. Further, with the devil’s help, he has been kissed by the wife of the farmer Thibaut. The latter, as luck would have it, had arrived on the scene just in time to witness the misdeed. Needless to say, he is furious. In order to mollify him, Derville proposes an expedient just as outrageous as his own behaviour. He undertakes to have a rather uncouth return game at Jenny’s expense, and signs a promissory note “kiss for the bearer”, payable to Thibaut on his behalf. The news of the clandestine kiss between Derville and Thibaut's wife has resounded around the village, and occasioned a fleeting rupture between the two young people, and a coldness on Jenny’s part. Luckily for Derville, the heart never loses its rights, and Jenny allows herself to give way. But this is not the end of it. The inexorable Thibaut presents his promissory note. Now the Baronne, who has undertaken to shoulder her new nephew’s debts, not knowing anything about this strange debt, takes possession of the note and honours the signed promise, to the great regret of the farmer, who, like the betrothed couple, finds that he has repaid the debt on the assault made on his honour. The scabrous plotline inspired an amusing work full of piquant details, in which extreme audacity is saved by wit and skill. The success was complete and prolonged. It also assisted in revealing the nascent talent of Adam who composed the couplet finale,

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an aria that became popular and was played endlessly in vaudeville. Pierre et Catherine Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Jules-Henri Vernoy de SaintGeorges. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 9 February 1829. This first complete work by Adam evinces all the qualities he later developed in his more important works. His feeling for dramatic action and facility for ingenious orchestration are already in evidence in the overture, the first duet, the charming couplets sung by Mlle Prévost, and the chorus “Avançons en silence”(CL 1:877). Danilowa Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Jean-Baptiste-Charles Vial and Paul Duport. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Ventadour), 23 April 1830. This work added nothing to the composer’s reputation (CL. 1:294). Trois Jours en une heure Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Lurieu and Michel Masson. First performance: Opéra-Comique 21 August 1830. This work was written in collaboration with Henri Romagnesi. (CL 2: 1105) Joséphine, ou Le Retour de Wagram Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Lurieu. First performance: OpéraComique (Ventadour), 2 December 1830. Le Morceau d’ensemble Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Frédéric de Courcy and Pierre Carmouche. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Ventadour), 7 March 1831. The story was adapted from a play by Jean-Toussaint Merle and the two

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librettists de Courcy and Carmouche, Le Solitaire ou le Morceau d’ensemble, itself adapted from a novel by the vicomte d’Arlincourt. A young widow, in an excess of misanthropy, has confined herself to her château in the depths of Touraine, protected by her servants from contact with any other human being. A cousin, M. Victor, a brilliant young officer, passes close by the place of seclusion of the pretty widow at the head of his regiment. Braving the consequences, he introduces himself at the house. However angry she may get, the young widow loves music. Her cousin has brought from Paris a cantata which arouses her enthusiasm, but singers are needed to perform it. M. Victor timidly proposes inviting the major of his regiment, an excellent bass voice, then a captain, and eventually all the officers. They come and perform the piece for the first time. Meanwhile Victor’s old parents arrive, and surprise their niece in the midst of this dilettante recital. The cantata transforms itself into a duet, the conclusion of which becomes an epithalamium for the widow and Victor. Adam’s music, as always, offers some lovely pieces, some agreeable couplets, and many commonplaces. The success of the work was enough to keep it in the repertoire until 1837. Mlle Prévost sang the young widow and Moreau-Sainti the cousin. Le Grand prix, ou Le Voyage à frais commune Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Gabriel de Lurieu and Michel Masson. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Ventadour), 9 July 1831. The libretto is a rather witty comedy. A young musician burns with desire to go to Rome, since he loves the daughter of the director of the École française des beaux arts there. He enters the competition for the Rome Prize, and fails. One of his friends, a painter who has been more successful, departs for the Eternal City, but suggests to the musician that they travel to the community together, with an individual who is journeying there to be married. After several interesting reversals of fortune, in an inn in the Alps our friends discover that their companion is travelling to Rome to marry the very same person with whom the musician is in love. They forestall him, and by means of a quidproquo, the director of the École is led to agree to the union of the young couple. The music of this work is written with facility. The instrumentation is skillful and full of agreeable effects, but it is music without character, and without striking ideas. The trio for male voices “Comment un tableau de bataille” is well-handled. There are some pretty couplets “Je n’étais encore que filette”, and the prayer for two voices “Douce madonne”, a graceful

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nocturne (CL 1:524). Le Proscrit, ou Le Tribunal invisible Drame lyrique en trois actes. Librettists: Pierre Carmouche and Xavier Saintine. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle des Nouveautés, Bourse), 18 September 1833. Scribe treated history like his personal property, arranging and rearranging events to suit his purposes, and not worrying overmuch about chronological exactitude. The authors of this libretto go beyond even these limits of licence. The story depicts the conspiracy that cut short the life of Marino Faliero, but none of the characters put on stage here actually featured in his life. History has not preserved the names of those who participated in this civil crime. The drama is complicated, and its character accords badly with the nature of Adam’s talent. The score nonetheless contains some rather lovely pieces. In act 1 there is a graceful trio “L’hymen à Venise nous lie”; in act 2 the aria sung by Mme Casimir “Non, non, Strozzi”; in act 3 the duet for soprano and bass “Je le hais, je le méprise” sung by Mme Casimir and Boulard; and finally the soprano aria “Sonnez, heure de la vengeance” which is very dramatic. The couplets written for Mlle Massy also have an elegant cut. (CL 1:912) Une bonne fortune Opéra-comique/opéra-bouffon en un acte. Librettists: A. Féréol and Édouard Mennechet. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Bourse), 23 January 1834. This work was revived at the Opéra-National in 1847. (CL 1:163) Le Chalet Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Augustin-Eugène Scribe and Mélesville (Anne-Honore-Joseph Duveyrier), after the Singspiel Jery und Bateli (1780) by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. First performance: OpéraComique (Bourse), 25 September 1834. In his cottage in the Swiss canton of Appenzell, Daniel has prepared everything for his marriage with Bettly, who to date has turned down all his proposals. Even now, it seems that all his hopes are in vain, since he

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has been the victim of a practical joke—a forged letter, which had deceived him into thinking that Bettly had accepted his offer. In his despair, he has decided to join a troop of soldiers who have already taken up quarters in the cottage. He hands over to a rather startled Bettly his will and the draft marriage contract. Among the soldiers is Max, Bettly’s longabsent brother, whom she has not recognized. He intimidates her, hoping to induce her to give up her aspirations to independence in favour of a union with Daniel. When Max kisses her in thanks for a good meal, the jealous Daniel challenges him to a duel. Bettly tries in vain to dissuade Daniel from his decision to leave with the soldiers. To provide her with a way out, Max gives Bettly to understand that he would not fight a duel with a married man. She immediately asserts that Daniel is already married. But still anticipating the duel with Max, the frightened Daniel prays for help. Bettly now tries to laugh off her consent to marry Daniel as a joke, but under pressure from Max, quickly gives up her opposition and signs the marriage contract. Max is now obliged to reveal his true identity when Bettly makes the validity of the contract dependent on her brother’s signature of consent. The theatrically perfect libretto by Scribe and Mélesville, which transformed Goethe’s Singspiel into a pièce bien faite (See Pendle’s detailed dramaturgical analysis), consolidated the success of this small work. But the quality of the music, for which Adam had borrowed material from his Rome Prize cantata of 1825, should not be underestimated. The freshness of invention reveals itself as much in the graceful melodies and sprightly rhythms so typical of Adam, as in the original harmonies. The Swiss local colour is very discreetly observed: in the overture and introduction, in Bettly’s couplets, in the andantino of Max’s aria (with echoes of a ranz des vaches) and in the duet for Bettly and Daniel (with its ländler-like allegro). By introducing independent instrumental melodies in the ritornelli, the composer succeeds in adding some variety to the couplet form. The dramatic highpoint of the work is the duet for Daniel and Max (“Il faut me céder ta maitresse”). Le Chalet proved to be Adam’s most successful work in France during the nineteenth century, attaining 1,000 performances at the Opéra Comique by 1873, and 1,547 by 1922 (the last new production). But it was also in the repertories of many other countries. Its popularity in London even left its name on the district of Swiss Cottage. Donizetti set the subject using his own arrangement of the French libretto, as Betly, ossia La capanna svizzera, 1836). This is the composer’s best work, or at least the one that became his most popular. The libretto and the music are equally good, and balance

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each other mutually. As well as the duet “Il faut me céder ta maîtresse” which has real warmth, with thoroughly theatrical effect and style, there is the bass aria “Arrêtons-nous ici”, perfectly tailored to the vocal chords of this type of voice, which made it a classic of its kind. The rest is common and trivial, although orchestrated ingeniously, if within the confines of a limited musical intelligence. This is French music in a rather debased sense of the word, and certainly not as the term pertains to, and was expressed by, Adam’s teacher, Boieldieu. The opera serves as a pleasant curtain-raiser. There are only three roles, created by Mme Pradher, Inchindi and Couderc. The work was in the repertory until 1927. (CL 1:217). Intermède Music by Adolphe Adam and François-Adrien Boieldieu. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Bourse), October 1834. “Intermezzo on the subject of the death of Boieldieu arranged from motifs by this composer by his pupil Adolphe Adam, performed at the Royal Theatre of the Opéra-Comique.” Boieldieu died on 8 October 1834, so this was performed during the following week. La Marquise Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Jules-Henri Vernoy de SaintGeorges and Adolphe de Leuven (actually Adolphe Count Ribbing). First performance: Opéra-Comique (Bourse), 28 February 1835. The score contains a lovely aria and jolly duet. Micheline, ou L’Heure de l’esprit Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Amable Villain de Saint-Hilaire, Michel Masson and Théodore de Villeneuve. First performance: OpéraComique (Bourse), 29 June 1835. The story is about the custom of droit du seigneur, and features the page Urbain, the peasant Macloud, a sorcerer and a young bride-to-be. The cast featured Mme Pradher, Féréol and Couderc.

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Le Postillon de Longjumeau Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Adolphe de Leuven and LéonLévy Brunswick (actually Léon Lévy). First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle des Nouveautés, Bourse), 13 October 1836. The opera, set in Longjumeau in 1756, traces fortunes of the villagers Chapelou and Madeleine, in their respective rises in society and in fame. It parodies social manners and operatic mannerisms. Chapelou, a postilion with a high tenor voice, is overheard singing by the director of the Paris Opéra, and abandoning his newly wedded bride, is persuaded to flee to the capital where he becomes a famous opera singer, ‘Saint Phar’. The desolated Madeleine, having in her turn come into a large inheritance from her late maiden aunt, becomes a great lady, ‘Madame Latour’. Still in love with her husband, she follows him to Paris, entrapping him in a love relationship in her new identity, and enmeshing him in a bigamous situation, before revealing the truth and forgiving him. The plot provides many opportunities for satirical pleasantries. Indeed, the libretto has a gaiety and improbability that is really delightful, and typical of the Italian taste that was characteristic of the early opéras-comiques played at the Théâtres de la Foire. The music has a common touch, but a winning frankness typical of Adam’s best style. The aria sung by Henri “Combattons, chantons” is an amusing parody of the operatic chorus. The couplets for Chollet “Oh! Qu’il est beau, Le postillon de Lonjumeau!” and the melody “Mon petit mari” attained an almost wearisome popularity. The trio “Pendu! Pendu!” has real comic flair. The opera had great success, and won the composer universal praise and honour (CL 2:892). It was retained in the repertory until 1894. With Le Postillon de Longjumeau, Adam achieved his most enduring stage success, one that continued into this century. While in France it has always lagged behind Le Chalet (1834) in popularity, in other countries, especially Germany, it was Adam’s most favoured work, with a popularity that has endured until today. Le Fidèle Berger Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Augustin-Eugène Scribe and Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Bourse), 6 January 1838. A confectioner, a perfumer, and some louts make up the cast of this

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unlikely lyric piece. The Opéra-Comique was better suited to portraying shepherds with red ribbons, even if they were less faithful than the confectioner Coquerel—as in Grétry’s L’Epreuve villageoise. Le Brasseur de Preston Opéra-Comique en trois actes. Librettists: Adolphe de Leuven and LéonLévy Brunswick. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Bourse), 31 October 1838. Act 1. Daniel Robinson is by profession a brewer of beer in Preston during the reign of George II. The royal troops are close at hand on the eve of battle with Prince Charles Edward Stuart, the son of the Old Pretender. The brewer is about to be married, and urges his fiancée Effie not to confuse him with his brother George who resembles him in the most disconcerting way. The two very different young people complement each other: George is noisy and carousing, but brave, generous and loyal; Daniel is as gentle as a lamb, and timid as a hare. On the night before the wedding, they are waiting for George when suddenly the sergeant Toby appears, agitated, and asks Daniel if Lieutenant George is at the brewery. His two day leave has expired but he has not appeared, and since battle must be joined the next day, he will be considered a deserter and dishonoured if he does not return to camp by midday. This sad news dampens the festivities. The wedding is postponed and Daniel is obliged to go and look for his brother. He sets off in his cart, followed by the young Effie in tears. Act 2. The English camp. Daniel arrives with Effie and the brave sergeant. Thanks to their miraculous resemblance, the soldiers take Daniel for George. This misapprehension prompts Toby to dress Daniel in George’s uniform, and to persuade him to take his absent brother’s place in the battle. Daniel submits to this substitution of persons with good grace, but is not very martial in bearing and knows little of strategy. Toby, who is a resourceful man and not daunted by anything, gives him a quick lesson in matters military: he teaches him to march as straight as a compass, to roll his eyes, to wear his hat at an angle, to smoke a short pipe, and to use expletives (“Morbleu! Sacrebleu!”) and other soldierly rhetoric. Effie profits by this lesson as much as the debonnaire Daniel. Nonetheless, the council has Lieutenant George put under house arrrest for two months. This is difficult, but the brewer consoles himself by comparing this punishment with the possible dangers of the role which he has agreed to take on.

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But just at this point the naval officer Jenkins enters, and accuses Lieutenant George of seducing and abandoning his sister. He must now either marry her or accept a challenge to a duel to the death. Daniel tries explain his situation when Toby bursts in and calls Daniel to arms as the Scots have launched an attack. He will secure the general’s consent and so prevent George’s dishonour. The poor brewer is hoisted onto a horse, and the courageous beast, frightened by the cannon, rushes at a gallop into the midst of the battle. The Scots are thrown into confusion and the general, in recognition of the extraordinary valour of Lieutenant Robinson, promotes him to captain on the battlefield. He is further nominated to present the colours of the enemy to the King. His behaviour has so impressed the King that he charges Daniel with the pacification of Ireland. Daniel is not able to refuse, and to add to his despair, must leave that very evening. To increase his misery, Major Jenkins arrives with the marriage contract that he has prepared in advance to hold the lieutenant to his promise. Fortunately, George arrives, and by an adroit coup de théâtre, is able to substitute himself for Daniel as he is about to marry Anna Jenkins. Daniel is able to relinquish his role of improvised hero, and return to his brewery in Preston where he is at last able to marry Effie. The plot mechanisms used to provide the subject for this play produce a witty and skilled flow of events that simply asks to be set to music. Adam’s score is one of his best. He was not the only one to think so; the critics predicted a success at least equal to that of Le Chalet and Le Postillion de Longjumeau. The best situational pieces are the couplets for Chollet in act 1; the chorus of soldiers; the poetic romance “Pour sauver sa vie”; and the recital recounting the prowess of the hero's horse. The librettists and the composer also achieved the popular touch in the scene where Effie, in giving her heart to her fiancé, strikes military attitudes. When Mlle Prévost began to cross the stage au pas de charge, singing “Ran plan plan”, the stalls were amused. When she took up military jargon, enthusiasm increased, but when she took up a pipe, with clouds of smoke from real cheap tobacco, they burst into applause. The success of the opera endured for many years. It was revived at the Opéra National on 22 January 1848. Mme Henri Potier, always a delightful comedienne, sang off-key in the most charming way imaginable. Musard composed a pretty quadrille on themes from this work (CL 1:170-1). Régine, ou Deux Nuits Opéra-Comique en deux actes. Librettist: Augustin-Eugène Scribe. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Bourse), 17 January 1839.

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The action takes place in the village of Dunkerque at the time of the Republic. A young noblewoman, daughter of the Duc de Volberg, had married a soldier in 1793, in order to escape persecution by a representative of the people. Immediately separated from this soldier, she finds him again twelve years later, now a colonel, on the eve of the Battle of Austerlitz. Régine has obtained papers of divorce, but despite the opposition of her aunt and the prejudices of her family, destroys the act of divorce, and changes her title from Princesse de Volberg to the plebian name of Mme Roger. However, Regine’s husband has in the meantime become a count of the Empire, something which singularly diminishes the heroism of Régine, and in general weakens the resolution of Scribe’s scenarios in which his heroes are inevitably enriched or ennobled. Adam wrote facile music for this poor libretto. In act 1 there are some good couplets for the mayor of Dunkerque “J’ai peur, j’ai peur”, realized by Henri. Régine’s aria “Un jeune et beau trompette” is a childish musical piece in poor taste, realized by Mlle Rossi. Act 2 has nothing outstanding except a big final duet containing a cantabile for the soprano, gracefully accompanied by a violoncello obbligato. Roger, Mme Boulanger and Mlle Berthault played the parts of the soldier, the aunt and the soubrette respectively. (CL 2:931). La Reine d’un jour Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Augustin-Eugène Scribe and Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Bourse), 19 September 1839. The librettist here improvises a pretend queen who turns out to be Francine Camusat, a dressmaker of Calais who, landing on English soil, passes as the wife of Charles II, draws the attention of Richard Cromwell and the Puritans, and without a moment’s hesitation encourages the return of the Princess of Portugal to her proper place to share the dangers of her royal husband. Retiring to private life, the dressmaker marries a poor mariner, Marcel. This is a bizarre invention. The music offers nothing remarkable other than the couplets sung by Mocker “Non, non, je ne vous aime pas” and the sailor’s song in act 2. Mme Leplus sang the role of Francine. Masset made his striking debut in this work, with Grignon, Mme Boulanger and Mlle Berthault. (CL 2: 933).

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La Rose de Péronne Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Adolphe de Leuven and Adolphe-Philippe Dennery. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 12 December 1840. The libretto seemed to the public to be in rather poor taste. Adam’s music was applauded, and Mme Damoreau had great success, but the audience’s reaction was entirely different when the names of the librettists were announced at the end of the first performance. The public of the OpéraComique wanted to show on this occasion that they were not at all disposed to accept such an improbable imbroglio filled with equivocal situations. Among the more striking pieces of the score were the couplets sung by Mme. Damoreau and by Couderc; a jolly trio bouffe and a wellhandled quartet. The orchestration is characterized by the light manner and ingeniousness that define the composer’s style. (CL 2:982). La Main de fer, ou Un mariage secret Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Augustin-Eugène Scribe and Adolphe de Leuven. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 26 October 1841. This work was originally called Le Secret. It concerns a ferocious tyrant, the Elector of Hanover, who, having murdered his brother, would like to be rid of his nephew by obliging him to enter monastic life. However, he finds that his nephew is already married and a father. He is to be hanged at the end of act 3, but there is a happy denouement whereby the tyrant dies. The score is not among Adam’s weakest. The striking pieces in act 1 are: a pretty peasant prayer for four voices that forms the introduction, a soprano-tenor duet for Betha and Nathaniel, and the romance for Prince Eric. In act 2 there is a grand air de bravoure “Que l’hymen est terrible” sung by Mme Capdeville and much applauded; and the cavatina that follows “À ses yeux j’offrais sans cesse” merits special mention. Act 3 offers the couplets “Dans un baldont j’étais reine”. The cast were Mmes Capdeville and Descot, Mocker, Sainte-Foy, Ricquier, and Laget.

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Le Roi d’Yvetot Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Adolphe de Leuven and LéonLévy Brunswick. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 13 October 1842. This is a very free paraphrase of a chanson by Béranger. Josselyn, an old cloth merchant, possesses the will of the late King of Yvetot, which institutes him as the King’s successor. Loving peace at all costs, and far from making any pretensions to royalty, Josselyn dreams only of marrying his daughter Marguerite to the young Adalbert, nephew of the commander of Malta. But Josselyn’s ambitious housekeeper Jeanneton learns his secret, and reveals her master to be the king of Yvetot. The commander of Malta declares war by summoning his nephew to abandon his fiancée and making him a knight of Malta. All is in disarray in this cardboard principality, but suddenly the commander learns that she whom he rejected as niece is in fact his daughter whom he abandoned at birth; that Marguerite had been rescued by the cloth merchant and brought up as his own daughter. Nothing now hinders the work from closing with the desired marriage. The music of this opera was written with the facility and bourgeois grace that Adam brought to all his works. The overture is one of the composer’s best, and has great public appeal. The couplets “Fi des honneurs” became very popular, but the couplets du moulin are more original. In act 2 the duet for tenor and bass “Allons, point d’indigne faiblesse” is outstanding, as is the quartet “Dites, dites-lui”. In act 3 the only striking piece is the well-turned tenor romance “Marguerite, à vous pour la vie”, and the chanson “Il était un roi d’Yvetot”. Chollet was very good in the role of Josselyn, and Mlle Darcier equally so as Jeanneton. The other roles were interpreted by Grard, Mocker, Audran, and Mlle Rouvroy. (CL 2: 967). Cagliostro Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Augustin-Eugène Scribe and Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 10 February 1844. The action takes place in 1780 in a salon at Versailles. The charlatan Cagliostro, then at the height of fashion, seeks to profit from his credibility by marrying a rich heiress. He is actually married already, to an Italian

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singer who has become prima donna at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples. Cagliostro’s rival is a young chevalier who, having been the victim of the alchemist’s machinations, ends up unmasking him. The imbroglio has interest, and the dialogue is witty. Among the more striking pieces are: Corilla’s aria “C’est le caprice” sung by Anna Thillon; Cagliostro’s aria “Fortune inconstante et légère” sung by Chollet; and the effective instrumentation of the sleep-walking scene. The other members of the cast were Mocker, Henri, Grignon, Mmes Boulanger and Potier. Le Toréador Opéra-comique en deux actes. Librettist: Thomas Sauvage. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 18 May 1849. The story centres around Don Belfior, a toreador who is the elderly husband of the Spaniard Caroline, former first lady of a troupe at a theatre in the Foire Saint-Laurent, and Tracolin, flautist in the orchestra of the same theatre. These three, who form a perfect trio harmonically, if a somewhat dissonant one from a moral point of view, provided Adam with the occasion of writing a buffonerie musicale, which was very successful. The overture presents, among other motifs, a theme played on the first violins and then repeated by the oboes in the principal key. It is accompanied and executed with elegance. The introduction is a potpourri of airs as played at the Théâtre de la Foire, but most of them actually date from after the closure of the theatre in 1763. The couplets sung by Mme Ugalde “Je tremble et doute”, the aria for Belfior sung by Bataille “Oui, la vie n’est jolie”, the trio “Ah! vous dirai-je maman”, and variations of great skill, are the most striking pieces in this work which is more a pot-pourri than anything original, mostly because of the interpolated old airs: the Fandango de la Cachucha in act 1, and the Folies d’Espagne in act 2. Tracolin was created by Mocker. The work remained in repertoire for some time. Giralda, ou La Nouvelle Psyché Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Augustin-Eugène Scribe. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 20 July 1850. This work, from a musical point of view, is the best by this popular composer. The varied and piquant situations of the libretto offer excellent opportunities for the composer’s ingenious verve and the pretty details of

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his instrumentation to delight the listener. The subject of the piece is rather improbable and also less poetic than most of Scribe’s other opéra-comique libretti. But on the whole the scenes are all generally amusing. A king of Spain accompanies his queen on a pilgrimage to Saint James of Compostella, and they stop at the farm of Ginès, the fiancé of Giralda. The latter secretly loves a knight whom she meets all the time on the road, but whose features she does not know. This chevalier, actually Don Manoël, is obliged to keep his face hidden because of some political misdemeanor. He gives the miller Ginès 600 ducats to take his place at the altar, and thus becomes Giralda’s husband. Learning of the arrival of the king, the new husband takes flight. During his absence, many incidents take place, and poor Giralda believes herself married by turns to Ginès and to an old gentleman called Don Japhet, until the queen pardons Don Manoël, who at last declares himself to be the real husband of the one he loves. The overture contains a pretty fandango, and there is a chromatic passage of great effectiveness. In act 1 there is a chorus accompanied by castanets, an ariette for Giralda, a duo bouffe, and another charming duet “Dans l’église du village”, in which the reprise “Ah! l’excellente affaire” has great dash. The aria for bass, sung by Bussine, has a fine cut. In act 2, of particular note are: the duet “Dieu d’amour et de mystère”, and the finale in which Mlle Miolan executes tours de force of vocal agility. Act 3 contains the comic quintet “Eh! Eh! Eh!” treated very well, the couplets for Giralda “Mon mari, mon vrai mari”. Mlle Miolan, Mlle Meyer, Bussine, Audran, Sainte-Foy and Ricquier interpreted this admirable score with great talent. M. Vauthrot provided a piano reduction. (CL 1:514-5). La Poupée de Nuremberg Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Adolphe de Leuven and Arthur de Beauplan. First performance: Opéra-National, 21 February 1852. This is a Carnival folly. Cornelius is a toymaker. He has constructed a doll with such perfect mechanism that he feels he has created a real woman who will be awakened by a few magic words. He is so convinced of this that he has already promised the doll in marriage to his son Donathan. During his absence, two lovers enter his workshop, his nephew, Miller, and a florist called Bertha. She borrows the doll’s clothes, while he disguises himself as the devil, and poor Cornelius, deceived, beaten, and humiliated, restores to his nephew the patrimony he has defrauded him of, and takes Donathan’s fiancée to pieces. The music is trim and handled with spirit. The composer was ill and wrote his buffonnerie from his bed.

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It cost him six days of work. The overture, made up of an elegant andante and a waltz, the melody of which is repeated later in a duet, obtained great success. The scene of the evocation, the male trio, and a pretty solo for the violin, are the best pieces in this little score. The genre of this piece was particularly suited to the ingenious and rather less than elevated talent of Adam. The interpreters were: Meillet, Grignon père, Menjaud and Mlle Rouvroy. (CL 2:892) Si j’étais roi Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Adolphe-Philippe Dennery and Jules Brésil. First performed: Théâtre-Lyrique, 4 September 1852. The opera was given with great success. It is delightful, and in Adam’s best vein. It shines with charm, a stimulating grace and a rare verve. It contains a type of inspiration of a particular character which, in the work of this composer, denotes qualities of tenderness and melancholy unknown to artists more richly endowed than he—like Auber, who lacked this facility. Among the many lovely things in this score, of especial note are: the lovely romance for Zéphoris “J’ignore son nom, sa naissance...” of a really touching nature; and the couplets for the king “Dans le sommeil. L’amour, je gage” which are imbued with considerable poetic feeling. The work should always have a place in the repertories of the French lyric theatres (CL 2:1024). Revived in Paris at the Théâtre à la Porte-SaintMartin, 7 May 1934. Le Farfadet Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Eugène de Planard. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 19 March 1852. Like La Poupée de Nuremberg, this folie de carneval was successful. The action takes place in a mill, and the sprite in question is none other than a boatman, who, having been a prisoner of the Spanish, returns home during a stormy night and involuntarily causes a panic which resolves itself in a general recognition scene for all the cowards in the piece. The music is piquant, written with the greatest facility and not without elegance. There is a pretty syllabic quartet, a duet for female voices “Il me cajolait”, the bass aria of the goblin “personne en bas, dans le moulin”, and the really comic duet “Que ta peur est imbécile!” in which the phrases “C’est le vent!” and “Hou hou hou hou!” decided the success of this buffonnerie.

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Adam sometimes introduced felicitous reminiscence into the score. In the scene where a sack of flour, containing the supposed goblin, advances towards the terrified onlookers, he has cleverly introduced the march of the statue of the Commendatore from Don Giovanni. The opera was interpreted by Bussine, Jourdan, Lemaire, Mlles Lemercier and Talmon. It was revived in 1867 as a curtain-raiser in the Théâtre des FantaisiesParisiennes. (CL 1: 428-9). La Fête des arts Intermède musical. Words: Joseph Méry. First performance: OpéraComique (Salle Favart 2), 16 November 1852. The singers were Bataille, Mmes. Ugalde and Lefebvre. La Fardondaine Drame en cinq actes, mêlé de chant. Librettists: Charles-Désiré Dupeuty and Ernest Bourget. First performance: Théâtre à la Porte-Saint-Martin, 20 December 1852. This great popular drama was a firm fixture in the theatre, but it contained an important musical role destined to display the the voice of the charming singer Mme Hébert-Massy, who had created the role of Nicette in Le Pré aux clercs. In his Mémoires Adam observes: “ I wrote a burlesque quartet for this work, really amusing to do. It is based on the air ‘O Pescator’. I wrote the words and arranged them for Boutin and Colbrun. Thanks to them, the quartet was a wild success and was honoured every evening with encores. I promised for my part to go to the theatre every evening to hear them.” Adam’s musical collaborator, Adolphe De Groot, served as conductor of the orchestra of the Porte-Saint-Martin. Le Sourd, ou L’Auberge pleine Comédie en trois actes. Librettists: Pierre-Jean-Baptiste Desforges, revised by Adolphe de Leuven and Ferdinand Langlé. First performed: OpéraComique (Salle Favart 2), 2 February 1853. This play, the flashes of wit and puns of which once delighted an earlier generation, was recast by Ferdinand Langlé and Sainte-Foy. The couplets are flippant, and betray their period. Adam, in setting this subject, wrote

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fluently in the genre so familiar to him. The melodies are facile, but aptly placed; the instrumental effects ingenious, often turning to comedy and farce. Among the most popular couplets were: “Sur le pont d’Avignon”; the warming-pan couplets; the couplets with the exhilarating refrain sung on the word “bagasse”; and finally “on dit non, on dit oui”. The play was presented with verve by Ricquier, Sainte-Foy, Delaunay, Mmes Lemercier, Decroix, Félix and Talmon. There were reprises at the ThéâtreLyrique on 18 January 1856 (CL 2: 1045), and at the Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3) on 23 October 1934, with further performances until 1937 (WC 412). Le Roi des Halles Opéra-Comique en trois actes et quatre tableaux. Librettists: Adolphe de Leuven and Léon-Lévy Brunswick. First performed: Théâtre-Lyrique, 11 April 1853. The authors have here presented the Duc de Beaufort in a very strange light. He has a natural daughter Mariette, who has been brought up by a grocer in Paris. The interest he shows in her leads an agent of Mazarin to suppose that she is his mistress. While the Duc is pursued by a mazarinade set up by Bondinelli, Mariette is abducted by Bondinelli, in the supposition that the Duc de Beaufort, in trying to rescue her, will play into his hands. All is resolved by Beaufort’s return to grace and the marriage of Mariette to Planchet, a grocer boy. The music is not much better than the play. It comes across generally as feeble, with the exception of Bourdillat’s couplets “Les longs discours ne sont pas mon affaire”, and a pretty quartet in act 1. The principal roles were created by Chollet and Junca. (CL 2: 970). Le Bijou perdu Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Adolphe de Leuven and Alfred Pittaud de Forges. First performance: Théâtre-Lyrique, 6 October 1853. The fundamental idea of the libretto is not in the best taste. It is the story of a watch which passes from hand to hand, from the boudoir of Mme Coquillière, wife of a former general, into the pocket of the Marquis d’Angenne, then into that of the Commissioner Pacôme, falling into the hands of Toinette the gardener, who restores it to the Marquis on condition that the military engagement contracted by his lover will be annulled. The

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details of this scenario are hardly edifying. The pretty voice of Mme Cabel who made her debut in this opera, the charm of her person, and the popular reception given to Toinette’s rondo in act 2, decided the success of this work, otherwise mediocre by all reports. The air de guinguette: Ah! qu’il fait donc bon, Qu’il fait donc bon cueiller la fraise! sung by Mme Cabel is of the same family as: Oh! Oh! Oh! Qu’il était beau, Le postillon de Lonjumeau! The same triviality, the same success. Adam's melodic ideas are by their nature essentially vulgar. This is gaiety without grace, without wit, without finesse. But he shows a real skill in instrumentation and accompaniment, a jolly appearance disguising a fundamental poverty. A concerto for flute, written expressly for the virtuoso Rémusat, which forms the introduction to this opera, is outstanding. The romance for Cupidon and Pacôme “Ah! si vous connaissiez Toinon” is striking. The roles were created by Meillet, Sujol, Monjaud, Cabel, Leroy and Mme Marie Cabel and Mlle Garnier. (CL 1: 155). Le Houzard de Berchini Opéra-comique en deux actes. Librettist: Joseph Rosier. performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 17 October 1855.

First

The sergeant Gédéon takes an interest in the love of Martin and Rosette, their dowry and marriage. He procures the money by means of a feigned signature by which a greedy old farmer and his elderly wife are enlisted into the regiment, the one as a common hussar, the other as a vivandière. The credulous peasants hasten to to buy their freedom. The most striking piece in the score is the duet for Martin and Rosette. The role of Gédéon is well-written for the singer (CL 1:564). Les Pantins de Violette Opéra-bouffe en un acte. Librettist: Léon Battu. First performance: Bouffes-Parisiennes, 29 April 1856.

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This is an agreeable score. In the milieu of pierrots, polichinelles, magicians and colombines, this composer is at his ease. His melodies are clear and facile, his instrumentation refined and shrewd and producing a most pleasing effect. Violette’s aria to her song-bird “Canari, mon chéri” was justly popular; also striking were Alcofribas’s rondo “En ce monde, à la ronde” and the aria “Pierrot est un joli pantin”. ____________________________________________________________

Jules ALARY (1814-1891) La Beauté du diable Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Augustin-Eugène Scribe and Émile de Najac. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 28 May 1861. The title of this work serves only to confuse the public. It does not actually concern that spring-like flowering that is the prerogative of young faces; but quite simply indicates a means of pleasing, as already described by Scribe in his opera Le Philtre. The young man Jean Lenoir succeeds in attracting Léopoldine, not because of a talisman, however much he naively believes this, but by shaving his bearded face, wearing attractive clothing, and especially by making himself busy. The devil’s beauty would appear to mean that art is needed to help nature. The libretto, completed by de Najac, waited its turn for nine years in the boxes of the Opéra-Comique. The mediocre success of the score meant that there were only a few performances. The music, well-written for the voices, lacked originality, apart from a chorus of peasants and a romance. Out of respect for his memory Scribe, who died in 1861, was not named. ____________________________________________________________

Pasquale ANFOSSI L’Inconnue persecutée Comédie mélêe d’ariettes, imitées de l’italien sur la musique du Sieur Anfossi en deux actes. Librettist: Giuseppe Petrosellini. French version by Pierre-Louis Moline. First performance: 1st version: Rome, Teatro delle Damme, Carnevale 1773; 2nd version: Fontainebleau, Théâtre de la Cour,

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25 October 1776; 3rd version: Académie royale de musique (with words by Rosoy), 21 September 1781. This work is a parody of Anfossi’s immensely successful dramma giocoso, L’incognita perseguitata. The music was arranged from Anfossi’s score by Nicolas Lefroid de Méreaux and Jean-Baptiste Rochefort. The original was so popular that Anfossi was ranked in public opinion alongside Piccinni, his teacher. The French production at Fontainebleau was given by the Comédiens italiens with the new French compositions added. There was a prohibition on further performances of this version in Paris, but when Anfossi came to Paris in 1781, the Académie royale de musique profited by arranging a production there. The critics were at one in agreeing that the throats of French singers were not suited to the execution of this lively and light music (CL 1:577). ____________________________________________________________

Daniel-François-Esprit AUBER (1782-1871) Le Séjour Militaire Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Jean-Nicolas Bouilly and Emmanuel Dupaty. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle de la rue Feydeau), 27 February 1813. The scene is laid in Alsace, near Strasbourg, around 1810. A group of bored French officers conspire to make fun of a wealthy provincial, who is coming to Alsace to marry a local belle, by disguising themselves as the bride’s family and having Mme. d’Horicourt, the spouse of one of the officers, impersonate the chosen girl. The new commander of the garrison, Saint-Eugène, overhears the plot and decides to teach the conspirators a lesson. He disguises himself as the provincial and during the ensuing festivities mentions how, when he was wounded, he was nursed back to health by an affectionate Mme. d’Horicourt. Her husband challenges him, but apologizes when Saint Eugène reveals his true identity. This pièce militaire et carnavalesque contains four sets of couplets, a trio, two ensembles, and has no chorus. It marked the début of the composer on the stage he would later occupy so brilliantly. He was thirty at the time, and the public received the work coldly. This was undoubtedly the reason why he shunned the musical scene for several years; he would obtain his first great success seven years later. Auber began his musical career at the same age as Rossini finished his. The cast were: Gavaudan

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(Colonel the Baron de Saint-Eugène); Huet (Capitaine d’Horicourt); Darancourt (Lieutenant Desparmont); Baptiste (Lieutenant Dorainval); Ponchard (Sous-Lieutenant Courville); Gonthier (Sous-Lieutenant Duvallon); Le Sage (Francisque, the innkeeper’s boy); Mme Gavaudan (Madame d’Horicourt); Saint-Aubin (Joly); Belmont (Madame Fritz, an innkeeper). It was in repertoire 1813-19, given 16 times and was revived in 1826, given 10 times. Le Testament et les billets doux Opera-comique en un acte. Librettist: Eugène de Planard. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 18 September 1819. This, the composer’s second work, is insipid in words and music, and again did not succeed in gaining any public attention. Only in the following year did Auber take possession of the stage. The cast were: Vizentini (M. de Morinval); Lemonnier (Morinval’s nephew); Huet (Gernance, friend of Morinval); Moreau (Adophe Serrefort, a lawyer); Mlle Palar (Amélie, daughter of Morinval); Mlle Desbrosses (the Hostess). In repertoire during 1819 only, and achieved 12 performances La Bergère Châtelaine Opera-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Eugène de Planard. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 27 January 1820. The scene is laid in Brittany during the Middle Ages. Act 1. Robert, the farmer, has rejected the love of Louise, the bailiff’s daughter, and is courting Lucette, the shepherdess. His rival is the Count de Montfort, whose suit is interrupted by a message summoning him to the court of the Grand Duke of Brittany. Act 2. Lucette is told by the Duke's servant Berthe that she is the niece of the Baron de Rochefort by a secret marriage. She tells the Duke that she loves Montfort. The Duke proposes a test of the Count's loyalty by disguising her and introducing her to Montfort as the Baroness de Coucy. Act 3. Montfort begs Lucette not to reveal his affection for her. The Bailiff enters with the news that the Baron de Rochefort desires a girl from the village and has selected Lucette; afterwards, she will be given to Robert. When Berthe tells the Bailiff of the Count's desire for Lucette, she is told that a nobleman cannot marry a shepherdess. The Duke intervenes by announcing that Lucette is Rochefort's niece and blesses her marriage to

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Montfort; Robert consoles himself with Louise. Auber had already tried his hand at dramatic composition, presenting Le Séjour militaire and Le Testament et les Billets doux at the Feydeau (1818-19). Prior to the appearance of La Bergère Châtelaine no one could have imagined a successful artistic future awaited the composer later celebrated for works such as La Muette de Portici and Les Diamants de la couronne. Here, the librettist presented the composer with a large canvas to fill, and one which at last gave free rein to his imagination. De Pontécoulant, writing in L’Art musical of 20 July 1865, observed that “the composer set out on a new path in this work, and, unusually, he made his heroes sing in a different manner to his shepherds. In this score each character has his own tone and possesses an appropriate musical physiognomy. The piece offered the young dilettante the opportunity to recall the motifs of certain old lais known to him. These reminiscences had no great impact when the work first appeared because the style of these melodies was the same as that of all the romances then current in the salons. On the various occasions when this opera was revived, that which was the least appreciated at the première was that which subsequently charmed the most. That which was once considered monotonous, now appeared most originally piquant. The calls for encore, not frequent in our days, were for a duet full of a simple truthfulness, while the act 2 finale, handled with delicacy, esprit, grace and taste, was unanimously called for again”. A rondo which soon took possession of all the vaudevilles of the time rapidly became popular, and spread the name of the composer; his individuality was not yet fully apparent, but one could already perceive the grace, the finesse, the spirit of his talent, so preeminently French. There are in this beginner’s work elements that are not original: imitation of Rossini is evident in several passages, and the composer, still groping his way, lacks a freshness of accentuation. Thurner, writing in the Transformation de l’Opéra Comique (1865), observed: “One notices here and there in La Bergère châtelaine, certain terminations of phrases, most notably in the act 1 finale, where there is an abuse of the tonic, of the subdominant and of the dominant, disclosing an influence that was to emerge more clearly three years later in La Neige (1833)”. The critic went on to praise a tick-tack imitation of the millwheel in the overture. This overture, with its charming motifs, full of freshness and lightness, verging on affectation and yet never lapsing into it, is artfully constructed and sustained by a substantial orchestration. It excited a lively enthusiasm. The Duc de Berry who was at the première (and fifteen years later would die at the hands of the assassin Louvel), himself gave the signal for applause. This applause greeted all the pieces of the score. From this moment, Auber

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was counted among the better composers of opéra-comique. The work revealed something about him, signalled a style from which he subsequently never departed, even when he attempted to raise himself to a higher level. We also owe the association between Auber and Scribe to this opera. The dramatist wrote the following letter to the composer: “Monsieur, I am at present writing a vaudeville for the Théâtre de Madame, and wondered whether you would allow me to introduce your rondo from La Bergère châtelaine, so pretty and justly popular, into my piece? I will not hide from you, Monsieur, that I have undertaken with my director to produce a successful play, and that I am counting on your charming music to secure this for me.” Auber replied: “My rondo, Monsieur, is a small thing, and your verve will come the aid of my feeble effort; but if, with the permission that you ask, and of which you have no need, I may be able to beg the pretty face and lovely voice of Mme Boulanger, I believe that both of us will have something going.” This exchange laid the foundation of a collaboration that would last for nearly forty years. The singers involved in the creation of this opera were: Huet, Moreau, Paul, Mmes Desbrosses and Boulanger. The opera was in the repertoire l820-25 for 46 times; revived 1825 and given 5 times; in 1828, 4 times. Number of performances 55. Emma or La Promesse imprudente Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Eugène de Planard. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 7 July 1821. The scene is laid in Germany, during the Restoration. Act 1. Friller, the intendant of the wealthy widow Mme. Palmer, succeeds in discrediting her admirer, the Baron. Her new lover is Edmon, son of the landowner Raymond; he has given up his betrothed, Emma, and is seeking a marriage which will pay off his gambling debts. Act 2. Edmon returns home for the marriage of his brother Charles to Emma's sister Louise. Edmon tells his father that he is breaking his troth to Emma in order to keep his promise to marry Mme. Palmer, and is ordered out of the house. Emma is cruelly disappointed when Edmon rejects her. Act 3. The Baron challenges Edmon over Mme. Palmer. Raymond is rebuffed when he tries to get his son to leave the widow and return to Emma, who overhears their quarrel, and tells Mme. Palmer everything. She graciously gives Edmon money wherewith to settle his debts and becomes reconciled to the Baron. Edmon, released from his promise to the widow, returns to Emma.

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This work, with its interesting libretto full of emotion and sensibility, confirmed the composer’s nascent reputation that had been established the previous year. The roles of the servant and the old father were particularly well-handled. The overture is very attractive, and many of the melodies well-imagined. The Tyrolienne became popular, as did Emma’s final aria. The opera established itself in the repertoire for some seventeen years. The cast were: Chenard (Raymond, an old farmer); Lemmonier and Dupont (Edmon and Charles, sons of Raymond); Paul (the Baron); Vizentini (Friller, intendant to Mme Palmer); Mme Paul (Mme Palmer, a young widow); Mmes Leclerc and Rigaud (Louise and Emma, pupils of Raymond); Mme Ponchard (Juliette, a chambermaid); Mme Boulanger (Rose, a servant of Raymond). In repertoire 1821-32; revived 1836; 24 April 1846. Number of performances 181. Leicester or Le Château de Kenilworth Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Augustin-Eugène Scribe and Mélesville. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 25 January 1823. The setting is England, in the late sixteenth century. Act 1. The Duke of Leicester keeps his wife, Amy Robsart, hidden, in order to remain the favourite of Queen Elizabeth. His friend Raleigh advises him to tell the Queen that he is not married. Amy, concerned about her husband's mysterious behaviour, comes to his castle at Kenilworth at the same time that Elizabeth arrives on a visit of state. Act 2. Amy is deeply concerned that Leicester refuses to see her. Her aged father, Hugh Robsart, reproaches Leicester for his behaviour, but is silenced. Amy, in an attempt to find out what is wrong, surprises Leicester while the Queen is holding court; he thinks quickly and announces that Amy is betrothed to Raleigh. Act 3. Elizabeth sees Amy alone and learns the truth. The Queen finally declares her regard for Leicester, but sends him into temporary banishment and makes Raleigh her new favourite. Scribe’s adaptation of Sir Walter Scott's Kenilworth preserves only the main intrigue of the novel, where Leicester tries to keep the Queen from learning that Amy is his wife. All of the minor characters in Kenilworth, who contribute to the subsidiary incidents—Mike Lambourne, Tony Firethe-Fagot, Dickie Sludge, Wayland the Smith, and Dr. Alasco—are excised. Raleigh, a very minor character in the original book, becomes a significant personage, and takes on many of the attributes of the villainous

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Lord Varney, a character eliminated by Scribe, who also combined the role of Hugh Robsart with Amy's admirer Tresillian. The tragic ending, which culminates in Amy's death, is omitted. The subject of this tragic story had only a limited appeal for Auber’s light and gracious spirit at this stage of his career, but the work nonetheless held its own in the repertoire for the next five years. The cast were: Huet (Dudley, comte de Leicester); Ponchard (Sir Walter Raleigh); Darancourt (Hugues Robert); Desessart (Intendant de Leicester); Mme Lemonnier (Elisabeth, reine d’Angleterre); Mme Pradher (Amy Robsart); Mme Boulanger (Cycili, suivante d’Amy). In repertoire 1823-28. Number of performances 60. La Neige or Le Nouveau Eginard Opéra-comique en quatre actes. Librettists: Augustin-Eugène Scribe and Germain Delavigne. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 8 October 1823. The setting is Swabia in the early nineteenth century. Act 1. The Count de Linsburg has returned to the ducal court to find a conspiracy against him, in which the Grand Duke is trying to have the Prince de Neubourg supplant Linsburg in the affections of his daughter Louise. Act 2. The Baroness de Wedel, who has been engaged to teach the Prince courtly behaviour, organizes a counter-conspiracy to protect Linsburg, but the Duke has him banished anyway. He comes to see Louise by borrowing a sleigh and crossing the ice to visit her. Act 3. The marplot gardener, trying to curry favour, tells the Duke that he saw a sleigh cross the ice; its tracks are visible in the snow. The Prince is at first accused, but Linsburg confesses his guilt. Act 4. Louise's entreaties compel the Duke to consent to her marriage with the Count, while the Prince consoles himself with the Baroness. This lovely work has an agreeable story with an almost poetic apprehension of winter, while the score is characterized by a simplicity and freshness of melody. The influence of Rossini is most apparent in the leading tenor and soprano parts, created by Ponchard and Mme Rigaud. There are no fewer than five trios out of the fifteen numbers of the score, all of them very theatrical. The act 2 finale is constructed on a large scale. The gardener’s rondo (“Lorsque l’hiver”) became very popular, and helped establish the opera in the repertory for eight years. The cast were: Ponchard (Le comte de Linsburg); Huet (Le prince de Neubourg); Darancourt (Le grand-duc de Souabe); Duvernoy (Le marquis de

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Valborn); Vizentini (Wilhelm, a gardener); Granger (a valet); Mme Pradher (Louise, daughter of the Grand Duke); Mme Rigaud (La baronesse de Wedel, lady in waiting to the Princess); Mme Desbrosses (La comtesse de Drakenbach). In repertoire 1823-41. Number of performances 176. Le Concert à la cour Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Augustin-Eugène Scribe and Mélesville. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 3 June 1824. The scene is set in Stuttgart at the Court of Württemberg in the early nineteenth century. Adèle, a young soprano, has come to the court at Stuttgart to obtain a position as a singer and finds her old friend Victor there as painter to the court. The Kapellmeister Ascanio not only refuses to help Adèle, but rejects her in an audition. The Prince finds Adèle in tears and arranges for her public debut. Ascanio ruins it by conducting the accompanying orchestra in erratic tempos. Victor senses what is afoot, pushes the conductor out of the way, and accompanies her in another aria, which secures the approval of the Court.. The libretto is amusing, and the music witty. Contemporaries recognized in Ascanio an apparently well-deserved caricature of the composer Paër. The most famous and long-celebrated centrepiece of the opera is the grand air à vocalises “Entendez-vous au loin l’archet de la folie”, a parody of the Italian styles so much in vogue at the time. There are also some piquant couplets and a well-handled finale. The cast were: Lemonnier (Frédéric, prince de Wurtemberg); Ponchard (Victor, a painter and musician); Vizentini (Ascanio, superintendant of the prince’s music); Mme Rigaud (Adèle, a prima donna); Mme Boulanger (Carline, wife of Ascanio). In repertoire 1824-52. Number of performances 246. Léocadie Drame lyrique en trois actes. Librettists: Augustin-Eugène Scribe and Mélesville. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 4 November 1824. The scene is set in eighteenth-century Portugal. Act 1. Philippe, Léocadie's brother, is to marry Sanchette, the daughter of the Alcalde Crespo. Word is brought that Léocadie has rescued a child from falling into the Tagus, and that a surprising resemblance exists

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between the two. Act 2. The Alcalde becomes suspicious and cancels the wedding. Philippe upbraids his sister and discovers the truth: four years ago a young officer seduced her and left her with child. Though she tried to conceal the baby from her family, the "force of blood" made her rescue him when he fell into the river. Act 3. Philippe tells his commanding officer, Don Carlos, what has happened. After seeing Léocadie and the child, Carlos, admitting his guilt, begs her forgiveness and promises to marry her. This libretto is based on "La Fuerça del sangre," one of the Novelas ejemplarias of Cervantes, which were published in 1613. Leocadia, daughter of a poor hidalgo, is abducted by a gang of youths whose leader, Rodolfo, seduces her. She finds herself pregnant, and goes into seclusion while her family raises the infant. Rodolfo, overcome with remorse, leaves for the wars in Italy. Seven years later, Rodolfo's father saves the child from being trampled by a horse; the similarity of the boy's features to those of his son arouses the old man's compassion. He brings the child to be treated by the best surgeon in Toledo. The boy's mother is sent for, and tells the whole story. Rodolfo is summoned home from Italy and reunited with Leocadia, who becomes his wife. The Romantic libretto is a little melodramatic, but also moving. It is interesting, and in fact it is far too serious for an opéra-comique since it is dominated almost constantly by melodrama, a fact acknowledged in the poets’ generic designation of the piece. The score is one of the most impressive in the manner of Auber’s first creative period. It is Spanish rather than Portuguese in colour. After a pretty introductory chorus for young girls, there is a melancholy romance for Léocadie (“Pour moi, dans la nature, tout n’est plus que douleur”). The entrée of Fernand (“C’est moi! C’est moi!") is an air full of frankness, and entirely appealing. The melody of Sanchette’s couplets is distinguished by purposeful harmony: Voilà trois ans qu’en ce village Nous arriva ce bel enfant. The finale, characterized by a brilliant coupe, begins with a gracious farandole in G minor, followed by a dramatically handled transition to a stretta where the harmonic movement becomes a little more predictable. The first entr’acte is an orchestral version of Sanchette’s couplets. The influence of Boieldieu is especially evident in the duet that opens act 2, gracious and tender. The act is concluded by a melodrama without any striking musical trait. The last act contains Sanchette’s well-turned

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couplets “Je viens de voir notre comtesse”. Of particular interest is the warm, rousing allegro vivace in E minor (“Par mes remords, par ma souffrance, que mes forfaits soient expiées”) which leads straight into the dénouement. All three finales are well-constructed. Scribe's libretto was later set by Lauro Rossi (1810-1885) in l835 and by Giuseppe Mazza (1806-1885) in 1844. Neither composition achieved any success. The cast were: Lafeuillade (Don Carlos, colonel); Lemonnier (Don Fernand d’Aveyro); Huet (Philippe de Leiras, sergeant); Darancourt (Crespo, an alcalde); Mme Pradher (Léocadie, the sister of Philippe); Mme Rigaud (the niece of Crespo). In repertoire 1824-31. Number of performances 120. Le Maçon Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Augustin-Eugène Scribe and Germain Delavigne. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 3 May 1825. Paris, during the Restoration. Act 1. Roger, the mason, is marrying Henriette, the sister of the locksmith Baptiste. One of the visitors to the festivities is Roger's patron Léon, who describes his love for an unknown woman. Later two visitors, muffled in cloaks, inquire among the guests where they can find a mason and locksmith, and when their inquiries are answered, forcibly abduct Roger and Baptiste at knifepoint. Act 2. The two emissaries are Usbeck and Rica, slaves of the Turkish ambassador, who are laying a trap to catch the lover of the Greek odalisque Irma. The remorseful Rica discovers that the culprit is Léon, and tries to lead him and Irma to safety, but they are unwittingly revealed by Baptiste. He and Roger are forced to wall up the three alive. Act 3. Roger and Baptiste are brought back to face an irate Henriette, who reproaches them for leaving the wedding to visit the home of the Turkish ambassador. She is even more mystified when, on hearing this they rush out crying "They are saved!” Despite the evocative title, this libretto has no connection with Freemasonry. Both book and score were equally successful, with varied situations and musically well-delineated characters. All is very attractive in this work, which had great success and remained in the repertoire for nearly a century. The air “Du courage, à l’ouvrage” became universally popular. The opera was given on German stages into the 1930s. The cast were: Ponchard (Roger, a mason); Vizentini (Baptiste, a locksmith);

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Lafeuillade (Léon de Mérinville, an officer); Darancourt and Henri (Usbeck and Rica, Turkish slaves); Belnie (a wedding guest); Mme Pradher (Irma, a young Greek); Mme Rigaud (Henriette, a young Parisienne); Mme Boulanger (Mme Bertrand); Mlle Colon (Zobéide, companion to Irma). In repertoire 1825-96. Number of performances 525. Le Timide or Le Nouveau Seducteur Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Augustin-Eugène Scribe and Xavier Saintine. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 30 May 1826. A chateau in Provence during the Restoration. Amélie, the younger sister of the widowed Mme. d’Hérancy, tells of her love for a young man, SaintErnest, who spoke to her at a ball. He enters with his older cousin, Valmont, who wants to pay court to the widow. De Sauvré, Amélie's tutor, accuses Saint-Ernest of trying to seduce her, but Valmont defends him. He then lectures his younger cousin on the dangers of timidity, but asks him to speak to the widow for him; she thinks that Saint-Ernest is proposing to her. Valmont, trying to get the maid Adrienne on his side, gives her money. De Sauvre sees this and publicly accuses Valmont of trying to seduce Adrienne. At the end everything is cleared up, with Valmont getting the widow and Saint-Ernest getting Amélie. This small work was not successful. Given in the same year as Fiorella, there is nothing here presaging the author of La Muette de Portici on which the composer had already begun working. The cast were: Ponchard (Colonel Saint-Ernest); Huet (M. de Sauvré); Mme Lemonnier (Valmont, travesty role); Mme Ponchard (Mme de Hérancy); Mlle. Colon (Amélie, sister of Mme Hérancy); Mme Boulanger (Adrienne, chambermaid). In repertoire 1826 only. Number of performances 14. Fiorella Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Augustin-Eugène Scribe. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 28 November 1826. The scene is laid in Rome at the beginning of the Napoleonic era. Act 1. Fiorella, the ward of the Duke of Farnese, is loved by the wealthy bon vivant Albert. Rodolphe, a French agent, becomes Albert's friend and is introduced to Fiorella, whom he recognizes as Camille, his former love in Paris. She secretly tries to help Rodolphe, using her maid

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Bianca and the ex-bandit Pietro as go-betweens. Act 2. Rodolphe and Albert, travelling in the country, stop at a monastery for shelter from a storm. Rodolphe, disgusted at Fiorella's inconstancy, swears an oath to Albert that he will never marry her. Fiorella enters the monastery in disguise and finds Rodolphe. Albert sees them together and bitterly reproaches his erstwhile friend. Act 3. The police come to arrest Rodolphe but take away Albert by mistake. Bianca inadvertently burns the papers which would compromise Rodolphe. Eventually Fiorella and Rodolphe pair off while Albert consoles himself with Bianca. The story has some resemblance to that of La Favorite, but the dénouement is happy, as one would have expected at the Feydeau. Indeed, there are some scenes of outright comedy. Paul de Kock has stated that the libretto was drawn from the novel Les Trois Gil-Blas by Jean-HenriFerdinand Lamartelière (1761-1830), whose most famous work, Les Francs-Juges, inspired the overture by Berlioz. The article "Lamartelière" in the Nouvelle biographie générale (1861) lists a novel called Fiorella as a sequel to Les Trois Gil Blas. Since no copy of either novel was available, no statements regarding Scribe's adaptation can be made. (de Kock, Memoirs, p. 28.) The music of this score is in the style of Auber’s first period. The melodic inspiration manifests itself spontaneously, without subsequent reflection or searching for effect. There was applause for the burlesque scene in which Rodolphe breaks his guitar to make a fire to warm Fiorella’s chilled limbs. The romance he sings to his own guitar accompaniment had great romantic appeal. There is a witty duet for the vagabond and chambermaid. It was regularly performed for five years, with Fiorella’s rondo (“Esperance, confiance”) becoming very popular. The cast were: Lafeuillade (Rodolphe, a French officer); Lemonnier (Albert, a Neapolitan gentleman); Valère (Pietro, a vagabond); Féréol (Arpaya); Mme Pradher (Fiorella, a ducal ward); Mme Boulanger (Zerbine, a maid). In repertoire 1826-31, 1848. Number of performances 118. La Fiancée Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Augustin-Eugène Scribe. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 10 January 1829. The setting is Vienna immediately after the Napoleonic Wars. Act 1. The upholsterer Fritz, on the night before he is to be married to

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the modiste Henriette, is placed on guard duty. After he leaves, Count Frédéric, whose father had reared him and Henriette, returns from the wars to claim her, but she tells him of her impending marriage. The elderly roué Baron Saldorf invites Henriette to be the guest of the Baroness that night, and hints to the audience that he had Fritz placed on guard so that he could make advances to Henriette. As night falls, Fritz is on guard before the Saldorf mansion. He sees a burglar attempting to break in and gives the alarm. Frédéric is seized, but Saldorf secures his release. Act 2. Saldorf gives Henriette avuncular advice about marriage which Fritz overhears. He flies into a rage when Saldorf hints that she really loves Frédéric. Before the assembled company, Saldorf asks Frédéric into whose apartment he was trying to gain entrance. Not wishing to compromise the Baroness, whom he came to see about Henriette, he points out a window at random—Henriette’s. General consternation ensues and the wedding is cancelled. Act 3. Frédéric enters the shop where Mme. Charlotte, Henriette’s employer, is consoling her; the two women turn on him. He is about to tell the real story when Saldorf and Fritz arrive. Henriette describes how the Baroness let her go home at midnight. Saldorf threatens violence to Frédéric, but is soon calmed. Fritz is disappointed that Henriette loves Frédéric, but consoles himself with Mme. Charlotte. The libretto, with its dramatic subject, offers many situations suited to the music which teems with happy ideas. Among the most striking are Henriette’s ballad “Si j’étais infidèle”; Charlotte’s couplets “Que de mal, de tourments”; the duet for Henriette and Fritz “Entendez-vous, c’est le tambour”; the song of the patrol “Garde à vous, avonçons en silence”, and Fritz’s tyrolienne “Montagnard ou berger”. Apart from these melodies with a strong popular appeal, there are also more delicate pieces, like the canon for three voices “Où trouver le bonheur?”, the introductory chorus “Travaillons, mesdemoiselles”; the cavatina “Un jour encore”, and the romance for two voices “Ô jours heureux que mon coeur se rappelle”. The trio in act 2, and the first two finales are disposed with great skill. This was the seventh opera in the fertile collaboration between Scribe and Auber, and it was performed 93 times in its first year. Most of the subject matter was borrowed by Scribe from Michel Masson and Raymond Brucker’s Contes de l’atelier, and it is one of his most moving and best handled plots. When the work was revived on 10 February 1858, contemporary mores, much changed over twenty years, were rather shocked at the story. The score was nonetheless found to retain all its freshness. “This work, according to us, closes the series in the first style of the

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composer. With Fra Diavolo, the musical horizon expands, and is bathed in even warmer rays” (CL, 1:451). The cast were: Chollet (Frédéric, count of Lowenstein and colonel); Tilly (Fritz, an upholsterer); Lemonnier (Baron de Saldorf); Mme Pradher (Henriette, a modiste); Mme Lemonnier (Madame Charlotte, the maîtresse modiste). In repertoire l829-58. Number of performances 273. Fra Diavolo or L'Hôtellerie de Terracina Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Augustin-Eugène Scribe. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Ventadour), 28 January 1830. The action takes place in and around Terracina during the Restoration. Act 1. As the curtain rises, a chorus of soldiers is enjoying the free wine which the innkeeper Matteo is furnishing to celebrate the marriage of his daughter Zerline to a rich neighbouring peasant. Zerline is unhappy because she loves Lorenzo, the commander of the soldiers, who is too poor to support her in the style which Matteo considers proper. Suddenly Lord and Lady Cockburn [Cokbourg, sometimes given as Kookburn] rush in with the tale that they have been robbed by bandits. Lorenzo interrogates the Lord and Lady and learns that they were attacked by the bandit Fra Diavolo. After the soldiers leave, the Lord accuses Lady Pamela of flirting with the handsome Marquis whom they had met at the previous inn where they had stopped. A carriage, containing the Marquis, now stops at the inn; both the Lord and Lady recognize him, while Zerline amusedly comments on the situation. Zerline and Matteo then relate the history of Fra Diavolo to the assembled company. As soon as Zerline and Matteo and the Lord and Lady leave, two ragged, menacing individuals, Beppo and Giacomo, enter and in comic dialogue disclose not only their own identity as bandits, but also reveal to the audience that the Marquis is in fact the robber chief himself. Diavolo's fortunes begin their rise when he flirts with Lady Pamela, learns that she and the Lord have a sizable sum of money still with them, and secures a locket containing her portrait. The Lord interrupts them, which prevents Lady Pamela from recovering her locket. With the first finale, the climactic scene of the act takes place. The soldiers return and Lorenzo describes the defeat of the bandit group and the recovery of the jewels belonging to the Lord and Lady. Lord Cockburn gives Lorenzo a reward sufficient to enable him to marry Zerline. The denouement of the climax comes when Diavolo and his henchmen plot revenge. Act 2. The second act opens with a point of rest in the action, in which

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Zerline lyrically contemplates her future wedded bliss. The Lord and Lady prepare to retire, and he discovers that his wife's locket is missing. While Zerline is preparing the guest room for Cockburn and Lady Pamela, the Marquis enters her room and signals to his henchmen to join them. Zerline's sudden entry forces them to hide in the closet. A comic interlude is furnished by her undressing to the sotto voce comments of the bandits. After she goes to sleep, the brigands leave the closet to go to the Lord's bedroom. Zerline's presence disturbs Diavolo, who orders Beppo to kill her. She begins to pray in her sleep, which stays Beppo's hand. Suddenly a loud knocking, announcing Lorenzo's return, awakens her, and the bandits retreat to their sanctuary. The clumsy Beppo knocks over a chair in the closet, arousing the Lord's suspicions. The Marquis emerges, and explains to each man in turn that his presence in the closet was for a rendezvous. First Lord Cockburn is shown Lady Pamela's locket as proof; circumstantial evidence is sufficient for Lorenzo. The women enter and are rebuffed by their men, adding to the puzzlement and confusion. Act 3. The third act opens with another low point, the wedding festivities for Zerline and the wealthy peasant, during which Beppo and Giacomo pick the pockets of the guests. After the villagers leave, the bandits find Diavolo’s message which indicates how they are to seize the Lord and Lady. Lorenzo prepares for his duel with the Marquis. Now the action is brought to its resolution. Beppo and Giacomo, drinking wine with the villagers, recognize Zerline as the girl who was undressing and mock her song. She explains her song and thus reveals that Beppo and Giacomo must have been hiding in the closet along with the Marquis. Lorenzo searches them and finds Diavolo's message. The soldiers set an ambush for the bandit chief and force Beppo to give the password that all is well. The Marquis enters and is identified by one of his victims as Diavolo. A prayer is sung to the tune of Zerline's first act romance in thanks for deliverance from the bandits. The libretto is one of the most entertaining from the pen of the prolific vaudevillist, and the score one of the composer’s best. Both libretto and score were admired from the first, winning the work an enduring and universal success. Even after 180 years the melodies conserve a freshness that testifies to Auber’s originality. There are numerous instances of high musical comedy: the overture; in act 1 the introduction (soldiers’ drinking chorus with asides for the Zerline and Lorenzo); Lord Cockburn’s couplets syllabiques; the quintet heralding the arrival of the Marquis; Zerline’s ballad of Fra Diavolo “Voyez sur cette roche”; and the seduction trio built around the barcarolle “Le gondolier fidèle”. The vein continues in act 2, with the trio for Zerline and the English couple. Fra Diavolo’s barcarolle

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serenade “Agnès, la jouvencelle” is a charming inspiration, as is Zerline’s bedroom scene, with its hopes, naive self-regard and beautiful bedtime prayer. The finale is brilliant in its complex musical realization of Fra Diavolo’s twisting intrigue. Act 3 is dominated by Fra Diavolo’s extended monologue (“Je vois marcher sous ma bannière”), a scintillating tour de force in several movements. The pastoral chorus (“Pâques fleuries”) has an enchanting effect, as does Lorenzo’s sentimental romance, the comic uncovering of the rascals, and the rush to the finale, with the lingering revisiting of the ballad. The cast were: Chollet (Fra Diavolo, a bandit chief, disgused as the Marquis San Marco); Féréol (Lord Cockburn, an English traveller); Moreau-Sainti (Lorenzo, a brigadier of the Carabinieri); Henri (Matteo, an innkeeper); Fargueil and Belnie (Giacomo and Beppo, henchmen of Fra Diavolo); Mlle Prévost (Zerline, daughter of Matteo); Mme Boulanger (Lady Pamela, wife of Lord Cockburn). In repertoire until 1907. Number of performances: 909. Revived in January 2009. Made into a famous film with Laurel and Hardy, 1931. Still in European repertoire. La Marquise de Brinvilliers Drame lyrique en trois actes. Librettists: Augustin-Eugène Scribe and Castil-Blaze. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Ventadour), 31 October 1831. The setting is Versailles, 1675. The music was the result of collaboration between nine composers: Auber, Batton, Berton, Blangini, Boieldieu, Carafa, Cherubini, Hérold and Paër. Auber contributed a trio in act 3. The history of this notorious poisoner is hardly an appropriate subject for an opera. It is too ugly to set to music, and the skill with which Scribe altered the historical personages for the stage was not enough to make the marquise interesting. By attributing the crimes of poisoning to love, the authors of the play made a critical mistake. They have depicted this passion as sometimes violent, but never capable of the kind of base wickedness that can only really be attributed to a vicious nature, monstrous greed, and savage instincts, The troupe of the Opéra-Comique was rather mediocre at this time, and execution of this work was found to be somewhat feeble. Féréol and Mlle Prévost sang the principal roles. The cast were: Moreau-Sainti (Arthur de Saint-Brice); Boulard (M. de Vernilhac, fermier général); Féréol (Galifard,

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intendant de la Marquise); Alfred (M. de Coulange); Duchenet (Domestique de la marquise); Mlle Prévost (La marquise de Brinvilliers); Mme Pradher (Hortense de Montmélian, femme de Vernilhac); Mme Boulanger (Madelon, soeur de lait d’Hortense). In repertoire 1831-32, 32 times; reprise in 1836, 11 times. Number of performances: 43. Also given in Brussels, 2 August 1832. Lestocq, ou L' Intrigue et l' amour Opéra-comique en quatre actes. Librettist: Augustin-Eugène Scribe. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Bourse), 24 May 1834. The plot is an historical intrigue concerning Elisabeth, the daughter of Peter the Great, and the revolution of 1741. Declared unfitted to succeed her father, she retires to the provinces accompanied by a French doctor called Lestocq, an old favourite of the Tsar, a man both ambitious and able. He organizes a conspiracy and restores Elizabeth to the throne. Auber was not so successful this time perhaps because the situations did not inspire him, perhaps because of a fleeting weakness, and Lestocq was regarded one of his less successful scores. The accompaniments are carefully worked out, and indicate a skilled hand. But the melodies lack amplitude, and the score is dominated by a recurring contredanse rhythm (CL 2:646). The score contains several good ensembles (two trios and a quintet), two remarkable duets for Lestocq and Elisabeth, and the powerful concluding male-voice chorus, hailing the empress. The work was sung by Thénard and Mme Pradher, Mlles. Peignat and Massy. It was given in London at Covent Garden under the title Lestocq, or The Fête of the Hermitage (21 February 1835), and enjoyed success in Germany. In repertoire 1834-35, 82 times; 1840, 10 times; 1851. Number of performances 93. Le Cheval de bronze Opéra-comique (opéra-féerique) en trois actes. Librettist: AugustinEugène Scribe. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Bourse), 23 March 1835. China, in legendary times. Act 1. The wealthy Chinese landowner Tchin-Kao has arranged the marriage of his daughter Péki to the elderly mandarin Tsing-Sing, whose fourth wife, Tao-Jin, brings the news that her husband has become the

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companion of the Prince, never to leave his side on pain of decapitation. When the Prince arrives, Péki pleads for justice: she loves not the mandarin, but the young farmer Yanko, who has mysteriously disappeared. Yanko enters with a strange tale concerning a large bronze horse which has been found in the vicinity, and on which he took a wonderful ride. The Prince, intrigued, decides to ride the horse, and demands that Tsing-Sing accompany him. Act 2. When they return, Tao-Jin taunts her husband into describing his adventures, but he replies that if he reveals them, he will be turned into a porcelain statue. Immediately he falls asleep and Tchin-Kao, trying to awaken him with music, finds him changed to porcelain. Yanko finds this very funny and starts to explain the reason for this change, but is stopped in the middle of a laugh when he, in turn, becomes a statue. Péki vows to ride the horse herself to uncover this mystery. Act 3. The horse transports her to an enchanted land of sirens on Venus, ruled by the Princess Stella. Here she finds the prince who must pass 24 hours on Venus without kissing a siren before he can claim the princess. Péki arrives, disguised as man, and thus resistant to the sirens. After vainly pleading with Stella for Yanko's restoration, she snatches away Stella's magic bracelet. All are transported to earth, where a pagoda has been erected over the statues of Tsing-Sing and Yanko. Yanko is freed, then part of Tsing-Sing; Péki wlll change him back entirely only on condition that he consents to the annulment of their marriage so that she can marry Yanko. Scribe's term magot means either an ape, a grotesque porcelain figure, an ill-favoured person, or a hidden treasure. The libretto transports one to a fairy tale China of long ago. It was regarded as amusing in its own day, but many of the scenes have become banal through force of imitation. The music is lively and witty. Among the most agreeable pieces are: Péki’s ballad “Là-bas, sur ce rocher sauvage”, and most of the pieces in act 2, which is particularly rich in original melody, among others Péki’s couplets in A major “Quand on est fille, hélas!” and the witty duet “Ah! ciel, en croirai-je mes yeux!”. The orchestral modulations during the Mandarin’s dream have a suavity that is entirely Oriental in feel. In act 3 the chanson of Lo Mangli (“Tranquille il se promène”) is remarkable, as are the ensembles in act 1 and the act 2 finale. The elaborate décor and stage machinery required by the scenario encouraged the idea of a later revivial of this work at the Académie de musique. It was produced in four acts with substantial balletic additions on 21 September 1857. The music is lively and witty, but its style was not suited to the bigger house.

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The cast were: Féréol (Tsing-Sing, vieux mandarin); Révial (Le prince Yang, fils de l’empereur de Chine); Inchindi (Tchin-Kao, fermier); Thénard (Yanko, jeun paysan); Mme Pradher (Péki, fille de Tchin-Kao); Mme Ponchard (Tao-Jin, femme de Tsing-Sing); Mme Casimir (La princesse Stella); Mlle Fargueil (Lo Mangli). In repertoire until 1836. Number of performances 106. Actéon Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Augustin-Eugène Scribe. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Bourse), 23 January 1836. The setting is eighteenth-century Sicily. Prince Aldobrandi has jealously shut up his wife Lucrezia and his sister Angela in a palace where only women are permitted. Count Léoni, wishing to see Angela, disguises himself as a blind street-singer to gain the attention of the ladies. Lucrezia is painting a picture of Diana and her nymphs being surprised by Acteon, and persuades her husband to allow the blind man to pose as a model. Léoni is revealed when Angela catches him reading a letter sent to her by the Cherubino-like page Stéfano, who jealously betrays the Count to Aldobrandi. A poignarding is narrowly averted when Léoni admits that he came to see Angela and not Lucrezia; the chastened Prince then graciously consents to pose as Acteon. The score of this lever de rideau, originally destined for the Opéra, was written for the agile voice of Laure Cinti-Damoreau. It is overshadowed by the other more popular creations of the composer, but nonetheless contains several remarkable pieces of real elegance: the aria “Il est des époux complaisants”; the romance “Jeunes beautés, charmantes desmoiselles” and the syllabic quartet “Le destin comble mes voeux”. Mme Damoreau excited general enthusiasm when she sang the Sicilienne (“Nina, jolie et sage”), an air à vocalise which is a masterpiece of grace and finesse in this small work. The cast were: Inchindi (Le prince Aldobrandi); Révial (Le conte Léoni); Laure Cinti-Damoreau (Lucrezia, princesse Aldobrandi); Mlle Camoin (Adèle, soeur du prince); Mme Pradher (Stéfano, sigisbée de la princesse). In repertoire: 1836-52. Number of performances: 92. Les Chaperons blancs Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Augustin-Eugène Scribe. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Bourse), 9 April 1836. The scene is laid in Ghent in 1383.

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Act 1. The apprentice Gautier loves Marguerite, the ward of the rich perfumer Vanderblas. She in turn loves a mysterious young man whom she saw at a recent fete. The grand equerry of Count Louis, Gilbert, brings her a message that she is to be the lady-in-waiting of the Duchess of Brabant, and is to report to a deserted tower in the city. Act 2. Gilbert leads Marguerite to the tower. After she leaves, he and Gautier reveal themselves to Vanderblas as members of the "white hats," a conspiracy against Count Louis. After they depart, the Duchess enters and converses with Marguerite, but soon throws off her disguise; Marguerite's young man, the Duchess, and Count Louis are one (triple quidproquo). She checks Louis' advances by threatening to leap from the window. He apologizes and invites Vanderblas, Gilbert, and Gautier in for supper. His hospitality is repaid when Gilbert leads in the conspirators, who take the Count prisoner. Act 3. Marguerite and Vanderblas plan to get Louis released from the dungeon in which he has been confined. Vanderblas takes a potion which will give him the appearance of a corpse for an hour. Gilbert and Gautier, who enter his shop to confiscate his assets, think him dead. His apparent resurrection demoralizes them to the extent that Count Raymond, Louis' brother, can lead troops into Ghent and retake the city. Despite the false situations presented in this bad melodrama, Auber did not lack inspiration in this work. The overture was encored. The whole of act 1 is remarkable, particularly the couplets de table sung by Chollet, and the quartet “Que sa démarche est belle”. In act 3 Gautier’s polonaise (“Moi je connais une maîtresse”) is striking, as is the duet “Ô trahison! Ô perfidie!” sung by Chollet and Mlle Prévost, the Conspiracy Scene, and the finale. The cast were: Chollet (Louis, comte de Flandre); Henri (Gilbert, grand écuyer); Ricquier (Vanderblas, droguiste); Thénard (Gautier, apprenti); Génot (un seigneur); Deslandes (Berghem); Victor (Arnoult, un soldat); Léon (Petterson, garçon armurier); Mlle Prévost (Marguerite); Mlle Mousel (Ursule, femme de Vanderblas). In repertoire 1836 only. Number of performances 12. L’Ambassadrice Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Augustin-Eugène Scribe. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Bourse), 21 December 1836. The setting is Munich in the l830s. Act 1. Henriette and Charlotte, rivals in a small opera company, are visited by a mysterious gentleman who declares his love for Henriette. The

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lovesick Benedict, who denounces him as an imposter, forces him to reveal his true identity as the Prussian ambassador. The grasping Mme. Barnek, Henriette's aunt, persuades her to become a duchess. Act 2. Awaiting the sovereign's consent to the marriage, Henriette and Mme. Barnek have moved to Berlin, where they are under the watchful eyes of the ambassador's sister, the Countess Augusta. They pass themselves off as Bavarian aristocrats, although at times this is difficult, especially when the Countess tries to give Henriette a singing lesson. The impresario of the Munich opera company, accompanied by Charlotte and Benedict, enters to invite the ambassador to their opening performance. Charlotte, recognizing her old rival, betrays her. The ambassador makes a feeble plea for "careers open to talent", but Augusta denounces the proceedings as dangerous liberalism. The impresario complains that Charlotte has a cold; when Henriette sees a note in Charlotte's handwriting addressed to the ambassador, she vows revenge on both of them. Act 3. Charlotte, in a box at the opera house, reproaches the ambassador with his infidelity and threatens to compromise him. Mme. Barnek brings word that Henriette has disappeared. Just then the audience breaks into applause; Henriette has replaced Charlotte on the stage. After the performance, she tears up the marriage contract, vowing to devote her life to the stage rather than to continue aristocratic pretence with an unfaithful husband. Given in the same year as Actéon and Les Chaperons blancs, this work is one of the composer’s best. The libretto is ingenious and and charming. The score was written especially for Laure Cinti-Damoreau, and is rich in vocal display, fitting for a prima donna. The original success of this opera was later augmented in 1850 by topical developments, when the famous singer Henriette Sontag left the stage to marry the Sardinian diplomat the Comte de Rossi. The public enthusiastically savoured the situations so skilfully presented by Scribe. The reappearance of Mme de Rossi as a professional singer, because of a reversal of fortune, proved that the subject of the libretto was not improbable. This verisimilitude in a work belonging to a genre where one hardly expects it provided a piquant attraction. Auber’s music is by turns lively, touching, playful and tender. The overture is particularly lovely, as is Henriette’s complainte “Il était un vieux bonhomme”, her grand air “J’aurai des titres”, and her couplets in act 1 “Ah! que mon sort est beau!”. Also remarkable is the Singing Lesson in act 2 with the couplets about “Sultan Misapouf”, the romance “Le ciel nous a placés dans des rangs”, and both duets with Bénédict, especially the highly expressive “Oui, c’est moi qui viens ici, Madame l’ambassadrice”.

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The secondary characters also have some fine solos: the air bouffe for Fortunatus “Che gusto! Que mon sort est beau”, Charlotte’s couplets “Il est, dit-on, un beau jeune homme” and her aria in the last act “Que ces murs coquets”. All the ensembles are excellent, and there is no chorus. For a long time the heroine’s part served as a début role for the young students of the Conservatoire. It prepares and tests the qualities of a singer. Mlle Lavoye won her greatest success in this role, no small achievement when one recalled the perfection with which Madame Damoreau created the character of Henriette (CL 1:43). The cast were: Moreau-Sainti (Le duc de Valberg); Couderc (Bénédict, comédien); Roy (Fortunatus, impresario); Laure Cinti-Damoreau (Henriette, prima donna); Mlle Jenny Colon (Charlotte, actrice); Mme Boulanger (Madame Barneck, tante d’Henriette); Mlle Mousel (La comtesse Augusta de Fierschemberg, tante du duc). In repertoire: 1836-73. Number of performances 417. Revived at the Galerie Vivienne, Paris, 19 November 1897. Le Domino noir Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Augustin-Eugène Scribe. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Bourse), 2 December 1837. The scene is laid in Madrid around 1780/during the Restoration. Act 1. Angèle, a noblewoman who is about to take solemn vows, still attends masked balls (though not in her habit), at one of which she has fallen in love with Horace, who is equally smitten. At a subsequent ball he sees Angèle again and, to find out her true opinion of him, pretends to fall asleep in an armchair in order to overhear her conversation with Brigitte. Angèle leaves her bouquet beside him as a token of her affection. Horace later disengages her from the crowd and declares his love, but she discourages him. At midnight Angèle leaves to return to the convent, but without Brigitte. Act 2. Angèle tries to return to the convent unaided and, frightened by the dark streets, knocks at the first door, that of Julian, Horace's friend. The gentlemen, returning from the party, enter for supper and are waited on by Angèle, disguised in Aragonese costume. Horace recognizes her, but she flees after frightening the porter of the convent into surrendering his keys. Act 3. Brigitte ably covers up for Angèle at the convent. Horace attends the installation of the new abbess and sees Angèle about to receive this great honour. Suddenly a messenger .from the Queen of Spain appears, ordering the convent to select a new abbess and releasing Angèle

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from her vows. The libretto is one of the great dramatist’s best, especially in the rapport between the complications of the intrigue and the scenic episodes where the level of improbability does not diminish interest in the story. The choice of subject was felt by the middle of the 19th century not to be in the best taste, characterized as it was by ideas current at the time of its creation. Le Domino noir was celebrated for its lightness, elegance and wit, the libretto and music complimenting each other perfectly in realizing a masterpiece of this genre. It is Auber’s most original opéra-comique, the one in which he abandoned himself most fully to his talent for charming fantasy and melodic grace. Nearly all the pieces became popular. The romances for Angèle (“Le trouble et la frayeur”) and Horace (“Amour, viens finir mon supplice”) have a suavity and enchanting distinction, as do Angèles’s couplets “Une fée, un bon ange” and her dialogue with Juliano (“D’où venez-vous ma chère?”). The couplets for Gil Perez (“Deo gratias”) and Dame Brigitte (“S’il est sur terre”) have roundness and zest; the arogonaise for ‘Inésille’ (“La belle Inès fait florès”) much ingenuity. Angèle’s big syllabic aria “Ah! quelle nuit!” successfully depicts the range of emotions experienced by the imprudent abbess. The big Supper Scene in act 2 is an ensemble of fleetness and mercurial moods. The dramatic situation in the last act provided the composer with one of his most beautiful inspirations. The cantique with chorus (“Hereux qui ne respire”) can by its very nature disarm those timorous spirits who could be tempted to reproach the authors for having treated religious matters in the way they have. Auber’s employment of Spanish rhythms adds a most appropriate couleur locale to the whole of the score. Mme Damoreau created the role of Angèle with great success. That of Horace later became one of the best interpretations of Roger who, by his acting and sympathetic voice, almost managed to make the public believe in this taking of the veil. The original cast were: Couderc (Horace, a young gentleman of means); Moreau-Sainti (Juliano, his friend); Grignon (Lord Elfort, an English nobleman); Roy (Gil Perez, the gatekeeper of the Ursuline convent in Madrid); Laure Cinti-Damoreau (Angèle, a young noblewoman about to take vows); Mlle Berthaut (Brigitte, friend to Angèle); Mme Boulanger (Jacinthe, housekeeper to Juliano); Mlle Olivier (Ursule, a lay sister); Mme Roy (Gertrude, the tourière at the convent). There was a reprise on 28 December 1901 (Salle Favart 3). In repertoire constantly apart from the years 1858, 1877-79, 1892-93, 18991900, 1908-09: 1837-76, 1880-91. The 700th performance was on 18 February 1866, the 1000th on 3 April 1882. Number of performances:

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1209. Last revived in Paris at the Théâtre Porte Saint Martin 10 June 1935, in the French provinces until 1940. Given in Paris as late as 1935, in French provinces as late as 1940. Zanetta ou Il ne faut pas jouer avec le feu Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Augustin-Eugène Scribe and Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 18 May 1840. The setting is Naples in the early l740s. Act 1. King Charles VI thinks that his favourite, the German nobleman Rodolphe, is too attentive to his sister Nisida. Nisida, in order to allay her brother's suspicions, conceives a plan in which Rodolphe will openly court Zanetta, the daughter of the royal gardener. This unsophisticated girl readily responds to Rodolphe's advances. Act 2. Nisida becomes jealous of Zanetta and tries to hurt her by showing her one of Rodolphe's love letters. The simple girl cannot read German, and thinks it is his fulfilment of a promise to bring her father to the King's attention. Zanetta shows it to the minister Mathanasius, who immediately recognizes it as confirmation of a tryst scheduled for that evening. He orders an ambush to be laid for Rodolphe, when he comes to see Nisida. On his way to her, Rodolphe encounters the affectionate Zanetta and cruelly rebuffs her when she delays him. Act 3. Rodolphe evades the guards by arriving for his rendezvous with Nisida by an unexpected route. She learns that Rodolphe has duped her, and the entrance of Zanetta, with her demonstrations of love, convinces him that he has acted wrongly. The King and Mathanasius then confess that they had planned for Nisida to marry the elector of Bavaria; this pleases her far more than a match with Rodolphe. The subtitle was suppressed after several performances. The libretto is impossibly confusing. Instead of concentrating interest in two characters, the authors multiplied the number of intrigues. The music of this pleasant work is notable for the amount of vocal display (again stimulated by the muse of Mme Damoreau) and the recurrent use of the waltz rhythm which dominates the finales of the first and third acts. The overture is very attractive. Act 1 contains the ballade “Sur les rivages de Catane”, a lovely sicilienne, a trio (“Oui, si vous daignez m’approuver”), and a cavatina for the soprano (“Pendant toute la nuit”). Act 3 is remarkable for the aria “Adieu mes fleurs chéries”. Mmes Damoreau and Rossi were applauded for the duet in act 2 (“Contre l’hymen qu’ordonne”). All three duets are

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very expressive. The cast were: Couderc (Rodolphe de Montemart); Mocker (Charles VI, king of the Two Sicilies); Grignon (Le baron Mathanasius de Werendorf, doctor, councillor of the Elector of Bavaria); Sainte-Foy and Emon (Dionigi and Ruggieri, gentlemen of the court); Haussard (Tschircosshire, heidique to the baron); Laure Cinti-Damoreau (Zanetta, a gardener); Mlle Rossi (Nisida, the princess of Taranto). In repertoire l840-41. Number of performances 35. Les Diamants de la couronne Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Augustin-Eugène Scribe and Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 6 March 1841. The scene is laid in Portugal (Coimbre and Lisbon) in 1777. Act 1. Don Henrique, lost in the mountains, inadvertently stumbles on a band of smugglers led by the beautiful Catarina. She protects him when her lieutenants, Rebolledo and Mugnoz, propose to do away with him, but he is sworn to secrecy. He falls in love with her and tries to persuade her to give up her outlaw life, but to no avail. When the band is surrounded by soldiers, the smugglers escape, disguised as monks, while Catarina leaves through a subterranean passage. Act 2. Henrique is told of the smugglers’ escape at the home of the Alcalde, to whose daughter Diana he was affianced. Meanwhile Diana has fallen in love with Henrique's friend Sebastian. A carriage breaks down outside and its occupant, the Countess of Villaflor, enters; Henrique immediately recognizes Catarina. He begs her again to give up her misspent life, and further pledges his love; she rebuffs him but gives him a ring as token of her affection. The Alcalde rushes in with the news that the crown jewels have been stolen and recognizes Henrique's new ring as one of them. Catarina overhears this and flees in the Alcalde's carriage. Act 3. Henrique and his friends are at Lisbon to attend the coronation of the new Queen of Portugal. Rebolledo enters, dressed as a count. Henrique goes to warn the Queen and finds Catarina, who then discloses herself as the new Queen. She explains that since the treasury was short of money, she arranged for the sale of the crown diamonds, and covered it up by organising a supposed robbery. Scribe borrowed the coup de théâtre of flight in a carriage from Merimée's Le Théâtre de Clara Gazul. A zarzuela, adapted from Scribe’s libretto by F. Camprodon, was set by F. Asenjo Barbieri in 1854, under the title Los Diamantes de la Corona. The unlikely story is saved by the

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brilliant skill of the librettist and the melodic fecundity of the composer. Despite its improbability, this work was very successful, owing no doubt to the music. And indeed the opera proffers the most piquant musical fantasies. The overture presents several themes from the opera, with the first pianissimo section exercising a charming effect. Act 1 contains Catarina’s aria “Oui c’est moi”, the chorus “Amis dans ce manoir” with appended ballad “Le beau Pédrillo”, and the so-called ‘Chocolate Duet’ for Catarina and Don Henrique. The chorus of brigands disguised as monks closes act 1 in the jolliest of ways. Auber’s treatment of this religious element in the opéra-comique in several of his works shows infinite grace. Act 2 contains a pretty bolero for two female voices (“Dans les défilés des montagnes”), and the soprano aria—the grand air avec variations—“Ah! je veux briser ma chaîne”. Act 3 offers the cavatina “A toi, j’ai recours”, an excellent quintet (“Oh ciel! Ah vous connaissez donc”). The finales of the first two acts are particularly remarkable. The music of this opera became particularly popular in the dance halls of the day. The characters in this imbroglio were interpreted by: Couderc, Mocker, Riquier, Henri, and Mmes Anna Thillon and Darcier. In repertoire: 1841-87. Number of performances: 379. Last revived Marseilles 20 March 1896. Le Duc d'Olonne Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Augustin-Eugène Scribe and Xavier Saintine. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Favart), 4 February 1842. The setting is Aragon, during the War of the Spanish Succession (1710). Act 1. The Duc d 'Olonne returns to seek a wife, in whose name he can put his estates, in order to avoid their confiscation. Bianca, the daughter of a poor hidalgo who has been sentenced to death for striking his superior officer, comes to the Duke to intercede for her father; she takes the Duke's fancy and is forced to marry him. Just before the final vows are pronounced, a group of soldiers arrests the Duke. Act 2. After the battle between the English and the Spanish Forces, the young French officer Villehardouin falls into company with a monk. The Chevalier tells the brother of his love for a young girl who nursed him back to health when he was wounded. The monk, Bianca in disguise, recognizes the Chevalier as her whilom patient. Then news comes that the Duke is dead, Bianca reveals herself. The Duke surprisingly enters with the news that he feigned death in order to escape; Bianca hurriedly re-

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disguises herself. The Duke teases the monk and orders "him" to drink cognac and to smoke a cigar. When an inability to perform these tasks is shown, the Duke suspects the brother of being a spy. The Chevalier exposes Bianca and claims her for himself. He and the Duke begin a duel, which is interrupted by the resumption of battle. Act 3. King Felipe V tries to settle the dispute by making Bianca a lady-in-waiting to the Queen. After numerous intrigues, the Duke recalls that the marriage ceremony was not completed, and magnanimously relinquishes Bianca to the Chevalier. In this romanesque Spanish imbroglio, political events provide a pretext for the most improbable story. The episodic events and ingenious resorts which Scribe handled with his usual skill give a certain interest to this absurd piece. The score is among the better achievements of the composer. The overture provides the principal motifs of the opera with flair. The couplets “Fleurs fraîches et jolies” written for Anna Thillon have a suave and vapourous harmony. They are followed by a gracious trio. The couplets for the bass Henri are a type of bolero where the ritornello imitates the galloping of a horse in a most original and comic manner. Act 2 is the best, with choruses of nuns and soldiers, with the contrast between the two expressed in refined and remarkable orchestral harmonies. The Supper Scene, a dramatic trio, and the finale “Guerriers de l’Espagne et de France” were very popular. The phrase “Ô France, ô ma patrie!” is one of the composer’s best inspirations. The most striking piece in act 3 is the serenade for tenor and baritone “Vers ton balcon, je cherche l’auréole” which develops into a quartet. The cast were: Mocker (Gaspard de Saavedra, duc d’Olonne); Roger (Le chevalier de Villardouin); Henri (Mognoz, intendant to the duke); Daudé (Ripallo, a Spanish officer); Grignon (La Rose, a French soldier); Victor (a principal alcade); Palianti (Alcade of the palace); Anna Thillon (Bianca di Molina); Mlle Révilly (Marijuito, the wife of Mugnoz); Mme Blanchard (Soeur Angélique). In repertoire only 1842. Number of performances 45. La Part du diable ou Carlo Broschi Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Augustin-Eugène Scribe. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 16 January 1843. The scene is laid in Spain in 1737. Act 1. Rafaël, a theology student, is blocked in his hopes of advancement at court. A young peasant, Carlo Broschi, and his sister Casilda enter; she falls in love with Rafaël while Carlo, through his sweet

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soprano singing, entices from a nearby monastery a proud woman and a dishevelled madman, who reveal themselves as Queen Elisabeth and King Felipe V of Spain. The King takes Carlo into his service and promises to grant his every wish. The dejected Rafaël calls on the devil. Carlo, thinking that he can help his future brother-in-law, passes himself off as Beelzebub. They strike a bargain that Rafaël will share his fortune equally with Carlo. Act 2. The Grand Inquisitor, hoping to regain his hold on the king’s mind, schedules a sermon which, at the Queen's instigation, is interrupted by Carlo's singing. Rafaël's old tutor, the theologian Vargas, is told of Rafaël' s bargain. Vargas is sceptical until Carlo's presence helps Rafaël to win at gambling and secures him a colonelcy and Casilda. Vargas tells the Grand Inquisitor, who sends a squad of soldiers to arrest Rafaël. Casilda pleads for his release with the King, who recognizes her as a girl whom he had once kidnapped; remorse for his deed had plunged him into melancholia. The King later surprises Rafaël and Casilda in an embrace and orders Rafaël to be the main attraction at an auto-da-fe. Act 3. Carlo tries to intercede with the King, but the courtiers bar his way. He draws out the King through his singing and tells him that Rafaël and Casilda are to be married. The auto-da-fe is cancelled. Rafaël learns that he is the sole heir to the fortune of the Duque d’Estuñiga. Carlo learns of this bequest and demands half of Casilda as well. Carlo further secures the King's blessing by threatening to expose him as Casilda's kidnapper. He then announces that he is no devil; and that Casilda's happiness is the only portion of the bargain that he will accept. The libretto has the most tenuous connection with the historical incident on which it is based, the influence of the singer Farinelli on King Felipe V and his successor, Fernando VI. When Louis XIV placed his grand-nephew on the throne of Spain as Felipe V, this caused the War of the Spanish Succession. Felipe suffered from melancholia to the extent that he let his hair and beard become unkempt and received ministers and foreign ambassadors dressed only in his queen's underclothing. The castrato Farinelli had made a European reputation and had, at Handel's urging, finished his studies with Porpora when the Spanish ambassador was ordered by Queen Elisabeth Farnese to secure the singer's services at any cost. In 1737 Farinelli came to the Spanish court and sang anonymously for Felipe, who instantly engaged him. Every evening Farinelli sang four arias, three from Hasse's Artaserse and one from Giacomelli's Merope, to the King. The royal recovery was amazing; the British ambassador soon reported that Felipe was in excellent health and totally indifferent to governing. Apparently Spain was ruled by Queen

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Elisabeth. Farinelli did not, as Scribe's libretto indicates, abuse his influence; on the contrary, he served as conciliator between various members of the royal family, furthered the succession of Fernando VI, and brought Domenico Scarlatti to Madrid as tutor to Maria-Barbara de Braganza of Portugal, Fernando's wife. (Rene Bouvier, Farinelli, le chanteur des rois [Paris, 1943], pp. 113-67.) This charming work inaugurated the third period in Auber’s creative life. The works which the composer produced from 1820 to 1830, such as La Bergère châtelaine, Le Maçon and La Fiancée, were remarkable for their simplicity and their melodic naivete. The second period from 1830 to 1840 was characterized by a variety of effects, combinations of rhythm, finesse of orchestral detail, and a harmony both piquant and original, with a pervasive brio and vivacious wit: this period includes some of the composer’s most popular works, such as La Muette de Portici, Fra Diavolo, L’Ambassadrice and Le Domino noir. In moving on from this era, it seems that the ingenious and brilliant faculties of the composer came under the influence of the emotions of the heart, of passion, and the expression of a true sensibility. This third period, far from being less productive and less successful than the preceding two, produced works remarkable enough to keep the composer in the front rank of public esteem, a position he had held from the very beginning of his career. La Part du Diable, La Barcarolle, La Sirène and especially Haydée prove this point. The overture is very attractive, especially the opening, where one notes a mysterious effect of the violins con sordine, and then a splendidly handled fanfare de chasse, both drawn from the body of the opera. The score shows italianate tendencies, especially in the music for Carlo Broschi, as in the aria “Le singulier récit”. The composer’s own personality is more in evidence in Rafaël’s aria “C’est elle qui chaque jour”, perfectly realized by Roger, which has both passion and warmth. The same applies to his graceful cavatina “Gentil lutin”, part of the hunting chorus that closes act 1, and his couplets “Ô philosophe” inserted into the chorus of officers in act 2. The romance “Oui, devant moi, droit comme une statue”, sung by Anna Thillon, is naive, while the following duettino between brother and sister (“Amitié constance et courage”), is piquant in its writing for two sopranos. The role of Farinelli was created by Mme Rossi-Caccia whose ravishing voice was noted for its purity and clarity, especially in the high register. The chief moment in act 1 is the classic cantilena “Ferme ta paupière, dors mon pauvre enfant” which became very popular. In act 2 the canzonetta napolitana “Qu’avez-vous,

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comtesse?” has a charming frankness, with exquisitely imagined accompaniment. The quartet for bass and three sopranos, which concludes without orchestra, is handled with magisterial control. Act 3 contains the aria for Carlo “Reviens, ma noble protectrice”, and the pretty duet which follows, the burden of the act lying with the disentangling of the various strands of the intrigue. The secondary roles were created by Grard, Mlles Révilly and Ricquier. This opera achieved a great and enduring success. Apart from some details in the second act, it is tinged with a gentle melancholy that is not found in any of Auber’s preceding works. It was a particular favourite in Germany under the titles Carlo Broschi and Des Teufels Anteil. The cast were: Roger (Rafaël d’Estuniga); Ricquier (Gil Vargas, his tutor); Grard (Ferdinand VI, king of Spain); Victor (Fray Antonio, the Grand Inquisitor); Mme Rossi-Caccia (Carlo Broschi, castrato singer, a travesty role); Anna Thillon (Casilda, his sister); Mlle Révilly (MarieThérèse de Portugal, the Queen of Spain). In repertoire: 1843-68. Number of performances: 263. La Sirène Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Augustin-Eugène Scribe. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 26 March 1844. The scene is laid in the Abruzzi Mountains, during the Restoration/around 1840. Act 1. The operatic impresario Bolbaya is travelling with his aged servant Mathéa and the naval ensign Scipione. From a distance they hear a song of incredible loveliness: Mathéa explains that this is the Siren, who lures unwary travellers to an ambush laid by her brother, the bandit chief Marco Tempesta. The innkeeper Scopetto and the Duke of Popoli join the party. The Duke is upset because the Siren has threatened to expose the illegitimacy of his title. In a solo aria for which the others leave the stage, Scopetto reveals himself as Marco Tempesta. Act 2. Because their ship has been captured, the bandits at Scopetto's inn are down to their last bottle of wine. Scopetto enters with a plot to smuggle their contraband through the Duke's estate, using Bolbaya's troupe as a front. Zerbina, the Siren, enters with the news that she has fallen in love with a young ensign whom she saw at Naples. When Scipion and Bolbaya arrive at the inn, she instantly recognizes her officer, but the smugglers identify him as the ensign who seized their ship. Scopetto saves him from death at the cost of an oath that he will not reveal their identities.

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After he leaves, Scopetto forces Bolbaya to declare that the bandits are his opera troupe; Zerbina is to be the prima donna. A squad of soldiers enter, leading Scipion; Scopetto tells them that the ensign is the real Marco Tempesta, while reminding him of the oath he has sworn. Act 3. The contrite bandits plot how to release Scipion as they make merry at the Ducal palace. Their off-key singing arouses the Duke's suspicions. Scopetto forces Bolbaya to identify himself to the soldiers who come at the Duke's call as the real Marco Tempesta. Scipion enters with a group of marines to arrest Scopetto. Mathéa then produces papers to show that Scipion is the rightful Duke of Popoli and that Scopetto is his cousin. Robbers, smugglers, and counterfeiters play a significant role in the works of Scribe. This opera is about a new Fra Diavolo, called Marco Tempesta this time. His sister Zerbina plays the role of the sirens of antiquity, attracting by her singing unsuspecting travellers into ambush where they are mercilessly robbed by her brother and his companions. Apart from this villainous profession, Marco Tempesta has a generous soul, noble sentiments and a tender heart. He forgives his enemies, marries his sister to a young naval officer who has captured the fortune of the smugglers, and, after he has made them happy, escapes by opportune evasion and with a witty revelation of his true identity. The dialogue is agreeable, and the episodes ingeniously disguise a certain narrative thinness. The music in its style and character belongs to Auber’s third period. There is an expansiveness in the melodic phrases and a sensibility that speaks more powerfully than in the earlier works. There is a preponderance of florid writing, especially in the finales of acts 2 and 3. The overture is very arresting, made up as it is of a beautiful song for the violoncellos and an elegant waltz. Act 1 contains the couplets “Ô chef des flibustiers” which becomes a recurring motif throughout the work, appearing as solo, trio and duet. The quartet “Ô bonheur qui m’arrive” makes a considerable impact. Act 2 contains a scene orchestrated with the most remarkable talent: the Siren’s couplets “Prends garde, montagnards” which Mlle Lavoye sang with accomplished vocal technique; a moving scene between brother and sister; and a romance intercalated in the trio “De nos jeunes années”. Act 3 is structured by the recurring chorus “Les chagrins, arrière”, another scene between brother and sister, the dénouement of the imbroglio and the vocalise of the prima donna. Roger created the role of Marco Tempesta with consummate mastery. The full cast were: Roger (Scopetto, a brigand); Audran (Le Capitaine Scipion); Ricquier (Le duc de Popoli); Henri (Bolbaya, an impresario); Duvernoy (Pecchione, a companion of Scopetto); Mlle Lavoye (Zerbina);

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Mlle Prévost (Mathea, a servant). In repertoire: l844-52, 1861-62, 1887. Number of performances: 164 (including 17 performances at ThéâtreLyrique, 1865-66). La Barcarolle ou L’Amour et la Musique Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Augustin-Eugène Scribe. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 22 April 1845. The setting is Parma in the eighteenth century/time of the Restoration. Act 1. The Count de Fiesque tries to help his half-brother, the composer Fabio, by giving him the poem to a barcarolle which he is to set to music, and thus bring his work to the attention of the Grand Duke. Fabio begins work on it, but is interrupted by the Kapellmeister Cafarini and leaves the room. The Marquis de Felino then visits Cafarini; they lay plans to secure their advancement at court. The Marquis copies the Count's poem, to pass it off as his own, but Cafarini is at a loss for melodic inspiration until he hears Fabio singing his tune. The joint effort of Cafarini and the Marquis is concealed in a basket of fruit which is sent to the Grand Duchess. Act 2. The Grand Duke has found the barcarolle and is very angry. The Marquis traps Fabio into singing the song; he modestly remarks that though he wrote the music, the Count wrote the words. The Marquis then has the Count arrested. Fabio learns through Cafarini’s daughter Gina of the Kapellmeister's part in the plot. Cafarini then blackmails the Marquis, because he holds the copy of the poem in Fiesque's handwriting. Act 3. Fabio, attempting to give the Grand Duke the true story, tries to gain admission to the Duke's concert but is forbidden entry. He then disguises himself as a member of the orchestra and places the parts to his barcarolle on the music stands. The Marquis stops the performance of the "revolutionary air." Fabio offers to exchange the incriminating copy that the Marquis made of the poem for the Count's liberty. Gina saves Fabio from arrest by producing the music in Cafarini's handwriting; the Kapellmeister disentangles himself by identifying the Marquis’s draft. The Duke pardons everyone. La Barcarolle would seem to have been produced on the stage in different versions. Scribe, in collaboration with Varner, brought out a vaudeville called Chanson ou l’Interieur d’un bureau with a subject identical to that of the opera. Here, perhaps, the librettist abused a little his skill in the art of arranging details, of inventing incidents, and of devising situations and words surrounding a subject insufficient in itself to bring

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about the orderly justification and complete development of a dramatic action. No one excelled more than the subtle author of Le Domino noir in the construction of an edifice on the most fragile of bases, of raising a pyramid on the point of a needle. But there are those tours de force which do not always succeed, and those monuments on insubstantial foundations that fall into ruin quickly. This libretto is the simplest, and also the most mediocre. The action slides on coasters in oiled grooves without any bumps. Nonetheless, the subject should at least suffice to keep the spectators awake and furnish appropriate material for the composer, which this libretto, which is unjustly neglected, does at least achieve. The piece is not boring, and the music has many beautifully imagined pages. The music Auber provided for this frail scenario is elegant, pliable and distinguished, like all his work, but nevertheless offers nothing new. Many motifs stir memories of earlier ideas, and the composer appears to have borrowed from himself. The theme of the barcarolle itself is not particularly original. It is the principal theme of the opera, and is used, reused and repeated often. Théophile Gautier went so far as to observe that: “What is needed is one of those melodies, immediate, fresh and incisive, which engraves itself indelibly on the memory, and which are found at every turn in Auber, especially when one is not looking for them. It is strange that the composer who has produced so many charming barcarolles in those works where they are mere accessories, has failed to stamp a distinguishing musical thought on the one that gives the title to this work.” But this criticism is not really well founded given that the principal theme (“Ô toi dont l’oeil rayonne”) is a fluent melody that achieved great popularity. The first movement of the overture is distinguished by mysterious effects con sordine. The two soprano arias, and a duo bouffe, were much applauded. The soprano air for Gina in act 1 (“Personne en ces lieux ne m’a vue”) and the duet for two basses (“Viens, que par toi nos muses”) offer good musical declamation. The tarantella, the chorus “Le maestro Cafarini”, the quintet and the finale of act 2 are well imagined. The Barcarolle itself serves as a Leitmotif, presented imaginatively in various forms throughout the work—solo, duet, quintet, sextet, and finally quartet at the end of the opera. Of the sixteen numbers in the score, eight are duets, six of them for male voices, and two for the two basses. The singers who created this opera were: Roger (Fabio, a musician); Chaix (Le marquis de Felino); Hermann-Léon (Cafarini, an organist); Gassier (Le comte de Fiesque); Mlle Révilly (Clélia, daughter of the marquis); Mlle Octavie Delille (Gina, niece of Cafarini). In repertoire 1845 only. Number of performances: 27.

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Haydée ou Le Secret Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Augustin-Eugène Scribe. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 28 December 1847. The scene is laid in Dalmatia and Venice during the early years of the sixteenth century. Act 1. The Venetian officers are carousing before the naval battle with the Turk on the morrow, but their commander Lorédan has no heart for it. His ward Rafaëla admits Andrei, who volunteers to serve under him. Rafaëla and Lorédan's slave Haydée, a Greek prisoner from his campaign against the Turks in Cyprus, sing him to sleep. After they leave, Malipieri, Lorédan's executive officer, and a spy of the Council of Ten, enters to ask for Rafaëla's hand and overhears him talking in his sleep; as a young man, Lorédan was shooting dice with the Venetian senator Donato, and, when his opponent's attention was distracted, won the pot by changing the dice to read six and four. The Senator, having lost all his money, killed himself that night, and in reparation Lorédan has brought up his daughter Rafaëla and has been searching for the senator's son. Act 2. The Venetians win their battle against the Turkish fleet. Andrea has captured a Moslem vessel but Malipieri tries to cheat him of his prize. Lorédan overrules Malipieri, who threatens to expose his secret. Act 3. Back at Venice, where Lorédan has gone to receive the homage of the Senate, Malipieri demands Haydée as his price of silence, having learned that she is a wealthy Cypriot princess. Her love for Lorédan is so great that she offers herself to Malipieri to save the admiral's reputation. Lorédan is disquieted by this news, until a messenger enters with the report that Andrea has killed Malipieri in a duel, and further reveals that Andrea is the long-lost son of the Venetian senator Donato. Lorédan is elevated to the dignity of doge of Venice. He confers the hand of Rafaëla on Andrea, and himself marries the now noble Haydée. The libretto is interesting, the situations poetic, the material new and original. Scribe obtained the central anecdote of the plot from one of Prosper Merimée's short stories translated from the Russian, “Six et quatre,” written in 1830. A young naval ensign, desperately trying to find enough money to support his mistress, gets into a game of backgammon with a Dutchman. When he is down to his last 25 napoleons, he changes the dice to read six and four while the Dutchman's attention is distracted, and ends by taking all his money, causing the Dutchman to blow out his brains after the game. The ensign is consumed with remorse for his act and

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fears disgrace should his mistress or his friends find out what had happened. He finally meets a welcome death in a naval battle with an English frigate. This work is the most distinguished product of the third period of Auber’s career. The general style of the music is dramatic, and accords perfectly with the nature of the subject. Inspiration is abundant, with a colourful instrumentation, always elegantly maintained, and with new and stimulating harmonic effects. Nearly all the pieces became popular. The overture opens with a beautiful oboe solo, taken from Rafaëla’s act 2 aria. Act 1 contains a succession of pieces, not extensively developed, but with a consistent melodic charm. The chanson “Enfants de la noble Venise” is energetically rhythmical. Haydée’s couplets “Il dit qu’à sa noble patrie” are gracious. The romance for the bass “À la voix séduisante, au regard virginal” is characterized by fine declamation and a rare distinction of melody, as is his aria “Me voici, général”. Andréa’s couplets asking to serve with the admiral (“Ainsi que vous, je veux me battre”) have real ardour. His barcarolle in act 3 “Glisse, glisse, ô ma gondole” real charm. The duettino “C’est la fête au Lido” sung by Haydée and Rafaëla as Lorédan sleeps, is couched in delightful half-tones. The Dream Scene (“Ah! Que Venise est bele”) is full of rich detail and powerfully dramatic. Roger famously deployed his expressive talents admirably here. Indeed, the whole of Lorédan’s part is outstandingly imagined. Act 2 takes place on board the admiral’s flagship. Rafaëla’s aria (“Unis par la naissance”) is introduced by the oboe solo from the overture. The charming barcarolle for Rafaëla and Haydée “C’est la corvette” is accompanied by a chorus of sailor’s singing with bocca chiusa imitating the wind in the sails, in the nature of the Brummlieder popular in Germany. Most striking is the lovely duet for Lorédan and Malipieri “Je sais le débat qui s’agite”, profoundly dramatic, possibly the best that Auber ever wrote (CL 1:547). The melodic and dramatic interest is sustained from one moment to the next, something found only to a similar degree in La Muette de Portici. Act 3 offers two powerful duets and a lovely barcarolle, as well as Haydée’s principal aria (“Je suis dans son palais”). The phrase from act 1 “Ah! que Venise est belle” became immediately popular. This is one of Auber’s richest scores. The creation of Lorédan enhanced Roger’s reputation. The rest of the cast were: Hermann-Léon (Malipieri, a naval officer); Audran (Andrea Donato, a Venetian nobleman); Ricquier (Domenico); Mlle Lavoye (Haydée, a Greek slave); Mlle Grimm (Rafaëla, ward of Lorédan). In repertoire: 1847-94. Number of performances: 499.

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Marco Spada Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Augustin-Eugène Scribe. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 21 December 1852. The setting is the Romagna around 1830. Act 1. The governor of Rome, his niece, the Marchesa de Sanpietri, and his aide Pepinelli plan a journey to the Adriatic, but fear the bandits headed by Marco Spada. Angela, the daughter of the Baron de Torrida, offers them hospitality. Act 2. Pepinelli declares his love for the Marchesa but is repulsed. At a concert and ball in which Angela sings a declaration of love in Russian, Italian, English, and French, a rumour circulates that Marco Spada is among the guests. The Franciscan monk Fra Borromeo, who had been taken prisoner by the bandits, is led in to identify Marco, but fails to see him. As he is leaving, he sees the Baron, Angela, and her long-lost beloved Federici, the governor's nephew, in conversation, and identifies the Baron as the bandit chief, but only to Federici and Angela. She chooses to remain with her father and renounces her beloved, who thereupon publicly announces his engagement to the Marchesa. Act 3. At the bandit hideout, Pepinelli and the Marchesa are led in blindfolded. They are forced to marry, with Fra Borromeo officiating, thus leaving a clear path for Federici and Angela. The eternal brigand, so much exploited by the librettist, turns up again here. Indeed, the final scene was inspired by Horace Vernet’s famous painting La Confession du bandit. This time the recurrence of this favoured type was less successful than in Fra Diavolo and La Sirène: public reception was comparatively cool. The music has all those features that distinguish the composer’s style, even if it is skilled rather than inspired this time. In act 1, there are beautiful couplets for the Marquise (“Vous prouver soupirer”). Act 2 famously includes Angela’s declaration of love in four languages. The finale is the highpoint of the opera: the grand and moving theme of the stretta also dominates the overture. Act 3 contains Angela's chanson “Fille de la montagne”, and the final scene which is full of noble pathos. The opera, while not very successful, was played for two years until 1854, but was not revived. In all, there were a respectable 78 performances. The cast were: Battaille (Baron de Torrida, alias the bandit chief Marco Spada); Boulo (Federici, his nephew); Couderc (Le comte Pepinelli); Nathan and Lejeune (Geronio and Gianetti, bandits); Caroline

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Duprez (Angela, daughter of Marco Spada); Mlle Favel (La marquise Sanpietri, niece of the governor). In repertoire: 1852-54. number of performances 78. Jenny Bell Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Augustin-Eugène Scribe. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 2 June 1855. The setting is eighteenth-century London. Act 1. Lord Mortimer, the son of the Duke of Greenwich, loves the celebrated diva, Jenny Bell, but his father has forbidden him to see her. When the Duke comes to request that Jenny refuse to admit his son, she recognizes him as the man who helped her, many years ago, when she was a starving waif, and promises not to see Mortimer. Act 2. Mortimer gains entree to Jenny's home by passing himself off as a composer. She dismisses the goldsmith Dodson, who has been paying court to her, to keep her promise to the young man and examine his opera. Greenwich, who has caught a glimpse of his son in Jenny's anteroom, reproaches her, but she asks the Duke to hide in a closet to watch how she will discourage this admirer. She looks at the opera and tells Mortimer that it is no good, whereupon he reveals his true identity and declares his love, but is rebuffed. When he faints, she leaves, and the Duke tries to console him. Jenny then attempts to cure Mortimer's infatuation by reading to her guests all the love letters she has received, and finally accepts diamonds and a proposal from Dodson. Mortimer challenges him, curses Jenny, and leaves. Act 3. At the Guildhall, where Jenny is to sing for the Lord Mayor, she is highly despondent and refuses either to sing or to receive Dodson. The Duke sees that Jenny really loves his son, and contritely gives his consent for their marriage. The success of L’Ambassadrice no doubt encouraged the prolific vaudevillist to devise another work in similar mode nineteen years later. The piece is well constructed, with interesting situations and well-handled dialogue. The characters of Henriette, Jenny Bell’s chamber maid, George Leslie and Dobson are imaginatively integrated into the principal action. Motifs of an English provenance are introduced by the composer: the cantilena which begins the overture and is later repeated in the vocal parts; “God save the king”; and “Rule Britannia”. Of interest are the chamber maid’s couplets on the use of rouge by actresses (“Au théâtre, le secret”); the Goldsmith’s syllabic couplets; and the lament with which Jenny Bell

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used to move the hearts of passers-by in her girlhood (“Dans la rue, à peine éclairée”) which concludes with the refrain: Habitants de la grand’ ville, Au pauvre enfant tendez la main; Je meurs de froid, je meurs de faim. The duet between Lord Greenwich and Jenny Bell is rich in motifs; the intercalated tyrolienne (“Ah! De la fauvette”) very graceful. The lovely tenor romance “À sa voix, à sa vue” with the theme of “God save the king” is followed by an ensemble that concludes the first act with real feeling. In act 2 the principal piece is the big duet in which Mortimer, under the pseudonym of William, declares his love for Jenny. Auber treated this complicated situation with the hand of a master used to conquering difficulties. The score of this work is the most elaborate and the richest in variety of combinations among the composer’s opérascomiques (CL 1:607). One has only to consider the most unusual aria for the baritone whose subject is a sentence borrowed from the comedy La Coquette corrigée: Le bruit est pour le fat, la plainte est pour le sot L’honnête homme trompé s’éloigne et ne dit mot. The variations on “Rule Britannia” close this work brilliantly, a work which deserves to be revived and better understood. The cast were: Faure (Le duc de Greenwich); Ricquier-Delaunay (Lord Mortimer, his son); Couderc (George Leslie); Sainte-Foy (Dodson, a goldsmith); Caroline Duprez (Jenny Bell, a prima donna); Mlle Boulart (Henriette, her maid). In repertoire: only 1855. Number of performances 36. Performed in Brussels and Hamburg, never in London. Manon Lescaut Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Augustin-Eugène Scribe. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 23 February 1856. The scene is laid in Paris and Louisiana, in the eighteenth century. Act 1. The Marquis d'Hérigny has asked his sergeant, Lescaut, to help him kidnap a beautiful girl whom the Marquis has seen. They question the girl's friend, Marguerite, and find her to be Lescaut’s cousin Manon. After they leave, Manon is given a love letter from the Marquis and a glowing

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description of his wealth from Marguerite. After her lover Des Grieux returns, Lescaut arrives and invites the three to dinner. As they dine at the Cadran Bleu, Lescaut loses his money in gambling, and Manon is forced to sing like a travelling mendicant to pay for the guingette. A squad of soldiers arrests Des Grieux as a deserter. Act 2. Manon has taken up residence with the Marquis. Lescaut brings her word that Des Grieux has escaped. When Manon is alone, Des Grieux enters through a window and has supper with her. The Marquis bursts in and is wounded in a duel. The police arrest both Des Grieux and Manon. Act 3 Des Grieux has been transported to Louisiana, where he learns through Marguerite that Manon has also arrived there, as a prisoner of the grasping intendant Renaud, who forces Des Grieux to pay his entire fortune for ten minutes of conversation with her. They manage to escape, but return with Manon on the point of death, to learn that the Marquis has arrived as the new governor and forgives them—too late to save Manon's life. Abbé Prévost’s novel provided the principal episodes of the scenario. Scribe used his great skill to disguise the fundamental immorality of the story, as some of its episodes are too depraved to have been acceptable on the lyric stage of the time. In a novel the author has any number of pages to develop the action and prepare the reader for the most unexpected situations. In a play, and especially in a lyric work, where the progess of the action is halted by the musical pieces, one needs to be sober, clear, concise, and rapid. Scribe followed his usual practice, in adapting novels for the stage, of retaining the names of characters, the central incidents of the plot, and effective moments which are used as coups des théâtre. Many of the incidents familiar to the reader of Abbé Prévost's Manon Lescaut or Meilhac and Gille's libretto for Massenet's opera, will find important incidents omitted, such as the meeting of Manon and Des Grieux, the kidnapping of the Chevalier by his father, the meeting at the seminary of Saint Sulpice, and the gaming scene at the Hotel Transylvanie. In Scribe's adaptation, the Marquis d'Hérigny is a combination of Bretigny the tax-farmer, the "M. de G.M." (Guillot in Massenet's setting), and his stupid and infatuated son. Marguerite is an original Dugazon part who, through reminiscences, fills in for the listener the necessary background of the plot. Renaud is a combination of the governor and his nephew Synnelet. In addition, he fulfills the function of the rapacious guards to whom, in the opening of Prévost's novel, Des Grieux is forced to surrender his fortune to speak with Manon. The scene of the arrest of Des Grieux as a deserter does not occur in the original source of his libretto. At

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least Scribe did not contrive a happy ending for his plot. When one passes to the music, one can only regret that such talent, grace, and skill has been employed in such an ephemeral manner, and with such prodigality, on such an unworthy subject (CL 1:695). The overture is ravishing. In act 1 the duet for Manon and Marguerite is striking, the allegro (“Les dames de Versailles”) fearlessly tackled by Mme Cabel. The famous Bourbonnaise, or Laughing Song, a brilliant virtuoso aria, is sung by Manon accompanied by guitar. In act 2, the couplets for the Marquis have an elegance entirely in keeping with the social comportment of such a character. The musical characteristics at the beginning of act 3 show remarkable originality: the Negro dance, the chanson créole, the quartet sotto voce provide effects unique to these genres, and nothing like them is to be found in Auber’s other scores. The last scene, devoted to the death of Manon and the despair of Des Grieux, is another unique passage in Auber’s opera, and provided the composer with the opportunity of writing a type of dramatic symphony, powerfully expressive in its simple grandeur and real emotion (Malherbe 54). The cast were: Puget (Des Grieux); Faure (Le marquis d’Hérigny); Beckers (Lescaut); Jourdan (Gervais); Lemaire (Durozeau, a commissioner); Duvernoy (a sergeant); Nathan (M. Renaud, inspector of detainees); Marie Cabel (Manon Lescaur); Mlle Lemercier (Marguerite, a worker); Mme Félix (Madame Bancelin, hostess of a guinguette); Zoé Bélia (Zaby, a Negro slave). In repertoire: 1856-57, 63 times; revived 1 February 1882, twice. Number of performances 65. La Circassienne Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Augustin-Eugène Scribe. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 2 February 1861. The locale is the Caucasus and Moscow, around 1840. Act 1. A group of bored Russian officers, snowed in inside their fort, plan to put on Dalayrac' s Adolphe et Clara. Alexis, who has just related an anecdote of how he disguised himself in women's clothes to carry out an errand, is chosen for the female role and dressed à la Circassienne since no other costume is available. The new commandant, General Orsakoff, storms in and threatens to have everyone shot because no guard was on duty, but sees Alexis in female garb and falls in love with “Prascovia”. The Circassians attack by surprise and carry off "Prascovia" and Orsakoff's niece Olga. Act 2. The sultan Aboulkazim chooses Olga for himself and assigns “Prascovia” to be her maid. Lanskoi, Alexis' friend, comes under a flag of

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truce to ransom “Prascovia”; Orsakoff must have "her" back, even at the cost of leaving his niece behind. The other ladies of the harem, trying to dispose of their rivals, enable the Russians to escape. Act 3. Back in Moscow, Lanskoi tries to dissuade Orsakoff from finding “Prascovia” by announcing that she has entered a convent. Alexis, in full uniform, comes to Orsakoff to ask his permission to marry Olga. The general notices a surprising resemblance between Alexis and “Prascovia” and, on learning that he is “her” brother, promotes him to colonel and finally gives his consent to the wedding if he will give his consent to a betrothal with “Prascovia”. After the wedding of Olga and Alexis, Lanskoi brings Orsakoff a note informing him that “Prascovia” has committed suicide. Scribe was adept at extricating himself from scabrous situations, but prolonged excessively the transvestism associated with Orsakoff’s passion, so sealing the relative lack of success of this work, despite the merits of the score (CL 1:243). The overture uses the redowa which appears much later in the Harem Scene where Alexis and the young Olga have been confined. In act 1 the chorus “Bravo! Bravo!” is very striking, especially in Auber’s witty citation of the air from Adolphe et Clara “Jeunes filles qu’on marie”. Alexis’s romance” Vous rappelez à l’instant même” is very distinguished, having been written at a very high tessitura appropriate to the abilities of Montaubry who created the role. In act 2 the chorus of odalisques is delightful: the composer had never written anything more vaporous and ethereal. In act 3 the couplets for the painter Lanskoi (“Il aime trop”) are written with malicious finesse, and were encored. The orchestration is a constant feast for the ear, coupled as it is with a most original and penetrating harmony. Montaubry excelled in in creating the unusual role of Alexis, thanks to his slight physique and head notes. Few tenors could have tackled this as victoriously as he did. Couderc invested the role of the painter Lanskoi with a cordial sympathy, something quite usual for him. Barielle, Troy, Ambroise and Laget created the roles of General Orsakoff, Aboul-Kasim, the Quarter Master and the Eunuch. The female roles were filled by Mlles Montrose, Prost and Bousquet. For all its risqué implications, this libretto was set by Franz von Suppé for Vienna in 1876, under the title of Fatinitza. An English vocal score (translated by T. Oliphant) was published in 1861. In repertoire only 1861. Number of performances 49.

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La Fiancée du roi de Garbe Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Augustin-Eugène Scribe and Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 11 January 1864. Set in the kingdom of Garbe in legendary times. The subject is borrowed from a story by Boccaccio, as turned into a verse-tale by La Fontaine. This was the last collaboration between Auber and Scribe, terminated, after the death of the latter, by Saint-Georges. The work was treated by both authors and musician in the manner of an operetta, apart from the fourth tableau, the scene of the pirates, which has the dramatic character of an operatic finale. In act 1, the first tableau contains the romance of Alvar (“Tout bas je puis to dire”), a quartet which follows on this, a duet for the king and his barber, and the couplets of Alaciel (“Ah! Le charmant pays!”). The second tableau depicts the marriage of Alaciel, and is remarkable for its sprightly conclusion “Allons, bravons les dangers”. Act 2 contains Alvar’s ravishing serenade (“O reine de beauté”) as both trio and septet. Act 3, the scene of the pages, contains Truxillo’s ariette and Figarina’s aria (“Ah! Que de dangers en voyage!”). The work was not successful. It was created by: Prilleux (Le roi de Garbe); Achard (Don Alvar, his nephew); Sainte-Foy (Truxillo, his cupbearer); Davoust (Le soudan d’Egypte); Bataille (Kouli-Rouka, a Malay pirate); Duvernoy (Hatchi-Bounan, an imam); Nathan (Ali-Caphar, a hermit); Mlle Cico (Figarina, barber to the king); Mlle Tual (Alaciel, daughter of the sultan); Mmes Bélia and Colas (Pages of the king). In repertoire l864 only. Number of performances 33. Le Premier Jour de bonheur Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Adolphe-Philippe Dennery and Eugène Cormon (actually Pierre-Étienne Piestre). First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 15 February 1868. The scene is laid in India during the Seven Years’ War. Act 1. The French commandant Gaston tells the priestess Djelma of a lovely young lady he saw in England before the War. The girl, Hélène, enters, accompanied by her craven fiancée Sir John Littlepool; both are on their way to the English garrison at Madras. Gaston releases Hélène, but keeps Littlepool as a hostage.

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Act 2. Gaston comes to Madras under a flag of truce to see Hélène, but she rebuffs him by mentioning her betrothal to Sir John. A dispatch arrives that Littlepool has been accused of sketching the French fortifications and will be shot at dawn as a spy. Gaston is seized by the English to be executed in retaliation. Hélène takes pity on him and says that she loves him; he replies that this is his first day of happiness. Act 3. The French release the cowardly Sir John, but warn him that they will come after him unless Gaston is returned alive. Hélène rejects Gaston when Littlepool arrives, but Gaston refuses to leave without her. Sir John, in fear for his life, relinquishes all claims to Hélène. The subject while appearing original, was not new. It was borrowed from a comedy by Souques called Le Chevalier de Canolle given at the Odéon on 17 May 1816. The play was turned into an opéra-comique by Sophie Gay, with music by Fontmichel, and presented on 6 August 1836. Here, instead of the action taking place in France during the period of the Fronde, it has been shifted to India, to Pondichéry, during the siege of the city by the French. The libretto was constructed with skill, but the givens of the situation lack enough power and simplicity to sustain interest. Listening to this lovely work, in which the melodies are so full of freshness and grace, accompanied by harmonies so piquant and ingenious, one could be forgiven for doubting that it could have been written by a venerable 87-year-old. But Auber had given consistent evidence of his ongoing activity. Moreover, the very title of this work seems to recall the happy times of his earlier life. In many of the melodies there are reminiscences of La Bergère châtelaine, La Neige, and Le Maçon, his great initial successes written between 1820 and 1826 (CL 2:896). The score contains lovely pieces. The overture presents a contrast between the graceful Ballad of the Djinns and a bellicose march full of military swagger. Act 1 is remarkable for its introduction, so skillfully disposed and varied; the beautiful tenor romance “J’ai vu envoler ma fortune...Attendons encore notre premier jour de bonheur”, and the brilliant finale. Act 2 contains a song for Hélène (“Susann’, causons un p’tit moment!”), the duettino for Hélène and the young Djelma (“Un époux chez vous”), the famous Air des Djinns, and a festive chorus at the governor’s banquet, beginning as a brindisi in waltz form for Gaston and forming the basis of the finale. The Ballad of the Djinns won great success. It is accompanied by only two chords, the perfect and the dominant seventh over a tonic pedal held by the horns, the whole handled with exquisite taste. There is also a male-voice trio and a duet for Gaston and Hélène.

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In act 3 there is beautiful nocturne, again for two female voices (“Ô nuit, une heure encore”), the syllabique rondo for Littlepool, and Gaston’s poetic and touching stances (“Ce nom qui me rapelle”), harmonized with rare delicacy. The work was very successful, with good interpretations by Capoul, Sainte-Foy, Prilleux, Bernard, Melchissédec, Mme Cabel, and Mlle Marie Roze, a pretty actress, who won great success in the minor role of the Indian Djelma. The full cast were: Capoul (Gaston de Maillepré, a French officer); Sainte-Foy (Sir John Littlepool); Melchissédec (De Mailly, a French officer); Prilleux (Bergerac, a French officer); Bernard (the governor of Madras); Marie Cabel (Hélène, cousin of Littlepool); and Mlle Marie-Roze (Djelma, an Indian priestess). In repertoire: l868-73. Number of performances 175. Rêve d' amour Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Adolphe-Philippe Dennery and Eugène Corman. First performance, Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 20 December 1869. The French countryside in the eighteenth century. Act 1. A romantic peasant, having come across a young woman sleeping under an apple tree, like a Maid Marion, kisses her cheek, and then flees. Mlle Henriette de la Roche-Villiers has retained a memory of this episode. She did not see Marcel, the peasant concerned, whom she believes to be handsome, noble and rich. Marcel, however, must marry Denise. The wedding is prepared, the inhabitants of the château arrive to enjoy the spectacle of a marriage in the village. The sleeping beauty appears before the eyes of the affrighted Marcel, who abandons everything, Denise, the marriage and the violins, to save himself again. Act 2. On roaming around the park, Marcel encounters Henriette who speaks to him. He becomes a fool for love, wanting to approach the noble demoiselle and leaves to enlist in her service. He comes back a captain in the next act. Act 3. In the meantime, a real chevalier, in love with Henriette whom he believes is his cousin, reveals to her that she is only the adopted daughter of the Marquis de Roche-Villiers who took her into the same family in which Marcel had entered service. But anyone assuming that this would lead to her union with Marcel have little understanding of the caprices of the librettists. Henriette, seeing the despair of Denise, is overwhelmed with tenderness for her. When Marcel returns as a captain,

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she declares that she is his sister. Denise then marries Marcel and Henriette the chevalier. This is the last glorious dream of the most amiable French composer of the century, the successor of Boieldieu, the master of modern masters at the Opéra-Comique, who was still much discussed at the end of his long career. There is no doubt that if the story had been better imagined, the givens a little more realistic, the natural sentiments more life-like, instead of all being shrouded in a sort of veil of convention, the music would have succeeded, because it is not inferior to that of La Sirène, and La Barcarolle—in a word, Auber’s secondary scores. All the same, here in the last work of the master, there is the same harmonic daring and effects of orchestration that witness to the fact that he was in touch with the latest musical developments, and that, without abjuring his beliefs, he was prepared to try new doctrines. One can see that this piece was not worthy of Auber’s music. The scenario is without real interest. Nonetheless, the score is of musical worth. The overture is charming, full of fresh motifs—a lovely pastorale. Act 1 has a lovely opening chorus (“Dansons le soleil dors”), Marcel’s mélodie “À l’ombre de nos bois”, the peasant woman Marion’s rondo with chorus “C’est qu’on doit faire” and the duet for Henriette and the Chevalier. Act 2 takes one into the heart of the pastoral experience, opening with a charming scene of Colin-Maillard (blindman’s buff) and a Villanelle, and containing Marcel’s expressive romance (“À l’ombre de bosquets”) that develops into an ensemble; the Chevalier’s couplets (“Ses traits si doux si fins”); the duet for Henriette and the Chevalier (“A vos amis j’avais promis”), Marion’s ariette “Mon petit Andoche” and a lovely waltz, the finale counterposing the pastoral and military traditions of the opéra-comique. Act 3 is preceded by a gavotte, and contains an excellent trio bouffe (“Dans un bon ménage, qui doit commander?”), Marcel’s touching stances “Oh! Larmes précieuses!” and an effective finale, Auber’s swan song. One of the charming scenes of Lancret was reproduced, complemented by costumes and décor modelled on those of Watteau. The Balançoire and the Colin-maillard were ingeniously re-created by the stage designers to sustain the illusion of this last pastoral dream of love. The cast were: Capoul (Marcel, a young farmer, later captain); Sainte-Foy (Andoche, a peasant); Prilleux (Bertrand, a farmer); Gailhard (Le chevalier de BoisJoli); Julien (Thomas, a peasant); Mlle Priola (Henriette, a marquise); Mlle Nau (Denise, a peasant, cousin of Marcel); Mlle. Gérard (Marion, a peasant). In repertoire 1869-70. Number of performances 27.

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Domenico BACCELLI (d. 1779) Le Nouveau Marie, ou Les Importuns Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Jean-François Cailhava de l’Estendoux. First performance: Théâtre-Italien (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 20 September 1770. The story is based on a tale extracted from L’Esprit des conversations. The music had some success, and there were some 10 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Casimir BAILLE (b. 1822) L’Angélus Opéra en un acte. Librettist: Georges Mitchell. First performance: OpéraComique (Salle Favart 3), 2 March 1899. The libretto is a lyric adaptation of the play by Mitchell. There were only 3 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Michael Wiliam BALFE (1808-1870) Le Puits d’amour Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Augustin-Eugène Scribe and Adolphe de Leuven. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 20 April 1843. This was the best score by Balfe to be performed in Paris. It was given a good reception and had a number of performances. Many themes from the score enjoyed considerable popularity. The composer obtained permission for the production of his opera despite being foreign —a privilege refused to a number of French musicians and postulants, and something that

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attracted little sympathy in the press. After this Balfe enjoyed a successful career, finding fortune and renown in his own country. Yet however many other operas he might have produced, Le Puits d’amour has remained in the first rank. The subject is very interesting. A certain king Edward [Edouard] leads a happy life surrounded by many young noblemen. To test the courage of his attendants, he asks them to throw themselves down a cistern called “The Well of Love” because according to an old ballad a young woman, deceived by her lover, precipitated herself into it. The well is in fact a comfortably-upholstered underground tunnel that leads into a sumptuous hall where royal society meets. One of the king’s companions, the earl [count] of Salisbury, has fallen in love with a young girl called Geraldine, the goddaughter and betrothed of a ridiculous sheriff. She knows him only in the guise of Tony, a sailor. The king, who is due to marry the Princess of Hainault, would also like to see his favourite married. Salisbury, in despair, is obliged to obey, and sends to Geraldine the ring she gave to her supposed sailor, with the message that he has stopped living without stopping loving. The young girl, having received the fatal message, throws herself into the Well of Love. But she finds herself in the midst of the lords of the court, disguised as demons. She believes herself to be dead and in hell. Her ingenuousness puts her in the greatest danger in this retreat of royal pleasures, but Salisbury is there to protect her. While King Edward, disguised as Pluto, wins a facile victory over the demons, the count hurries to circumvent the sheriff who arrives to arrest the king as a pretender. The king, at first furious, but appraised through various procedures familiar from Scribe’s dramaturgy, pardons the sheriff and the earl of Salisbury, and agrees to the latter's union with Geraldine. Despite the obvious complication of the libretto, and its improbability, this is a really lovely work. The overture is made up of a mysterious adagio with fine harmonies, and a rather noisy allegro. The aria for the sheriff “Pour bien remplir mon ministère” has roundedness, and was sung well by Henri. The duet for soprano and bass “Compter sur la constance d’un matelot” has a rather ordinary rhythm but nonetheless produces an agreeable effect because of its clever disposition of the voices. The légende sung by Mlle Darcier has a charming originality. The aria sung by Chollet with royal flippancy “Ô passe-temps enchanteur” is a lovely rondo. The tenor romance sung by Audran which follows is the best inspiration of the opera, with exquisite feeling. Also striking are the couplets “Le temps emporte sur les ailes”, “Tony le matelot” and especially the aria for Mme Anna Thillon “Rêve d’amour, rêve de gloire” with its graceful cabaletta. This singer lent her lovely voice and fine style

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to her compariot’s music. There is also a finely judged quintet well written for the voices. There were 28 performances. Les Quatre Fils Aymon Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Adolphe de Leuven and LéonLéon Brunswick. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 15 July 1844. The piece was originally entitled Le Baron de Beaumanoir. The basic theme has only a remote parallel with the legend. A quadruple intrigue which resolves itself in four marriages offers little interest for the stage. Balfe’s score was found to be inferior to that of Le Puits d’amour, the lovely opéra-comique of the previous year. Among the better pieces are the aria “Sentinelle, prenz garde à vous!”, the romance for the young Aymon in act 1; the comic duet for Beaumanoir and the old Yvon; the mysterious and distinguished sextet which serves as the finale to act 2; the romance for Yvon sung really well by Hermann-Léon; and the trio finale which exercises a beautiful effect. The cast were: Hermann-Léon, who made his debut in this work, Chollet , Mocker, Duvernoy, Mmes Darcier, Potier, Mélotte, and Sainte-Foy. There were 17 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Felice BAMBINI (1743-1787) Les Amants de village Comédie mêlée de musique en deux actes. Librettist: Antoine-François Riccoboni. First performance: Nouveau Théâtre-Italien (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 26 July 1764. This was a parody of Le Devin du village, intermède by Jean-Jacques Rousseau (Fontainebleau, 1752; then Paris, Théâtre de l’Opéra, 1753). There were 3 performances. ____________________________________________________________

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Antoine BANÈS Madame Rose Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Paul Bilhaud and Albert Barré. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Châtelet), 25 September 1893. The farmer Mathurin is jealous that his wife “Madame Rose” is loved by his young farmhand Jean. He nonetheless asks Jean to take care of her during his absence. Madame Rose, who is very honest, wishes to be avenged on her husband’s jealousy and for his arrangement of placing her under the care of a guardian who is taken by her. Little Rosette, who for her part has set her heart on Jean, is angered and disappointed by this little comedy which she takes seriously. All naturally concludes with the marriage of the two young people and the reconciliation of the spouses. This plot, a little too burlesque and not really offering anything new, is cluttered with a host of incidents that stretch credulity and render the action a little obscure. The score is also too intricate, but one can single out some pieces, especially the duet for the two women, which has grace and coquetry; the romance for Rosette; and the exciting aria for Madame Rose. But there is a disproportionate use of instrumental forces for this simple peasant story, an orchestral fury of horns, trombones, and drums making much ado about nothing. Banès did not lack talent, and by moderating and reducing his orchestra would have obtained a result that would have been easier to appreciate. He would have succeeded with less effort and work. It was interpreted by MM. Barnolt and Badiali, Mmes Molé-Truffier and Mlle Leclerc, and played into the following year 1894. La Soeur de Jocrisse Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Albert Vanloo. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 9 July 1901. The story is based on the comédie of Félix Duvert and Antoine-François Varner. This pretty little score is perhaps too ambitious for the subject, but it is agreeable, gay and written with care. There were 10 performances. ____________________________________________________________

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Camille BARNI (b. 1762) Édouard, ou Le Frère par supercherie Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Mélesville. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 13 February 1812. Also known as Édouard, ou Le Frère supposé. There was only one performance. ____________________________________________________________

François-Hippolyte BARTHÉLÉMON (1741-1808) Le Fleuve Scamandre Opéra-comique/Pastorale en un acte. Librettist: Jean-Julien-Constantin Renout. First performance: Hôtel de Bourgogne, 22 December 1768. The story is derived from a tale by La Fontaine. There was one performance. ____________________________________________________________

Désiré-Alexandre BATTON (1798-1855) La Fenêtre secrète, ou Une Soirée â Madrid Comédie mêlée de chant en trois actes. Librettist: Joseph Desessarts d’Ambreville. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 17 November 1818. There were 25 performances. Éthelvina, ou L’Exilé Opéra-héroïque en deux actes. Librettists: Paul de Kock and Mme Lemaignan. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 31 March 1827. There were 6 performances.

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Le Prisonnier d’état Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Mélesville. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 6 February 1828. This was a lyric adaptation of a comédie by Cuvelier de Trie and J.-Martin de Barouillet. There were 9 performances. Le Camp du drap d’or Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Paul de Kock and Noël Lefebvre. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 23 February 1828. This was a collaboration between Batton, Victor Rifaut and Aimé Leborne. The story is about Henry VII and Francis I at the Field of the Cloth of Gold. There were 3 performances. Le Remplaçant Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Augustin-Eugène Scribe and Alfred Bayard. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Bourse), 11 August 1837. The story is full of unlikely and shocking detail in poor taste. The music is well-constructed, but devoid of melody (CL 2: 937). There were only 5 performances. The libretto was never published and the score is unlocated. ____________________________________________________________

Anton-Laurent BAUDRON (1742-1834) Les trois Folies Opéra tragi-comique en vaudevilles en un acte. Librettist: Charles-Nicolas Favart. First performance: Salle Favart 1, 17 January 1786. This is a satire on several works then in fashion, including Beaumarchais’s Le Mariage de Figaro. The overture was the storm from Baudron’s Le Barbier de Séville. There were 8 performances. ____________________________________________________________

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Marie-Emmanuelle BAYON (1746-1825) Fleur d’épine Comédie en deux actes, mêlées d’ariettes. Librettist: Claude-Henri Fusée de Voisenon. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 22 August 1776. The story is based on a tale by Anthony Hamilton. There was a reprise with additional music on 12 April 1777. ____________________________________________________________

François-Emanuel-Joseph BAZIN (1816-1878) Le Trompette de Monsieur le Prince Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Mélesville. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 15 May 1846. The scene of the action takes place in Etampes during the Fronde. The niece of the alderman of the city is in love with Fabien, the trumpeter of M. le Prince. Her godfather, the Marquis of Brassac, is an officer in the royal army. The alderman frondeur, who does not know either of them, is about to decide on Fanchette’s future, and have her marry the Marquis, his political adversary. The quidproquo clarifies itself, and and all concludes with a capitulation. The work is attractive, and the music vivacious and graceful. Fanchette’s aria “Jusqu’à l’aurore, travaillons” is brisk; the romance for the Marquis “Dans un instant, je vais donc te revoir” has a lovely melody; the couplets de table, sung by the alderman Goulard, have a good finish. Finally, in a well-developed quintet and in the trio of capitulation, Bazin revealed good stage credentials. The cast was: Henri, Emon, Sainte-Foy, Mmes Révilly and Félix. The work was in the repertory for ten years, until 1856. Le Malheur d’être jolie Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Charles Desnoyer. performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 18 May 1847.

First

A young woman, confined in a far-off château by her guardian, has been

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promised to an old baron. She loves the page Isolier, and to escape an odious marriage, she takes an elixir which should make her detestable in the baron’s eyes. Her tutor learns of the innocent ruse, and consents to the marriage of the young lovers. After a brilliant overture, there is a little female chorus and a graceful romance”Dédaignant tourjours l’alliance”; an aria for the valet Cadichon “Quand le bon docteur travaillait”, with an accompaniment of fantastical colouring appropriate to the subject; and a romance for the page “Enfant encore, admis près d’elle”, written in an archaic style that is by no means lacking in local colour. There were 5 performances. La Nuit de la Saint-Sylvestre Opéra-Comique en trois actes. Librettists: Mélesville and Michel Masson. Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 7 July 1849. The subject is derived from the vaudeville Le Garde de nuit. The overture presents the principal themes of the work, and is well-orchestrated. There is a chorus for the night-watch, which has a sense of mystery that infuses the first act. In act 2, the duel duet and the finale present fine scenic qualities. In act 3, there is a fine horn solo, and couplets with chorus that conclude the work. This lovely score was created most intelligently by Mocker, Ricquier, Boule, Mlles Révilly and Lemercier. Madelon Opéra-comique en deux actes. Librettist: Thomas Sauvage. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 26 March 1852. This work was initially entitled Les Barreaux verts. It was in the repertory for six years, until 1858. Maître Pathelin Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Adolphe de Leuven and Ferdinand Langlé. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 12 December 1856. The story is derived from a 15th century farce by Bruéis, Farce de maître Pathelin. The librettists compressed the principal episodes of the old play into one act, proving in the process that later generations were just as able

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to entertain themselves as their ancestors of four centuries before. Bazin emerged victorious from the difficulties presented by such a subject for music. With everything working together to express faithfully the character of each scene, he produced a score that is elegant, and savoured by connoisseurs. The overture presents the motif of the comic march that accompanies the entry of the tribunal at the end of the act, and which places the work within certain bounds. Among the more applauded pieces were: the couplets for the advocate, sung by Couderc; the couplets for the shepherd, sung by Berthelier who made his debut at the Opéra-Comique in this work; a pretty tenor romance, and a duet “Bé bé”. Prilleux took on the part of the draper very well, and Lemaire played the bailiff with exuberance. In all, as both play and music, this was one of the best one-act opéra-comiques in the repertoire—where it remained for 13 years, until 1869. Les Désespérés Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Adolphe de Leuven and Jules Moinaux. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 26 January 1858. The characters in despair are two individuals who hang themselves, one, a musician, for having lost his place as serpent (bass horn) player in the parish band, the other, an English lord, in an excess of spleen. While gathering nuts, a young village girl Stéphanette comes across the two bodies, revives them, and knows how to deal with the situation so well that they both promise not to do it again. This extravagance, not really worthy of the Opéra-Comique, had some small success. There is a little symphony to accompany the first scene, depicting the break of day, a chanson for Stéphanette, an aria for Fabrice with obbligato serpent, and an English song for Lord Flamborough. The work was created by Sainte-Foy, Berthelier, and Mlle Lemercier. It was retained in the repertory for five years until 1863. Le Voyage en Chine Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Eugène Labiche and Alfred Delacour. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 9 December 1865. This work was very popular, and remained in the repertory for eleven

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years, until 1876. L’Ours et le pacha Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Augustin-Eugène Scribe and Xavier Saintine. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 21 February 1870. The story is a lyric adaptation of Scribe and Saintine’s folie-vaudeville of the same name. The play became widely famous, a pleasant drollery, strongly seasoned, which could not support more than a few well-rounded couplets and two comic choruses. For a composer of Bazin’s talent it was another occasion to exercise his verve under restricted conditions. However, it was perhaps disproportionate to provide a farce of this kind with an elaborate overture, a big duet and various pieces filled with studied musical intentions and learnedly combined harmonic effects. The director who said to Bazin “take on my bear” was badly inspired. The association of music with the burlesque scenario of the libretto has not been altogether effective, but this is more to do with the subject than the composer’s intentions. The work was realized with much zest by Couderc, Potel, Prilleux, Ponchard and Mlle Bélia. There were 5 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Amédée-Joseph-Louis-Rousseau de BEAUPLAN (1790-1853) L’Amazone Opéra-comique en deux actes. Librettists: Augustin-Eugène Scribe, Delestre-Poirson and Mélesville. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Ventadour), 15 November 1830. This was originally called Le Petit Dragon, vaudeville arranged as an opéra-comique. It was performed into the following year. Le Mari au bal Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Émile Deschamps. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 25 October 1845.

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The title gives a good idea of the intrigue. M. Dubourjet returns from the Opéra ball just in time to miss the consequences of a passionate duet that Mme Dubourjet has sung with their young neighbour to console herself in his absence. The music of this work contains very pleasing melodies, but the instrumentation is poor, and relates to the relative inexperience of this composer of romances. Moreau-Sainti played the part of the confident husband, and Mme Martin that of Mme Dubourjet. There were 5 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Ludwig van BEETHOVEN (1770-1827) Fidelio Opera allemand en trois actes et quatre tableaux. Librettists: Joseph Sonnleithner and Georg Friedrich Treitschke. French translation: Jules Barbier and Michel Carré. First performed: 1st version (in German): Vienna, Theater an der Wien, 20 November 1805 (as Leonore); 2nd version (in French): Paris, Théâtre-Lyrique on 5 May 1860; 3rd version: Paris, Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 30 December 1898. Sonnleithner arranged the three-act French play Léonore for the theatre in Vienna. The principal situations of the original lyrical work of JeanNicolas Bouilly, Léonore, ou L’Amour conjugal, set to music by Gavaux, were preserved. Only the rank of the characters was raised and the scene of action relocated. Later the opera was reduced to two acts, and given the title Fidelio which it retained. Beethoven was in the full maturity of his genius when he composed Fidelio. Nevertheless, the opera had little success in Vienna, and its great beauties only gradually came to be understood. The work began to be better appreciated as the public became more familiar with the immortal symphonies, and Fidelio eventually came to be regarded as a masterpiece of the German theatre. The scene in which Leonore defends her husband, when the governor comes to assassinate him, is the highpoint. The finale of the last act also has a powerful effect. The choruses and orchestration reveal the loveliest inspirations of the great symphonist. Nevertheless, without lacking respect for Beethoven’s genius, it could be said that from the point of view of vocal music and the dramatic genre, Fidelio does not fulfil the conditions of a lyric work as Gluck, Mozart, Rossini and Meyerbeer have given us to understand it. The instrumentation dominates the essential parts of the

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work, and the melodic forms are rather facile in perception. This is why, when a German company presented Fidelio at the Salle Favart in 1829 and 1830, it had little success, despite the talent of the tenor Haitzinger and the dramatic acting of Mme Schroeder-Devrient. It was given in 1852 at the Théâtre-Italien where Mlle Sophie Cruvelli was admired for her beautiful voice. Fidelio, translated by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré, and arranged in three acts, was given at the Théâtre-Lyrique on 5 May 1860. The intelligent interpretation of Mme Viardot, the remarkable realization of the Dungeon Scene, and the magnificent chorus in C major, were not enough to keep the opera in the repertory. Bataille sang the part of the jailer Rocco; Serène that of Ludovic le More; Guardi and Mlle Faivre those of Jean Galéas and Marceline. The production for the Opéra-Comique on 30 December 1898 was translated by Gentil Antheunis, with the recitatives of François-Auguste Gevaert replacing the German dialogue. The work was performed until 1906. (CL 1:454.) ____________________________________________________________

Herman BEMBERG (1859-1931) Le Baiser de Suzon Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Pierre Barbier. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Châtelet), 4 June 1888. This is a little paysannerie in imitation of Les Noces de Jeannette, a sort of counterpart to it. The libretto has movement and gaiety, the music both grace and expression, even if the whole betrays a certain inexperience, a type of juvenile awkwardness that betrays the ages of its authors, both making their creative debuts. The work was charmingly realized by Mlles Auguez and Pierron, Mme. Galand, Bernaert and Barnolt. It was performed into the following year, 1889. ____________________________________________________________

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Georg BENDA (1722-1795) Ariane abandonée dans l’île de Naxos Mélodrame imité de l’allemand en trois actes. Librettist: Jean-Baptiste Dubois. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 20 July 1781. This was a French version of Ariadne auf Naxos, a duodrama by J. C. Brandes, with music by Benda, first produced in Gotha in 1775, and in Leipzig in 1778. It was performed into the following year, 1782. ____________________________________________________________

Angelo Maria BENINCORI (1779-1821) Les Parents d’un jour Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Arthur de Beauplan. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 7 November 1815. There were 3 performances. La Promesse de mariage, ou Le Retour au hameau Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Michel Dieulafoy and N. Gersin. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 14 May 1818. There were 9 performances. Les Époux indiscrets, ou Les Danger des confidences Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Auguste Lepoitevin de Légreville Saint-Alme and Alexandre Moline de Saint-Yon. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 16 January 1819. There were 3 performances. ____________________________________________________________

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François BENOIST (1794-1878) Léonore et Félix, ou C’est la même Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Jean-Victor de Fontanès de SaintMarcellin. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau). 27 November 1821. This was performed into the following year 1822. ____________________________________________________________

Hector-Louis BERLIOZ (1803-1869) La Damnation de Faust Légende en quatre parties. Librettists: Hector Berlioz and Almire Gandonnière. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 6 December 1846. First Part. The plains of Hungary: a pastoral; Faust alone, a round for the peasants, chorus, recitative, Marche hongroise. Second Part. Faust in his study: recitative over an instrumental fugue; Easter hymn; chorus; recitative. The Leipzig Tavern (Auerbach’s Cellar): drinking chorus; the song for the drunken Brander; song for Mephistopheles. A flowery prairie on the banks of the Elba: Faust sleeps; ballet of sylphs; recitative, chorus of soldiers; Latin song of the students; song and ensemble. Third Part. Military retreat; Faust alone in Marguerite’s room: aria, “Le Roi de Thulé” (chanson gothique); Marguerite alone; recitative for Mephistopheles; In front of Marguerite’s house: evocation and dance of the will-o’-the-whisps; serenade for Mephistopheles; finale: duet, trio, chorus (Marguerite, Faust, Mephistopheles, citizens and artisans). Fourth Part. Marguerite alone: measured recitative with chorus of soldiers and their retreat; Forests and caves: Faust alone, invocation to nature; Mephistopheles’s recitative (distant hunt); The Ride to the Abyss (Faust and Mephistopheles, chorus and orchestra): pandaemonium: choeur infernal; epilogue (on earth and in heaven): recitative for six voices; chorus of heavenly spirits; the apotheosis of Marguerite. The most remarkable pieces of this epic are: the Hungarian March, the duet “Ange adoré dont la céleste image”; Mephistopheles’s serenade;

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Marguerite’s aria at the spinning wheel; the chorus of the celestial spirits; and the Ride to the Abyss. The book is based on the First Part of Goethe’s Faust (translated by Gérard de Nerval). The work was performed at a concert, interpreted by Roger, Hermann-Léon, Henri, Mme Duflot-Maillard, and 200 hundred musicians directed by Berlioz personally.This opera belongs to the descriptive genre and was conceived under the influence of new ideas from the German school. Superior composers like Berlioz have been able to make good use of a great part of this strange system, which consists of disregarding the rules of musical composition established successively by the Italian and German masters of the previous three centuries. It is not possible, however, for aficionados of the system to entirely ignore the imprint of their musical education or that of the milieu in which they live, which continues to shape them without conscious intent on their part as they make their protest, travelling the wide road of experience in good company. But how labyrinthine, how dark are the places into which we are led by the mediocre practitioners of this Romantic doctrine, as much removed from the true experience of nature as from pure idealism? The poets and writers who have made a legitimate reputation since 1830 are all the more deserving, are artists of greater, more personal and more exceptional merit, since the mists and strange disguises with which they have been decked out have not been able to obscure nor smother their talents. The point of departure and the programme of the Romantic symphony is focused on description, on expressiveness. All should be as realistic as possible, recording moral impressions, dissipating the shadow that always envelops human feeling and clutters the scene with a host of secondary details and specific minutiae. But it is not enough to formulate a programme, it must be realized and it is precisely here that a strange contradiction manifests itself. Our composers set to work. They repudiate as insufficient the heritage of Haydn, Mozart, Gluck and Beethoven. They are rich enough from their own resources. They demolish the harmonic edifice, and when all the materials are at their feet, they attempt to reconstruct it according to a new plan. But they have neglected to number the bricks, and in place of true expression, they substitute hyperbole. They replace natural contrasts with unusual antitheses, and they change serene light into wan day. They replace the artistic idiom, a sacred language, with a polyglot vocabulary for which only they have the key. Tonality becomes disconnected, relations and affinities destroyed. It is chaos. Berlioz, as observed earlier, has disengaged himself many times from these obscure theories, and in La Damnation de Faust, in his oratorio

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L’Enfance du Christ, and above all in the greater part of his opera Les Troyens, he has written pieces in the best taste, in which originality does not exclude the perfect satisfaction of the ear, the mind and the heart. Since the death of Berlioz, there has been a powerful reaction in favour of the composer and his works. Among these, La Damnation de Faust has especially excited the enthusiasm and admiration of the public. Something entirely unexpected happened: this musical poem was performed 100 times in concert (at the Châtelet) with an extraordinary success which, far from weakening, increased with every new hearing, indeed received with frenetic applause. The success was not limited to Paris or to France alone. The work triumphed equally abroad, in Germany, in Russia, in England and in Italy. In some cities it has been performed as a dramatic presentation, with scenery and costumes. Les Troyens Opéra en quatre actes. Libretto and music: Hector Berlioz. First performance: 1st version (Les Troyens à Carthage), Paris Théâtre-Lyrique, 4 November 1863; 2nd version (Les Troyens, 5 acts), Karlsruhe Hoftheater, 6-7 December 1890 (in two parts); 3rd version (Les Troyens à Carthage), Opéra-Comique (Châtelet), 9 June 1892. The story is derived from Virgil’s epic The Aenead. The version given at the Opéra-Comique was the same as that given at the Théâtre-Lyrique, but reduced to four acts, with cuts. Act 3 became the second act by dint of performing the scene of the Royal Hunt and Storm as an entr’acte. The production was sponsored by the Société des Grandes Auditions musicales de France. After the long struggle which Berlioz had had to endure, the resounding failures of his first works Benvenuto Cellini and the huge symphony Roméo et Juliette, the appearance of Les Troyens at the Théâtre-Lyrique in 1863 was hailed by his friends as a decisive event that was perceived by the composer and by others as a temporary reversal in a fundamental judgement of condemnation. They were wrong, and it is time to say: Stat in medio virtus. During the long period which elapsed between his intemperate Romantic essays of 1832 up to the presentation of the lovely score of Les Troyens in 1863, Berlioz’s muse had acquired great experience, if not perfect wisdom. The composer had written the overture Le Carnaval romain, Le Hymne à la France, La Damnation de Faust, and L’Enfance du Christ. He was nominated librarian of the Conservatoire, Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur, and member of the Institut. He had moreover occasion to exercise his judgement and precis his ideas in his

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critical article for Le Journal des Débats. His friends have been able to remain faithful to M. Berlioz, but not to the favourite composer of Paganini. His adversaries had, in their turn, been obliged to give up some of their prejudices. The day of the first performance of Les Troyens finally arrived: Conticuere omnes intentique ora tenebant. Three pieces were completely appreciated, admired and encored by the whole auditorium. The first was the duet for Didon and Anna, full of grace, originality and distinction; the second was a septet, rather a quartet with chorus, of profound and penetrating harmony; the third was the duet for Didon and Énée, which is one of the great love duets. The rest seemed obscure, complicated, and consequently long and boring. Apparent vari nantes in gurgite vasto. The first impression of the public was that there were few melodies. The press hastened to state this with cruel levity (légèreté cruelle) according to the reminiscences of Berlioz’s faithful Achate, d’Ortigue. Nevertheless, the true amateurs, serious and disinterested, wanted to hear this important work many times, and, understanding the composer’s dialectic better, entered even further into his thought, and had the politeness to note its few faults within an overall appreciation of its qualities. At each hearing they discovered beauties unperceived at first, and concluded by regarding Les Troyens as one of the most remarkable works to have appeared on stage for half a century. It is undoubtedly possible to find traces of a system of music both imitative and literary pursued by Berlioz per fas et nefas (for right and wrong). The orchestral scene of the storm should have been left out. The conclusion of the ballet presents, under the pretext of accompanying a Nubian dance, a melody for the cor anglais that seemed a little too Carthaginian for sensitive ears. The song of the sailor Hylas is written in the hypomixolydian mode which is not effective for the stage. If one excepts these eccentricities, the whole score was appreciated as conscientious, orignal and beautiful, and many of the Greeks of the night before had become Trojans the next day. Because of the simplicity and grandeur of the episodic scenes of The Aenead that provided the subject, it was a delicate and bold enterprise to arrange it for the lyric stage. It needed much good taste to delineate, without exaggerating or altering, the nature of the characters engraved on the imagination of the audience from their memories of Latin studies.

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Berlioz triumphed over these obstacles, and this alone is no mean feat. There are few musicians who could have done anything similar. The work is preceded by a prologue that is at once symphonic and lyrical. The orchestra plays a lament which expresses the sorrows and catastrophe of Troy. A declaimed rhapsody then unfolds the the principal incidents accompanied by the lyre. In act 1 Didon distributes recompense to the colonial labourers who have founded the young Carthage. The queen has a remarkable aria “Chers Tyriens”, perfectly sung by Mme Charton-Demeur. A most original duet follows. Didon confides to her sister Anna the vague agitations of her soul. “Vous aimerez, ma soeur” Anna replies. Mlle Dubois's hard and uneven contralto partly spoiled the effect of the piece. Nevertheless, the phrase for Didon “Je sens tressaillir mon coeur et mon visage en feu sous mes larmes brûler” was remarkable. It is announced to the queen that some illustrious seafarers have landed and are asking for asylum. Enée appears, and has hardly been introduced when a second messenger brings the news of the approach of Iarbas, the chief of a barbarian enemy tribe. Enée offers the support of his arms, and the act concludes with a splendid choeur guerrier, “C’est le dieu Mars qui nous rassemble”. Act 2 was filled at the first performances by a symphonic poem. The royal hunt is interrupted by a storm; Didon and Enée seek shelter in a cave. This orchestral interlude was later suppressed. The act then started with the ballet of the Nubian slaves. Here the ear is affronted by the composer’s preconceptions. The Baroque intonations and savage rhythms should not be part of a work of art where disorder should be harmonized. There is another part of the ballet however which is very graceful and and most successful. The dances stop and the chorus begin a hymn to the night: Tout n’est que paix et charme autour de nous; La nuit étens son voile et la mer endormie Murmure en sommeillant ses accords les plus doux. This ensemble with its suave and distiguished modulations, has a most genuine rhythm, and was constantly encored by the public. The love duet now ensues: “Ô nuit d’ivresse et d’extase infinie”. This duet is in exquisite taste, and has been handled with extreme skill. The cry “Italie! Italie!” sounds in Enée’s ears, recalling him to his destiny. In act 3 the Trojan hero expresses his spiritual hesitation between his duty and his passion for the queen. “Ah! quand viendra l’instant des suprême adieux”. This scene, well interpreted by Monjauze, has grandeur

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of character and a studied and sustained declamation which recalls the recitatives of Lulli’s Armide and Gluck’s Alceste. The orchestration of this scene is remarkable, but its developments dampen its dramatic expression. In act 4 Didon learns of the departure of Enée. The composer has known that he should allow nature to speak here. Her accents, by turns dolorous, tender, furious, heart-rending, are not interrupted by any parasitic cavatina: non erat hic locus. This comes at the end of the scene as her farewell to the city she loves “Adieu fière cité”. The phrase from the duet “Nuit d’ivresse et d’extase infinie” passes through the midst of this hurricane like a memory both sweet and bitter. The scene at the funeral pyre forms the last act, and is very short. The chorus of the priests of Pluto could have more energy. Despite systematic opposition, the opera had 21 consecutive performances. On 9 June 1892 there was a reprise at the Opéra-Comique where the roles of Didon and Enée were taken by two debutants: Mlle Delna and M. Lafargue. It was performed into the following year, 1893, and revived again on 5 June 1939. La Prise de Troie Opéra en trois actes. Libretto and music: Hector Berlioz. First performance: 1st version: Paris, Concerts-Populaire and Châtelet, December 1879; 2nd version: Nice, Théâtre Municipal, February 1891. This work makes up the first part of Les Troyens, the second part of which (Les Troyens à Carthage) was first performed at the Théâtre-Lyrique in 1863. Berlioz never heard the first part, and it was only ten years after his death that the Parisian public was able to hear La Prise de Troie at the double performances given simultaneously in December of that year (1879), at the Concerts-Populaires and in concert at the Châtelet, where it was heard in its entirety on several occasions. In both places the public particularly applauded the grand march with chorus that opens act 2, a superb octet, the pantomime for the widow of Hector played by the orchestra, and the admirable Trojan March which became so celebrated. It did not appear on any Parisian stage for a very long time. It was given in Germany to much admiration. In France it was only brought to production in Nice.

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Béatrice et Bénédict Opéra-comique en deux actes et quatre tableaux. Libretto and music: Hector Berlioz. First performance: 1st version: Baden-Baden, Théâtre de la ville, 9 August 1862; 2nd version: Paris, Théâtre de l’Odéon, 5 June 1890; 3rd version: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 12 February 1966. The story is based on Shakespeare’s comedy Much Ado About Nothing. Berlioz wrote better prose than verse, and his music owes much to his celebrity as a writer. His verse adds nothing to his glory. Le vin de Stracuse Accuse Une grands chaleur Au coeur. De notre île De Sicile,Vive ce fameux vin Si fin! In this opera Berlioz has mixed together familiar and comical scenes with others of an elevated nature. But if the libretto is a little strange, the music is even more so. This work is characterised by discordant modulations, shocking sounds without reason, disconnected phrases badly written for the voice, and with melody appearing rarely and always feeling slightly awkward. This judgement is accepted by all those with good taste and without prejudice. The three pieces which were appreciated are those in which Berlioz has conformed to the traditional principles of harmony and to rules in the broad sense of the word, applied to the ideal of composition. The pieces are: the duo nocturne for Héro and Ursuel “Vous soupirez, madame!” which is most poetic and exerts a charming effect; the aria for Béatrice “Dieu, que viens-je d’entendre!”, and the trio that follows “Je vais d’un coeur aimant”. One could add the grotesque epithalanium “Mourez, tendres époux!” written in the madrigal style of the Flemish school of the 16th century, and a sicilienne, more strange than agreeable to hear. The cast were: Mme Charton-Demeur (Béatrice), Mlle Monrose (Héro), Mme Geoffroy (Ursule), Montaubry (Bénédict), Lefort (Claudio), Balanqué (Don Pedro), Prilleux (Somarone), Guerrin (Leonato). For the first performance at the Opéra-Comique recitatives by André Boll (set to music by Tony Aubin) replaced the spoken dialogue. ____________________________________________________________

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BERTAUD Le Voisinage See under PRADHER ____________________________________________________________

Alexandre de BERTHA (1843-1912) Mathias Corvin Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Paul Milliet and Jules Levallois. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 18 June 1883. The interpreters were Mouliérat, Maris, Belhomme, Troy, Mlles Vidal and Dupont. There were only 3 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Louise-Angélique BERTIN (1805-1877) Le Loup-garou Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Augustin-Eugène Scribe and Édouard-Joseph Mazères. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 10 March 1827. There were several cuts and modifications at the second performance. The work was played into the following year, 1828. ____________________________________________________________

Henri-François BERTON (BERTON fils) (1784-1832) Le Présent de noces, ou Le Pari Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: René Alissan de Chazet. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 2 January 1810.

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The piece failed at its first performance. Monsieur Desbosquets Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Sewrin (Charles-Augustin Bassompierre). First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 6 March 1810. This was a collaboration between Berton fils and Eugène Grandfort. There were 2 performances. Jeune et Vieille Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: René-Alissan de Chazet and Charles Dubois. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 12 January 1811. This was a collaboration betwen Berton fils and Pradher. There was only one performance. Ninette à la cour, ou Le Retour au village Opéra-comique en deux actes. Librettists: Charles-Simon Favart and Auguste Creuzé de Lasser. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 21 December 1811. This was a re-presentation of Le Caprice amoureux (1755). It was performed over two years, until 1813. Le Revenant Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Jean-Victor Fontanès de SaintMarcellin and Dozaux fils. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau). 15 February 1817. There was only one performance. Les Caquets Comédie mêlée de musique en un acte. Librettist: Jean-Baptiste-Charles Vial. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 19 February 1821.

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Une heure d’absence Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Michel Loraux. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 26 December 1826. This was a lyric adaptation of Loraux’s comédie of the same name. It was performed into the following year, 1827. The story is derived from MarieJeanne Riccoboni’s comédie of the same name. There were 4 performances. Le Château d’Urtuby Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Gabriel de Lurieu and Raoul Vandière. First performance: 14 January 1834 (Bourse). This was the posthumuous production of a young composer who promised to carry a celebrated name with dignity. He had already shown great knowledge of instrumentation. There is a lovely duet “Montagnes de la Navarre”, which was beautifully sung by Révial and Ponchard. Mme Pradher played the part of the Châtelaine. The work was performed into the following year. ____________________________________________________________

Henri-Montan BERTON (1767-1844) Les Promesses de mariage suite de L’Épreuve villageoise Opéra bouffon en deux actes. Librettist: Pierre-Jean-Baptiste Desforges. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 4 July 1787. This was created as a sequel to L’Épreuve villageoise (1784). L’Amant à l’épreuve ou La Dame invisible which followed a few months later overshadowed this work which was nevertheless performed into 1789. L’Amant à l’épreuve, ou La Dame invisible Opéra-comique en deux actes. Librettists: Pierre-Louis Moline and Claude-François Fillette (known as Loraux). First performance: OpéraComique (Salle Favart 1), 5 December 1787.

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The story is derived from Paul Scarron’s Roman Comique (Histoire de l’amante invisible). The Princesss Éléonore tests the sincerity of her beloved Don Carlos, by having her servant dressed up as a foreign princess make advances to him. Don Carlos, who until now has only ever seen his mistress masked, resists up until the moment when she makes herself known and accepts the homage of his ardour. It was performed into the following year 1788. In the Annales dramatiques, Berton is often called Lebreton, indicating an element of carelessness in compilation of these types of musical reports (CL 1:39). Les Arts et L’Amitié Comédie en un acte. Librettist: Armand de Bouchard. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 5 August 1788. Presented by the Comédiens Italiens, this was a collaboration with an aria by Solié, the second by Berton, the third by Martini, and a fourth anonymous. It was kept in the repertory until 1793. It was later re-set by Louis-Emmanuel Jadin and produced at the Théâtre Feydeau on 9 June 1807. There were 6 performances of this version. Les Brouilleries Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en trois actes. Librettist: Loeillard d’Avrigny. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 1 March 1790. The music for this imbroglio in the Spanish mode is not worthy of the author of Montano et Stéphanie, Le Délire and Aline. There were only 2 performances. Les Rigueurs du cloître Comédie mêlée d’ariettes/drame lyrique mis en musique en deux actes. Librettist: Joseph Fiévée. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 23 August 1790. This was the first anti-clerical work. It was performed for five years until 1795.

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Le Nouveau d’Assas Trait civique mêlé de chants en un acte. Librettist: Jean-Élie Dejaure. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 15 October 1790. The story was inspired by “l’Affaire de Nancy”, the mutiny of the Swiss regiment of Châteauvieux, and the heroic action of the officer Desilles on 31 August 1790. The work was performed into the following year, 1791. Les Deux Sentinelles Comédie en un acte. Librettist: François Andrieux. First performance: Théâtre-Italien (Salle Favart 1), 27 March 1791. This is an occasional piece, but the music has good style, and offers graceful accompanying figures. There were 6 performances. Les Deux Sous-Lieutenants, ou Le Concert interrompu Comédie en un acte. Librettist: Edmond-Guillaume-François de Favières. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 19 May 1792. There were only 2 performances, but the work was revived on 31 May 1802 (Feydeau) in a version revised by Benoît-Joseph Marsollier (Le Concert interrompu). Bélisaire Comédie héroïque en trois actes. Librettist: Auguste-Louis Bertin d’Antilly. First performed: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 3 October 1796. The work was based on the novel by Jean-François Marmontel. The music for act 1 and 2 was the posthumous work of Philidor, while Berton wrote act 3. The librettist chose the moment when Belisarius, victim of intrigue at the court of Justinian, is blinded, and retires with his daughter Tibère, a girl of twelve years old, to reside on the frontiers of the empire. The scenario is badly conceived and executed; the dialogue is cold (CL 1:136) but the music is worthy of Philidor, especially act 2. There were 10 performances.

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Christophe et Jérôme, ou La Ferme hospitalière Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en un acte. Librettist: Edmond-GuillaumeFrançois de Favières. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 26 October 1796. The story is derived from ‘a familiar tale’ (Magasin encyclopédique) and a story by Sterne (Décade philosophique). There was only one performance. Ponce de Léon Opéra bouffon en trois actes. Words and music: Henri Montan Berton. First perfomance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 15 March 1797. The story is based on a tale by Marie d’Aulnoy. The Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de Leon landed in Florida in 1512. This work, which is not without merit, immediately preceded Berton’s two principal works, Montano et Stéphanie and Le Délire. It was kept in the repertory until 1807. Le Dénouement in attendu Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Joigny. First performance: OpéraComique (Salle Favart 1), 10 November 1797. There was only one performance. Le Rendez-Vous supposé, ou Le Souper de famille Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en deux actes. Librettist: Jean-Baptiste Pujoulx. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 5 August 1798. This was a lyric adaptation of Pujoulx’s comédie Les Dangers de l’absence, ou Le Souper de famille, produced by the Comédiens Italiens on 11 November 1788. The opera was performed into the following year, 1799. Montano et Stéphanie Opéra en trois actes. Librettist: Jean-Élie Dejaure. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 15 April 1799.

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The story is adapted from Ariosto’s Orlando Furioso (Cantos 5 & 6), and Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. The melodramatic subject has often been treated on stage. Betrayed by jealousy, Stéphanie’s innocence is eventually recognized, and the traitor Altamont pays with his life for the infamy he has plotted. The music is Berton’s masterpiece. It is dramatic, original and well handled. The overture which also serves as the opening of the work is remarkable. There is a lovely aria for Stéphanie “Oui, c’est demain que l’hyménée”. In act 1 the aria “Quand on fut toujours verteux” became widely popular. Also striking are the aria “non, il ne s’accomplira pas” and the duet “Venez, aimable Stéphanie”. Initially, the opera was suspended after one performance because in act 2 the décor involved ecclesiastical accessories (altar, cross, clergy). Once the appropriate modifications had been effected, performances were resumed on 20 April (another two). The work was revived two years later, on 4 May 1800 (Feydeau), in a version revised by Gabriel Legouvé (with a new act 3), and again on 18 September 1801. From then on the success was immense, and the opera was retained in the repertory until 1827. L’Amour bizarre, ou Les Projets dérangés Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Charles-Louis Lesueur. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 30 August 1799. The story was derived from Thomas Corneille’s comédie Le Charme de la voix. There were 2 performances, and a revival in 1802, with the libretto re-arranged as La Romance. Le Délire, ou Les Suites d’une erreur Comédie mêlée d’ariettes/opéra en un acte. Librettist: Jacques-Antoine de Révéroni Saint-Cyr. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 7 December 1799. The story is derived from the novel by Saint-Cyr, Le Musulman à Paris, ou Nos folies. This work, which is more a tragedy than an opéra-comique, contains heart-rending scenes that throw the dramatic qualities of the talent of the author of Montano et Stéphanie into strong relief. It is one of Berton’s best works. The chanson “Jouer toujours, changer d’amour” was very successful. However, the most remarkable pieces are the romance “Émail des prés, verdure”, the aria “C’est là qu’elle sera”, and the scena “non pour moi, non plus d’espoir”. The very difficult role of Murvelle,

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always prey to an excess of frenzy, was a triumph for Gavaudan. The work was revived on 20 September 1801 (Feydeau), and remained in the repertory until 1843. Le Grand Deuil Opéra-bouffon en un acte. Librettists: Jean-Baptiste-Charles Vial and Charles-Guillaume Étienne. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 21 January 1801. This fertile composer, who wrote some 40 operas, never showed off his great stage qualities better than during the period 1799 to 1803. The work was revived on 26 January 1802 (Feydeau), and remained in the repertory for another two years, until 1804. Le Concert interrompu Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Benoît-Joseph Marsollier and Edmond-Guillaume-François de Favières. First performance: OpéraComique (Feydeau), 30 May 1802. This work was in the repertory until 1823. Aline, reine de Golconde Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Jean-Baptiste-Charles Vial and Edmond-Guillaume-François de Favières. First performance: OpéraComique (Feydeau), 2 September 1803. The music was successful and was arranged as a ballet five years later by G. Dugazon. This ballet was produced at the Académie royale on 1 October 1823. The work was again revived by Adolphe Adam at the Opéra National on 16 November 1847. La Romance Opéra en un acte. Librettist: Claude-François-Loraux. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 26 January 1804. This was an adaptation of L’Amour bizarre (1799). There were 8 performances, and a reprise in 1811 under the title Le Charme de la voix.

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Le Vaisseau amiral, ou Forbin et Delville Opéra en un acte. Librettist: Jacques-Antoine de Révéroni Saint-Cyr. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 2 April 1805. The story was taken from an episode in the life of Comte Anne de Tourville, vice-admiral of Louis XIV’s fleet. It was performed into the following year. Délia et Verdikan Comédie à ariettes en un acte. Librettist: Jean-Baptiste Elleviou. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 9 May 1805. There were 6 performances. Les Maris garçons Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en un acte. Librettist: Charles GaugiranNanteuil. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 15 July 1806. Three choreographical scenes inspired by a Mediterranean vacation: Sur la plage à minuit, La Sieste des bronzés, La Cabaret du port. The work remained in the repertory until 1828. Le Chevalir de Sénages, ou Une porte ouverte et fermée Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Joseph-Alexandre de Ségur and Auguste de Forbin. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 23 July 1808. The story is derived from a novel by Jean-Baptiste Louvet de Couvray, Une année de la vie du chévalier de Faublas. There were 10 performances. Ninon chez Madame de Sévigné Opéra en un acte. Librettist: Emmanuel Dupaty. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 26 September 1811. The subject is a rather scabrous adventure which concludes with the

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signing of the famous letter from a courtesan to the Marquis de la Châtre. The work was in the repertory until 1831. Françoise de Foix Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Jean-Nicolas Bouilly and Emmanuel Dupaty. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 28 January 1809. The story was based in a fable as retold by Antoine Varillas. It remained in the repertory until 1825. Le Charme de la voix Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Charles Gaugiran-Nanteuil. OpéraComique (Feydeau), 24 January 1811. The story was taken from a comedy by Thomas Corneille. The librettists adapted new words to the score of Berton’s La Romance (1804), while retaining some of Loraux’s words. The work remained in the repertory until 1834. La Victime des arts, ou La Fête de famille Opéra-comique en deux actes. Librettist: Louis-Marie d’Estourmel. First performed: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 27 February 1811. A collaboration between Isouard, Solié and Berton fils. There was only one performance. Valentin, ou Le Paysan romanesque Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Louis-Benoît Picard and Claude-François Loraux. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 13 September 1813. This was revived on 5 December 1818 (Feydeau) in a version reduced to two acts, and remained in the repertory until 1819.

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Féodor, ou Le Batelier du Don Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Claparède. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 15 October 1816. There were only 4 performances. In 1842 Berton authorized Kastner to compose new music for for this work, and to produce it anywhere he wanted, except in Paris. Corisandre, ou La Rose magique Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: François Ancelot and Xavier Saintine. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 29 July 1820. There were 11 performances. Les Deux Mousquetaires, ou La Robe de chambre Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Jean-Baptiste-Charles Vial and Justin Gensoul. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 22 December 1824. The most remakable pieces in this score were: “Je suis confus, en verité”; Amélie’s aria “Li va vénir, celui que je préfère”; and the rondo “Ah! quel bonheur extrême!” It remained in the repertory for ten years, until 1834. Les Créoles Drame lyrique en trois actes. Librettist: Louis Lacour. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 14 October 1826. There were 5 performances. Les Petits Appartements Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Henri Dupin, Antoine-François Varner and Jacques-Gilbert Ymbert. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 9 July 1827. It was performed into the following year, 1828. ____________________________________________________________

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Pierre-Montan BERTON (1727-1780) Deucalion et Pyrrha Opéra en cinq actes. Librettists: Sainte-Foix and Eugène-Édouard Morand. First performance: Académie royale de musique, 30 September 1755. A collaboration between Berton and Giraud. Berton made his debut with this work, launching a career continued after his death by his son Henri and grandson François Berton. Pierre worked with Rameau and contributed, under the direction of Gluck, to a sensible re-organization of the orchestra of the Opéra which he conducted for a long time. ____________________________________________________________

Ferdinand BESANZONI (1820-1868) Le Chercheur d’esprit Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Édouard Foussier, Jules Barbier and Michel Carré. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 26 March 1856. The story is based on the tale by La Fontaine Les Oies de Frère Philippe, itself drawn from a story by Boccaccio. There is a good sense of form in this opera, and the music is well written. The roles of Lélio and Stellina were created by Decroix and Mlle Boulart. ____________________________________________________________

Francesco BIANCHI (1752-1810) La Réduction de Paris Drame lyrique en trois actes. Librettist: Farmian Durosoy. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 30 September 1775. This work was revived by the Comédiens Italiens as straight drama on 12 August 1783, with the title La Clémence de Henri IV.

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Le Mort marié Comédie mêlées d’ariettes en deux actes. Librettist: Michel-Jean Sedaine. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 12 February 1777. This work was conceived for performance as straight drama in several theatres, and first appeared in this way at Metz in 1771. Sedaine himself adapted his own comedy for the lyric stage. There was only one performance. ____________________________________________________________

Alexandre-César-Léopold (known as) Georges BIZET (1838-1875) Les Pêcheurs de perles Opéra en trois actes et quatre tableaux. Librettists: Eugène Cormon and Michel Carré. First performance: 1st version: Théâtre Lyrique, 30 September 1863; 2nd version: Opéra-Comique (Châtelet), 24 April 1893. The story is derived from Octave Sachot’s L’Île de Ceylan et ses curiosités naturelles. The concept is strange and bizarre, although the given theme of the plot is hardly novel, taken as it is from Roman custom. It concerns an Indian vestal charged with remaining on a high rock which dominates the cliffs, to implore the beneficence of the gods while the pearl fishers are at their work Always veiled, she is not to allow any mortal to approach her on pain of death. Léila is chosen for this perilous task. Zurga and his friend Nadir knew her in the past when both were struck by her beauty, and rivalry over her led to their estrangement. Léila, believing herself alone during the night on her rock, lifts her veil and begins singing. Nadir hears her, and entering the sacred precinct, declares his love which she reciprocates. They are discovered, and both must now die. Zurga wishes to save his friend, but he is torn by jealousy. Léila implores his pity and gives him a necklace which reminds him of a circumstance when a young priestess saved his life. He no longer hesitates. To save Nadir and Léila, he sets fire to the village, sacrificing his own life so that the lovers can escape. Bizet, an excellent musician, has treated the subject in the manner of grand opera, and in the style of the modern school, principally represented

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by Félicien David, Reyer, Wagner and Gounod. The ensembles are very developed, and the sonority is powerful. In act 1 there is a lovely orchestral introduction, a duet for tenor and baritone of great character and of new and poetic effect; and a graceful tenor romance “Je crois entendre encore”. In act 2 there is the duet for Nadir and Léila, and Zurga’s big aria. In the fourth scene a choeur dansé is written with talent. Generally, however, in this work, one feels there is too much imitation of the style of preceding composers, especially Gounod and David. The instrumentation is very elaborate. One would have liked the strings to have played a more sustained role. But this debut of the young winner of the Prix de Rome confirmed all expectations. In the decisive reprise at the Opéra-Comique, Mlle Léontine de Maësen in the role of Léila showed herself to be a distinguished singer. The parts of Nadir and Zurga were taken by Ismaël and Morini. The mise en scène did honour to the zeal and taste of M. Carvahlo (CL 2:854-5). There were revivals in 1932, 1938, 1957, and performances until 1971. La Jolie Fille de Perth Opéra en quatre actes et cinq tableaux. Librettists: Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Jules Adenis. First performance: 1st version: ThéâtreLyrique, 26 December 1867; 2nd version: Opéra-Comique (Châtelet), 3 November 1890. The story is derived from Sir Walter Scott’s novel The Fair Maid of Perth (1828). Act 1. Perth, Scotland. The eve of St Valentine's Day. Henri Smith (tenor), an armourer, is in love with Catherine Glover (soprano). He gives refuge to a gypsy, Mab (soprano), and conceals her when Catherine arrives, to avoid an awkward situation; he gives Catherine a little enamelled gold rose and declares his love for her. A stranger, in fact the Duke of Rothsay (baritone), enters the shop and begins to flirt with Catherine. Mab stops Henri hitting him for his impertinence, but her sudden appearance causes Catherine to suspect that she is Henri's mistress. She throws the gold flower on the ground (and Mab picks it up) before she leaves. Act 2. The Duke leads a drinking song and confides to Mab his plan to abduct Catherine. At midnight Henri serenades Catherine but she does not appear and another admirer, Ralph (bass), watches the Duke's men put Mab, wearing Catherine's clothes, into a litter and take her away. He informs Henri that Catherine has gone to the castle but immediately finds

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he was mistaken because Catherine herself appears on her balcony. Act 3. The Duke is gambling with friends until a masked lady enters, when all withdraw. She puts out the light before taking off her mask, so the Duke never knows he has been deceived. He steals the gold rose from her. Catherine and her father arrive to announce the formal betrothal of Catherine and Henri; Henri rejects her, pointing to the gold rose on the Duke's coat. Act 4. In his shop, Henri, miserably, refuses to believe Ralph's protestations of Catherine's innocence; he agrees to fight a duel to prove her virtue. Catherine herself convinces him at last of her innocence and he resolves to let himself be killed, to prove it conclusively. Mab then appears with a chorus of young lovers to tell Catherine the happy news that the Duke has stopped the duel. She finds that Catherine has lost her senses and it is only the sound of Henri's voice singing his serenade that restores them. Bizet was trying to satisfy contemporary fashion in this opera, arousing the opposition of all those who expected him to produce something unusual. Meyerbeer's (Les Huguenots, L'étoile du nord, L'Africaine) and Verdi's (Rigoletto, La traviata, Il trovatore) influence is aparent, as well as other conventions of the opéra-comique (couplets, coloratura entrance arias, mad scenes, Gypsy colour). Yet this is Bizet's only opera to be warmly received when staged. It is the only time that he was ever present at a successful reception of one of his works. The score is extremely rich, with varied effects and colourful instrumentation. Of particular note are act 2, the finale of act 3, and the Feast of St Valentine. The cast were: Lutz, Barré, Massy, Wartel, Mlles Devriès and Ducasse. Djamileh Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Louis Gallet. First performed: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 22 May 1872. The story is derived from a poem by Alfred de Musset, Namouna, not really suitable for a musical setting. This is the case with all libretti borrowed from the work of this writer, the least natural of all poets, despite the materialism that constitutes the base of his stories. Dramatic art in general, and musical art in particular, cannot do without human feelings, and, however concealed or disguised they might be by bad prose or bad verse, they often suffice to inspire a composer, and in all cases, lend a certain interest to any libretto. Louis Gallet and Bizet, led on by the reception of their joint work, should have reflected on its faults and

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modified their approach. What could be interesting about this young Egyptian, Haroun, who changes his mistress, always one of his slaves, every month? He is sceptical, enervated, and in the language of the street, possesses the moral qualities and physique of a petit crevé. Djamilah, his last slave, regards him favourably, and at the moment of receiving her freedom, conceives an insane passion for him. Haroun nonetheless dismisses her. She persists, and finds a slave merchant so that she, suitably disguised, can present herself anew to her master. Touched by such obstinate ardour, Haroun decides to return her love. There seems to have been an idea that the public were being offered something interesting in reproducing on stage the painting by Giraud Un marchand d’esclaves, as if the real dilettantes and people of taste would have been happy to see the gracious, witty and poetic stage of the Opéra-Comique transformed into a market of human flesh. On the subject of the libretto, it must be said that music lends itself to the language of love, to passion, to tenderness, as well as to coquetry and gallantry which are graceful forms. The comic genre has also been made to serve ribald and jocular ideas, but it resists expressing fleshly delight and the more gross expressions of physical love since these areas are outside its domain. The music Bizet wrote for this libretto is so extraordinary, so bizarre, frankly so disagreeble, that one could have thought it the result of some sort of wager. Led astray by the influence of Richard Wagner, it surpasses its model in the bizarre and the alienating. There is still a sense of melody, but the sequence of sounds and chords, the harmonic procedures of the accompaniment, do not for the most part belong to any known or classified system of composition, a regrettable error of judgement on the part of the composer. The rhythmical form of the overture is well-known, as well as being very modern, but the concordance of sound is most singular. In the body of the work there are some striking passages: a phrase in the duet for the men “Que l’esclave soit brune ou blonde”; another phrase from the trio “Je voyais au loin la mer s’étendre”; the chorus “Quelle est cette belle”; and some glimmering of melody and expression in the final duet. The rest is full of dissonance and harmonic cacophony that quite overshadows any of Berlioz’s bold experiments. The roles were created by: Mme Prelly (Djamileh), Duchesne (Haroun), Potel (Splendiano), Julien (a slave merchant). There was a reprise on 27 October 1938 (Salle Favart 3) on the occasion of the centenary of Bizet’s birth. This was performed into 1939.

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L’Arlésienne Drame en cinq actes. Text: Alphonse Daudet. First performance: 1st version: Théâtre du Vaudeville, 1 October 1872 (mélodrame en trois actes et cinq tableaux avec symphonies et choeurs); 2nd version: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 28 November 1908 (genre and act division according to the programme of 1908). The text is taken from Daudet’s Lettres de mon moulin. The basic idea of this play seems to have been suggested to the author by reading one of those diverse stories that darken the back pages of the papers: a suicide because of love. A young peasant of the Camargue, Frédéri, has fallen in love with a girl from Arles who is said to be very beautiful, but in fact does not ever appear in the play. Just before marrying her, he learns that she is unworthy: letters produced by this girl’s lover cause Frédéri to lose his reason. His mother wants him to marry a charming young woman who loves him. Frédéri harshly repulses her tenderness, and when his mother in despair grants her consent to his union with the girl from Arles, he refuses, and finally, under his mother’s gaze, throws himself from a turret. The wit and sentiment the author revealed in the details of the play and in the dialogue were the aspects that made up for the poor subject and uninteresting denouement. Bizet’s music was much appreciated, although the incidental pieces are not related to the dramatic action, and in fact are hors d’oeuvres. The choruses are performed off-stage; the principal themes were provided by Provençal melodies (with imitation of the gaboulet and tambourine), among them the Christmas carol attributed to King René and known in the area of Avignon as the Marche des rois. The music was played in popular concerts. The pieces are dominated by the pastoral genre. There is a lovely minuet and a beautifully orchestrated adagio. The music is written for seven first violins, two violas, five violoncellos, two contrabasses, one flute, one oboe, one cornet à pistons, two horns, two bassoons, drums, harmonium and piano. The principal roles were first played by Abel, Parade, Mlles Fargeuil and Bartet. The 1908 revival at the Opéra-Comique was in the form of a gala matinée. Carmen Opéra-comique en quatre actes. Librettists: Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy. First performance: Théâtre national de l’Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 3 March 1875.

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The story is derived from the nouvelle of the same name by Merimée. The style of the novelist is cold, like a photograph, the cynicism of his thought suggesting that the success of his literary works is an alarming symptom of a general demoralization. Further, with the exception of Colomba, from whom the composer was able to create an excellent role, there was no profit to be gained from any association with this author’s fantastic conceptions where sympathy for nature plays no part, where no generous impulse shines, and which are thus finally devoid of all lyrical inspiration. Bizet created a cruel experience from this work. His opera contains lovely pieces, but the alien nature of the subject precipitated it into strangeness and incoherence (CL 1:199-200). In act 1 the scene takes place in Seville, in front of a cigarette factory, where there is a corps de garde on duty. A young girl, Micaëla, arrives and asks to speak with Brigadier Don José, her childhood friend and now fiancé. The cigarette girls come out of the factory, smoking, and mix boldly with the soldiers. Carmen soon emerges. She is a loose woman, and the soldiers surround her, asking for her favours. Quand je vous aimerai? Ma foi,je ne sais pas. Peut-être jamais! Peut-être demain!... Mais pas aujourd’hui, c’est certain. This is the tone of the whole work. Carmen sings a habañera, a Spanish song: “L’amour est est enfant de bohème”. She sees Don José, goes right up to him, and throws him a flower she takes from her bodice. Here is a man who from this moment is seized by an overwhelming and insane passion for this vile creature, and during four acts, he becomes successively, and almost without remorse, a perjurer, a deserter, a bandit, a thief, a smuggler and a murderer. Nevertheless, Micaëla gives him a letter from his mother, as well as a kiss from her. Don José feels his passion yielding in the presence of this honest and pure village girl. But this lasts only for as long as their duet. A terrible uproar ensues. La Carmencita has quarreled with one of her companions and stabbed her. The officer Zuniga arrests her, and binds her hands while she sings a seguidilla arranging a rendez-vous with her lover at the inn of Lillas Pasta near the ramparts of the city. Left alone with Don José, she persuades him to cut the cords, and when she is led away by the soldiers, she jostles them and escapes to peals of laughter. Act 2 takes place in the inn of Lillas Pasta. I have never seen a scene at the Opéra-Comique in such poor taste as this one. Officers are at table with Carmen, Frasquita, Mercedès and other Gypsies. They get on the tables, smoking and dancing. The officer Zuniga who arrested Carmen

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is on the best of terms with his erstwhile prisoner. The toreador Escamillo arrives, and in his turn loses his heart to the Gypsy. El Dancaïre proposes some business, and the soldiers leave. The three women, joined by the two men from the band of smugglers they all belong to, all join in a quintet full of movement. Don José comes to join Carmen at the meeting-place she gave him in act 1. The bugles sound the retreat calling him back to barracks, but the siren of the crossroads detains him, mocking him. Va-t’en donc, canari! Tiens! Prends ton shako, ton sabre ta giberne, Et va-t’en, mon garçon, retourne à la cascerne! Don José, seduced by her eloquence, swears eternal love to Carmen, agrees to desert, and leaves in the company of the Gypsies. Act 3 takes place in the mountains. The smugglers celebrate their way of life in a chorus, and offer maxims about the inconstancy of fortune. Carmen and her companions predict their fortunes by drawing cards. Carmen draws the ace and is filled with foreboding. Micaëla makes a last attempt at drawing Don José away from the folly of this adventure. She tells him that his mother wishes to see him, and forgive him before she dies. The scenes with Micaëla are touching and interesting, and though modelled on analogous scenes in Robert le Diable, were always received with satisfaction by the audience. But Don José is jealous of the toreador, perceiving that Carmen prefers him. Nevertheless, he leaves with Micaëla but with rage in his heart, and swearing vengeance on Escamillo whom he has already wished to kill, and on Carmen whom he is destined to kill. Act 4 takes place before the bullring in the city. Escamillo appears accompanied by a radiant Carmen. He is about to begin one of his combats, and enters the arena. Don José appears, and wants to take Carmen away with him. She resists both his entreaties and threats. She declared her love for the toreador, and at the moment when the shouts of adulation burst forth from the arena, she runs towards the gates. Don José fatally stabs her as the crowds pours out. Vous pouvez m’arrêter... C’est moi qui l’ai tuée! Ah! Carmen! Ma Carmen adorée! It appears that much trouble was taken in writing these verses, and this is generally true of the libretti of impressionist authors. Research into the picturesque and local colour was of great concern to Bizet in this work. He

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also wanted to give a pledge to the doctrines of the apostles of the music of the future, in breaking with what had been regarded up to that point as the traditions of taste: satisfaction to the ear, to harmony, and in a special concrete sense to the word. Eventually, when he resigned himself to remaining himself—that is a very gifted musician, who had completed serious studies, possessed the art of writing, and having the qualities appropriate to a French composer, that is clarity, a melodic turn, taste, wit, sensibility—he knew how to draw from this libretto, as bad in its fundamental ideas as in its form, musical ideas of real value that would be able to survive the play. I hope that a posthumous honour will be reserved for him, and that his considerable work will be protected against the bad impression left by the poem. It will be necessary to revise the libretto, to cut down on the vulgarities, to remove from it this character of realism which is not appropriate to a lyrical work, to turn Carmen into a capricious Gypsy and not depict her as a loose woman, to depict Don José as a man bewitched by love but not a vile and odious being. The roles of the Toreador and Micaëla are excellent, and the composer has handled them well. He finds the right energetic note for the former, frank, sonorous, almost swaggering, and for the latter a moving tenderness and language of the heart (CL 1: 201). There are some striking passages in the work. In act 1: the chorus in E major “Il y sera quand la garde montante remplacera la garde descendante” (it is to be wondered how composers find the skill to set such words to music); the Spanish song, the habeñera “L’amour est un oiseau rebelle”; the duet for Micaëla and Don José “Parle-moi de ma mère”. In act 2: the Gypsy song “Les tringles des sistres tintaient”; the small chorus in C major “Vivat le torero”; the Toreador’s couplets; the allegretto of the duet for Carmen and Don José “Si tu m’aimais, là-bas tu me suivrais”; the allegretto for Carmen “Bel officier”. In act 3: the chorus “Sans souci du soldat”; the trio of the cards; Micaëla’s aria “Je vais voir de près cette femme”; the phrase “Je te tiens, fuille damnée” in the finale. In act 4: the allegro of the duet “Mais, moi, Carmen, je t’aime encore”. The cast was: Lhérie (Don José); Bouhy (Escamillo); Potel (El Dancaïre); Barnoit (El Remenedado); Dufriche (Zuniga); Duvernoy (Moralès); Nathan (Lillas Pastia); Teste (a guide); Mme Galli-Marié (Carmen); Mlle Chapuy (Micaëla); Mlle Ducasse (Frasquita); Mlle Chevalier (Mercedès). There were revivals on 11 December 1890 (Châtelet) in the version by Ernest Guiraud (with recitatives), an exceptional production; 8 December 1898 (Salle Favart 3); 30 April 1923 (Salle Favart 3) with Guiraud’s recitatives; 25 October 1938 (Salle Favart 3). ____________________________________________________________

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Adolphe-Benoît BLAISE (d. 1772) Le Colin-Maillard Ballet-pantomime en un acte. Scenario: Jean-François Dehesse and Antoine Pitrot. First performance: 1st version: Théâtre-Italien, 8 June 1754. 2nd version: Théâtre-Italien (Salle Favart 1), 17 May 1784. There was only one performance on the second occasion. Annette et Lubin Comédie mêlée d’ariettes et de vaudevilles en un acte. Librettists: MarieJustine Favart/Charles-Simon Favart (?) and Jean-Baptist Lourdet de Santerre/L’Abbé de Voisenon (?). First performance: 1st version: Théâtre de la société, on the occasion of the marriage of M. de Mailly and Mlle de Périgord, January 1762; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 15 February 1762. The story was based on a tale by Jean-François Marmontel. The music was a miscellany of parodies by Blaise of various composers (pour les accompagnements), identified as Campra, Gaviniès, Hasse, Laborde, Mondonville, Philidor, Rousseau and Sodi. This was the first musical creation after the union of the Opéra-Comique de la Foire and the Comédie-Italienne on 3 February 1762. The work had sentiment, grace and gaiety. The names of Annette and Lubin became established as the prototypes of rustic lovers. It was retained in the repertory 29 years, until 1793. Another version was given at the Maréchal de Richelieu’s private theatre on 30 March 1762, when Marmontel added some episodic scenes to his dramatized tale. The music was by the Chevalier de Laborde. There was a major revival in 1800 (Salle Favart 1), when the libretto was revised by Lourdet de Santerre, and new music provided by Martini. In this form, it was first performed privately in 1785 and at Court in 1789 (CL 1:62). Les Talents à la mode Comédie avec divertissement. Librettist: Louis de Boissy. First performance: 1st version: Théâtre-Italien, 17 September 1739. 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 6 June 1762. The work includes Blaise’s cantatille Le Feu de la ville. It was performed

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over the following two years, until 1764. Les Rendez-Vous nocturnes Ballet-pantomime en un acte. Scenario: Antoine-François Riccoboni. First performance: 1st version: Théâtre-Italien, 28 May 1740. 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 7 September 1764. The work was retained in the repertory until 1779. Isabelle et Gertrude, ou Les Sylphes supposées Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en un acte. Librettist: Charles-Simon Favart. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 14 August 1765. The story was taken from a tale by Voltaire, Gertrude, ou L’Éducation d’une fille. Blaise’s score contained parodies of various composers, two arias parodying extracts from Gluck’s La Rencontre imprévue (Vienna, 1764), as well as a duet attributed to Gluck. The daring tone of this work secured it a certain success. It was attributed to the Abbé de Voisenon who defended it. Voltaire, whom no one suspected to find in these circumstances, claimed some paternity for these verses, which are rather pretentious under modest appearances: J’avais un arbuste inutile. Qui languissait dans mon canton; Un bon jardinier de la ville, Vient de greffer mon sauvageon. The music is common and rather feeble. The most striking pieces are an ariette for Dorlis “Ô nuit, charmante nuit”, and the bass aria for Dupré “On ne peut jamais veiller de trop près”. The composer, defiant about the quality of his work, introduced into his thin score various German motifs and some airs by Gluck, notably that sung by Dupré “Sans souci, vivre pour soi”. The work was retained in the repertory until 1786. There was a later reworking as an opéra-comique, with new music by Antonio Pacini (28 February 1806, Feydeau) which was performed over some two years, until 1808.

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Le Trompeur trompé, ou La Rencontre imprévue Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Jean-Joseph Vadé. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 9 August 1767. This was a re-working of a play by Vadé, possibly with the assistance of Framery, at the Foire Saint-Germain on 18 February 1754. The music is described as by Blaise (pour les accompagnements) and vaudevilles. Composers parodied include Exaudet, Mondonville, and Rousseau. This is not to be confused with an Italian work with the same title, presented at the Théâtre-Italien on 22 November 1752, and revived in 1764. Blaise’s work was performed until 1769. ____________________________________________________________

Giuseppe Marco Mario Felice BLANGINI (1781-1841) La Fausse Duègne Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Georges Duval and G. Montcloux d’Épinay. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 24 June 1802. The music was the posthumous work of Domenico Della Maria, completed by Felice Blangini. The title indicates the nature of the plot. The young composer died aged 36, and his opera Le Prisonnier had made his name popular. However, the score of La Fausse Duègne was too feeble to remain in the repertoire: it was heard with interest and then forgotten, despite the excellent cast of Elleviou and Mmes Saint-Aubin and Dugazon. There were 10 performances. Chimère et Réalité Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Étienne Aignan. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 6 January 1803. There was literary assistance from Tardieu St-Marcel. The story is derived from Miss Street’s novella Theodore, A Domestic Tale. There were 6 performances.

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Les Femmes vengées, ou Les Feintes Infidélités Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Michel-Jean Sedaine. First performance: 1st version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel Bourgogne) (with music by Philidor), 20 March 1775; 2nd version: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 22 October 1808. It remained in the repertory for 12 years, until 1820. La Sourde-Muette Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: J. de Valmette. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 20 July 1820. There were three performances. La Comtesse de Lamarck, ou Tout par l’amour Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Jacques-Antoine de Révéroni Saint-Cyr, Achille and Armand Dartois. First performance: OpéraComique (Feydeau), 16 April 1818. Written for the benefit of Mme Crétu. There were 2 performances. La Fête des souvenirs Intermède en vers, avec chants et danses. Librettist: Théophile Dumersan. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 16 April 1818. The intermezzo had one appearance. It was planned and given for the final stage appearance before retirement of one of the great singers, Mme Crétu, who had made her debut on 26 May 1788. Marie-Thérèse Opéra en quatre actes. Librettist:François Bernard-Valville. Unperformed. This work went into rehearsals at the Opéra in 1820, but was never performed. The story is told by Eduard Hanslick: 'In any case, Maria Theresa has already been celebrated as the heroine of an opera. The story is hardly known, and not without interest. The French artist Fragonard, in

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the twenties of this century, painted a large portrait “Maria Theresa with the small Joseph in her Arms”, exhibited in Paris, which by its dramatic effect, inspired the poet Bernard to write an opera text. This libretto, named after the great empress, was unanimously approved by the theatre jury, and entrusted to the composer Felix Blangini, known for his romances. Blangini, who wrote in detail about this in his memoirs which appeared in 1834, composed the opera; Madame Branchu, the wonderful dramatic singer, was to sing Maria Theresa, and studied the role enthusiastically with Marat. The rehearsals began under M. Kreutzer’s direction, and the day of the première approached. Then Blangini was suddenly informed that the ministry had unexpectedly decided to forbid Maria Theresa. No one could explain this ban which seemed to have no motivation. Blangini hurried to the censorship authorities, who assured him that they were entirely innocent of the matter. Eventually the unfortunate man secured an audience with the director-general of police who, after several placatory phrases, whispered appeasingly: “The whole matter can still be resolved if you would only turn the son, with whom Maria Theresa appeared before the Hungarian Diet, into a daughter.” It was actually feared that the solemn words of the Empress, “Voilà l’enfant de la patrie!”, and her accompanying oath, “By the grave of the father and by the cradle of the son” would incite Napoleonic demonstrations, and that the son in the arms of Maria Theresa would be construed as an allusion to the young King of Rome. Blangini had too great a respect for world history to agree to such a change (Meyerbeer’s L’Étoile du Nord had not yet appeared!), and so his MarieThérèse was printed in vocal score but never produced.' Le Jeune Oncle Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Hippolyte Advenier de Fontenille. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 10 April 1821. This was the first opéra-comique to exclude male roles. It was performed for three years, until 1824. Le Duc d’Aquitaine, ou Le Retour Opéra-comique [à propos mêlé d’ariettes] en un acte. Librettists: Emmanuel-Guillaume-Marguerite Théaulon de Lambert, Armand Dartois and E. de Rancé. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 12 December 1823.

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Produced on the occasion of the triumphal return of the Duke of Angoulême to Paris after the campaign in Spain. It was performed in 1824. Le Projet de pièce, ou Les Deux Mousquetaires Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Mély-Janin. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 4 November 1825. Produced on the nameday of King Charles X. There were 2 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Matthieu-Frédéric BLASIUS (1758-1829) La Paysanne supposée, ou La Fête de la moisson Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en trois actes. Librettist: C. Dubois. First performed: Comédie Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 28 August 1788. There was one performance. Les Trois Sultanes Comédie en trois actes. Librettist: Charles-Simon Favart. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 25 August 1792. The story is derived from a tale byJean-François Marmontel. Dalayrac published some orchestral material (an overture and two arias) in 1800, under the same title. Le Peletier de Saint-Fargeau, ou Le Premier Martyr de la République Française Trait historique en deux actes et ariettes. Librettist: Auguste-Louis Bertin d’Antilly. First performance: Salle Favart 1, 23 February 1793. This was also known as La Mort de Saint-Fargeau. Louis Le Peletier de Saint-Fargeau was assassinated on 20 January 1793. His public funeral on the 24 January was supervised by the painter David. There were 4 performances of this work. ____________________________________________________________

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Robert-Nicolas-Charles BOCHSA (1789-1856) L’Héritier de Paimpol Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Sewrin. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 29 December 1813. It was performed into the following year 1814. Les Héritiers Michau, ou Le Moulin de Lieursain Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Eugène de Planard. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 30 April 1814. It was retained in the repertory until 1818. Alphonse, roi d’Aragon Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Jean-M. Souriguière de SaintMarc. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 20 August 1814. The book is based on Jean-François Roger’s play La Revanche, as well as a little comedy by Germain-François Poullain de Saint-Foix (Magasin encyclopédique). There were 6 performances. The score is not located. Le Roi et la ligue, ou La Ville assiégée Opéra en deux actes. Librettists: Marie-Emmanuel Théaulon de Lambert and Armand Dartois. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 22 August 1815. The work was officially commanded to legitimize the new régime at the Restoration. There were 61 performances.

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Les Noces de Gamache Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Planard. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 16 September 1815. The story is derived from an episode in Cervantes’s Don Quixote. There were 13 performances. La Lettre de change Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Eugène de Planard. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 11 December 1815. It was retained in the repertory until 1837. Un mari pour étrennes Opéra en un acte. Librettists: Marie-Emmanuel Théaulon de Lambert and Armand Dartois. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 1 January 1816. There were 8 performances, Bochsa, a harpist of the first order and composer of considerable talent, was as wretched a man as distinguished an artist. By turns thief, counterfeiter and bigamist, he was prosecuted by the Court of Assizes of the Seine in 1818 for a series of frauds, but he was able to escape to England where he was safe—the treaty of extradition not exiting then. He was condemned in absentia to a dozen years hard labour and a fine of 4000 francs (CL 2:783). ____________________________________________________________

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Adrien-Louis-Victor BOIELDIEU (1815-1883) Marguerite Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Augustin-Eugène Scribe and Eugène de Planard. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Bourse), 18 June 1838. The libretto is filled with tragic episodes drawn from a German legend. According to Adolphe Adam, only eight bars of the choeur villageois are not orchestrated by Boieldieu père. In act 1 there are couplets arranged as a trio “on dit au village qu’il est fort bien fait”; a duet “Au bonheur, au plaisir que votre coeur se livre”; the dramatic finale with the intercalated rondo “Livrons-nous à la danse”. Act 2 begins with a soprano aria full of feeling which obtained deserved success “Merci de tous vos soins; c’est bien; me voilà prête”; the air bouffe of the bailiff “Ah! vraiment, j’en perds la tête; qui faut-il donc que j’arrête?”, and a very dramatic finale that was much applauded. In act 3 there is lovely romance “Au serment qui nous lie”, and an aubade sung by the chorus off-stage. The roles were created by Jansenne, Henri, Couderc, Mlles Rossi and Berthault. This opera was successful enough to promise for Boieldieu’s son, who was only 22 years old at the time, a smooth and glorious career. But after presenting a small number of works, he appeared to renounce his work for the theatre, and to have contented himself with working for the salons. There was in this resolution a defiance of himself, or perhaps a secret filial piety that criticism should respect. There were 38 performances. L’Opéra à la cour Opéra-comique en quatre parties. Librettists: Scribe Scribe & SaintGeorges. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 16 July 1840. This pastiche arranged by Adrien Boieldieu and Grisar (with pieces by Weber, Méhul, Berton, Ricci, Boieldieu, Dalayrac, Auber, Donizetti, Mozart and Rossini) was devised for the re-opening of the Salle Favart. In this work Boieldieu’s romance for Charles de France “Les chevaliers de la fidelité”, sung by Masset, was received with approbation. The rest of the Opéra-Comique ensemble were: Chollet, Roger, the bass Botelli, Mme Eugénie Garcia. The various borrowed pieces were: Méhul’s overture Le Jeune Henri, replaced at the third performance by Mozart’s Le Nozze di

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Figaro; Boieldieu, an aria from Charles de France and a chorus from Les Deux Nuits; Donizetti, a duet from Torquato Tasso; Mercadante's duet from Elisa e Claudio; Mozart, duets from Le Nozze di Figaro and Don Giovanni; Frederico Ricci, a bass aria especially composed; Rossini, the quartet from Bianca e Faliero and a duet from Otello; Weber, a chorus from Der Freischütz. The rest were by Auber, Montan Berton and Dalayrac. “The materials for this pasticcio were arranged by Grisar and Boieldieu fils, who intercalated various pieces according to their taste. Grisar wrote an introduction, which is excellent, and Boieldieu wrote a finale, which is not bad. He also arranged an aria containing all the motifs from these various composers. This piece was created for the opening of the theatre [Salle Favart 2], in order to offer a reunion of all the subjects in one work, Unfortunately, the [whereabouts of the] music was not known, and the opera could not be given until two months later” (Adolphe Adam). It nonetheless then proved popular, with some 27 performances following. L’Aïeule Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Jules-Henri Vernoy de SaintGeorges. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 17 August 1841. The work contains lovely melodies and elegant harmony. This score, one of the first by Adrien Boieldieu, was worthy of this name that recalls a wonderful period. Roger sang part of his role falsetto, representing as it does by turns a young man and a inexperienced young woman. The other parts were taken by Henri, Sainte-Foy, Mmes Henri Potier and Luguet. There were 15 performances. Le Bouquet d’infante Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Adolphe de Leuven and Eugène de Planard. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 27 April 1847. The story is not well imagined. Don Fabio de Sylva, a Portuguese nobleman exiled and deprived of all his possessions by the king of Portugal, wishes to be avenged. He initiates a conspiracy that is discovered. He is condemned to death, and his execution is about to happen, when he learns that the king has granted him mercy. It is a child’s bouquet thrown onto the stage that is the symbol of the royal amnesty.

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Henri Blanchard judged this work severely: “M. Boieldieu is not having his first shot, and one would like to see him show the hand of a master. He does things with ease, but there is something old-fashioned about his simplicity, something too clear in his melodies, and naive in his modulations. Heaven forbid that we should be advocating romantic ideas in music. But one must recognize that singing has become more impassioned and accompaniment much fuller than they once were. Naturalness is a fine quality; but there is an insignificant naturalness, simplistic, flat, just as there is an elegant naturalness, fluent, noble, elevated. M. Boieldieu seems to us to keep himself in the middle of these two extremes. The lack of originality, this element of the unexpected so necessary for stimulating the blasé listener by styles different from the prevailing ones, is M. Boieldieu's fault. His muse is an honest maiden, rather decent; she does not allow even the smallest divergence. She makes one think of the muses of Beethoven and Weber as daring dames of the Regency, who followed only the caprices of the their imagination”. The music has not been able to save the poor libretto, but one nevertheless appreciates the distinguishing qualities of the composer. Inheriting as he did an illustrious name, he knew how to perpetuate the glory up to a certain point. In his opera Marguerite his elegant elegiacism had already drawn attention. In Le Bouquet de l’infante the pieces are more developed and the instrumentation richer. Of particular note are: in act 1, the introduction which is praiseworthy, as well as the cachucha which was sung with incomparable brio by Mlle Louise Lavoye (the gifted singer indeed had to repeat this aria); a charming nocturne for four voices; the romance “Vous voyez bien qu’il est mon père”, sung by Mlle Lavoye; the aria for Pascales; and in the rest of the score, the trio with chorus; the aria for Ginetta; and the romance for Fabio “Ah! le plus beau jour de ma vie sera mon dernier jour!” which has great feeling and touching expression. The roles in this work were created by Audran, Mocker, and Mlle Lavoye. There were 27 performances. ____________________________________________________________

François-Adrien BOIELDIEU (1775-1834) La Famille suisse Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Godart d’Ancourt (Saint-Just). First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 12 February 1797.

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This lyrical work had success thanks to the graceful details of the score. Le Pari, ou Mombreuil et Merville Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Saint-Just and Longchamps. OpéraComique (Salle Favart 1), 15 December 1797. Zoraïme et Zulmar Drame lyrique en trois actes. Librettist: Saint-Just. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 11 May 1798. The subject is taken from a novel by Florian, Gonsalve de Cordoue. Boieldieu had already mounted four small operas without seriously drawing the attention of the public. This work at last made known the qualities of his charming genius, the elegance of his style, the finesse and vivacity of his instrumentation, the grace of his melody (CL 2: 1179). La Dot de Suzette Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Fiévée. Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 6 September 1798. This was the composer’s seventh work, and was a success, with agreeable subject and music full of promise. The singer Mme Saint-Aubin by her great talent brought out all the qualities of the score. Béniovsky, ou Les Exilés du Kamchattka Opéra en trois actes Text: Alexandre Duval (Alexandre-Vincent PineuxDuval). First performance: 1st version: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart, 1), 8 June 1800; 2) 2nd version: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 20 July 1824 The Russian Asiatic peninsula of Kamchatka, 1771. The adventures of the famous chevalier Beniowski had already provided Kotzebue with the material for a drama. The libretto diverges a little from history. Beniowski, a general serving the Polish cause, has fallen into the hands of the Russians, who have exiled him to Kamchatka. His companions in misfortune make plans to escape, and choose him as their leader. However, he has fallen in love with the niece of the governor

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of the camp, and when summonsed to the castle, finds himself faced with the cruel alternative of betraying either his fellows or his beloved. Love wins the day, and the two lovers are united. Nevertheless, a Russian exile, Stephanoff, who is jealous of Beniowski, throws doubts on his loyalty, and going to the governor, divulges the secret of the conspiracy. He succeeds in obtaining pardon for all the accomplices except that of their leader, who happens to be Beniowski. Betrayed by his own party, and guilty in the eyes of the governor, he does not know where to turn, and flees amidst grave danger. Finally the exiles take up arms. Beniowski, hiding in the wilderness, exhausted and starved, faints under the heat of the sun. Night falls, and the followers of Stephanoff find him, and bring him back to consciousness. Stephanoff, who has recognized Beniowski, could rid himself of him, but he feels remorse, and Beniowski is saved by his own rival. To avoid the vengeance of the exiles, Stephanoff is forced to declare himself guilty, and now finds himself exposed to their fury. They want to punish him for his crime, but Beniowski opposes this and they make peace with each other. Eventually there is a fight, the exiles triumph, and the governor follows Beniowski to Poland. In Boieldieu’s score there are choruses of a vigour and energy which one would not have thought him capable of at that point. Nevertheless, the composer’s individuality is rather stifled under the pressure of the grand style. His particular genius was soon to glow with its first light in Le Caliphe de Bagdad, but it could already be sensed. Beniowski was revived 1824, with several big changes: a new aria for the singer Gavaudan, another for Lemonnier; an overture, which, according to Boieldieu himself, smelled of ‘Russian leather’; a new finale to act 3, and a host of adjustments in both vocal and orchestral parts. In a letter of 17 July 1824 to the editor of the Courier des spectacles, Boieldieu observed, regarding the reprise: “I took as much trouble over this as over a new work. If only the success of this reprise could recompense me a little, and the public acknowledge this labour over a work they have already heard, but in which, despite their indulgence, I felt there was much that still needed correcting...The work has been improved somewhat.” Despite this conscientious make-over, Beniowski was never counted among the best works of the beloved author of La Dame blanche. Some happy motifs, some original melodies perhaps did merit to be conserved. At its creation, the cast was: Elleviou, Martin, Gavaudan, Philippe and Mlle Armand, who were all excellent in their parts.

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Le Caliphe de Bagdad Opéra-comique en un acte Text: Claude Godard d’Aucour (called SaintJust), after a tale from the collection A Thousand and One Nights. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 16 December 1800. The subject is borrowed from The Thousand and One Nights. Isaoin, like Jean de Paris, wants to reassure himself that he can be loved for his own sake, and in disguise pays court to the charming Zetulbé. He is taken for a robber notorious in the vicinity, and Zetulbé’s mother Lémaïde is fearful. Despite appearances, the young girl’s affections remain constant. Quite predictably there is a ridiculous cadi with a roguish servant. The dialogue is witty, the music charming, of great freshness. The overture is one of Boieldieu’s best orchestral pieces, a delightful fantasy on the opera. Its purported local colour was long extolled, but Boieldieu had too much wit and taste to introduce on stage the horrible hullabaloo known as Oriental music, a barbaric residue, degenerate and almost unrecognizable, of the antique chants. He sought to experiment with images that could produce an ideal concept in our spirits: an Orient viewed through the prism of a European civilization. Everything is noteworthy in this score: the delightful opening chorus which Félicien David charmingly recalled in his Lalla-Rouhk; Késie’s aria, the duets, the couplets. The work had nearly 800 performances, and continued to have a place in the repertory of the Opéra-Comique late into the 19c. M. Martinez produced it most interestingly in his Théâtre des Fantaisies-Parisienes. Boieldieu’s music, fresh and youthful, provided double pleasure when, as in this small theatre, it employed artists who had only recently graduated from the Conservatoire. Ma Tante Aurore, ou Le Roman impromptu Opéra-bouffon en deux actes. Librettist: Charles de Longchamps. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 13 January 1803. This work originally had three acts, but the third, having been badly received at the premiere, was suppressed from the second performance. The subject of the story does not lack originality. Tante Aurore is a romantically-minded old maid who does not want her niece to marry anyone but a hero who has proved himself in a thousand adventures. So a series of events are organized to meet this requirement: a scene of robbers, an attack by armed men etc., whereby the aunt’s resistance is overcome.

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The music for this opera is more correct, and better instrumented, than that of Le Caliphe de Bagdad, and is full graceful and witty motifs. The overture modulates by only a fifth on the tonic, but nevertheless retains a melodic allure and elegance, with an orchestration that is so finely arranged that it continues to be heard with pleasure. The first duet for Valsain and Frontin “Malgré de rop justes alarmes”, adds an accompaniment of exquisite taste to a very Italianate structure. The quartet for the lovers “Toi par qui l’on fait des romans!” is a deliberate but inferior imitation of the celebrated quartet in Méhul’s L’Irato that had appeared two years before. Faults of prosody abound, but a fresh gaiety pervades throughout. This is followed by Julie’s rondo “D’un peu d’étourderie”. The couplets for Tante Aurore, “Je ne vous vois jamais réveuse” are one of Boieldieu’s best inspirations, in which the character and the mania of the old aunt are expressed with that finesse of touch whose secret he so uniquely possessed. The duet that ensues “Quoi, vous avez connu l’amour?” is treated with much wit; the entries add nuances to the vocal parts that are reminiscent of the best works of Cimarosa. Act 2 is not the equal of the first. The decreased in interest in the action is reflected in the composer’s diminished verve. It nonetheless includes a duet that is masterly: “De toi, Frontin, je me défie”. The opera was a great success and definitively endorsed Boieldieu’s growing reputation. The role of Frontin was a triumph for the singer Martin. The work was retained in the repertory until 1836. Le Baiser et la quittance, ou une aventure de garnison Opéra-comique en trois actes et en prose. Librettists: Louis-Benoît Picard, Michel Dieulafoy et Charles de Longchamps. First performance: OpéraComique (Feydeau), 18 June 1803. A collaboration between Boieldieu, Méhul, Kreutzer and Isouard. La Jeune Femme colère Comédie en un acte. Librettist: Charles-Guillaume Étienne, arranged as an opera by Claparède. First performance: 1st version: St Petersburg, Hermitage Theatre, 18 April 1805, Bolshoi Theatre 24 April 1805; 2nd version: Paris, Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 12 October 1812. It is astonishing that Boieldieu had the skill to make something of this flat

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bourgeois play. He knew how to touch the heart, to render graceful the most banal situations, and enliven the heaviest ideas of the librettist. Emile de Valrive, a colonel of dragoons, has married Rose de Volmar, a young woman of irascible temperament although endowed with a generous heart. She has a brother who is also a soldier, and a close friend of her betrothed. Emile soon finds out his wife’s faults: she sacks a servant every week, who is only too pleased to escape from someone who tears her clothes and pulls her hair, breaks her guitar, and gives way to the tantrums of a spoilt child. Working with Volmar, Emile pretends to outdo his wife’s behaviour. In his turn, he breaks glasses and plates, beats his servant, provokes a duel with his brother-in-law, and lets loose all his devils. The young woman is overwhelmed. She takes control of herself, and immediately corrects her bad behaviour. The overture recalls that of Le Caliphe de Bagdad. The duet for Germain and his wife expresses a friendliness and roundness of situation: written in C with a simple modulation to the dominant, its interest resides in the rhythm alone. Rose’s rondeau “Pourquoi négliger l’art de plaire” is charming, and accompanied in exquisite taste. The duet for Rose and Emile “Ah! c’est un défaut bien terrible” is written very high for the soprano, these high notes rather out of place for a scene of conjugal sensibility. The quartet of the key “Thérèse, Thérèse, il faut qu’elle sommeille” is excellent. But the following romance “Ah! que deux époux sont hereux” is rather feeble. The best piece in the score is the trio andantino “Je vais partir, ne vous déplaise” where one finds a moving quality, rare in Boieldieu’s work, where the characters speak in sympathetic tones. The instrumentation is masterly. The roles were created by Andrieux, Claparède, Mées, Mmes Philis and Mées. Les Voitures versées Opéra-comique en deux actes. Librettist: Emmanuel Dupaty. First Performance: 1st version: St Petersburg, 1806; 2nd version: Paris, OpéraComique (Feydeau), 20 April 1820. Boieldieu wrote Les Voitures Versées in 1808 during a 6 years' stay in St. Petersburg where he wrote one opera a year. The author created the libretto from a comedy by Picard entitled Le Séducteur en voyage. It was produced at the Vaudeville on 4 December 1806. The action takes place at a château in Anjou. Its proprietor, one Dormeuil, considers that life in the provinces is tantamount to exile. In order to lure some of the Parisian 'society' he decides to make a hole in the road which passes his property.

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The carriages and diligences duly topple over and, whilst repairs are being effected, their occupants are given hospitality by Dormeuil. The piece is amusing, and provides imaginative pretexts for a series of arias and duets. Martin triumphs in the aria “Apollon toujours préside au choix de mes invités”. In the duet “O dolce concerto” there is a series of variations ingeniously embellishing the melody “Au clair de la lune”. Characteristic of Boieldieu's style were a fluent and graceful melody and skilful orchestration. Aline, reine de Golconde Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Jean-Baptiste-Charles Vial and Edmond-Guillaume-François de Favières.. First performed: St Petersburg, 5/17 March1808. The subject was taken from Berton’s opera (Opéra-Comique, 1803). Rien de trop, ou Les Deux Paravents Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Joseph Pain. First performance: 1st version: St Petersburg, 1810; 2nd version: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 10 April 1811. This work concerns a young married couple who in the middle of winter want to have their honeymoon in the countryside, despite the advice of their uncle. They soon tire of each other and their intimate pleasures because of other attractions. The book is feeble, but the pleasant score contains a pretty duet. Jean de Paris Opéra-comique en deux actes. Librettist: Claude Godard d’Aucour (called Saint-Just). First Performance: 4 April 1812, Paris Opéra-Comique, Salle Feydeau The dauphin of France wishes to make the acquaintance of the princess chosen as his bride, and journeying with her under the name of Jean, a citizen of Paris, he dicovers her charming character and falls in love with her. The subject is pleasant, and the book is well-made. As for the music, it can perhaps be regarded as one of the pearls in the composer’s crown. It sustains the colour of this imaginative subject, and delightfully idealizes

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the demi-historical characters. This could be described as a piece of the troubadour genre. Indeed, the work excels, moving beyond scenes that are perfectly logical but boring to infuse the genre with grace, wit, charming motifs, and elegant harmony. All the pieces became popular: the big aria for the senechal “C’est la princesse de Navarre”; the cavatina “Quel plaisir d’être en voyage”; the romance of the troubadour “Le troubadour, fier de son doux servage”. There is also the fine introductory chorus and the charming chorus in act 2 “De monsieur Jean, que le festin s’apprêtre”. Carl Maria von Weber, the immortal author of Der Freischütz, observed while directing a production of Jean de Paris at the Royal Theatre in Dresden, that: “With the greatest masters of the art, it is appropriate to draw out the spiritual, even the national, elements of their works, to assemble them, to fuse them, and impose them on the rest of the world. Among the small number of these, Boieldieu almost has the right to claim the first rank among composers actually living in France, as much as public opinion places Isouard (Nicolo) at his side. Both of them assuredly possess an admirable talent; but that which places Boieldieu above his imitators is his flowing and well measured melody, the plan of the separate pieces and the general structure, the excellent and stylish instrumentation, all the qualities that diatiguish a master and lend the force of eternal life and of classicalité to his work in the kindgom of art. He shares these qualities with Méhul; but his preference leads him in the direction of Italian form, his melodies are purer without in the process sacrificing the sense of the words. This characteristic of his work is a double witness to his unique talent”. Since the time that Weber wrote these words, Jean de Paris, unjustly neglected in France, continued to be popular during the 19th century in many of the theatres of Germany. Le Nouveau Seigneur du village Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Creuzé de Lesser and EdmondGuillaume-François de Favières. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 29 June 1812. This charming work in which the composer’s qualities shine without alloy is among his best. The ensemble in which the bailiff gives vent to the harangue “Ainsi qu’Alexandre le Grand, à son entrée à babylone” is high musical comedy. Each number is in fact a small masterpiece of taste and wit. The situations are rendered with piquant expression, and the characters realized with naive and precise truthfulness full of original melody and well-harmonized accompaniments. The duet for Frontin and

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Babet “Vous n’êtes plus à votre place et ne parlez pas de Colin” is charming. The duet du Chambertin is admirable both for its vocal part and instrumentation, so witty and amusing in detail, as are the couplets about the droit du seigneur “Ah! vous avez des droits superbes”. The music in fact, always young and fresh in its grace, overcomes the weaknesses of the libretto (CL 2:788-9). Bayard à Mézières Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Emmanuel Dupaty and Alissan de Chazet. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 12 February 1814. A collaboration between Boieldieu, Catel, Nicolò, and Cherubini. Les Béarnais, ou Henri IV en voyage Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Sewrin. First performance: OpéraComique (Feydeau), 21 May 1814. A collaboration between Boieldieu and Kreutzer. Angéla, ou L’Atelier de Jean Cousin Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Montecloux d’Epinay and Boieldieu. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau) 11 June 1814. The music was written in collaboration with Mme Gail, and contains a pretty duet. There were six performances. La Fête du village voisin Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Sewrin. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 5 March 1816. The concept of the story is not a particularly happy one, but the composer knew how to interpret the rather pallid episodes with his characteristically exquisite taste and grace. The first and third acts take place in the château of Baron de Fonviel; the second in a village a league away from the château. Mme de Ligneul, a young and pretty widow, is living a life of tedium in an old manor house. In the absence of her uncle, although expecting a visit from a suitor, M. de Renneville, she is carried away by

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the need for distraction, and in disguise attends a fete in the neighbouring village, accompanied by her servant Rose and the gardener Geneviève. No sooner has she left, than M. de Renneville arrives, and is most surprised to find no one at home in the château. On questioning Rémi the gardener, he learns of Mme de Ligneul’s escapade, and himself dresses as a peasant, and goes off to the fete with his valet. There a rather feeble intrigue unfolds between the characters only to reach an even duller denouement in the third act back in the château. Only the female roles are well-handled in this work. In general, this applies to all the operas by this composer. No one expressed better than he the music of gallantry, gentle and refined gaiety, coquetry, and the frivolous graciousness and casualness of the fair sex. With Boieldieu this is a refined art. Apart from the three roles of Georges, Dickson and Gaveston in La Dame blanche, one can hardly think of any male roles so developed and strongly characterized. La Fête du village voisin is a graceful fantasy. The overture is hardly striking. Act 1 contains a bolero for Mme de Ligneul that is a little masterpiece. This genre, tricky to handle, was not attempted elsewhere by Boieldieu. He also excels in the trondeau sung by Rose “La gaîté sied à notre âge”. The trio that follows during which Geneviève teaches Mme de Ligneul how to express herself and behave like a peasant, is ingenious. This applies also to the couplets à boire that became very popular and were much used in vaudevilles. If the straighforward melody speaks to the Gallic spirit, the finesse of the instrumentation appeals to connoisseurs (“Amusez-vous, oui, je vous le conseille”). The male trio suffers the disadvantage of duplicating the same lesson in peasant ways given earlier to the women by Geneviève. But it is treated with spirit. The charming phrase “Ô ma tendre musette”, first heard as solo and then as vocal trio, is most appropriate to the circumstance. In act 2, apart from the quintet, sparkling melody abounds, as in the aria for the little shopkeeper “Je suis la petite merchande”. Then comes the quintet finale “Quand la mémoire est infidèle”. In act 3 there is a charming cavatina for Henri “Simple, innocente et joliette”. Finally comes the duet for de Rennevelle and Mme de Ligneul “Attraits divins, simple parure”. This last piece has slightly mannered cut to it, which, however oldfashioned it might be, has an archaic feel that stirs interest in acquainting us with the tastes and the wit of French society at the beginning of the Restoration (CL 1:447).

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Charles de France, ou Amour et Gloire Opéra-comique en deux actes. Librettists: Emmanuel-Guillaume-Marguerite Théaulon de Lambert, Armand Dartois and E. de Rancé. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 18 June 1816. A collaboration between Boieldieu and Hérold for the occasion of the marriage of the Duc de Berry and Marie-Caroline of Naples. Boieldieu composed the overture and act 1, Hérold act 2. There were 25 performances. La Dame blanche Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Augustin-Eugène Scribe, after the novels Guy Mannering and The Monastery by Sir Walter Scott, and Le Fantôme blanc by Désirée de Castera. First Performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Ventadour), 10 December 1825. From the day of its premiere this masterpiece of wit and taste became a shining star in the first rank of French opéra-comique. Everything in the theatre has subsequently been transformed around this work . The vogue for troubadours faded away; gallantry, rightly or wrongly, started to seem ridiculous. For a long time afterwards, the music of the opéra-comique lacked its earlier characteristic qualities: a happy choice of natural and expressive melodies, accompanied with clarity by the orchestra, without excessive noise and without making a parade of technicalities, generally conceived in the principal tonalities, following the most direct procedures and those most attractive to the listener. The genre changed completely. The vocal parts assumed the virtuosity of grand-opéra; orchestration became loaded and complicated. As for the libretti, especially those in three acts, they offered peripeteias of the strongest and most dramatic sort, lacking the light touch, slender and delicate, that characterized the best works of the old repertoire. If La Dame blanche became the sheet-anchor of theatre directors in difficulties; if, in the provinces as in Paris, this opéra-comique continued to draw the crowds, it was because the impressions it produces correspond to inherent qualities of the French spirit. Boieldieu, more than any other composer, followed the maxim, familiar to people of taste, of Glissez, n’appuyez pas (“Enough said”). A lovely mise en scène, an amiable soldier, gently lovable without being impassioned, situations that never demand to be taken seriously, graceful episodes imbued with a light vein of poetry and sentiment, an unpedantic musical science accessible to all

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the world, melody continuously present in vocal line and orchestra—such are the elements that explain the enduring success of this opera. Having an easy sense of inspiration, Boieldieu worked hard at his compositions seeking to give them an absolute melodic truth. He reworked each piece many times, and his scores, delivered to the theatre full of erasures, attest to the care he brought to them and the severity of his self-criticism. It was only after a silence of seven years that he produced La Dame blanche. The public waited with impatience for this new work from the author of Le Calife de Bagdad, Ma Tante Aurore and Les Voitures versées, and accorded it an enthusiastic reception. The action takes place in Scotland in 1759, according to an indication on the score. Although Scribe borrowed the subject of the story from two novels by Sir Walter Scott, the local colour is not emphasized and the dialogue is not remarkable. It is the composer who must have the credit for truly expressing and sustaining character. Each melodic phrase admirably paints each personality. The chevaleresque dash and very military insouciance of Georges Brown, the cupidity of the intendant Gaveston, the fervent concern of Anna, the timorousness of the farmer Dickson, the almost maternal tenderness of the old nurse Marguerite, the kindness of Jenny, the self-conceit of the justice of the peace MacIrton, are all depicted with perfect precision and balance. The words of Mozart addressed to the Emperor Joseph II, who criticized his opera Die Entführung aus dem Serail, come to mind: “There are as many notes as are needed.” The character of Anna is not delineated quite as successfully, and the composer may have missed the opportunity to enhance her profile, as the aria at the beginning of act 3 is perhaps a little mediocre. The delicacy of the orchestration and the charm of hearing it does not prevent one from noticing that the overture is a development of two themes drawn from the score, and that it does not belong to the type of instrumental composition called by this name from Gluck to Rossini. After Boieldieu, Hérold followed this route (apart from the overture to Le Pré aux clercs), as did most other composers. The principal pieces of the work include the following. In act 1, the introductory chorus “Sonnez, ors et musettes”; the characteristic aria for Georges “Ah! quel plaisir d’être soldat”; the ballad “D’ici voyez ce beau domaine”; the cowardice duet and the trio finale where the harmony is a marvel of simplicity, power and effect. Here one senses the pupil and admirer of Méhul. Act 2 opens with the couplets “Pauvre dame Marguerite”, full of sensibility, and ingeniously framed in a perfect imitation of a spinning wheel. The trio “C’est la cloche de la tourelle” has a breadth that that one does not often find in Boieldieu’s work. The

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cavatina “Viens, gentille dame”, and the duet of the hand serve to develop Georges’s character: here his tender and gallant side. The Auction Scene is a tour de force executed with a gracefulness that has never been surpassed. It is by turns descriptive and theatrical. The expressions of the people involved in the action, the emotions of the spectators, their malicious reflections—all is relayed as naturally as possible, and nevertheless with variety of detail and richness of rhythmical combinations, Accustomed as we are to frequent modulation remote from the principal tonality, it is disconcerting to observe that during such a developed scene, the composer hardly ever leaves the key of C. Act 3 presents some longeurs, but these are compensated for by the chorus “Chantez, joyeux ménestrels” where Boieldieu borrowed the motif of a Scottish air. This ensemble, accompanied by harps, always produces a graceful effect. The role of Georges was created by Ponchard, who left long memories until Roger took on the part and gave it a breadth and character that won for him one of his greatest successes as a singer and as an actor on the stages of Europe. The other roles were created by: Henri (Gaveston), Mme Rigaut (Anna), Féréol (Dickson), Mme Boulanger (Jenny), Mme Desbrosses (Marguerite), Belnie (Gabriel), Firmin (MacIrton). In May 1841 the Opéra-Comique staged a reprise of the opera with Masset and Mme Rossi-Caccia as Georges and Anna: both were applauded. Achard made his debut in the role of the admirable lieutenant. La Dame blanche was the only opéra-comique never to leave the repertory from the date of its premiere for nearly a century. Even after 70 years its success did not falter. Successive revolutions may have profoundly reshaped the political and literary worlds, social milieux may have been transformed, ideas modified, new artistic theories may have replaced, or rather superceded established and recognized principles, yet this work has never stopped eliciting the admiration that is its legitimate due. To what then is owed this happy privilege of not having suffered the injuries of time that withers everything, that weighs down everything, and that leaves the ineffaceable trace of its passage in wrinkles and marks of age? To what can we attribute the eternal youth this work seems to possess? The works of the human spirit would seem to be of two types. One kind, exclusively imprinted with the tastes of the era, the ideas, the sentiments, the ridiculous elements in general circulation, can, at the time of their appearance and even afterwards, have great success born of their topicality. But is rare that they survive the circumstances which gave rise to their birth, and they soon fall into a profound oblivion. The other kind, on the contrary, conceived and executed according to a set of entirely different ideas, and sacrificing nothing to the prevailing tastes of the time,

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drawing powerfully and ceaselessly from the eternal and inextinguishable sources of beauty and truth those elements that make up their existence, appeal to public opinion not as the exclusive expression of a particular time, but as a ray of light whose brightness seems to grow and take on greater power with the passing of time. Boieldieu’s music is ravishing from beginning to end, having no weak areas, and in the ensembles showing an understanding of the laws of harmony that assures a permanent worth for his work. One could say that this work surpasses itself, and that other opéras-comiques he had previously produced, even the most remarkable ones, like Ma Tante Aurore and Les Voitures versées simply cannot be compared with La Dame blanche, a genuine masterpiece. To arrive at such a result, the means that he employed were simple, the resources easy and light. He did not use an extensive baggage of of hard and learned fomulas with which certain composers think to produce their effects. With Boieldieu there is nothing recherché, no affectation. Melody comes before science, inspiration replaces prepared formulas; all is dictated by taste, the expression of feeling; he finds his effects in the subject itself, in the intimate harmony that exists between music and the words appropriated to it. Everything is in the situation, and the sense of truth springs from this mysterious accord. His music, far from being mannered, laboured, or pretentious, is abundant, clear, limpid, easy and light. Above all, it is easy, because he wishes the most rebellious ears to be able to understand and retain the most powerful harmony without difficulty. He did not write for the type of people one could call dilettantes, the elected of musical science, who alone feel that they are able to understand and love beauty. The music of Boieldieu, especially in La Dame blanche, addresses everyone. It possesses to a high degree the gift of arousing public enthusiasm, because it is able to touch the strings of the heart, so that it is impossible to remain impervious to what becomes a complete and true expression of human feeling. Furthermore, the music of this opera became truly popular, and never remained the privileged domain of a restricted circle of amateurs. Everyone sang it, all of France resounded to the echoes of its melodies and airs which went right round the world, and down through one generation after another. The theatre which gave it birth sustained this fervour by frequently offering it to the admiration of audiences impressed by this masterpiece of grace, of sentiment, and of style. More than 1500 performances were not able to dim its success. The 1000th performance of La Dame blanche took place in 1884, a celebration for the Opéra-

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Comique, as well as for the public. On 1 September of the same year, after two months of closure necessitated by important repairs, the theatre reopened its doors to the public, staging La Dame blanche and Grétry’s Le Tableau parlant. New productions took place on 4 October 1862 (Salle Favart 2), 8 December 1910 (Salle Favart 3), December 1925 (Salle Favart 3). The provinces confirmed the success this work had enjoyed in the capital. In Rouen, the home of the composer, where it was produced in the Théâtre des Arts for the first time on 25 February 1826, it was preceded by a prologue in one act in prose called Monsieur Balcon, ou Le Dilettante, composed expressly for the occasion by Ulric Guttinger. The opera was a real triumph. This is because the music of this work is essentially French, and because it could serve as a model for young composers starting their careers. They could not have chosen a better guide. La Dame blanche gave rise to several parodies. On 5 January 1826 the Théâtre des Vaudevilles produced a piece by Gersain, Gabriel and Brazier called Les Dames à la mode. This was actually more a criticism of theatre in general because at the time the stages of the principal theatres in Paris were taken up by plays with women as the chief characters. At that time Armide, Sémiramis, La Dame du lac, La Dame blanche, La Fille du musicien were all playing simultaneously. There was no criticism of Boieldieu’s work, but rather the greatest praise. Honoré produced a burlesque imitation of La Dame blanche in Bordeaux in 1827, in two and half acts, in prose with interspersed couplets, called La Dame noire, ou Le Tambour et la grisette (published in Paris by Barba, 1828). There was also La Dame blanche de Blacknels, a divertissement impromptu in three acts and in prose, interspersed with couplets. This piece, composed by the Marquis de Lally-Tollendal, for a family festivity, was given at the Théâtre de l’hôtel de Noailles in Saint-Germain, on October 1827. This had no connection with the opéra-comique other than in its title and some couplets that were parodies of airs from La Dame blanche. This divertissement was published (Paris, Jules Didot, 1827), but became very rare because only 50 copies were printed for the occasion. L’Opéra à la cour Opéra-comique en quatre partes. Librettists: Augustin-Eugène Scribe and Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 6 July 1840. This collaborative pastiche for the re-opening of the Salle Favart used

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music by Grisar and Adrien Boieldieu, with other pieces by Weber, Méhul, Berton, Ricci, Boieldieu, Dalayrac, Auber, Donizetti, Mozart and Rossini. Among the pieces, one of the most striking was Boieldieu’s romance for Charles de France “Les chevaliers de la fidélité”, sung by Masset. The ensemble of singers was complemented by: Chollet, Roger, Botelli the bass, and Mme Eugénie Garcia. ____________________________________________________________

Édouard BOILLY (1799-1854) Le Bal du sous-préfet Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Amable Villain de Saint-Hilaire and Paul Duport. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 8 May 1844. Scenes from provincial life were often treated at the Opéra-Comique. This time the libretto concerns a stockbroker who wishes to marry, and pretends to be deaf the better to test the character of the young woman to whom he wishes to pay court. This ruse results in two tender encounters between his intended, Mlle Agathe, and a young commercial traveller whom she marries, leaving the stockbroker a bachelor. The music is very vivacious, and suggests the composer’s fine musical education. The overture and good duet sung by Grignon and Mlle Prévost are striking. M. Boilly was a graduate of the Institut. ____________________________________________________________

Dominique-François-Xavier BOISSELOT (1811-1893) Ne touchez pas à la reine Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Augustin-Eugène Scribe and Gustave Vaëz. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 16 January 1847. The action is improbable. The young queen of Leon refuses to give her hand to the king of Aragon because she prefers a handsome stranger to him. This stranger saved her from a horse-riding accident in the middle of the woods, a first breach of etiquette; other less innocent marks of

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familiarity compromise the heroes of the story—Don Fernand d’Aguilar (in fact the handsome stranger), and the regent himself. The two, convicted of having touched the queen’s hand with their lips, are due to be subjected to the final torture since there is no king to pardon them. At this point Don Fernand, who is in any case of royal blood, marries the queen, and pardons himself and also the regent, his adversary. The comic details which the authors added to the basic subject won the favour of the public for some time. The excess of jealousy of Master Maximus, the court financier, amused the stalls very much. The plays that retain their place in the theatre are those with simple and truthful ideas, and the libretti of Scribe, where wit animated the details without engaging deep interest in the fate of the characters, have already partly lost their dramatic effect. The ingenious accessories have aged, and improbability, stripped from that which dissembles, soon renders presentation less attractive. Boisselot’s score is a conscientious and distinguished work. It opens with the witty couplets between Maximus and his wife: Ne touchez pas à la reine C’est la chartesouveraine. Et le moindre oubli vous mêne Droit au trépas! De loin toujours on l’admire, La charte alors devrait dire, À l’amour comme au zéphir, N’y touchez pas. In the recital and romance that follow, Don Fernand tells of his meeting with the queen in the forest. The shape is crafted, symphonic and of poetic expressiveness. A good trio, full of theatrical vivacity, concludes this piece most effectively. Also striking in act 1 is the distinguished duet between the regent and Estrella, and a delightful chorus “Reine à qui la beauté fait une double royauté”. The remarkable pieces in act 2 are the duet of advice and the aria sung by Fernand during the queen’s slumbers. Act 3 begins with a grand aria for the prima donna: “L’Effroi que je combats de mon âme s’empare”, sung with talent by Mlle Lavoye, and vigorously applauded. The rest of the work unfolds to the accompaniment of a clear melody that is always in good taste. The roles of Maximus and Estrella were interpreted by Audran, Hermann-Léon Ricquier and Mlle Lemercier. The work was retained in the repertory for two years until 1849. ____________________________________________________________

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Barnaba BONESI (1745-1824) Pygmalion Drame lyrique en un acte. Librettist: Barnabé Farmian Durosoy. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 16 December 1780. There was one performance. ____________________________________________________________

Luigi BORDÈSE (1815-1886) La Mantille Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Eugène de Planard and Prosper Goubaux. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Bourse), 31 December 1838. This was in the repertory for two years, until 1840. L’Automate de Vaucanson Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Adolphe de Leuven. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 2 September 1840. In this libretto, the Chevalier de Lancy takes the place of an automaton that plays the flute in order to make his declaration of love to the niece of a celebrated mechanic. Bordèse’s dramatic music held little appeal apart from the lovely romances. It was performed into the following year, 1841. La Reine Jeanne See under MONPOU. Le Sultan Saladin Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Henri Dupin and Augustin-Eugène Scribe. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 8 February 1847.

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Scribe wished to preserve his anonymity in this adaptation of his vaudeville Le Fou de Péronne. The libretto is amusing. It takes place in Marseilles. A caterer called Pimpret wishes to marry a young girl whose dowry would help to restore his flagging finances. His rival is a ship’s captain who, in order to lower Pimpret's vigilance as much as to deceive him, plays the fool and pretends to be the Sultan Saladin, husband of many wives. The credulous Pimpret is not suspicious of the gallantries of this fool, and allows his future bride to call herself his wife. But the captain is then arrested by order of the caterer’s debtors. He pays the caterer’s debts happily and also acquires the right to become the husband of Pimpret’s fiancée in reality. Bordèse wrote graceful couplets and easy melodies for this little comedy. A quartet is the only piece developed at greater length. The roles were interpreted by: Chollet, Sainte-Foy and Mlle Berthe. There were 10 performances. Les Deux Bambins Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Adolphe de Leuven and Léon-Lévy Brunswick. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 4 December 1848 The libretto belongs to the type given at the Palais-Royale, and does not provide musical situations. Sir Frapolin, having married a widow, learns that he has two stepchildren. He believes them still to be young and prepares himself to receive them as a good man who loves children, until they are introduced to him: one a soldier of the guards, and the other a commissioner of taxes. This basic situation is comical but hardly lyrical. There were 4 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Ernest-Henri-Alexandre BOULANGER (1815-1900) Le Diable à l’école Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Augustin-Eugène Scribe. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 17 January 1842. The basic idea of the story, while hardly new, is stimulating and welldeveloped. The devil Babylas has been sent to earth by Satan his master to seduce a soul and conduct it back to hell. The action takes place in Italy.

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The young Stenio has wagered his fortune against Babylas and lost. The latter has set the condition that he should deliver by midnight. The deal is signed in proper form, but Stenio’s milk sister, Fiamma, who loves him, proposes that she should take his place. At the fatal moment, she places herself under the protection of her patroness, and Babylas, powerless against her, and disappointed in his criminal expectations, returns alone to the dark empire. The music is very pleasant, and several pieces have a dramatic style. Of particular note are a romance for the tenor, infused with a charming melancholy, sung by Stenio when the curtain rises; the prayer for Fiamma accompanied by the wind instruments; the couplets for Babylas, and the final trio where the situation is identical to that in act 5 of Robert le Diable. In spite of this formidable analogy, the composer has found his own original and broad phrases, with harmony that is coloured and striking. Roger was very successful in the role of Stenio, while Henri and Mlle Descot took the parts of Baylas and Fiamma. The work remained in the repertoire until 1852. Les Deux Bergères Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Eugène de Planard. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 3 February 1843. The story is very simple. A naval officer has been smitten at a masked ball at court by a charming shepherdess, and has exchanged an avowal of affection with her. He looks everywhere for the beautiful unknown, and after some mystification, discovers that his cousin is the masked shepherdess of the ball. The romance of the shepherdess is the chief number in this little score, and is reproduced in the overture. There is also a lovely trio in B minor. There were 21 performances. Une voix Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Alfred Bayard and Charles Potron. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 28 May 1845. This canvas is very light. A young French officer has heard a beautiful voice in Genoa. He is taken with the possessor of the voice, without having seen her. On returning to France, he believes he has met her in a young widow destined for his friend Lireuil. A scene of quidproquo confirms him in his error, and despite the appearance of the real singer, he holds on to his choice. The music, although rather elegant, is not

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remarkable. There is a pleasant allegro in the trio for Edgar, the comte de Lireuil and the innkeeper, a duet sung by Audran and Mme Potier, and the final chorus. Mme Casimir created the role of the mysterious Voice, vocalizing in the most charming way. The other parts were realized by Moreau-Sainti and Sainte-Foy. There were 9 performances. La Cachette Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Eugène de Planard. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 10 August 1847. This work is a type of melodrama with an improbable basic theme. It is set during the time of Cromwell. The Protector wishes to free the daughter of one of his political enemies, Sir Arundel. The nurse of this child is so devoted to the family of her master as to substitute her own child for that demanded by Cromwell. Only 17 years later is the birth and rank of the two girls contested. The title of the work is justified by a peripheral circumstance whereby a peasant, Hélène, has hidden a treasure in her wardrobe and which, having fallen into the hands of a virtuous peasant (just as in La Dame blanche), has been used to buy back the castle of Sir Arundel. Of note in this score are: in act 1 Hélène’s couplets “Dieu sur toi veillera”; in act 2 those of Alice “Chante, ma fillette, ta chanson d’amour”, the bass aria “Sur le toit paternel”; and in act 3, a good duet for soprano and tenor. This work was not a success, despite the merits of the music and the satisfactory interpretation provided by Audran, Hermann-Léon, Ricquier, Sainte-Foy, Mlles Révilly, Grimm and Lavoye. There were 8 performances. Les Sabots de la marquise Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Michel Carré and Jules Barbier. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 29 September 1854. The basic idea of this piece is bizarre and incongruous, but the details are amusing. A baron, neighbour to a marquise, makes her a present of a pair of clogs, in order to protect her from the cold during her walks around the château. Another neighbour sends her bouquets and verses. The baron invites himself to breakfast at the marquise’s and behaves with such extravagance and coarseness that the marquise treats him like a bumpkin, whereas in listing the faults of his beloved, he shows her up to be an affected woman. A little while later the roles change, the baron becomes

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precious and tender, while the marquise takes on the bold airs of a soubrette. The two are in agreement, and decide to marry, and their two servants necessarily do the same. The music is lovely. The marquise’s romance about Sylvandre happily recalls the old style. The aria “Vive le veuvage” is vulgar; but the couplets de la soubrette “Aimons qui nous aime” are charming. There is also a hunting aria for the baritone, well worked out and ingeniously imitative, and the duo scènique du dejeuner. The couplets for Nicolas were much applauded for the eccentric buffoonery. The roles were created by Bussine, Sainte-Foy, Mlles Boulart and Lemercier. The work remained in the repertory until 1867. L’Éventail Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Michel Carré and Jules Barbier. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 4 December 1860. Rosaline, a young widow, her sister Phébé, Captain Annibal, and the poet Fabrice are the characters in this small piece. During the course of the intrigue, Rosalinde drops her fan at the feet of Annibal, in order to make him come to her house. The score, handled with spirit, contains lovely details: the seguidilla “Bel astre aux doux yeux”, and Rosalinde’s lovely aria “J’ai vint ans, je suis veuve”. The cast was: Crosti, Ponchard, Mme Faure-Lefebvre and Mlle Angèle Cordier. It was performed into the following year, 1861. Don Mucarade Opéra-bouffe en un acte. Librettists: Michel Carré and Jules Barbier. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 10 May 1875. The libretto concerns a ridiculous tutor who, having opposed the marriage of Pablo and Petipa, eventually allows the union to take place. There is a duet and a bass aria in this small work characterized by fresh gaiety and easy melody. There were 12 performances. ____________________________________________________________

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Jean-Maurice BOURGES (1812-1854) Sultana Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Édouard Monnais and Alfred Pittaud de Forges. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 16 September 1846. The subject is hardly Oriental. The action takes place in Holland. ‘Sultana’ is the name of a type of tulip on which an old soldier who has become a horticulturist hopes to establish his fortune, by offering it to the princess of Nassau. A rather complicated intrigue is developed out of this naive basic situation. The music contains some very pretty motifs, among them a rondo sung by Audran “Ô toi joli démon!”, a duet for two pages “Je veux te rendre un service d’ami”, and the quartet finale developed with good dramatic understanding. This graceful musical composition by a distinguished music critic was interpreted by Grignon, Emon, Carlo and Mlle Lavoye. It was performed into the following year, 1847. ____________________________________________________________

Ange-Georges-Jacques BOUSQUET (1819-1854) Le Mousquetaire Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Armand and Achille Dartois. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 14 October 1844. The libretto presents a rather mediocre imbroglio in which a councillor and a musketeer contend for the hand of a young and rich heiress. There is an emotional song for the violoncellos in the overture, an aria for the musketeer “Je suis amoureux”, and the romance sung in turn by Cécilie and the happy musketeer. The work was most agreeably interpreted by Duvernoy, Audran, Sainte-Foy, Mmes Potier and Prévost. ____________________________________________________________

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Pierre-Guillaume de BOUTEILLER (b. 1665) Le Trompeur sans le vouloir Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Auguste Creuzé de Lesser, JeanBaptiste-Charles Vial and Jean-François Roger. First performance: OpéraComique (Feydeau), 24 May 1817. There was one performance. ____________________________________________________________

Jules BOUVAL (1867-1914) La Chambre bleue Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Édouard Noël and Antony Mars. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 16 January 1902. The story is derived from the nouvelle by Prosper Merimée. A ridiculous libretto killed off a score which, while being too ambitious, was nonetheless written with real talent. The première produced such a burlesque effect that it was judged useless to continue with further performances. This was the only one. ____________________________________________________________

Jean-Baptiste BRÉVAL (1753-1823) Inès et Léonore, ou La Soeur jalouse Comédie mise en musique en trois actes. Librettist: Gautier. First performance: 1st version: Versailles, Théâtre de la Cour, 14 November 1788; 2nd version: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 20 December 1788. The story is based on the play by Calderon de la Barca, with the title On ne badine point avec l’amour. Don Juan loves Leonore, but is hampered in his love by Béatrix, Leonore’s sister, a type of précieuse ridicule. A letter by Don Juan leads to a strange situation. The two sisters quarrel over it, and each tears off a piece just as their father enters the room. The old man does not know which of the sisters is guilty of a clandestine affair. Alonzo,

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the friend of Don Juan, in seeking to further the Don’s love, is himself taken by Béatrix’s charm, and after several crossed swords and jumps from windows, Don Juan marries Leonore and Alonzo Béatrix. Bréval had become known through his instrumental works, so this essay in musical drama was well received. There was a reprise on 24 May 1793 (Salle Favart 1), in a 2-act reduction. ____________________________________________________________

(Louis-Charles-Bonaventure-) Alfred BRUNEAU (1857-1934) Le Rêve Drame lyrique en quatre actes et sept tableaux. Librettist: Louis Gallet. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Châtelet), 18 June 1891. The story is derived from Émile Zola’s novel. Are there in the intimate and mystical novel by Zola the elements of a lyric drama—a real theatrical action, with movement, colour and passionate emotion, all so necessary for any work destined for the stage? Do the loves of the young Angélique and of the bishop’s son Jean d’Hautecoeur, as they are presented, suffice to animate the action, to vivify the drama, and give it the indispensable resources and nerve? Does one find there the contrasts, the oppositions, and above all the situations which are needed by the lyric stage? Despite the talent deployed by the librettist in his adaptation, it would seem not. But it was not the libretto that aroused so much discussion about this work, but the music, the first important work of a young artist, gifted but audacious, desirous of creating a stir, who took upon himself the task of breaking numerous windows in order to draw a crowd and draw attention to his work and his person, whatever the price. In this he succeeded very well. A pupil of Massenet, he won the second grand prix de composition musicale at the Institut in 1881, and, up to the appearance of Le Rêve, had the reputation of being the most intransigent exponent of the new school, wanting to know nothing of concession to the public, and pushing to the extreme the purest Wagnerian ideas. One therefore searches in vain in this opera for anything approaching the traditional “piece”. Scenes succeed each other and the dialogue continues without interruption, without repose or closure; there are many Leitmotifs, and no musical idea once produced is ever established or developed. Two voices are never heard together, and

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the composer’s intention is to suppress any vocal harmony. And when the dramatic situation absolutely requires the presentation of two voices together, he invariably has them sing in unison. Choruses are resolutely forbidden, and if again this is needed, as in the scene of Clos-Marie, where there is a little gathering of laundresses, a situation that calls for a choral ensemble in the most natural and charming way, he takes away the words and has them dance instead of sing. These observations address only the stage ideas of the composer, and there are other observations on the purely musical side that are more serious. However accustomed we have become to freedom and harshness of harmony, so far we have not been subjected, in the theatre in any case, to the regime imposed by Bruneau in this respect. Of course, dissonance is the condiment, the seasoning of harmony. But with Bruneau’s harmony there is the shock of impossible chords, of chords impossible to analyze. Sometimes he gives them a semblance of shape to the eye with the aid of a pedal, which he employs too frequently, but this does not make it any less pleasant for the ears. He has a predisposition for the violent and the alien, and ends up unnecessarily perverting harmonies natural in themselves by alterations that render them ear-splitting. As for the preparations, the resolutions of chords, it is useless to ask this of him as he is not concerned with such things. It is as though tonality has disappeared absolutely, and one hardly knows what key one finds oneself in. What is he achieving? This music is fiendishly difficult to sing, since the voice has no point of support. The composer is obliged to prevent things from going astray by sustaining the vocal part by redoubling the bass, something which is antimusical and produces at every instant sequences of octaves, with deplorable effect. The octaves do not work, even in the instrumental parts. A good example is the beginning of act 2. Bruneau cannot be criticised for the poverty of his orchestra which is generally full and strong, but lacks symphonic interest. When you take your principles from Wagner, his declamation and his broken vocal discourse, his distaste for ensembles, you must also borrow his admirable, his incomparable orchestra, which in truth is very difficult. But in Bruneau’s music the symphonic drama is slack, and developments are completely absent. It would be almost impossible to to provide a systematic analysis of this score given the general form of the work and almost complete absence of points of reference. Inspiration is not abundant, although not completely absent. In act 1 the long phrase addressed by Angélique to the bishop is well developed and has a smooth and penetrating character:

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Il me semble qu’elle sont miennes. Ces statues aux regards si doux... The first part of the second scene is also noteworthy, the Clos-Marie, where the composer has used a lovely popular song collected by Julien Tiersot. He has treated this theme with much taste and skill, with rhythm and tonality, elements we have been deprived of up to now. Here and there one finds some attractive accents, however much one can criticise the composer for being irritatingly restrained in certain important situations, and of not having found the necessary warm impetus. He has happily used on some occasions (perhaps too frequently) certain themes derived from liturgical chant. He has achieved a lovely effect at the end of the second scene by having an invisible voice sing the Ave verus corpus, and later in the procession having the chant from Corpus Christi. The score of this opera is deliberately alien, a work of intransigent ferocity, created with the intention of baffling the ear, conceived to an arbitrary theatrical and musical system, and in which a great talent, a very real talent, has been used for a result that is pleasing neither to artists nor the public. At the time the public was an object of scorn for many young musicians. But who are they working for? In spite of the cries of triumph from the friends of the composer about this work there were initially only 23 performances (CL 2:943). The cast has five characters who were realized by Mlle Simonnet (Angélique), Mme Deschamps (Hubertine), MM. Engel (Félicien), Bouvet ( Jean d’Hautecoeur) and Lorrain (Hubert). There were reprises on: 27 September 1900 (when the final scene repressed at the first general rehearsal was restored); and on 16 February 1939 (Salle Favart 3). It was kept in the repertory until 1947. L’Attaque du moulin Drame lyrique en quatre actes. Librettists: Louis Gallet, with the collaboration of Émile Zola. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Châtelet), 23 November 1893. The story is based on the novelle by Émile Zola, transposed to the time of the French Revolution. To transfer to the stage the dramatic recital published by Zola under the title L’Attaque du moulin, depicting one of the most moving episodes of the war of 1870-1, it was necessary to introduce an indispensable modification if not to the place, then to the date of the action. In Gallet’s libretto the period is undetermined, as is the nationality of the enemy. One could suppose the action to happen in 1792, at the

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frontier at the moment of invasion. The story begins with the brave father Merlier, the owner of a mill, who is celebrating the engagement of his daughter Françoise with an honest young man, Dominque Penquer, a Flemish worker who has found employment at the frontier. Everyone is happy at the party which is suddenly interrupted by a drum roll heralding the unexpected and brutal declaration of war. Here there is a vocal episode completely extraneous to the action, a big tragic couplet, very well conceived and with a strong musical allure, for the servant girl Marceline who depicts with ferocious energy the horrors of war: Ah! La guerre, l’horrible guerre, Je l’ai vue, oh! Oui, j’en ai trop souffert! In act 2 we are in the mill, already devastated, where a detachment of French soldiers have endured an attack by the enemy. They have been assisted by Dominique who has bravely suffered in the line of fire. The French have retreated, and the enemy advance, capture the mill, and discover Dominique with his rifle still hot. Since he is a foreigner, the captain declares him outside the laws of war, and sentences him to be shot. He is taken away. Françoise, his fiancée, is full of anguish. She finds a way of rejoining him through the window, encourages him to flee and shows him the path to take. He sees a problem with the sentry posted to guard him, but she gives him a sharp knife and tells him to kill the soldier if necessary. Act 3 is in front of the mill where the soldier is on sentry-duty. He is depicted with sympathy, and is given a type of Lied to sing, very expressive musically speaking, in which he deplores the war that has taken him far from his country and loved ones. The servant Marceline, who earlier had bewailed the war in which her two sons were killed, takes pity on the enemy soldier whom she should instinctively hate. Qu’il est fier, jeune et beau, Il se bat bien, et va, qui sait? pauvre étranger She now conducts an almost affectionate conversation with the soldier, which he, under arms, responds to. Marceline leaves at the moment when Dominique, escaping through the window of the hall where he was held, falls to the ground. The sentry sees him and runs at him, but Dominique plunges the knife into his throat and flees. At the soldier’s dying cry, his comrades run in with their officer, and realize the prisoner has escaped. The miller pleads ignorant of the escapee’s identity, but the captain

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declares that if he is not found the miller will be shot in his place. In act 4 Dominique returns secretly to see Françoise, who is full of distress, not knowing who to sacrifice, her father or her fiancé. The pathetic situation is intensified by the miller who sacrifices himself for his daughter. He says that the captain has spared his life, and that he is completely free. But it is important that Dominique should flee immediately so that no hand can be raised against him. Dominique goes, only to return soon, guiding a column of French who prepare to shoot the enemy out of the mill. Distant bugle calls announce the approach of soldiers. Françoise’s cry of joy at their deliverance turns to one of horror as she sees the captain giving orders to shoot the miller before they leave. They lead off the brave miller, and the order to shoot him is heard. Françoise falls senseless as Dominique and the French enter the mill and drive off the invaders. The drama is skillfully constructed, but has the inherent fault of being rather uniformly sombre. The sensation of anguish is really too prolonged, and ends up by enervating. It nonetheless served the composer well, and the music is better than that for Le Rêve, Bruneau’s first important work. Here the composer has renounced in large measure the excruciating harmonies and sequences of harsh chords which he had used so frequently in the earlier work. Not that this time the harmonic progressions are extremely pure, but the predisposition to violence has certainly disappeared. His orchestra is also less crude and less cluttered, and if it is not always balanced, if we still unaccountably hear the entry of trumpets and horns at every moment, the orchestra is less grim and harsh. On the other hand, Bruneau has agreed this time, despite the theories he advocates, to allow several voices to be heard simultaneously, as witnessed by the duet in act 2, and the quartet in act 4. He has built up real ensembles, and has even written choruses, elements he had excluded from his first work. Act 1 is not the best. The first part of the introduction, which recurs later as the prelude to act 3, is a pale imitation of Massenet, Bruneau’s teacher. In the same way, the presentation of the fiancée, modelled on an analogous scene in Le Roi d’Ys, is far below it. But the act ends well with Marceline’s vigorous stances on the war which have a character at once sober and ferocious, and which Mlle Delna interpreted most admirably. This has great effect. Neither the prelude to act 2, nor Dominique’s monologue, are particularly striking, but the duet for the two lovers is well thought through, and contains an episode of real feeling realized exquisitely. This is the lovely dialogue “Te le rappelles-tu?” which is underscored by an ostinato viola, mysterious and charming. Here the

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design is really melodic, of a natural and simple diction, with modulation in the relative key, producing a really remarkable overall effect. If only the composer were simpler more often. Simplicity is again the characteristic of the romance of the sentry that opens act 3, where again he is very successful. The strange scene for Marceline and the soldier follows, well devised musically, with a melancholy colour and effective accent. By contrast the very dramatic scene of the discovery of the murder does not work well. In act 4 there is a quartet in which Merlier makes his daughter believe that he is is free and no longer in danger. The score on the whole is very uneven, the work of one still inexperienced, but which contains lovely pages and is often of great interest. It did not produce the man of genius who was expected after Le Rêve, but it does show that Bruneau had an artistic temperament that with work and study could have won over public sympathy and achieved something more durable. One wants more simplicity in his recitatives, more colour and greater correctness in his harmony, more individuality in his orchestration. But with all the shortcomings, the music of this opera is never banal in its ensemble, and certainly could not have been written by an amateur. It held great promise for a future that was not realized. The cast were excellent: Mlles Delna and Leblanc, MM. Bouvet, Vergnet, Clément and Mondaud. The work was retained in the repertory until 1923. L’Ouragan Drame lyrique en quatre actes. Librettist: Émile Zola. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 29 April 1901. Despite the pretentious assumptions of the two authors, despite their astonishing vanity, manifested in the Avertissement prefacing the programme at the first première, their work obtained little success. The opera is just a melodrama which is not only banal but also badly structured, and devoid of any interest apart from the warmth of the poetry. The music is poor, loud and shrill without sonorousness, badly written for the orchestra, as well as for the voices, devoid of any inspiration, and offers no type of interest. One can only hope that the lack of success will help the authors to return to themselves (CL 2:1261). There were 14 performances.

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L’Enfant-Roi Comédie-lyrique en cinq actes. Librettist: Émile Zola. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 3 March 1905. There were 12 performances. Le Tambour Poème lyrique en un acte. Librettist: Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges de Bouhélier. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 20 January 1916. There were 3 performances. Les Quatre Journées Conte lyrique en quatre actes et cinq tableaux. Librettist: Alfred Bruneau. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 25 December 1916. The story is derived from a nouvelle by Émile Zola extracted from Les Nouveaux Contes de Ninon. It was performed into the following year, 1917. Le Roi Candaul Comédie lyrique en cinq actes. Librettist: Maurice Donnay. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 1 December 1920. It was performed into the following year, 1921. Angélo, Tyran de Padoe Drame lyrique en cinq actes. Librettist: Charles Méré. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 16 Janaury 1928. The story is based on the drama by Victor Hugo. It was performed during the one season only. ____________________________________________________________

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Antonio Bartolomeo BRUNI (1751-1821) Coradin Comédie lyrique mêlée d’ariettes en trois actes. Librettist: Magnitot or Tacusset. First performance: 1st version: Fontainebleau, Théâtre de la Court, 15 November 1785; 2nd version: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 19 January 1786. The story is derived from Coradin, a fabliau taken from La Bibliothèque des romans. In the theatre, the name Coradin is synonymous with a jealous husband or tyrant. This is also the subject of this opera. Bruni’s music is undeveloped, but the melodies have an Italian grace. There was only one performance at the Opéra-Comique. Célestine Comédie lyrique mêlée d’ariettes en trois actes. Librettist: Magnitot. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 5 October 1787. The libretto is after Le Paysan généreux, an anecdote told by François Baculard d'Arnaud (Délassements de l’homme sensible, vol. 5). Magnitot was the secretary of the Prince de Salm. The music is well written. Bruni was an excellent chef d’orchestre. There were 4 performances. Claudine, ou Le Petit commissionaire Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Jacques-Marie Deschamps. First performance: 1st version: Feydeau, 6 March 1794; 2nd version: OpéraComique (Feydeau), 13 November 1801. The story is taken from the nouvelle by Florian. There was only one performance at the Opéra-Comique. La Major Palmer Opéra en trois actes. Librettist: Charles Pigault-Lebrun. First performance: 1st version: Feydeau, 26 January 1797; 2nd version: OpéraComique (Feydeau), 2 March 1802. The story is a tissue of improbabilities. It was performed at the Opéra-

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Comique into the following year, 1803. L’Auteur dans son ménage Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Étienne Gosse. First performance: 1st version: Théâtre Feydeau, 28 March 1799; 2nd version: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 5 October 1801. This was performed into the following year, 1802. Le Mariage par commission, ou Le Seigneur allemand Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Antoine-Jean-Baptiste Simonnin. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 4 December 1815. There was only one performance. The score has not been located. Le Règne de douze heures Opéra-comique en deux actes. Librettist: Eugène de Planard. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 8 December 1814. The story is based on the conte by Madame de Genlis, Nourmahal ou le Règne de vingt-quatre heures. There were 14 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Justin CADAUX (1813-1874) Les Deux Gentilhommes Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Eugène de Planard. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 17 August 1844. This small work obtained some success, although the libretto is not always interesting. Two ruined old gentlemen are piqued on a point of honour and contest a place on a bench in the forest of Saint-Germain. A stroke of luck restores the fortunes they had lost. They are reconciled, and endow two young village girls who are in love. The music is well made, instrumented with taste, and written in an archaic style appropriate to the subject. The rhythm and harmony of the ritornelli of this duo have a striking old-

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fashioned character that was not easy to imitate at this point. There is also a brilliant piece in the style of a Tyrolienne sung by the milkmaid. The work was retained in the repertory for 18 years until 1863 Les Deux Jaket Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Eugène de Planard. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 12 August 1852. The work was retained in the repertory for 3 years until 1855. Colette Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Eugène de Planard. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 20 October 1853. The librettist brought Michel-Jean Sedaine onto the stage. He becomes involved in the activity of a young peasant girl, turns her into an extempore comedienne, and marries her to her lover M. Pierrot. The music has a retrospective character that Cadaux had already used in his little opera Les Deux Gentilhommes. The lovely romance for Monsigny “Une fille est un oiseau” sung at the rise of the curtain, sets the tone for the rest of the work. Of note are also the couplets “Baiser joli”, couplets on the properties of a fan, and couplets on “La baguette de la fée”, as well as a theatrical duet on the subject of stage declamation. The opera was created by Ricquier, Sainte-Foy and Mlle Lefebvre. There 13 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Albert CAHEN (1846-1903) Le Bois Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Albert Glatigny. First performance: 1st version: Salle Herz (concert version), 1879; 2nd version: OpéraComique (Salle Favart 2), 11 October 1880. The libretto is a lyric adaptation of the comédie by Glatigny. This is a charming idyll. The nymph Doris relies too much on the power of her charms. The young faun Mnazile is insensible to these, preferring his liberty. Doris knows exactly how to conduct herself since she triumphs

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over the coldness of Mnazile and feels in her turn the torments of love which she has initiated. The music, although a little too complicated for such a simple subject, offers many lovely details. The overture and the little symphony of the scene at the brook testify to the merits of the young composer. The most remarkable pieces are: the aria for Mnazile, especially the phrase “Vois ces grappes vermeilles”; and in the air des amours, the motif “Dites-moi, si tu voyais”. It was created by Mlles Ugalde and Thuillier. There were 9 performances. La Femme de Claude Drame lyrique en trois actes. Librettist: Louis Gallet. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Châtelet), 24 June 1896. The story is based on the play by Alexandre Dumas (fils). The cast were: MM. Bouvet, Jérome, Isnardon, Mmes Nina Packet and Pascal. ____________________________________________________________

(Giovanni) Giuseppe Maria CAMBINI (1746-1825) Rose d’amour et Carloman Comédie-héroïque en stile gaulois mélêe d’ariettes en trois actes. Librettist: Alphonse Ducongé-Dubreuil. First performance: Comédie Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 24 April 1779. The preface to the libretto gives indications about the style gaulois. The score has not been located. The work was in the repertory until 1789. ____________________________________________________________

Isaac de CAMONDO (1851-1911) Le Clown Nouvelle musicale en deux actes. Librettist: Victor Capoul. First performance: 1st version: Paris, Nouveau-Théâtre, 24 April 1906; 2nd version: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 19 May 1908. A gala for the benefit of the Société des Artistes et Amis de l’Opéra. It was

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perfomed until 1909. ____________________________________________________________

Amélie-Julie CANDEILLE (1767-1834) Ida, ou L’Orpheline de Berlin Comédie mêlée de chants en deux actes. Words and music by Amélie-Julie Simons-Candeille. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 19 May 1807. The story is derived from a conte by Mme de Genlis. There were 6 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Michele Enrico Francesco Vicenzo CARAFA DE COLOBRANO (1787-1872) Jeanne d’arc, ou La Déliverance d’Orléans Opéra en trois actes. Librettists: Armand Dartois and EmmanuelGuillaume-Marguerite Théaulon de Lambert. First performance: OpéraComique (Feydeau), 10 March 1821. This was performed into the following year, 1822. Le Solitaire Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Eugène de Planard. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 17 August 1822. The story is taken from the novel by Charles-Victor Prévost d’Arlincourt. Other sources are three mélodrames: Crosnier and Villain de SaintHilaire’s Le Solitaire, ou L’Exilé du Mont-Sauvage, Ducange and Varez’s Élodie, ou La Vierge du monastère, and Guilbert de Pixérécourt’s Le Mont Sauvage. Of all the works composed by Carafa, this one obtained the most popular success. A rondo became ubiquitously famous: C’est le solitaire,

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Qui voit tout, Qui sait tout, Entend tout, Est partout. There is also a lovely tenor aria, a very dramatic finale, and some choruses of lovely effect. The work was in the repertory for some 11 years, until 1833. Le Valet de chambre Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Augustin-Eugène Scribe and Mélesville. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 16 September 1823. Adapted from Scribe and Mélesville’s comédie-vaudeville Frontin, marigarçon. The duet for the valet de chambre became a classic piece. It has verve, elegance, and melodic shape, all of which make it appropriate for the concert hall. Perfectly written for the voices, and with a situation easy to understand, its inexhaustible success compensated the composer for his innumerable setbacks, which must above all be atttributed to the superiority of the music of his rival, his old and faithful friend Rossini (CL 2:1126). L'Auberge supposée Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Eugène de Planard. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 26 April 1824. There were 3 performances. L’Auberge d’Auray See HÉROLD Sangarido Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Eugène Planard and Jean-Baptiste Pelissier. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 19 May 1827. There were 7 performances.

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Masaniello, ou Le Pêcheur napolitain Drame historique en quatre actes. Librettists: Charle Moreau de Commagny and A.-M. Lafortelle. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 27 December 1827. The story was derived from Raimond de Moirmoiron’s Mémoires sur la révolution de Naples de 1647. Accused of having stolen the subject from the Opéra, where Auber’s version of the story was produced in 1828 under the title La Muette de Portici, the authors justified themselves in the press, affirming that they had written their work in 1825. And indeed had it not been for the overwhelming success of Auber’s opera, the beauties to be found in Carafa’s work would have kept it in the repertory. The big duet “Un oiseau qui supporte à peine la lumière” is a masterpiece. The entry of the fishermen has great effect. The barcaroles, all of which have charming melodies, and the couplets of Our Lady of Mount Carmel became very popular. Ponchard père created the role of Masaniello with success, even though this role requires strength rather than grace. Suitably performed, the work is capable of impressing. It was kept in the repertory for five years until 1832. La Violette Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Eugène de Planard. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 7 October 1828. The story is derived from a novel by the Comte de Tressan, Gérard de Nevers. The music was written in collaboration with Aimé Simon Leborne. The composer’s melodic facility was much admired, although at the same time there are traces of negligence. A motif from this opera provided the theme for a brilliant set of variations composed by Henri Herz. The opera survived in the piano arrangements of some pieces. It was performed into the following year, 1829. Jenny Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Jules-Henri Vernoy de SaintGeorges. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Ventadour), 26 September 1829. The story is taken from Paul de Kock’s novel Soeur Anne. Constant

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Ménissier collaborated on the eleboration of the scenario. The libretto offered few situations favourable to musical treatment, but the scenic novelty of the fire in the final scene was particularly appreciated. The rondo sung by Chollet also became popular. The work was performed into the next year, 1830. Le Livre d’ermite Opéra-comique en deux actes. Librettist: Eugène de Planard and Paul Duport. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Ventadour), 11 August 1831. The action takes place in Portugal. Don Pascal de Mascarille is only the simple secretary to a great lord, who for a day decks himself out in his employer’s clothes and title as a prank. His ruse has been uncovered and he is to be hanged. A hermit, once a person of quality who has now withdrawn from the world, is touched by the plight of the poor devil, and bestows on Pascal his titles of nobility to enable him to escape and embark for Brazil. Pascal, tranformed into the Duke of Albeteros, becomes wealthy in America, and, believing his escapade to be forgotten, returns to Portugal. The hermit is now dead, but has left in the hands of Mazetto a book in which he has written an account of his life. Another intrigue commences, and this is the fault of the scenario, even if it is well imagined. Pascal becomes the proprietor of the considerable fortune of the Médilla family, the offspring of which have perished in a shipwreck. Two young women, Inès and Antonia, wish to marry: one to a young fisherman, the other to a stranger. Pascal recognizes in this stranger his own natural son, and opposes the mesalliance. But Inès and Antonia are found to be the heiresses of the Médilla family. The fear of losing his fortune, and a codicil in the hermit’s book determine that the Duke of Albateros consents to a double marriage. There was unanimous agreement that the music was charming, perfectly written, full of melody, and orchestrated consummately, but this did not secure the work success. Misfortune seemed to dog Carafa’s steps, as with his chief work Masaniello. The cast was made up of Féréol, Chollet, Boulard, Mme Pradher, and Mlle Prévost. There were only 7 performances. La Prison d’Édimbourg Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Augustin-Eugène Scribe and Eugène de Planard. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Bourse), 20 July 1833.

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The story is derived from Sir Walter Scott’s novel The Heart of Midlothian. Librettos based on the Scott novels have had little success. Certainly one does need to blame the impertinence of the literary dramatists. What could be more moving than the fine conception of this scenario about Edinburgh prison, or better depicted than the characters of the principal players? Without doubt the problem lies in the great difference between the conditions governing drama and those of a very dramatic novel. When the latter is well conceived, and offers situations that are at once poetic and original, terrible and tender, the strongest effects are achieved. The librettist needs only a sufficient understanding of the stage to draw out an effective part of the whole. This skill was not lacking in either Scribe or Planard. Nevertheless they were not so successful this time, and dragged the poor composer down in their wake. Carafa seems to have been plagued by a lack of inspiration on the part of his collaborators. Not even his masterpiece Masaniello has remained in the repertoire. The score of La Prison d’Édimbourg contains many beautiful things. Quite apart from the skilled structure and brilliant colourful instrumentation, there is great sensibility and melodic charm. The roles of Effie and her sister Jenny Deans, and that of the mad Sara, are handled with a magisterial talent. The act 2 finale is very good, as is the chorus which begins act 3 in the prison. The duet for the sopranos is gracefully written for the voices, and recalls the celebrated melody from Tancredi “Di tanti palpiti”. Carafa collaborated with Rossini on several of his Italian operas, but this brings home how far this influence extended into Carafa’s own work. The interpreters were: Révial, Hébert, Mmes Ponchard, Clara Margueron and Mlle Massy. The work was performed into the following year, 1834. Une Journée de la Fronde, ou La Maison du Rempart Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Mélesville. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Bourse), 7 November 1833. The story is derived from Potier and Mlle Déjazet’s play La Maison du Rempart (Nouveautés, 29 November 1829). Although this is one of Carafa’s weakest scores, there were some fine pieces: in act 2 a duet for Didier and the Duchess of Longueville, and the couplets for Thénard; in act 3 an elegantly orchestrated duet for Georgette and the Duchess. The interpreters were Féréol, Mmes Ponchard and Pradher. There were 11 performances.

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La Grande Duchesse Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Mélesville and Pierre-FrançoisCamus Merville. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Bourse), 16 November 1835. The libretto is based on a novella by Frédéric Soulié. It concerns a hateful marriage, a lethargic decline, a funeral and a happy resurrection. One notes that Carafa had no chance in the choice of his libretti. On contact with German legend, the composer’s muse disappeared, and never returned again. Nonetheless, despite the disdain of a blind critical establishment, both unjust and prejudiced, the music of this last opera by Carafa is by no means lacking in beauty, grace, and dramatic character. If Carafa had imitated Rossini, and had applied the best parts of his dead operas to more happily conceived libretti, we would still be listening to several pieces with pleasure (CL 1:525). These would include two beautiful duets from La Grande Duchesse, the prayer “Vierge Marie”, and a fine funeral march in which some new effects were later imitated and reproduced, without any intention of plagiarism, by Verdi in the “Misere” from Il Trovatore. The opera was performed into the following year, 1836. Thérèse Opéra-comique en deux actes. Librettists: Eugène de Planard and Adolphe de Leuven. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Bourse), 26 September 1838. The story has analogies with that of La Dame blanche, and the score did not maintain the promise evinced by the composer of Le Solitaire and Masaniello. There were 8 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Louis-Henri-Jean CASPERS (1825-1906) Ma Tante dort Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Hector Crémieux. First performance: 1st version: Théâtre-Lyrique, 21 January 1860; 2nd version: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 17 September 1860.

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This is a lovely work, at once pleasant and in good taste. The introduction is played by the orchestra and accompanied discreetly by voices. Also of note are the quartet “Ma tante dort”, the comic aria for Scapin “Chez les valets, il faut le reconnaître”, and the trio “Scarpin est mort”. The roles were interpreted by Meillet and Mme Ugalde. There was a reprise in 1862. ____________________________________________________________

Charles-Simon CATEL (1773-1830) Les Artistes par occasion, ou L’Amateur de Tivoli Opéra bouffon en un acte. Librettist: Alexandre Pineu-Duval. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 22 January 1807. This score, despite the mediocre libretto, contains a remarkable trio which was often performed at concerts in the Conservatoire, and always with success. It is written for two tenors and a bass, and begins “Allons, monsieur, jouons la comédie”. This is an excellent example of the learned Catel’s style. He was largely responsible for the regularizing and development of the teaching of music in France. There were 13 performances. L’Auberge de Bagnères Comédie mêlée de chants en un acte. Librettist: C. Jalabert. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 23 April 1807. The music is charming, and an excellent trio for soprano, tenor and bass “Ah! monsieur est docteur” remained popular. The intellectual forms of Catel’s music at first hampered his success, but the reprises of this work have shown how much it was appreciated by amateurs. It was retained in the repertory until 1829. Les Aubergistes de qualité Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Étienne de Jouy. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 17 June 1812. The story depicts the adventures of the Earl of Rochester, exiled during the reign of Charles II of England. The piece contains lovely melodies and

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reveals a very pure taste. It was in the repertory until 1825. Bayard à Mèzières See under CHERUBINI. Le Premier en date Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Marc-Antoine Pessey Désaugiers and Yacinthe-Antoine Pessey. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 3 November 1814. There were 5 performances. Wallace, ou Le Ménestrel écossais Opéra héroïque en trois actes. Librettist: Jean-Victor Fontanès de SaintMarcellin. First performance: 1st version: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 24 March 1817; 2nd version (Salle Favart 2), 4 December 1844, with new words by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges, and music revised by Victor Rifaut, Alexis Gauthier de Garaudé, Ernest Boulanger and Narcisse Girard. The story is a melodrama of the most sombre colour, and devoid of action. It was later restructured by Saint-Georges who, while conserving the general character of the work, introduced some interesting scenes. It was produced in this format in 1844. The score is considered Catel’s best. The dramatic sentiments have power; the melody is immediate; the style, while a little cold, is always pure and elegant. As for the harmony, it could be said to be in the most perfect form imaginable. The Scottish songs have great freshness. The orchestration is notable for its use of the woodwind. The musician Victor Rifaut slightly retouched the master’s score. After him, Ernest Boulanger was principally charged with refashioning the remainder for the reprise of 1844. He added some couplets for Mme Darcier, an aria for Hermann-Léon and a duet for Mocker and Mme Darcier. Among the more notable pieces are the magnificent duet in B minor in the last act for Robert Bruce and Wallace “La voix de la patrie”, and Wallace’s romance, which is a masterpiece of melancholic sensibility in its celebration of the tender sentiments of conjugal love. Chollet sang this beautiful dramatic romance to acclaim. In the 1844 reprise the work was designated opéra-comique.

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L’Officier enlevé, ou L’Enlèvement singulier Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Alexandre Pineu-Duval. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau). 4 May 1819. There were 17 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Giuseppe [Gioseffo] CATRUFO (1751-1851) L’Aventurier Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Constant Leber. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 13 November 1813. The story is based on a play by Goldoni, L’Aventuriere onorato. The opera was reduced to one act (15 June 1814), and performed into the following year, 1815. Félicie, ou La Jeune Fille romanesque Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Emmanuel Dupaty. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 28 February 1815. This was Catrufo’s most popular work, and was retained in the repertory for ten years, until 1815. Une matinée de Frontin Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Constant Leber. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 17 August 1815. There were 5 performances. La Bataille de Denain Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Emmanuel-GuillaumeMarguerite Théaulon de Lambert, Armand Dartois and Fulgence de Bury. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 26 August 1816.

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The full title on the score reads La Bataille de Denain, ou La Fête de Louis XIV. This is a circumstantial piece, devised for King Louis XVIII’s nameday. It is filled with the most transparent allusions. Like all compositions of this kind, the libretto offers little of interest. An old gentleman, who lives in retirement in a château, has a niece who is the object of three suitors’ attentions: the one whom she prefers has unfortunately been a prisoner, but found the means of escaping on the very morning of the Battle of Denain. He covered himself in glory, and finishes by obtaining the hand of the one he loves. According to the newspapers of the time, as the authors had been instructed to strive to please the eminent dignitaries of the realm, no sign of disfavor was allowed to be manifested, despite a general ennui with the work. Catrufo’s music is not without merit. His style testifies to his excellent studies in Naples where the traditions of Scarlatti, Jomelli and Durante were still strongly felt. With the exception of Félicie, ou La Jeaune fille romanesque, the opéracomique that preceded this work, Catrufo’s dramatic output has fallen into oblivion, and he was remembered only for his Solfèges progressifs and Vocalises. There were 12 performances of this opera. Le Caprice d’une jolie femme Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Achille Dartois. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 29 April 1817. There was only one performance. L’Épreuve, ou Un chapitre de Zadig Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Jean-Baptiste Radet. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 27 October 1818. The story is derived from Voltaire’s philosophical tale Zadig. There was only one performance. L’Intrigue au château Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Justin performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 14 June 1823. There were only 2 performances.

Gensoul. First

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Le Voyage de cour, ou Les Absents ont tort Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Pierre-François-Camus Merville. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 20 August 1820. This work was first presented to the Comité de Lecture of the OpéraComique in 1815, as Clothaire Ier, ou Le Voyage de cour. The score was later reduced to one act and provided with a happy ending. There were 3 performances. Les Rencontres, ou Le Même Roman Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Jean-Baptist-Charles Vial and Mélesville. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 11 June 1828. This was a collaboration between Catrufo and Auguste Lemière de Corvey. There were 10 performances. Le Passage de régiment Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Sewrin. First performance: OpéraComique (Bourse), 5 November 1832. The idea behind this little piece is very pleasant. A captain of the Carabinieri has married in secret, despite being forbidden to do so by the minister of war. He loves his wife, and installs her in his château in the environs of Colmar. Always travelling about, he has hardly been able to spend 24 hours with her. However, his regiment, moving to Strasbourg, passes under the walls of his park. The colonel orders a halt and distributes the billets for lodgings. Our officer naturally chooses his wife for hostess, but unfortunately the colonel has the same idea. He establishes himself in the château, and begins courting the young wife of his subordinate, making any communication between the married couple impossible. The captain becomes jealous, and a duel is about to take place when the true situation is revealed reciprocally, and leads to reconciliation. In 1832, this type of plot was very popular, with little reference to the music. Catrufo’s contribution enjoyed only a succès d’estime. The aria sung by Mme Casimir was enthusiastically applauded. The cast were: Lemonnier, Thénard, Vizentini, Mmes Casimir and Boulanger.There were only 3 performances. ____________________________________________________________

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Alexis Emmanuel CHABRIER (1841-1894) Le Roi malgré lui Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Émile de Najac and Paul Burani, revised by Jean Richeplan. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 18 May 1887. The story is taken from the comédie-vaudeville by Virginie Ancelot. This work fitted exactly into the corpus and given subjects of the authentic opéra-comique, a genre that the theatre which bears its name abandoned too often, preferring the grand lyric drama. The music is conceived in the genre of musical comedy, a type that was celebrated in the works of Berton, Boieldieu, Nicolò, Hérold and Auber. Even though a little too intricate and a little over-orchestrated, the score brings honour to its composer whose distinguished work has drawn attention. This opera, interpreted by Bouvet, Delaquerrière, Fugère, Barnolt, Mlles Isaac, Cécile Mézeray, Nardi and Auguez, was well received by the public. There were revivals on 16 November 1887 (Châtelet) in a revised version, 6 November 1929 (Salle Favart 3) in another revised version, 7 February 1950, and 19 December 1959. ____________________________________________________________

Marie-François-Stanislas CHAMPEIN (1753-1830) Mina Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en trois actes. Librettist: Charles-GeorgesThomas Garnier. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 26 January 1780. There were only 2 performances. La Mélomanie Opéra-comique mêlée d’ariettes en un acte. Librettist: Grenier. First performance: 1st version: Versailles, Théâtre de la Cour, 23 January 1781; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 29 January 1781. The composer dedicated his score to Mme de Condé. It obtained great

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success. It is an elaborate work, full of facility, even if the ideas are a little commonplace. It is also very comical. Géronte is an extravagant old man who loves music. Although he has promised the hand of his daughter Elise to Saint-Réal, he changes his mind, and now wishes to bestow her on Fugantini, an Italian musician, who is about to arrive. Lisette comes to the aid of her young mistress. Helped by her friend Crispin, they pass off Saint-Réal as Fugantini. Géronte is charmed and thrilled by his voice, and, swayed by what his future son-in-law has sung for him, has his daughter exchange her vows with him then and there. The overture is rather mediocre. The composer has sought successively to unfold many musical effects: the vivacity of the ballet, the solemnity of the recitative of grand opera and the bluster of melodrama, and he has used many different instruments: the harp, the mandolin, the guitar, the oboe, the horn, the drums, even a cannon, if this weapon can be considered part of the appurtenance of an orchestra. This is not the only work in which effects of this kind have been sought. Initially, by successively announcing an air for the flute, arpeggios for the harp, etc. they remove the charm of surprise for the audience, and it becomes a concert rather than a dramatic spectacle. Champein’s melomania, however, evokes much cheerfulness. Crispin captures this perfectly in his descriptive aria “Musicien terrible et barbare”. The somewhat charged roles have some striking music: the ariette for Elise “Que je suis malhereuse!”; that for Lisette “De la gaieté le doux transport”; the muesette lourée in G “À douce et gentille fillette”; and romance for SaintRéal “Ô des dieux le plus bel ouvrage”. The quintet that follows immediately has nothing special to offer, other than a bravura part for the soprano. Mme Colombe was entrusted with the challenging vocalization of the part of Elise, and apparently provided a brilliant D in alt. The rest of the cast were: Michu (Saint-Réal, haute-contre); Narbonne (Géronte, baritone); Trial (Crispin, tenor); Rosières (Crisanthe, tenor); Favart (a notary, tenor); Lisette (Carline, soprano). This proved to be the composer’s most enduring work. There were reprises: on 31 January 1799 (Salle Favart 1) in a revised version; 24 September 1801 (Feydeau). It remained in the repertory until 1829. Léonore, ou L’Heureuse épreuve Comédie en deux actes, mêlée d’ariettes. Librettist: Honoré-Marie-Nicolas Duveyrier (père). First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 7 July 1781.

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There was only one performance. Le Baiser, ou La Bonne Fée Comédie en trois actes, en vers, mêlée d’ariettes. Librettist: Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne) , 26 November 1781. There were reprises on 31 October 1782 in a three-act version, and on 10 February 1783 in another three-act version with changes. Le Poète supposé, ou Les Préparatifs de fête Comédie mêlée d’ariettes et de vaudevilles en trois actes. Librettist: Pierre Laujon. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel Bourgogne), 25 April 1782. There was a reprise on 24 May 1787 with changes (Salle Favart 1). Isabelle et Fernand, ou L’Alcade de Zalaméa Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en trois actes. Librettist: Louis-François Faur. First performance: Théâtre-Italien (Hôtel Bourgogne), 9 January 1783. The story is derived from Calderon’s comedy El Alcade de Zalamea (translated into French by Simon Linguet as Le Viol puni). It was performed into the following year, 1784. Les Amours de Colombine, ou Cassandre pleurier Parade mêlée d’ariettes en deux actes. Librettist: Louis-François Faur. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 3 February 1785. Also known as Colombine et Cassandre le pleurier, and Colombine douairière. This a poor Italian scenario, little worthy of the composer of La Mélomanie and Don Quichotte, and hence hampered in its artistic career by the platitudes of the libretto. There was only one performance, and that was interrupted.

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Les Fausses Novelles Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en deux actes. Librettist: Nicolas Fallet. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 8 January 1787. There was only one performance. Les Dettes Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en deux actes. Librettist: Nicolas-Julien Forgeot. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 8 January 1787. Supple and easy melody and a good understanding of theatrical effect are apparent in this work, which, with Le Mélomanie, merits attention. There was a reprise on 6 November 1801 (Feydeau), and it remained in the repertory until 1826. Le Nouveau Don Quichotte Opéra bouffon en deux actes. Librettist: Thomas Boissel de Monville. First performance: 1st version: Théâtre de Monsieur (Feydeau), 25 May 1789; 2nd version: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 14 June 1795. The story is derived from Cervantes’s novel Don Quixote. There was a reprise on 16 June 1805 (Salle Favart 1). Bayard dans Bresse, ou Créqui et Clémentine Opéra/Comédie mêlée de musique, en quatre actes. Librettist: ClaudeJoseph Rouget de Lisle. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 21 February 1791. There were only 2 performances, with that on 5 March 1791 reduced to three acts. Les Espiègleries de garnison Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en trois actes. Librettists: Edmond-GuillaumeFrançois de Favières, with the collaboration of Michel-Jean Sedaine. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 21 September 1791.

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This was performed into the following year 1792, and later revived in two acts as Les Trois Hussards (26 July 1802). Les Épreuves du républicain, ou L’Amour de la patrie Essai patriotique mêlé de chants en trois actes. Librettist: Balthazar-Marie Laugier. First performed: Théâtre Favart (Salle Favart 1), 4 August 1794. This patriotic exercise was dedicated to the National Convention. There were 9 performances. Les Trois Hussards Comédie lyrique en deux actes. Librettist: Edmond-Guillaume-François de Favières. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 26 July 1804. This was a revised version of Les Espiègleries de garnison (1791). It was maintained in the repertory for four years, until 1808. Menzikoff et Feodor, ou Le Fou de Bérézoff Opéra en trois actes. Librettist: Jean-Henri-Ferdinand La Martelière. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau). 30 January 1808. The story is taken from the novels by Auguste Lafontaine, Marie Menzikof and Fedor Dolgorouki. The score is dedicated to the Queen of Holland. The story is as unusual as could be imagined. Menzikoff, the friend and companion of Peter the Great, has been exiled to Berezovo in Siberia, and now finds himself among prisoners, victims of his own severity and frequent injustice when he was in power. He seeks to hide his name and evade reprisals. His wife and daughter Marie try to console him as they can for his disgrace, and he finds universal sympathy, a development as unreal as it is ridiculous. A young noble to whom Menzikoff had refused his daughter’s hand become almost deranged as a result, and has vowed to avenge this disgrace to his family. In this story, no one recognizes anyone, even though they speak incessantly about each other. This madman, who is called Jean, organizes celebrations, gives balls, softens the sufferings of the prisoners, and turns Siberia into one of the happiest places on earth. It goes without saying that a ukase arrives which restores Menzikoff to liberty and Jean, who marries Marie, to his real name Fedor. The libretto,

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which aspires to grand sentiments and the high style, is more of a perfect comedy, and shows that all were not fools in Berezovo. Champein set this bizarre subject in good faith, and produced a score treated con amore. Among the most interesting pieces are: the duet for the women “Chère enfant, je te remercie”; the aria for Jean “Dès qu’on a quitté les travaux”; the act 1 finale which has caractère champêtre, a pastoral feel; the really dramatic morceau d’ensemble in act 2 “Cessez de vous contraindre”; and the romance for Jean which opens act 2 “De son amour voilà le gage”. This work gives an excellent idea of the literary and artistic currents of the time. It was retained in the repertory until 1815. La Ferme du Mont-Cenis Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Jean-Henri-Ferdinand La Martelière. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 20 May 1809. There were 3 performances. Les Rivaux d’un moment Opéra en un acte. Librettist: Jean-François Corsange de La Plante. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 30 June 1812. There was only one performance. Les Hussards en cantonnement Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettest: Auguste Lepoitevin de Légreville Saint-Alme. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 28 June 1817. There were 3 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Louis CHANCOURTOIS (1757-1817) La Ceinture magique, ou Le Faux Astrologue/Le Bohémien Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Paul-Auguste Ducis and Joseph Hélitas de Meun. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 26

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February 1818. The story is derived from a comédie by Jean-Baptiste Rousseau, La Ceinture magique. There were 3 performances before a revision appeared, Le Bohémien (15 July 1818). This was retained in the repertory for twelve years, until 1830. Charles XII et Pierre le Grand Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Joseph Hélitas de Meun. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 19 November 1819. There were 5 performances. Le Pari de la duchesse d’Alençon Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Auguste Poisson de La Chabeaussière, revised by Hippolyte Advenier de Fontenille. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 13 May 1824. There were 6 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Pierre-David-Augustin CHAPELLE (c. 1756-1821) Un mal pour un bien Comédie en deux actes, mêlée d’ariettes. Librettist: Bertin Davesne. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 27 December 1783. Origny attributes the music to “a young man attached to the orchestra”. Chapelle was a violinist at the Comédie-Italienne. There was only one performance. Le Destin et Les Parques Ambigu en un acte. Librettist: Desfontaines. First performance: OpéraComique (Salle Favart 1), 5 May 1789. The music was attributed to Chapelle. There were 6 performances.

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La Vieillesse d’Annette et Lubin Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en un acte. Librettist: August-Louis-Bertin d’Antilly. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 1 August 1789. This is the only work of this composer which had any success. Annette and Lubin were only 27 when they died of old age, since time passes quickly in the theatre. Favart put them on the stage in 1762, in a play that was very successful, and the subject was used for a tale by Jean-François Marmontel. The opera was played into the following year, 1790. La Famille réunie Comédie en deux actes, mêlée d’ariettes. Librettist: Charles-Nicolas Favart. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 6 December 1790. The story is taken from one of La Fontaine’s fables, Le Laboureur et ses enfants. The work was dedicated to Jean-Sylvain Bailly, astronomer and mayor of Paris. It was reduced to one act 31 January 1791. There were 4 performances in all. ____________________________________________________________

Auguste-Paul-Jean-Baptiste CHAPUIS (1858-1933) Enguerreande Drame lyrique en quatre actes. Librettists: Émile Bergerat and Victor Wilder. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Châtelet), 9 May 1892. The story is derived from Émile Bergerat’s dramatic poem of the same name. Bergerat had always wanted to make a libretto from his poem, and did so with the aid of Victor Wilder. The results did not please the public. The story concerns the love of Gaëtan, nephew of John III, king of Sicily, for Enguerrande, queen of Corsica. John has died, and his nephew is called to succeed him. It is expected he will mount the throne and at the same time marry the beautiful Enguerrande, something he does not realize. But he regards the crown with horror, as well as the marriage, and refuses them both. However, chance leads him into the presence of Enguerrande,

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and he immediately falls in love with her. He declares his passion, while she tells him that she will marry only a king. The condition seems too hard for Gaëtan, and he escapes. Enguerrande, appraised of his action, now renounces her throne to belong to the one she loves. Suddenly war breaks out, and the people take up arms to defend their independence. Gaëtan now decides it is time to prove his mettle, places himself at the head of the army, and dies in the battle where his army triumphs. The young composer was charged with the task of setting this somewhat incoherent and childish libretto. Chapuis wrote the music for his theatrical debut. Despite his inexperience, he showed some real qualities. But the poem was too mediocre not to pull him down with it. The first part of act 1 is particularly well imagined and constructed. Among other interesting pages are the act 1 ballad of the Goélands; in act 2, the characteristic song of the woodcutter, then a big love duet and call to arms that is not without élan and vigour. It is in his handling of the orchestra that the composer reveals his youth and inexperience: at one moment it is heavy and thick, at another empty and without consistency. The work as a whole is estimable in parts. It was interpreted by Mlles Boucart (making her debut), and Horwitz, MM. Gibert and Fugère. There were 6 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Louis-Armand CHARDIN, known as CHARDINY (1755-1793) Le Diable boiteux, ou La Chose impossible Divertissement mêlé de vaudevilles en un acte. Librettist: Charles-NicolasJustin Favart. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 27 September 1782. The story is taken form La Fontaine’s tale La Chose impossible. The music was by Chardiny, and also taken from vaudevilles. There was a reprise under the subtitle in 1790. L’Anneau perdu et retrouvé Opéra-comique mêlé de morceaux de musique, en deux actes. Librettist: Michel-Jean Sedaine. First performance: Théâtre Italien (Salle Favart 1), 11 September 1788.

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The last scenes were inspired by Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor. For this new version of the old work, Sedaine made additions and cuts. There was only one performance. La Chose impossible Divertissement mêlé de vaudevilles en un acte. Librettist: Charles-NicolasJustin Favart. First performance: Théâtre Italien (Salle Favart 1), 8 March 1790. The story is based on the tale by La Fontaine. The music is thought to be by Chardiny and also uses vaudevilles (see Le Diable boiteux, 1782). There were 3 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Gustave CHARPENTIER (1860-1956) Louise Roman musical en quatre actes et cinq tableaux. Words and music by Gustave Charpentier. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 2 February 1900. This is a strange work, singular, almost wilful from all points of view, but with moments of astonishing power that give proof of an incontestably artistic temperament. The composer, Grand Prix de Rome in 1887, was known only for two symphonic compositions, Impressions d’Italie where a great poetic sentiment mingles with a frenzied fire, and La Vie du poète, which is audaciously original, but anchored in reality, and only occasionally bizarre. He tackled the theatre confidently, with a bold work, showing little regard for tradition and convention, and carried off the prize of a brilliant success, which some might consider a little excessive. The reason for this is the undoubted talent of the musician, on the one hand, and on the other, public weariness with the empty monotony of the works of the young composers of the day, servile and inept imitators of the manner of Wagner which they did not stop pouring out. The public were thirsting for novelty and the unexpected. Both newness and the unexpected abound in Louise, and if the poet rather than the musician can be criticised for a certain strangeness and excess, indeed certain errors and lack of taste, it is evident that this work is lively, colourful and full of movement, where

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passion finds a lovely fervour and emotion is often realized in rare intensity. At the same time there is evidence of a rare sincerity, of a personality often powerful and vigorous. The author is said to have brought autobiographical elements into this roman musical, and he has not denied this. The subject is otherwise rather straightforward. Louise is a young worker in Montmartre, loved by her father, and brought up by a rather coarse mother. She has become friendly with a young poet, her neighbour, and responsive to his love; he asks for her hand in marriage. The father would willingly consent, but the mother resolutely opposes the idea. So the young girl leaves home, and flees with her beloved. Both are very happy until the mother surprises them, and uses subterfuge to regain her daughter. She says that Louise’s father is ill, and does not want to die without first embracing his child; Louise would surely not refuse her father this last consolation. Afterwards, she can return and do as she likes. After a powerful inner struggle, Louise goes with her mother, promising Julien that she will soon return. But once returned home, she is held a prisoner and unable to escape. But she revolts, and begins a struggle with her parents to be allowed to rejoin those whom she loves. Eventually she exasperates even her father who in a paroxysm of rage, having threatened to kill her, throws her out like a dog, and falls exhausted. The subject is very slender, and insufficient for four acts. The poet has further added elements quite extraneous to the action, which had the advantage of providing the composer with the opportunity of using that picturesque verve which is so much part of his remarkable talent. So there is the swarming and curious tableau of the morning waking of Montmartre, with its symphony of calls and cries from the street vendors. And even more original is the workshop of the labourers with its movement, chatter, and the fervour of their childlike pleasure. Finally, there is the celebration of the night, always in Montmartre, with its noise, brilliance and festive madness. These tableaux have reckless musical verve, a colour sometimes a little crude, and real originality. They present contrasts that are often curious, and the composer, if not always in the best taste, nevertheless succeeds because of his orchestral knowledge, and his surprising skill in treating the massed sounds and mixing the themes without falling into confusion. He has an amazing sureness of touch. On the other hand, one finds in the score pages of a different sort, more serious in relation to the action in warmth of inspiration and in passionate movement. Among these is, in act 1, the delightful symphony which accompanies the father’s reading of the letter in which Julien requests the hand of Louise, then the whole

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following scene for the father, the mother and the daughter, which is handled remarkably. In the third scene there is a lovely serenade for Julien which decides Louise’s fate. In the fourth there is Louise’s charming aria “Depuis le jour”, original in structure and her love duet with Julien, intense in expression and couched in passionate accents. The whole of act 4 is striking for its dramatic sentiments, with another aria for Louise, this time of heart-rending nature, and the final scene of the opera, coloured, pathetic and powerful. The principal roles were taken by: Mlle Rioton (Louise), who subsequently left the stage to marry, Maréchal (Julien), Fugère (the father), and Mme Deschamps-Jéhin (the mother).There were revivals on 28 February 1950 (Salle Favart 3) and 24 September 1964. It was performed until 1967. Julien, ou La Vie du poète Poème lyrique en quatre actes et huit tableaux don’t un prologue. Words and music: Gustave Charpentier. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 4 June 1913, with Carré, Rousselière, cond. Wolff. The dead Louise appears in a vision to encourage Julien, but he dies. 20 performances. New York (26 February 1914), with Caruso and Farrar. ____________________________________________________________

Nicolas-Joseph CHARTRAIN (1740?-1793) Le Lord supposé Comédie mêlées d’ariettes en deux actes. Librettist: Doismont. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 22 February 1776. There were 3 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Jean-Baptiste William CHAUMET (1842-1903) Bathyle Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Édouard Blau. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 4 May 1877.

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The author of the poem won the Prix au Concours Crescent in 1874, out of 98 contestants. It would be hard to imagine a more interesting or moral play, based on the graceful poetry of Anacreon, L’Amour mouillé. The youth Bathyle is the object of the jealous love of the old poet Anacreon. The Syrian woman Mytila, taken into his house, inspires a lively passion in the young poet. Anacreon, in his rage, chases her from his home and overwhelms the ungrateful Bathyle with his reproaches. The latter, in despair, takes poison. Anacreon now understands the power of love, and invokes the intervention of Cupid, who appears, resuscitates Bathyle, and restores him to his young mistress. This subject, so recurrent with the Greeks, and not really appropriate for the Opéra-Comique, was handled with much skill and taste by Chaumet. He gave his music a character more allegorical and descriptive than dramatic, and it is this aspect of the subject that has led him to include certain vague tonalities and intonations that are more orchestral than vocal, according to the theories of the day to which Chaumer appears to have conformed his aesthetics. The more striking sections include the couplets for Mytila, Anacreon’s chanson à boire, the duet for the young lovers, and the death-scene for Bathyle. The cast were Barré, Mlles Ducasse and Eigenschenk. There were 9 performances. La Petite Maison Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Alexandre Bisson and Georges Docquois. First performed: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 5 June 1903. This most agreeable score was prettily inspired, written with great care by an artist well-versed and devoted to his art, but suffered from an anodyne libretto. The composer died suddenly a less than a month after this undeserved failure. There were 7 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Hippolyte-André-Jean CHELARD (1789-1861) La Table et le logement Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Gabriel de Lurieu and Théophile Dumersan. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Ventadour), 24 December 1829. This work was also given in Munich under the title L’Etudiant. There were

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only four performances. ____________________________________________________________

Mario Luigi Carlo Zanobi Salvadore CHERUBINI (1760-1842) Lodoïska, ou Les tartares Comédie mêlées d’ariettes/comédie héroïque en trois acts. Librettist: Claude-François Fillette, dit Loraux. First performance: 1st version: Théâtre de Monsieur (Théâtre Feydeau) 18 July 1791; 2nd version: OpéraComique (Feydeau), 5 January 1802. Although Cherubini, who lived through the French Revolution, has been considered to have had Royalist tendencies, one must not assume that Cherubini ever was a Royalist. The revolutionary ideas that had swept France are evident in much of his music of this period. A number of hymns written for various occasions glorify the victory; and one is actually entitled "Hymne à la Fraternité." But nowhere are revolutionary ideas, both musical and political, more apparent than in his first opera post 1789. This opera, Lodoïska, was produced at the Théâtre Feydeau on 18 July 1791, with Mme de Justal in the title role. The interest in rescue opera dating from Grétry’s Richard Coeur de Lion (1784) was stimulated by the storming of the Bastille in 1789. Cherubini’s Lodoïska established this type of opera as a popular generic subspecies. Another treatment of the same theme by the violinistcomposer Rodolphe Kreutzer was produced at the rival Théâtre Favart 12 days after Cherubini’s. This remarkable work was received with enthusiasm by connoisseurs. Dramatic music took on a new direction in France. The effects of harmony and orchestration served to strengthen lyric diction and melody. That which Gluck had seen as incidental to passionate expression, that which Mozart had constantly put into practice in his German and Italian operas, Cherubini established as a principle, and by the consistence and perfection of his lovely works, established a learned school, conscientious, distinguished, and open to further development by musicians. It is obvious that in writing the operas Démophon and Lodoïska, Cherubini opened the way to Méhul, Lesueur, and Spontini. The story of Lodoïska combines the principal episodes of Richard Coeur-de-Lion and Fidelio. Loreaux's libretto was based on an extensive

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episode in Les Amours du Chevalier de Faublas, a diary-like narrative by Jean-Baptiste Louvet de Couvray. The plot lent itself beautifully to the expression of sympathies already aroused by the revolution. It had an heroic theme with virtue exemplified and tyranny denounced. The evil Count Durlinski had imprisoned Lodoïska in his castle; but she is saved by her lover Floreski with the help of a gang of loyal Tartars led by a Sarastro-like figure named Titzikan. The rescue theme is important as it became so typical in operas by other composers to follow, the most obvious example being Fidelio. Count Durlinski's personal vices served as an excuse for long, exaggerated tirades in favour of fraternity, humanity, and love. These were often suggested by martial music, so highly favoured by the mob. When it comes to the music, however, it is to be regretted that it fell out of favour in France. The music of this score could not be performed in the salon because of its totally symphonic form. It is almost impossible to overstate its high value in the eyes of musicians. The overture was often played in concert. The work is characterized by a high style, sustained sonorities that are both admirable and profound, and rich and varied modulations which refuse to age. “One does not fear to observe that after a century Lodoïska is far less wrinkled than most of her children". (CL 2:654). But the rather obvious martial element of the music to Lodoïska is ''upstaged'' by the far more subtle and serious musical methods Cherubini used to suggest the heroic theme of the opera and to portray each character. Varbel's comic nature is suggested by phrases quite small in range, with stepwise motion and frequent repeated tones. In contrast, Titzikan's great wisdom and patience is suggested by phrases built on slow, solemn chromatic ascents. The orchestral accompaniment of each personality adds greatly to his musical characterization. The large orchestral accompaniment is reduced at Varbel's comic numbers. Durlinski's "vengeance" passages are accompanied by turbulent figures and fast runs of heavy chromaticism. Cherubini always sought to develop the importance of the orchestra as an actively dramatic factor in opera. In the finale of the first act of Lodoïska, orchestral music accompanies the entrance of Floreski and Varbel into the castle. At the end of the opera, the most crucial "combat" scene features brief alternation between instrumental background music and Floreski's spoken comments. The entry of the Tartars into Durlinski's stronghold and the battle are accompanied and suggested by lengthy instrumental music. The specific use of the orchestra here makes Cherubini the precursor of what was to become an important element of succeeding operas and a characteristic of

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German Romantic Opera: the use of melodrama. In the strictest musical sense, this term can be defined as a scene in which music accompanies spoken words. The most famous of the early melodramas were the Dungeon Scene in Fidelio, and the celebrated "Wolf's Glen" scene in Weber's Der Freischütz. The aspects of melody and orchestral accompaniment discussed above are combined magnificently in the ensemble finales of Lodoïska. For example, amid all the contrapuntal asides in the intensely dramatic scene where Durlinski's men try to poison Floreski and Varbel there emerges a basically homophonic drinking song: "Brindiamo, col soave nettare." A clear example of Cherubini's talents for interweaving of an elaborate fugal nature occurs in the famous Polonaise of Act 1. At the beginning clarinet and bassoon solos echo a melody started in the strings. Then Varbel sings the same melody ("Conobbi anch' io gli strali") in counterpoint with the oboe, bassoon, and strings. Floreski introduces a slower, more lyric melody ("Oh dove ascosa") which is ultimately sung against Varbel's theme. The Polonaise is perhaps the most beautiful and most famous single number in this opera, although the work is not a series of beautiful tunes, but rather a blend of all the advanced stylistic features mentioned above which caused later composers to bestow such admiration on Cherubini. The interpretative and continuous orchestral background, and Cherubini's elaborate choral contrapuntal techniques elevated his finales to a complexity never before seen in French opéra-comique. The opera set new standards both by way of scale and complexity. Particularly notable is the symphonic treatment of motives, and their development by the orchestra. This provided the composer with greater scope in the elaboration of ensembles and finales. The act 3 finale in particular surges forward to its spectacular climax, the conflagration of the castle. The fusion of musical and visual elements in this culminating moment particularly impressed the audiences of the day. All Cherubini's ensemble writing in fact, bears eloquent witness to his genius. But as advanced as it was, the opera was a huge success for Cherubini right from the start of its history; and it represents his first great victory. The work was performed two hundred times in its first year. It was greeted at once with enthusiasm in both Germany and France, so one may assume that the political implications were not the main reason for its success. This popularity, however, did not sustain itself in France. There were only 4 performances at its first production at the Opéra-Comique in 1802, but it was revived again in June 1819. In Germany its popularity lasted even longer. Dietz, a later scholar of French opera during the revolution, proclaimed Lodoïska as "the peak of all French operas given up to that

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time—a monumental work." Eliza, ou Le Voyage aux glaciers du Mont St Bernard Comédie en deux actes. Librettist: Jacques-Antoine de Révéroni Saint Cyr. First performance: Théâtre Feydeau , 13 December 1794. The action takes place near the snow-covered heights of Mount St Bernard. The prior of a nearby hospice and his attendants are engaged in their daily search for lost travellers. They come across Florindo, a young Genoese poet who has come to the mountains to find solace after an unhappy love affair. He receives a letter informing him that his beloved is now engaged to another. The prior takes him away, just before Eliza herself arrives, looking for Florindo to assure him of her enduring love. Florindo in the meantime has decided to end his life on the treacherous glacier. As the others rush off to find him, a storm begins and precipitates an avalanche which it is feared has engulfed him. He is, however, rescued, and all misunderstandings are resolved amidst general rejoicing. This opera could claim to be the first to focus on the Romantic concern with nature. Ever since Rousseau, the Alps had been seen as the perfect metaphor for poetic solitude. Grétry had used the idea in his Guillaume Tell (1791). The people of Switzerland and Savoy with their simple virtues and customs were seen as the ideal foil to urban sophistication and decadence. Eliza combined these two elements with a hero who is himself a verbal painter of landscapes. The libretto is limited in its dramatic development and the unusually unheroic nature of the leading role. But the music made a remarkable and groundbreaking contribution to the development of other Romantic interests in its evocation of nature and its concern for the picturesque. Cherubini uses recurrent motives, with a ranz de vaches in the introduction to the overture that recurs in the allegro and at a crucial point in the later action. Bells also have a motivic recurrence: the monastery bell and the tinkling bells of the mule train are integrated into the score and add a strong sense of local colour. The mountains themselves are evoked in the opening choral scene where the stillness of the vast spaces and the caution of the rescuers are depicted (and is a possible influence on the Prisoners’ Chorus in Fidelio). The turbulent climax of the opera, conversely, depicts the fury of the Alpine storm.. Each scene is in fact develops its own special atmosphere, and together they form a series of nature tableaux (much admired and imitated by Weber).

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Le Congrès des rois Opéra en trois actes. Librettist: Desmaillots. First performance: Théâtre de l'Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1) , 26 February 1793. A collaboration between Kreutzer, Grétry, Méhul, Dalayrac, Deshayes, Solié, Devienne, Berton, Jadin, Trial fils, Cherubini and Blasius. These celebrated names were all associated with this wretched work which caused a scandal on its appearance. Further presentations were forbidden by the Comité de Salut publique. The librettist Desmaillot was the inventor of the burlesque de madame Angot. Médée Tragédie lyrique en trois actes et en vers. Librettist: François-Benoît Hoffman after the tragedy by Pierre Corneille (1635). First performance: Théâtre Feydeau, 13 March 1797. Act 1. The action takes place in legendary times in ancient Corinth. Preparations are under way outside the palace of King Créon for the wedding of the princess Dircé to Jason, the hero who stole the Golden Fleece from Colchis with the aid of the sorceress Médée. Médée betrayed her family and people to help him, and subsequently bore him two children. Now he has abandoned her. Dircé is afraid of Médée’s wrath. She now appears, and demands that Jason return to her. When he refuses, she swears a terrible vengeance. Act 2. Inside the palace, Médée is in despair. Her servant Néris urges her to leave. Créon appears and banishes her from the city. Médée’s plan of revenge is now under way, and she asks the king to be allowed to spend a last day with her children. He agrees to her request, and now calm, she asks Néris to take Dircé two wedding gifts, a cloak and a diadem from Apollo. Act 3. Between the palace and the temple. Néris brings the children out of the palace to Médée who embraces them. Sounds of lamentation emerge from the palace where Dircé has been poisoned by Médée’s gifts. The enraged populace storm out and demand retribution as Médée, Néris and the children seek refuge in the temple. Néris soon emerges horrified, followed by Médée bloodstained and brandishing the knife with which she has murdered her sons. She is accompanied by the Furies. Jason falls stricken as she curses him. The temple is consumed by fire as Médée and the Furies disappear into the flames.

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Médée is the only work out of some two thousand theatrical productions during the revolutionary period in France that still maintains a place in the repertory. It looks back to the classical operas of Gluck, to the latter’s contemporary successors like Méhul, and forward to the 19thcentury conception of tragic opera. This is particularly clear in the focus throughout on the personality and situation of the tormented sorceress, torn between hatred of Jason who has betrayed her and love for her children whom she must sacrifice to gain vengeance. The symphonic treatment of the accompaniment heightens the emotional tension throughout, and enormous demands are made on the technique and stamina of the principal singer. The final catastrophe, with the immolation of the children and destruction of the temple, is of great dramatic and psychological power. This tremendous role was written for a singer of outstanding abilities, Mme Scio, the principal soprano at Feydeau. The part demands a wide range and immense endurance, since the character increasingly dominates the action from her anticipated entry in act 1 to her virtually continuous presence in act 3 where the interruption of dialogue is reduced to a minimum. All the other roles are envisaged in terms of their relationship to Médée, but each nonetheless has a clear musical delineation. Something of the revolutionary fervour of the times is captured in the marches in the first two acts. Further attention to detail and ambience is evident in the orchestral introductions to each act which establish the atmosphere and mood of the ensuing action. The turbulent and gloomy f minor overture may well have influenced Beethoven’s Egmont (1801). L’Hôtellerie portugaise Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Aignan. First performance: Théâtre Feydeau, 25 July 1798. Les Deux Journées ou les Porteur d’eau Comédie lyrique en trois actes. Librettist: Jean-Nicolas Bouilly. First performed: Théâtre Feydeau, 16 January 1800. Cherubini composed his opéra comique Les Deux Journées in 1800. By the turn of the century, after so many years of revolutionary turmoil and excess, the taste of the theatre-going public was turning towards themes of peace and social reconciliation. Bouilly had already provided a significant libretto for the composer Pierre Gaveaux, Léonore (1798), a rescue opera

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that was to be the source for Beethoven’s Fidelio. He now produced a new story based on what he claimed had been a real incident during the days of the Terror. The emotive theme of rescue, now transcending social barriers, had a strong public appeal. The libretto is a model of concision and fine structure. And the composer responded to the specific needs of the drama. He simplified his usual style, found by many of the critics as too complicated and academic, and produced music of freshness and sparkle that exercised an immediate popular appeal. The action is set in 1647, during the minority of Louis XIV, when Cardinal Mazarin, adviser to the Queen Regent, was effectively the ruler of France. The Parlement of Paris has refused to endorse some new and unjust edicts, so has been dissolved and its members are now fugitives from arrest and imprisonment. A price has been put on the head of its outspoken leader, Count Armand. All exits from the city are guarded by Mazarin’s troops. The story revolves around the simple but honest and generous family of Mikeli, a Savoyard water-carrier living in Paris. Act 1. Antonio, the son, is going to marry Angelina, the daughter of Semos, a wealthy farmer. By chance Antonio mentions that when he was a boy, his life was saved by a stranger. Antonio and his sister Marcellina go out to pick up their laissez-passer to travel, and Mikeli hides an upperclass young couple, Armand and his wife Constance, who are in trouble with the authorities. After searches by the police and much exchanged identities, both couples are safe and Antonio recognizes Armand as the stranger who saved his life. Act 2, at the Paris city gates, opens with soldiers searching for Armand, who is wanted dead or alive by the hated Italian Cardinal Mazarin. Antonio, escorting Constance to safety, is stopped by the (Italian) soldiers but is finally allowed to pass. Mikeli, with his full water cart, is allowed to pass, and after the soldiers leave, Armand emerges from inside the cart, where he has been cleverly concealed. Act 3 finds the characters in the countryside, with villagers arriving for the wedding. The soldiers also arrive. Armand hides inside a tree trunk. Some drunken soldiers grab Constance, and Armand, leaving his hiding place to defend her honour, is arrested. There is also un tableau général, a dramatic scene with no movement, like a photograph of the climatic moment. Fortunately, Mikeli arrives with a pardon for Armand, who is so grateful that he offers to support Mikili's family for the rest of their lives, a fitting reward for their bravery. The final chorus emphasizes the ideals of the French Revolution: "The paramount charm of life is to serve humanity." Using both spoken dialogue and singing, the opera has a moral, quoted

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at the beginning: "The more that a good act costs us, the more it is dear to us." The action, as customary in a 'rescue' opera, takes place during 24 hours (hence the name) and is set in 1647 at the end of the Thirty Years War, but the implication is contemporary. The librettist multiplied the incidents to the extent that no single character bears the serious emotional burden of the piece. And despite the action taking place during 24 hours, there is no strict unity of time, place or action. The lovely music responds to the situation in the poem, and it became famous, especially the aria of the Little Savoyard, Mikéli’s couplets “À leurs yeux j’dérobe madame”, and a fine chorus of soldiers with the odd words Méritons le bienveillance Du célèbre Mazarin; Surveillons et servons bien Son Eminence. The appeal of the opera rests on the direct and tuneful nature of it musical idiom, which combines many different elements—solo numbers and ensembles of various character, and strong picturesque elements deriving from popular life, like the Savoyard romanza, a chorus of villagers, and soldiers’ marches. There are two examples of melodrama, already powerfully used in Lodoïska and so influential on Beethoven in Fidelio. The composer also uses two themes of reminiscence in the orchestral accompaniments. The opera was immediately successful. Although increasingly and unjustly neglected in France, it was most especially esteemed in Germany, where many of the operas of the old master were translated and became a stable part of the repertory. Admired by Haydn, Beethoven, Weber and Goethe, Les Deux Journées was known in Germany as Der Wasserträger ('The Water-Carrier'), and constantly played during the 19c and into the 20c. Mahler conducted the opera in Hamburg in 1879. Épicure Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Demoustier. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 14 March 1800. A collaboration between Cherubini and Méhul. This work was whistled at its première, in spite of the great reputation of the two composers who had not done anything to deserve this. It was not their music but the poem by

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Demoustier which was found detestable. Le Crescendo Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Sewrin. First performance: OpéraComique (Feydeau), 1 September 1810. Bayard à Mézières Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Emmanuel Dupaty and René Alissan de Chazet. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 12 February 1814. A collaboration between François-Adrien Boieldieu, Charles-Simon Catel, Nicolò Isouard and Luigi Cherubini. The work, also known as La Siège de Mèzières, was written by order of the police, to reinvigorate failing patriotism among the Parisians during the difficult campaign confronted by France in 1814. There were 7 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Vincenzo CIAMPI (1719-1762) Le Caprice amoureux, ou Ninette à la cour Comédie mêlée d’ariettes parodiées de Bertolde à la cour en deux actes. Librettist: Charles-Simon Favart. Music parodied from Vincenzo Ciampi and various other composers. First performance: 1st version: Paris, Théâtre-Italien, 12 February 1755; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 10 February 1762. This was a parody of Ciampi’s opera buffa Bertoldo in corte (Paris, Théâtre de l’Opéra, 1753). According to Desboulmiers, “this is less a parody, as it has been inappropriately named, than an ingenious imitation of Bertolde à la cour which provided the basic idea”. The action takes place at the court of Astolphe, the king of Lombardy. The music was borrowed and parodied from various Italian composers: Ciampi, Cocchi, Jommelli, Latilla, V. Legrenzio, Orlandini, Pergolesi, Porpora, Rinaldo di Capua, Sellitto and Vinci. It was retained in the repertory until 1774. ____________________________________________________________

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Giovanni CIFOLELLI (b. 1735, also known as Jean Cifolelli) L’Indienne Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en un acte. Librettist: Nicolas-Étienne Framery. First performance: 1st version: Théâtre de la société, date and place unknown; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 31 October 1770. The story is taken from a tragédie by Antoine-Marin Lemierre, La Veuve du Malabar. The action takes place in India. A widower Brahmin and a young Indian widow prefer to seek union with each other rather than perish in the flames of the funeral pyre prescribed for the widowed according to the law of the land. Ciofolelli was a professor of mandolin. There were 3 performances. Perrin et Lucette Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en deux actes. Librettist: Bertin Davesne. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 25 June 1774. The story is taken from La Probité villageoise, an anecdote (Mercure). There were 7 performances. Prudent Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en deux actes. Librettist: Bertin Davesne. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 15 July 1771. This was later refashioned with new music as Un mal pour un bien (1783). It was performed into the following year, 1772. ____________________________________________________________

Domenico CIMAROSA (1749-1801) Le Mariage secret/Il matrimonio segreto Opéra bouffe en deux actes et cinq tableaux. Librettists: Giovanni Bertati. French version: Daniel Muller. First performance: 1st version: Vienna,

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Burgtheater, 7 February 1792; 2nd version: Opera-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 10 October 1931. See under PAISIELLO ____________________________________________________________

Antoine-Louis CLAPISSON (1808-1866) La Figurante, ou L’Amour et la Danse Opéra-comique en cinq actes. Librettists: Augustin-Eugène Scribe and Henri Dupin. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Bourse), 24 August 1838. The story is derived from Scribe and Dupin’s vaudeville L’Amour et la Danse, and was first offered to Hippolyte Monpou. Although one knows only the chansonnettes that became popular, like “Le Postillon de mam’ Ablou”, Clapisson was fortunate enough to show in his first work for the stage that he was an excellent musician. The libretto of La Figurante was badly conceived, even worse performed, and presented absurd trivialities. But despite these unfortunate circumstances, Clapisson found charming melodies, and maintained throughout the work a very elegant style and a great skill in instrumentation. Of particular note are, in act 1, the entrance aria for Judith, sung by Jenny Colon (Mme Leplus); in act 2, a lovely duet sung by Mlles Colon and Rossi “Allons, ma chère, point de mystère”; the romance sung by Roger “Elle m’aimait”; the couplets de la quêteuse (couplets of the searcher) and the final bolero. The work was performed into the following year, 1839. La Symphonie, ou Maître Albert Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Jules-Henri Vernoy de SaintGeorges. First performed: Opéra-Comique (Bourse), 12 October 1839. The story is based on the character of the musician Kreisler in E. T. A. Hoffmann’s novels Kreisleriana and Kater Murr. A composer called Albert is presenting a symphony at the court of the Duke of Oldenburg. The duchess, the latter’s daughter, exchanges some words with a young lord, her fiancé, during the performance of the piece. Albert, who is taken with the duchess, notices this. His baton falls from his hands. The Duke

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realizes the cause of his emotion, and has him imprisoned. There the poor artist becomes mad. Only after several years does he recover his reason, while listening to some bars of this fatal symphony. Out of gratitude the Duchess gives him her hand in marriage. The score is elegant, the orchestration of lovely effect. The most popular pieces were the nocturne “Sans espérance, aimer toujours”, sung by Mocker and Mlle Rossi, and the big scena sung by Marié who made his debut in this work. It was in the repertory until 1840. La Perruche Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Henri Dupin and Philippe Dumanoir. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Bourse), 28 April 1840. This small work was successful, and remained in the repertoire for a long time as a lever de rideau. The subject is very light, and the music of a charming character. There are songs from the Auvergne, a kiss duet sung by Chollet and Mlle Prévost, an aria for the water-carrier, and a quartet finale full of verve and charming gaiety. The orchestration is very distinguished. Mlle Berthault and Ricquier acted rather than sang the secondary roles. It was in the repertory until 1861. Le Pendu Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Frédéric de Courcy and Pierre Carmouche. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 25 March 1841. The story is taken from Les Historiettes by Gédéon Tallemant des Réaux. It concerns a soldier condemned to be hanged, who obtains from Maréchal Châtillon the facetious permission to find a substitute. The soldier finds just such a person in a poor lover who has renounced life out of his despair in disappointed love. The denouement spares the audience the spectacle of a hanging. The role of Drick, created by Mocker, offers several lovely melodies, and a fine aria “Mon maréchal, mon maréchal! Sa justice est infinie”. Mme Potier and Moreau-Sainti sang the other roles. There were 13 performances.

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Frère et Mari Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Auguste Humbert and Théodore Polak. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 7 July 1841. An artist married to a woman he loves asks her to pass for his sister so that he can keep the good graces of certain countess who patronizes him, and has undertaken to secure him a place as a restorer in a museum. This is the rather flat and questionable basic idea of the story. The work was not successful, although the music is pretty. The overture contains an elegant solo for the horn, and other striking numbers are the nocturne “Restons amis” and the finale which has fine dramatic effect. It remained in the repertory until 1843. Le Code noir Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Augustin-Eugène Scribe. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 9 June 1842. The story is derived from a novella L’Épave by Mme Charles Reybaud. The action takes place on Martinique. A negress called Zamba, the mistress of a colonist from Grenada, had been separated from her child so that it could be taken for slavery. As a result Zamba herself escaped. This child has now become a brilliant young officer. As a consequence of reversals of fortune more or less realistic, the mother and her son recognize their relationship, and because of the Code noir, have to be sold to profit the state. However, the old colonist of Grenada reappears, redeems his old slave, and arranges the marriage of the officer Donatien, his son, to the young mulatto Zoé whom he loves. If the libretto has disagreeable elements, the score contains charming pieces. Among them are a trio for women, sung by Mmes Rossi, Darcier, and Révilly; a duet which forms the finale to act 1, sung by Mme Rossi and Roger; an original aubade, from the negro slaves; and the couplets sung by Mocker, in which the composer has contrasted a bamboula and a minuet. The lovely voice of Grard was much admired in the work. Grignon also acted his part with good will and frankness (CL 1:252). There were 32 performances. Les Bergers trumeaux Opéra-bouffon en un acte. Librettists: Charles Dupeuty and Frédéric de Courcy. First performance; Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 10 February

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1845. The librettists sought to provide the composer with an opportunity of writing retrospective music, that is, to create an ingenious parody using musical formulas of the old masters. Ambroise Thomas had already wittily realized such a project in La Double Échelle. A great lord in the time of Louis XV wishes to stage a comedy at his château, hoping to fill the parts with actors of quality. This results in both comic and grotesque situations. Clapisson pushed away as far as possible the lack of respect for pauses and the superannuated cadences that charmed earlier generations, but the public was amused by this caricature. The pleasant overture was applauded, as was the duet for the two shepherds, (sung by Mlle Prévost and Henri), and the hilarious acting of Sainte-Foy. Gibby la cornemuse Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Adolphe de Leuven and LéonLévy Brunswick. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 19 November 1846. King James VI, the son of Mary Queen of Scots, finds himself surrounded by courtesans who are plotting his ruin. A poor Scottish bagpiper, by playing his pipes to ward off the king’s boredom, sings a national ballad which warns him, foils the conspiracy and saves the king’s life. James, for his part, allays the superstitious scruples cherished by Gibby the shepherd, and has him marry the gentle Marie Pattison whom he loves. The opera contains remarkable pieces, and abounds in lovely melodies. The overture provides local colour, a mountain air passes between the oboe, the flutes and the cellos providing unity and interest. In act 1 the most striking pieces are the couplets “Dans mon métier de tavernier”, the syllabic duet, and the storm for the orchestra. The central piece of act 2, and indeed of the whole work, is the duo de déjeuner (dining duet) for the king and the shepherd. The composer introduced a charming national air into this piece. Roger played this part with all the brilliance of his admirable and vibrant voice. He electrified the theatre with his rendition of the phrase “L’ennemi a pâli”. The trio which follows “Non, c’est ne point un rêve” contains harmonies both suave and distinguished. The chorus “Oui, cet hymen-là bientôt se fera” is a canon of lovely effect. Act 3 contains two lovely pieces: the pathetic aria for Roger “Non, non, je n’ai pas le courage de désoler ainsi son coeur”, and his duet with Marie Pattison. The cast also included: Grignon, Bussine, Hermann-Léon, Henri and Mlle Delille. The

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work was performed into the following year, 1847. With La Fanchonnette, this is probably Clapisson’s best score. Les Mystères d’Udolphe Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Augustin-Eugène Scribe and Germain Delavigne. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 4 November 1852. The story is derived from the novel by Ann Radcliffe The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794). There were only 6 performances. La Fanchonnette Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Jules-Henri Vernoy de SaintGeorges and Adolphe de Leuven. First performed: Théâtre-Lyrique, 1 March 1856. The story describes how a ballad-seller, Fanchonnette, with whom the Prince of Listenay has allied his great fortune, becomes his heir to the detriment of Listenay's nephew who is disinherited. The legatee, without revealing her identity, and protecting him from her beauty, has the young man taught to be a crack shot, and obtains for him a commission as colonel. She finally helps him to marry the niece of M. Boisjoly, a rich financier. Touched by such beneficence, the young Listenay, who attributes all this patronage to the kindness of an aunt, finally comes to meet her. Now the illusion is completed by a disguise that adds eighty years to Fanchonette. This is a tour de force that was successful even with such an improbable storyline. However, the dialogue is refined, with many happy passages, and skilfully disposed scenes. But it was the music and marvellous interpretation by Mme Miolan-Carvalho that secured the success of the opera. In the role of Fanchonnette she presented her most supple talent, her refined acting skills, her most correct and brilliant vocalization. This is furthermore Clapisson’s best work. The overture is very happily realized: the opening duet for two clarinets is a musical windfall. Among the most brilliant pieces are: the romance for Listenay “La plus belle fille du monde ne peut donner que ce qu’elle a”; the aria for Fanchonnette”Belle jeunesse”; and the chanson which serves as the finale “La Fanchonnette vous chansonnera”; the romance with solo violin accompaniment which begins act 2 “Chaque nuit je voyais en songe”; the

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delightful romance in act 3 “Près du fauteuil où la souffrance”; and the lovely duet for Fanchonnette, disguised as an old lady, and Listenay. The other roles were created by Hermann-Léon and Monjauze. The work was revived at the Théâtre-Lyrique in 1867. Le Sylphe Opéra-comique en deux actes. Librettist: Jules-Henri Vernoy de SaintGeorges. First performed: 1st version: Baden-Baden, 7 August 1856; 2nd version: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 27 November 1856. Angèle de Senneterre has always believed that the world is peopled with gnomes and sylphs. She has married the Marquis de Valbreuse, a sailor who is neither credulous nor sentimental. A certain Chevalier de SainteLaure wishes to profit from this temperamental difference between the spouses. Angèle is about to listen to the Chevalier’s protestations, but she hears the voice of a sylph, which on several occasions subsequently gives good counsel that Angèle is happy to follow. She asks to see the face of this mysterious friend. The sylph agrees, and eventually reveals himself to be the Marquis de Valbreuse. He has successfully tried to to cure his wife of her superstitious hallucinations. Every time the sylph gives evidence of his presence, a characteristic theme, suave and vaporous, is heard. The orchestration of this work evinces a coquettish refinement. The use of the harp, flutes and violins con sordini is of lovely effect. There is a song for a huntsman, a little duet for Angèle and the Chevalier, a romance for the Marquis, and the heroine's aria charged with brilliant vocalise. The roles were created by Faure, Ponchard, and Mme Vandenheuvel-Duprez. The work remained in the repertory into the following year, 1857. Les Trois Nicolas Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Augustin-Eugène Scribe, Bernard Lopez and Gabriel de Lurieu. First performed: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 10 December 1858. The story is about an adventure from the youth of Dalayrac, an adventure somewhat amplified, since at the denoument he marries a singer called Hélène de Villepreux. The actor Trial is also put on stage. The libretto, de galerie, has little interest. The characters meet at a rendez-vous, disguised and masked, all having the name Nicolas, the dominant motif of the play. But this was not the chief point of interest about this work. It also marked

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the debut of the tenor Montaubry, who won great favour with the public in the role of Dalayrac. The score, written with great suppleness and skill, contains several interesting pieces. In act 1 there are the couplets for Hélène, the duet for Dalayrac and the Vicomte; in act 2, the singing lesson; in act 3, the graceful aria taken from Azémia “Aussitôt que je t’aperçois” which is carefully intercalated into the score. The tender and sentimental character of Dalayrac’s music was reproduced with fidelity by Clapisson. The cast was: Couderc (le vicomte d’Anglars), Montaubry (Dalayrac), Prilleux (le marquis de Villepreux), Berthelier (Trial), Mlle Lefebvre (the singer Hélène), and Mlle Lemercier (Rosette). The work remained in the repertory for two years until 1860. ____________________________________________________________

Jules-Émile-David COHEN (1835-1901) Maître Claude Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint Georges and Adolphe de Leuven. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 18 March 1861. The story concerns a small imaginary episode in the life of the painter Claude Gelée, better known as Claude Lorrain. It is handled pleasantly, and the composer has made the most of the pleasant musical situations. The more remarkable pieces include the overture, which contains a horn solo; the mélodie “Je révais”; the following aria “Allons, au franc chasseur”, and another for the soprano “L’autre jour sur le bord de l’eau”. The role of Claude was well interpreted by Gourdin; the others were taken by Troy, Berthelier, Mlles Marimon and Angèle Cordier. It was performed into the following year, 1862. José-Maria Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Eugène Cormon and Henri Meilhac. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 16 July 1866. José-Maria is an imaginary brigand whose identity is impersonated by a young hidalgo, Don Carlos, to convince his mistress, Diana Armero, that she is wanted in marriage by Don Fabio, nephew of the judge Corega, for

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the million she possesses rather than for herself. He has stolen her fortune pretending to be the brigand José-Maria. Don Fabio, believing Diana to have become poor, goes back on his word, and Don Carlos does not hesitate to congratulate himself on the success of his stratagem. In act 1 there is a aria with chorus “Vive l’ivresse du jeu”, a romance for Diana, another for Don Carlos “Ce matin, un heureux présage”. In act 2 there are two duets, and in act 3 some interesting choruses. The work was realized by Montaubry, Melchissédec, Ponchard, Nathan, Mme Galli-Marié and Mlle Bélia. There were 16 performances. Déa Opéra-comique en deux actes. Librettists: Eugène Cormon and Michel Carré. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 30 April 1870. The basic situation of the libretto in its improbablity and sentimentality recalls the subjects popular at the beginning of the 19th century. A poor Peruvian has been grieving for several years for his daughter who was abducted by Indians. Every year his son visits the Indian tribes seeking to find his sister. He meets a French naturalist who has been rescued from danger by a young indigenous woman. The Peruvian believes he recognizes her to be his sister, and has the news taken to his mother by the naturalist. But Fernand and Déa realize themselves to be mistaken, that there is no biological connection between them, and that they have fallen in love with each other. Nevertheless, fearing that the mother might succumb to such a cruel disappointment, Déa consents to pass for her daughter, and Fernand goes off on a journey to forget her, leaving the one he loves free to marry the Frenchman. Fortunately, the mother discovers their secret, and consents to their happiness. The naturalist is left to find his consolation in botany. Cohen wrote his score with care and taste. It contains many reminiscences of Auber and Félicien David. The introduction and aria for the tenor “Sur les flots bleus de l’Amazone” have a poetic colour. The entr’acte is orchestrated with refinement. Act 2 contains a lovely trio, a waltz, and a good dramatic duet. The work marked the debut of Mlle Zina Dalti. The other roles were taken by Leroy, Barré, and Mme Ugalde. There were 6 performances. ____________________________________________________________

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Hippolyte-Raymond COLET (1808-1851) L’Ingénue Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Augustin-Eugène Scribe and Henri Dupin. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 2 June 1841. The canvas of this libretto has little interest. The music is the work of a fine professor of harmony at the Conservatoire. Mlle Darcier and Ricquier were applauded in this work. There were 9 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Isaac de COMONDO Le Clown Nouvelle musicale en deux actes. Librettist: Victor Capoul. First performance: 1st version: Paris, Nouveau-Théâtre, 24 April 1906; 2nd version: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 19 May 1908. This was a gala production for the benefit of the Société des Artistes et Amis de l’Opéra. It was performed into the following year, 1909. ____________________________________________________________

Pier Antonio COPPOLA (1793-1877) Éva Drame lyrique en deux actes. Librettists: Adolphe de Leuven and LéonLévy Brunswick. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Bourse), 9 December 1839. This was a French adaptation by Narcisse Girard of La Pazza per amore, a melodramma semiserio by Coppola (Rome 1835). The subject is imitated from Nina, ou la Folle par amour, an opera by Marsollier and Dalayrac. Eva, a young Swede, has lost her reason after the death of her fiancé in a campaign against the Russians at the time of Charles XII. But as in Nina, the deceased is not dead, and Colonel Gustave returns, and restores her reason to the poor deluded girl. This work comprises musically fragments

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of Nina, pazza per amore, an opera written in Rome in 1835 by Coppola, and presented throughout Europe with great success. Girard, subsequently the talented orchestral director of the Opéra and the Société des concerts, was charged with shaping a French opera from Coppola’s music for the debut of Mme Eugénie Garcia. She won great success as a singer despite the robust criticism of Coppola’s music by all the newspapers. The score has not been located. The opera was performed into the following year, 1840. ____________________________________________________________

Arthur COQUARD (1846-1910) Le Mari d’un jour Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Adolphe-Philippe Dennery and Armand Silvestre. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 4 February 1886. The libretto lacks probability and interest, and the music is a little serious for the subject. The cast was: Mmes Simonnet and Degrandi, MM. Degenne, Fugère, Isnardon and Barnolt. There were 3 performances. La Jacquerie See under LALO Le Troupe de Jolicoeur Comédie musicale en trois actes et un prologue. Words and music by Arthur Coquard. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 30 May 1902. The story is derived from a nouvelle by Henri Cain. The opera won the Prix Monbinne. The Troupe Jolicoeur is a group of acrobats directed by Mme Jolicoeur, a courageous woman of compassion. One winter’s evening she found a small abandoned girl, sleeping under a tree in the falling snow. Overcome with pity, she picked up the shivering girl, warmed her in her arms, embraced her, and took her away with her. This is disclosed in the prologue. The main action is set in Paris, on a national holiday. In the midst of stalls on the public square we find the Troupe

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Jolicoeur with Geneviève, the the child found in the snow, who has become a charming young woman. She already has two lovers: the one, Loustic, who has grown up with her, is gentle and timid, and content to watch and listen. The other, Jean Taureau, the Hercules of the troupe, is severe, drunken and brutal. As soon as the others form the parade, Geneviève sings her vending songs. Her voice is admired by a young man, Jacques, a composer, who finds her charming and falls in love with her immediately. They marry in secret to the bitter disappointment of Loustic who dies at the end of the opera when he learns the truth. Coquard’s score for his own libretto is very theatrical, with an excellent scenic character, and superior to all that he had written up to that point. It is perhaps regrettable that he also has sought to avoid what could be called ‘pieces’. On some occasions this is damaging, as for example, in act 2, in the big scene for Jacques and Geneviève where a passionate ensemble would have served this situation well. But at least the dialogues are written musically, in a melodic fashion, and give some repose to the ear from the insipid and shapeless recitatives that were musically in vogue at the time. There are some lovely passages that give some heart to the work, like the the pretty episode of the lovers’ meeting in act 1 “Dans les longues routes sous le bois” where the ostinato accompaniment is most elegant; then there is the graceful phrase for Geneviève responding to Jean Taureau “Mon bon Jean, vous êtes pour moi un grand frère”; then the scene of the arrival of Loustic in act 3, with its profoundly melancholic accent, and where one can detach another poetic phrase for Geneviève “Nous t’avons fait dans la verdure un joli nid”. Also interesting is the prelude to act 2, which has a prolonged rhythm emerging from the pedal point forming the accompaniment. But what deserves praise above all is the general ensemble which is truly musical and has a pleasing general colouring. There is a sobriety and absence of pedantry. The orchestra is full without being overpowering, although one could criticize the too frequent intervention of a rather banal piston. The opera had excellent interpreters: Mmes Deschamps-Jéhin (Mme Jolicoeur), Guiraudon (Geneviève), de Craponne (Loustic), and MM. Léon Beyle (Jacques) and Bourbon (Jean Taureau). There were 10 performances. ____________________________________________________________

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Jules COSTÉ (1833-1871?) and Le Comte D’OSMOND Jacqueline, ou la Fille du soldat Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Augustin-Eugène Scribe, Léon Battu and Édouard Fournier. First performance: 1st version: ThéâtreItalien, 15 May 1855; 2nd version: Opéra-Comique (Ventadour), 8 June 1855. The first performance at the Italiens was for the benefit of the Société des secours à domicile, and then a few weeks later the work was repeated at the Opéra-Comique by order, in the presence of the Emperor. Mlle Lefebvre and Sainte-Foy sang the principal roles. It was given 3 times in Paris (twice at the Opéra-Comique), and in Nancy on 14 January 1856. ____________________________________________________________

Pierre CRÉMONT (1784-1846) Le Capitaine Belronde Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Louis-Benoît Picard and ÉdouardJoseph Mazères. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 24 March 1825. The libretto is a lyric adaptation of the comédie by Picard. There were 4 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Jules-Alfred CRESSONNOIS (1823-1883) Chapelle et Bachaumont Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Armand Barthet. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 18 June 1858. The story is supposedly about the historical adventures of the two friends, but the memoirs of the time and their correspondence says nothing about these incidents. One could surely have found in the account of their journey a less vulgar topic for the subject of a libretto. The score contains

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some pretty motifs, among them the couplets for Rossette “Je suis dans le Royal-Dragons”. There were 11 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Paul CRESSONNOIS (1852-1933) Saute, Marquis! Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Jules Truffier. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 17 May 1883. The cast was: MM. Collin, Labis, Teste, Mlles Chevalier, Duppuis, and Molé. There were 4 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Jules-Jean-Baptiste CRESTE Les Fourberies de Marinette Opéra bouffe en un acte. Librettists: Michel Carré and Paul de Chazot. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 2 June 1858. The work was performed by Berthelier, Nathan, and Mlle L'Héritier, but without success. ____________________________________________________________

César CUI (1835-1918) Le Flibustier Comédie lyrique en trois actes. Librettist: Jean Richepin. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Châtelet), 22 January 1894. This is not an adaptation of the comédie by Richepin (Comédie-Français, 14 May 1888), but a simple transformation of the play into an opera. The composer did not ask for a single adjustment, change, or any modification whatever. He restricted himself to setting to music, from beginning to end, the verses of this comedy just as they had been conceived, written and acted in the original form. The enterprise was arduous, and the composer

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did not fully succeed, but the outcome was novel and, even more to the point, curious. Cui, the son of Frenchman who settled in Russia and of a Russian woman, was a general in the Russian army and a professor of fortifications at the Military Academy in St Petersburg. He was not a musician by profession, something that did not prevent him from receiving a complete musical education and writing several operas that were produced in Russia. At the same time he concerned himself a great deal with musical criticism, and it is curious to see with what asperity, one could even say with what disdain, he frequently treated the great artists among his compatriots—such as Anton Rubinstein and Tchaikovsky. It was with the ardent desire that it should be performed in France that he set Richepin’s Le Flibustier to music. In this score he put into play certain procedures that came close to those of Richard Wagner, and which he defended absolutely. These included never repeating a musical phrase, and never interrupting the melodic discourse. His score, one has to observe, is heavy, grey in tone, and if not lacking a certain personal accent, nevertheless does not achieve originality. His orchestra alone is is faltering, without colour or definition. It is quite conceivable that Cui’s work was doomed to lack of success, since the play is not written in free verse, but in in alexandrines, a poetic form manifestly inimical to music, especially if, as in this case, it is extended throughout three whole acts. Nevertheless, some pieces from this opera were well received, among them the charming song for Jenik in act 1, the account of the battle by Jacquemin, and especially the Angelus for two female voices which has a really delightful melodic invention, and is accompanied in the most exquisite manner. But this was not enough to save the work from a more or less complete failure, despite an excellent interpretation of the roles by Mmes Landouzy and Tarquini d’Or, and MM. Clément, Fugère and Taskin. There were 9 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Nicolas-Marie DALAYRAC (1753-1809) Le Dot Comédie en trois actes, en prose, mêlée d’ariettes. Librettist: Desfontaines. First Performance: Comédie-Italienne; 21 November 1785. The libretto is full of wit and and merry detail. The overture is perhaps the best that Dalayrac ever wrote. Mme Dugazon sang the pretty couplets

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“Dans le bosquet, l’autre matin, je cherchais le rose nouvelle”; there is also the little aria “J’allais lui dire que jel’aime”; the march in G major; and the aria for the village schoolmaster, “Jeunes bergerettes, de par un seigneur éminent” interrupted by the the choral reprise. This is slight music, but spruce and witty, such as Dalayrac knew best how to write, without any ambition other than to touch the heart and charm the ear, which is after all, important in itself (CL 1:364). L’Amant statue Comédie en un acte. Librettist: Desfontaines (François-Georges Fouques). First performance: Comédie-Italienne, Paris, 4 August 1785. Dorval, a young officer, is in love with the demure Célimène and sends her love letters every day. To get close to her, he first disguises himself as a seller of songs and almanacs, and then assisted by Frontin and Rosette (Célimène’s maid), leaves a message for her. Finally he pretends to be a garden statue with a special interior fitting, so that it can play the flute. Célimène is much drawn to the statue, and when she declares her love for it, Dorval reveals his true identity. The music reflects the light trivial story, and is notable for Célimène’s two arias in the virtuoso Italian style (with ascent to top E in the second of them). Nina, ou La Folle par amour Comédie en un acte. Librettist: Benoît-Joseph Marsollier des Vivetières, after F. Thomas de Baculard d’Arnaud’s short story La Nouvelle Clémentine (1783). First performance: Comédie-Italienne, 24 April 1786. Nina’s aristocratic father has insisted on her marrying a suitor of his choice rather than Germeuil whom she has loved since childhood. There is a duel with the suitor, in which Germeuil is believed to have been killed. Nina becomes deranged, no longer recognizes her father, and every day, attended by various villagers, she goes to wait for Germeuil in her garden. When the latter returns unharmed, he is accepted by the count, Nina is restored to her proper senses and the couple can be married. Dalayrac’s range of musical and dramatic resources took on greater expressiveness during the first ten years of his career. Nina had no precedent in French opera, although a similar theme had been treated by Dezède in Julie (1772), and Paisiello was to have great success with his setting of the same story three years later (Nina, 1789). Dalayrac’s

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approach was lyrical and gentle, avoiding the melodramatic. Nina’s principal aria “Quand le bien-aimé reviendra”, a strophic song in 6/8, became famous in France. Azémia, ou Les Sauvages Comédie en trois actes. Librettist: Ange-Étienne-Xavier Poisson de Lachabeaussière. First performance: 1st version: Court Theatre, Fontainebleau 17 October 1786; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne, Paris, 3 May 1787. The plot was inspired in part by Shakespeare’s The Tempest. The action takes place on a desert island, and had highly realistic natural stage settings. The preface to the libretto proposed and argued for “romanesque situations” and “picturesque effects” in opéra-comique, so anticipating tendencies developed in the 19c. Dalayrac’s music is varied, with Italianate coloratura and his more usual sentimental themes, and some choruses. The overture is unusual in presenting a mime in which the native islanders are seen in their boats. The title role, like that of Nina, was written for the dramatic soprano Louise-Rosalie Dugazon (1755-1821). Renaud d’Ast Comédie en deux actes, en prose, mêlée d’ariettes. Librettists: JeanBaptiste Radet and Pierre-Yvon Barré. First performance: ComédieItalienne, 19 July 1787. This piece, copied from L’Oraison de saint Julien, a tale by La Fontaine derived from Boccaccio, was successful. The aria “Vous qui d’amoureuses aventures courez et plaisirs et dangers” was sung in vaudevilles for over 40 years. The facile cut of this melody, even its banality, was enough to secure its popularity, but destined for another place: this time the church. The aria for the lover of Renaud d’Ast, “Comment goûter quelque repos, ah! je n’en ai pas le courage” is an andante full of sentiment and melancholy. (CL 2:939) Sargines, ou L’Élève de l’amour Comédie lyrique en quatre actes. Librettist: Jacques-Marie Boutet de Monvel. First performance: Comédie-Italienne, 14 May 1788

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This work contains very attractive melodies, such as: “Hélas! C’est près de toi, ô ma tant douce amie” and “Si l’hymena quelque douceur”. The latter was attributed by error to Paër in several anthologies (like Echos de france). The simple contours of these arias reveal the author of Nina (CL 2:1005). Les Deux Petits Savoyards Comédie en un acte. Librettist: Benoît-Joseph Marsollier des Vivetières. First performance: Comédie-Italienne, Paris, 14 January 1789. During the depression of the 1780s, two Savoyard boys (sung by sopranos en travestie and in national costume) travel to Lyons to make a meagre living out of singing, selling spiced cakes, and exhibiting a marmot. They perform in the castle of an elderly bachelor, Verseuil, who has made his fortune in America, and whose only brother has now died. The old man takes an interest in the boys and wishes to adopt them. After he has spoken to them individually, he leaves them to reflect on his offer. They try to make their escape from the castle, but are discovered to be carrying a portrait of their father who turns out to be Verseuil’s late brother. The story with its appeal to all classes and people of good will struck a chord in the national consciousness of the France of 1789. This little opera became very popular, and introduced the use of real folk melody into the register of local colour. The most popular tune in the opera was the traditional “Escouto d’Jeannetto”. Raoul, sire de Créqui Comédie lyrique en trois actes. Librettist: Jacques-Marie Boutet de Monvel. First performance: Comédie-Italienne, 31 October1789. The piece is full of movement and interest. The daughter of a jailer makes her father drunk so as to rescue a prisoner. The score contains many pretty motifs. Among the most striking are: the romance “De vos bontés, de son amour, chaque instant m’est in nouveau gage” with well-constructed melody and most regular harmony; a little duet for two brothers “Je brûle de voir ce château”; Raoul’s romance “Une lumière vive et pure” which has refined sentiment; finally the couplets in C major for Bathilde and Ludger, followed by a trio to good effect. The chanson “un jour Liesette allait aux champs” remained popular for a long time (CL 2:926).

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La Soirée orageuse Comédie en un acte, en prose, mêlée d’ariettes. Librettist: Jean-Baptiste Radet. First performance: Comédie-Italienne, 29 May 1790. Camille, ou Le Souterrain Opéra-comique en trois actes, en prose. Librettist: Benoît-Joseph Marsollier. First performance: Théâtre Italien, 19 March 1791. The subject is taken from the novel Adèle et Théodore by Mme de Genlis. There are some harrowing scenes that would seem less appropriate to Dalayrac’s gracious muse, but the composer nonetheless distinguishes himself with honour (CL 1:190). The colour of the work is sustained and the accompaniments are the most elaborate since Nina. The chanson “Notre meunier chargé d’argent” became popular. Paër treated the same subject, but not so successfully. The opera was revived in 1844 for the debut of Mme Capdeville. Philippe et Georgette Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Jacques-Marie Boutet de Monvel. First performance: Comédie-Italienne, 28 December 1791. The libretto is amusing. It concerns a poor Swiss soldier who has the idea of leaving the front line during time of war to see a young girl he loves. The soldier, pursued from house to house, is on the point of being tracked and shot for desertion. The young French girl he loves hides him for several days in a black cupboard, under a table, in a chest, where she is finally able, after the most moving embarrassments, to have the young Swiss pardoned and her parents support their marriage. The naivete of melody and the simplicity of the music quite disarmed the critics. The overture is the best part of the work. Several arias became popular, notably the chanson for Bonnefoi where the first verse concludes with the following lines: Mais on aime ce qu’on n’a pas. Et ce qu’on a cesse de plaire. M. Marin’s bass aria is also noteworthy: “Oui, je vois, j’entends fort bien”. (CL 2:873)

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Tout pour l’amour ou Juliette et Roméo Opéra-comique en quatre actes. Librettist: Jacques-Marie Boutet de Monvel. First performance: Théâtre Favart, 9 July 1792. Ambroise, ou Voilà ma journée Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Jacques-Marie Boutet de Monvel. First performance: Théâtre Favart, 18 January 1793 La Prise de Toulon Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Louis-Benoît Picard. First performance: Théâtre Feydeau, 1 February 1794. The story depicts how the old garde du corps of the Comte d’Artois brought more than just eagerness in accomplishing a memorable role in the revolutionary struggle. Adèle et Dorsan Drame en trois actes, mêlée d’ariettes. Librettist: Benoît-Joseph Marsollier First performance: Opéra-comique (Salle Favart 1), 27 April 1795 A poor girl, about to be abandoned by her seducer, knows how to triumph over her dreaded rival and touch the heart of her lover’s father. The character of Adèle inspired Dalayrac to write several happy and expressive melodies (CL 1:8). La Maison isolée, ou Le Veillard des Voges Opéra-comique en deux actes. Librettist: Benoît-Joseph Marsollier. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 11 May 1797. Gulnare, ou L’Esclave persane Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Benoît-Joseph Marsollier. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 9 January 1798. This small work includes one of the composer’s most delightful romances:

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“Rien, tendre amour, ne résiste à tes charmes”. After success in the salons, this was subsequently adopted as a pious chorus by confraternities of young women, and so won a whole new popularity. There is another striking aria “Sexe charmant, j’adore ton(?) empire”. Alexis, ou L’Erreur d’un bon père Opéra-comique en quatre actes. Librettist: Benoît-Joseph Marsollier. First performance: Théâtre Feydeau, 24 January 1798. Alexis, badly treated by his stepmother, left the paternal home at an early age. Seven years have elapsed, and he returns posing as the nephew of the gardener. His stepmother is dead, and his father has in the meantime adopted a young orphan. She takes an interest in the unknown, has him tell her his story, and works toward reconciling the family. She writes a letter at Alexis’s dictation, and when it comes to providing the address, all is revealed. Alexis falls into the arms of his father, who returns all his affection, and gives him the hand of the orphan. Dalayrac’s little arias, so gracious and tender, knew how to move and inspire his audiences (CL 1:32). Léon, ou Le Château de Monténéro Drame en trois actes. Librettist: Text: François-Benoît Hoffman after Ann Radcliffe’s novel The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794). First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 15 October 1798. The action is set against the background of a feud between the lords of Monténéro (Léon) and Fondi (Romualde). Romualde’s daughter Laure, her betrothed Louis, and her nurse Vénérande, are captured by Léon’s men. They are held separately in Léon’s castle, and he tries to force Laure to marry him, but she threatens suicide. With the help of the disaffected steward Ferrant, Louis is able to overcome Léon and hand him over to justice. Léon is the third of Dalayrac’s Gothic operas which also included Raoul sire de Créqui (1789) and Camille (1791), both of which involve imprisonment in a castle. Léon expands the genre in order to explore the ambiguities of appearance and reality. The music uses five different motifs all of which are recalled in various dramatic ways, including purely orchestral forms where the motifs represent emotions and thoughts. There is an emphasis on ensemble writing, and a sober vocal style that avoids

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any use of decoration. Adolphe et Clara, ou Les Deux Prisonniers Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Benoît-Joseph Marsollier. OpéraComique (Salle Favart 1), 10 February 1799 This work added several melodies to the popular repertoire. The pretty romance “D’un époux chéri la tendresse” has a refrain that pertains more to vaudeville than opéra-comique: Hommes cruels sans loyauté; Ah! que vous nous causez d’alarmes! Car le meilleur, en vérité, Ne vaux pas une de nos larmes. The couplets “Prenons d’abord l’air bien méchant” were also taken up by the vaudevillists. Clara’s rondeau “Jeunes filles qu’on marie” is noteworthy. Sensibility and truthfulness of expression secured this work a long success, Marsollier’s libretto was interesting, Dalayrac’s music very attractive. The composer’s discreet style was appreciated very much at this time (CL 1:9). Maison à vendre Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Alexandre Duval. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 23 October 1800. This is one of the most amusing operas in the repertoire. The music is fresh and has an airy charm, without offering anything strikingly beautiful (CL 2:681). Of note are the two duets “Depuis longtemps j’ai le désir” and “Chère Lise, dit-moi: je t’aime”; the arias “Fiez-vous” and “Trop malheureux Dermont”. The work was popular for a long time. Léhéman, ou La Tour de Neustadt Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Benoît-Joseph Marsollier. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 1 December 1801 This piece is full of tragic incidents, not the particular sphere of Dalayrac’s light muse (CL 2:643).

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L’Antichambre, ou Les Valets maîtres Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Emmanuel Dupaty. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 27 February 1802 La Jeune Prude, ou Les Femmes entres elles Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Emmanuel Dupaty. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 14 January 1804. The roles in this opera are all female. Une Heure de mariage Opéra-comique en quatre actes. Librettist: Charles-Guillaume Étienne. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 20 March 1804. The success of this small work endured for 40 years (CL 1:559). Gulistan, ou Le Hulla de Samarcande Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Charles-Guillaume Étienne and Ange-Étienne-Xavier Poisson de Lachabeaussière. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 30 September 1805. Gulistan is a musician, a former royal favourite who has fallen from grace. He is poor, but usually happy except for the fact that his beloved Dilara has disappeared. On the other hand there is Taher, a rich merchant who is unhappy in his marriage and wishes to separate from his wife. According to law, however, she must first marry a hulla (or temporary husband) for one night. Gulistan is chosen for this role, and installed in Taher's house with great ceremony for this extraordinary marriage to Taher’s wife. The latter turns out to be Dilara. This opera was part of the fashion for Oriental opera emerging in Paris, exemplified in Boieldieu’s Zoraïme et Zulnar (1789) and Le Calif de Bagdad (1800). In Gulistan the emphasis was on the exotic ambience, with elaborate staging and ceremonial, and with a camel required for the act 3 procession. The scoring calls for triangle, cymbals and piccolos, and looks forward to the Oriental music of Weber’s Oberon (1826).

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Deux Mots, ou Une Nuit dans la forêt Comédie en un acte, en prose. Librettist: Benoît-Joseph Marsollier. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 9 June1806. The subject is taken from Matthew Gregory Lewis’s novel The Monk (1795). Koulouf, ou Les Chinois Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Guilbert de Pixérécourt. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 18 December 1806. ____________________________________________________________

Émile DALCROZE See Émile JAQUES-DALCROZE ____________________________________________________________

Martin-Pierre DALVIMARE (1772-1839) Le Mariage par imprudence Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Étienne de Jouy. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 4 April 1809. This was the only lyric work by this celebrated harpist. There were 18 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Benoni DARONDEAU (b. 1740) Le Soldat par amour Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist anonymous. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 26 September 1789. There was only one performance.

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Antoine DAUVERGNES (1713-1797) Les Troqueurs Opéra-buffon/intermède en un acte. Librettist: Jean-Joseph Vadé. First performance: 1st version: Paris, Foire Saint-Laurent, 30 July 1753; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 26 February 1762. The story is based on a tale by La Fontaine. The music by Dauvergne was supplemented with two vaudevilles that were retained only in the libretto. The story is hardly original. The peasants Lubin and Lucas think that it would be a good idea to exchange their fiancées, Margot and Fanchon. These two, informed of the men’s intentions, know how to manage things so well that they end up with their original choices. Nevertheless, this opera marks an important turning point in the history of the lyric theatre in France. A troupe of Italian players had brought in works by Italian composers, among others Pergolesi’s La serva padrona. The success of these was so great that practitioners of French music now sought to compose pieces in the Italian style. This unexpected revolution was attributed to boredom with the operas of Lulli and Rameau. But this belief was mistaken. It is true that the genre of the tragédie lyrique en cinq actes avec un prologue, in which the natural emotions and the play of human passions were expressed only through the medium of mythology and allegory, had dominated the Opéra for a century. But what the new elements actually brought about was a rejuvenation of form. The tragedie lyrique was better suited to the Court than to the city, but nevertheless, the number of amateur composers and of dramatic presentations grew day by day, finding an audience across all social classes—so that, extraordinarily, a popular lyric genre began to emerge in response to the needs of a public less delicate in the choice and nature of its pleasures. The interregnum that took place at the Académie de musique from 1760 until 1774, from Rameau’s last opera (Les Paladins), to Gluck’s first Parisian work (Iphigénie en Aulis), coincides with the formation and rapid development of the opéra-comique. But happily for the preservation of great art in France, there had always been enough musical enthusiasts to fill the auditorium of the Opéra as soon as a composer had produced a work worthy of enduring success, and it was the genius of Mondonville and Floquet that had ensured the continuation of the Opéra at this time.

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From 1715 the name opéra-comique had been given to pieces played on the stages of the fairs, where the only singing was in vaudeville. Music was a mere banal accessory, whereas, on the contrary, music served to express all the situations in the dozen opera buffas that were played in Paris in 1752 and 1753. There were operas by Pergolesi, Scarlatti, Cocchi, Latilla, and Jomelli. Both Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and the enthusiasts du coin de la reine, were wrong to attack French music, as they did, in this connection, particularly French opera, since they were comparing completely different genres. Monnet, the director of the Opéra-Comique at this point, showed greater good sense. He asked Vadé to write a libretto and Dauvergne to compose the music for it. This could properly be called the first French opéra-bouffe. Then, fearing that the pro-Italian cabal of the bouffons would ruin his efforts, since it went as far as maintaining that there was no music in France, he sought to quieten the hubbub by maintaining that he had sent the libretto to an Italian composer living in Vienna who had written the music. Presented in this way, Les Troqueurs succeeded, and Monnet, reassured, introduced Dauvergne to the public. From this moment, the opéra-comique was worthy of its title. Tantae molis erat... This work was played for another 21 years, until 1783. Much later, retouched and put into prose by Armand and Achille Dartois, it was revived at the Opéra-Comique (Feydeau) with new music by Hérold (18 February 1819), and was retained in the repertory until 1825. ____________________________________________________________

Jean-Baptiste DAVAUX (1742-1822) Théodore, ou Le Bonheur inattendu Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en trois actes. Librettist: Benoît-Joseph Marsollier in collaboration with Jean-Baptiste-Denis Després. First performance: 1st version: Fontainebleau, Théâtre de la Cour, 4 March 1785; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 28 April 1785. The story is derived from Hugh Kelly’s comedy False Delicacy. This was the first of two stage works by the violinist Davaux, and the success was less durable than that of his string quartets. There were 3 performances.

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Cécilia, ou Les Trois Tuteurs Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en trois actes. Librettist: L. T. Lambert or Descomles. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 14 December 1786. The story is based on Fanny Burney’s novel Cecilia, or Memoirs of an Heiress. There was only one performance. ____________________________________________________________

Félicien DAVID (1810-1876) La Perle du Brésil Drame lyrique en trois actes. Librettists: Gabriel de Lurieu and Sylvain Saint-Étienne, with revisions by Jules Barbier (1883). First performance: 1st version: Opéra-National, 22 November 1851; 2nd version: OpéraComique (Salle Favart 2), 17 May 1883. The action takes place in the Portuguese court; on board ship; and in the Brazilian forest. There is a very strong analogy with the poem of L’Africaine. The admiral Salvador has brought back from one of his voyages a young native, Zora. Thanks to the brilliant education he has added to her natural charm, she has become the idol of the court, and the admiral is hoping to make her his wife. They set sail. A young lieutenant, Lorenz, loves Zora and has come aboard disguised as a common sailor. The admiral recognizes him, and wishes to be avenged on his rival, but a storm arises, and obliges him to postpone his revenge. The vessel goes down, and the crew succeed in finding land on the Brazilian coast. The natives of the area arrive, surround the Europeans, and menace them with their tomahawks. They hear a woman’s voice, Zora invoking the Great Spirit. The Brazilians fall to their knees in recognizing their compatriot. Peace is concluded, and Zora now easily obtains the old admiral’s permission to marry Lorenzo whom she loves. This was David’s first dramatic work. The descriptive genre occupies a big place in it. The maritime festivity in act 2, the hammock scene in the forest, the bird song, and the tempest, are all realized with that ingenious and original colour which secured the composer such success in Le Désert and Christophe Colomb. The dramatic qualities that he revealed in Herculanum and Lalla-Roukh were already in evidence in act 3 of Le

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Perle du Brésil. Among the more striking pieces in the opera are: the bird song for Mysoli, and the ballad “Entendez-vous dans les savanes”. The roles were created by the tenor Philippe Soyer, the bass Bouché, Mlle Guichard, and Mlle Duez, a graceful and brilliant pupil of Mme Damoreau, who, in the role of Zora, and particularly in Mysoli’s song, demonstrated a surety of intonation and marvellous agility. The role was later taken over in 1857 with great success by Mme Miolan-Carvalho at the Théâtre Lyrique. For the reprise at the Opéra-Comique in 1883, Jules Barbier added new spoken dialogue. This revision of the libretto necessitated several cuts and modifications to the score. The revival saw 19 performances of the work. Le Saphir Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Michel Carré, Adolphe de Leuven and T. Hadot. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 8 March 1865. The story is based on Shakespeare’s comedy All’s Well That Ends Well (Tout est bien qui finit bien). The libretto is very amusing. Hermine, daughter of the physician of the Queen of Navarre, has saved the royal heir of Béarn. In order to recognize her achievement, the queen promises to grant her whatever she wishes, which is to marry the comte Gaston de Lusignan, her foster brother since infancy. Gaston, not daring to disobey his sovereign, resigns himself, but immediately abandons his fiancée and leaves for the wars, swearing to her that she will never become his wife until that day when he will put on her finger a ring ornamented with a sapphire, something the counts of Lusignan have been accustomed to give their betrothed. Act 2 is set in Naples. Gaston has payed court to a certain Fiammetta, and, accompanied by his page Olivier and by Captain Parole, has given himself over to a disordered life. But poor Hermine arrives and relates her adventures to an experienced duenna, who organizes a nocturnal rendez-vous where Gaston unawares encounters, in place of Fiammetta, his proper fiancée. She surprisingly receives from him the precious sapphire, and returns to France. In act 3 all the characters finds themselves in the count’s château. The count is surprised to see Hermine consoled of her abandonment and receiving with good grace the homage of the young noblemen. The count feels jealous, and reclaims his rights, but he no longer has the sapphire in his possession, which the Countess Hermine in her turn now demands. Fiammetta and the duenna are not able to restore it to him, and eventually

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it is Hermine herself who shows it on her finger. The music contains charming pieces, but also some in which inspiration flags. In act 1, there is a lovely opening chorus. Act 2 contains a lovely duet “Le temps emporte sur son aile”; a chanson full of verve for Fiammetta; a good stage quartet; a chorus of sailors and a tenor serenade. Act 3 has a béarnaise dance and the count’s aria “C’est pour vous seule, Hermine”. The work was really well sung by Montaubry, Gourdin, Mlles Cico, Girard and Baretti. There were 20 performances. Lalla-Roukh Opéra-comique en deux actes. Librettists: Michel Carré and Hippolyte Lucas. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 12 May 1862. The story is derived from the poem by Thomas Moore. The originality of the libretto, the setting of the action, the vague poetry of some of the situations, even the indecision of the characters, all seemed to stimulate the composer’s inspiration. The opera won an undisputed and deserved success. Lalla Roukh (cheek of the lily in Indian), daughter of a sultan of the Indies, travels from Delhi to Kashmir to marry the son of the king of Little Boukharia. She is accompanied by her homme de confiance, a eunuch called Baskir, who is charged with looking after the princess, and acquits himself rather badly of his delicate commission. In order to alleviate the boredom of the journey, a type of Indian troubadour sings her tender romances, which she listens to with such pleasure that her heart is no longer free when she reaches the goal of her journey. Happily, as in Jean de Paris, the princess’s travelling companion is none other than the Prince of Boukharia who wanted to know what feelings he would inspire in his fiancée, and has succeeded in making her love him for himself. After a charming introduction “C’est ici le pays des roses”, and the couplets for Baskir, with their fine rhythm, the most striking pieces of act 1 are: Noureddin’s suave cantilena “Ma maîtresse a quitté la tente”; the couplets for Mirza “Si vous ne savez plus charmer” with its little allegro, all of which are graceful. In act 2, Lalla Roukh’s aria “Ô nuit d'amour”is inspired by poetry; the allegretto that follows lacks distinction. The duettino “Loin du bruit, loin du monde” is one of the loveliest nocturnes ever written for the stage. The couplets "Ah! Funeste amabassade” and the duo bouffe “Tout ira bien domain” are pieces that worked perfectly. Mlle Cico created the role of Lalla Roukh with distinction; Gourdin and Mlle Bélia also realized their roles well. Montaubry gave little life to the character of Noureddin. There was a reprise on 21 November 1876 (Salle

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Favart 2). The work remained in the repertory until 1898. ____________________________________________________________

Samuel DAVID (1836-1895) Madame Sylvia Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Narcisse Fournier. performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 17 April 1868.

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The libretto held no interest for the public, yet the music is agreeable. The overture was noteworthy, as were a female duetto in one waltz movement, a well-made aria for soprano, and a well-handled little quartet. The work was performed into the following year, 1869. ____________________________________________________________

Charles [Gui Xavier van Gronnerade] DEBLOIS Les Rubans, ou le Rendez-vous Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Pierre-Germain Parisau. First performance: Comédie Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 11 August 1784. Also known as Les Deux Rubans. There were 8 performances ____________________________________________________________

Claude DEBUSSY (1862-1918) Pelléas et Mélisande Drame lyrique en cinq actes et douze tableaux. Librettist: Maurice Maeterlinck adapted by Claude Debussy. First performance: OpéraComique (Salle Favart 3), 30 April 1902. Golaud (baritone), grandson of King Arkel of Allemonde (bass). takes home a mysterious girl, Melisande (soprano), he has found weeping in the forest. Genevieve (mezzo), mother of the half-brothers Pelleas (tenor) and Golaud, reads Arkel a letter from Golaud to Pelleas describing his meeting

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and marriage with Melisande. Arkel accepts this marriage. Pelleas comes to tell of a summons he has had from a sick friend, but Arkel reminds him that he should stay with his own sick father, who lies upstairs. Melisande and Genevieve are joined by Pelleas in the castle gardens and watch a ship departing. Playing with her wedding ring, Melisande loses it down a well; Pelleas advises her to tell Golaud the truth. Golaud, thrown from his horse at the moment the ring fell, is being tended by Melisande. He notices the ring's absence, and tells her to go and search in the grotto by the seashore, where she says she lost it. Pelleas and Melisande explore the grotto. Frightened by three sleeping beggars, they abandon their pretended search. Melisande drops her long hair from her window, and it is fondled by Pelleas. They are surprised by Golaud. Golaud shows Pelleas the stagnant castle vaults. Golaud warns Pelleas to let Melisande alone. Golaud questions little Yniold (sop.), son of his former marriage, about Pelleas and Melisande and holds him up to the window to tell what he sees: they are sitting together. Pelleas plans to leave, on his father's advice. Golaud enters and in jealous fury seizes Melisande's hair and hurls her to and fro. In the park, Yniold is trying to lift a large stone. Pelleas comes to say good-bye to Melisande, but they declare their love as the castle gates shut. Golaud appears and strikes down Pelleas; Melisande flees, pursued by Golaud. Arkel, Golaud, and the Physician wait by Melisande's bed, where she is dying, having given birth to a child. Golaud, repentant but still jealous, questions her about her love for Pelleas—was it a 'forbidden' love. The castle servants enter, and fall on their knees as Melisande dies without answering Golaud. The text is an adaptation of Maeterlinck’s drama of the same name. The work presents a remarkable fusion of text and music, and in fact attains the Wagnerian ideal of continuous music without separate numbers. While it can come across as monotonous, the sound of Maeterlinck’s French is integral to the delicate interwoven fabric of Debussy’s almost verbatim setting, a score which realizes the ambiguous half-realized attitudes, shadowy imagery and allusive twilight atmosphere of the play in a shimmering orchestral web of orchestral sound. It remains a solitary work with few descendants—most notably Dukas’s Ariane et Barbe-Blue. There was a general rehearsal on 28 April 1902. To satisfy the technical demands of changing the décor, Debussy was obliged to lengthen the instrumental interludes. Maeterlinck’s strange play was performed at the Bouffes-Parisiens on 17 May 1893 amidst irreverent

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laughter from the public, amused by a series of naïvetés and scenic clumsinesses; a work of serious pretensions thus became an inadvertent object of mirth. Debussy, Prix de Rome of 1884, recondite musician as he was, whom certain colleagues of the same calibre placed at the head of the new school, believed that in Pelléas et Mélisande he had found an excellent subject for a lyrical drama, and after the necessary work of adaptation, set it to music in the manner he conceived as music drama. Unfortunately, Debussy, like all his contemporaries, was too late. He and they believed they were ahead of their times, not realizing that time moves on and that they were behind the times. They did not perceive that the public had become tired of hearing music which is hardly there, tired of heavy and continual declamation, without air or light, in which hardly a morsel of real singing is to be found. They had had enough of the insupportable chromaticism thanks to which the sense of tonality had disappeared, like the sense of melody. They were thirsting to hear some phrases that have an appreciable sense, that unfold in a logical and rational manner, and that do not pass from modulation to modulation only to be led into yet another modulation. Rhythm, song, and tonality are three concepts that are complex in Debussy's system, and were largely disdained by him. His music is vague, floating, without colour, without contours, without movement, and without life. It is not just declamation itself, but a kind of continual and doleful singsong, without nerve and without vigour, and fleeting—all of this doctrinaire and deliberate. Every type of neatness and precision, the proper musical fabric pertaining to rhythm, even the very bar structure, become vague and indeterminate. There is never a nuance, never a semblance of opposition in one sense or another. Even the orchestra is always uniform, with little character and consistency, with its sound constantly sustained, especially by the wind instruments: horns, clarinets and bassoons. The brilliant, vibrant and generous sound of the violins is never to be heard. The whole presents a voluntarily subdued spectrum, veiled and soporific. The score, somnolent and singularly written, was nevertheless beautifully played and sung by excellent interpreters: Mlles Mary Garden (Mélisande) and Gerville-Réache (Geneviève), MM. Périer (Pelléas), Dufranne (Golaud) and Vieuille (Arkel), and the conductor André Messager (CL 2:1264). The first New York production was at the Manhattan Opera Comique, 19 Feb. 1908 with Garden, Gerville-Reache, Dufranne, Arimondi, Crabbe, conducted by Campanini; the first British performance in London, Covent Garden, 21 May 1909, with Rose Feart, Bourgeois, Warnery, VanniMarcoux, Bourbon, Crabbe, conducted by Campanini. There were

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revivals at the Opéra-Comique on 17 April 1929 to raise funds for a monument to Debussy; 19 January 1930; 22 May 1942; 14 June 1947; 30 April 1952 for the fiftieth anniversary of the work; 14 May 1959; 14, 17, 19, 21 December 1962 for the centenary of Debussy’s birth; 3 May 1963; 31 October 1996. ____________________________________________________________

Pierre-Louis DEFFÈS (1819-1900) L’Anneau d’argent Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Jules Barbier and Léon Battu. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 5 July 1855. This small work served as Deffès’s debut as a composer for the lyric stage. Already there is evidence of an elegant harmony and well-observed expressiveness to be found in the romance of the daisy. The roles were sung by Ponchard, Bussine, Mlles Rey and Andrea Favel. There were four performances. La Clef des champs Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Henry Boisseaux. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 20 May 1857. This concerns an escapade of Mme du Barry, who returns to her place of birth at Noisy, where her apparent ingenuousness results in her being crowned as the rosière, village maiden or paragon of chastity. This basic theme is exaggerated to the point of the ridiculous. There are some couplets “Les filles de Nanterre”, and a pretty trio. The piece was created by Couderc, Jourdan, Lemaire, Nathan and Mlle Lemercier. There were 44 performances until 1861. Le Café du roi Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Henri Meilhac. First performance: 1st version: Bad Ems, 17 August 1861; 2nd version: Théâtre-Lyrique, 16 November 1861; 3rd version: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 2 September 1868. The story is derived fom an episode in the youth of Louis XV. It is pure

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invention to which the music has added some attraction. Of note are: the chanson à table, the duet for the Marquis and Gilberte, the arrangements of couplets by Lulli and Rameau, and the aria sung by Louis XV: C’est un enfant Qui s’est endormi sous ma garde... All won applause. Mlle Girard sang the role of Louis XV with verve and finesse, and Mme Baretti that of Gilberte. The work was very successful at Bad Ems, and later at the Opéra-Comique, where it was retained in the repertory until 1890. Les Bourguignonnes Opéra-comique en un acte et en prose. Librettist: Henri Meilhac. First performance: 1st version: Bad Ems, 19 July 1862; 2nd version: OpéraComique (Salle Favart 2), 16 July 1863. Manette has come to spend some time on the farm of her cousin by marriage, Landry, whose wife Thérèse has the fault of seeing to all her husband’s business, something that allows the latter to give himself over to a life of idleness dangerous for the peace of the household. Fortunately Manette is shrewd. She dismisses Landry’s sweet nothings, and thanks to her advice, Thérèse realizes in time the danger threatening her domestic happiness. Manette in her turn learns from the young woman the secret of managing, that is the art of keeping one’s spouse happy by soothing his pride and heart. The scene in which the two cousins share some vin de Bourgogne to give them courage is in bad taste. The chanson à boire which seems to be an obligatory accessory in all opéra-comique libretti, is misplaced in the mouth of a woman (CL 1:168). This small work does not lack wit and skill. It is a pleasant marivaudage en sabots (flirtation in clogs). The subject has been used many times, but the variations are almost novel. This agreeable sketch, moreover, served as the debut of Mlle Girard, the only Dugazon of this period, who sang the aria “Tends ton verre, la Bourguignonne” with incomparable brio. There is also an excellent trio. The work remained in the repertoire until 1866. Les Noces de Fernande Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Victorien Sardou and Émile de Najac. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 19 November

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1878. The composer had the misfortune of treating a subject that was badly conceived, complicated and unattractive, so using up pointlessly a consummate talent, inspired and full of verve and grace. The story takes place in Portugal and is in the worst possible taste (CL 2: 783). A certain infante has for his tutor a former pastry-cook called Ridendo, into whose care he is delivered for three acts of the most improbable extravagances. Fernande is to marry Dom Henrique. The infante wishes to serenade her on the morning of her marriage, and is involved in a duel with her fiancé. A captain of the guard, called Arias, intervenes: he is also in love with Fernande. Dom Henrique flees, and Fernande is sent to a convent. This is not a severe enclosure by any means, and the infante and his tutor use all kinds of disguises to gain entry, but it all goes wrong. Arias is killed by the assassins he has posted to deal with his rival Dom Henrique, leaving Fernande free to celebrate her marriage. There are many motifs in rhythmic Spanish style: the infante’s aria “Nuit d’amour et de plaisir”, the chorus of alguazils, Henrique’s serenade, couplets à la jota, and a pretty nuptial march in act 3. The cast was Engel, Morlet, Barnolt, Bernard, Collin, Davoust, Mme Galli-Marié, Mlles Chevrier and Decroix. There were 8 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Léon DELAHAYE (1844-1896) Pepita Opéra-comique en deux actes. Librettists: Charles Nuitter and Jules Delahaye. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 13 July 1878. This work, moving, gay and witty, has the authentic tone of opéracomique, and if the score had been in tune with the libretto, the work would have succeeded and would perhaps have remained in the repertoire. But the divergence was too wide, and Pepita has faded into the past. A citizen of Gibralter called Quertinos has nieces to marry off. One of them, Hermosa, has reached maturity, and the other, Pepita, is being courted by a number of suitors. Quertinos’s desire to see the older one married creates a difficult situation, because if he keeps the amorous toreros at arm's length, he receives many presents from each of them, all destined to secure his good graces. A young naval officer, Sir George Williams, braves the

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situation. He sends a letter to la señora Pepita in which he proposes to take her to the home of his uncle. But Hermosa receives the letter, and presumes it to be addressed to herself. The two sisters leave the house of their tutor and go to establish themselves in the home of Williams' uncle, where they are soon being courted by toreros, as well as by other persons, including the alcalde himself. Pepita and Hermosa disguise themselves as servants, but are soon recognized. The alcalde now has two abductions instead of one to deal with. What is to be done? Should he apply the Spanish law and enjoin Sir George to marry the elder? Quertinos goes to read Hermosa’s birth certificate, which he tears up and destroys. Pepita is declared the elder, despite all appearances. It is decided that she should marry the one whom she loves, and the good uncle must console himself with the older Hermosa, and offers her his hand. An animated dialogue and some good witticisms add interest to the libretto. The music is notable for its well worked overture, the aria for the alcalde, and the couplets for one of the young toreros, Valmaseda. The work was created by Nicot, Fugère, Davoust, Bernard, and Mlles Ducasse and Godefroy. There were only 4 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Clément-Philibert-Léo DELIBES (1836-1891) Le Roi l’a dit Opéra-comique en trois actes et en vers. Librettist: Edmond Gondinet. First performance: Théâtre National de l’Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 24 May 1873. The libretto was first offered to Offenbach in 1871. The fundamental theme is rather absurd, but the elegance of the versification and some witty features led to its acceptance. The Marquis of Moncontour has become the favourite of Louis XIV, because he had found a missing wig belonging to Mme de Maintenon. He has four daughters but no son. When the king asks about his family, and enquires as to whether he has a son, in his embarrassment he replies in the affirmative. The king, distracted or badly informed, says to him: “Yes, I know.” And so the Marquis now believes himself to have a son. He adopts a little peasant who does all sorts of foolish things, ruins him, compromises him, and finally in a duel passes for dead out of cowardice. The king addresses his condolences to the marquis, and the latter takes advantage of this to send his adopted son back

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to his fields. The music is graceful, lively, skillfully written, but rather empty, with inspiration lacking. In act 1 there is a gavotte, a march in the archaic style, and a chorus for four girls. Act 3 contains an ensemble. The cast were: Ismaël, Sainte-Foix, Lhérie, Barnolt, Mlles Chapuy, Révilly, Priola, Guillot, Nadaud and Thibaut. The work was revived on 3 June 1885 (Salle Favart 2) in a revision by the composer; 23 March 1898 (Châtelet) reduced to two acts by Philippe Gille; 3 March 1961 (Salle Favart 3). Jean de Nivelle Opéra-comique/Opéra en trois actes. Librettists: Edmond Gondinet and Philippe Gille. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 8 March 1880. All involved wanted to create a serious artistic work, so it was rather singular that they chose as their theme the popular but trivial legend Jean de Nivelle. A hero who begins by betraying his master will never prove sympathetic. And among the historical episodes of France, the Ligue de Bien publique is among the dullest, with no romantic interest to offer, nothing brilliant or generous. On the other hand, there is a good denouement. But how could anyone think that a man who was a traitor to his country, his father, and his king could excite the interest of the French public, always chivalrous in matters of the stage? Jean, son of the Duc de Montmorency, abandoned the flag of his father and enroled himself with the nobles rebelling against Louis XI under the banner of the Comte de Charolais, Charles the Bold, whose chamberlain he became and remained. This sad character took part in the Battle of Montlhéry, the event which provided the occasion for the audience of the Opéra-Comique to see a son assassinating his father. The work has no overture. It begins with a prelude which presents one of the most agreeable phrases of the opera: the chorus of soldiers that opens act 3. There are also affecting imitations of plainchant with the suppression of all affective tone, which, mixed with pieces of a more modern cut, does not produce a good effect. When one tries to give too much local colour to a historical subject, it never works. It results in a sort of apocryphal and questionable realism: it is always better to idealize the subject. The great dramatic masters, Gluck and Meyerbeer, knew how to instil the necessary colour without resorting to pastiche, the latter in dealing with the Middle Ages in Robert le Diable and the epoch of the Valois in Les Huguenots, the former with fabled Greek antiquity in Orphée and the two Iphigénie. It is best to rely on the imagination alone

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and use one's powers of invention. This aesthetic differs from that which seemed to prevail in the dramatic school of Delibes' time. Act 1 begins with Jean not only escaping the call of his father, but also that of the shepherds and vine-dressers who want to crown him king of the vintage. At the beginning of the opera, it is Jean who calls the vinedressers. These maenads from the Bourgogne advance rather boldly. Their female chorus is agreeably rhythmical. Simonne enters. She is the aunt of Arlette, the young girl who will become the object of Jean de Nivelle’s love and play the most important role in this opera. Simonne has a son called Thibault who has been imprisoned for stealing a necklace in order to give a gift to his cousin Arlette. In order to rescue her son, she needs to find gold by selling secrets and love potions. The grape-dressers shamelessly hasten to offer the sorceress not only fruit and flowers, but also money, crosses, necklaces and jewels, all out of love for the handsome shepherd. Simonne then sings the legend of the mandrake. The properties attributed to this plant in olden times from the Greek savant Dioscorides right up to the celebrated Venetian physician Mattheolus are passed over in favour of the folklore that places the mandrake on a little altar surrounded by four candles. The music of this legend recalls the phrase “Que le vague écumante” in the opera Zampa, a rather dull melody in the form of a popular canticle, which false harmonic relations render intolerable to the ear. A young girl from the ducal court called Diane, daughter of the Baron de Beautreillis, a ridiculous character, passionately loves the young shepherd Jean. Arlette meets with her, and without any forewarning, a lively friendship ensues, to the point where the little peasant girl is taken by Diane to Duke Philip’s court and is suddenly transformed into a princess whose influence equals that of great lords. Baron de Beautreillis's pride prompts him to marry his daughter to the Comte de Charolais. Another lord, Saladin d’Anglure, jealous of Arlette’s influence, pretends to love her so as to ruin her. Jean challenges him to a duel and kills him. The Comte de Charolais puts a price on the head of the murderer. The handsome shepherd, now known under his real name of Jean, Duc de Montmorency, joins the Ligue du Bien public, and in his despair at having been deceived by Arlette, asks for a company of soldiers to lead. Act 3 is heroic-comic. On the day after the Battle of Montlhéry, the outcome is still uncertain. There is a scene of general cowardice, hardly worthy of great lords like the Sire de Malitorne and the Baron de Beautreillis. This type of scene belongs more to the operettas of Offenbach. Arlette has become a peasant again, Jean de Nivelle sings patriotic verses in honour of the flag of France, although he can hardly be

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said to put himself at its service, and seems to prefer a cottage in the woods with Arlette to the adventures of public life and the duties of his rank. As far as the music is concerned, in act 1 there is a lovely melody sung by Arlette “On croit à tout lorsque l’on aime” followed by a duet for Arlette and Simonne, full of dramatic accents. The declamation is energetic and the prosody is good, as it is in the following trio. Melody is rare and undistinguished, however. Every phrase concludes with a pause, inevitably placed to facilitate the vocal execution. The harmony abounds in extreme dissonance and in badly sequenced modulations. A type of nocturne introduced into the duet weakens its character. It is difficult to understand how the sorceress Simonne, whose heart is filled with hate and malice, can coo with Arlette: Chers oiseaux, sous l’ombrage, Chantez, chantez toujour. Jean’s couplets lack clarity as well as melody; the persistent interval of a fourth only adds to a sense of loss: C’est alors que l’amour nous blesse Que ses regards sont le plus doux; Cherchons-le quand il nous délaisee. Fuyons-le, quand il vient à nous. Voilà pourquois Jean de Nivelle S’en va..s’en va quand l’appelle! The love duet for Jean and Arlette is merely a string of inconsequences. Jean begins by addressing gentle words to the young girl. She responds that he has deceived her, since he is not the shepherd Jean, but the Duc de Montmorency. She takes the flowers he gave her from her bodice and sheds tears of regret. “Un pauvre duc”, he says to Arlette, Un pauvre duc Qui voudrait bien changer Un titre mensonger Pour le nom, la houlette Du plus humble berger! The finale has verve and movement, and is well worked out. The most striking motifs are the phrase for Diane “Ah! quelle joie enivrante”, and

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the allegro moderato ensemble “L’étrange personnage”. The couplets for Charolais “Prenez garde au joli berger” recall exactly the syllabic structure of Offenbach’s operettas, with the aggravation of an unacceptable cadence on the words “seul vous ramène en ces bois”. The rules of tonality have not been observed in the chorus of the “Reines d’un jour”. The composer has thought to give an uncouth character to the song of the vine-growers by introducing the effect of consecutive fifths without proper management and has this brusquely followed by a phrase in A minor for two bars. The result is a painful aural dissonance. Not long before this, others had tried to depict the uncouth genre, boorish and rustic: but Grétry, Monsigny, Boieldieu and Victor Massé tackled it differently, and knew how to ally expression of character with the laws of harmony and good taste in L’Épreuve villageoise, Le Déserteur, La Fête du village voisin, and Les Noces de Jeannette. The entr’acte has an archaic turn, successively executed by the oboes, the flutes and the strings con sordini, a delicate, inconsequential moment. The chorus for a rustic festivity set to dance music follows on a comic trio which is merely decorative. Simonne’s couplets “Se consoler!”, written for the superb voice and wild harshness of Mme Engalli, offer some well charactized phrases. But no piece from beginning to end is completely successful. The chorus in honour of the young favourite “Sur tes pas, charmente Arlette” is very pretty, melodic and has a graceful rhythm. The fabliau “Dans le moulin du grand meunier” was the piece most applauded in the work because of its vocalise—roulades delicately sung by Mlle Bilbaut-Vauchelet.The music is distinguished only for its skillful structure. The scene of the invocation of the enchanted mandrake is too childish to produce much of an effect, despite some doleful phrases for Arlette telling Jean that he is loved by his benefactress. In the trio which follows, there is a lovely phrase for the tenor in the midst of harmonic intricacies that are rather rough.The beginning of the finale is dramatic and interesting. The imprecations against the unknown murderer of Saladin d’Anglure are expressed with talent and energy. The act finishes with a chorus of soldiers, complicated, but full of elan, well orchestrated and worthy of a better setting. Act 3 opens with a brilliant chorus of soldiers which is intercalated by couplets for Simonne, interesting for their bizarre and savage character: C’est un plaisir souverain De s’être battus la veille, Quand on s’éveille Le landemain.

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Her couplets are followed by a striking strophe “Eh! Que sont les morts, que sont les vivants”. The Comte de Charolais has a sentimental romance, rather strange coming from the mouth of this bold character “Il est jeune, il est amoureux”. The stances “La bannière de France” have the praiseworthy intention of combining melancholy with chivalrous feeling, but the inspiration suffers from the negative effects of the sad character of the hero. The phrases of the song are awkwardly modulated, twisted, convoluted. It produced some effect in the theatre due almost exclusively to the intensity of its height, and is subordinated to the vocal means of the singer. Despite its initial positive reception, the work did not remain in the repertory, and was performed only into the following year, 1881. The cast were: Talazac (Jean de Nivelle); Taskin (le comte de Charolais); Mlle Bilbaut-Vauchelet (Arlette); Mme Engalli (Simonne); Mlle Mirane (Diane de Beautreillis); Mlle Dalbret (the page Isolin); M. Maris (Saladin d’Anglure); M. Grivot (le sire de Malitorne); M. Gourdon (le baron de Beautreillis); M. Troy (un Veillard). Lakmé Opéra en trois actes. Librettists: Edmond Gondinet and Philippe Gille. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 14 April 1883. The story is derived from three poems by Théodore Pavie: Les Babouches du Brahmane, Sougandhie, and Padmavati. This opera, thanks to its charming music and its colourful and original poetry, obtained one of the greatest successes known at the Opéra-Comique for over a quarter of a century. This is thoroughly French music—clear, limpid, elegant, truly inspired—and placed the composer among the foremost artists of his time. It secured Delibes’s election to the Académie des beaux-arts, to replace Victor Massé, and seemed to promise of long and brilliant career. But this was cut down by a sudden and premature end that was a cruel blow to French music. The libretto of Lakmé, perhaps a little uniform, was nonetheless admirable, and possessed the rare quality of great elegance. It inspired the composer most happily, and one could not have asked any more of him. The action takes place in British India where a young officer, Gerald, is about to marry a compatriot, Miss Ellen. By chance one day, however, he enters the garden of a Brahmin where he encounters the latter’s daughter, Lakmé, with whom he is completely taken. She too responds to his love. But Lakmé’s father Nilakantha is a fanatical priest, and having learned that the sacred hearth of his home has been profaned and his daughter

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accosted, he swears vengeance on the infidel who has sullied his home. Nilakantha has not recognized Gerald who fled at his approach, but has sworn to discover him and be avenged. He begins traversing the city disguised as a mendicant monk, and has his daughter accompany him, turning her into a singer of songs, imagining that her appearance and voice will attract Gerald. When he sees the one he loves, Gerald does indeed give himself away, and is stabbed for his audacity. The wound is not however fatal, and thanks to Lakmé’s devoted ministrations in secret, he is restored to health. The two love each more than ever, and Lakmé prepares for their union in secret, according to the rites of Brahma. They are interrupted by the distant sound of military music. It is Gerald’s regiment which is leaving to take part in the repression of an Indian revolt. Duty prevails over love in the young officer’s heart, and Gerald is not able to remain with his beloved whom he abandons to answer the call of duty. Lakmé is not able to endure his departure, and poisons herself by chewing the leaves of a poisonous tree, to die in the arms of the one she could not stop loving. C’est mon rêve qui sombre, Et je ne sais quel ombre Passe sur mon coeur attristé. Mais je meurs sous le charme De ma première larme D’ivresse et de volupté. The whole score is striking. The lovely instrumental prelude powerfully introduces on the violins the phrase that recurs in act 2 in the impassioned duet for Gerald and Lakmé, and then the religious chorus of the Hindus heard at the rising of the curtain. This is followed by the broad and noble song of Nilakantha “Soyez trois fois bénit!” The invocation for the old priest “Blanche Dourga, pâle Siva” is just as striking. The small duet for Lakmé and her friend Mallika has an undulating grace and charm. This rich first act also includes a quintet of stimulating rhythm that has a lovely intercalated romance for the baritone. Gerald’s romance “Fantaisie aux divins mensonge” and Lakmé’s song “Pourquoi dans le grands bois...” became celebrated. Act 2 opens with a lively scene, the brilliant and swarming market, and is handled by the composer with verve, dash and swagger, while the ballet which closes the scene is fresh and well designed. The legend of the “Fille du paria” is a virtuoso aria written to test the astonishing vocal resources of Mlle van Zandt. Thanks to her talent Delibes was able to avoid banality where others might have

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succumbed. The act is crowned in a superb fashion by the big love duet for Gerald and Lakmé, already prefigured in the symphonic introduction to the opera. Act 3 begins with a an entr’acte and lovely distant chorus “Descendons la pente doucement”, and is devoted to two big duets for Gerald and Lakmé, containing Lakmé’s beautiful cantabile “Ah! viens dans la forêt profonde”, full of penetrating emotion. The score is full of colour, grace and poetry, feeling at once chaste and passionate, and is inspired in choice and freshness of ideas, novel and stimulating harmonies, a sustained clarity of musical discourse, a richness and variety of orchestration and all the qualities of form and substance which cooperate to provide a refined ensemble in all parts of the work. Because of this, the opera, having enchanted the French public, made a triumphant tour of the European stages, carrying Delibes’s renown far and contributing to the glory of the young French school. The immediate, spontaneous and sincere success of this opera was assisted by a remarkable interpretation. An artist full of grace and originality, Mlle Marie van Zandt, a singer of extraordinary skill, personified the young Indian heroine, while the role of Gerald was taken by Talazac and that of Nilakantha brought great honour to M. Cobalet. The other less important parts were taken by Mlles Frandin, Rémy, Molé and Pierron, and MM. Barré and Chenevière. There were reprises on 13 May 1931; in 1956; and on 29 December 1960. It was in the repertory until 1969. Kassya Drame lyrique/Opéra en quatre actes. Librettists: Henri Meilhac and Philippe Gille. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Châtelet), 24 March 1893. The story is derived from a novelle by Sacher-Masoch. Delibes died suddenly on 17 January 1891, leaving his score Kassya completed but for the instrumentation of the last three acts. Ernest Guiraud was first approached to complete the work, and having initially accepted, then withdrew for various reasons. It was finally Massenet who not only finished the orchestration but also wrote recitatives to replace the dialogue that was first conceived. All this needed time, and it was two years after Delibes’s death before the work was first presented to the public. The librettists were inspired by stories from the Czech novelist SacherMasoch, and produced a libretto that was lacking in neither colour nor the picturesque. However, it was a little dark and the tone somewhat violent,

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although not without interest. It is presented in a series of curious tableaux, full of movement, sometimes strange, that unfold an action that is rather loose and tenuous. This was harmful to the success of the work, which from a musical point of view contained pages worthy of the composer of Lakmé and Le Roi l’a dit. Of particular note are: in act 1, the drinking chorus, the recital for the tenor, a lovely duet and the thrilling Gypsy prophecy; in act 2, the song of the slave, and the chorus of soldiers; in act 3, an effective entr’acte, the delightful chorus of nervous people, a distraction that is the pearl of the score, the aria of the swallow which has exquisite feeling; in act 4, the lovely ballet music, containing a brilliant polonaise, and the finale. The work was interpreted by: Mmes Nuovina, Simonnet and Elven, MM. Gibert, Soulacroix, Lorrain and Challet. The ballet alone was revived in 1913 as Danses Slaves. ____________________________________________________________

Pierre Antoine Domenico DELLA MARIA (1769-1800) Le Prisonnier, ou la Ressemblence Comédie mêlée de chant en un acte. Librettist: Alexandre Pineu-Duval. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 29 January 1798. The libretto offers situations where improbability does not conceal banality. Its success was nonetheless immense and popular. Duval affirmed, in a note on his collaborator, that the composer took only 8 days to set the libretto. The motifs, without being striking, do not lack a certain original melodic turn, which explains something of the vogue which the piece initiated. Of particular note are: the romance for the prisoner “Il faut des époux assortis dans les liens du mariage” which for half a century was very frequently used in vaudevilles; the duet of resemblance; the couplets “Lorsque dans une tour obscure” that conclude with the refrain “La pitié n’est pas de l’amour”; and finally the rondo “Oh! C’en est fait, je me marie”. The success of this work also owed much to the interpreters: Elleviou, Mme Saint-Aubin and Dugazon. There was also a posthumous interest in the premature death of Della Maria. A reprise took place on 23 December 1801 (Feydeau), and the work remained in the repertory until 1839.

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Jacquot, ou l’École des mères Comédie lyrique en deux actes. Librettists: Jean-Baptiste-Denis Després and Claude-Joseph Rouget de Lisle. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 28 May 1798. The story is derived from a conte by Jean-François Marmontel, La Mauvaise Mère. There were 5 performances. L’Opéra-Comique Opéra-comique/opéra-comique mêlé d’ariettes en un acte. Librettists: Joseph-Alexandre de Ségur (jeune) and Emmanuel Dupaty. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 9 July 1798. There was a reprise on 5 October 1801 (Feydeau), and the work remained in the repertory until 1839. L’Oncle valet Comédie mêlée de chant en trois actes. Librettist: Alexandre Pineu-Duval. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 8 December 1798. This small work that followed closely on Le Prisonnier contains some traces of fluent and melodic inspiration from this unfortunate composer who died young. There was a reprise on 9 December 1801 (Feydeau), and the work was retained in the repertory until 1811. La Maison du marais, ou Trois ans d’absence Comédie mêlée de chant en trois actes. Librettist: Alexandre Pineu-Duval. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 8 November 1799. There were 4 performances. ____________________________________________________________

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Marc-Antoine DÉSAUGIERS (fils) (1742-1793) Le Petit Oedipe, ou Agenor et Zulma Comédie mêlée d’ariettes et de vaudevilles en un acte. Librettist: C. Landrin. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 22 May 1779. This was a parody of Jean-François Ducis’s play Oedipe chez Admète (Paris, Théâtre Français, 1778). Désaugiers apparently wrote new ariettes for it, with accompaniments full of deftness, charm and intelligence (Origny). There were 4 performances. Florine Comédie mêlée d’ariettes/comédie mise en musique en trois actes. Librettist: Barthélémy Imbert. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 15 June 1780. The work was revised after the first performance. There was a reprise in 1784. Les Deux Sylphes Comédie mêlée d’ariettes/comédie semi-lyrique en un acte. Librettist: Barthélémy Imbert. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 18 October 1781. The only piece surviving from this work is a well-turned couplet: Pourquoi pleurer, pourquoi gémir, Quand on a vu fuir son bel âge? Chaque âge amène son plaisir, Tant la nature est bonne et sage. Au passé, comme à l’avenir, Elle attache une jouissance; Si la jeunesse a l’espérance, La vieillesse a le souvenir. There were 6 performances.

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Les Jumeaux de Bergame Comédie mise en musique en un acte. Librettist: Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian. First performance: Aux Italiens (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 6 August 1782. The text was based on Plautus’s comedy Les Ménechmes. It was also called a pièce de théâtre with two chansons and a vaudeville finale. It had popular success, and was performed until 1799. ____________________________________________________________

Robert DESBROSSES (1719 -1799) Le Bal impromptu Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Harny. First performance: OpéraComique (Foire Saint-Laurent), 10 July 1760. An influential man wishes to hold a celebration in the country, with the valets disguised as masters, and the masters disguised as valets. Several scenes follow in which the latter speak of their masters as if they will never again be their valets, and since the example of the Grand Condé one knows the hero who indeed becomes a master for his valet. But the valets return to being the Jacks of all trades again, and the sudden change of fortune in this transformation concludes the piece. Les Deux Soeurs rivales Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en un acte. Librettist: La Ribardière. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 22 July 1762. The story is adapted from the comédie by Joseph de La Font Les Soeurs rivales. A work in 5 acts with the same title by Charles-Antoine Veronèse was given at the Théâtre Italien on 1 July 1747. Desbrosses’ work was performed until 1771. Le Bon Seigneur Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en un acte. Librettist: Desboulmiers. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 19 February 1763.

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There was only one performance. Les Deux Cousins, ou la Bonne Amie Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en un acte. Librettist: La Ribardière. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 21 May 1763. This is a mediocre work by an actor of the Comédie-Italienne aspiring to be ranked among the composers (CL 1:316). There were nonetheless 10 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Prosper Didier DESHAYES (1745-1815) Berthe et Pépin Drame mêlé d’ariettes en trois actes. Librettist: Régnard de Pleinchesne. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 3 November 1787. This was a remaking of Pleinchesne’s Berthe set to music by Philidor and Gossec (Brussels, 1774). The story is based on the drame héroïque by Claude-Joseph Dorat, Adelaïde de Hongrie (1774). Another source was the 14th-century romance by Adénès Li Rois Berthe aus grans piés. There were 3 performances. Adèle et Didier Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en un acte. Librettist: Maximilien Boutillier. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 5 November 1790. First given at the Théâtre des Beaujolais (CL 1:8). There was only one performance. Zélia, ou le Mari à deux femmes Drame mêlé d’ariettes en un acte. Librettist: Paul-Ulrich Dubuisson. First performance: 1st version: Théâtre Louvois, 29 October 1791; 2nd version: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 4 April 1797. The story is based on Goethe’s comedy Stella. There were 5 performances.

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Mélite, ou le Pouvoir de la nature Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en trois actes. Librettist: Desfontaines. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 19 March 1792. Alternative title Léocadie. The story is derived from Cervantes’s tale Novela de la fuerza de la sangre. The score has not been located. There were 3 performances. Dom Carlos Opéra-comique/fait historique en un acte. Librettists: François-PierreAuguste Léger and A.-P. Dutremblay. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 11 January 1800. This was also written as Don Carlos. There were 6 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Adolphe-Édouard-Marie DESLANDRES (1840-1911) Dimanche et lundi Opéra-comique en acte. Librettist: Henri Gillet. First performance: 1st version: Théâtre de l’Athénée, 21 October 1872; 2nd version: OpéraComique (Châtelet), 5 March 1888. The story is an agreeable country tale. It is a little improbable, since one is required to believe in a village where the inhabitants sleep for 48 hours. The music is gracious, witty and tailored to the situations of the libretto. It would be helpful if all one-act opéras-comiques and operettas took as their measure the method observed by the authors in this small work. While certainly not a masterpiece, it can be heard with pleasure. The public encored a drinking song and welcomed other pieces in this score. There were 11 performances. Le Baiser Opera-comique en un acte. Librettist: Henri Gillet. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 23 June 1884.

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The interpreters were MM. Bertin, Labis, Mmes Molé-Truffier and Rémy. There were 3 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Léopold-Bastin DÉSORMERY (1740-1810) Le Fête de village Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en deux actes. Librettist: Dorvigny. First performance: Hôtel de Bourgogne, 29 June 1775. A type of impromptu on the subject of King Louis XVI’s coronation at Rheims 11 July 1775 (Origny). There were 7 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Guglielmo Ross known as DESPRÉAUX (1803-?) Le Souper du mari Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Charles Desnoyer and the brothers Hippolyte and Théodore Cogniard. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Bourse), 25 January 1833. This small work had theatrical qualities and elegant instrumentation. Of note were a lovely duet for two women, and a charming romance with the refrain “Pendant la nuit”, of delightful effect. The work was created sensitively by Thénard and Mme Clara Margueron. There were 13 performances. La Dame d’honneur Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Paul Duport and Édouard Monnais. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Bourse), 4 October 1838. This work was not a success. Of note in the score was an aria sung by Mlle Prévost and a good trio that becomes a quartet. The principal role was taken by Jansenne. It was performed into the following year, 1839. ____________________________________________________________

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François DEVIENNE (1759-1803) L’École des parvenus, ou La Suite des deux petits Savoyards Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Jean-Baptiste Pujoulx. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 8 February 1792. This was a lyric adaptation of Pujoulx’s comedy L’École des parvenus, ou Encore des Savoyards given by the Comédiens Italiens on 25 September 1789. There were 17 performances of the opera. Volécoeur, ou Un Tour de page Comédie en un acte. Librettist: Edmond-Guillaume-François de Favières. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1). There were three performances. Les Visitandines Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en deux actes. Librettist: Louis-Benoît Picard. First performance: 1st version (with three acts): Théâtre Feydeau, 7 July 1792; 2nd version (with two acts): Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 17 September 1801. The work owes its celebrity to circumstance, and was in vogue until such time as this type of subject was banned from the stage. The scenario offers some very funny scenes, but almost everywhere improbability is vying with bad taste (CL 2:1151). There are no situations to move the audience. The libretto of Le Domino noir was better conceived by Scribe in this respect. The misapprehension of the valet in mistaking the convent for an inn, the chiming of the matins bell drowning out the voice of the lover about to sing a romance, and the scene of the two drunkards, all contributed to the success of the work. The score suggests that its long success can be attributed more to the ideas of the time and to the choice of subject. The music now seems flat, commonplace, and without character. There are airs from the vaudeville, for all occasions. There is fine romance for Euphémie, sung to the accompaniment of a harp: Dans l’asile de l’innocence, Amour, pourquoi m’embraser de tes feux?

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Eloigne-toi: le froide indifférence Doit seule régner dans ces lieux. Although the words and the music of Belfort’s rondeau “Enfant chéri des dames”, the aria for Frontin “Qu’on est heureux de trouver envoyage”, and the couplets for Father Hilarion “Un soir de cet automne” seemed to age badly, the work was a source of recurrent interest. It reappeared at the Opéra-Comique after the Restoration under the title Le Pensionnat de jeunes demoiselles (5 March 1825), retouched by Jean-Baptiste-Charles Vial, and at the Odéon as Les Français au sérail (28 June 1825), retouched by Hyacnthe Albertin. It appeared again at the Opéra-Comique (Ventadour) on 19 August 1830 in the original version as Les Visitandines. Le Pensionnat was revived at the Théâtre-Lyrique on 11 February 1852. The original version was revived again by the Opéra-Comique at the turn of the new century—on 15 May 1900 (Salle Favert 3). The role of Frontin was created by the famous bass Martin. Le Valet de deux maîtres Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Jean-François Roger. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 12 November 1801. The story is derived from a comedy by Goldoni. There was only one performance. A new version with music by Vicenzo Fiocchi, retaining two couplets from the original, appeared on 26 October 1802. This had four performances and was revived on 5 July 1806 (Feydeau). Le Pensionnat de jeunes demoiselles Opéra-comique en deux actes. Librettists: Louis-Benoît Picard, revised by Jean-Baptiste-Charles Vial. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 5 March 1825. This was an entirely refashioned version of Les Visitandines (1801). It was in the repertory until 1835. ____________________________________________________________

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Nicolas DEZÈDE (c. 1740-1792) Julie Comédie en trois actes, en prose, mêlée d’ariettes. Librettist: JacquesMarie Boutet de Monvel. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 25 September 1772. This marked the debut of the composer in his dramatic career. L’Erreur d’un moment, ou La Suite de Julie Comédie en un acte, en prose, mêlée d’ariettes. Librettist: Jacques-Marie Boutet de Monvel, Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne) 14 June 1773. Le Stratagème découverte Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en deux actes. Librettist: Jacques-Marie Boutet de Monvel. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 4 October 1773. There was one performance. Les trois fermiers Opéra-comique en deux actes. Librettist: Jacques-Marie Boutet de Monvel. Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne) , 24 May 1774. The story was drawn from historical fact. The three farmers prevent the lord of the manor from selling his land, offering him 100,000 écus. This was well received, and Monvel provided a sequel in Blaise et Babet, which was particularly successful. Jérôme le porteur de chaise Comédie-parade mêlée d’ariettes en deux actes. Librettist: Jacques-Marie Boutet de Monvel. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne) , 10 December 1778. There was a reprise on 11 January 1781, reduced to one act (Jérôme et Champagne).

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Cécile Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en trois actes. Librettist: Mabille. First performance: 1st version: Versailles, Théâtre de la Cour, 24 February 1780; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 26 February 1780. The story is taken from Marie-Jeanne Riccoboni’s Les Lettres de Miladi Juliette Catesby. It belongs to the sentimental genre. The music has long since been forgotten. It was revived on 4 January 1781 (Hôtel de Bourgogne). There were 7 performances. À trompeur, trompeur et demi, ou les Torts du sentiment Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en un acte. Librettist: Louis-Edme Billardon de Sauvigny. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 3 May 1780. The work falls by fault of the libretto which Sauvigny revised without improving it. This is what a critic said: “The author, unhappy with the poor success of his work, made changes and gave it a second name, les Torts du sentiment, and then le Retour du sentiment; but this ‘fault’ and this ‘return’ added nothing more stimulating or fortunate.” There was only one performance. Blaise et Babet Opéra-comique en deux actes. Librettist: Jacques-Marie Boutet de Monvel. First performance: 1st version: Versailles, 4 April 1783; 2nd version: Théâtre de la Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 30 June 1783. Babet, waking on her wedding morning, while waiting for Blaise her fiancé, makes her bouquets for her grandfather Mathurin’s party. Piqued by the lateness of her intended, she withdraws into her home when she sees him coming. Blaise calls, but Babet wants to play tricks, and hides herself. He calls again, and she eventually opens her window. But Blaise has disappeared. Now it is her turn to call him, but in vain. So she comes down. At the sight of the bouquet Babet is carrying, Blaise becomes jealous. The young couple quarrel, and vow never to be together. At this point the arrival of the lord of the manor is announced. He has come to reimburse the three farmers for the money which they generously lent to

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him so that he could retain his lands which he would otherwise have been obliged to sell. He adds 12,000 livres for the purpose of endowing six young girls, and, two years income from his lands to marry Blaise to the granddaughter of Mathurin. Babet learns to her relief that the ribbon which Blaise is wearing was destined for her. For his part, Blaise discovers that the bouquet gathered by Babet is for him. The two lovers embrace,and the work ends with the marriage as it should be. This work is far superior to its predecessor. The difficulties of love are very often treated on the stage, but this trifle is conceived with great art, the characters of the two village lovers are depicted with candour and a touching naivete that provides a perfectly new situation. Dezède’s music is charming, and excels in the pastoral genre—so much so that he was given the soubriquet Orphée des champs. His music fuses true expression, always localized, and has the merit of gentle and graceful melody, even if often naive. This is the most popular of his works, and can be considered his masterpiece. The overture retains its interest, and is for the most part not inferior to those of Grétry. All the melodies from the opera were arranged for keyboard, and appeared in all the collections of the time, notably Les Feuilles de Terpsychore and Le Journal de clavecin. Published by Clément in 1762 and 1773 and dedicated to Laborde. Mme Dugazon, a very pretty woman, created Babet, and Michu, a very handsome man, Blaise. Alexis et Justine Comédie lyrique mêlée d’ariettes et en deux actes. Librettist: JacquesMarie Boutet de Monvel. First performance:1st version: Versailles, Théâtre de la Cour, 14 January 1785; Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 17 January 1785. After the première, the following performances had many abridgements in act 2, and the scene of the portrait was suppressed because it retarded the progress of the piece (Origny). It was eventually reduced to two acts. There was a reprise on 28 September 1801 (Feydeau). It was retained in the repertory until 1812. Ferdinand, ou la Suite des deux pages Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en trois actes. Words and music by Dezéde. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 19 June 1790.

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This was a sequel to Auguste et Théodore, ou les Deux Pages, comédie mêlée d’ariettes by Dezède and L.F. Faur et Manteufel (Paris, ThéâtreFrançais, 1789). It was performed until 1791. ____________________________________________________________

Rinaldo DI CAPUA See RINALDO ____________________________________________________________

Eugène-Émile DIAZ DE LA PEÑA (1837-1901) Benvenuto Opéra en quatre actes et six tableaux. Librettist: Gaston Hirsch. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Châtelet), 3 December 1890. The illustrious Florentine sculptor has never been successfully portrayed as hero of a lyric work by French authors. Berlioz’s Benvenuto Cellini received only three performances at the Opéra; Diaz’s Benvenuto had ten at the Opéra-Comique, the stage of which, moreover, is not really made to accommodate the passions of the grand lyric drama, and would have been better advised to keep to the special genre to which it gives its name. Hirsch’s libretto depicts Benvenuto in terms of his relationship with an old mistress, Pasilea Guasconti, who has been abandoned by him and wishes to prevent his marriage with the young Delpha de Montsolm. She lays a trap in which, defending her, the sculptor kills two of his adversaries. The affair leads to trouble, and Cellini is obliged to flee Florence. He goes to Rome where he does not escape prison, and where, condemned, he is sentenced to death. During this time, his fiancée is poisoned by a letter purporting to be from him, but sent by her rival. Eventually the penalties imposed on Benvenuto are commuted to banishment, on the intervention of the French ambassador. Delpha recovers her health miraculously, and Pasilea stabs herself to escape death at the stake, the fate reserved for poisoners. Diaz’s score hardly rises above the value of this black libretto. He came a quarter of a century too late as a composer, and the form, one could say the ultra-Italian formula of his music, appeared a little too outmoded. The ideas lack novelty, the orchestra is without zest, the harmony without originality, and some happy motifs do not compensate for the fadedness of the whole. The work was valiantly realized by Mlles

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Blanche Deschamps and Clarisse Yvel Lévy, MM. Renaud, Carbonne and Lorrain. It was performed into the following year, 1891. ____________________________________________________________

Edmond Marie DIET (1854-1924) La Revanche d’Iris Comédie lyrique en un acte. Librettist: Paul Ferrier. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 13 May 1906. This was a lyric adaptation of Ferrier’s comédie. It was performed into the following year, 1907. ____________________________________________________________

Alexandre-Pierre-Joseph DOCHE (1766-1825) Le Veuf de Malabar Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Paul Siraudin and Charles Basset. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 27 May 1846. The authors of the book were praised for introducing into the work sentimental declamation from Lamierre’s tragedy. The story concerns a French jeweller called Laverdurette, the husband of an Indian, Djina, a young coquette who uses every means to force her husband to take her to France. Not having succeeded in this, she pretends to drown herself in order to force her husband to kill himself on her grave, according to the custom of the land (at least as imagined by the legislators of the OpéraComique). Laverdurette saves his life by offering a casket of precious stones to the magistrate. But this is actually his wife disguised beneath the robes of the judge. She receives the gift, and undertakes to free the widow of the consequences of widowhood. The two embark, and Djina’s incognito will last until they reach French soil, the sought-after paradise. The music offers little more than some rather bold and attractive couplets. The small work was created by Ricquier, Sainte-Foy, Chaix, and Mme Henri Potier. It was performed into the following year, 1847.

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Alix Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Eugène Nus and Auguste Follet. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 13 May 1847. Both libretto and score are unlocated. There were 6 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Domenico Gaetano DONIZETTI (1797-1848) La Fille du régiment Opéra-comique en deux actes. Librettists: Jules-Henri Vernoy de SaintGeorges and Alfred Bayard. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Bourse), 11 February 1840. Among Donizetti’s works of demi-caractère, this work shines in first place for the number of its happy melodies. The libretto is interesting. The action takes place in the Tyrol. A poor girl, abandoned on the field of battle, was rescued by a brave sergeant called Sulpice, who adopted her for his regiment. Marie has grown up surrounded by the tenderness and respect of the grenadiers of the 21st Regiment, and has become a charming vivandière. She is loved by the young Tyrolian Tonio who once saved her life in perilous circumstances. To qualify for her hand, though, he must be a member of the regiment, so has enlisted. But the mystery of her birth is revealed. Her mother, a marquise, naturally removes her from camp life, taking Marie to her château where she is educated with care, but all the while being passed off as the marquise’s niece. In act 2, the daughter of the regiment, who misses the martial way of life, finds it difficult to conform to the education appropriate to her station, and resists the rich aristocratic marriage that is being planned for her. She meets Sulpice and her beloved Tyrolian who has now become a lieutenant in the famous 21st Regiment. After various setbacks and changes in fortune, her mother no longer opposes the union on which her daughter has set her heart. The overture is graceful, and in accord with the general tone of the work. The duet for Marie and Sulpice is most original, and perfectly tailored to the voices. The couplets of the 21st Regiment and the finale of act 1 are handled with that melodic facility particular to Donizetti. It became traditional in garrison towns to substitute for the 21st the number of the regiment present, a gallantry that was always very popular in the

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theatre. Marie’s cantilena of farewell “If faut partir” has true sensibility. The Lesson Scene (using Garat’s romance), the trio for the marquise, Marie and Sulpice, is comedy of refined taste. It becomes a little allegro of great stage effect in which the organization of the voices produces the most harmonious ensemble. The waltz played offstage has a delicacy of touch that is quite aristocratic. The opera, translated into Italian, was given at the Salle Ventadour in 1850. Mme Sontag, after having retired from the stage following her marriage with Count Rossi, returned to great acclaim in La figlia del reggimento. At the Opéra-Comique, Mlle Borghese created the role of Marie, the other interpreters being Marié, Henri and Mme Boulanger. It was in the repertory until 1917, and performed over 1000 times. Rita, ou Le Mari battu Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Gustave Vaëz. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 7 May 1860. This was a posthumous production. Rita married a sailor called Gasparo who, on the day of his marriage beat her, and then fled to Canada. He appears to have died in a shipwreck. Rita marries again, this time to Peppe, a shy youth, who allows himself to be beaten by her. But Gasparo returns. Condemned to union with his wife again, he succeeds in acquiring his marriage contract, and tears it up, to Rita’s great satisfaction. Gasparo takes off again, but not before he advises Peppe on ways of avoiding being beaten by his better half. The story is ridiculous, but amusing in detail. Donizetti, as usual, has written music delightful for its freshness of ideas, abundance of melody, and consummate structural skill. There is an excellent duet “C’est elle, je frémis”, applause for which raised the roof; a scene devoted to the game of morra; Peppe’s charming chanson “Je suis joyeux comme un pinson”; and the trio bouffe “Je suis manchot”. The cast was: Warot, Barielle, and Mme Faure-Lefebvre. There were 18 performances. Don Pasquale Opéra bouffe en trois actes. Librettists: Gaetano Donizettti and Giovanni Ruffini. French version: Gustave Vaëz and Alphonse Royer. First performance: 1st version: Théâtre-Italien, 3 January 1843; 2nd version (French): Théâtre-Lyrique, 9 September 1864; 3rd version: Opéra-Comique (Châtelet), 20 June 1896.

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The story is taken from Angelo Anelli’s Ser Marc’ Antonio. As Donizetti took liberties with the text, Ruffini refused to have his name appear on the libretto, which was then attributed to Donizetti’s agent Michele Accursi. Lablache the buffo created the role of Don Pasquale; Mario, Tamburini and Mme Grisi the roles of Ernesto, Malatesta and Norina. Although Donizetti composed the opera expressly for the Parisian public, it was better known in the provinces than in the capital where it was presented only three or four times during the season at the Italiens. Carvalho had the good sense to give Don Pasquale in French, at the Théâtre-Lyrique. Ismaël and Mlle Maesen sang the roles created by Lablache and Grisi in the French translation by Vaëz and Royer on 9 September 1864. Troy undertook the role of the doctor well; Ismaël that of Don Pasquale. Mlle Maesen, however, was not suited to the role, her gifts being more suited to seria. The role of Gilda in Rigoletto gave a better measure of her aptitudes. At the Opéra-Comique, there were later reprises on 21 November 1959 (Salle Favart 3), in a new French version by André Badet; and on 22 December 1971 (Salle Favart 3), in a production in Italian from the Opera da camera di Milano. ____________________________________________________________

Gustave DORET (1866-1943) Les Armailles Legende dramatique en deux actes. Librettists: Henri Cain and Daniel Baud-Bovy. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3). 9 November 1906. This was later given in a three-act version at the Grand Théâtre de Genève, 28 November 1913. There was a reprise at the Opéra-Comique (Salle Favert 3) on 5 May 1930 in the three-act version. ____________________________________________________________

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Victor-Charles-Paul DOURLEN (1781-1864) Philoclès Opéra-comique en deux actes. Librettist: Justin Gensoul. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 4 October 1806. The Philocles in the libretto is not the Athenian poet but a sculptor. There were 4 performances. Linnée, ou les Mines de Suède Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Jean-Élie Dejaure. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 10 September 1808. The story was inspired by an episode from the life of the Swedish naturalist Carl von Linnaeus. A young man is condemned to work in the mines. The celebrated Linnaeus, who in Sweden enjoyed the privilege of freeing a prisoner of his choice, restores him to liberty. The opera marked the beginning of Dourlen’s lyric career. There were 4 performances. La Dupe de son art, ou Les Deux Amants Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Louis-Charles Sapey. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 9 September 1809. There were 2 performances. Cagliostro, ou La Séduction Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Jacques-Antoine de Révéroni Saint-Cyr and Emmanuel Dupaty. First performed: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 27 November 1810. This was a collaboration with Anton Reicha. Plus heureux que sage Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Louis Mézières-Miot. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 25 May 1816.

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There was one performance. Le Frère Philippe Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Auguste Duport. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 20 January 1818. The work was retained in the repertory until 1826. Marini, ou le Muet de Venise Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Étienne-Joseph-Bernard Delrieu. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 12 June 1819. There were 3 performances. Le Petit Souper Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Jean-Baptiste Violet d’Épagny. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 21 February 1822. This was a refashioning of La Belle Ferronnière, banned by the censor for depicting a royal amour on stage. There was only one performance. ____________________________________________________________

François-Clément-Théodore DUBOIS (1837-1924) Le Pain bis Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Léon-Lévy Brunswick and Arthur de Beauplan. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 26 February 1879. The idea of this work was not new, and was first submitted to Ferdinand Poise. Daniel, a brewer, is supported by his wife Charlotte in complete idleness, as she fears that he has not lost interest in other women. He does all the housework. His servant, Liloise, entertains her lover Séraphin; she crosses her arms and makes the poor boy sweat blood and water. Daniel becomes bored and begins to court the servant. To please her, he submits to all her caprices, draws buckets of water, and carries the wood. Charlotte

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perceives her false manouevre, and after a stormy conjugal exchange, their roles revert to their proper places. It is all rather vulgar. The music is well crafted and offers many ingenious and elegant details, without ever providing sustained inspiration. The instrumentation plays far too preponderant a role. Of note are Daniel’s aria “J’ai pour femme un trésor”, and the final quartet. The work was created by Barnolt, Fugère, Mlles Ducase and Chevalier. It was retained in the repertory for two years, until 1881. Xavière Idylle dramatique en trois actes. Librettists: Louis Gallet, Victorien Sardou and Paul Ferrier. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Châtelet), 26 November 1895. The story is derived from the novel by Ferdinand Fabre. The interpreters were MM. Fugère (Fulcran), Clément (Landry), Badiali (Galibert), Isnardon (Landrinier), Mlles Dubois (Xavière), Leclerc (Mélie), Chevalier (Prudence), and Lloyd (Benoîte). There was a reprise on 18 January 1905 (Salle Favart 3). ____________________________________________________________

Alexandre-Louis-Gustave DUGAZON (1782-1826) Le Chevalier d’industrie Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Jacques Bins de Saint-Victor. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 17 November 1804. This was a collaboration between Dugazon and Louis-Barthélémy Pradher. There was only one performance. Marguerite de Waldemar Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Saint-Félix. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 12 December 1812. There was one performance.

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La Noce écossaise Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Théophile Dumersan. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 19 November 1814. There were 3 performances. Le Voisinage See under PRADHER ____________________________________________________________

Paul DUKAS (1865-1935) Ariane et Barbe-Bleu Conte en trois actes. Librettist: Maurice de Maeterlinck. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 10 May 1907. Act 1. Outside the castle. A clamourous crowd of peasants await the arrival of Barbe-Blue (bass) with his new, and sixth, wife, the beautiful Ariane (Mezzo). They that she will meet the same fate as her predecessors, who have all inexplicably vanished. Ariane knows this history, but being brave as well as beautiful, she believes that Barbe-Blue loves her, and that she can discover what has happened to the other wives, and save them. He gives a set of keys, six of silver and one of gold; the gold she must never use. The six keys open doors, beyond which she finds heaps of gems— amethysts, sapphires, pearls, emeralds, rubies, and diamonds. The diamonds alone dazzle her. For she has ‘a passion for light’. There remains one further door, and the golden key will fit the lock. Unhesitatingly, she opens it, hears women’s voices and glimpses a stairway leading downwards. At that moment, Barbe-Blue enters, reproves her sternly for her disobedience, and makes as if to drag her to the vault below. Ariane struggles, and her cries reach the peasants outside the castle. When they rush in to rescue her, she tells them that she is in no further danger, and begs them to leave, closing the gate behind them. Barbe-Blue, mortified, takes flight. Act 2. Ariane and her nurse find the other wives in the vault, pale and terrified, in tattered clothes. They climb joyfully back into the sun and air. Act 3. The wives have put on new clothes, and adorned themselves

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with flowers and jewels. When Barbe-Blue returns with his faithful negro guard, the peasants who have remained outside to protect the wives, defeat him, and bring him in, wounded and bound, to face his poor victims. The victims, however, seem to bear no malice.. When Ariane cuts the ropes that bind them, the others bathe his wounds, and when she calls upon them to follow her to freedom, for the way lies open, there is no enthusiasm. She and the nurse then take their departure, and two of the wives shut the door behind them. “Moralité à la façon des contes de Perrault” (Dukas). The original cast included Georgette Leblanc and Felix Vieuille, with Franz Ruhlmann conducting. The composition of Ariane, interrupted by that of other music, was spread over several years. This is Dukas’s only opera, and among the best things he ever wrote. It is one of the few imitations of Pelléas et Mélisande, being, like Debussy’s opera, an almost verbatim setting of Maeterlinck’s play. Unlike the Debussy’s quiet opera, Dukas’s is very noisy, and lacks thematic richness of the former. The first performance was less than perfect, but there was progressive improvement on the following nights, and the work was to enjoy some success, both abroad and especially in France. It was retained in the repertory until 1930. The first American performance was in New York, 29 March 1911; and the first British performance, at Covent Garden, 20 April 1937. ____________________________________________________________

Egidio Romualdo DUNI (1708-1775) La Peintre amoureux de son modèle Comédie en deux actes, mêlées d’ariettes. Librettist: Louis Anseaume. First performance: Théâtre de la Foire Saint-Laurent, 26 July 1757. Revised, Théâtre de la Foire Saint-Germaine, February 1758. Duni, while at the Court of Parma, composed the music for Ninette à la court by Favart. The directors of several Parisian theatres wanted to attract this young Italian who appeared to appreciate French plays, and sent him several French libretti hoping that he would set them to music. Duni did not delay in moving to Paris, and made his debut with Le Peintre amoureux de son modèle. The piece was amusing, the music of a ready intelligence, the composer himself amiable. All seemed to bode well for Duni, who proceeded to write 18 operas over the next 13 years.

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Cendrillon See under LARUETTE Le Docteur Sangrado Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Louis Anseaume and Jean-Baptiste Lourdet de Santerre. First performance: 1st version: Foire Saint-Germain, 13 February 1756; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 5 May 1762. This work is comprised of music by Duni, Jean-Louis Laruette and vaudevilles. The story was based on La Foire des fées (Théâtre de la Foire) and Alain-René Lesage’s Gil Blas de Santillane, drawn in turn from a conte by La Fontaine. The work was entirely sung—either as vaudeville or in ariettes. It was performed until 1765. La Fille mal gardée, ou le Pédant amoureux Parodie de La Provençale/Comédie mêlées d’ariettes en un acte. Librettists: Charles-Simon Favart and Jean-Baptiste Lourdet de Santerre. First performance: 1st version: Paris, Théâtre-Italien/Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 4 March 1758; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 5 February 1762. This was a parody of Jean-Joseph Mouret’s La Provençale, the fifth entry in the Festes de Thalie (Paris, Théâtre de l’Opéra, 1714) for the revival of 1722. It was retained in the repertory for 12 years, until 1774. La Veuve indécise Parodie de La Veuve coquette, opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Jean-Joseph Vadé, completed by Louis Anseaume. First performance: 1st version: Foire Saint-Laurent, 22/24 September 1759; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 18 January 1764. This is a parody of La Veuve coquette (second entry in the Fêtes ou le Triomphe de Thalie), by Jean-Joseph Mouret (Paris, Théâtre de l’Opéra, 1714). It was performed for two years, until 1766.

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L’Isle des foux Parodie de l’Arcifanfano de Goldoni/Comédie mêlées d’ariettes en deux actes. Librettists: Louis Anseaume, Pierre-Augustin Lefèvre de Marcouville and Auguste-Louis Bertin d’Antilly. First performance: 1st version: Théâtre Italien, 29 December 1760; 2nd version: ComédieItalienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 24 April 1762. This was a French adaptation of Goldoni’s dramma giocoso L’Arcifanfano re dei matti, set to music by Baldassare Galuppi (Venice 1749). This work was cited by Diderot as the model for Le Neveu de Rameau. At that time Duni was a pensioner of the Infanta of Spain, Don Felipe. The varied and amusing nature of the music determined the success of the work, because this is a sad play only pretending to be a comedy, that closes with a scene in which one sees the lodges of the fools and the wretches crying out from behind their bars. The manifestations of madness serve as a pretext for characteristic arias that are not linked to each other by any dramatic intrigue. A small alert chorus in two parts “Ah! monseigneur le gouverneur!” is followed by an aria for Brisefer “Je suis la terreur du monde”; then comes an aria for Sordide, an avaricious fool “Je suis un pauvre misérable, rongé de paine et de soucis”, the best in the score. The aria for Spendrif “Pour avoir eu trop de bien” is written with talent, and in studying this one realizes that Philidor must have been influenced by the operas of Duni. The ariette sung by Prodigue is full of verve and amusing effects. That for Follette has a gaiety quite in keeping with the role. But the arias for Glorieuse and Fanfolin, the governor of the Isle of Fools, are mediocre. The best role is that of Avare who sings a well handled piece again at the end of the opera “Ô terre, voici mon or”. It was retained in the repertory for nine years, until 1771. Mazet Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en deux actes. Librettist: Louis Anseaume. First performance: 1st version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 24 September 1761; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 22 April 1762. The story is based on the conte by La Fontaine, Mazet de Lamporechio, in its turn derived from Boccaccio. It was retained in the repertory for 24 years, until 1786.

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La Plaideuse, ou le Procès Opéra-comique mêlée d’ariettes en trois actes. Librettist: Charles-Simon Favart. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 19 May 1762. The story is derived from an Italian comedy of the 15th century, I vecchi innamorati. There were 4 performances. La Nouvelle Italie Comédie héroï-comique italienne et française mêlée d’ariettes et de spectacle en trois actes. Librettists: Jean Galli de Bibiena and Metastasio (in French and Italian). First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 23 June 1762. This was a musical collaboration between Duni, André-Jean Rigade and Tommaso Traetta. The identified Italian sources are by Duni (Catona in Utica, L’Olimpiade). Rigade composed the the overture, the storm and a recitative. There were 4 performances. Le Milicien Comédie en un acte. Libretto: Louis Anseaume. First performance: 1st version:Versailles, 29 December 1762; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 1 January 1763. The libretto belongs to the naive genre, one could as easily say the silly genre. The peasant Lucas wants to marry Colette, less for love than for advantage. A recruiter called Labranche, whose officer is in love with Colette, curries favour with the lovers to induce Lucas to sign a contract of service in due form in place of a declaration, the content of which he appeared to write down at Lucas’s dictation. Poor Lucas then finds himself enlisted and put to work. While on sentry duty he observes his rival Dorville abduct his beloved, and leaves his post to run to her help. This is a deliberate ruse, and Lucas is arrested and condemned as a deserter. Before he faces the firing squad, he renounces the hand of Colette to in order to obtain her pardon, and begs her to marry his rival. There are some rather pleasant scenes, like the those depicting Lucas’s cowardice and the description of a battle, for example. But the unlikely nature of the involuntary enlistment of Lucas goes beyond the rather

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narrow limits which one associates with opéra-comique. Duni’s music is by no means contemptible, and the composer merits a good place among the musici minores. It has both vivacity and character. His harmony is correct, but his instrumentation is weak, and his ideas often common. The opera does not have an overture. It begins with a rather good duet for Colette and Lucas “Quoi! Sans cesse! Quoi! Lucas me poursuivra”. One of the best pieces is Colette’s ariette in G minor “Quand l’amour est content”, graciously accompanied by the oboes and with counterpoint on the violins. The allegretto “Ces oiseaux de passage” requires vocalise rather difficult for the period. Lucas’s aria “Oh! Finis, Colette!” has expression and a melody more distinguished than the rest of the work. The trio that follows “Il faut marcher” is well-handled. Of note are also the aria for Labranche “Ah! c’est un tour penable”, the Guard Duty Scene “Qi va là?”, and the vaudeville which concludes the opera. This is a small opéra-comique which musical amateurs once listened to with pleasure. It was really very successful (CL 2:741). Les Deux Chasseurs de la Laitière Comédie en un acte, mêlée d’ariettes. Librettist: Louis Anseaume. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 23 July 1763. The couplets are very attractive, and contributed much to the success of this work. Le Rendez-vous Comédie mise en musique/comédie mêlée d’ariettes en un acte. Librettist: Pierre Légier. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 16 November 1763. The libretto is after Desboulmiers; his in turn was based on Mari cocu, battu et content by Castre de Wiege. The audience of the time tolerated the music, but imposed narrow limits on it. A critic of the time wrote: “The ariettes are rather lyrical, but perhaps coloured a little too strongly for this type of spectacle”. Despite the lively colouring, Duni’s score fell into the shadows. There were 7 performances.

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L’École de la jeunesse, ou le Barnevelt français Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en trois actes. Librettist: Louis Anseaume. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 24 January 1765. The story is based on George Lollo’s tragedy The London Merchant (translated by Pierre Clément as Le Marchand de Londres, ou l’Histoire de George Butterworth). This is more a sentimental drama than an opéracomique. Duni’s music, better suited to light and gracious subjects, feels somewhat adrift with a dramatic accent. It was nonetheless retained in the repertory for three years, until 1768, and revived on 1 July 1807 (Feydeau). The work was set to music again by Alessio Prati, and given at the Opéra-Comique (Hôtel de Bourgogne) on 11 October 1779. This composer was kapellmeister to the Elector Palatinate. His work was successful, and the score was printed. It is presently unlocated. La Fée Urgèle, ou Ce qui plaît aux dames Opéra-comique en quatre actes. Librettist: Charles-Simon Favart. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 4 December 1765. This work was very successful, but did not remain in the repertoire. The fairy’s ariette “C’est une misère, que nos jeunes gens” became wellknown. It was later reduced to one act and produced at the Gymnase on 6 January 1821, with an overture and new choruses by Léopold Aimon. La Clochette Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Louis Anseaume. First performed: Comédie-Italiennes (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 14 July 1766. A pupil of Durante and of the celebrated Naples Conservatoire which produced so many illustrious composers, Duni wrote in a good style, although his work was noted for comic verve and dramatic sentiment rather than genius of invention. His contemporaries preferred him to Pergolesi. Les Moissonneurs Comédie en trois actes. Librettist: Favart. First performance: ComédieItalienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 27 January 1768.

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The subject was taken from the Book of Ruth. Duni’s music is appropriately graceful for the pastoral colours of this libretto. The principal scenes of the story were retained, and only the names were changed. (CL 2: 750). Les Sabots Comédie en un acte, mêlée d’ariettes. Libretto: Michel-Jean Sedaine. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne) , 26 October1768. This is a rather pretty bagatelle, and was carefully prepared by Duni’s pupils. It was revived at the Opéra-Comique on 6 July 1866. Thémire Pastorale en un acte. Librettist: Michel-Jean Sedaine. First performance: 1st version: Passy, at the home of Mme Bertin, August 1770; 2nd version: Fontainebleau, Théâtre de la Cour, 20 October 1770; 3rd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 26 November 1770. The story is based on the 9th Églogue by Fontenelle. There were 4 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Gabriel-Édouard-Xavier DUPONT (1878-1914) La Cabrera/La Chevrière Drame lyrique en deux parties. Librettist: Henri Cain. First performance: 1st version (Italian): Milan, Teatro alla Scala, 16 May 1904; 2nd version (French): Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 5 May 1905. This was performed for two years, until 1907. ____________________________________________________________

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Jules-Laurent-Hinard DUPRATO (1827-1892) Les Trovatelles Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Michel Carré and Jules Barbier. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 28 June 1854. This is a light canvas, not lacking in grace. The authors have imagined a convent of the Annunciation (Anunziata), close to Naples, where the pupils are all young women without known families, hence their appellation as trovatelles. At a determined time, those who have reached the age of marriage leave the convent. The young men of the area choose among them for their wives. This situation resembles that of the servant market in Martha and The Merry Wives of Windsor. Nantina, niece of a Neapolitan marquis, wishes to marry the donkey-driver Geronimo, who could not ask for better. Her aunt wishes her to marry the nobleman Lelio, but Nantina persists in her preference for her dear donkey-driver, and learning that she is only a trovatelle, she uses her liberty and the traditions of this unusual convent to give her hand to Geronimo. The score is tasteful, and its fluency augured well for the future of the composer. The melodies are vivacious, the instrumentation is light, and coloured according to the subject. Among the more striking pieces are: the tarantella, the quintet, the aria for Geronimo, and his duet with Nantina in which recurs a phrase originally in the overture in 6/8, and finally a quartet of lovely effect. The roles were interpreted by: Charles Ponchard, Chapron and Mlle Decroix. It was subsequently performed much better. The work was retained in the repertory until 1861. Pâquerette Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Eugène Grangé and Charles de La Rounat. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 2 June 1856. The story concerns a young Breton girl whose guardian, the old soldier Christophe, wishes her to marry Banalec, the son of a farmer, and a complete idiot. The young Pâquerette is so naive that the old trooper is obliged to ask Gaston de Beaupré, an old officer of his regiment, to serve as intermediary between the betrothed couple. This officer has come to Brittany to marry a rich landowner, but having conscientiously acquitted himself of his task of intermediary, finds himself taken by the grace and innocence of Pâquerette, preferring her to the rich heiress. He asks for her

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hand in marriage under the eyes of the stupified Banalec. The music seems to strike a tone above that of the story, especially in relation to the solemnity of certain phrases which have nothing in common with the subject, and also in relation to the orchestration which is overburdened with brass. Of particular note are Banalec’s chanson “Ah! j’sis-t-y content!” and the finale. The roles were taken by: Jourdan (Gaston), Sainte-Foy (Babalec), Nathan (Bernard), Mlle Henrion (Pâquerette). The work remained in the repertory for two years, until 1858. Salvator Rosa Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Eugène Grangé and Henry Trianon. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 30 April 1861. Among the agreeable pieces that make up this score, one could single out Salvator’s chanson “Sans regret et sans envie”, the choeur dansé “Au son des guitares et des tambourins”, and the song of the hermit. The cast was: Crosti, Warot, Nathan, Lemaire, Mlle Saint-Urbain. There were 11 performances. La Déesse et le berger Opéra-comique en deux actes et un vers. Librettist: Camille Du Locle. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 21 February 1863. This a graceful mythological work, amusing in its details, and with literary value. The music is distinguished above all by the instrumentation, which is colourful, and ingenious. Critics suggested, however, that this had taken the place of any melodic inspiration. Nevertheless, the chorus “Ô Maïa, déesse charmante” is a perfectly realized piece on all counts. It was created by Capoul, Gourdin, Prilleux, Mlle Baretti, and Mme Ferdinand. There were 17 performances. Le Cerisier Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Jules Prével. First performance: Théâtre National de l’Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 15 May 1874. The story is derived from Marguerite de Navarre’s Heptaméron (5e journée). This furnished La Fontaine with the subject for his La Servante

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justifiée which could not be arranged for the stage without some precautions being taken. The opera was well received. As for the music, there are some lovely motifs tastefully handled, especially the couplets “Avant la noce”, and a charming duet. It was created by Thierry, Barnolt, Mlles Révilly, Reine and Chevalier. There were 17 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Gilbert-Louis DUPREZ (1806-1896) La Lettre au bon Dieu Opéra-comique en deux actes. Librettists: Augustin-Eugène Scribe and Frédéric de Courcy. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 28 April 1853. This could well be subtitled ou la belle récompensée. The story is about a village woman, who, desiring to find a husband, is naive enough to write to God to ask him for one, and to deposit it in the collection-box in the church. A young man arrives, the student Léopold, who has come to collect the monies from his rent. In his presence they open the the poorbox, in which there is nothing more than three kreuzers and Henriette’s letter. Charmed by this naivete, and struck also by the grace with which the young woman has kindly offered him a frugal meal, Léopold instructs the mayor to give the young woman six thousand florins. The poor Henriette, suddenly rich, now sees how all the young men of the village, and the mayor himself, all come running to her. But there can be no doubt that it is the prince Léopold that she will marry. The music composed by the celebrated tenor contains many agreeable melodies, notably Henriette’s couplets “le vrai bonheur est là”; a lovely romance and the chorus of aspirants which is very comical. The motif of the old chanson “Il pleut, il pleut bergère” recurs several times and lends a pastoral character to this small work. Jourdan sang the role of Léopold and Mlle Duprez served the paternal work well as Henriette. There were 4 performances. ____________________________________________________________

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Marcel-Antoine DURET (1779-1862) La Leçon d’une femme colère Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Alexis de Charbonières. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 6 May 1815. There was only one performance. ____________________________________________________________

Amédée-Jean DUTACQ (1848-1900) Battez Philidor! Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Abraham Dreyfus. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 13 November 1882. The action places on stage the great composer Philidor, the creator of Ernelinde, Tom Jones and Blaise le Savetier, who was also a great chessplayer. The daughter of an innkeeper, the charming Doris, is loved by a young man, whose father, an admirer of Philidor, will only agree to their marriage if the young man should succeed in beating Philidor at chess. The young lover tells his story to Philidor who promises to do all he can to help him. The game is joined, and Philidor is on the point of losing when Doris, hoping to flatter him, sings an aria from his Ernelinde. Philidor is very pleased and the effect of hearing his music distracts him, which causes him to play mechanically, so that he wins in spite of his intentions. It goes without saying that all is nonetheless sorted out by him, and the marriage concluded. This gentle badinage, ornamented with pleasant music, was gracefully realized by MM. Nicot, Barré, Grivot and Mlle Thuillier. There were 2 performances. ____________________________________________________________

André-Frédéric ELER (1764-1821) L’Habit du Chevalier de Grammont Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Jacques Bins de Saint-Victor. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 8 January 1801.

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The story is derived from Anthony Hamilton’s novel Mémoires de la vie du comte de Grammont. There was a reprise on 6 December 1803 (Feydeau). The work proved popular, and remained in the repertory until 1825. ____________________________________________________________

Camille ERLANGER (1863-1919) Kermaria Idylle d’Amorique en trois épisodes, précédée d’un prologue. Librettist: Pierre-Barthélémy Gheusi. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Châtelet), 8 February 1897. At the second performance, the four acts were reduced to three, by fusing the last two into one. Gheusi, addressing a journalist before the production of the opera said: “I would like to inform the public that Kermaria is only an idyll, not in three acts, but in three episodes preceded by a prologue. This is to show that action is excluded from Kermaria, and that we have carefully avoided the dramatic aspect. It is important that the public should not come to the Opéra-Comique with the idea of a piece resembling La Noces de Jeannette and La Dame blanche. While I do not wish to exaggerate, my desire would be that one should listen to Kermaria with recollection, as if in a church. Do you understand my thoughts?” Creating theatre by banning action is theory like any other, but is perhaps less appropriate than any other. On the other hand, likening the spectators at a theatre to the congregation of a church is also a theory but it is hardly better than the preceding one. All this did not appear to be to the public’s taste. Certainly the libretto of Kermaria differs perceptibly from those of Les Noces de Jeannette and La Dame blanche, so disdained by the author—and the difference is not to his advantage. As for the music, it also played a part in the scant success received by this work. One is tempted to ask why Camille Erlanger, pupil of Léo Delibes and Grand Prix de Rome of 1888, who consequently should know his métier as well as any Frenchman, should so disregard the grammatical rules of his art, and why he lets them drop with such evidently tenacious intention. I am not speaking of his manner of writing for the voice, the deviations and terrible intervals which he uselessly employs to overcome them, but rather the strange modulations, the false relationships, the rising sevenths, the sequences of fifth especially, which seem to establish a

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principle. His score is full of these. Why? For what reason? What purpose do these serve? Rising fifths, descending fifths, conjoined by degrees, disjoined by degrees, they are everywhere, of all sorts and in all fashions. Why? Erlanger himself rendered an account of his work in a newspaper. In his article he carefully avoided any spelling mistakes; so why accumulate them in his music, since this is such a pointless exercise. Erlanger is not without talent, as he has shown in several parts of his work. But in the score of Kermaria there is such a prejudiced intransigence, such a disdain of the primary conditions of music, such a premium on the bizarre and the alien, that the public was disconcerted and thus discouraged. The little of interest in this work, and the totally relative value of the music resulted in a failure in which both played their part. The opera provided the debut of a young and very interesting artist: Mlle Guiraudon, from the Conservatoire, who appeared most charming in the role of Tiphaine. The other roles were well taken by Mlle Wyns, MM. Jérôme, Bouvet, Mondaud, and Belhomme. Le Juif polonais Conte populaire d’Alsace/Drame musical en trois actes et six tableaux. Librettists: Henri Cain and Pierre-Barthélémy Gheusi. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 11 April 1900. The story is derived from the nouvelle by Erckmann-Chatrian. This librettto was constructed with a certain skill, in a way that furnished the composer with situations and contrasts necessary for the music. The latter, very unequal, is not totally lacking in quality, but is without charm, grace, and above all the spontaneity of inspiration. The score is conceived in the Wagnerian manner, with a ubiquitous employment of Leitmotif, something that always hampers the freshness of imagination. One of the better pages, among so much else that is otherwise grey and monotonous, without flavour or colour, is the terrible dream scene for Mathis, which does not lack power. There were revivals on: 15 January 1916; 21 November 1933. The work was performed until 1934. Aphrodite Drame musicale en cinq actes et six tableaux. Librettist: Louis de Gramont. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 27 March 1906.

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The story was founded on the novel by Pierre Louÿs. The opera was very successful in Paris: the 100th performance at the Opéra-Comique was on 15 October 1913; it was given there 180 times until 1927. La Sorcière Drame musicale en quatre actes. Librettist: André Sardou. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 18 December 1912. The story is based on the drama by Victorien Sardou. It was performed until the following year, 1913. ____________________________________________________________

Frédéric D’ERLANGER (1868-1943) Noël Conte de Noël. Drame lyrique en trois tableaux. Librettists: Jeanne and Paul Ferrier. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 28 December 1910. This was d’Erlanger’s last opera (The others were Jehan de Saintré, Aixle-Bain, 1 August 1893; Inès Mendo, London Covent Garden 10 July 1897; Tess, Naples San Carlo, 10 April 1906). It was given as a gala matinée for the benefit of the Orphelinat des Arts. There was only one performance. ____________________________________________________________

A. D’ESTOURMEL La Victime des arts See under BERTON Le Colonel, ou L’Honneur militaire Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Alexandre Pineu-Duval. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 29 November 1813.

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The story was based on un petit drame imité de l’allemand. Despite the experience and very real talent of Duval, the libretto of this small work was so mediocre that the public did not want to know the names of the authors. The reception was so tepid that there were no further performances. Le Procès Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Henri Pineu-Duval. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 3 June 1815. There were 13 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Paul D’ESTRIBAUD Silvio-Silvia Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Jules Brésil. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 15 May 1861. There were 11 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Manuel DE FALLA (1876-1946) La Vida breve/Le Vie brève Drame lyrique en trois actes et quatre tableaux. Librettists Carlos Fernández Shaw; French version: Paul Milliet. First performance: 1st version: Casino municipal de Nice, 1 April 1913; 2nd version: OpéraComique (Salle Favart 3), 30 December 1913. There was a general public rehearsal on 1 April 1913; and a reprise on 29 April 1949. ____________________________________________________________

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Benoît-Constant FAUCONNIER (1816-1898) La Pagode Opéra-comique en deux actes. Librettist: Jules-Henri Vernoy de SaintGeorges. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 26 September 1859. There are new and original ideas in this work, and throughout there is evidence of research into ingenious instrumentation. Of note also is a duet for two basses, Fadidjou and Sanders, sung by Barielle and Troy. The other parts were taken by Jourdan, Mlles Bousquet and Geoffroy. There were 7 performances. ____________________________________________________________

François-Joseph FÉTIS (1784-1871) L’Amant et le Mari Opéra-comique en deux actes. Librettists: Étienne de Jouy and JeanFrançois Roger. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 8 June 1820. In the repertory until 1827. Les Soeurs jumelles Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Eugène de Planard. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 5 July 1823. This work contains a duet for the sisters, the aria “Est-ce vous? est-ce toi?”, and a sextet finale. It remained in the repertory for four years until 1827. Marie Stuart en Écosse, ou Le Château de Douglas Drame lyrique en trois actes. Librettists: Eugène de Planard and JeanFrançois Roger. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 30 August 1823.

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The story is based on Sir Walter Scott’s novel The Abbot and Guilbert de Pixérécourt’s mélodrame adaptation Le Château de Loch-Leven, ou L’Évasion de Marie Stuart. It was performed into the following year, 1824. Le Bourgeois de Reims Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Jules-Henri Vernoy de SaintGeorges and Constant Ménissier. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 7 June 1825. This work was written on the occasion of the coronation of Charles X. The composer did not attach much importance to this production of circumstance, judging from the lack of detail in his own autobiography There were only seven performances. La Vieille Opéra-comique en un acte et en prose. Librettists: Augustin-Eugène Scribe and Germain Delavigne. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 14 March 1826. The story concerns a young French officer called Émile de Vereigny who, to cope with the rigors of exile in Siberia, marries an old Russian woman, the Countess Xenia. But, as later in La Fanchonnette, the elderly benefactress, at the denouement, is found to be a charming young woman. The overture is very developed, written with the correctness one would expect from a musician who, even at that time, was writing the most exhaustive studies on the harmonic elements of composition. The chorus of servants in the introduction is too long. The duet that follows “Doux souvenir de la patrie” has a lovely effect. There is also a well-crafted trio and quartet. The work was created by Lemonnier, Huet, Firmin, and Mme Pradher, and remained in the repertory for 26 years until 1852. Le Mannequin de Bergame Opéra-bouffon en un acte. Librettists: Paul Duport and Eugène de Planard. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Ventadour), 1 March 1832. This comic opera imitates the forms of the Italian comedy, written by this rather severe musical intellectual on one of his rather rare days of gaiety.

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Paisiello’s La Cuffiara provided the librettists with the idea for Le Mannequin. It is a farce, concerning a president who is putting on a performance by clowns. The composer has tried to introduce onto the French stage pieces written in nota e parola, that requires a volubility and facility of intonation that French singers are not able to acquire without continual exercise in a repertoire that rarely comes their way. The cast was Fargueil, Juliet, Ernest, Mlle Prévost and Mme Lemesle. It was in the repertory until 1838. ____________________________________________________________

Henry FÉVRIER (1875-1957) Le Roi aveugle Légende scandinave. Opéra en deux actes. Librettist: Hugues Leroux. First performed: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 8 May 1906. There were 9 performances. ____________________________________________________________

André FIJAN Les Fugitifs Drame lyrique en deux actes. Librettist: Georges Loiseau. First performance: 1st version: Ghent, Opéra de Gand, December 1899; 2nd version: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 29 February 1912. The story is taken from a nouvelle by François de Nion. It was very successful in Ghent (CL 2:1226), and had 5 performances in Paris. ____________________________________________________________

Étienne-Joseph FLOQUET (1748-1785) La Nouvelle Omphale Comédie mêlée d’ariettes/mise en musique en trois actes. Librettist: Alexandre Beaunoir. First performance: 1st version: Versailles, Théâtre de

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la Cour, 22 November 1782; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 28 November 1782. The story is based on the conte by Antonius Seneca Camille, ou la Manière de filer le parfait amour.. The scene, instead of taking place in the reign of Charlemagne, is transposed to that of Henry IV. Floquet was a good musician, and now experienced his hour of popularity. His chaconne, drawn from La Cour d’amour, became a very popular piece for the clavichord. ____________________________________________________________

Friedrich von FLOTOW (1812-1883) L’Esclave de Camoëns Opéra en un acte. Librettist: Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 1 December 1843. The story is derived from a tragedy, Griselda, by Paul Foucher, and has interesting details. Camoëns, whose verses are declaimed in the streets of Lisbon, is outlawed and dying of hunger. A slave girl, whom he has brought back from his travels in India, attaches herself to Camoëns, and goes off in the evening to sing so she can feed the unhappy poet. The king Dom Sébastien falls in love with her, and follows her to the inn where Camoëns is hidden. The latter gives the king a lesson in honour, and the slave girl calls on his sense of justice in favour of her persecuted master. Camoëns returns to favour, redeems the slave, and marries her in recognition of her loyalty, with the consent of the king. The basic ideas provide musical situations, and this could easily have been extended into three acts. Flotow’s score contains well crafted pieces, particularly the aria sung by Mme Darcier at the beginning, the scene for Camoëns, interpreted by Grard, and his romance, which has an elevated and touching expression. Mocker, in the role of the king, sang a lovely bolero. The work was performed into the following year, 1844. Zilda (Fatme) Conte des Mille et une Nuits. Opéra-comique en deux actes. Librettists: Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges, Henri Chivot and Alfred Duru. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 28 May 1866.

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The story is derived from the most celebrated of Voltaire’s tales, Zadig, as well as from the Thousand and One Nights. The score, while not lacking in grace and pleasure, is rather lacking in colour and originality. The success of the work was modest, and dependent on the really remarkable interpretations by Mmes Marie Cabel and Révilly, and MM. Crosti, Sainte-Foy and Prilleux. There were 23 performances. L’Ombre Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Jules-Henri Vernoy de SaintGeorges. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 7 July 1870. This score was one of the best written in the 1870s. Its success was interrupted by the Franco-Prussian War, but there was no doubt that it was a worthy sequel to Martha. The libretto is very dramatic and interesting. The setting in which Saint-Georges placed the action was a little faded by over-usage, featuring as it did the recurring theme of the dragonnades, but the details are poetic, charming and moving. Act 1. The story concerns the comte de Rollecourt, an officer under the command of the maréchal de Villars. He had disobeyed his superior in saving a Protestant family from massacre, and has been condemned to death. A young servant girl, brought up in the Château de Rollecourt, has, without his knowledge, fallen in love with him. She sees him fall to the firing squad, and is now certain that her master is dead. But the comte has been saved by the captain in charge of the execution. Their friendship had inspired this strategy which is now discovered, and for which the captain himself will have to pay with his life. The comte has sought refuge in a village. He becomes a tenant of Mme Abeille, a rich widow. He passes himself off as an artist, a woodcarver called Fabrice. The widow is not indifferent to him. The village doctor, Antoine Mirouet, has also become friendly with the young sculptor. The whole village is preparing to celebrate the feast of St Fabrice when a young girl appears at the farm. She is exhausted from travel and as a result of the violent scenes she has witnessed. She asks to replace the servant of the sculptor who has now left his employ. Fabrice agrees, but when she sees him, Jeanne is stupified, unable to stop staring at the man who resembles the master she believed dead. Mme Abeille sees a rival in this young girl, and conceives an aversion to her. Fabrice, in his turn, is fascinated by Jeanne’s beauty, and kisses her. The girl decides to flee this house. Fabrice hears a cry, and rushes into her room. Mme Abeille, spying on every movement, suspects a scandal.

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Act 2. Jeanne is the subject of malicious rumours in the village. She is driven from the church, and is about to leave the district when Fabrice declares her innocence. After her conversation with him, Jeanne leaves in thick mist, and taking the wrong turning, falls from a precipice to her apparent death. Fabrice, who had run out after her, brings her back in his arms. She has only fainted, and the good doctor Mirouet, moved by the story, offers to marry the poor girl. Mme Abeille, however, is confided in by Jeanne, who tells the older woman of the mad secret passion she developed for her young master, and the feelings that now affect her in the presence of this other man whose perfect resemblance to her master she cannot understand. Fabrice has overheard this conversation, and far from disillusioning Jeanne, he makes her think that this resemblance is totally imaginary. But now the doctor brings news which he has picked up from a pedlar, about the simulated execution of the comte. He adds that if the count does not return to deliver himself up, his friend, who betrayed his duty, will be shot in his place. Rollecourt does not hesitate. Taking advantage of the night, he puts on his uniform and prepares to leave. A moonbeam betrays him to Jeanne, showing him just as she knew him. She throws himself at his feet, admitting to her love, and begging him to stay. The irresistible duty of honour wins out, and he leaves Jeanne, who faints away. Act 3. This is again at the frontier, the action moving from Les Cévennes into Savoy, rather too far for the credibility of the drama. Rollecourt has obtained a reprieve of twenty-four hours and hopes to make use of this by marrying the orphan, so leaving her his name and fortune. Jeanne abandons herself to an illusion of happiness. She prepares for the ceremony, receives the wedding ring, and is married. But the fatal secret is revealed: this time the count will leave her for good. A scene of tears, prayers and resistance follow. However, the doctor Mirouet now enters with the news of the clemency granted by the maréchal de Villars to the two officers. Passing over the various improbable details, the two departures of Rollecourt which result in two analogous scenes, and the hasty marriage of the count with a poor servant, the libretto lends itself well to musical setting because of its original and pathetic situations, and because of the strongly defined personalities of the four characters presented. As in L’Éclair, there are only four voices in this opera, and no choral contribution. Sustaining interest over three acts with so few resources may seem rather difficult. But the authors have acquitted themselves successfully, all the more so as this is a work where, however much inspiration, taste and talent prevail, they have still had the task of

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overcoming the complications resulting from the overburdening of the modest resources of the Opéra-Comique, where grand effect is expected from simplicity. The score is a worthy successor to that of Martha. The inspiration is less abundant, and there is more refinement and effort. Nevertheless, all is handled with taste and distinction. The harmony perhaps leaves a little to be desired (CL 2:807). There are remote modulations which produce a tiresome effect, especially in the overture. When Flotow wishes to be a learned composer he loses his way somewhat; when he is happy to write under his own inspiration, he expresses his dramatic sense much more naturally, and his melodic expression is by turns apt and pleasant. The overtures opens with a larghetto both pathetic and gentle; the following allegro is partly made up of a motif from the doctor’s couplets “Quand je monte Cocette”. The transposition in several notes of this graceful motif, which owes its success to its perfect adaptation to the words, is not always happy. The composer has also overused the seventh chord, the emotional element, and in inversions both arpeggiated and non-arpeggiated. For more than forty years this chord was much in favour. The duet for the doctor and Mme Abeille is well handled in the style prevailing at the Opéra-Comique, but has nothing striking to offer. The trio, despite a rather lovely phrase in the andante, is mediocre, and in the style of Offenbach’s operettas. One regrets finding here repetitions for two voices of the last word sung by the soprano. This effect is no longer comical, but common and outdated. The doctor’s couplets, on the other hand, are very successful. The quartet in act 1 is the most important piece in the whole opera. The andante “La nuit approche, voici l’heure”, has a gracious rhythm, and when the motif is performed the second time, the soprano embroiders the line to charming effect. The whole of the first part of this quartet deserves to be ranked among the loveliest pieces in the repertoire of the Opéra-Comique. The allegro is not so successfully realized. Then there is a chorus that could have written for the Orphéons: Et tic et toc et tic et toc De nos verres vive le choc. The words belong to an older practice that belongs to the heyday of Scribe. The rest of act 1 is dramatic. The musical means are very simple, almost modest. The tenor repeats the soprano phrases in octaves to arrive at the frequent unisons. But there is so much mobility, so much truth in Flotow’s artistic labours that interest never falters. Act 2 is preceded by a sort of symphonic reverie. The sonority is gentle and skillfully realized, but the

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melody is distorted: the effects of the fifths and false tonal relationships are hardly disguised by the nuanced and elegant instrumentation. Mme Abeille’s aria is mediocre. It is hard to understand why a composer of Flotow’s standing allowed himself to be influenced by the small rhythmical effects particular to Offenbach. He has also imitated Offenbach’s interrupted and lengthened appogiaturas, and his recurrent sung waltzes. The doctor’s couplets “Une femme douce et gentille”, which are just as good if not better than those in Auber’s opéras-comiques, have a decidedly Gallic turn. The second quartet “Un mot, chère voisine” is not as good as the first, but it is very scenic and concludes with an allegretto of infectious gaiety. The duet for Jeanne and Fabrice “D’où vient maintenant près d’elle” has a sustained truthfulness of expression and an incontestable melodic charm. It is well-written for both voices, and should be in the repertoire of all singers. With the first part of the act 1 quartet, this is the most successfully realized piece in the score. The conclusion of the act has a picturesque effect. A small symphony played by the strings con sordini is handled with taste. Severe critics could reproach the authors for having abused extraneous elements in this opera, and of having given too big a place to descriptive episodes. The pieces are, however, short and melodious. Flotow had taste, and did not insist on a grand tableau where only a sketch is needed. The couplets about the hours of midday and midnight (“Midi, minuit”) were much applauded. This andante is very graceful, with a voluptuous feeling to the words that was delightful to the taste of the times, contributing to the success of this interlude. Fabrice’s romance “Pauvre ange dans la triste vie” is a distinguished inspiration which goes far in capturing the poignancy of Fabrice’s situation. This scene is reminiscent of an analogous episode in Monsigny’s Le Deserteur where the cantilena “Adieu chère Louise” is also extremely moving. After a rather lovely trio with the effect of bells announcing the marriage, and a rather ordinary romance for the doctor, the opera ends with a dramatic trio containing an admirable broad phrase sung in unison, and with the final reprise of the chorus of the bells. L’Ombre established itself as one of the loveliest works of the Opéra-Comique, and was in the repertory for twenty years, until 1890. The roles were created by Monjauze, Meillet, Mlles Marie-Roze and Priola. ____________________________________________________________

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Charles-Gabriel FOIGNET (père) (1750-1823) La Discipline républicaine Fait historique mêlée d’ariettes en un acte. Librettist: Aristide PlancherValcour. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 20 April 1794. There were 14 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Hippolyte Court de FONTMICHEL (1799-1874) Le Chevalier de Canolle Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Sophie Gay. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Bourse), 6 August 1836. The subject of the story, set during the war in the Fronde, is derived from the play by Jean-François Soucques, and treated in an interesting manner. The inflated style was criticized as were the excessively Romantic expressions, among them those de long regards de miel. Despite its faults, the poem offered the composer some attractive and varied situations: warlike enthusiasm, popular tumult, a ball, the condemnation to death of the very sympathetic chevalier, and a funeral march. The composer, Court de Fontmichel, a pupil of Chelard and graduate of the Institute, was very wealthy. Although in the preceding year he had presented in Marseilles an opera entitled Il Gitano, he succeeded in having his work accepted by the director of the Opéra-Comique only by the payment of a considerable sum of money. This undoubtedly contributed to both the cold public reception of his work, and his own subsequent distaste for a career in which he would have succeeded with more perseverance. The music of this opera is written with ease, and often betrays a strong Italian influence. The aria for Jansenne in E-flat “Dans cet heureux séjour où règne Natalie” is well handled. The arias and cavatinas for the Chevalier were interpreted by Chollet, with a virtuosity that required him to descend the double octave rapidly from C `` down to C. But more striking was a trio also in E-flat con sordini which finishes up as a quintet in the most effective manner. The other roles were taken by Mme Casimir and Mlle Olivier. There were only 6 performances.

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Félix-Alfred FOURDRAIN (1880-1923) La Légende du Point d’Argentan Mystère en un acte. Librettists: Henri Cain and Arthur Bernède. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 17 April 1907. The second edition of the vocal score calls it a légende lyrique. It was retained in the repertory until 1924. ____________________________________________________________

A.-G. FOURNIER Les Deux Aveugles de Bagdad Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en deux actes. Librettist: Benoît-Joseph Marsollier. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 9 September 1782. The story is taken from Les Milles et une nuits. Meunier recorded that the jeering became tumultuous towards the middle of the second act, so that the performance had to be interrupted. The work was refashioned with new music as Les Deux Aveugles de Tolède (1806). ____________________________________________________________

Alessandro Mario Antonio FRIDZERI (1741-1825) Nicaise See under BAMBINI Les Deux Miliciens, ou l’Orpheline villageoise Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en un acte. Librettist: Louis Guérin d’Azémar. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 24 August 1771. There were 10 perfomances.

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Les Souliers mor-dorés, ou la Cordonnière allemande Comédie lyrique/opéra buffon en deux actes. Librettist: Alexandre de Ferrières. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 11 January 1776. The story is taken from un conte fort ancien (Grimm). There were 10 performances. Lucette Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en trois actes. Librettist: C. Landrin or ÉtienneFrançois de Lantier. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 18 August 1785. There was one uncompleted performance. ____________________________________________________________

Nicolò GABRIELLI (1814-1891) Don Gregorio, ou Le Précepteur dans l’embarras Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Thomas Sauvage and Adolphe de Leuven. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 17 December 1859. The comédie by Comte Giraud, Le Précepteur dans l’embarras, provided most of the scenes for this work, as it had already done for Donizetti’s opéra-buffa L’Ajo nell’imbarrazzo. The music is pleasant, and written with fluency. Striking numbers were Daniel’s complainte “Daniel dans la fosse aux lions” with organ accompaniment, and the trio built around the rehearsal of Le Diable amoureux. The cast were: Couderc, Crosti, Warot, Lemaire, Nathan, Mlles Pannetrat, Lemercier and Prost. The work was performed over two years, until 1861. ____________________________________________________________

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Edmée Sophie GAIL (née GARRE) (1775-1819) Les Deux Jaloux Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Jean-Baptiste-Charles Vial. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 27 March 1813. The story is derived from the comédie by Charles Rivière du Fresny, Le Jaloux honteux de l’être. The opera was in the repertory until 1839. Mademoiselle de Launay à la Bastille Comédie historique mélêe d’ariettes en un acte. Librettists: Auguste Creuzé de Lesser, Jean-François Roger and Mme Villiers. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 16 December 1813. The story was inspired by the life of Marguerite Jeanne Cordier, baronne de Staal de Launay. The work was performed into the following year 1814. Angéla, ou L’Atelier de Jean Cousin Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Montecloux d’Epinay and Boieldieu. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau) 11 June 1814. The music was written in collaboration with Mme Gail, and contains a pretty duet. There were six performances. La Méprise Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Auguste Creuzé de Lesser. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 20 September 1814. The story was derived from L’Étourderie, a comédie by BarthélémyChristophe Fagan. There was only one performance. La Sérénade Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Sophie Gay. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 2 April 1822.

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The story is derived from the comédie by Jean-François Regnard. The music was a collaboration between Mme Gail and Manuel Garcia. It is unusual for women who write for the theatre to be less reserved in their choice of situations and even in their expression than men. The libretto by Sophie Gay not only offended the dramatic moeurs, but contains images and words which offend propriety. Valère and Léonore have written to each other. Unfortunately, it is the father of Valère who aspires to marry the young girl. He is deceived, duped, cheated and even robbed with the connivance of his son, by Scapin and Marine, the valet and attendant respectively of the lovers. The father is made to pay the price for a serenade he has prepared for his beloved. That a character such as Scapin should be roguish is proverbial. But that children should desire the death of their parents so as to inherit is the sort of thing found among the Romans, during the time of Plautus and Terence. Further, the lack of any contrasting honest and disinterested sentiments means that the work passes the limits of tolerance that shapes this genre. On the other hand, the music of Mme Gail is pleasant. The melodies are graceful and fluent. Of note are the duet for Scapin and Marine “Beauté, divine beauté”; and Scapin’s aria in which he outlines the comic plan of the serenade. There is also a freshness about the parodies used: the chorus of soldiers from Sacchini’s Œdipe à Colonne “Nous braverons pour lui les plus sanglants hasards”, and an aria by Zingaelli “Ombra adorata”. In addition there is a well crafted sextet, and a popular barcarole arranged for three voices, with the melody in the bass: O pescator dell’onda Fidelin, Veni pescar in qua Colla bella sua barca, Colla bella senevà Fidelin, lin la. Perhaps Boieldieu had some hand in this arrangement which reminds one of “O dolce concento” in Les Voitures versées. This little opera was written for the singer Martin and for Mme Boulanger. The other roles were sung by Ponchard, Viscentini, Juliet, Moreau, Mlles Desbrosses and Leclerc. It was in the repertory for five years, until 1823. ____________________________________________________________

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Manuel (Vicente Rodriguez de) GARCIA (1775-1832) Le Prince d’occasion, ou Le Comédien de Provence Comédie mêlée de musique en trois actes. Librettist: Jean-Henri-Ferdinand de Martelière. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 15 December 1817. There were 24 performances. Les Deux Contrats des mariage Opéra-comique en deux actes. Librettist: Eugène de Planard. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 6 March 1824. There were only 3 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Ferdinand GASSE (1780-1825) Le Voyage incognito Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: René-Richard Castel (pseudonym of Planard). First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 1 July 1819. There were 15 performances. L’Idiote Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: anonymous. First performed: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 25 November 1820. There was only one performance. Une Nuit de Gustave Wasa, ou Le Batelier suédois Opéra-comique en deux actes. Librettists: Constant Leber and Charles-

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Guillaume Étienne. First performed: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 29 September 1827. A collaboration between Gasse and Nicolò Isouard. There were 5 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Léon-Gustave-Cyprien GASTINEL (1832-1906) Le Miroir Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Alfred Bayard and Loeillard d’Avrigny. First performed: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 19 January 1853. This is a very light work. It contains a lovely duet created by Jourdan and Mlle Talmon. Mlle Lefebvre also starred in this little piece. There were 8 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Jean-François-Eugène GAUTIER (1822-1878) Le Garde de la marin Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: M. de Saint-Yves. First performance: Théâtre Beaumarchais, 21 June 1849. The action takes place in Valogne. A sailor, returning to his native land, finds the woman he loves married to one of his friends, less from affection than from gratitude, since this friend saved her father’s life. The generous sailor undertakes to cure Marie of her enduring love for him by the extravagant means of a pretended loutishness. The striking pieces were some military couplets and a duet for Marie and André. Mme Petit-Brière was applauded in the role of Marie. Le Mariage extravagant Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Eugène Cormon. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart2), 20 June 1857.

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This was an adaptation of the comédie-vaudeville by Marc-Antoine Désaugiers and Henri de Valori. Doctor Verne directs a lunatic asylum. He is waiting for his future son-in-law and for a new patient to be admitted to his establishment. By a succession of quidproquos, he takes Edouard, his son-in-law, for the fool, while Edouard thinks the doctor is an inmate pretending to be the father of his fiancée Betzy. The doctor, believing he has cured the young man of his matrimonial frenzy, arranges the celebration of a pretend marriage, disguising his servants as parents, and guests. The contract is just signed when the bell at the grille of the establishment rings. This is the real lunatic who has arrived. When Doctor Vernes examines the signature on the contract, it is that of his daughter’s fiancé. There is general recognition and embracing, since nothing needs to be done other than confirm this extravagant marriage. The composer has set the libretto most amusingly, and the play itself had great success in 1812. Gautier wrote new music for the couplets and for a duet already composed for the old vaudeville by Champein. The overture comes from the hands of a proficient musician. There is fine trio “On sonne”, the aria for the fool Darmancé “San les folies et les amours”. The work was created by Lemaire, Barthelier, Nathan, Ponchard, and Mlle Henrion. The work was retained in the repertory for sixteen years, until 1873. La Bacchante Opéra-comique en deux actes. Librettists: Arthur de Beauplan and Adolphe de Leuven. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 4 November 1858. There were only 3 performances of this work, despite the personal success obtained by Marie Cabel in the title role. Le Docteur Mirobolan Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Eugène Cormon and Henry Trianon. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 28 August 1860. The story is based on a comédie by Hauteroche, Crispin médecin, produced at the Hôtel de Bourgogne in 1674, at the time when Molière was making a satirical view of doctors fashionable. The most amusing scene is when Crispin, to get into Doctor Mirobolan’s house, has to pass for a hanged man, and sees himself in danger of being dissected. In the

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opera, the acting was so enthusiastic that it threatened the audibility of the music. This piece is well crafted, and characterized by the composer’s learning and conscientiousness. There is a quintet for the marriage request, and couplets for Géralde, “La joie et la mélancolie”, Crispin’s aria and the couplets for big Simon. The roles were created by Couderc, Lemaire, Berthelier, Prilleux, Warot, Duvernoy, Mlles Lemercier, Révilly, Bousquet and Prost. The work was retained in the repertory for eight years, until 1868. Jocrisse Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Eugène Cormon and Henry Trianon. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 10 January 1862. There were two well made arias in this work: “Les Jocrisse sont des bons enfants” and “Trinquer, trinquer”. Although performed into the following year, 1863, the work was not successful. Le Trésor de Pierrot Opéra-comique en deux actes. Librettists: Eugène Cormon and Henry Trianon. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 5 November 1864. There were 7 performances of this work. ____________________________________________________________

Pierre GAVEAUX (1761-1825) L’Amour filial,ou La Jambe de bois Opéra en un acte. Librettist: Charles-Albert Demoustier. First performance: 1st version: Théâtre Feydeau, 7 March 1792; 2nd version: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 17 October 1801. This work remained in the repertory until 1823.

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Les Deux Eremites Comédie mêlée de ariettes en un acte. Librettist: Barthélémi Planterre. First performance: 1st version: Théâtre Feydeau, 17 April 1793; 2nd version: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 3 December 1801. There were 6 performances of this work. La Famille indigente Fait historique mêlé de chants/Opéra en un acte. Librettist: Barthélémi Planterre. First performance: 1st version: Théâtre Feydeau, 24 March 1794; 2nd version: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 21 October 1801. The story is taken from an idyll by Gessner, and offers interesting situations and a burst of sensibility. The music was written with real scenic verve and displays the unpretentious fluency of this amiable composer. Of his 35 works, mainly for the Opéra-Comique, only Le Bouffe et le Tailleur survived. Le Petit Matelot, ou Le Mariage impromptu Comédie mêlée de chants en un acte. Librettist: Charles Pigault-Lebrun. First performance: 1st version: Théâtre Feydeau, 7 January 1796; 2nd version: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 8 October 1801. This work seems to have been created for Mme Scio, who won great success in the role of the little sailor Fulbert, aged sixteen years. Although nearly all the characters in this opera are adolescents, it does not come acoss as old-fashioned. Gaveaux’s attempts at writing descriptive music made use of many means. His storm is realized in a rather puerile way; the role of Captain Sabord is deficient. Noteworthy are: the duet for the two sisters, the quintet “On est vraiment heureux à table”, the couplets du tabac sung by Mme Scio (who lit a pipe and smoked on stage to the great pleasure of the audience), and particularly the ariette of the little sailor: Adieu, vergue artimon, hunier; Adieu trop ingrate victoire. Ma maîtresse vaut bien la gloire, Le bonheur vaut bien un laurier.

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Gaveaux’s musiquette is perfectly suited to this metre. The cast was: Juliet (le père Thomas); Mme Verteuil (la mère Thomas); Mlle Rolandeau (Cécile, 14 years old); Mlle Rosine (Lise, 16 years); Duvernoy (Basile); Résicour (Sabord); Mme Scio (Fulbert, son of Sabord, 16 years). The work was retained in the repertory until 1824. Le Traité nul Comédie mêlée de ariettes en un acte. Librettist: Benoît-Joseph Marsollier. First performance: 1st version: Théâtre Feydeau, 23 June 1797; 2nd version: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 14 November 1801. This work was retained in the repertory until 1821. Sophie et Moncars, ou L’Intrigue portugaise Comédie lyrique mêlée de chants en trois actes. Librettist: Henri Guy. First performance: 1st version: Théâtre Feydeau, 30 September 1797; 2nd version: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 9 February 1802. There were 2 performances of this work. Léonore, ou L’Amour conjugal Fait historique espagnol en deux actes et en prose, mêlé de chants. Librettist: Jean-Nicolas Bouilly. First performance: 1st version: Théâtre Feydeau, 19 February 1798; 2nd version: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 28 September 1801. Florestan is immured in a dungeon. Léonore, his wife, gains access to the prison disguised as the youth Fidelio, and succeeds in liberating her husband. The subject was treated by Beethoven with all the sombre energy it requires. There was only one performance at the Opéra-Comique. Le Locataire Comédie mêlée de ariettes en un acte. Librettist: Sewrin. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 26 July 1800. This work is amusing, and the music accompanies the airs de vaudeville nicely. Of note were the couplets sung by Apolline “Je vois des jaloux en

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Espagne”; those for Ormond “C’est un admirable jardin que le jardin des Tuileries”; and a little trio. The work was performed by Solié, Gavaudan, Dozainville, Moreau, and Mme Gavaudan. There was a reprise on 17 September 1801 (Feydeau), and the work remained in the repertory until 1814. Le Trompeur trompé Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: François Bernard-Valville. First performance: 1st version: Théâtre Feydeau, 2 August 1800; 2nd version: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 20 September 1801. The work was performed until 1804. Le Retour inattendu Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: François Bernard-Valville. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 29 March 1802. There was only one performance. Un quart d’heure de silence Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: P. Guillet. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 9 June 1804. The work was performed until 1807. Le Bouffe et le tailleur Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Armand Gouffé and Pierre Villiers. First performance: 1st version: Théâtre Montasier, 21 June 1804; 2nd version: Opéra-Comique (Bourse), 6 June 1836. This trifle was still proving amusing after 60 years; it appeared in several reprises at the Opéra-Comique, and remained in the provincial repertories for a long time. It contains a restrained and witty gaiety in depicting this delicate lyricist who drinks only water while joyfully celebrating in good verse the fruit of the vine. The wit of the dialogue retains its effect, since it is always fitting and of good quality. The dramatic situation has been understood and well-handled by the composer. Gaveaux had a most lively

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feeling for his art. He produced fine literary and musical works, and, after Elleviou and Martin, was the best singer at the Opéra-Comique. It is unfortunate that he scattered his melodic inspiration throughout so many works, because they are natural and graceful, and many of his romances became popular. In this work there is a fine scene in which the actor sings a duet by himself, posing and answering both question and response: Monsieur, vous avez une fille. —Parbleu! Monsieur, je le sais bien. —Monsieur, je la trouve gentille. —Cela, monsieur, ne vous fait rien. There is a romance where words and music perfectly capture the character of the old comédie à ariettes: Conservez bien la paix du coeur, Disent le mamans aux fillettes; Sans la paix, adieu le bonheur; Craignez mille peines secrètes. The content of the second couplet is also very apt: Et puis l’on arrive à seize ans, Et l’amour vient sans qu’on y pense. This firm warning will be a corrected a little by the conclusion, by this moral gently taught to the young ladies: Si l’on n’aime pas su printemps, L’hiver viendra sans qu’on y pense. This little work, once heard from time to time, rests the spirit after the boisterous efforts of the modern comic repertoire. There were 22 performances at the Opéra-Comique. Avis aux femmes, ou Le Mari colère Comédie mêlée de musique en un acte. Librettist: René-Charles-Guilbert de Pixérécourt. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 27 October 1804.

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The story is derived from a tale by Stéphanie Félicité de Genlis. The opera was retained in the repertory for six years, until 1810. Monsieur Deschalumeaux, ou La Soirée de carneval Opéra bouffon en trois actes. Librettist: Auguste Creuzé de Lesser. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 17 February 1806. The trip of M. Deschalumeaux to Marseille, accompanied by Lajeunesse, his faithful Achates, left lasting and cheerful memories. The mistakes whereby the travellers take the residence of the Duke of Villars, the provincial governor, to be an inn, the disguising of a great lady as a servant, the supper, the bill of 3000 livres, all provided incidents of the most amusing kind, even if not always in the best taste. The work was dedicated to Vincent Campenon. The overture has real gaiety, and however much the motifs resemble pont-neufs, they are well written. The aria for Lafleur, which opens act 1, is one of the best pieces: Douce fille d’une horloge, N’entends-tu pas en ce moment Battre le coeur de ton amant Comme les montres de ton père? The duet for Mme Villeroux and Mme de Brillon “De la fille d’auberge, ah! Je retiens le rôle” is full of lovely phrases. The composer introduced into the opera, like an intermezzo, an Italian aria “Si tua beltà, ragiono” in waltz form. This was seen by some as a mediocre concession to the poor French taste of this period, and contrasted badly with the language spoken so melodiously by Cimarosa and Paisiello (CL 2:753). The act 2 finale is noteworthy for its theatrical qualities. In act 3 the bed duet is very comical. However, the idea of these beds which rise and descend and throw the sleepers into great confusion, was so overdone in the small theatres that it ceased to be very amusing. The music, moreover, is not suited to these tricks. Even at the time there was agreement about this, since at the end of the opera, Solié, who played the role of the Duke of Villars, says to the public: Puissent tant de plaisanteries Passer à votre tribunal. On doit excuser les folies, Quand on les fait en carnaval.

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The rest of the cast were: Chenard, Paul, Le Sage, Juliet, Baptiste, Fromageat, Mlle Pingenet and Mme Scio. Gaveaux’s music suits the comédie à ariettes perfectly. Lively, facile, playful, theatrical, but short-breathed and without originality, this music leaves to the literary part of the work all the interesting elements that the modern developments of singing and instrumentation have since absorbed. The work nonetheless remained in the repertory until 1843. There was a major revival in February of that year, with Mocker, Ricquier, MoreauSainti, Grignon, Emon, Daudé, Mmes Prévost and Félix. L’Échelle de soie Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Eugène de Planard. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 22 August 1808. This work was the source for Rossini’s La scala di seta (1812). It was retained in the repertory until 1820. La Rose blanche et La Rose Rouge Drame lyrique en trois actes. Librettist: René-Charles Guilbert de Pixérécourt. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 20 March 1809. This melodrama is not true to its name. The personalities from the War of the Roses do not appear at all, and the intrigue is quite extraneous to the historical politics. It was the source of Simon Mayr’s opera (Rome, 1814). Gaveaux’s opera was performed into the following year, 1810. L’Enfant prodigue Opéra en trois actes. Librettists: François-Louis Ribouttés and Jean-M. Souriguière de Saint-Marc. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 23 November 1811. The story is based on the poem by François-Nicolas Campenon. The opera was performed until 1813. Une nuit au bois, ou Le Muet de circonstance Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Michel Dieulafoy and N. Gersin. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 10 February 1818.

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There was only one performance. ____________________________________________________________

Pierre GAVINIÈS (1728-1800) Le Prétendu Intermède/Comédie mêlée de musique en trois actes. Librettist: AntoineFrançois Riccoboni. First performance: 1st version: Théâtre-Italien, 6 November 1760; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 10 October 1763. There were 4 performances. ____________________________________________________________

André GÉDALGE (1856-1926) Pris au piège Opéra-bouffe en un acte. Librettist: Michel-Antoine Carré. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Châtelet), 7 June 1895. The story is based on the comedy Le Florentin by La Fontaine and Champmeslé. This was the theatrical debut of the composer who had obtained the second grand prix de composition musicale at the Institut in 1886. The score, unequal and a little too intricate, was nevertheless interesting. The cast were: Mlle Leclerc, Mme Molé-Truffier, MM. Bernaert and Carbonne. It was performed into the following year, 1896. Gédalge’s next composition for the Opéra-Comique was the ballet Phoébé (4 July 1900, Salle Favart 3). ____________________________________________________________

F. GENIN On ne s’avise jamais de tout Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Eugène de Planard. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 28 April 1843.

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The libretto is a refashioning of the original by Michel-Jean Sedaine for Monsigny (1761).The composer, confident of his abilities, did not wish to revise but totally rework Monsigny’s opera. A graduate of the École normale, professor of Ancient Literature at the Faculty of Literature in Strasbourg, editor of Le National, an acerbic critic of other composers including the most authorised and esteemed, he appeared to have no right to submit a score to a privileged theatre. M. Villemain, then the minister for public instruction, wrote to the director of the Opéra-Comique M. Crosnier, and the staff of the theatre were obliged to make every effort to interpret his music, more pitiable than one could imagine, and rather like the famous symphony that Rousseau had performed in Lausanne. Out of regard for the learned body to which he belonged, Genin was announced, after the fall of the curtain, under the name of Lefèvre. There were four performances of this ministerial fantasy. Some critics hazarded discussing the extra-musical career of Genin, among them the editors of La Gazette musicale. The professor, piqued, launched proceedings against the editor of this journal, who was fined 500 francs and another 1000 francs for damages and costs. Who could possibly imagine that a comic opera would yield such droits d’autuer? One should indeed never give advice (CL 2:809). ____________________________________________________________

Alexandre GEORGES (1850-1938) Miarka Comédie lyrique en quatre actes. Librettist: Jean Richepin. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 7 November 1905. The story is derived from Richepin’s novel Miarka, la fille à ourse. It was performed into the following year, 1906. Georges also wrote the music for the cantata La Victoire (words by Antoine Rivoire) performed at the Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3) on 14 July 1919. This was followed by L’Hymne triomphale with music by Charles Pons. Together they formed the Matinée en l’honneur de la Paix et la Victoire to mark the end of the First World War. ____________________________________________________________

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François-Auguste GEVAERT (1828-1908) Quentin Durward Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Eugène Cormon and Michel Carré. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 25 March 1858. The story is based on Sir Walter Scott’s novel Quentin Durward. The rich score established the reputation of Gavaert. In act 1 the striking pieces are the chansonette sung by King Louis XI, the finale with interpolated dances, the couplets, and a march for the Scottish Archers. Act 2 has hardly the same interest, only Leslie’s couplets, followed by a refrain for five voices. In act 3 there is a nicely instrumented quintet, and a very dramatic duet for Quentin and Crévecoeur. The cast were Couderc, Jourdan, Faure, Barielle, Prilleux, Beckers, Cabel, Mlles Boulart, Révilly and Zoé Bélia. The work was performed until 1860. Le Diable à moulin Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Eugène Cormon and Michel Carré. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 13 May 1859. The basic situation of this story is a counterpart to La Jeaune Femme en colère, the comédie by Charles-Guillaume Étienne for Boieldieu. In place of the young woman is the miller Antoine, who is given to bouts of rage that daily get him into tricky situations. Marthe cures him of his fury by pretending to admire it, by approving it and imitating it with exaggeration. If he breaks a piece of furniture, she breaks two. If he gives a box on the ear to his mill boy, she gives two to her servant girl. The miller soon changes his tune, and becomes as gentle as a lamb. There are some pretty pieces in the score, which were charmingly interpreted by Ponchard, Mocker, Prilleux, Mlles Lemercier and Lefebvre. The work was retained in the repertory until 1863. Le Château Trompette Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Michel Carré and Eugène Cormon. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 23 April 1860. Château Trompette was a fort built by Charles VII at the port of Bordeaux,

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but in this play it is an inn which bears this name. The story centers around an adventure involving the Duc de Richelieu who is intrigued by a young woman of Bordeaux who turns to her profit the gallant marshal's lack of success. Gevaert’s score contains lovely melodies treated most ingeniously. Act 1 contains Richelieu’s song “Noël” with choral refrain, the air “Le carillon de Dunkerque” and another for the baker’s wife, all arranged with spirit. Act 2 has a charming quintet and a chanson de table with the malicious refrain “Quand il sont vieux, les loups ne mordent guère”. In act 3 there was applause for the couplets de Champagne “Bonjour, Fanchon, bonjour, Suzette”. Mme Cabel created the principal role of Lise with grace and zest. The other roles were taken by Mocker, Sainte-Foy, Berthelier, Prilleux, Ponchard, Lemaire and Mlle Lemercier. There were 25 performances. Le Capitaine Henriot Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Gustave Vaëz and Victorien Sardou. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 29 December 1864. The libretto was left incomplete by the author of La Favorite and completed by the author of La Famille Benoîton. It is very amusing, and offers some good musical situations, but little variety. The plot is complicated and entangled with small and childish details, like that of a young Scribe. It lacks a moving element, a great dramatic scene, a cry from the heart. Captain Henriot, that is to say Le Béarnais [Henry of Navarre], is besieging Paris. He has promised to dine with a pretty Parisienne who has been struck by his bravery. One of his friends, René de Mauléon, is engaged to Blanche d’Etainges, who herself is under the influence of a Spanish officer called Don Fabrice.All these characters come together on this evening in the Hôtel d’Etianges. Don Fabrice would like to abduct his mistress from Mauléon and make Le Béarnais his prisoner. But, because of the most unlikely intervention by the librettist, Henri is mistaken for Mauléon by the Spanish traitor. Mauléon allows himself to pass for the king, in order to save his master, even though he imagines that Captain Henriot is his rival in love. This is a denouement less heroic than chevalresque. In the last act, Mauléon, a prisoner of the League, arrives at the Parlement with the king, in order to propose certain conditions, on behalf of Mayenne. He will be shot if Henri rejects them. A new Regulus, he urges that they should not be accepted. Moreover, believing himself to be betrayed by Blanche d’Etianges, he has

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no further interest in life. The king devises a strategem by means of which he will use Don Fabrice to rescue Mauléon, snatch Blanche from his hands, and restore her to his friend. The music is handled with all the skill, taste and resources which one might expect from one of the most learned composers of the time. The choruses especially are very stylish. Of particular note is the Choeur de la Chasse with ingenious echo effects; and the military chorus of the king's soldiers from act 2; the duet for Blanche and Valentine “Aux soupirs des zéphyrs”; and the couplets which obtained some immediate success, more because they expressed the famous wish which made the good King Henri so popular, that every family should have a chicken in the pot, than because of the rather monotonous melody: Donnons à qui n’a pas, Il faut que tout le monde vive. The role of Captain Henriot was successfully created by Couderc. The other roles were sung by: Achard, Ponchard, Prilleux, Mlle Bélia, Augusta Colas and Mme Galli-Marié. The work was performed into the following year, 1865. ____________________________________________________________

Paul-César GIBERT (1717-1787) Soliman II, ou Les Trois Sultanes Comédie en trois actes, suivie d’un ballet. Librettist: Charles-Simon Favart. First performance: 1st version: Théâtre-Italien, 9 April 1761; second version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 10 March 1762. The story is derived from a tale by Jean-François Marmontel. There was a reprise on 16 January 1777 (Hôtel de Bourgogne). The costumes were authentically Turkish, from Constantinople. They were used again in the opera Scanderberg presented at Court, and Mlle Clairon introduced the style to the Comédie-Français where the work was revived on 23 April 1803 under the title of Les Trois Sultanes. M. Gibert, who was very young when he composed this work, revised it to conform to contemporary taste. He retained only the aria for Mahomet which was to the taste of the best composers (Origny). A later reprise was on 26 July 1853 at the Variétés. On this occasion, Favart’s text was retouched by Joseph Lockroy, and the

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music was provided by Creste. Mme Ugalde sang the role of Roxelane. Apelle et Campaspe Opéra-comique mêlée d’ariettes/Comédie héroïque en deux actes. Librettist: Antoine-Alexandre-Henri Poinsinet. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 21 April 1763. This was the first serious and Neo-Classical opéra-comique. There was only one performance. ____________________________________________________________

Casimir GIDE (1804-1868) Le Roi de Sicile Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Frédéric Soulié et Dulac. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Ventadour), 17 October 1831. This work was the mistake of two men of wit. At this time the public still had faith in the genre of opéra-comique, and did not accept this extreme buffoonery without art. The work was performed amidst whistling and catcalls. A young musician called Sainville is counting on the success of an opera to pay his creditors. He is lodging with M. Potain, whose daughter he is in love with. But his projects are interrupted by Messrs Bonn-Nez and Joyaux. Our musician, in order to appease the latter pair who are menacing him with imprisonment if he does not pay his debt of 300 francs, deceives M. Potain into believing that M. Joyaux is the dethroned king of Sicily and he himself the crown prince. He obtains the desired sum from the good fellow, but fortunately the father of Sainville arrives just in time to to save his son in a more honourable manner. One could dispute the immorality of this story at length. It is based on a celebrated novel, from the author of La Famille de Lusigny and Les Mémoires du diable. Nevertheless, although Casimir Gide's music was associated with such a bad libretto, it was noticed. His score contains several lovely songs, well combined orchestral effects, a good quintet, and a pretty romance sung by Thénard. The qualities discerned by connoisseurs in his music led to his collaboration with Halévy in the big 5act ballet with chorus La Tentation which was produced at the Opéra the following year, and which was very successful. Much of Gide’s dance

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music enjoyed considerable vogue. There were 3 performances. L’Angélus Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Jean-Joseph performance: Opéra-Comique (Bourse), 7 July 1834.

Ader.

First

The librettist is also named as Rey-Dusseuil (CL 1:60). Gide wrote the music for several ballets that had considerable success, among them La Tentation. His opera enjoyed a respectable 20 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Prosper de GINESTET (b. c. 1796) Le Maréchal Fabert, ou Une petite aventure d’un grand homme Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Émilien de Ginestet. First peformance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 2 August 1823. There were 3 performances ____________________________________________________________

Narcisse GIRARD (1797-1860) Les Deux Voleurs Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Adolphe de Leuven and Léon-Lévy Brunswick. First performance:Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 26 June 1841. This piece would be better called “L’Amant et le voleur” since the young wife-heroine is obliged to confront the former who wishes to seduce her, and the second who wants only her diamonds. The music offers nothing striking. It seems that this excellent conductor simply wished to prove that he knew how to write music. This little work was long played as a curtainraiser at the Opéra-Comique, and the public applauded a violin solo of piquant expressiveness, the couplets for Jean de Beauvais and a good duet for male voices. The cast was Mlle Darcier, Mocker, Moreau-Sainti, and Ricquier. It was in the repertory for eight years, until 1849.

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Le Conseil des Dix, ou Les Dix Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Adolphe de Leuven and Léon-Lévy Brunswick. Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 23 August 1842. The subject of this work is far removed from its sombre title. A young fop, the Chevalier de Lucienne, has compromised several of the ladies of Venice. These band together to teach him a lesson in the style of Lauzan. Masked and wearing long red robes, they summon the Chevalier to their tribunal. He is led to do the honourable thing, and agrees to be condemned to banishment. The little piece is very light, and the music by its very nature not of great importance, There is a lovely duettino for the ladies, and the tribunal scene is well handled. The very effective cast was made up of Mmes Félix and Darcier; Mocker, Grignon and Ricquier. There were 24 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Benjamin GODARD (1849-1895) Dante et Béatrice Drame lyrique en quatre actes. Librettist: Édouard Blau. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Châtelet), 13 May 1890. It was perhaps with some audacity that the librettist presented the great Florentine poet as the hero of a lyric work, and he has put on stage a young and infatuated Dante. He has used his right to licence as a dramatic poet, even if in the process he has overlooked the marriage of Beatrice Portinari with Simeone Bardi, and of Dante with Gemma, with whom the poet had seven children. One could have asked, however, for a more compact and lively action, less artificial movement, more of real life, and above all, more dramatic and really scenic situations. Certainly the act 1 finale is insufficient, and does not offer the elements necessary for the natural, magisterial development of the musical idea necessary for a tableaux of the kind. It is not passion that is lacking in this libretto, which is otherwise constructed great care. Godard had too much self-confidence, did not check carefully enough, and consequently delivered hurried works to the public. He did not know how to erase, did not seem to realize the value of work and reflection, so that a mediocre idea often detracts from the elements of an excellent

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page—be it a mediocrity in gracefulness, novelty of harmonization, ingenious development, care in rhythmic accenting, power and delicacy, or the character of instrumentation. This is a severe fault, and damages more than one of his productions (CL 1:297). The production of Dante left one astonished that an artist of his age and generation could have mounted a work with so little regard for the progress and evolution that had occurred in music in the last quarter of the 19th century. This work seems to antedate its production by thirty years in its superannuated procedures. It is not so much a lack of originality: there is flagrant imitation of Gounod, as in the act 2 duet for Beatrice and Dante, or of Verdi, as in the act 2 finale which makes one think of the triumph of the old Italian school, or of Auber as in the act 4 duet, or of Halévy in several other passages. One looks for what could unify the work. As for inspiration generally, it is often very poor, and this poverty is not relieved by skill or steadiness of labour. This is not to deny some piquancy to his inspiration, like concluding many of his pieces on the mediant or the dominant instead of the natural tonic. It is not to deny power to his instrumentation, filled with trombones, cymbals and drums, but rather to note its brutality. He does not so much relieve as abuse his melodic ideas by constant oppositions of forte and piano, and there is flabbiness of declamation in placing strong musical phrases on weak syllables of poetic lines, and vice versa. All of this indicates a lack of care, a lack of labour, an absence of artistic conscience, too much self-confidence. The attentive listener could be well-disposed towards the first pages of this score, however dashed off it might be. The whole introductory chorus, of a jaunty allure, is full of colour, movement and warmth, and Dante’s cantilena “Le ciel est si bleu sur Florence!” has a delicate and charming inspiration, with its caressing harp accompaniment. But the work soon falls into emptiness and banality, never to leave it. Not only are certain pieces insignificant, but they are also deficient, like the interminable duet for Dante and Simeone and Dante’s aria in act 1. The same applies to Beatrice’s romance in act 2, and her prolonged aria in act 4. There are some things worthy of special attention, like the peroration of the duet for the lovers in act 2, Dante’s invocation to Virgil which has both élan and breadth, certain fragments of the scene of Hell and the chorus of the damned. The interpreters were Mlle Simonnet (Béatrice), Mlle Nardi (Gemma), Gilbert (Dante) and Lhérie (Simeone). There were 11 performances.

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La Vivandière Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Henri Cain. First performance: 1st version: Brussels, Théâtre de la Monnaie, 21 March 1893; OpéraComique (Châtelet), 1 April 1895. The orchestration of this posthumous work of Godard was completed by Paul Vidal. The story concerns a romanesque episode in the Vendée uprising (1793-6). A detachment of Republican troops arrive in a village; the soldiers are hungry, and can find nothing to eat. The young Georges de Rieul, son of the rich proprietor of a neighbouring chateau, now arrives. He is liberal and a patriot, as much as his father is royalist and reactionary. Georges distributes provisions among the soldiers, something that does not please his father, who in his rage nearly curses his son. The young man is close to despair, and encouraged by the vivandière Marion, follows the soldiers and enlists in the Republican army. At the same time, the gentle Jeanne, a young orphan who loves Georges who in turn loves her, will serve as his aide. The battle commences between the Blues and the Whites. Only a small group of the latter are still continuing the campaign. Preparations are made to dislodge them from a village they are occupying, when Marion learns that they are commanded by the Marquis de Rieul. Father and son may well have to confront and kill each other. Fearing such a possibility, it is arranged that Georges will not take part in the assault on the village. During the assault, the marquis is taken prisoner. Georges learns of this and risks his own life to save his father who is to be shot. Marion takes him aside, telling him that she will take charge of everything. She covers the flight of the marquis who is able to escape. All is discovered, and now it is Marion who will be shot. Just then, however, a decree arrives from the Convention, granting a full amnesty to all the rebels. In this drama, so well staged, and where the emotion is very sincere, poor Godard, in his last work, wrote a score that is very frank, lively, most moving and wonderfully adapted to the subject. He did not have the time to finish the orchestration which was adroitly completed by Paul Vidal. Many pieces in the opera share in this well-conceived openness. In act 1 there are Marion’s excellent couplets “Viens avec nous, petit”, the duet of the armourers, and the scene of the malediction which is particularly well handled. Act 2 contains the comic couplets for Sergeant La Balafre; a charming scene, full of emotion for Marion and Jeanne; the prayer for the women; the reading of Marion’s letter which is very emotional; the military recital for La Balafre “En avant!” which exerts tremendous effect,

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and the dramatic scene for Marion and the captain whom she begs not to include Georges in the assault. Act 3 contains the grotesque dance built on the air La Fricassée, the lovely duet for the lovers “Dans mes regards troublés”, an attractive symphonic melodrama, another duet for Marion and the Captain when she tells him, in peril of her life, that it was she who helped the marquis to escape, and the final scene which contains a memory of the Chant du départ. Mlle Delna and M. Fugère undertook the roles of Marion and La Balafre admirably. The rest of the cast were Mlle Laisné, Badiali, Clément, Mondaud, and Thomas. The work was retained in the repertory until 1915. ____________________________________________________________

Jules GODEFROID (1811-1840) Le Diadesté, ou La Chose impossible Opéra-comique en deux actes. Librettists: Amable Villain de Saint-Hilaire and Léon Pillet. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Bourse), 7 September 1836. Diadesté is an arabic game. The two players, a man and a woman, may not receive any object from the hand of the other during a determined time, without saying the word “Diadesté”. If one of them forgets, he or she loses, and must pay. It was not really necessary to travel so far to find a singular word to express something so basic, even more so as the scene unfolds in Venice and not in Araby, between a jealous young husband and a very wise young woman who decide to play diadesté one evening. An excess of jealousy causes the husband to forget the game he is playing, for 500 ecus, in order to demand the key for a pavilion where a certain Sténo is hiding. He loses his wager, and, instead of his wife’s lover, finds a young man and his fiancée in the pavilion. In this dramatic conception one is exposed to the unhealthier imaginings of human passion. The music reveals a man of talent. All is proper, regular, well harmonized, well instrumented. Mme Boulanger sang the principal role. Jules Godefroid was the brother of the celebrated harpist Félix Godefroid. There were 7 performances. ____________________________________________________________

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José-Melchior GOMIS [Y COLOMER] (1791-1836) Le Diable à Séville Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Antonio Hurtado and Auguste Cavé. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Ventadour), 29 January 1831. There were 18 performances. Le Revenant Opéra fantastique en deux actes et cinq tableaux. Librettist: Albert de Calvimont. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Bourse), 31 December 1833. The story is derived from Sir Walter Scott’s novel Redgauntlet. Gomis showed great skill in this score. There is a lovely duet for soprano and tenor “Belle Sara, mon bonheur”, the ronde du sabbat “Sous le présidence”, and the church song with organ accompaniment “Daigne, au pied de ton trône”. The work was played into the following year 1834. Le Portefaix Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Augustin-Eugène Scribe. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Bourse), 16 June 1835. The story is derived from an episode in Mortonval’s novel Le Comte de Villamayor. The libretto was first offered to Hérold and then to Meyerbeer who composed some music for it. There were 16 performances. Rock le Barbu Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Paul Duport and Pierre-JeanBaptiste Desforges. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Bourse), 13 May 1836. This is an amusing work. A young Norwegian officer, of a romantic disposition, is much taken by a young widow. She also has an unusual character, and will not accept any declaration made in the usual way. The officer enters her house under the name of the Rock le Barbu, a robber notorious in the district. The pretty countess, at first affrighted, is

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reassured when she realizes that he is a disguised lover. She takes her revenge by pretending to take him seriously, and proposing to share his adventurous life. The soldier loses his bearing when he thinks she can love someone of the robber’s character. The news of the arrest of the real Rock le Barbu puts an end to this embarrassing situation. The music is characterized by Rossinian imitation. There are the couplets of Rock le Barbu , a good quartet in D minor, and an aria sung by Mme Casimir.The other roles were taken by Fargueil, Thénard, Mlles Olivier and Annette Lebrunn. There were 11 performances. ____________________________________________________________

François-Joseph GOSSEC (1734-1829) Le Tonnelier Opéra-comique en un acte, mêlée d’ariettes. Librettist: Nicolas-Médard Audinot, revised by François-Antoine Quétant (1765). First performance: 1st version: Foire Saint-Laurent, 28 September 1761; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 16 March 1765. The story is derived from La Fontaine’s fable Le Cuvier. The music was arranged by Gossec from contributions by Charles-Guillaume Étienne, Ciampalanti, Josef Kohaut, François-André-Dunican Philidor, Johann Schobert, Jean-Claude Trial and various vaudevilles. There was a revival between 1812 and 1815 (musique parodiée) which excludes the version by Isouard (1801). Le Faux Lord Comédie avec prologue et divertissements en trois actes. Librettist: André Parmentier. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 27 June 1765. Les Pêcheurs Comédie en un acte, mêlée d’ariettes. Librettist: Adrien-Nicolas La Salle d’Offémont. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 23 April 1766. This is the best opéra-comique that the composer wrote. It was very

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successful, due in great part to the new forms Gossec gave to the instrumental music. He added oboes, horns and bassoons to the strings. The melodies were not especially original, but they have a straightforward cut, and a harmony appropriate to the rhythm. The score offers strong analogies with the style of Philidor, but with much better sonority. Among the most striking pieces are the ariette for Jacques “Suzette a déjà dix-huit ans”; that for Suzette “Dois-je espérer, ou dois-je craindre?”; a good trio for the bailiff, Bernard and Suzette; and a well-managed quartet. There was a revival with changes on 7 June 1766. The work remained in the repertory until 1790. Toinon et Toinette Comédie en deux actes, mêlée d’ariettes. Librettist: Jean-Auguste-Jullien Desboulmiers. First performed: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 20 June 1767. Performed until 1774. Le Double Déguisement Comédie en un acte, mêlée d’ariettes. Librettist: Houbron. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 28 September 1767. There was only one performance. Les Femmes et le secret Comédie mêlée d’ariettes/opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: FrançoisAntoine Quétant. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 9 November 1767. The work was written in collaboration with Pierre Vachon. The story is derived from a fable by Fontaine. “On aime dans ce drame plusieurs morceaux de la musique de Monsieur Gossec” (Orville). The composer showed a certain melodic talent (CL 1: 442). It was performed until 1789. ____________________________________________________________

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Charles-François GOUNOD (1818-1893) La Colombe Opéra-comique en deux actes. Librettists: Jules Barbier and Michel Carré. First performance: 1st version: Baden-Baden, 3 August 1860; 2nd version: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 7 June 1866. The story is based on Le Faucon, a tale by La Fontaine. The work was first performed at Baden some six years before its appearance at the OpéraComique when the composer added some new pieces. The bird featured in the original tale was changed into a dove for the libretto. A young lord, very poor and called Horace, possesses a charming dove. Sylvie is most envious of it, and proposes through her intendant to buy it. When Horace refuses, she turns up at his house, hoping to obtain that which she wants by coquetry. The poor gentleman, having no doubts about her covetousness, wishes to receive her well, but has nothing to offer her for dinner. In an excess of spite and despair, he orders the dove to be roasted. The meal commences, and Sylvie decides to inform Horace of the object of her visit. He is disconcerted, but Sylvie, touched by all she has seen and heard, offers to marry him. He accepts most gratefully. As for the dove, it has been rescued by Horace’s imaginative valet who has substituted a parrot in its place. The music is witty, elegant, and had a most favourable reception. The couplets “Oh! Les femmes, les femmes!” were much applauded, as was the aria “Blanche colombe, votre faim!” sung by the little valet (Mlle Girard); the romance for Horace (Capoul); a graceful entr’acte con sordini; the terzetto and act 1 finale; in act 2, the aria for the majordomo (Bataille); an aria for Sylvie (Mlle Cico); and a duet for Horace and the little Mazet. The score was published by Choudens. This was Gounod’s first work to be played at the Opéra-Comique, where it took its proper place in the witty and elegant repertory. There were 29 performances. Le Médecin malgré lui Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Michel Carré and Jules Barbier. First performance: 1st version: Théâtre-Lyrique, 15 January 1858; 2nd version: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 22 May 1872. The story is based on the comédie by Molière. In adapting this comedy to the lyric stage, in transforming the scenes into trios, sextets, couplets and

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choruses, it was not possible to give it the air of an opéra-comique. Gounod’s music appeared to be a work separate from the subject. It was heard with pleasure, because it is both interesting and distinguished. But despite the composer’s efforts to give it an archaic tournure, and particularly the imprint of the 17th-century, it remained a work of its time, modern, refined, full of detail, sometimes too ingenious and little mannered, revealing a particularly exuberant knowledge of orchestration and counterpoint. As for the gaiety, the roundness, the Gallic turn of Molière’s play, the music offers only the lightest trace, and the most interesting passages are the dialogue which have an indefinable tincture of melancholy from which the composer was never able to free himself. This is typical of the couplets of the bottle, sung by Sganarelle: Qu’ils sont doux, Bouteille jolie, Qu’ils sont doux Vos petits glouglous. It is impossible to imagine more ingenious combinations and more imitative effects that yet remain totally musical, than the accompaniment for flutes, horns, clarinets and bassoons. But all this luxury is rather misplaced since the subject is a woodcutter intoning a drinking song. Among the more striking pieces in the score are the duet for Sganarelle and Martine, the consultation sextet, the couplets for the wet-nurse, the pastorale sung by Léandre disguised as a shepherd; the chorus “Serviteur, monsieur le docteur”; and the quintet in act 3. The roles were created by: Meillet, Girardot, Mlles. Faivre and Girard. There were reprises on: 15 November 1902 (Salle Favart 3); 24 March 1938; and 7 May 1966. Roméo et Juliette Opéra en cinq actes. Librettists: Jules Barbier and Michel Carré. First performance: 1st version: Théâtre-Lyrique, 27 April 1867; 2nd version: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 20 January 1873. The story is based on Shakespeare’s drama. This was the first work to be given at the Opéra-Comique without spoken dialogue (parlé). The libretto reproduces the principal situations of Shakespeare’s play: the prologue with its exposition of the subject of the play; the ball at the Capulets; the meeting between Romeo and Juliet; their rendez-vous; the marriage in the cell of Friar Laurence; the duel scene; the condemnation of Romeo and his

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exile; the nocturnal farewell for the two lovers; Juliet’s doped sleep; the return of Romeo and his death. The librettists preferred to adopt the denouement used in the operas of Bellini and Vaccai—that is having Romeo witness the awakening of Juliet, rather than ending the work with the reconciliation of the two families over the bodies of their children. The original is more pathetic than the later adaptation, and its impression on the spectator far more moral than the double suicide which is sterile in itself. It also disregards the high moral of Shakespeare’s intention: “God strikes you in your joys, and love avenges the humanity your vengeance dishonours”. The libretto is nonetheless disposed with great talent, and the authors had the good taste to preserve, as far as they were able, the exact expressions of the English poet. It was Gounod's ambition to provide a sequel to his Faust by unleashing the only genius who could bear comparison with Goethe. But success did not completely crown his enterprise. The symphonic element dominates this opera, where the action is very animated and the characters ceaselessly active. There are also some scenes that are too developed, and which produce an effect contrary to that intended by the authors. The nuptial benediction given to the spouses by Friar Laurence is one of these. It has interminable phrases, boring and out of place in an opera. It is also difficult to understand Gounod’s mania for transporting church scenes into his operas. If he thought to impress the audience in this way, he was deceived. During Shakespeare’s time, they were more reserved about the intervention of acts of religion. They were implied or happened off stage. In act 1 there is the Chanson de la reine Mab, Juliet’s waltz song; in act 2, the garden duet, full of charming phrases, among them the melody “Comme un oiseau captif”, and the little chorus of servants looking for the page. The first part of act 3 is very cold because of the marriage scene, but the second part is very striking and one of the best the composer ever wrote. The Page’s chanson “Gardez bien la belle” is lovely; but the big duel scene above all has an accomplished beauty. Here we find movement, passion, and an ensemble of melody and harmony that makes for a beautiful page of dramatic music. In act 4 the celebrated scene of farewell has been treated with an almost unique dramatic feeling. The exquisite phrase “non, ce n’est pas e jour, c’est ne pas l’alouette” should be interpreted with passion, but also with grace and naive emotion, rather than with harrowing and violent cries. It concerns a very young girl, a first love surrounded by mystery and danger. The cries, the strident unisons, are inappropriate. This scene requires much artistry and nuance. The composer preferred to make concessions to the doctrines of the music of the future, and, leaving aside the exigencies of taste and sound, made it

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into a realist drama. It is nevertheless the last striking piece of the score. The Tomb Scene is not particularly remarkable, apart from the instrumentation which is rich in effects and ingenious intentions. The opera obtained a legitimate success. Serious works at the time were too rare for any begrudging of praise. The realization of the opera was excellent in the rapport between orchestra and chorus. Mme Carvalho created the role of Juliette with great talent. Many people of fastidious taste felt that she encompassed this role less successfully than that of Marguerite. Michot, despite the agreeable timbre of his voice, was insufficient in the role of Romeo. The other roles were sung by Mlle Daram, Troy, Barré and Puget. On 20 January 1873, with the disappearance of the Théâtre-Lyrique, the opera was produced at the Opéra-Comique. By 30 September 1874 it had been played in this theatre 100 times. The total number of performances at the Opéra-Comique by the end of the year 1887 was about 260. On the 28 November 1888 the work entered the repertory of the Opéra. By 31 December 1894 this had reached 120 performances. At the Opéra-Comique there were revivals on: 26 May 1923 (Salle Favart 3) (a gala performance for the benefit of the Caisse des pensions viagères) (Scenes 2 and 6 only); 11 June 1932 (a gala performance for the Caisse de retraite (act 2 only); 10 September 1959 (in a version in 2 acts and 9 scenes). It was performed into 1960. Mireille Opéra en quatre actes. Librettists: Jules Barbier and Michel Carré. First performance: 1st version: Théâtre-Lyrique, 19 March 1864 (in 5 acts and 7 scenes); 2nd version: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 10 November 1874 (in 4 acts). The story is derived from Frédéric Mistral’s poem Mirèio. At the première in 5 acts, the work concluded with the death of the heroine. Later in the same year the work was revived (15 December 1864) in a modified form of three acts with a happy ending. Ten years later, when performed at the Opéra-Comique, the work was given in four acts with a tragic denouement. Mistral’s poem was already admired in the south of France before Lamartine praised it in his Entretiens littéraires. Mireille, a young and pretty Arlésiene, is the daughter of master Ramon. A rich drover from the Camargue, Ourrias, has asked her father for her hand in marriage, and this has been granted. But the young girl loves someone else, the poor basketmaker Vincent, whose treasure is his tenderness for the pure and innocent girl. Mireille resists all the menaces and imprecations of her

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father. Her love is greater than death. The two rivals encounter each other in the Val d’Enfer. Ourrias strikes Vincent with his iron staff, and leaves him to die in the wilderness. But the old sorceress Taven brings him back to life. The murderer, a prey to remorse, becomes lost on the banks of the Rhône, and his imagination is afflicted by funereal apparitions. Les Noyés, or spirits of drowned girls deceived in love, pass before his eyes. He calls the ferryman, and boards the boat, but his presence brings misfortune. The bark capsizes, and the drover disappears in the waves. Mireille is ignorant of Vincent’s fate. During the harvest Vincenette, the young sister of Vincent, tells Mireille about what has happened and of his healing. Mireille and her fiancé arrange a rendez-vous at the pilgrimage of the Saintes-Maries in case any misfortune should befall one of them. She sets out across the arid plain of the Crau under a blazing sun. Here there is a charming episode of a little goat crouching in the heather to escape the heat of the day. Mireille arrives at the Saintes-Maries, but in the grip of a violent fever, and dies of exhaustion and love in the arms of Vincent and her despairing father. The score of this opera seems the most remarkable and inspired of those written by Gounod for the theatre. The descriptive part, which takes up a significant part of this work, is perhaps better handled than the dramatic action: the choral overture “Chantez, chantez, magnanarelles” in act 1; the farandole chorus, the chanson du magali, the dogmatic declamation for Ramon in act 2; the fantastic tableau at the Rhône in act 3; the chorus of the vintage, the pastoral song of the little Andreloun “Le jour se lève et fait pâtir la sombre nuit”, the aria for Mereille “Heureux petit berger” in act 4. These are the pieces in which the composer has best allied a lively literary tradition with a flexible and experimental musical knowledge. These are the scenes and studies of the greatest interest. The dramatic side of the work also offers incontestable beauties. At the entry of Mireille in act 1, the phrase “Oh! C’Vincent! Comme il sait gentiment tout dire” depicts the situation with truth and delicacy. Mireille’s big aria “mon coeur ne peut changer, souviens-toi que je t’aime” is one of the loveliest arias of the soprano repertory. Also in the act 2 finale the phrase “Ah! c’en est fait, je désespère” is inspired. Mme Miolan-Carvalho interpreted this remarkable score with great talent. The other roles were created by Ismaël, Petit, Morini, Mme Faure-Lefebvre and Mlle Reboux. The work was revised in three acts on 15 December 1864 with changes which were intended to shorten the production. It was hoped that the adoption of a definitive form would help to maintain it in the repertoire. There were also some modifications for act 5. Gounod was a man of taste, but lacked it for once in his life in choosing for the organ of the Church of

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the Saintes-Maries the chant “Lauda Sion salvatorem”. This liturgical masterpiece should be heard only in church. Intoned by the chorus of the Théâtre-Lyrique, it painfully affected the hearts and ears of the Catholic audience. Christianity has not yet become a mythology where one has the right to take what ones likes to produce a dramatic effect. All the composers, without exception, who have treated religious scenes, have been careful to avoid using liturgical chants consecrated by public cult. Meyerbeer in Robert le Diable, Halévy in La Juive, Hérold in Zampa, Verdi in Il trovatore have taken the trouble to write music especially to express the dramatic effect they needed. Gounod should have imitated them in their reserve, and have drawn as they did from his own inspiration whatever religious chants were required by the work (CL 2:744). Transported to the stage of the Opéra-Comique on 10 November 1874, the opera experienced a negative reaction. The second reprise of 29 October 1889 (Châtelet) (in a reduced three-act version) was much happier. This work, of such beautiful dramatic feeling, and of a poetry both intense and exquisite, established itself securely in the repertory, and was accepted as it deserved. By the end of 1894, there had been 226 performances at the Opéra-Comique. But no other work was subjected to such modifications in the course of the different reprises: alternation of the tragic or happy ending, use of spoken dialogue or recitative, relocation, suppression and restitution of individual numbers. Further reprises took place on: 13 March 1901 (Salle Favart 3) in a version with 5 acts and 7 scenes, but with abridgement of the last two acts, and with spoken text; 6 June 1939 in the five-act version closest to the original, reconstructed by Reynaldo Han, the spoken dialogue replaced by recitatives as in the autograph. Orchestration of the Air de la Crau and the death of Mireille were missing and undertaken by Henri Busser. The work was retained in the repertory until 1971. Philémon et Baucis Opéra/Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Jules Barbier and Michel Carré. First performance: 1st version: Théâtre-Lyrique, 18 February 1860 (version in 3 acts); Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 16 May 1876 (version in 2 acts). The story is after the poem by La Fontaine based in its turn on the Metamorphoses by Ovid. The work was initially conceived for the summer theatre at Baden-Baden in a much reduced one-act form. The enlargement was not to the advantage of the work which now was of

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indefinable genre, half mythological and sentimental, half comical. In the introduction one notes a graceful motif for the oboes which is taken over by the strings. Gounod used a piano with the orchestra to accompany one of the choruses of his score, and found the effect he was looking for. There is a well handled orchestral storm that needed the assistance of extra musicians, an air de ballet in act 2, and the aria “Ô riante nature “in act 3, as well as a duet for Jupiter and Baucis “ne crains pas que j’oublie” which contains charming ideas. The cast were: Bataille, Fromant, Balanqué and Mme Carvalho. The work, reduced to two acts and rendered more stageworthy by this transformation, was revived at the Opéra-Comique on 16 May 1876 and was received with eagerness and interest. By 31 December 1894, there had been 193 performances. It was retained in the repertory until 1943. Cinq Mars Opéra/Drame lyrique en quatre actes et cinq tableaux. Librettists: Paul Poirson, revised and versified by Louis Gallet. First performance: OpéraComique (Salle Favart 2), 5 April 1877. The story is derived from the novel by Alfred de Vigny. The work has some serious defects that would have compromised its success if the composer had not obviated these by the communicative warmth of his inspiration, the variety of his melodic motifs and his consummate instinct for dramatic effect. The librettists discarded the principal historical figures—that is, the Queen and Cardinal Richelieu. The King himself only traverses the stage silently. They intended to resuscitate Father Joseph, called at the time l’Éminence grise, vesting in him the political action essential for the drama. This friend of the cardinal, a man of great talent, actually died five years before the conspiracy of Cinq Mars. It is also contrary to probability and convention that Marie de Gonzague, designated to carry the crown of Poland, comes and goes unattended both day and night, without even a single attendant. Confidants may well have played out their part on stage, but good sense and propriety are perennial. Act 1 takes place in the chateau of the Effiat family. Cinq Mars, called to court by the cardinal, receives the vows and counsels of his friends. Distressed at having to leave Marie de Gonzague whom he loves, anxious about her destined future, he opens a book and comes across a passage from the lives of two saints who faced martyrdom together. He speaks of his presentiments to his friend Thou. Father Joseph arrives, and on behalf of the king, announces to Marie de Gonzague that she has been accepted

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as the future queen of Poland. The chorus wish Cinq Mars a happy journey. This chorus, written for male voices, has a lovely effect: “Allez par la nuit claire, allez, beau voyageur”. Marie arrives at the rendez-vous requested by Cinq Mars, and sings a cantilena “Nuit resplendissante” which is given an expressive breadth by the 12/8 time. The duet which follows has a lovely phrase “Faut-il donc oublier les beaux jours envolées”. The first scene of act 2 is in the vestibule of the royal palace. Mario Delorme and Ninon come to object about Cinq Mars’s appointment as grand equerry, and are threatened with exile by the cardinal. At this point there is a satirical chanson directed against Richelieu sung by a young lord called Fontrailles: On ne verra plus dans Paris Tant de plumes ni de moustaches. The reprise by the chorus is most harmoniously arranged for the voices. The chorus of courtesans soliciting the interest of the grand equerry has a flat and banal quality appropriate to the situation. Father Joseph, in a very dignified recitative full of nobility, tells Cinq Mars that he must renounce the hand of the princess that he has requested. The grand equerry announces that he will not obey the cardinal’s instructions. The second scene of act 2 is taken up with a festivity at Mario’s home. A minuet ensues, excellently imagined. The romance Clélie is the theme of the divertissement. Mario’s aria is a pastiche most skillfully presented “Bergers qui le voulez connaître”. The Conspiracy Scene that follows does not offer enough innate interest. On one hand there is the admirable Cinq Mars, on the other the young libertines who have the bad grace to sing: Sauvons le roi, sauvons la noblesse et la France, Délivrons le trône et l’autel while they are busy signing a treaty of alliance with Spain to overthrow Richelieu. Such a ridiculous conspiracy could hardly inspire a composer like Gounod. The finale also offers nothing more interesting than the considered reproaches of Thou who is espousing a cause disavowed by his conscience. Act 3 opens with an old hunting-horn song “Tonton, lontaine, tonton” and a chorus of hunters. The two lovers come to make their betrothal to each other in the nearby chapel, and the faithful Thou helps them with the rendez-vous. The trio is really a duet, because the lovely phrase, the most inspired in the score, is sung in octaves by Cinq Mars and Marie:

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Ah! venez, que devant l’autel Un serment d’amour immortel nous lie! The conspirators have attended the couple and emerge from the chapel. Father Joseph sings a bass aria in superb style: Dans ine trame invisible Nous t’avons enveloppé. However much the authors intended to render the Eminence grise odious, it is this Capuchin who has the most interesting role in the work, and Gounod has drawn the character with the hand of a master. Father Joseph tries hard to separate Marie from Cinq Mars, but all in vain. She has bound her fate with his, and will be faithful to him to death. The blowing of the mort now follows, a piece that should be in the repertory of the Orphéons. In act 4 the two conspirators are imprisoned in the Château de PierreEncise. The music of this act has an air of mysticism to which Gounod willingly turned. This tone maintains itself until the end. The cavatina for Cinq Mars “Ô chère et vivante image!” is full of pathos. It is followed by a stretta with Marie who has gained access to the prison to save her beloved. This ensemble is in the Italian style, but does not seem out of place because it is in accord with the passionate movement of the piece. The opera concludes with the arrival of the chancellor who reads out the death sentence. Cinq Mars reminds his friend of the presentiment stimulated by the reading in act 1 of the martyrdom of the two early Christians. The two sing a last canticle and are taken to their execution. Marie de Gonzague falls senseless. The press were troubled to distraction, and remarked on all the shocking faults of the libretto, while passing over the beauties of the score in silence. Criticism was levelled at the alleged negligence of the orchestration. But this is just as full of careful detail as Gounod's other works. The opera was sung by: Dereims, Giraudet, Stéphane, Barré, Mlle Franck-Duvernoy and Mlle Philippine Lévy. There was a reprise later in the same year in November 1877 in five acts, with several additions and changes. It was performed into 1878. ____________________________________________________________

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Antoine-Frédéric GRESNICK (1755-1799) Le Rêve Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Charles-Guillaume Étienne. First performed: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 27 January 1799. The score is unlocated. There were 15 performances. ____________________________________________________________

André-Ernest-Modeste GRÉTRY (1741-1813) Le Huron Opéra-comique en deux actes. Librettist: Jean-François Marmontel. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 20 August 1768. The subject of Le Huron is drawn from Voltaire’s L’Ingénu. The hero is a ‘noble savage’ from Canada who lands on the Brittany coast. He captivates everyone by his handsome appearance and bravery (fighting off an English invasion). He discovers that he is in fact a Frenchman, and marries Mlle de Saint-Yves. With Le Huron Grétry captured public attention, and began his long and brilliant career in France. The Comte de Creutz recommended him to Marmontel, observing: “He is a young man in despair and is on the point of drowning himself if you do not save him. All he asks for is a pretty little opéra-comique so that he can make his fortune in Paris. He has come from Italy. He did some work in Geneva. He arrived with an opera (Les Mariages samnites) based on one of your tales. The directors of the Opéra listened to him and refused him. This poor young man is without resources: he has begged me for a recommendation to you”. The actor Caillot, in the last years of his life, loved to recount how his colleagues were little disposed to take on the work of a young unknown musician, until he began to sing with lively expression: Dans quel canton Est l’Huronie? Est-ce en Turquie? En Arabie? Hé non! Non! Non!

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The effect of this aria on the comic troupe decided then and there the reception of this work and the fate of Grétry. Grétry’s music reveals both a wide range and richness of imagination. There is an Italianate sense of the vocal line, and French fidelity to verbal meaning and syllabic precision that was to give his work great influence. This was the first work of Grétry’s to be heard in Paris. He somewhat naively recounts in his Essais the emotions he felt at his debut. The actor Caillot sang the role of the amiable Huron; Laruette that of Gilotin; Clairval the French officer, and Mme Laruette that of Mlle de Saint-Yves. The couplets “Dans quel canton est l’Huronie?” and the duet “Ne vous rebutes pas” became well-known. Lucile Comédie en un acte, en vers, mêlée d’ariettes. Librettist: Jean-François Marmontel. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 5 January 1769. Lucile has been brought up as the daughter of the wealthy bourgeois Timante, and is about to marry Dorval fils. However, it emerges that she is really the daughter of the poor Blaise, whose wife had been Lucile’s wet nurse. When Timante’s daughter died, they substituted their own child. Timante accepts the facts, and is able to persuade Dorval’s father to do the same, so proving that “Thinking nobly creates all the worth of nobility.” Lucile provides a good example of Marmontel’s operatic style. The libretto offers dramatic scenes which the composer has treated with a happy natural sensibility. This was the second work he had presented in Paris, and it had much success. The detailed analysis of this work which Grétry himself provided indicates the trouble he took over this opera. His music is notable for the dramatic monologue in which Blaise struggles with his conscience: “Ah! ma femme, qu’avez vous fait?”. This produced an effect of real pathos which the composer modestly attributed in part to the excellent interpretation of the actor Cailleau. There is another dramatic ensemble portraying Lucile’s anguish “Ah! Ma belle maîtresse”. The touching quartet “Où peut-on être mieux qu’au sein de sa famille?” alone would have secured the fortunes of the opera. It is a musical picture of domestic happiness sung around the table on Lucile’s wedding morning. This piece was popularly used to sanctify the rituals of family, friendly reunions and prize-givings, and also experienced something of a political career. When the Bourbons returned to France, whenever they appeared musicians would play this air. Gallic malice also

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made use of it. One evening, during a provincial representation of the tragi-comedy Samson, Harlequin struggled onto the stage with a turkey which took refuge in one of the stage boxes occupied by employees of the restored authorities, and the pit burst into the famous refrain (CL 2: 663). Le Tableau parlant Comédie en un acte, en vers, mêlée d’ariettes. Librettist: Louis Anseaume. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 20 September 1769. This opera, of unalloyed gaiety, demonstrated to the public the composer’s supple talents. He had just presented two very serious works, Le Huron and Lucile. Although Le Tableau parlant was treated by the actors like a comic parade, Grétry found it necessary to dignify as much of it as he could, so that it turned out to be an opéra-comique in good taste and more original in conception than Les Rendezvous bourgeois. One must be pleased that the genre of opéra-comique did not take on a more risqué allure (CL 2: 1061). Grétry wrote the score in two months, and it has many lovely motifs: the aria “Pour tromper un pauvre vieillard”, the couplets “Vous étiez ce que vous n’êtes plus”, the comic description of the Tempête by Pierrot, and a good duet “Je brûlerai d’une ardeur éternel”. Clairval and Mme Laruette sang the roles of Pierrot and Colombine. Grétry’s reputation was just establishing itself when a foolish commentator spread the story that he had taken the principal melodies of the opera from the Italian composers Galuppi, Pergolesi and Traetta. But the allegations were easily confounded. Silvain [Sylvain] Comédie en un acte, en vers, mêlée d’ariettes. Librettist: Jean-François Marmontel. Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 19 February 1770 Silvain, the son of a gentleman, has married a virtuous woman who is socially beneath him. He has two sons, one of whom is promised to the daughter of a rich labourer. Silvain, although long exiled from the paternal home because of his misalliance, goes hunting on his father’s grounds. He is arrested by the game wardens. His wife and daughters throw themselves at the feet of the seigneur and beg his clemency. Their actions lead to reconciliation and pardon. Grétry wrote one of his best scores. The C-major overture with its

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lovely motif in F is on a par with that of L’Épreuve villagoise. Other striking pieces include Hélène’s G-major aria “Nos coeurs cessent de s’entendre”, followed by Silvain’s monologue “Je puis braver les coups du sort” which is both original and powerful; the chorus of the gardes-chasse; the duet for Hélène and Sylvain “Dans le sein d’un père”, the most skillfully handled piece of the score. Grétry fixed the principal accents following the advice of, and by observing the declamation of, the celebrated Mlle Clairon. The trio for Lucette, Pauline and Dolmon “Venez, venez vivre avec nous” is written with a very high soprano tessitura. The baritone Cailleau sang the role of Silvain with success. The opera was just as popular as Lucile. Les Deux Avares Comédie en deux actes, mêlée d’ariettes. Librettist: Fenouillot de Falbaire. First performance: 1st version: Fontainebleau, 17 October 1770; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 6 December 1770. The Oriental subject is charming, but the dialogue is feeble, and has not aged well (CL 1: 312). This one of Grétry’s better works, and was long held in public affection. Notable pieces include: the aria “Sans cesse, auprès de mon trésor”, the very comic duet “Prendre ainsi cet or, ces bijoux”; the march “La garde passe il est minuit” which was very popular; and the chorus of Janissaries “Ah! qu’il est bon, qu’il est divin”, an excellent piece which became classic. L’Amité à l’épreuve Comédie en deux actes, mêlée d’ariettes. Librettist: Favart. First performance: 1st version: Fontainebleau, 13 November 1770; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 24 January 1771; 3rd version, in three acts: Fontainebleau, 24 October 1786; 4th version, in three acts: 30 October 1786. Grétry, in his Essai sur la musique, undertook to explain the relative lack of success of this work: “No other of my works cost me so much pain, and I never had greater difficulty in suitably stimulating my imagination. My energies were so diminished in setting this poem to music, that it took me eight days to seek and find the right colour that I needed for the trio “Remplis nos coeurs, douce amitié”. When the piece was played at Fontainebleau, I was reconciled with the superintendants of the King’s

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music, who, without saying anything, had regarded me as a sacrilegious innovator working against the traditions of ancient French music. Rebel and Francoeur told me that this was the appropriate genre for me to adopt. The work was received coldly at Fontainebleau, and had only twelve performances in Paris. I suggested to the author of the poem that he add a comic role, which would add variety to the subject. It reappeared in 1786, with considerable changes. An actress, endowed with a flexible voice, and singing in an exquisite way (Mlle Renaud, now Mme d’Avrigny), took on the role of Corali which I had rearranged for her particular gifts. Trial, one of the most enthusiastic and tireless actors who ever lived, was given the role of the Negro which he portrayed truthfully. This reprise had greater success, and the public, satisfied with the arduous efforts of the authors, called them out to witness their pleasure. Although the public only too often call out the authors of ephemeral productions, although it would be more glorious to share the crowns so often lavishly bestowed, although one can no longer ignore the tricks needed to obtain them, I believed it necessary to present to the public the octogenarian author of such estimable works, who constrained by his blindness from presenting himself, needed a guide to go and receive from the attentive public the last jewels of his crown. Such is the realm of circumstance: after having criticized the abuse of roulades by which the Italians are led astray, I am myself to blame for this same fault. The air which Corali sang in taking her lesson is perhaps rather more difficult than one might have wished, since the aria is proportional to the talents of the student. But the air which begins the third act harms the action, and appears to me to be misplaced. That is why I removed it. Since Corali’s heart was broken by the flight of Nelson, she should no longer give way to such musical luxury. He returns, it is true, but accompanied by Blanfort, the future husband of Corali, whose spirit should therefore be troubled.” These details indicate the care with which Grétry composed his works, and what importance he attached to the depiction of his characters (CL 2:46). L’Ami de la maison Opéra-comique en trois actes et en vers libres. Librettist: Jean-François Marmontel. First performance: 1st version: Fontainebleau, 26 October 1771; 2nd version: Les Comédiens du Roi/Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 14 May 1772. Grétry enthusiastically applied his theory of the intimate accord between music and poem in this score. He rather naively wrote: “Should one not

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believe that it was Marmontel who wrote the music and I the words?” The two arias “Je suis de vous très mécontente” and “Rien ne plaît tant aux yeux des belles” could almost indicate how the accents of the word can be imitated by the tones of the scale, with much of the music parlante, simple and natural. The act 3 duet “Tout ce qu’il vous plaira” is remarkable for its syllabic rhythms, which apply perfectly to the situation, a technique frequently employed by composers since. The little duet “Vous avez deviné cela” is in the most refined taste, and the composer himself recommended it for the study of amateurs in his Essais sur la musique. Despite Grétry’s high opinion, Marmontel’s libretto now appears long and cold. Time and again the melodic verve of the musician saves the situation and brings success like that of the delightful and contemporary Zémire et Azor (CL 1:44). Zémire et Azor Comédie-féerie en quatre actes en vers. Librettist: Jean-François Marmontel. First performance: 1st version: Fontainebleau, 9 November 1771; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne) , 16 Dec 1771. The subject of this work is the well-known tale La Belle et la Bête, but amplified by episodes particularly adapted to music. Act 1. The Persian merchant Sander has lost his fortune in shipwreck and is returning home to Ormuz with his servant Ali. They shelter from a storm outside a palace, and are puzzled when food and wine mysteriously appear. But when Sander picks a rose to take for his daughter Zémire, the owner of the palace appears in a rage. This is Azor, who has been transformed by a malicious fairy into a beastlike creature. Only a freely given and genuine love can restore him to his true likeness. Azor demands Sander’s life, but allows him to return to see his three daughters one last time. Act 2. Sander is reunited with his daughters, but conceals the news of his terrible fate. Zémire hears the truth from Ali, and determines to offer herself in her father’s place. She returns with Ali to the palace. Act 3. Zémire discovers Azor’s true and refined nature. She is entertained by a ballet of genies, and Azor shows her a tableau vivant of herself with her family, before allowing her to return to see them a last time. Act 4. Zémire tries to explain her situation to her family before hurrying back to Azor who is languishing in his wild garden. Her confession of love breaks the evil spell: the fairy restores his original form

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and the pair are married. This opera, like Les Deux Avares and L’Amitié à l’epreuve was premièred at Court as part of the royal wedding celebrations. It also marks an expansion of scale and concept in the genre of opéra-comique. Only Duni’s La Fée Urgèle (1765) had previously been in four acts. Zémire also contains a ballet sequence in act 3. The artificiality of the conte is reflected in the score where a wide variety of emotion is necessarily contained within a Rococo musical idiom. What is remarkable is the amount of contrast the composer has provided within these constraints. Fear and despair, determination and jealousy are all depicted along with the general atmosphere of enchantment and a childlike sensibility. The arias vary in subject and style. Indeed, the composer invested this score with all the special features of his craft. Zémire’s “La fauvette avec ses petits” is an aria in the virtuoso Italian style. The composer even maintained that the musical manner in which he depicted Ali’s yawning in the duet “le temps est beau” provoked a spate of irresistible yawning in the theatre. He tells us that he tried it out in his own family, where they all started yawning, each one more than the next. The opera itself provokes anything but yawning (CL 2:1174). Each number offers a melody of unique characterization. In Ali’s aria “L’orage va cesser” the melody is adapted to the words in the most natural way. The resolution of the allegro passage sung by Sander “Le malheur me rend intrépide” is most admirable. The three vital duets focus on conflict, and have great rhythmic energy. Other special moments are the delightful trio in act 2 “Veillons, mes soeurs”; Zémire’s romance “Rose chérie”; Ali’s air bouffe “Plus de voyage qui me tente”; Azor’s aria “Du moment qu’on aime, on devient si doux” which has an exquisite sensibility. The trio in act 3 “Ah! Laissezmoi la pleurer” is the most moving scene in the opera. During the tableau magique that depicts the father and two sons bewailing the loss of Zémire, the composer accompanies the voices with horns, clarinets and bassoons while the rest of the orchestra is silent, an inspiration of powerful effect. Diderot applauded, and Grimm enthusiastically wrote “God has bestowed on France the charming Grétry”. These reports show how much his combinations of such simple sonority were appreciated at the time, as they have subsequently not been properly valued in an age when, because of overuse and the development of more complicated harmonies, such effects now can seem banal. Here a lively pleasure is sustained and varied. Indeed, this is one of Grétry’s three best scores. The public received it with enthusiasm, and called out the authors. The composer was led on stage, while Marmontel

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slipped away. The opera was a great success throughout the operatic world, and its libretto was adapted for settings by Thomas Linley the Elder, Baumgarten and Spohr. At the revival of this opera fifty years later it was felt necessary to ask Adolphe Adam to arrange the score, amplifying the volume and thickening the harmonic textures for the contemporary audience of the Opéra-Comique. On this occasion the role of Azor was initially sung by Clairval, then taken on by Elleviou, then Ponchard, and finally by Jourdan. The opera was reduced to two acts by Scribe for this reprise on 21 February 1832, but restored to its four-act form for the revival of 29 June 1846. Le Magnifique Comédie en trois actes, en prose. Librettist: Michel-Jean Sedaine. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 4 March 1773. Having worked for some time on the poems of Marmontel, Grétry now sought to draw inspiration from other sources. The facile and harmonious verses of the author of Le Huron, Silvain and Zémire et Azor suited his music much better than the rather negligent and prosaic versification of Sedaine whose work nonetheless offered more dramatic and characterized situations. Grétry himself recognized this in composing Le Magnifique. The libretto had been offered to him by Mme de la Live d’Epinay, and he completed it with good grace. The subject, like that of Houdard de Lamotte, is basically drawn from the fable of La Fontaine. There is a lovely scene in which a rose falls from the hand of the heroine which the composer depicts with sensitivity. Grétry introduced the air “Vive Henri IV” into the overture, and mixes it with a second motif in the most original way. La Rosière de Salency Comédie Pastorale en quatre actes. Librettist: Masson de Pézay. First performance: 1st version: Fontainebleau, 23 October 1773; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 28 February 1773; 3rd version in three acts, 18 June 1774. The idylls of Gessner were in fashion, and Grétry wished to pay his own tribute by reproducing the character and sentiment of this style in music. The melodies are suave, touching, and sometimes of an exquisite sensibility. The pastoral simplicity that characterizes the work does not

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exclude dramatic accents in the principal situations, as in the duet “Colin, quel est mon crime?” and the very popular melody “Ma barque légère”. The composer drew the character of Jean Gau most skillfully. When he rescues Colin from shipwreck, he does not for a moment give a frightening picture of the storm, but rather recounts, roundly and with humour, the helping part he has played in the rescue. He adds that musicians too often take too seriously their recitals of terror, which lose so much of their interest once the danger has passed, and that the pleasure of success, which should play such a big part, is forgotten. Grétry himself observed: “Without becoming too enthusiastic, the public have always witnessed the performances of the Rosière with some pleasure. They rejected those actresses whose morals were less than regular, when they did not seem appropriate to fill the role of Cécile. Those actresses, on the other hand, whose wisdom embellished their talent, were received with flattering applause, especially at the moment of the crowning; a situation which proves that the assembled audience love virtue, although they might not always want to change themselves to make the actress virtuous.” Céphale et Procris Tragédie lyrique en trois actes. Librettist: Jean-François Marmontel. First performance: 1st version: Versailles 1773; 2nd version: Académie royale de musique, 2 May 1775. This work had little success. In his Mémoires, Grétry agreed with this, and attributed it to the numerous measured arias which the actors, so used to recitative, could not sing in proper time with the orchestra. La Fausse Magie Opéra-comique en deux actes et en vers. Librettist: Jean-François Marmontel. First performance: Comédie-Italiennes (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 1 February 1775. The play is unpleasant, and would have had no success if Grétry had not surpassed himself, especially in act 1. The whole opera was reduced to one act, and produced on 18 March 1776. There is an ensemble which in its strongly handled and coloured harmony, has surprised many auditors, especially since the revival at the Opéra-Comique. There are several fine pieces: the trio “Vous aurez affaire à moi”; the aria “C’est un état bien pénible que celui d’un jeune coeur”; the duet “Quoi? Ce vieux coq! Quoi!

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Ce milan!”; the entrancing duet for two old men, so lively and catchy, “Quoi! C’est vous qu’elle préfère!” which is syllabic, and always elicits a reaction because of its veracity of expression; and finally the couplets that end the work. The work was revived in 1828 and 1863. In the last of these reprises, Carier sang the tenor part, Gourdin that of the uncle, Mlle Girard the celebrated aria in act 2 “Comme un éclair, la flatteuse espérance”. This is one of Grétry’s most vivacious works. Bernadin de Saint-Pierre tells of a production of the opera when Grétry was presented to JeanJacque Rousseau: “ ‘I want to make your acquaintance,’ he said to him; ‘or rather, I already know you through your works, but I want to be your friend.’ One can imagine Grétry’s happiness at these words! They left together. Since there were stones cluttering the street, Grétry took hold of Rousseau’s arm, and warned him to be on his guard. Rousseau brusquely withdrew his arm, and exclaimed crossly: ‘Leave me to my own strength to get on with things by myself!’ Carriages separated them, and they never met again” (CL 1: 431). Les Mariages Samnites Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Barnabé Farmian de Rozoy (Rozoy). First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 12 June 1776. Le Jugement de Midas Comédie en trois actes. Librettists: Thomas d' Hèle (Thomas Hales) and Louis Anseaume (versification) after Kane O’Hara’s play Midas (1760). First performance: 1st version: Palais Royal, 28 March 1778; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 27 June 1778. The subject is the misadventures of Midas known from Greek mythology. During a mimed overture, Apollo falls from Olympus where he has been spreading gossip about Zeus. He is employed as a farmhand by Palémon, and begins wooing his two daughters. Their current lovers happen to be Pan (disguised as a woodcutter) and Marsias, a shepherd. After much intrigue in act 2, there is a singing competition in act 3 between Pan, Marsias and Apollo. Midas, the village bailiff, votes against Apollo, and is punished for his lack of taste by growing ass’s ears. Apollo translates both daughters to Olympus where all praise his music. The librettist ‘Hèle’ was the Anglo-Irish fortune hunter and gifted

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littérateur and linguist Thomas Hales who, as a way out of debt, turned to literature and created two very significant works for the stage, perhaps the best comic libretti of the century. Le Jugement de Midas in fact extols the values of modern opéra comique by satirizing the stuffy traditions of the tragédie lyrique, and becomes a burlesque on Classicism itself. The result is a mixture of satire and earthy humour so carefully controlled that it is difficult to categorize generically. The humorous English author arranged the story for the stage in an ingenious manner, and Grétry used various styles most purposefully. He has Pan sing vaudeville tunes, setting Marsias's songs as a type of dragging psalmody, while giving the rival Apollo old French Baroque airs from the preceding century. Among the interesting pieces are the aria “Doux charme de la vie, divine mélodie”; Marsias’s aria “Amants qui vous plaignez”; Apollo’s “Du destin qui t’accable”. The success of this work was much contested, especially at Court. This gave rise to the quatrain by Voltaire: La cour a dénigré tes chants. Dont Paris a dit des merveilles; Grétry, les oreilles des grands Sont souvent de grandes oreilles. Matroco Drame burlesque mêlé d’ariettes et de vaudevilles, en quatre actes. Librettist: Pierre Laujon. First performance: 1st version: Chantilly, at the home of the Prince de Condé, 3 November 1777 (in 5 acts); 2nd version: Fontainebleau, 21 November 1777 (in 4 acts); 3rd version: ComédieItalienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 23 February 1778. This was a parody of the mores of chivalrie. Later the author of Richard Coeur de Lion was ashamed of this bouffonnerie, particularly after its poor public reception, and burnt the score. Nevertheless, he spoke of it, without concealing his vexation, in his Essai, and cited several fragments. In this work he used several popular airs, such as “Charmante Gabrielle”. Les Fausses Apparences, ou L’Amant jaloux Comédie en trois actes, mêlée d’ariettes. Librettists: Thomas d'Hèle and F. Levasseur (versification) after Susanah Centlivre’s play The Wonder: A Woman Keeps a Secret (1714). First performance: 1st version: Versailles, 20 November 1778; 2nd version: Comédie-Italiennes (Hôtel de

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Bourgogne), 23 December 1778. The Spanish merchant Lopez is, for financial reasons, trying to prevent his widowed daughter Léonore from remarrying. He tries to keep her closeted away from her jealous suitor Don Alonze. Act 1. Alonze accuses Léonore of harbouring a lover, but it is Isabelle, her friend and Alonze’s own sister, who emerges from the dressing room. Act 2. Isabelle’s suitor, the French officer Florival, comes to the house to look for her. Later he sings a serenade under her window which causes another outburst of jealousy from Alonze. Act 3. In the garden at night, Florival and Alonze discover they are not rivals, and the couples are paired off. This is a masterpiece of ironic humour and also masterly in its adaptation from its literary source. It provided ideas for Beaumarchais that were then borrowed by Da Ponte and Mozart in Le Nozze di Figaro. It is one of Grétry’s best operas, and remained in the repertoire a long time. The music reflects the wit and irony of of the plot, especially in the climactic ensembles of act 1 and 2. The serenade sung by Florival in act 2 “Tandis que tout sommeille” has exquisite sentiment. The work was initially premièred as Les Fausses Apparences, but the subtitle soon became more commonly used. Les Évenments imprévus Comédie en trois actes, mêlée d’ariettes. Librettist: Thomas d'Hèle. First performance: 1st version:Versailles, 11 November 1779; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 13 November 1797. This was the last production by the unfortunate littérateur who died young, and whose bizarre character is described interestingly by Grétry in his Essais sur la musique. Hèle also wrote the libretti for Le Jugement de Midas and L’Amant jaloux for Grétry. The score, which is not among his best, contains two arias that became popular: Philinte’s “Qu’il est cruel d’aimer”, and that of the Marquis de Versac “Dans le siècle où nous sommes”. Aucassin et Nicolette, ou Les Moeurs du bon vieux temps Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Michel-Jean Sedaine. First performance: 1st version:Versailles, 20 December 1779; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 3 January 1780.

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Aucassin et Nicolette, a chante-fable (i.e. prose narrative interspersed with verse, in this case of seven syllables) by an unknown author probably of the early 13th century, telling with exquisite delicacy the story of the loves of a youth and a maid in a world of mingled reality and fantasy. The work survived in a single manuscript rediscovered in 1752. Aucassin is the young son of the lord of Beaucaire in Provence. Nicolette is a captive girl bought from the Saracens by one of the lord's vassals. Aucassin is deeply in love with Nicolette, but his parents will not hear of so unworthy a union and cause Nicolette's master to imprison her. Aucassin is so overcome by his love that he will not even fight for the defence of his father's castle until he is promised a brief word with her and a single kiss. But the father repudiates his pledge and Aucassin is also imprisoned. Nicolette escapes by night and sings outside Aucassin' s prison of her love for him, till a friendly warder warns her of the approach of her enemies. She takes refuge in the forest and is thought to be lost or killed. The lord of Beaucaire releases Aucassin and tries to comfort him in his sorrow, but Aucassin sets out in search of Nicolette and eventually finds her. Together they escape to the coast and take ship to the strange and fabulous castle of Torelore, where they spend three years in happiness, until Saracens attack the castle and carry off the inhabitants. Nicolette is brought to Carthage, where the king recognizes her as his lost daughter. Aucassin is wrecked near Beaucaire and, his father now being dead, becomes lord of the place. Nicolette, threatened with marriage to a Saracen king, makes her way to Beaucaire disguised as a minstrel, and is reunited with her lover. The charm of the original work lies principally in the freshness and vividness of the scenes and characters it presents, e.g. Nicolette leaning out of her prison window, her descent from it in the moonlight, her talk with the shepherd boys in the forest, the sturdy ploughboy reproving Aucassin for his lack of spirit; Aucassin refusing to go to heaven without Nicolette, Nicolette as a minstrel, singing before Aucassin of their love. The subject is drawn from a charming fabliau of the 13th c which has been reproduced in manuscript in our times with lovely miniatures by Charles Le Blanc. The same work was recently printed in an elegant translation by Alfred Delvau. Grétry’s music employs the modulations of plain-chant, as appropriate to the Gothic words found in the poem, especially in the Cantilena “Nicolette, ma douce amie”. But this archaeological effort was little appreciated. When the work was presented at Court, there was outright laughter at the passages that Sedaine and Grétry believed to be the most touching. Not knowing to what to attribute this mishap, the composer came up with a singular opinion in his Essais:

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“Let us be of good faith; have not nearly all our musical tragedies produced their musical effects after the first act? And if the action of the drama does not then draw us in during the following acts, perhaps distaste takes over the audience to the point where they do not want to listen any more.” Is this “good faith” that Grétry invokes not more a lack of faith in art and its appropriate effects? (CL 1:100). Sedaine was inspired by the old love of roman d’amour, but not successful in depicting the characters in the story in terms of their chivalric origins: the father of Aucassin is an odious fool, the son is likewise foolish and repellent, while Nicolette’s father is a simpleton. Andromaque Tragédie lyrique en trois actes. Librettist: Louis-Guillaume Pitra. First performance: Académie royale de musique, 6 June 1780. Grétry worked on this score more with diligence than inspiration, and finished it in 30 days. There were 25 performances, interrupted by the fire in the hall of the Palais-Royal. Mlle. Levasseur distinguished herself in the role of Andromaque, but was eclipsed by Mlle Laguerre whose wonderful voice, according to the composer, seemed “to have borrowed the inflections of Hector’s widow”. The celebrated singer Larrivée created the role of Oreste. La Double Épreuve, ou Colinette à la cour Comédie lyrique en trois actes. Librettist: Lourdet de Santerre. First performance: Académie royale de musique, 1 January 1782. The subject is taken from an Italian play Bertoldo in corte already used by Favart for his comedy Caprice amoureux (Opéra-Comique, 1755) and by Gardel for his ballet Ninette à la cour (1778). Grétry’s opera was known more by its subtitle. The music is charming, full of grace and freshness, and obtained a lively and merited success. It is more a play with songs than an opera, a light amiable genre, which attained some 50 performances. The cast was Laîné Chéron, Lays, Mlles Laguerre, Audinot and Gavaudan. Thalie au nouveau théâtre Prologue mêleé d’ariettes et de vaudeville. Librettist: Michel-Jean

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Sedaine. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 28 April 1783. Composed for the inauguration of the Opéra-Comique’s new theatre, the first Salle Favart. La Caravane de Caire Opéra en trois actes. Librettist: Morel de Chedeville. First performance: 1st version: Fontainebleau, 30 October 1783; 2nd version: Académie royale de musique, 15 January 1784. The overture, with its graceful motifs, was a popular favourite for a long time. The bass aria for the Pasha “C’est en vain qu’Almaïde encore à mes yeux offre ses attraits” and the air “La victoire est à nous” were also very successful. Grétry’s preoccupation with local colour in this opera now seems a little pallid after the later Oriental efforts of Félicien David and Reyer (CL 1:198). Théodore et Paulin Comédie lyrique en trois actes, en prose. Librettist: Desforges [Pierre Jean-Baptiste Choudard]. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 18 March 1784. This work was not successful, and the composer opposed a second production. The melanges of nobles and peasants was not happy, and the composer asked Desforges to exclude the former and concentrate more on the original subject of the piece. This led to the opera being reworked later in the year. L’Épreuve villageoise Vaudeville en deux actes, en vers. Librettist: Desforges [Pierre JeanBaptiste Choudard]. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 24 June 1784. The subject is an episode from the earlier unsuccessful opera Théodore et Paulin. The theme is charming and naive. But it is more a vaudeville than an opéra-comique, where the comedy dominates and music plays the subordinate role. In no other work does the composer show such refined

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taste, where each bar is is perfectly placed and the melody so perfectly tailored to the subject (CL 1: 395). There are no vocal gaucheries, no weaknesses in the accompaniment, so frequent elsewhere. The overture is lively and graceful. Among the popular pieces were: the couplets “Bon Dieu! Bon Dieu! Comme à c’te fête”; the characterful aria “Adieu, Marion, adieu, Lisette”; the quartet “Il à déchiré vo’ Billet” is a lovely fuguetto. In one of the better revivals of this work, Mme Faure-Lefebvre played the role of Denise with a ingenious maliciousness. Richard Coeur de Lion Comédie en trois actes, en prose, mêlée d’ariettes. Librettist: Michel-Jean Sedaine, after the legend as recounted in the Bibliothèque universelle des romans (1776). First performance: Comédie-Italiennes (Les Comédiens Ordinaires du roi) (Salle Favart 1), 21 October 1784. Given in 4 acts 21 December 1785, and then again reduced to three on 29 December. Act 1. The scene is set in 12th-century Austria. Blondel the minstrel has been searching for his master King Richard I of England, who has been imprisoned by Duke Leopold of Austria on his return home from the Third Crusade. Disguised as a blind minstrel, Blondel arrives at Linz Castle (Dürnstein) where he meets Sir William who lives nearby, and his daughter Laurette. Blondel learns of the existence of an unknown prisoner held in the castle. By chance, the king’s friend Marguerite of Artois arrives with her retinue; she despairs of finding Richard alive. Act 2. Richard is seen at dawn on the battlements of the castle. Below, Blondel begins singing the beginning of a romance that Richard had originally written for Marguerite. The king sings a reply identifying him as the unknown prisoner. Blondel devises a plan of rescue. Act 3. The governor of the castle, Florestan, is arrested during the festivities for Marguerite. The castle is attacked and breached and Richard is set free. This opera is regarded as Grétry’s masterpiece, and is one of the great operas of the century. The experienced composer worked with the genius of the librettist to develop an unusually ambitious subject. It became a key work in emerging genres of French neo-Medieval rediscovery of Gothic art, and endeavoured to develop a sense of ‘antique’ local colour. The libretto is one of the most developed of the repertoire of the old OpéraComique, and despite being filled with implausibilities, anomalies, anachronisms and almost ridiculous naivete, still of interest after more than a century of existence (CL 2:947). The author knew how to take a

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strong and simple story about the deliverance of a king who is held prisoner and mingle into this a series of episodes unfolded with truth and natural charm. The drama proper is just as effectively conceived from a literary point of view as it is purposefully expressed by the musician. Grétry in his Essais sur la musique claims to have created a work characterized principally by unity. He had the illusion that he had written in “le vieux style”, that he was the master of a manner of appropriating the expression of the times he was depicting, and the characteristics, the ages and even to a degree the intellectual culture of his characters. The composer himself says: The music of Richard, without having the rigour and ancient colour of Aucassin et Nicolette, preserves the reminiscence of them. The overture indicates, I believe rather well, that the action is not modern. The noble characters take on in their turn a less old-fashioned tone since the manners of the city reach the countryside much later. The musician, by these means, is able to use different tones which contribute to the general variety. The aria “Ô Richard! ô mon roi!”is in the modern style because it is easy to believe that the poet Blondel anticipated in his time both taste and knowledge. The trio “Quoi! De la part du gouverneur!” takes on a contrapuntal form appropriate to Sir William. Blondel, always attentive in perceiving the tone particular to each, matures in musical style when he observes: La paix, la paix, mes bons amis. This is the habitual way poets and artists work. They make every effort to find the effect that is preoccupying the public; they believe they have found it, and admire their sterile efforts. The instinctive qualities of their genius, however, manifest themselves in a way that differs from the artist's intentions. And so, they achieve a double enjoyment: they work with calculation and praise for themselves the weakest parts of their works, and disdainfully accept for the rest the approval of the public.” The plot revolves around music itself, i.e. the romance sung by Blondel which recurs throughout, and his violin accompanying it, like the flute in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte: Blondel plays his violin onstage in acts 1 and 2. Further, there is an extensive use of the chorus, and the final siege moved the scenario in the direction of serious opera. Antonio’s couplets “La danse n’est pas ce que j’aime” was universally praised for its freshness and grace, as were the aria “Ô Richard! ô mon roi!” for its nobility, Blondel’s chansonette “Un bandeau couvre ses yeux” for its finesse (together with the delicate ensemble which inopportunely follows), and the Gallic roundness of the couplets “Que le sultan Saladin”.

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The big aria in act 2 for Richard “Si l’univers entier m’oublie” begins with a magnificent phrase that the composer has not been able to sustain to the end. The exclamation “Ô mort!” is dull and strange, falling as it does on an A-flat, pitched too low for the vocal register. Then comes the outstanding theme of the work, in the celebrated duet for Richard and Blondel “Une fièvre brûlante” which always elicited a popular reaction in the theatre. Grétry grasped the effectiveness of this melody, and the principal phrase is used nine times during the three acts in diverse combinations as a recurring theme. It is always differently arranged, and sometimes appears only in the orchestra. The concept of a musical thread providing thematic linkage and dramatic potential became influential in France and in Germany, particularly for Carl Maria von Weber. The light duet “Un bandeau couvre les yeux” and the chorus that concludes act 2 “Sais-tu? Connais-tu?” have both mobility and character. The fourth scene of act 3 has a remarkable ensemble, and an emotion which imparts itself to the spectators, when Blondel sings the phrase “Sa voix a pénétré mon âme, je la connais, oui, oui, madame”. The Wedding Rondo is also lively and memorable “Et zic, et zag, quand les boeufs vont deux à deux”. This opera marks the culminating point of Grétry’s career. La Caravane and L’Epreuve villagoise had come earlier, but his later works were mediocre by comparison, or at least appear to be, since they hardly offer any superior beauties. Richard Coeur de Lion and La Dame blanche, despite the difference in genres and epochs, have really French qualities which held them in the repertoire for so long. Panurge dans Isle des Lanternes Comédie-opéra en trois actes, en vers. Librettists: Le Comte de Provance and Morel de Chedeville. First performance: Opéra, 25 January 1785. In his Essais Grétry rather naively observes concerning this work: “Panurge was the first entirely comic work which appeared successfully at the Théâtre de l’Opéra, and I believe that it has served as the model”. The subject is taken from Rabelais, but the libretto is nevertheless monotonous and without gaiety—like all the pieces sharing this common source. The overture is one of the composer’s more mediocre pieces, but seemed so good to its author that he repeats it at the end of the opera to accompany the ballet. The storm which wrecks Panurge on the shores of the Island of Lanterns is treated childishly. Nonetheless, some passages of the libretto do capture the character of Panurge for whom only the present exists:

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Ne te souvient-il plus que tu fus marié? —Ô ciel! En voyageant, je l’avais oublié. But Grétry’s sense of comedy is more appropriate to Molière than Rabelais. Gardel arranged the dances, and Laïs sang the role of Panurge. “C’est une des erreurs du charmant maître liégeois” (CL 2:832-3). Le Mariage d’Antonio Divertissement mêlé d’ariettes, en un act. Librettist: Mme Alexandre Beaunoir. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 29 July 1786. Mlle Lucile Grétry, aged 13 years, wrote the vocal line and bass, and Grétry provided the orchestration. The book adapted characters from Michel-Jean Sedaine and Grétry’s Richard Coeur de Lion. This small work remained in the repertory until 1791. Les Méprises par ressemblances Comédie en trois actes, en prose; mêlée d’ariettes. Librettist: Parat. First performance: 1st version: Fontainebleau, 7 November 1786; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 16 November 1786. This was one of the last productions by Grétry, and the success was limited. It was nevertheless revived at the Opéra-Comique in 1858. Le Prisonnier anglais Comédie mêlée en trois actes. Librettist: Desfontaines. First performance: Comédie-Italiennes (Salle Favart 1), 26 December 1787. Derived from the Causes célèbres, it received only one performance. Recast completely on 18 February 1788, and again on 23 March 1793 under the title Clarice et Belton, ou Le Prisonnier anglais. Le Comte d’Albert Drame en deux actes, et la suite en un acte. Librettist: Michel-Jean Sedaine. First performance: 1st version: Fontainebleau, 13 November 1786; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 8 February 1787.

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This was one of the most singular works to appear in the theatre because of the upsetting of all the dramatic conventions, the multiplicity of situations, and the incoherency of the story. Grétry’s imagination was given free rein. Of note were the duet “Oui, mon devoir est de mourir”; and the Countess’s prayer “Ô mon Dieu, je vous implore” which is continued by the orchestra in ecclesiastical counterpoint. On the occasion of this work Grétry discussed the style of the singer Mme Dugazon in his own unique way: “This admirable woman does not know music; her singing is neither Italian nor French in style, but what she chooses. She has obliged me to teach her the roles that I have written for her, and I affirm that it is with trepidation that I have indicated to her my inflexions for fear that she will substitute those of a master greater than I”. Le Rival Confidant Comédie en deux actes, mêlée d’ariettes. Librettist: Nicolas-Julien Forgeot. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 26 June 1788. Two pieces drew attention: the ariette “Ici lorsque l’on est hereux” and especially the rondo “L’âge a suborner nos désirs” which has both grace and spirit. This work was revived in a revised version with additions, changes and a new finale on 6 October 1788, and there was another revision by André-Joseph Grétry before 1825. Raoul Barbe Bleue Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Michel-Jean Sedaine. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 2 March 1789. The story is derived from Charles Perrault. This is one of the composer’s weakest works, but this did not stop him from praising it in his Essais where he recommends the trio “Ma soeur, ne vois-tu rien venir?” and the aria for Raoul “Venez régner en souveraine” in which the bassoon sustains the notes that form consecutive fifths with the vocal line. Grétry describes it thus: “This effect is without doubt hard on the hearing, but if one pays attention when Raoul says to Isaure “Venez régnez en souveraine” it is really as if he had said: ‘come to my house to be butchered, if you are curious’ (and the public know she has this fault). The fifths make the audience shudder, and this is exactly what I intended.” This is somewhat naive because Grétry’s music has never made anyone shudder, even that

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written for La Fausse magie (CL 2: 926). Pierre le Grand Comédie en quatre actes, en prose; mêlée d’ariettes. Librettist: JeanNicolas Bouilly. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 13 January 1790. The scenario is based on Voltaire's Histoire de Russie sous Pierre le Grand. The famous Catherine is naturally the heroine of this piece. The critics of the day, and the composer himself, praised the musical colour of the score. The same praise occurred 64 years later with L’Étoile du Nord. The words of Goethe come to mind: “The human spirit always advances, but spirally”. Grétry introduced into the overture and in an ariette a motif taken from a Russian dance (interpreted successfully at the Opéra by Mlle Guimard). Guillaume Tell Drame lyrique en trois actes et en prose, mêlé de musique. Librettist: Michel-Jean Sedaine, after the play by A.-M. Lemierre (1766). First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 9 April 1791. Act 1. The scene is set in 14th-century Switzerland.. The Tell family and villagers are presented (with use of Swiss local colour). Tell’s daughter is to be married to the son of Melktal. News arrives that his old father has been blinded by the Austrians for refusing to salute the governor Gessler’s hat. Act 2. Tell has already refused to salute the hat and has been condemned to death. His wife and children plead vainly for clemency from Gessler. Gessler forces Tell to shoot the apple from his son’s head. He succeeds, but a second bolt, intended for Gessler is discovered, and Tell is arrested. The Swiss express their determination to be free. Act 3. Tell escapes from an Austrian boat during a storm. He summons the cantons together, and signal fires are lit. During the final combat, Gessler is shot by Tell. The final chorus urges future ages to fight for liberty as they have done. Lemierre had treated the same subject at the Théâtre-Français. Guillaume Tell and Pierre le Grand, composed the previous year, are direct responses to the French Revolution. Sedaine had always preached the cause of justice for all, and Grétry himself was both liberal and

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pragmatic. Grétry, in his Essais described his intentions in this work: “I tried in Guillaume Tell to strengthen the musical colour, that is, the the harmony and work of the orchestra. Revolutionary energy should be heard, but across these terrible sentiments, some pastoral traits, indicating the simple candour of the Swiss, are heard everywhere and seem to say: ‘It is to preserve your virtues that we have risen up.’” Grétry took much trouble to attain the heights of his subject, but subsequent opinion was that it was without much success. “What is so singular is that his contemporaries did not better understand he was not able to handle a drama so elevated, so picturesque and pathetic. Indeed, they were unanimous in praising the broad and deep style. Today one cannot ratify this assessment.” (CL 1: 532-2). When the curtain rises, we see the young Tell in the mountains, playing the ranz des vaches on his bagpipes, adapted from the one provided by Rousseau at the end of his Dictionnaire de musique. Only the quartet, a small masterpiece in itself, survived the oblivion into which the work sank. In fact Grétry’s style had became much tougher during the 1780s, and in Guillaume Tell one is able to admire not only the conscientious attempts at evoking local colour, but also appreciate the moments of considerable power and pathos in both solos and choruses. Cécile et Ermancé, ou Les Deux Couvents Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en trois actes. Librettists: Claude-Joseph Rouget de Lisle and Jean-Baptiste-Denis Després. First performance: ComédieItalienne (Salle Favart 1), 16 January 1792. Originally the subtitle alone had been used; only in the following year was the fuller form utilized. It was never really very successful. The score was never published, and the libretto is lost, suggesting that this is one of the composer’s weaker works (CL 1:316). Basile, ou À trompeur, trompeur et demi Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en un acte. Librettist: Michel-Jean Sedaine. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 17 October 1792. The libretto is missing. There were 2 performances.

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Le Despotisme monacal Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en trois actes. Librettists: Claude-Joseph Rouget de Lisle and Jean-Baptiste-Denis Després. First performance: ComédieItalienne (Salle Favart 1), 1 November 1792. Essentially the same work as Cécile et Ermancé, given with changes on 13 November, and again into 1783. Clarice et Belton, ou Le Prisonnier anglais Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en trois actes. Librettist: Desfontaines. First performed: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart), 23 March 1793. The piece had first been given as a play called Le Prisonnier anglais. Joseph Barra Fait historique en un acte. Librettist: G. D. T. Levrier de Champ-Rion. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 5 June 1794. François-Joseph Barra (13 years old) was a compagnon d’armes of the commander de Bressuire. He was killed on 17 October 1793 at Maine-surLoire by insurgents from the Vendée. This work is not to be confused with Jadin’s L’Apothéose du jeune Barra presented in the same year at the Feydeau. There were 9 performances. Denys le Tyran, Maître d’école à Corinthe Opéra-historique en un acte. Librettist: Sylvain Maréchal, after Classical sources. First performance: Opéra national, 23 August 1794. Denys is the historical figure Dionysius the Younger, the former tyrannical king of Syracuse, who is now exiled at Corinth after being deposed by the republican leader Timoleon in 343 BC. Denys now runs a school, but his dictatorial methods arouse hostility, as do his politics. Eventually, while drunk, his identity is unmasked when he drops the old royal diadem he keeps on his person. He is is condemned to be beaten with switches at the foot of the statue of liberty, and driven out by Timoleon and the people. The date indicates that this was a saturnalia determined by political circumstances. Grétry used a simple musical style, and kept the

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orchestration plain in keeping with the naive treatment of the subject. The children’s music is realized with considerable humour (especially in their “Alpha, beta, gamma” chorus), while the final aria for Timoleon is in the heroic mode, and acts as the final focus of the action. It was soon felt that the composer had made a mistake in lending his talent to this politicized work, since he had benefited greatly from the Court. Louis XVI, the tyrant intended, had bestowed a pension of thousand francs on him from the resources of the Opéra and had added another pension of a thousand écus to his chest. Grétry had a late attack of modesty in not allowing the score to be published (CL 1:307). Callias, ou Nature et Patrie Drame heroïque en un acte, mêlée de musique. Librettist: François-Benoît Hoffman. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 19 September 1794. This work, in which Hoffman fulfilled the duties of literary patriotism, presented the Greeks of Marathon and of Salamis as metaphor for the French of Year II of the Republic. At the time attention was drawn particularly to verse in which Callias addresses the envoy of Xerxes: Quand nous serons soumis, nou n’existerons plus. Grétry maintained in his Essai sur la musique that he had tried to give his score an antique colour by frequently using intervals of a fourth. “In the aria of Callias the bass rises by a fourth, and composers know that this interval relates to Gregorian chant”. This reflection indicates that Grétry hardly knew a word about the musical theory of the Greeks. What possible connection could there be between the tetrachord, the diatessaron and the melody of Callias’s aria? The composer went on “At the end of this aria, the path followed by the vocal line and by the bass is purely ecclesiastical; I could make use of no other intonation even if I had spoken of holy religion which unites our hearts with the Divinity”. This assertion is beyond the talent of even Grétry who was more at home with graceful and tender subjects than those of Antiquity. The celebrated singer Elléviou declaimed the poetic verses with all the art of a poet. (CL 1:187). There were 14 performances.

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Albert et Antoine, ou Le Service recompansé Drame en trois actes. Librettist: Michel-Jean Sedaine. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 7 December 1794. Both libretto and score remain unlocated. Lisbeth Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Edmond-Guillaume-François de Favières. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 10 January 1797. The subject is drawn from a small novel by J. P. C. de Florian called Claudine. However, the librettist went further than the pastoral character of the Swiss novel, spoiling it by bringing in Gessner, and his philosophical tirades on the nature of the sensitive soul. The success of the opera was limited, and the score was not published. Anacréon chez Polycrate Opéra en trois actes. Librettist: Jean-Henri Guy. First performance: Opéra, 17 January 1797. Only an aria survives from this score, notable for its expression and rhythm, “Si des tristes cyprès, si du fatal rivage”. Elisca, ou L’Amour maternel Drame-lyrique en trois actes. Librettist: Edmond-Guillaume-François de Favières. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 1 January 1799. This work was written at the end of Grétry’s career. He did not record it in the catalogue of his own work. It was also known as Elisca, ou L’Habitante de Madagascar. There were 12 performances. ____________________________________________________________

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Albert GRISAR (1808-1869) Sarah, ou L’Orpheline de Glencoé Opéra-comique en deux actes. Librettist: Mélesville. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Bourse), 26 April 1836. The subject of the story is drawn from a chronicle by Sir Walter Scott. The opera marked the debut of Grisar as a dramatic composer and that of Mme Jenny Colon as a singer at the Opéra-Comique. The composer had already presented Le Mariage impossible in Brussels. Even in this score one notices the facility of instrumentation which the composer was to deploy in all his charming works. L’An mil Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Mélesville and Paul Foucher. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Bourse), 23 June 1837. The belief that the end of the world was at hand during the 10th century instigated pious practice and not insurrection. It is nevetheless a revolt of the serfs against their lords that is the subject of this libretto. It does no credit to the science of history nor to the minds of the two authors. Grisar hardly succeeded better with the music. There is a pretty romance “Pauvre fiancée” sung delightfully by Mme. Rossi. L’Eau merveilleuse Opéra-bouffe en deux actes. Librettist: Thomas Sauvage. First performance: Théâtre de la Renaissance, 30 January 1839. This agreeable work belongs to the operas-buffas of the second rank. Scaramouche, Argentine, and Doctor Tartaglia are the characters. The doctor possesses a magic water and a pupil whom he wants to marry. Scaramouche is his rival, and to discredit the doctor, proclaims himself the possessor of the secret of the magic water; but challenged to make it known, he indicates the neighbouring fountain. The people treat him as an imposter, chase him out, and Tartaglia triumphs. In act 2 Scaramouche takes his revenge. Argentine pretends to reject him, and promises her hand to her tutor. Scaramouche, in despair, swallows six ounces of rat poison, but before dying, he wants, he says, to recompense Argentine and make

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her his heir. The result of this strategem is a marriage in extremis in which Tartaglia takes part out of greed, since it involves a sum of 30,000 écus. But Argentine, to quench the thirst of the dying one, goes to find a jug, the water from which miraculously restores Scaramouche to life. The dumbfounded doctor consoles himself by teaching in Naples that he has invented a new cure. The music is very happy and successful. The two arias for the charlatans, for tenor and bass, reveal the composer’s suppleness of talent, knowing how to depict two different characters in the same situation. In act 2 Argentine’s couplets “Près de l’époux” is full of grace and malice; the trio which follows is developed with exquisite art. Finally the duet “Ah! quel martyre” was a great musical success. Mme Anna Thillon, Herteaux and Féréol created the roles of Argentine, Scaramouche and Tartaglia. The opera was revived at the Opéra-Comique on 18 November 1842. Les Travestissements Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Paulin Deslandes. performance: Opéra-Comique (Bourse), 16 November 1839.

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This work was revived at the Théâtre-Lyrique in 1854, and at the FoliesNouvelles in October 1858. This is an arrangement of the comedy Marton et Frontin, ou Assaut de valets produced at the beginning of the century with great success. The work is feeble, with the exception of a tenor aria with clarinet obbligato sung by Chollet, and some well-turned couplets sung by Mlle Prévost. L’Opéra à la cour Opéra-Comique en quatre parties. Librettists: Augustin-Eugène Scribe and Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges. First performance: OpéraComique (Salle Favart 2), 6 July 1840. The music for this occasional work was by Grisar, Adrien Boieldieu, Weber, Berton, Ricci, Boieldieu, Dalayrac, Auber, Donizetti, Mozart and Rossini. It was devised for the re-opening of Salle Favart. The work contains a lovely romance for Charles de France called “Les chevalier de la fidelité” by Boieldieu, sung by Masset. Chollet, Roger, the bass Botelli and Mme Eugénie Garcia made up the ensemble.

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Gilles Ravisseur Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Thomas Sauvage. performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 21 February 1848.

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This charming fantasy recreates the characters so loved by the public from the ancient theatres of the fairgrounds—Léandre, Gilles, Crispin, Cassandre and Colombine. The handsome Léandre abducts the pupil of Cassandre at the same time that Crispin, his valet, steals a clock from his master. The tutor, furious, pursues the thieves who exchange their garments. The funniest equivocations now ensue. Pupil and clock are restored: the first to the hands of the tutor; the second to Léandre. Gilles remains dumbfounded as usual, and understands nothing. Grisar’s music has grace, finesse, and exquisite sentiment. The style is conventional, just as the theme of the plot demands, but this was not a problem for a talent as supple and ingenious as that of Grisar. After the jolly overture, there is a trio “Voice l’heure où ma belle” which captures the most striking qualities of musical comedy; also the duo bouffe for Gilles and Crispin “Pour cette affaire”; Colombine’s couplets “Le gros Mondor”; and the air bouffe for Gilles “Joli Giles, joli Jean”. This little work remained in the repertoire for a long time as a curtain-raiser. It was created by Mocker, Hermann-Léon, Sainte-Foy, Emon and Mlle Lemercier. Les Porcherons Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Thomas Sauvage and Lurieu. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 12 January 1850. The action takes place in the reign of Louis XV. The Marquise de Bryane, a young widow of lively character and rather flighty, refuses all proposals and undertakes to confront by herself and without protection the perils and adventures to which she exposes herself and which she even seeks out. M. des Bryères bets his friends 10,000 louis that he will triumph over the disdain of the beautiful, light-headed lady. She arrives in Paris in the company of the couple Jolicoeur, and before long has fallen into several traps put in her way. She is protected by a mysterious person whom she calls Antoine and who passes for a cabinet-maker. He is not able, however, to disguise the sound of his voice, which the Marquise recognizes as that of her still unrecognized protector who has touched her heart. This Antoine is in fact the Chevalier d’Ancenis, the childhood friend of the Marquise de Bryane. He had predicted that her style of life would

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expose her to misadventure, and declared his love for her in a tender letter. Eventually a last escapade by the heroine leads to the denouement. Her fantasy takes her to Les Porcherons, a type of guingette or popular ballroom of the time, situated near the gates of Paris. Des Bryères drives the carriage of Mme de Bryane to his small house which he has transformed into Les Porcherons to sustain the illusion. In the midst of this critical situation, the young widow is happy to recognize Antoine who has pretended to save her from the ruses of the seducer, the Chevalier d’Ancenis. The details of the play are amusing, but the basic idea is rather unlikely. Further, the scenes where the composer would have been able to prove his dramatic talent all happen in the dialogue sections. The score is one of Grisar’s best. The melody is graceful, the harmony varied, the instrumentation piquant and witty. Act 1 contains Mme de Bryane’s romance “Pendant la nuit obscure”, the trio “À cheval”, and the delightful theme of the disappearance scene. In act 2 the most striking piece is the romance of the letter "L’amant qui vous implore”, a melody full of charm and expression. Antoine’s motif “Donnez-moi vot’ pratique”, and the trio bouffe finale pleased the public very much. In this tableau at Les Porcherons the composer used all his verve and scenic inspiration. Les Couplets à Bacchus and the Ronde des Porcherons offer a progression of varied effects and an infectious gaiety that do not exclude the serious qualities of a musical work. Mlle Darcier starred in one of her greatest successes in the role of Mme de Bryane; her fine acting, her expressive and vibrant voice were memorable. Mocker, Hermann-Léon, Bussine, Mmes Félix and Decroix played the other parts. Bonsoir, Monsieur Pantalon Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Joseph Lockroy and De Morvan. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 19 February 1851. The action takes place in Venice, in the house of Doctor Tirtoffolo. Isabelle, his niece, must marry the son of Monsieur Pantalon, Lélio, whom she does not yet know. She has herself smuggled in a basket to the address of Colombine, a follower of Mme Lucrèce, mistress of the lodgings. By a succession of comic changes of fortune, the basket falls into the canal at the Rialto. On learning that the basket contains a living person, all are shocked. A little later, Lélio reappears, but is nearly poisoned by the doctor’s drugs. How will another death be concealed from M. Pantalon

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who is coming to celebrate his son’s marriage? All is explained and ends happily, as at the fairground theatre. This work is an imitation of Les Rendezvous bourgeois, and is hardly less amusing. Grisar’s music is perfectly appropriate to the situations. A serenade is sung at the rise of the curtain; then there are couplets for the mezzo-soprano; a tenor romance “J’aime, j’aime” which is very funny; and the quartet “Bonsoir, monsieur Pantalon” which gives its name to the piece, and is the most interesting musical number. Ponchard created the role of Lélio; Ricquier that of the doctor; the others were impersonated by Mmes Decroix, Lemercier and Révilly. Le Carillonneur de Bruges Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Jules-Henri Vernoy de SaintGeorges. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 20 February 1852. The action of this sombre melodrama takes place in Flanders at the time of the domination of the Duke of Alva. Mathéus Claës is an honest bellringer who has become deaf out of patriotic emotion. He will recover his hearing when he sees the flag of Brabant fluttering on the walls of his freed country. To this basic improbability are added other exaggerated episodes. Béatrix, the daughter of Mathéus, has brought up in secret the son of Maris of Brabant, so exposing herself to the suspicions, the shame and the curse of her father. The princess justifies her with a word. At the same time, the conspiracy breaks, and Flanders is delivered from the Spanish yoke. There is only one sympathetic character in this piece, a little singer called Mésangère, a role most charmingly created by Mlle Félix Miolan. The score is one of Grisar’s best. It has a dramatic sentiment, sustained, true, energetic, with inspiration both lively and graceful. The composer’s suppleness and variety of talent are outstanding. The aria of the bells “Sonnez, mes cloches gentilles! Ah! pour d’autres, sonnez” has both fine structure and an accent of penetrating melancholy. Béatrix's romance and the Trio de la Bible have great colour. And in a very different genre, the role of Mésangère is handled with charming finesse: the chansonnette in act 2 is a musical jewel. The female roles were created by Mmes Wertheimber, Félix-Miolan (Mme Carvalho) and Révilly; the male roles by Bataille (the Carillonneur), Boulo, Sainte-Foy and Ricquier. The vocal and piano scores were arranged by Vauthrot.

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Le Chien du jardinier Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Joseph Lockroy and Eugène Cormon. Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 16 January 1855. This is a charming work, with a text that is amusing, refined and witty. Only the title is not fortunate, since it captures neither the proverb nor any of the characters in the action. Catherine, a young and rich farmer, is to marry M. Justin, a young villager, rich and very eligible. But she plays the coquette, promises and retracts, leading the young man on from St Martin's Day to St John’s Day. But her servant-girl Marcelle knows how to love, and choses a young farmhand called François. Catherine is irritated by this, and forms a plan to take him from Marcelle and keep him for herself. Learning how Marcelle's little foot has turned François’s head, she pretends to have a sprain, hoping to show him how her feet are even more dainty than Marcelle’s. She succeeds, in her plan, but Justin is hurt by her game, and pretends to be taken by Marcelle. She, filled with chagrin and vexation, accepts his declaration. Both couples soon realize that they are not meant for each other. In the end, the capricious Catherine puts François up for raffle. She wins and hurries to give him to Marcelle, turning in solid and affectionate reasoning to Justin. This one of Grisar’s best scores. The overture is vivacious and brisk, with delightful sonorities. A discreet use of percussive instruments, especially the triangle, provides happy effects. The music for scene 1 “Le Coq à chanté trois fois” has a matinal freshness about it. The duet of the small foot is very piquant. The Chanson du Chien du jardinier has a splendid roundness, and Faure did much to popularize it with his beautiful singing. He invested both his couplets with great sentiment. There is further a trio, a large quartet, and a quarrel duet for the two women. Mlle Lefebvre played the role of the village coquette with real flair. The other roles were taken by Ponchard, and Mlle Lemercier. Le Voyage autour ma chambre Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Félix-Auguste Duvert and Auguste-Théodore Lauzanne de Vauroussel. First performance: OpéraComique (Salle Favart 2), 12 August 1852. This piece, the subject of which has nothing to do with the delightful literary fantasy of Xavier de Maistre, belongs more to the repertoire of the Palais-Royale than to that of the Opéra-Comique. The music is always

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elegant, and skillfully written. The cast was Couderc, Berthelier, Lemaire, Troy, Mlles Henrion and Prost. Le Joaillier de Saint-James Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Jules-Henri Vernoy de SaintGeorges and Adolphe de Leuven. First performance: 1st version: OpéraComique 17 February 1862. The libretto and music largely reproduce the opera Lady Melvil given at the Théâtre de la Renaissance on 15 November 1838. Outstanding pieces in the score include the variations on the aria from La Molinara “Nel cor più non me sento”, and the tenor romance sung by Montaubry “Adieu, madame”. Couderc played the role of the Gascon very well, Mlle Monrose was charming as Lady Melvil, and Sainte-Foy sustained his excellent reputation as a comic in his act 3 couplets. Les Amours du diable Opéra en quatre actes. Libretto: Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges. First performance: 1st version: Théâtre-Lyrique, 11 March 1853; 2nd version: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 24 August 1863. This was first performed in the form of an opéra-comique in 1853, and was recast, retouched and abridged for the Opéra-Comique itself in 1863. Among the many happy motifs from Grisar’s always fecund gifts are the act 1 romance for Frédéric “Dans un rêve délicieux”; the act 2 Trio du Chapeau; and the Air de Diable amoureux sung by Mme Galli-Marié with much talent: The other roles at the Opéra-Comique were sung by Troy, Barielle, Potel, Mlles Bélia, Baretti and Tual. ____________________________________________________________

Pierre-Luc GUÉNÉE La Chambre à coucher, ou une demi-heure de Richelieu Opéra-Comique en un acte. Librettist: Augustin-Eugène Scribe. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 29 April 1813. The story is taken from an unidentified source, Les Quatre Âges

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d’Alcibiade. The opera was retained in the repertory until 1827. La Comtesse de Troun Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Augustin-Eugène Scribe. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 17 January 1816. The story is taken from the novel manuscript La Comtesse Troun. The work was prohibited after the second performance. ____________________________________________________________

Ernest GUIRAUD (1837-1892) Sylvie Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Jules Adenis and Jules Rostaing. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 11 May 1864. The work was also known as Les Lunettes du parrain. This was Guiraud's first stage work on returning from his tenure of the Prix de Rome. Sylvie has presented her godfather Jérome with a pair of spectacles on his feast day. Seen through the glasses, he finds Sylvie charming and wants to marry her, despite her feelings. To bring the old godfather to his senses, Sylvie and her lover pull out of the cupboard his night clothes, carefully tended, deck themselves up in them, and present themselves thus disguised to Jérome. The chanson from Monsieur et Madame Denis not doubt gave the librettists this idea. Jérome is touched by the spectacle which reminds him of memories he has effaced, and consents to the union of the young couple. Guiraud’s music is very pretty. There is a good trio, an aria for Jérome “Nous avrons ri!”, a successful imitation of the old style, and graceful couplets for Sylvie. The work was perfectly realized by SainteFoy, Ponchard and Mlle Girard. It was performed into the following year, 1865. Le Kobold Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Charles Nuitter and Louis Gallet. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 26 July 1870. The story is derived from a Rhine legend. A kobold is a goblin whose

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function is to prevent young people from marrying. Jealous of their friendship, he wants them for himself. But his power is effective for only as long as he remains invisible. If he is seen by a mortal, he loses his power and perishes in flames. A game-warden called Frédéric is engaged to Catherine, daughter of Pippermann. The kobold plays a hundred tricks on them, but Catherine, by her strategems, and above all by provoking the jealousy of the sprite beyond measure, obliges him to show himself to her, so ending his magic and allowing her to marry Frédéric. This tale has provided material for a lovely lyric fantasy. Charles Nodier had demonstrated in his Trilby what sort of part can be created round these familiar spirits. As for the music, it was much appreciated, especially considering the serious preoccupations of the public at the time, since on the same evening in all the theatres the crowds sang the Marseillaise and the Rhin allemand. The composer’s good work is revealed in the overture, the harmony and instrumentation, and in the melodies, very simple and less developed than the vocal part of the score. The ballet is very attractive. The role of the kobold was undertaken by a dancer, with Mlle Trévisan becoming a member of the troupe of the Opéra-Comique in this part created for her. This idea has only rarely succeeded. The other roles were realized by Leroy, Nathan and Mlle Heilbronn. There were 16 performances. Madame Turlupin Opéra-comique en deux actes. Librettists: Eugène Cormon and Charles Grandvallet. First performance: 1st version: Théâtre de l’Athénée, 23 November 1872; 2nd version: Opéra-Comique (Châtelet), 5 March 1888. The authors of this work have imagined a Turlupin quite different from the traditional one. The story depicts more of a sensitive good clown, a M. de Florian, than the joyful companion of Gaultier-Garguille and Tarabin. The poor comedian owes money to an innkeeper, and must defend his wife’s honour against the schemes of Captain Rodomont. Mme Turlupin, by her strategems, succeeds in assuring the takings of the troupe and deceiving the audacious galant. The libretto is feeble, and the stagecraft outdated. The music, however, makes for a lovely opéra-comique. The lyric stage is so often encumbered by bad works that this one was received with lively satisfaction by people of taste. The score of Le Kobold had suggested that the composer might well take his place among the masters. In this work there are some striking pieces: the overture, distinguished by its instrumentation which has a sonority that is charming, sober and elegant;

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the couplets “Enfants de la balle” and the retiring chorus which closes act 1. The entr’acte is a small symphony, written with a delicacy and clarity denoting intelligent and conscientious workmanship. In act 2 there is the scene at the Printemps, a romance and a little trio. The opera was sung by Lepers, Girardot, Lemaire, Galabert, Mlles Daram and Fain. There were 13 performances at the Opéra-Comique. Piccolino Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Victorien Sardou and Charles Nuitter. Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 11 April 1876. The plot is based on Sardou’s comedy Claudine de Florian. This play had appeared fifteen years before at the Gymnase. Mme la comtesse de Grandval also had it set to music and produced. The subject is wellknown. It concerns a young girl seduced and abandoned by her lover, and ignored by him until the denouement. This role is odious, and always has a bad effect, especially in opéra-comique. The music carries the mark of a talented artist, but it lacks unity and character. The score is very considerable. In act 1 there is a romance for Marthe and an aria for the pastor; in act 2, La Sorrentine, and the reception couplets “Pan, pan, qui frappe à l’atelier?” In act 3 there is a violin solo, a rondo on the Pont-neuf “Il était une bergère”, and finally the Carnaval romain, a small symphony that accompanies a ballet. There are other pieces in this work in bad taste (CL 2:878). The cast was: Léon Achard (Frédéric), Barré (Musaraigne), Ismaël (the Pastor), Mme Galli-Marie (Marthe Piccolino), Mme FranckDuvernoy (Elena). It was performed into the following year, 1877. Galante Aventure Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Louis Davyl and Armand Silvestre. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 23 March 1882. It is not easy to analyze the incoherent and badly realized libretto of this work. The Marquis de Chandor, banker to Francis I, old, drunken and ridiculous, has done nothing less than marry a young woman, but continues his self-deception in the pursuit of amorous intrigues, going so far as to abduct women and girls for his pleasure. Assisted by a certain Vigile, at once a soldier, poet, and thief, he plans to carry off a charming young widow, Mme de Narsay, the conquest of whom would place him

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among the most accomplished gallants of the court. But the maid of Mme de Chandor has learned of the project; she warns her mistress, a friend of Mme de Narsay, and the two women agree to to substitute her with another—so that the crude banker finds that he has in fact abducted his own wife. This is not all. Vigile, the key player in the abduction, tells his old captain, M. de Bois-Landry, about the whole affair. He, at the head of his company, is about to arrive in Paris, something Vigile does not know. At this point the plot becomes needlessly complicated. Bois-Landry ends up substituting himself for the lecherous banker. Mme de Chandor, seeing the danger, succeeds in escaping, so that when the captain gains entrance and carries out his assault, it is the the maid who is in her place. Mme Norsay and Bois-Landry end up marrying each other, and Chandor finds contentment, after his period of hesitation. Guiraud wrote an elegant and substantial work, which shines in certain detail, but in which—and this is not his fault—one searches in vain for the conditions of unity and balance so necessary for the theatre. If the score lacks a little in originality and personality, it has great clarity, and a comprehensiveness alert to the technical theories of his day. It represented the opéra-comique of the time, full without being ambitious, with piquant harmonies that are new without being bizarre, a full and colourful instrumentation without rumpus and exaggerated sonorities, and a general sense of form that is polished without aiming at novelty and eccentricity of effect. What is missing is cohesion, ensemble; that unique and basic colour which should permeate a work of art and give it a personal stamp. The cast were: Mmes Bilbaut-Vauchelet, Chevalier and Dupuy; and Talazac, Taskin, Grivot and Barnolt. There were 15 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Reynaldo HAHN (1874-1947) L’Île du rêve Idylle polynésienne en trois actes. Librettists: André Alexandre and Georges Hartmann. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Châtelet), 23 March 1898. The story is based on Pierre Loti's novel Le Mariage de Loti. From the point of view of an opéra-comique libretto, the authors could perhaps have taken greater advantage of the chosen subject, however good their libretto. If it lacks a certain resolution, it has a certain charm. The composer, a

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young South American artist, a pupil of Massenet, has made himself known by some very pretty vocal melodies, and pieces full of graceful and fresh inspiration. His score lacks a certain nerve and forcefulness, but reveals an artist most gifted melodically, with real feeling for the stage. It was a happy debut, worthy of encouragement. It was played during the season. La Carmelite Comédie lyrique en quatre actes et cinq tableaux. Librettist: Catulle Mendès. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 16 December 1902. This is an interesting work, stamped with grace and freshness, by a talented young artist well known for his many salon compositions, both vocal and piano, full of charm and elegance. It was played into the following year, 1903. ____________________________________________________________

Jacques-François-Fromental HALÉVY (1799-1862) L’Artisan Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Jules-Henri Vernoy de SaintGeorges and Antoine-Jean-Baptiste Simonnin. First performance: OpéraComique (Feydeau), 30 January 1827. The story is derived from Quérard. This was the first of Halévy's works to be produced, although he had won the Prix de Rome in 1819. The libretto is feeble, but the music contains some pretty pieces, among them the couplets sung by Mme Casimir, “Beau ciel de Provence!", and the chorus of carpenters which contains a very interesting bass line. This first opera was given one hundred times in all, a worthy prelude to the masterpieces to follow (CL 1:84). At the Opéra-Comique, there were 14 performances. Le Roi et le Batelier Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Jules-Henri Vernoy de SaintGeorges. Music: Jacques Fromental Halévy in collaboration with Victor Rifaut. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 3 November 1827.

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This was written for the occasion of the fête of King Charles X. It was performed into the following year. The score is missing. Le Dilettante d’Avignon Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: François-Benoît Hoffman and Léon Halévy (Lion-Elie Halévy), after the fragment Le Directeur du spectacle by Hoffman. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Ventadour), 7 November 1829. This work marked a significant breakthrough for Halévy as an opera composer. The scene is Maisonneuve’s theatre in Avignon. Valentin, a stage manager, is studying the closing chorus of a dilettante opéra-comique by a local composer Dubreuil. At the end of the rehearsal, the singer Marianne (‘Marinetta’) takes the stage manager into her confidence. Her uncle Maisonneuve, who idolizes Italian singing and despises the French style, intends to give his daughter Elise to the winner of the forthcoming singing competition. Marianne wants to disguise Elise’s beloved, Dubreuil as an Italian. Marianne describes the joys of love to her cousin, but Elise is concerned about whether the intrigue will work. Dubreuil does all he can to reassure her. Valentin announces that Maisonneuve is now insisting that the choristers should all be Italian, and so three other singers will appear as false Italians at the rehearsal. All present praise Italian music and flatter Maisonneuve. Elise, Dubreuil and Marianne sing an Italian duet for three voices, whereupon Maisonneuve also demands an Italian finale. Dubreuil has composed a buffo finale to a French text, and moreover has inserted the folk song “Marlborough s’en va-t-en guerre”. Eventually the masquerade is discovered, and even Maisonneuve is now prepared to set aside his love for all things Italian and to let the French singers take their rightful place. The writer Hoffmann, who collaborated with Méhul and Grétry, had little taste for Italian opera, and his antipathy inspired this witty outburst that Léon Halevy arranged for the stage of the Opéra-Comique. Making allusion to the insignificance of Italian libretti, Hoffman proposed that the composer should set to music these verses ironically attributed to Malebranche: Il fait en ce beau jour le plus beau temps du monde, Pour aller à cheval sur la terre et sur l’onde.

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What is amazing is that the composer succeeded in disguising this grotesque distich in very pretty music. For the rest, the overture is elegant; the syllabic chorus “Vive l’Italie” is full of verve, and the composer conceded the point to the caustic Hoffman by concluding his opera with a canon on the air “Marlbrough s’en va-t-en guerre” (CL 1:322). There were 119 performances until 1836. Attendre et courir Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Henri de Tully and Fulgence de Bury. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Ventadour), 27 May 1830. This was a collaboration with Henri de Ruolz. The score is missing. There were only 7 performances. La Langue Musicale Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Gabriel de Lurieu and Charles Moreau de Commagny. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Ventadour), 11 December 1830. The libretto's manuscript carries a subtitle, La Langue musicale, ou l’Auberge de l’aigle noir. The story is set in a busy hotel in Berlin and provides some amusing complications. Baron Valhen, Gustave, Springler, Monsieur and Mme Olivier and young Eveline try to solve them with duets, trios and quartets, and when they find the happy answer they join forces in a cheerful finale. There were 30 performances, running well into the following year. Les Souvenirs de Lafleur Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Pierre Carmouche and Frédéric de Coursy. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Bourse), 4 March 1833. The libretto is based on a play from the Gymnase called La Vieillesse de Frontin. The action takes place on the estate of Monsieur de Vallonne, who is served by his valet, Lafleur. The two have grown old together, and spend their leisure time recounting to each other their former exploits. De Vallone has put his young nephew Adrien under house arrest to make him study for the diplomatic service exams. Adrien has no intention of wasting his youth on the diplomatic service and informs his uncle that he is in love

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with his pretty cousin. His uncle promptly forbids him to see her. Adrien chats with old Lafleur, and gathers that in his youth his uncle was bold and adventurous. Lafleur will not betray any confidences, but manages to acquaint Adrien with two of his uncle's youthful exploits: the sale of trees from the estate forest to a timber merchant, which made his fortune, and the visit of a sweetheart who penetrated the château by disguising herself as a dairy maid. Adrien takes both exploits as a model. He sells trees to a timber merchant for a good price, and asks his pretty cousin, disguised as a dairy maid, to marry him. De Vallone is furious, but when Lafleur reminds him that Adrien has only followed in his footsteps he is mollified, accepts the marriage and keeps Lafleur in his service. Halévy composed Les Souvenirs de Lafleur as a vehicle for the celebrated singer Jean-Blaise Martin (1768-1837), a bass with an unusually flexible voice. Martin sang the role of Lafleur with a freshness and charm marvellous for his age. He had great success with his big aria, so well conceived by the composer, and equally well adapted to the particular talents of the singer. An excellent actor, he was applauded in the scene where Lafleur declares to his master that his imagination has in no way diminished, and that he will know how to pull his nephew out of difficulty. Martin was already 67. There is no other example of a career of such length in the theatre. Thévenard, who sang in the operas of Lully and Rameau for forty years, retired at 62. Halévy composed charming music for this opera, instrumented with elegance and discretion so as not to drown the voice of this doyen of French singers. It was performed into the following year. Ludovic Drame lyrique en deux actes. Librettist: Jules-Henri Vernoy de SaintGeorges. First performed: Opéra-Comique (Bourse), 16 May 1833. Act 1. Ludovic is a hot-blooded Corsican who manages Francesca's farm in Albano, a village outside Rome. He is in love with her. Francesca wishes to marry her cousin Gregorio to enable him to claim the married man's exemption from conscription to the papal army. Ludovic is mad with jealousy. Fearing his violence, the couple pretend that Gregorio is going to marry Francesca’s confidante. But when the truth is known, Ludovic in his rage fires a shot at Francesca, wounding her, and then flees, becoming a criminal with a price on his head. Act 2. Francesca, with her wound now healed and her arm in a sling, realises the extent of Ludovic's love for her, and decides to save him. Her

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cousin Gregorio, who in the meantime has been conscripted, reveals qualities of bravery and generosity and helps Ludovic to hide. A series of police raids, ambushes and escapes end with a declaration of love, and a pardon from the authorities. In the end, all can rejoice. Hérold was working on this opera when he died. He had left an unfinished score for a two-act opéra-comique called Ludovic to words by Saint-Georges. He composed only the introduction, the soprano couplets, a trio, a drinking chorus and the beginning of the act 1 finale. Halévy composed the rest of the score. The scenario is handled with skill, and the character of Francesca carefully presented. Although Halévy adapted the overture to Hérold’s opera Le Lapin blanc, ou Toby (libretto by Mélesville and Pierre Carmoche, after an English anecdote) which had one performance at the Opéra-Comique (Feydeau) on 21 May 1825, the piece remained effectively mediocre. The first chorus “Déjà l’aurore qui se colore” is notable for its freshness of colour and melodic simplicity. The departure for the market has vivacity and drive. The entry of the soldiers has importance in a drama in which the military element plays a serious role. The couplets for Nice (sung by Mlle Massy) “Je vends des scapulaires” are based on the motif used in the overture, and thus reminiscent of Hérold’s early style. The melody sung by Francesca (Mme Pradher) “L’Hymen en t’unissant” is as gracious as the romance of Marie “Je pars demain”, but is embedded in a rather brash chorus. The act 1 quartet, composed by Halévy for Francesca, her confidante, Ludovic and Gregorio, was one of the highlights of the work and had to be repeated at each performance. The finale, largely written by Halévy, contains charming motifs, among them the couplets for Gregorio “Oui, voilà ma femme”, repeated to other words by Francesca, and intercalated in the chorus “Elle est marie”. The music of act 2 is far below that of the first in quality. It begins with the couplets and duet “Voici le jour”, which lack the suppleness and grace of the master. The melody is hard and painful, evincing a stylistic disparity all too obvious to those critical of the composer of La Juive. Halévy finds himself again in the touching romance for Francesca “Mon courroux, que son sort désarme, n’a plus de force pour haïr”. In fact the duettino for female voices “Enfin, il est parti”, and the prayer with chorus “Nous voici tous, vierge Marie”, are pieces of an exceptional musical value. Lemonnier and Vizentini completed the ensemble of interpreters (CL 2:666). By the end of following year, 1834, the work had run up 70 performances. This posthumous collaboration was thus a tremendous success.

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L’Éclair Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: François-Antoine-Eugène Planard and Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle des Nouveautés, Bourse), 16 December 1835. The story is based on a nouvelle by Hermance Lesguillon. The setting is a country estate in the vicinity of Boston, USA, 1797. Act 1. A pavilion with terrace and view of the sea. Two young women, the life-loving widow Madame Darbel and her sensitive sister Henriette, receive a visit from their cousin George to their secluded estate. His rich uncle has made marriage to one of the sisters a condition of George's coming into his inheritance. A further guest unexpectedly arrives in the person of Lionel, a naval officer who wishes to use a brief leave of absence from his ship to do some hunting. His departure is delayed, however. In a sudden thunderstorm, Lionel is blinded by a flash of lightning. Deprived of his sight and confused, he is dependent on the help of his hosts. Act 2. Hall with a view of a garden, three months later. Henriette’s self-sacrificing care has awakened in Lionel a deep love for his unseen benefactress, which is reciprocated on her part. But when he regains his sight, and sees the two women for the first time, he falls at the feet of the more attractive Madame Darbel, presuming her to be Henriette. Act 3. A salon, 40 days later. Offended and hurt, Henriette has left the house, intending to return only when her sister, whom she presumes Lionel loves, has married him. Madame Darbel arranges for Henriette to return, convinced by a false assurance that this has happened. Now all becomes clear: Henriette and Lionel, who find they actually do love each other as before, are united, as are Madame Darbel and Georges, who previously was unable to choose between the two women, and now finds the right solution. This delightful score indicates all the composer’s suppleness of talent, coming as it did 10 months after his magnificent opera La Juive that had astonished the musical world. Halévy provided charming music, full of sophistication and tastefulness, for the admittedly slender and barely credible scenario. The basic subject of the libretto is original, however, the dialogue witty and the characters sympathetic. The score served to consolidate Halévy’s reputation. The overture scintillates with verve. On the rise of the curtain, there is a charming duet for the two sisters. The dreamy and gentle character of Henriette and the sprightly humour of Mme Darbel establish a most piquant contrast. The trio which follows is

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almost entirely syllabic and has been written in the style and taste of the best pieces of the old opéra-comique. Lionel’s aria “Partons, la mer est belle” is charming, and full of feeling. The prayer, the slumber song, the big scene of the storm, the dramatic trio that follows, and finally the sorrow of the young sailor struck by blindness, all make up an interesting series of intersecting scenes up to the end of the first act. In act 2 the quartet full of finesse, and the love duet “Comme mon coeur bat et palpite” are of special note. In act 3 there is a delightful tenor romance sung by Chollet: Quand la nuit l’épias nuage Couvrait mes yeaux se son bandeau... This is an inspired melody accompanied with exquisite tastefulness by the clarinet. In the theatrical quartet that follows, the composer has deployed all the resources of a fresh harmony, rich in unexpected modulation and always most reassuring. There is also the sailor’s prayer, a chanson provençale, and the aria with the well-known refrain: Car j’ai fait ma philosophie À l’université d’Oxford. The roles were created by Chollet, Couderc, Mmes Pradher and Camoin. There were 214 performances until 1899. At the reprise of this work in March 1847, Roger was admirable in the role of Lionel, both as singer and actor. He was ably seconded by Jourdan, Mlles Grimm and Levasseur. There were further revivals on 17 September 1877 (Salle Favart 2) and on 5 June 1899 (Favart 3) for the centenary of Halévy’s birth (CL 1:375). Les Treize Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Augustin-Eugène Scribe and Paul Duport. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Bourse), 15 April 1839. The title was borrowed from the novel by Balzac. The story is set at an inn near Naples. An Austrian Field Marshal by the name of Odoard orders a sumptuous dinner for The Thirteen, an exclusive club of officers claiming to be irresistible to women. Odoard is expecting Isella the seamstress, whom he plans to seduce; so does Hector, who pretends to be a coachman sent to fetch her to the inn. In a delightfully contrived series of situations Hector persuades Isella that he is her long-lost brother born to a Count.

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Odoard reveals that when he was five and Isella still a babe-in-arms his well-born parents and her father the late Count had united them in holy matrimony. Isella is charmed with her brother, her right to the title of Countess, and her reunion with a husband bestowed on her in infancy. It is getting late; all parties are shown to their respective quarters at the inn. Gennaio, the innkeeper's son, the only one truly in love with Isella, locks the door of her room from the outside. When Odoard demands the key he is told that the brother has taken it. When Hector demands it he is told that the husband has taken it. They play dice for it. Gennaio wins and spends the night with Isella. The Irresistible Thirteen, over their sumptuous dinner, pronounce him a true winner. The fundamental idea of the plot is quite unacceptable, but this did not hamper Halévy from writing a score remarkable for delicacy of orchestration, originality of rhythm, and novelty of accompaniment. The composer, having shown various qualities in Le Dilettante d’Avignon, La Langue musicale, La Juive, L’Éclair and Guido et Ginevra, proved in Les Treize that he did not draw back from daring innovation. The ordinary public of the Opéra-Comique were a little baffled by the unusual luxury of harmonic combinations they were offered, and this work, highly rated by connoisseurs, was not very successful. Of note are: the overture, the ballade “Il est dans Naples la jolie” and the act 1 finale which contains a charming trio "Trouble extrême, elle est là”. The quartet that concludes act 2 “Ô ciel! quoi! me marquise!” is witty and has great stage effect. Isella’s aria “Oui, je suis une grande dame” is the best-known piece in the score. Act 3 contains well-constructed duets, even if the second is little too long. The interpreters were: Chollet, Mocker, Henri, Fleury, Mmes Jenny Colon and Leplus. There were 39 performances (CL 2: 1097-8). Le Shérif Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Augustin-Eugène Scribe. First performance: Opéra Comique (Bourse), 2 September 1839. The plot is derived from a short story by Balzac. The scene is set somewhere in London's dockland, presenting a pub frequented by sailors, a house by the river with a wrought iron gate permanently locked against burglars, and a large back garden. A dark mystery hangs over the house; things keep disappearing and its dreaded owner, Sheriff Turner, is unable to catch the burglar. His pretty daughter Camille and her governess are wary of all strangers. Edgar is a sea-captain who, when he was a young sailor, saved Camille from drowning in the river. Now he wishes to ask for

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her hand in marriage. The Sheriff, however, has promised her to Amobel, the son of the Marquess of Inverness. Edgar introduces himself into the house as Amobel; Amobel introduces himself as himself. Both are suspected of being the mysterious burglar, both are determined to solve the mystery and win Camille's hand. During a night vigil, with police present, the burglar is caught. He is none other than the Sheriff, a sleepwalker who does not know what he is doing. In 1839 the score of Le Shérif was considered musically eclectic, and was little to public taste. Nevertheless, as in his operas Les Treize and L’Éclair, in Le Shérif Halévy revealed a powerful originality. The overture showed him looking for a more dramatic harmonic language, while the instrumentation is handled in the same bold and curious spirit, often happy in its effects. Of particular note are the ballade for Roger “Enfant de l’Angleterre” with its choral refrain “L’Océan est à nous”; the aria for Mme Damoreau “Ah! qu’une cuisinière”, very difficult in intonation but rich in comic flashes of wit; the act 1 quartet; the soprano romance “Je vois encore la vague”, sung by Mlle Rossi; and the trio “Mais ce jeune marin”. The role of the Irishman was created by Moreau-Sainti and that of the Sheriff by Henri. There were 14 performances (CL 2: 1024). Le Guitarréro Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Augustin-Eugène Scribe. First performance: Opéra Comique (Salle Favart 2), 21 January 1841. Le Guitarréro is based on the brief occupation of Portugal by King Philip II of Spain towards the end of the sixteenth century. Act 1. In the garrison town of Sanatorem a Portuguese street guitarist called Riccardo serenades the Portuguese lady Zarah, although he knows full well he has no chance with a noblewoman. A Spanish officer called Zuniga wants to humiliate Zarah who has had the effrontery to repel his advances. He forces Riccardo to impersonate a Portuguese duke just returned from Mexico, Don Juan de Guymarens, to win Zarah's heart with his serenading and to marry her. After the wedding all will be revealed and the proud lady would find herself the wife of a street musician. The deception progresses, and the wedding is about to take place. Act 2. Riccardo cannot bear to deceive the woman he loves, writes a letter of confession and awaits her verdict. Zuniga intercepts it. Riccardo takes Zarah's unaltered attitude as proof of forgiveness and marries her. Zuniga then exposes him as a deceitful gutter snipe. Zarah is outraged, Riccardo wishes himself dead. When he hears that the real Duke of

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Portugal has returned to lead a revolt, he persuades a Spanish general that he is the wanted duke and is condemned to death. Act 3. Riccardo’s ruse is successful. The duke and his Portuguese loyalists surprise the Spaniards in a complacent mood and drive them away. Riccardo is rewarded for his loyalty and bravery with the title of Count Sanatorem. As he strums the guitar and sings a song of victory, Zarah is now happy to take her place at his side. The popular troubadour, as is often the case in Scribe’s libretti, serves as the blind instrument of a political conspiracy: here with the object of freeing Portugal from the Spanish yoke. Halévy’s score contains elegant pieces, always characterized by a distinguished dramatic expression. The overture contains two themes for the violin and clarinet respectively. In act 1 the romance sung by the Guitarist (Roger) “N’entend-tu pas, ô maîtresse chérie” is simple and graceful, and accompanied by the orchestra with exquisite taste. Zarah’s aria “Il existe un être terrible” is very original, and marked the debut of Mlle Capdeville. Act 2 opens with an extended violin solo, the principal theme of which returns to accompany the scene in which the young Guitarist abandons himself to happy dreams about his mysterious adventure: “D’un songe heureux goûtant les charmes”. The most interesting scene is that in which Riccardo decides to reveal his modest circumstances to the beautiful and noble Zarah. It contains nuances of expression which the composer excelled in painting, and which are lavished here prodigally: Et par un mot peut-être La perdre sans retour. The sextet “Voici l’instant du mariage” is a little laboured, but the unlikely nature of the dramatic situation partly robs it of its effect. The finale is nevertheless very dramatic and produces a strong impression. In act 3 the striking pieces include: Zarah’s cavatina in A major “Je n’ose lire dans mon âme et de honte je rougis”, and the dramatic romance which follows “Je connais mes devoirs”; the final words “Partez, monsieur, partez” create a fine impression. The interpreters also included Grignon, Botelli, and Moreau-Santini. (CL 1: 535-6). It was retained in the repertory for 4 years until 1845. Les Mousquetaires de la Reine Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 2 February 1846.

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The story is set in the 1620s, when Louis XIII and his court temporarily moved to Poitou to await the start of the siege of La Rochelle. The Queen's musketeers have been forbidden duelling. Bored, with no duels or fighting to distract them, they drink, brag, brawl and dream of beautiful damsels. Act 1. In the royal park Athenais, a lady-in-waiting to the Queen, confides to another lady-in-waiting called Berthe that she is in love with the valiant but aloof Olivier. Her secret, though not the name of the loved one, is overheard by the musketeer Hector who, to relieve his boredom, begins to send her anonymous love letters, eventually asking for an assignation. When he turns up, she rebuffs him for the impostor he is. Only then does he realise that the love-stricken musketeer he has been impersonating is none other than his best friend Olivier. Act 2. Olivier has long admired Athenais from a distance, daunted by the difference in their rank. To his delighted amazement he learns that thanks to the demise of an unknown uncle he has succeeded to the title of Duke of Monbaret. He pays his respects to Athenais who treats him frostily; she suspects that he has connived in the false love letters to make fun of her. Berthe acts as a go-between and tells Olivier that Athenais will be expecting to hear his explanation at a masked ball that evening. She will be wearing a blue domino. The arrangement misfires. When Olivier speaks to a lady in a blue domino she takes off her mask to reveal the aged face of a woman of sixty. Act 3. More subterfuges lead to more mishaps which lead to more misunderstandings. Suffice it to say that the story ends with the wedding of Athenais and Olivier celebrated in true musketeer fashion, and that Berthe the peacemaker and repentant Hector are also to marry. This work was originally entitled Une nuit blanche, and is without doubt the best which the composer wrote for the Opéra-Comique. Everything carries the mark of his exquisite sensibility and distinction of spirit. The libretto is interesting. Five personalities occupy the stage: three musketeers and two of the Queen’s maids of honour. The composer depicts the characters with a thrilling veracity: the sincere love of Olivier d’Entragues; the reckless generosity of Hector de Biron; the bellicose humour of Capitaine Roland; the piquant grace of Mlle Simiane; the passion of Athénaïs de Solange, by turns ingenuous and proud. All these sentiments are perfectly expressed in the music, and form a gallery of living portraits. The overture has more verve and elegance than any other orchestral work by this composer. Often, when not given direction by well-determined words or situation, his inspiration was slow and almost sterile. After the introductory chorus for the musketeers returning from the hunt, there is an aria for Athenaïs “Bocage épais, légers zéphyrs”, a

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masterpiece of grace, impregnated with the mysterious perfume of first love. This role was created by Mlle Lavoye. A very pretty ariette “Parmi des guerriers”, sung by Mlle Darcier, precedes the sextet “Serment des chevaliers”, full of nobility and gentleness. A nocturnal march for the musketeers, with drums used to piquant effect, concludes act 1. Act 2 opens with the well characterized couplets for Capitaine Roland “C’est à la cour du roi Henri, messieurs, que ce passe ceci”, a role created by Hermann-Léon. The quartet of masks “Nuit charmante” is rich in detail and exquisite taste. Act 3 is not as fertile as the other two, but nonetheless offers a romance full of sentiment and tenderness, delicately realized by Roger “Enfin un jour plus doux se lève”, followed by a dramatic duet full of real and poignant emotion “Traihison, perfidie”. The work concludes with a duo bouffe of a comic frankness that by no means excludes a melodic originality, “Saint Nicolas, ô mon patron!”. This was sung by Mocker and Hermann-Léon, and was very successful (CL 2: 761). The work was retained in the repertory for 33 years, until 1879. Le Val d’Andorre Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Jules-Henri Vernoy de SaintGeorges. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 11 November 1848. The Valley of Andorra in the Pyrenees, during the reign of King Louis XV in the mid-eighteenth century. The libretto is interesting, the score contains lovely pages, and the work enjoyed the most brilliant career. The action takes place in the Pyrenees, in the small Republic of Andorra. Rose-de-Mai is an orphan in the service of a rich farmer called Thérèse. Georgette, another young peasant girl, completes the female trio. Stéphan, a deer-hunter, has warm relations with all three, but eyes only for Rose. An old goatherd, Jacques Sincère, a type recalling Sir Walter Scott’s character Eddie Ochiltree, knows all the secrets of these characters, and has taken an interest in the two young lovers. He wishes to give Rose a dowry of 3,009 livres, the fruit of his thrift over 40 years. But in the midst of the rivalries inspired by the handsome Stéphan, a recruiting officer arrives to claim the 15 citizens that the Republic of Andorra must provide annually for the service of France. The lot falls on Stéphan, who, in despair, flees into the mountains, where he will be pursued, arrested, and treated like a deserter. Rose, giving into a desperate inspiration, uses of a sum of money confined to her care by Thérèse to redeem her fiancé from recruitment. She is counting on the

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dowry promised her by the old goatherd, and regards the use of the money as a loan for a few hours. But poor Rose is accused of theft, and is brought before the Council of Elders assembled on the mountainside to judge her. In the end, with the aid of the old goatherd, the poor girl discovers that her rival and accuser, Thérèse, is actually her natural mother, who acknowledges Rose and obtains a pardon for her from the tribunal. This drama, full of emotion, and treated with profound and exquisite feeling by the composer, appealed particularly to his temperament and genius. The score is rich in varied effects. ‘A lively feeling for nature animates the overture. From the very first bars of the overture place and scene are clearly indicated. Those prolonged calls, those distant echoes, that rustic musette accompanied by slight shudderings of the strings, the mischievous frolicking of the flutes—it all lends local colour. We breathe the mountain air, we listen to the sweet simple song of the goatherd. Suddenly rhythm and character change. The allegro bubbles, bursts into a marvellous and graceful theme in a minor key which flourishes deliciously in the major key ... The second theme of the allegro, with a drum, is one of the most felicitous numbers of the work; it heralds the refrain of the soldiers' song which frequently reappears throughout the opera.’ The composer was nonetheless taken to task for starting the overture in C minor and ending it in D. The goatherd’s aria “Voilà le sorcier” is a masterpiece of musical colour. The quarter “Savant divin” has a truthful and witty declamation. And nothing equals the the chaste and naive reverie of the romance sung by Rose-de-Mai: Marguerite, Qui m’invite À tes conter mes amours. In act 2, full of the most pathetic situations, of note are the couplets “le soupçon, Therese” sung with admirable expression by Bataille who achieved great success in the creation of the difficult role of the goatherd. The finale is a magnificent creation. Act 3 offers pieces that yield nothing to the previous acts as far as melody and theatrical effect are concerned. Of particular note are: the romance for Stéphan, “Toute la nuit suivant la trace”; the trio “mon Dieu! L’ai-je bien entendu?”, the stretta of which is full of fervour; and finally the judgment scene. Mlle Darcier left enduring memories in the role of Rose-de-Mai, both as actress and as singer. The work was exceptionally produced. The administration of the Opéra-

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Comique was again rich in singers of various gifts. Audran, Mocker, Henri and Palianti, Mlles Lavoye and Révilly, formed with Mlle Darcier and Bataille a most satisfactory ensemble. The opera was given successfully at the Théâtre-Lyrique in October 1860. On this occasion Mme Meillet took the role of Rose-de-Mai, created by Mlle Darcier; Mlle Roziès that of Georgette; Monjauze Fromant’s role, Bataille that of Meillet and those of the hunter, Saturnin; the goatherd and the recruiter, Lejoyeux. (CL 2:112425). The work was retained in the repertory for 28 years until 1876. La Fée aux roses Opéra-comique, féerie en trois actes. Librettists: Augustin-Eugène Scribe and Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges. First performance: OpéraComique (Salle Favart 2), 1 October 1849. The action is set in Persia. Act 1. The kingdom of Kabul, in the laboratory of Atalmuc the sorcerer. Atalmuc wants to make his beautiful slave Nérilha love him, but she loves only roses, of which she is queen, the sovereign fairy, on condition that she remains uncontaminated by human love. The moment she loves, she will be transformed into an old, ugly creature. When Atalmuc's latest attempt at brewing a love potion fails he smashes his phials and mixing bowls and rushes out. Nérilha finds his book of magic spells and makes a broomstick and furniture hurl themselves into a boisterous dance which threatens to get out of hand. Atalmuc returns just in time to restore order—a scene which predates L'Apprenti sorcier by the yet unborn Paul Dukas by nearly fifty years. Act 2. Atalmuc gives Nérilha a magic metal rose in the hope of winning her love. She promptly calls up a basket of real roses which flies her to a royal garden in Kashmir where a prince is resting after his travels. The prince is dismayed to hear from his grand vizier that by the will of his late father the King he is to marry a certain princess, Gulnara; he yearns for a pretty slave girl he has noticed on his travels. She is of course Nérilha. Before she has a chance to reveal her presence, Atalmuc arrives and transforms her into an ugly old woman. Act 3. The permutations of love and sorcery reach their zenith at a Sorcerers' Conference in Delhi. Nérilha steals Atalmuc's book of magic spells and performs a few tricks of her own. She divines that she is a princess who was snatched as a baby from her cradle and sold to slavery. Her beauty is restored to her and the fairy tale ends with two happy couples, the prince and Nérilha, Princess Gulnara and the Vizier. Poor

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Atalmuc is disconsolate. Nérilha generously promises him her royal friendship. The original title was La Reine des fleurs. The score is full of delightful ideas, smooth inspiration, and ingenious details of orchestration. The overture is made up of an andante and a bolero handled magisterially. Act 1 contains a bass aria for Atalmuc “Art divin qui faisait ma gloire”; the trio for Nérilha, Kadige and Gulnara “Désir de fille, feu qui pétille” which has a charming verve; and a duet for soprano and bass “Si tu pouvais devenir plus traitable”. Act 2 has Nérilha’s big aria, and a quintet. Act 3 contains Atalmuc’s aria “Ne crois pas que je te cède”, a duet for Nérilha and the Sultan "Ah! monseigneur, à la vieillesse on ne saurait rien refuser”and the refined and witty couplets “Au temps de la jeunesse”. Mme Ugalde and Bataille admirably interpreted the roles of the Rose Fairy and the Magician. The other members of the cast were: Audran, SainteFoy, and Mlles Lemercier and Meyer. (CL 1: 437). The work was retained in the repertory for 4 years, until 1853. La Dame de Pique Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Augustin-Eugène Scribe. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 28 December 1850. The story is derived from Alexander Pushkin’s nouvelle. The setting is Russia during the short reign of Tsar Peter III. Act 1. Neliadov, a young nobleman who is denied his rightful title because of an unproven allegation against his late father, brings a letter to the castle of Polovsk, announcing the return from Court of young Princess Polovska. A fierce snow storm forces two travellers, Prince Zizianov and the elderly German banker Klaremberg, to seek hospitality in the castle. Klaremberg recalls that when he was a young man heavily in debt through gambling, old Princess Polovska, long since dead, took pity on him and told him a secret she had learned from the Empress Catherine which guaranteed winning at cards. In return he had to promise never to play again. Young Princess Polovska now turns up, lame and plain, but believed to have inherited the secret. Prince Zizianov accuses Neliadov of courting her for her inheritance. Neliadov draws his sword, is overpowered and sent down to the mine prison. Act 2 takes place in the mine. The young princess persuades the mine manager, an inveterate gambler, to leave Neliadov's cell door unlocked, and in return tells him the secret of the winning cards: three, ten, Queen of Spades. Prince Zizianov overhears the secret formula. The princess

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persuades Klaremberg to take Neliadov up in the lift disguised as his servant and allow him to escape. Prince Zizianov declares princess, banker, mine manager and Neliadov wanted criminals. In Act 3 they all meet at the Karlsbad casino. Zizianov and the mine manager play the secret formula and lose heavily. A mysterious vision looking like the Queen of Spades forces a confession out of Zizianov rehabilitating Neliadov and restoring him to his rightful title. The princess, having shed her assumed limp and plain looks along with her disguise as the Queen of Spades, then offers him her hand. The banker Klaremberg reveals that there has never been a secret formula. Old Princess Polovska had an arrangement with the Court croupier that any three cards she passed to him in the name of the Tsarina should win. Out of kindness she had told the croupier that Klaremberg was her ally. The revelation brings about the mandatory happy ending. The wicked lose, the righteous win their just reward. The mine manager has his gambling debts paid off and promises to follow old Klaremberg's example and never play again. One can see how little such a subject would accord with the elevated and highly poetic nature of the composer. The overture contains an andante for con sordine strings, effectively accompanied by bells, and two charming motifs from the opera. Act 1 offers a fine aria for the bass (“C’est un feu qui brûle sans cesse”), and arias for the tenor (“Quand la blanche neige”) and soprano (“Toit maternel”). There are also two choruses—one for children and another for officers. In act 2 striking pieces include: the chorus of gamblers, the tenor romance (“Ma sentence est prononcé”), the dialogue in the prison, and the very energetic finale, all lovely in various ways and elegantly orchestrated. Act 3 contains the ravishing couplets “Non seulement je suis bossue” which were encored at every performance. Countess Polovska was one of the most successful creations of Madame Ugalde. The other characters were realized by Bataille, Boulo, Couderc, Ricquier and Mlle Meyer (CL 1:291-2). The work was performed into the following year. Le Nabab Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Augustin-Eugène Scribe and Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges. First performed: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 1 September 1853. The plot is set first in British India, then in Wales. Act 1. Lord Evendale, the British Commissioner stationed somewhere near Calcutta, is bored with life and fed up with his capricious wife. With

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what is taken for characteristically English nonchalance he decides to commit suicide. An old friend, the doctor Clifford, prescribes a one-year course of treatment away from home. The patient's last act before leaving is to pay the return passage to Britain of a destitute young woman called Dora, who is not aware that there is no official charitable fund for waifs and strays and that Lord Evendale is paying out of his own pocket. The audience, however, understands that the Nabob is a kind man. Act 2. The scene shifts to Wales. Lord Evendale, now known as George Preston, is a factory hand in a tobacco plant owned by Toby. Toby thinks the world of his honest and conscientious employee and so does his niece Dora, who has returned from Calcutta, and does not recognise the Nabob. She tells her Uncle that she is in love with George and wishes to marry him; not only does he approve, but he promises to promote her future husband to managerial status. When the determined Dora informs George of his good fortune he does not know what to do. Act 3. At nearby Denbigh Manor an annual fete is held to which plebs and nobs are equally welcome. Distinguished guests from far away include Lady Evendale, her young escort Arthur, and the family doctor as chaperone. George confronts his wife and asks for a divorce. She refuses. The doctor confronts her, reminding her that many years ago, when she was a young woman of dubious morals and he a gullible student, they were married. Her marriage to Lord Evendale is therefore bigamous. Lady Evendale disappears with young Arthur, leaving the doctor free to enjoy his single life and the one-time Nabob to contract a lawful marriage with Dora. It is difficult to imagine a more unlikely tale, or one less musical. Nevertheless, Halévy composed a score rich in happy ideas: Dora’s cavatina “Léger navire”, Clifford’s drinking song “Mes amis, puisqu’il faut que l’on succombe”, and the chanson in honour of tobacco are all attractive pieces. The Welsh ballad on the other hand is not so successful, an error of judgement. The cast was Couderc, Ponchard, Mocker, Bussine, Mme Miolan-Carvalho, and Mlle Favel (CL 2:766). This was performed into the following year. Jaguarita l’Indienne Opéra-comique en trois actes et quatre tableaux. Librettists: Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Adolphe de Leuven. First performance: 1st version: Théâtre-Lyrique, 14 May 1855; 2nd version: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 10 May 1869.

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The story is derived from a novel by Eugène Sue, Les Aventures d’Hercule Hardi. The plot unfolds in Dutch Guyana in 1772 when Dutch troops and American Indians were fighting each other. Act 1. Jaguarita, the ferocious seductive queen of an Indian tribe, has been taken captive and plots the killing of two white officers as ordered by the Great Spirit. Hector van Trump is a newly arrived officer who dislikes war and longs for the quiet life with his Auntie in Holland. Sent out to reconnoitre in the jungle he loses his way, stumbles on something, accidentally lets off his pistol, drops it in fright and just about manages to find his way back to base. His men give him a hero's welcome; they believe it was he who has shot dead the terrible Zam Zam, for his pistol was found next to the dead body. Hector's embarrassed denials are taken for modesty. Act 2. Scene 1. The Indians prepare to liberate their queen. Maurice, another Dutch officer, stands guard outside her cell and falls under her spell. She offers him drugged wine, lets in her tribesman Jumbo, and together they drag Maurice to an Indian encampment. There they meet Hector and his men, taken prisoner during a failed expedition to the Blue Mountain. Hector cannot stop laughing; a captive Dutch doctor thinks he has gone mad; the men think that laughing in the face of death is the hallmark of courage. Act 2. Scene 2. Jaguarita has Maurice brought before her, tells him that she loves him, would marry him and make him King of her tribe. Jumbo wants Maurice to renounce his loyalty to the Whites. The White Man prefers death to betrayal even if the prize is the woman he loves. Jaguarita, truly in love, shows him a secret way out. Act 3. News arrives that the Dutch settlement has been taken over by the Indians. Jaguarita rushes to the danger spot, gets her Indians drunk on western 'fire water' and frees all white prisoners. Maurice embraces her tenderly; Hector goes on laughing; Jumbo vows to fight the Dutch to his last drop of blood. The fundamental idea of the libretto is not really suited to the special qualities of the composer in depth of sentiment and truth of expression. But there is much of interest and the dialogue is well-conceived. Major van Trump is a particularly well-imagined character. He is a gourmand and coward who nonetheless manages to pass for a hero. The score should be placed in the top category of Halévy’s compositions for the OpéraComique. The opera's many qualities include the inventiveness, conscientious interpretation and elegance of the text, and the fresh and original harmony and rich and varied instrumentation of the music. The first part of the overture comprises an andante, a light and graceful

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melody: “The andante of the overture is charming; one of those sonorous edifices which M. Halévy so excels in constructing over a seemingly frail foundation. The horn sounds the dominant A, and the orchestra envelops it with all kinds of delicate, lightly sketched melodies, arabesques and varied harmonies. The allegro though could be easily dropped.” In act 1, there is a chorus for the Dutch, some very original couplets for Hector van Trump “C’est un héros”, Jaguarita’s aria “Je suis la panthère, la reine des bois”, and the song of the humming bird. This last was sung very gently by Mme Cabel with ravishing voice and incomparable facility; the creation of this role was something she could be justly proud of. In act 2 the big scene for Jaguarita and the chorus is very striking. Maurice’s romance and the duet finale are very poetic, and produced a lasting impression. Act 3 is not as rich as the two preceding ones. The chorus of savages is sombre and violent, although the interrogatoire of the god Bambouzi is less successful. The Chanson de Mort, and particularly the strophe “À vous la guerre”, sung by Junca, have a superb grandeur. Junca, with his tall stature and manly, striking features, his grave and powerful voice, played Mama-Jumbo marvellously. Meillet undertook the role of the Major very well, while Monjauze and Colson created the parts of Maurice and Peterman. This is an opera which musicians always hear with pleasure. The lovely chorus “Ô nuit tutelaire” became a part of the repertory of the choral societies who adopted it for their competitions. At the Grand Exposition of 1867, it was performed some hundred times on one day (CL 1: 596-7). There were 18 performances at the OpéraComique. Valentine d’Aubigny Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Michel Carré and Jules Barbier. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 26 April 1856. Act 1. Valentine is an orphan country girl of aristocratic stock who is going to Paris to find her childhood sweetheart Gilbert de Mauleon. Gilbert sets out to the country with the same object in mind. They put up at the same halfway inn but, as they have not met since childhood, they fail to recognise each other. Act 2. Other guests at the inn are the Chevalier de Boisrobert and his mistress Sylvia the actress whom he has rashly promised to marry. He points out that young Gilbert would be a better catch and persuades her to impersonate the unknown Valentine. Valentine discovers the deception and under a false name becomes Sylvia's companion. The four return to Paris.

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Act 3. In Paris Valentine, concealed from view, sings an old folk song which Gilbert remembers from his childhood visits. He believes Sylvia is the singer and asks her to marry him, but both she and the Chevalier have second thoughts. After a great many complications, including forged letters, two identical bouquets of flowers and a harmless duel, the truth comes out. Gilbert and the real Valentine are blissfully in love, the repentant actress and her Chevalier bow out. The bizarre plot of the libretto undermined the effect of the score which contains distinguished pieces. There is Gilbert’s aria “Comme deux oiseaux”; Boisrobert’s couplets “Un amoureux”, with a very striking pizzicato accompaniment; and Sylvia’s bolero. The cast was Bataille, Mocker, Nathan, Mlles. Caroline Duprez and Zoé Bélia (CL 2:1126). There were 23 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Fernand-Gustave HALPHEN (1872-1917) Le Cor fleuri Féerie lyrique en un acte. Librettists: Éphraïm Mikhaël and AndréFerdinand Hérold. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 10 May 1904. It was performed into the following year, 1905. ____________________________________________________________

Charles-Joseph-Gustave HÉQUET (1803-1839) Le Braconnier Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Émile van der Burch and Adolphe de Leuven. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 29 October 1847. The story is based on Plautus’s play Les Ménechmes. Héquet provided a rather mediocre score for this very naive and uninteresting text. Of note were a good quartet and a duet for the poacher Hébert and Lisa, the gamewarden’s daughter. This small work was interpreted by Jourdan, Chaix, and Mlle Lemercier.

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Chevalier d’HERBAIN (c. 1730-1769) Nanette et Lucas, ou la Paysanne curieuse Comédie mêlée d’ariettes mise en musique en un acte. Librettist: NicolasÉtienne Framery. First performance: Nouveau Théâtre-Italien (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 14 June 1764. There were 10 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Louis-Joseph-Ferdinand HÉROLD (1791-1833) Les Rosières Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Emmanuel-GuillaumeMarguerite Théaulon de Lambert. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 27 January 1817. The subject is amusing, written with wit and good humour. This was the composer’s first dramatic work, and already the germ of the qualities which raised him to the first rank of French composers is clearly discernible. The most striking pieces of the work are: the overture, the couplets for Florette “De ce village tous les garçons”, the final chorus of act 1; in act 2 the couplets for Mme de Mondor and the march of the game wardens; in act 3 the duet for Bastien and Florette. It was revived at the Théâtre-Lyrique on 5 June 1860 with Fromant, Ricquier-Delaunay, Gabriel, Mlles Girard and Faivres; and at the Fantaisies-Parisiennes on 23 October 1866. The latter production, however, was so feeble from the point of view of the conducting that the public was left in ignorance of this score so full of piquant details of orchestration. La Clochette, ou Le Diable page Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Emmanuel-GuillaumeMarguerite Théaulon de Lambert. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 18 October 1817.

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This was one of Hérold’s first productions. The aria for Azolin was notable, as were the graceful motif of the aria “Me voilà, me voilà”, the act 1 finale, a duet in act 2, and throughout an instrumentation that was new, rich and elegant. The work was revived several times, notably in 1827, with success. Le Premier venu Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Jean-Baptiste-Charles Vial and Eugène de Planard. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 28 September 1818. Les Troqueuers Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Achille Dartois. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 1819. This pretty work contains the couplets “Mon coeur s’agite à chaque instant”, the rondo “Ah! monseigneur”, and the duet “Jarni, son minois et charmant”. L’Auteur mort et vivant Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Eugène de Planard. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 18 December 1820. The story is pleasant, but did not provide the celebrated composer with a proper opportunity for his talents. The failure of this work affected him painfully, and kept him away from the theatre for several years. Le Muletier Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Paul de Kock, after a tale by Boccaccio. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 12 May 1823. The basic situation of the plot is flippant, and it abounds in ribald couplets—as, for example, “une fois en ménage” the ritornello of which reproduces the popular refrain “Voilà l’plaisir, mesdames”. The music is generally very pleasant, even if the some of the ideas are a little commonplace (CL 2: 763). This, and Marie (1826) were the composer’s most successful operas prior to his masterpieces Zampa and Le Pré aux

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Clercs. The plot of Le Muletier is identical to that of Balfe’s The Rose of Castile. Le Roi René Opéra-comique en deux actes. Librettists: Gabriel-Alexandre Belle and Sewrin (Charles-Augustin Bassompierre). First performance: OpéraComique (Bourse), 6 February 1839. Le Lapin blanc Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Mélesville and Pierre Carmouche. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 21 May 1825. Given without success. Marie Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Eugène de Planard. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 12 August 1826. The story is adapted from Planard’s novel Almedan, ou le Monde renversé. It was retained in the repertory until 1868. L’Illusion Drame lyrique en un acte. Librettists: Jules-Henri Vernoy de SaintGeorges and Constant Ménissier. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Bourse), 18 July 1829. Hérold provided lovely music for this bad poem, which ends in suicide. The overture uses Mozart’s “Voi che sapete”, treated with elegance. The most striking pieces in the score are otherwise the tyrolienne “Le ciel se colore”, the trio “Que faire hélas!”, a charming waltz “Fille de nos montagnes”, and the finale. L’Auberge d’Auray Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Charles Moreau de Commagny and Jean-Baptiste Violet d’Épagny. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Ventadour), 11 May 1830.

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A collaboration between Carafa and Hérold. Harriet Smithson played the role of the mute character Cécilia. There were 29 performances. La Médecine sans médecin Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Augustin-Eugène Scribe and Alfred Bayard. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Bourse), 18 October 1832. The story is about a doctor who, without recourse to his professional skill, protects a sick merchant from imminent bankruptcy by getting his daughter to marry a rich young Englishman, who, giving way to an excess of spleen, wishes to kill himself. Such a poor libretto did not provide much scope for music, but the composer nonetheless provided some very pretty motifs which did not, however, survive the failure of the work. This marked the debut of Mlle Massy at the Opéra-Comique. Zampa, ou La Fiancée de marbre Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Mélesville (Anne-Honoré-Joseph Duveyrier). First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Ventadour), 3 May 1831. This lovely work was in the repertoire for more than half a century. It did not lose any of its qualities in the opinion of people of taste, while its attraction for the public sustained itself into the 20th century, even if the execution was generally very mediocre. The work abounds in situations that are both dramatic and essentially musical, even if basically absurd. Mélesville could be criticised for having imitated Don Giovanni rather too closely in several scenes, especially the denouement. A corsair called Zampa spreads fear throughout the kingdom of Naples and Sicily. He is condemned to death for piracy, and his description is sent to the officers charged with pursuing and arresting him. Zampa, however, belongs to a family that has rendered service to the state, and bears the title of Count of Monteza. His brother, called Alphonse, is much younger than him, has never known him, and indeed is ignorant that the redoutable Zampa is his brother. Alphonse serves in the army of the viceroy, and is to be married to Camille Lugano, the daughter of a rich merchant. Everyone has gathered happily at the castle: the young girls are preparing presents for the fiancé and congratulating Camille. In the gallery of the castle where this first scene takes place there is a marble statue. It is a likenesss

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of Alice Manfredi, a poor girl who was seduced, abandoned, and died from her sorrows. The legend is told: D’une haute naissance, Belle comme à seize ans, Alice dans Florence, Charmait tous les amants; À seize ans, comment faire Pour défendre son coeur? Un seul parvint à plaire, Et c’était un trompeur! D’un pareil maléfice, Sainte Alice, préservez-nous; Nous prirons Dieu pour vous. There is sentiment in this ballad, which Hérold transfused into the music of the first two couplets with a naive grace that is very well developed in the third. The idea itself, however, is rather odd! If marble statues were set up to all victims mourned by their mothers, the quarries of Italy would not be able to provide enough for such sumptuous commemorative decoration. Mélesville, moreover, has placed her among the saints, and, forgetting that one invokes them rather than praying for them, he lets slip the solecism “Sainte Alice, vous prions Dieu pour vous”. Mounted men arrive at the gates of the castle and demand Alphonse. Believing that they are guests invited to the party, he leaves to meet them, but does not return. Zampa presents himself in Alphonse’s place. He brings a letter addressed to Camille, signed by her father, who, having fallen into the hands of the pirate, enjoins his daughter to help secure his liberty by giving Zampa whatever he demands by way of ransom. Camille, frightened, seeks refuge in her chamber, leaving the castle at the mercy of Zampa and his henchmen who give themselves over to an orgy tinged with an atmosphere of superstitious dread due to the presence of the marble statue. Daniel, one of the crew, recognizes the features of Alice Manfredi, once seduced by his master. The latter, seeking to make fun of Daniel’s fears, approaches the statue and slipping his ring onto the finger of the statue, declares that she will be his fiancée until the next day. The statue extends its arm and presses it against its chest, as if to guard the ring. The pirates fall to their knees in consternation, while Zampa vainly attempts to rekindle the impious audacity of his companions. This finale to act 1 has great theatrical effect.

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Act 2 takes place at the seashore where the women are kneeling before a statue of the Madonna. Nothing is fresher than this opening episode after the violent emotions of the last scene. After a triumphant aria for Zampa, there is an encounter, very comical and tastefully handled, between Daniel, a seasoned sinner, and his wife Ritta, whom he abandoned ten years earlier to follow Zampa. Ritta then became Camille’s servant. At the moment when Ritta expresses her joy at seeing Daniel again, and assures him of her constant fidelity, a certain Dandolo, charged with being the coward of the piece, runs in and announces to Ritta that their banns have been published, and that they can be married in two days time. Daniel, who was becoming very tender, reacts with fury to this news. This episode, which of course delays the action, is nonetheless a happy invention. Alphonse in the meantime has been able to escape from the pirates. His is an ungrateful role, and even though he has some fine music to sing, it has hardly any innate interest. He learns, from the mouth of Camille herself, that she will have to marry Zampa. A letter from the viceroy has also informed him that Zampa is the Count of Monteza, his brother, and that the king has granted him pardon on condition that he expiate his past behaviour by serving in the royal navy. Alphonse breaks his sword and leaves, while Zampa and Camille repair to the altar. The statue appears there, and lays its cold hand on Zampa’s shoulder. The presence of this unexpected witness causes him to freeze in terror. The punishment of the corsair takes place in act 3. But this is preceded by two incidents to delightful effect. First there is a plaintive barcarolle for Alphonse who then leaves, and for Camille who seeks to console him while groaning against her fate. Then comes a serenade, sung discreetly by the chorus, which is celebrating the presumed happiness of the spouses. What follows is less successful. Alphonse returns, determined that the one he loves should follow him. Zampa has him taken away by his cronies, so that poor Alphonse disappears for the third time. Left alone with Camille, who begs him to let her withdraw to a convent, Zampa repulses her entreaties and threatens to use force against her. But at the moment he approaches his unfortunate victim, she eludes his embrace, and he finds himself between the arms of the marble statue, who drags him into the sea with her. The last scene shows Camille, her father, and Alphonse reunited. The chorus persists in praying for Saint Alice—understandably, now, since she finds herself in such bad company. The overture to this opera is a suite of the most brilliant motifs optimally orchestrated. But this is no longer the type of overture as conceived and made acceptable by Hérold’s predecessors, and as he himself composed for his own Le Pré aux clercs. Mozart and Beethoven

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had already given form of a general character to this preface to a dramatic work. Méhul, Cherubini, and at their example, the composers of this period, wrote special pieces appropriate to the genre of works they were dealing with. They did not borrow the principal motifs to make a type of potpourri, a hotchpotch of juxtaposed themes, without any other connection than a harmonic progress or range of modulations. The lovely overtures of Rossini, from Tancredi until Guillaume Tell, are real prefaces, as gracious and lively as they are grandiose and magnificent. Boieldieu was one of the first to introduce reminiscences, or rather a foretaste of motifs drawn from his operas, into the preface. Hérold and Auber followed his example. The themes are pleasant; one hears them with pleasure many times during an evening; bis repetita placent, but the forms of the old overtures have been forsaken, proscribed, and forgotten. The overture to Zampa is made of five themes taken from the work. Zampa has often been compared with Le Pré aux clercs, and the question asked as to which of these two masterpieces is to be preferred? But one is not to be disdained for the other. Le Pré aux clercs perhaps has more original colour, a graceful sentiment that is more exquisite. The setting, the atmosphere of the Valois Court, the literary value of the piece, all exercised their influence on the nature of Hérold’s inspiration. But from the point of view of style, of the manner of writing, the fecundity of musical resources and the clarity of the melodic discourse, Zampa offers a superior ensemble of qualities. The dramatic situations are accentuated by the musician with greater firmness than in any of his other works, with the exception of the famous Barge Scene in the last act of Le Pré aux clercs. In act 1, the ear of the auditor is never left idle. After the pretty chorus of young girls “Dans ses présents, que dans de magnificence”, Camille sings an aria with a charming first phrase “À ce bonheur suprême”. In the ballad, the timbre of the clarinets imbues a character at once legendary and naive. The trio, accompanied by un sol passo (a single repeated rhythmic pattern with different notes), is lively; the quartet, “Le voilà! Que mon âme est émue!” is majestic, the best piece of the work, together with the duet in act 3. The trio finale, “Au plaisir, à la folie” has a large variety of effects. Act 2 is hardly less rich. Everyone knows the suave cantique for three female voices “Aux pieds de la madone”, as well as the aria “Il faut céder à mes lois”, so very appropriate, light and witty, so well suited to the expression of a French Don Juan. The duet of recognition “Juste ciel! C’est ma femme!” is full of dash, theatrical intelligence and good taste. Hérold, turned in on himself, and not overexcited by an imposed dramatic situation, is melancholic. This side of his character is easily discerned in .

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the passage of the duet “Hélas!ô douleur! Il me croit infidèle!” and also in the barcarolle in act 3 “Oùvas-tu, pauvre gondolier?” The rondo "Douce jouvancelle”, neatly intercalated into the chorus, became very popular. The beginning of the finale is less striking, but the composer reveals himself better in the stretta “Tout redouble mes alarmes” where the F natural over the E pedal begins one of those inspired phrases that is proof in itself of genius. The many melodious pieces that open act 3 have been noted: all that remains to be mentioned is the famous duet “Pourquoi trembler?” for Camille and Zampa. The dramatic power of this piece, and its passionate expression, made many feel that this opera was better suited to the Salle de la rue Lepelletier than the Opéra-Comique. This is a grave mistake. Hérold was a great musician, a gifted composer of genius, of invention, and of rare sensibility; but it suffices to glance at his scores to recognize that all his motifs, so abundant and compact, pertain as a body to those of his compositions for which they were expressly created; that they would be diminished and insufficient for a big stage; that his harmony, stimulating and varied, would lose its grace and detail if it were drowned in louder sonorities. The roles were created by Chollet, Mme Casimir, Mme Boulanger, Féréol and Moreau-Sainti. That of Zampa was subsequently played with success by Masset, and rather mediocrely by Montaubry. Mme RossiCaccia was the best singer to interpret the role of Camille; and as Dandolo, Sainte-Foy remained inimitable. M. Vauthrot published a fine reduction of this work for piano solo. It was retained in the repertory until 1913. Le Pré aux clercs Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: François-Antoine-Eugène de Planard, after the novel 1572. Chronique du temps de Charles IX (1829) by Prosper Mérimée. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle des Nouveautés, Bourse), 15 December 1832. The inspiration of this celebrated French composer was stimulated and sustained by an excellent libretto. Le Pré aux clercs is one of the four or five Romantic works of this epoch whose superior beauties have survived the ravages of time. The action takes place on the banks of the Seine, in the vicinity of the Louvre. Marguerite de Valois is held as a prisoner at the Court of her brother, Charles IX. Her presence is a guarantee for the conduct of Henry of Navarre, one of the leaders of the Huguenot party. She has in her retinue a young noblewoman of Béarn, called Isabelle,

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whom the king has destined for marriage with the Comte de Comminge, a brave but quarrelsome gentleman. The young Baron de Mergy, sent by Henry of Navarre to reclaim his wife and her young friend, with whom the Baron himself is taken, learns that he has a redoubtable rival. Marguerite interests herself in Isabelle and Mergy's love, and wants to employ, on their behalf, the inventive genius of an astute Italian called Cantarelli. The latter would be disposed to betray them since he is sworn body and soul to his friend Comminge, if it were not that a letter, written by the Duke of Guise, has fallen into the hands of the Queen of Navarre, and places him at her mercy. An innkeeper on the Pré aux clercs, the Field of Clerks, and his fiancée Nicette, are introduced into the intrigue and provide opportunity for some graceful episodes. The Queen’s project is to have Mergy and Isabelle marry secretly, but the plan is disrupted when Comminge learns of their love. He provokes his rival to a duel. In act 3, the secret marriage has taken place, and the couple are looking for the means of escaping. However, Mergy has a debt of honour to be settled. He is joined by Comminge and the two draw their swords. The archer sentries oblige them to go elsewhere to settle their quarrel. Comminge is killed in the duel, and bargemen transport his body down the river to Chaillot. The young couple are reunited and swear eternal love. It is difficult to decide what to admire most in this work: the musical painting of theatrical situations, the marvellous colouring that pervades all the episodic parts of the work, or the colours, by turns discreet and powerful, of the instrumentation, all of it combined to please both the ear and the most demanding intelligence. This opera has constantly united the votes of musicians of all schools. The overture in G minor has a sustained originality and elegant harmony; it is made up of a tutti on a nervous rhythm and cut in the manner of Weber, but with a method that renders it thrilling; a cantabile in F minor, followed by a delightful phrase in the major, repeated before long on the lower fifth; a stylish motif in B-flat; a fughetto and a development of the original rhythmic figure. In the introductory chorus, the voices accompany the orchestra in nonarpeggiated chords to charming effect. It would take too long to analyze this score, in which each number is a little masterpiece. Of particular note are the well-known duet “Les rendezvous de noble compagnie”; Mergy’s aria “Ô ma tendre amie”, and the act 1 finale in which occurs the touching romance “Souvenirs du jeune âge”. The part for the violin, executed during the entr’acte, shows the extent to which Hérold mastered the resources of this instrument. Isabelle’s aria “Jours de mon enfance”, accompanied by the solo violin, is one of the most beautiful airs in the repertory of the Opéra-Comique. As for the trio

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“Vous me disiez sans cesse: Pourquoi fuir les amours?” for Isabelle, the Queen and Cantarelli, the disposition of the voices is equal in ingenuity and in grace to the most perfect examples one can find in the Italian school. In all these characteristics of the opéra-comique, Hérold surpassed the models in this genre, as well as in the happy choice and abundance of his melodies. The Masquerade Scene, the lovely phrases for the Queen, for Mergy, the entry of Isabelle in the middle of the festivity, and the finale, all provide an uninterrupted sequence of happy singing and varied effects. The orchestral combinations and the vocal lines are particular to the composer. Melodies of considerable development are played by the instruments, while the voices form sequences of chords grouped in a selfsufficient manner and providing interesting periods. The music of act 3 offers several pieces in a frank, cordial rhythm that would seem to return to the compositional style characteristic of the composer’s first period. To appreciate this difference further, it is helpful to recall that Hérold began working for the theatre in 1816, and that if an interval of 16 years modified his ideas, it was not enough to destroy the traces of the first creative style, or even simply his methods of thought. Instances of this first period are to be found in: the little ensemble which follows the graceful phrases sung by Nicette “Venez, et que je me promène, Je suis dame de ce domaine”; the very popular rondo À la fleur du bel âge, Georgette, chaque jour, Disait, dans le village. Jamais n’aurai d’amour. the syllabic trio “C’est fait, le ciel même a reçu nos serments”; and finally the unison chorus of the archers “Nargue de la folie”. All these motifs are charming, but one finds equivalent pieces in Le Muletier and in Marie, whereas in the rest of the act Hérold maintains the level he had attained in Zampa, adding to the gracefulness that never left him a powerful effect and a profound sensibility. Evidence of this can be found in the chorus “Que j’aime ces ombrages”; the theatrical Duel Trio that contains the magnificent phrase “Ah! je puis braver ta rage”; the quartet with its exquisite half-colours “L’heure nous appelle”; and finally the scene of the barque where the recital of the violoncellos results in one of the greatest stage effects of the theatre. The roles in this opera were created by rather mediocre artists, but this did not hamper its immediate success. The part of Isabelle was written for Mme Casimir, who sang it at the premiere, but withdrew after only a

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month. Mlle Dorus took it over immediately. The other roles were sung by Fargueil, Thénard, Lemonnier, Féréol, Mme Ponchard and Mlle Massy. Hérold, suffering for several years from consumption, and exhausted by his labours, survived his success by only a month, dying on 19 January 1833. There were reprises on 16 May 1840 (Salle Favart 2), for the inauguration of the new theatre; 11 October 1879 (Salle Favart 2) for the re-opening of the restored theatre; December 1932 (Salle Favart 3), with a public general rehearsal on 14 December. It was in the repertory until 1949. ____________________________________________________________

Charles HESS (1838-1909) Le Dîner de Pierrot Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Bernard Millanvoye. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Châtelet), 25 September 1893. This small score is the lyric adaptation of the charming one-act comédie by Millevoye, who was assisted in writing the play by M. Truffier of the Comédie-Français. The play appeared at the Théâtre de l’Odéon on 26 October 1881 (with M. Porel and Mlle Chartier) and then passed on to the repertory of the Comédie-Français where it was interpreted by M. Berr and Mlle Ludwig. The opera is an amiable badinage without great consistency, but valuable for its grace of form and finesse of detail. The score which Hess provided for this sketch marked his stage debut. It does not have an abundance of melody, but is written with care, distinction, and with a refined and delicate orchestration. It begins in the loveliest manner with a charming little overture, lively and smart, in a rather Rococo style in which the violins have a marvellous role, and is perfectly adjusted in proportional sonority. And there are other striking pieces: the romance for Colombine (“Autrefois par le soirs de lune”) which is by turn graceful and melancholic, a lovely duet for the spouses, Colombine’s alert couplets (“Enfin, voici l’heure”), the drinking song with its very bold rhythm well accompanied by violin pizzicati, and most especially the graceful madrigal for Pierrot (“Ils sont si bleus, vos grands yeux!”) which has penetrating feeling. All this is well conceived, with the right tone and right measure, and no exaggeration on the composer’s part. It had been a long time since the Opéra-Comique had seen such a genial, well-turned little act. It was played to everyone’s liking and in a delightful fashion by M. Périer and

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Mme Molé-Truffier. It remained in the repertory for six years until 1899. Madame Dugazon Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Louis Leloir and Paul Gravollet. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 12 May 1902. This is a straightforward joke that does not even recall a more or less authentic anecdote about the admirable artist Mme Dugazon. It is a fantasy in which the authors have simply imagined a small scene of jealousy and reconciliation between Mme Dugazon and her husband in the first days of their union—a union which was actually neither long nor very happy, and which was broken by divorce. Hess concocted some very pretty music for this joke: it is amiable, light, well-written, and without pretension, tailored to the subject. M. and Mme Dugazon were personified by M. Allard and Mlle de Craponne. It was performed into the following year, 1903. ____________________________________________________________

Paul (1852-1933) and Lucien HILLEMACHER (1860-1909) Circé Poème-lyrique en 3 actes. Librettist: Edmond Haraucourt. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 17 April 1907. The story is based on Homer’s Odyssey. There were 7 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Philipp Joseph HINNER (1754-c. 1806) Les Trois Inconnues Drame lyrique/comédie mêlée d’ariettes en trois actes. Librettist: François-Georges Desfontaines. First performance: 1st version: Versailles, Théâtre de la Cour, 7 February 1783; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 13 February 1783. There was only one performance.

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Henri HIRSCHMANN (1873-1961) L’Amour à la Bastille Opéra-comique en un acte (deux parties et trois tableaux). Librettist: Lucien Augé de Lassus and Paul de Choudens. First performance: OpéraComique (Châtelet), 14 December 1897. The work is based on a comédie à couplets presented at the Vaudeville, called En pénitence. It was performed into the following year, 1898. ____________________________________________________________

Georges-Adolphe HUË (1858-1948) Les Pantins Opéra-Comique en deux actes. Librettist: Édouard Montagne. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 28 December 1881. The composer, grand prix de Rome for 1879, won the Prix Anatole Cressent for this opera. If the libretto has only a mediocre interest, the music is agreeable. One could single out an aria for the soprano, elegantly written, and a lovely romance for the tenor. The interpreters were MM. Mouliérat, Vernouillet, Piccaluga, Mlles Dupuis and Zélo-Duran. It was performed into the following year, 1882. Titania Drame musicale en trois actes. Librettists: Louis Gallet and André Corneau. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 20 January 1903. The subject is drawn from the old legend of Huon de Bordeaux, where Shakespeare found his material for a masterpiece full of colour and poetry. Here the librettists have extracted an insipid play, without action or movement or interest, a bizarre and incomprehensible play. This book is even more irritating than that for Oberon which nevertheless once inspired Weber to write a masterpiece. Huë was not Weber, but he was far from lacking talent, and nevertheless found the elements for a very interesting

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score, really distinguished, written with style, undoubtedly unequal, and conceived in too systematic a fashion, but revealing a real artist who, if he had wanted to obey his natural temperament, and free himself of certain gloomy principles, could have delivered a great work. Several pages of this score are imprinted with a sincere poetry, and if his inspiration is not always absolutely novel, it is far from lacking grace, colour and elegance. But the text did not find favour with the public, and as so often happens, the musician suffered for the faults of his collaborators. There were 12 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Engelbert HUMPERDINCK (1854-1921) Hänsel et Gretel/Jeannot et Margot Conte lyrique/opéra-féerie en trois actes et cinq tableaux. Librettist: Adelheid Wette. French version: Catulle Mendès. First performance: 1st version: Weimar, Hoftheater, 23 December 1893; 2nd version: OpéraComique (Salle Favart 3), 30 May 1900. This was the composer’s first dramatic work; the libretto was provided by his sister, after the fairy tale from the Brothers Grimm. In this score there was particular praise for the richness and freshness of melodic ideas, and the fine disposition of the roles. After its appearance in Weimar, the work was performed in Berlin and Vienna with such success that by order of Emperor William II the Royal Opera in Berlin concluded a contract with the composer whereby he bound himself for five years to offer all his new works to this theatre. Humperdinck was 42 years old when he made this happy and remarkable stage debut. ____________________________________________________________

Paul-Marie-Théodore-Vincent d’INDY (1851-1931) Attendez-moi sous l’orme Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Robert de Bonnières and Jules Préval. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 11 February 1882.

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The libretto is a musical adaptation of the little comédie by Jean-François Regnard. The work was produced with MM. Barré, Barnolt, Piccaluga, Mlles. Thuillier and Molé. There were 19 performances. Fervaal Action dramatique en trois actes et un prologue. Words and music: Vincent d’Indy. First performance: 1st version: Brussels, Théâtre de la Monnie, 12 March 1897; 2nd version: Opéra-Comique (Châtelet), 10 May 1898. This work was the major stage première for this composer, who had only ever produced a small one-act work of little significance. Attendez-moi sous l’orme, given some years before at the Opéra-Comique, immediately vanished from the repertory. But in 1885 d’Indy obtained the Prix de la ville de Paris for his vast composition Le Chant de la cloche, which was played with success in big concerts, where he also produced several less important works. Like Wagner, of whom d’Indy was an admirer and most passionate disciple, he wrote his own libretti (with the only fault of writing in prose); like Wagner he chose legendary subjects, symbolic and mysterious; like Wagner, he based his music on a series of Leitmotive, to which he turned and returned in all senses of the word; like Wagner, he introduced the symphony into the theatre and deployed all the resources of an exuberant instrumentation under which the voices are drowned without remission; like Wagner, finally, he took the greatest care not to write using any form, employing rather continuous declamation, without respite and without personality. One could only have wished that d’Indy had Wagner’s inspiration. Unfortunately, it is inspiration that is most lacking, and most cruelly in a score like Fervaal, a remarkable score from the point of view of skill and technique, written magisterially, not without a certain grandeur, and with the sureness of a prodigal hand, but also with a lamentable dryness, and without a hint of feeling or emotion. Music born of the mind from which the heart is absent, music where all is sacrificed to an effect that is material and brutal, and which lacks, moreover, poetry as much as warmth. The public were bored by this ambitious and vain work. This was despite the talent evinced by the interpretation of the principal roles by Mme Jeanne Raunay, MM. Imbart de la Tour, Beyle and Carbonne (CL 2: 1219). ____________________________________________________________

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Nicolò ISOUARD (1775-1818) Le Tonnelier Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Étienne-Joseph-Barnard Delrieu and François-Antoine Quétant. First performance: 1st version: Malta 1797; 2nd version: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 17 May 1801. L’Impromptu de compagne Opéra-comique en un acte et en vers. Librettist: Étienne-Joseph-Bernard Delrieu. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart), 11 messidor IX (30 June 1801). This was a French adaptation of Isouard’s Italian opera L’Improvvisata in campagna. The overture is very attractive. Nearly all the pieces in this work were striking: Lisette’s aria “Ah! quel dommage!” which has real verve; the duet with Eraste “J’aime, j’adore pour la vie”, which has strong resemblances with the cut of Joconde’s aria; Isabelle’s dream “Dans un bois antique et sauvage”, attractively accompanied by rustling violins. In Lisette’s aria, the voice is in dialogue with the flute, imitating the nightingale on the high-pitched notes, and concluding with a graceful ensemble. The duet for the count and countess “je vous épousai, je pense, l’an trente-trois” could have been managed better. The situation has finesse, and Boieldieu would have created a masterpiece (CL 1:575). The sextet includes some lovely phrases, as does the developed finale which concludes this work. It should be revived, if only to show the difference between the past and the present, in comparing the pleasant music that composers knew how to write on a very light canvas with the burlesque operettas of today where trivialities are popularized without becoming popular (CL1:575). La Statue, ou La Femme avare Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: François-Benoît Hoffman. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 26 April 1802. Michel-Ange Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Étienne-Joseph-Bernard Delrieu. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 11 December 1802.

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This is not about the Michelangelo of Giorgio Vasari and of tradition. Although the libretto is lacking in common sense, it contains interesting features. Michelangelo, aged 24, is in love with Fiorina, the daughter of Pérugin and pupil of Scopa, a popular painter whose works are a laughingstock among the artists of Florence. But Scopa is rich and has influential friends. He wants to marry Fiorina. Michelangelo, thanks to information he has obtained and the foolishness of Pasquino, gains access to the painter's home as a mixer of colours. There he paints a lovely portrait of Fiorina. Since he has fulfilled the stipulation left in Pérugin’s will, by which the hand of his daughter is bestowed on the artist who successfully completes the painting of an exterminating angel left unfinished by him, Fiorina is unanimously given to Michelangelo, with Scopa himself supporting this decision. The music Isouard wrote for this light canvas is very pleasing. It is lively, witty, and in imaginative finesse by far outstrips the situations presented by the libretto. The overture, after a melodious cantabile, gives way to a presto full of gaiety and verve, so typical of the author of Joconde. All the pieces are pretty. Initially there is the duet for Fiorina and Zerbine “Douce mélancolie” and the aria for Michelangelo “Amour, retrace-moi les traits de Fiorina” which is remarkable less for the somewhat childish imitation of the painter’s brush strokes by means of the quadruple quavers for the violins at the beginning of each measure, than for the broad allegro “Talent divin, art enchanteur!” The duet for Michelangelo and Zerbine “Son embarras me plaît, m’enchante” is by turns gallant and gracious, and cedes nothing to Boieldieu in this genre. Following on a barcarolle is the quintet in which Fiorina learns from Michaelangelo himself of his supposed death, and which, recounted in the presence of her tutor, has a simulated sadness of real character, and is musical comedy worthy of the Italian school. There is a chorus of artists in the finale. The style of the accompaniments is constantly varied, and melody abounds. The cast was Elleviou (as Michel-Ange), Chénard, Dozainville, Mmes Scio-Messié (as Fiorina) and Saint-Aubin. This was the first work to draw attention to Isouard, who had arrived in Paris from Malta three years before. Some of his early French pieces were composed in co-operation with Boieldieu, Cherubini, Méhul and Kreuzer. In 1803 three new operas of his were given at the Opéra-Comique, in 1805 four new operas, and then an average of two a year. His first major success after Michel-Ange was Les Rendezvous Bourgeois in 1807.

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Les Confidences Opéra-Comique en deux actes. Librettist: François-Benoît Hoffman. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 20 March 1803. The dialogue is rapid and witty. The music, although sometimes carelessly written, strengthened the reputation of the composer. Le Baiser et la quittance, ou Une aventure de garnison Opéra-comique en trois actes et en prose. Librettists: Louis-Benoît Picard, Michel Dieulafoy and Charles de Longchamps. First performance: OpéraComique (Feydeau), 18 June 1803. A collaboration between Méhul, Boieldieu, Kreutzer and Isouard. Le Médecin turc Opéra-buffon en un acte. Librettists: Pierre-Antoine-Jean-Baptiste Villiers and Armand Gouffé. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 15 November 1803. The play is well-handled and amusing. Fortis, captain of a French ship, has been captured by corsairs and sold as a slave to the Grand Vizier in Constantinople, while Adèle, his wife, has been added to the harem of an old Turkish doctor called Kalil. Both are desolated by their separation. Fortis learns by accident that the doctor, having learned of the charms of the French slave, has refused to give her up to the Grand Seigneur. In order to avenge His Highness, the vizier wishes to put the doctor to the test. He is told to cure a fool, and should he fail, he will be subjected to an exemplary punishment. Fortis has the presentiment that this interesting slave is none other than his wife. So he substitutes himself for the fool, and is taken to the doctor’s house. The latter, despite the advice of Bouzoula, his chief wife, who is jealous of Adèle, and despite the promise he has received of being nominated doctor to His Highness if successful with his cure, refuses to give Adèle to her husband. But as the curing of the latter is the issue at stake, every time the stubborn doctor refuses liberty to his slave, Fortis reverts to his prior state of madness. In the end, Kalil gives in, and allows the young couple to embark for France. The overture, which has a type of Turkish march as its principal theme, is very spirited and has an original sense of colour. Adèle’s romance “Sans

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plaisir et sans espérance” is graceful, but instead of focusing on the young woman’s sense of regret, it depicts the boredom of captivity and is distracted by song and dance. This moreover is typical of the frivolous manner in which the author of Joconde treats serious emotions. Bouzoula’s couplets “Les plaisirs volaient sur mes traces” are characterized by the airy manner of the genre. The aria in which Kalil describes by turns his various triumphs and his downfall is hardly comical "Oui, partout il faudra qu’on public”. Isouard, who in his youth in Italy had known fine models of the aria buffa, was never able to find in France artists capable of interpreting this type. He bowed to the French taste of this period, and his bass aria, although well-written, comes across as heavy. The trio which follows “Tâchez par des agaceries” is well developed. The soprano part of Adèle is as much danced as sung, a piquant novelty, but one compromising the success of the work because of the difficulty of finding two such talents united in the same person. The big scene of Fortis’s pretended madness is one of the composer’s most impressive pieces. It was written for the celebrated singer Elleviou. There is also the recognition quartet “Du courage, point de frayeur”. The score of Le Médecin turc is one of the composer’s best, and was long a source of pleasure if interpreted by skilled singers. Isouard dedicated it to Princess Marie-Louise. By this time composers were already concerned to escape from the monopoly of the music merchants. Several of the most illustrious among them formed a society to promote a music shop situated on the Rue de la Loi no. 268, opposite the Rue Ménars. These were Cherubini, Méhul, Kreutzer, Rode, Isouard and Boieldieu. Le Médecin turc was published by this house. But this commercial enterprise by the group of musicians was not successful. Intrigues aux fenêtres Opéra-buffon en un acte. Librettists: Jean-Nicolas Bouilly and Emmanuel Dupaty. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 24 February 1805 The work was retained in the repertory until 1827. Le Dejeuner de garçons Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en un acte. Librettist: Auguste Creuzé de Lesser. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 24 April 1805.

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The story is derived from a comedy by Hauteroche, Le Souper mal apprêté. There were 6 performances. La Ruse inutile Opéra-comique en deux actes. Librettist: François-Benoît Hoffman. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 30 May 1805. Léonce, ou Le Fils adoptif Comédie en deux acts, en prose, mêlée d’ariettes. Librettist: Benoît-Joseph Marsollier. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 18 November 1805. This libretto was one of the best Marsollier ever wrote, with touching situations, and a plotline where honesty and virtue do not exclude interest, adding a refined sensibilty to the scenes. The music certainly fixed the public’s attention on the young composer. Daniel’s romance “L’hymen est un lien charmant lorsque l’on s’aime avec l’ivresse” achieved a straightforward and lasting success. The singer Solié performed it with taste on stage and in the salons, accompanying himself on the lyre or guitar. This melody became one of the best-known numbers in vaudeville. La Prise de Passaw Opéra-comique en deux actes. Librettist: Emmanuel Dupaty. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 8 February 1806. Idala, ou La Sultane favorite Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: François-Benoît Hoffman. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 1 August 1806. This work was written for a benefit. There were 2 performances. Both libretto and score are unlocated. Les Rendezvous bourgeois Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: François-Benoît Hoffman. First performance: Feydeau (Théâtre de l'Opéra-Comique), 9 May 1807. This witty debut of a talented writer enjoyed popularity for some 50 years.

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The wit is more Gallic than Mediterranean. It is in fact the most amusing of Hoffman’s libretti, and provided Isouard with the opportunity of writing a score in which all the motifs have a lively allure, natural and thoroughly French. The phrase in the trio is a case in point: Mais en amour, comme à la guerre, Un peu de ruse est nécessaire. The quintet in scene 6 has an charming ensemble: La temps est beau, la route est belle, La promenade est un plaisir. The couplets for Louise became popular “Il sait lire et compter; Ah! c’est vraiment un talent rare”. This opera, from the overture on, is capable of filling the most restrained audience with gaiety and good humour (CL 2:940). Les Créanciers, ou Le Remède à la goutte Opéra-bouffon en trois actes. Librettist: Jean-Baptiste-Charles Vial. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 10 December 1807. The score, written during the period when Isouard reigned without serious competitors on the stage of the Opéra-Comique, shows signs of carelessness. From 1805 until 1811, he composed some 14 operas, all of them short and without developed pieces. Un Jour à Paris Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Charles-Guillaume Étienne. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 24 May 1806. Cimarosa Opéra-comique en deux actes. Librettist: Jean-Nicolas Bouilly. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 28 June 1808.

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Zélomir, ou L’Intrigue au sérail Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Charles-Guillaume Étienne. First performed: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 25 April 1809. There were 3 performances. Cendrillon Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Charles-Emmanuel-GuillaumeMarguerite Théaulon de Lambert, after the fairy tale by Charles Perrault (1698). First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau) 22 February 1810. Act I. It is early morning in the house of Baron Montefiascone, where Cendrillon lives with Clorinde and Thisbe, the Baron's daughters. Cendrillon is the Baron's step-daughter, and has been treated like a servant by everyone since her mother died, despite her gentle nature. The two sisters are preparing their dresses for the ball to be given that night by the Prince, who must choose a bride, while Cendrillon—to their annoyance— sings her favourite song. It is she who gives hospitality to a beggar (actually Alidor, the royal minister of the King and the beloved tutor of the Prince) whereas her stepsisters chase him from the house. As he leaves, the beggar assures Cendrillon that she will be rewarded for her good heart. The Prince has heard about the two sisters whilst hunting nearby and disguised as his valet, Dandini, he stops before the house in order to meet them. It is Cendrillon who greets him and enchants him while the sisters reveal their true characters. Cendrillon is left at home when everyone departs for the ball but Alidor comforts her and promises that she will go too. Act 2. In the palace of the Prince, Cendrillon has fallen into a deep sleep. When she awakes, she is at the Court, dressed splendidly. Alidor assures her that, with the rose he gives her, no one will recognize her, and with his help she makes an impressive entrance. She meets the Prince (still disguised as Dandini) and both are overwhelmed with emotion. The Prince (as Dandini) asks to be Cendrillon's Knight and to carry her 'motto' (‘Simplicity, Constancy’) to the tournament so that he can win. When he returns victorious, he asks her to become the queen but she refuses and runs away, losing her slipper in the process. Act 3. Back in the house of Baron Montefiascone. As Thisbe laments the loss of the Prince's favours, Clorinde arrives with the latest news. The beautiful stranger has disappeared and the Prince does not want to part with her slipper. Both sisters believe they have a chance to become queen,

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but Baron Montefiascone arrives with the news that Dandini (as the Prince) is merely a simple horseman. When the real Prince appears, he orders one of the daughters to marry Dandini. They both refuse and try to influence Cendrillon to marry him. After a hasty explanation about the real identity of Dandini, for the first time Cendrillon refuses to do as she is told, realizing her mistake at the ball. The Prince has pledged to find and marry the owner of the slipper. In searching for her, he arrives at the castle and finds Cendrillon miserable and in tears. She tells him about her dream at the ball; he tells her about the tender love he felt towards the beautiful stranger. Alidor announces that the one whose foot fits the slipper will receive the rose and be queen. Cendrillon declares that it will fit her as she has the other one. The people rejoice and Alidor has the last word: 'You have a good heart, you will succeed in everything'. Perrault’s story provided the subject for three operas: Laruette’s Cendrillon, that of Isouard, and Rossini’s La Cenerentola. Étienne’s libretto conforms the most to the original. The magical element (féerie) plays a large part. As for the music, it does not compare well with Joconde by the same composer. The act 1 romance “Je suis modeste et soumise” became popular. There is also a fine trio for female voices “Vous l’épouserez; oui vous l’aimerez”. The rest is mediocre. The women’s roles were created by Mmes Duret, Lemonnier, and Mlle Alexandrine SaintAubin, daughter of the celebrated actress. The first Cendrillon was Alexandrine St. Aubin and her sister Cecile Duret sang Clorinde. Alexandrine was only 17 at the time and they were the daughters of a famous Parisian actress-singer Jeanne-Charlotte St. Aubin (known as Madame St. Aubin). Alexandrine became the toast of Paris, where the opera was played continuously. However, her career was cut short for, in 1812, she married Joly, an actor at the Théâtre de Vaudeville, and retired from the stage. The work was revived at the Opéra-Comique in 1845 with Mmes Casimir and Darcier, and with Grignon and Sainte-Foy as the Baron Montefiascone and his seneschal Dandini. The music had little effect because of the efforts taken to arrange it for the new production by Adam who strengthened Isouard’s simple and rather naive instrumentation by adding more brass and tremolos, and also provided a new aria for Mme Casimir in the style of the original. Adam boosted the orchestration and cut two important numbers for Clorinde (the Bolero) and Thisbe (the aria at the beginning of Act 3). He replaced the Bolero with his own very glittering but empty coloratura aria for Clorinde. All these 'improvements' did not help the opera. The charm of Cendrillon lies in its originality, simplicity and naivete. The brilliant writing is for the ugly sisters who

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constantly compete with each other in dazzling fireworks. Cinderella herself is drawn very simply and lovably with no vocal pyrotechnics. The Prince and Dandini (the valet who for a time takes his master's place) are both tenors and Alidor and the Baron (father of the three sisters) are bassbaritones. La Victime des arts, ou La Fête de famille Opéra-comique en deux actes. Librettist: Louis-Marie d’Estourmel. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 27 February 1811. A collaboration between Isouard, Solié and Berton fils. There was only one performance. La Fête du village Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Charles-Guillaume Étienne. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 31 March 1811. Le Billet de loterie Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Jean-François Roger and Creuzé de Lesser. First performance: Feydeau (Théâtre de l'Opéra-Comique) 14 September 1811. This work with its piquant intrigue obtained an enduring success in both Paris and the provinces, thanks in large measure to its score. It contains a soprano aria which became a classic. Le Magicien sans magie Opéra-comique en deux actes. Librettists: Jean-François Roger and Auguste Creuzé de Lesser. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 4 November 1811. This was retained in the repertory until 1821. Lulli et Quinault, ou Le Déjeuner impossible Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Charles Gaugiran-Nanteuil. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 27 February 1812.

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The title was often given as Quinault et Lulli. It was retained in the repertory until 1833. Le Prince de Catane Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: René-Richard Castel. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 4 March 1813. The story is derived from Voltaire’s L’Éducation d’un prince. There were 18 performances. Le Français à Venise Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Justin Gensoul. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 14 June 1813. This was performed into the following year, 1814. Joconde ou les coureurs d’aventures Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Charles-Guillaume Étienne. First performance: Feydeau (Théâtre de l'Opéra-Comique), 28 February 1814. Joconde is one of the most perfect examples of the genre, displaying lightness, grace and vivacity, with fluent melodic contours and always witty. It was for a long time a popular part of the repertory. The accord between the musical inspiration and the character of the situations is so close that certain phrases of the score have become proverbial (CL 1:614). The romance aria “Dans un délire extrême” is a little masterpiece of its kind, scented, gallant and in troubadour-style; its refrain became ubiquitously popular: Et l’on revient toujours À ses premiers amours. The scenic quartet in which the young villager so agreeably beguiles Joconde and his friend, thanks to the twilight, is one of the best pieces in the score. The principal phrase, repeated in canon by each of the characters, also became very famous: Quand on attend sa belle,

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Que l’attente est cruelle! Et qu’il sera doux L’instant du rendez-voux! Joconde’s grand air “J’ai longtemps parcouru le monde” has strong character, and recalls Leporello’s Catalogue Aria in Don Giovanni. Indeed, Joconde became a type of French Don Juan. He is inconstant, frivolous, too easily amorous, but always amiable and never hateful. There is a fine trio “Amour! Seconde mon courage”, and the refined witty couplets “Parmi les filles du canton”. Chollet was later to make an impression in the title role when the opera was revived. Jeannot et Colin Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Charles-Guillaume Étienne. First performance: Feydeau (Théâtre de l'Opéra-Comique), 17 October 1814. This work was revived in June 1850 by Perrin. Mme Darcier lent the role of Colette grace and charming ingenuousness, and sang Isouard’s melodies with fine sentiment. Mocker deployed all his verve in the role of Colin. Bussine was not so successful in the role of Jeannot since his voice lacked vibrancy and good vocalization on stage: he was an actor above all. Mlles Lefebvre and Révilly took on the roles of Thérèse and the Countess, Ponchard and Sainte-Foy those of the Chevalier and Blaise. The bourrée d’Auvergne was repeatedly encored. Les Deux Maris Opéra-Comique en un acte. Librettist: Charles-Guillaume Étienne. First performance: 18 March 1816. Une pour l’autre Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Charles-Guillaume Étienne. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 11 March 1816. There were 10 performances.

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Les Deux Capitaines de hussards Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Joseph Hélitas de Meun and PaulAuguste Ducis. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 17 March 1817. There was only one performance. Aladin, ou La Lampe merveilleuse Opéra en cinq actes. Librettist: Charles-Guillaume Étienne. First performed: Opéra, 6 February 1822. This was the last work of the graceful composer who left it incomplete at his death in 1818. A. M. Bénincori arranged it for production, and himself did not survive to see it mounted (d. 30 December 1821). However much the music might have reflected the physical weakness of Isouard, the opera obtained one of the biggest successes ever seen in the theatre to that point, and went on to receive 147 performances until 1830 (with the 100th on 11 February 1825). The aria “Venez, charmantes baydères” is particularly noteworthy. The mise en scène was splendid. It was at this première that gas lighting was used at the Opéra for the first time, a fact that no doubt contributed to the vogue enjoyed by this opera. It appeared at The Hague in French in 1834. Une Nuit de Gutave Wasa, ou Le Batelier suédois Opéra-comique en deux actes. Librettists: Constant Leber and CharlesGuillaume Étienne. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 29 September 1827. A collaboration between Isouard and Ferdinand Gasse. Boieldieu, Isouard's great rival, returned to Paris from Russia and his successes affected the latter adversely. Boieldieu's election, at the death of Méhul, to the French Académie, a post Isouard felt should have been his, seemed to be the last straw. In his short life he wrote 40 operas and was very well liked, a man of great charm and social graces. Later, be began to act completely out of character; he became extremely intemperate and began to neglect his work. His life became more and more dissolute and he contracted consumption, which led to his untimely death in 1818. He had two daughters, one of whom - Anne Nicolette Isouard - achieved a certain

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fame as composer of a piano concerto and a Fantaisie fantastique for piano and orchestra, as well as many songs, half a dozen of which were dedicated to Rossini. Nicolò Isouard is largely forgotten today. In Paris the Rue Isouard in the 17th Arrondissement recalls his name and his statue is among the great musicians on the façade of the Théâtre de l'Opéra. ____________________________________________________________

Paul de Richard, Marquis d’IVRY (1829-1903) Les Amants de Vérone Drame lyrique en cinq actes et six tableaux. Words and music: the Marquis d’Ivry. First performance: Théâtre Ventadour, 12 October 1878. The duet of farewell for Romeo and Juliet in act 2 was particularly applauded. It is to be regretted that the author did not correct his own poem and remove the vulgar expressions which spoil it. Likewise in his music there are formulas that were hardly new. The work was sung by Capoul, Dufriche, Taskin, Fromant, Mlle Heilbronn, Mme Lhéritier and Mlle Rey. The opera was given at the Gaîté on 15 February 1879 where Mlle Ambre sang the role of Juliette and M Mouret that of Friar Laurence. ____________________________________________________________

Louis-Emmanuel JADIN (1768-1853) Le Coin de feu Comédie mise en musique en un acte. Librettist: Edmond-GuillaumeFrançois de Favières. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart), 10 June 1793. Performed until 1798. L’Ecolier en vacance Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en un acte. Librettists: Louis-Benoît Picard and Michel Fillette (known as Loraux). First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart), 13 October 1794. An adaptation of Josse de Villeneuve. Performed until 1797.

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Le Cabaleur Comédie mêlée d’ariettes, en un acte. Librettist: Lebrun-Tossa. First performance: Opéra-comique (Salle Favart 1), 11 January 1795. The singer Elleviou introduced an aria by Méhul. There were 2 performances. La Supercherie par amour, ou Le Fils supposé Comédie mêlée de musique en trois actes. Librettist: Loeillard d’Avrigny. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart), 12 May 1795. An adaptation of Loeillard d’Avrigny’s comedy (Comédiens-Italiens, 25 April 1788). It was performed until 1797. Le Mariage de la veille Comédie en un acte. Librettist: Loeillard d’Avrigny. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 2 January 1796. Adapted from Voltaire’s Le Femme qui avait raison. 21 performances. Le Négociant de Boston Comédie mêlée de musique en un acte. Librettist: Loeillard d’Avrigny. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 23 March 1796. Adapted from Louis-Sébastien Mercier’s moral tale Le Libérateur. Only 2 performances. Les Deux Lettres Comédie en deux actes. Librettist: Étienne-Joseph-Bernard Delrieu. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 4 August 1796. Only 2 performances.

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Jean Bart et Patoulet Opéra anecdotique en un acte. Librettist: François-Pierre-Auguste Léger. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 21 January 1804. Only one performance. Le Grand Père Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Alexandre de Favières. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 1 October April 1805. Performed until 1806. L’Arts et l’amitié Comédie en un acte et en vers. Librettist: Armand de Bouchard. OpéraComique (Feydeau), 9 June 1807. An adaptation of Bouchard’s comedy. 6 performances. La Partie de campagne Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Jean-Henri-Ferdinand La Martelière. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 26 June 1810. 3 performances. L’Auteur malgré lui Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Claparède. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 12 May 1812. 5 performances.

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L’Inconnu, ou Le Coup d’épée viager Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Jean-Baptiste-Charles Vial and Edmond-Guillaume-François de Favières (père). First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 30 March 1816. One performance only. Fanfan et Colas, ou Les Frères de lait Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Adolphe Jadin. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 29 October 1822. An adaptation of the comedy by Mme de Beaumoir (Comédies Italiens, 7 September 1784). The play is rather lovely, even if the music has aged (CL 1:426). Jadin was especially successful with his quartets. It was performed until 1828. ____________________________________________________________

Émile JAQUES-DALCROZE (1865-1950) Le Bonhomme jadis Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Maurice-Étienne Franc-Nohain. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 9 November 1906. The libretto is after the comédie by Henri Murger. It was performed into the following year, 1907. ____________________________________________________________

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Victorien de JONCIÈRES (1839-1903) Dimitri Opéra en cinq actes et sept tableaux. Librettists: Henri de Bornier and Armand Silvestre. First performance: 1st version: Théâtre Lyrique de la Gaité, 5 May 1876; 2nd version: Opéra-Comique (Châtelet), 5 February 1890. The story is based on Schiller’s uncompleted tragedy Demetrius. The plot is drawn from Russian history in the time of Boris Godunov. Demetrius, a servant of unknown origins in an aristocratic Polish household, is revealed as Prince Demetrius (Dmitri), the heir to the Russian throne who, it was believed, had been killed by Boris. Demetrius wins over the Polish Diet. Marfa, the mother of the murdered Prince, learns of the supposed Dmitri, disbelieves his claim, but nevertheless determines to support him in order to be avenged upon Boris. Demetrius undertakes with Polish support an invasion of Russia, in which Boris is killed. He learns meanwhile that he is not the true Demetrius, but an unwitting imposter. He refuses to turn from his course, however, and is murdered by nobles in revolt. The drama is complicated. Many of the audience did not follow it at all. There is also an excessive search for picturesque effects, elaborate extraneous matter, and choruses in Greek which do nothing to further the action. The action is nevertheless strong. The score is the work of a skilled musician and a man of spirit. The recitatives are phrased and accented with intelligence, and a desire for expressiveness is present throughout. The style and idealism of this composer derive from the influence of Wagner. His tortured harmony in chromatic passages, systematically broken tonalities, a perpetual use of alteration, of held notes which have only a remote relationship with the key of the other parts, hardly constitute elements of beauty, but rather a type of negation. Great masters have pushed audacity to the limits without compromising true art (as with Haydn, who poses problems, but resolves them). Many pieces in this opera have been conceived and realized following a theory which has replaced judgment and taste with ideas a priori, with flights of imagination outside the domain of the art of music (CL 1: 333). In act 1 there is the chorus of gypsies, the double chorus “Sainte patronne”; in act 2 the chorus of women “Palais plein de lumière”, Lusace’s aria “Pauvre femme”; in act 3, the strophes “Regardez dans les campagnes vertes”, and the ballet La Kolomyika; in act 4, the duet “Voici la verité”. The act 1 duet for Marina and Dimitri lacks distinction; the

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melody of the act 2 finale “Amour, verse en mon âme” is somewhat common, as is Vanda’s aria in act 5 “Tout à l’heure, à cette fenêtre” where one finds false tonal relations that are distinctly uncharming. The composer’s merits, his sensibility and intelligent apprehension of dramatic art, are evident in other parts of the work. The most admired pieces are: Marina’s cantabile “Vasili, mon seul amour”; the prayer “Exauce-nous, Seigneur”; the beginning of the duet for Lusace and the Prior; Marina’s reverie “Pâle étoiles”; and the couplets for Lusace “J’ai pour toute philosophie”, brilliant and firm, delicate and definite, which indicate just what an aptitude the composer would have had for Opéra-comique had he not preferred the nebulous German aesthetic to French taste. Good dramatic accent is to be found in the duet for Marina and Marfa “Pourquoi parler d’espérance?”; Marfa’s pathetic arioso “Mon fils!; est mon fils!”in which the repetition of the theme in the lower octave produces a fine effect if the artist possesses a rich enough contralto; the Hungarian ballet and a lovely waltz in F. The chorus which follows has good sonority. The chanson for the slave is a happy piece badly disguised behind the protection of a clef in double sharps. Dmitri’s romance “Si Dieu, Marfa, qui nous compte les heures” is expressive; but perhaps a melody of such importance should be more connected with the situation and more in accord with the basic tone of the work. In act 5, nearly everything is praiseworthy. The trio in which Marina and Dmitri sing of their love while the jealous Vanda roams around in the night, a prey to thoughts of vengeance, is very good. The chorus which follows offers the orchestra a harmonic march to excellent effect; the scholarly form does not spoil it. The very short piece which precedes the finale is the best in the opera: the Coronation March. This march, in its unity of composition, clarity and harmonic power, variety of detail, brilliant orchestration, and allure of solemnity, combines all the necessary qualities needed for a piece of this kind. This opera was deservedly successful. The cast was: Duchesne (Dmitri), Lasalle (Lusace); Gresse (Job); Comte (the Prior); Lepers (the King of Poland); Mme Engalli (Marfa); Mlle Zina Dalti (Marina); and Mlle Belgirard (Vanda). It was performed into the following year, 1891. Le Chevalier Jean Drame lyrique en quatre actes. Librettists: Louis Gallet and Édouard Blau. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 11 March 1885. The subject of this opera is La Fausee Adultère transposed to the 13th

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century and set in Silesia during the Crusades. The knight Jean, on his return from Palestine, finds the woman whom he loves, the Countess Hélène, married to the old count Arnold who is like an affectionate father to her. Hélène, who believed that Jean had died in the Holy Land, had agreed to this marriage in order to escape the attentions of Prince Rudolf, notorious for his treachery and cruelty. The latter has not renounced his desires, and not having succeeded in satisfying them, wishes to be avenged. Having sent off Count Arnold to join the emperor Frederick in his war against the Milanese, he uses infamy to make the old man believe that his wife has committed adultery during his absence. The unhappy countess, falsely accused, is not able to give proof of her innocence, and the tribunal before which she appears condemns her to death without mercy, unless a champion should present himself to take on her defence against her accuser, when the judgment of God would declare her innocence. The countess feels herself doomed, when she finds herself in the presence of a monk, who is none other than the Chevalier Jean. Disappointed in love, in finding the woman he adored already married, Jean has entered a monastery. Convinced of her innocence, he comes to her defence, taking up his arms as a knight, challenges Rudolf to combat, and kills him. The countess is saved, and since Count Arnold has died in the war, Jean asks to be released from his vows. This is granted, and he marries Hélène. This drama contains good musical situations, which the composer has used to his profit; sometimes the music is a little too noisy, a little too compact orchestrally speaking, but at the very least reveals an artist of talent, gifted with great technical ability, as already proven in Dmitri. After the overture, act 1 contains a lovely introductory chorus, the duet for Jean and Arnold, the duet for Jean and Hélène, and the final scene. Act 2 begins with the graceful spinning chorus, and contains a Saracen song, and arioso for Rudolf. In act 3 there is the choeur de l’orgie, and the big duet for Jean and Hélène. Act 4 contains a sextet, very much a reminiscence of the Italian style, Hélène’s invocation during the combat, and the denouement. The cast was: Mlles Emma Calvé and Castagné; Lubert, Bouvet, Fournets and Cambot. There were 21 performances. ____________________________________________________________

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Giovanni JOSSE Le Talisman Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Charles Voirin and Adolphe Choquart. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 1 July 1850. The scenario is light, even a little trivial. The trumpeter Jéricho, returning from the Kybalie, stops at a farm where he falls in love with the Widow Marcel, at the same time that another soldier is paying court to Franchine, sister of the farmer. At first the trumpeter’s vows are rebuffed, but he is, without being aware of it, the possessor of a talisman. This talisman is the pipe of another Marcel, an old soldier who has stipulated in a letter containing his last wishes that one of his daughters should marry the bearer of the beloved pipe. The trumpeter is thereupon accepted by the obedient daughter. The music is better than the story—gracious and melodious. There is a lovely adagio in the overture, the couplets for the widow, the rondo of the pipe in waltz time, and a pleasant quartet. This little work was created by Ponchard, Carvalho, Mlles Lemercier and Decroix. It remained in the repertory until 1907. ____________________________________________________________

Josef Wenzel Thomas KOHAUT (1738-c. 1793) Le Serrurier Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: François-Antoine Quétant. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel Bourgogne), 20 December 1764. The subject of this bagatelle was taken from a play by M. de la Ribardière, produced at the Italiens, where it was not successful. The operatic version on the other hand was in the repertory until 1779. Le Tonnelier See under GOSSEC.

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Les Bergers des Alpes Pastorale en trois actes et en vers, mêlée de chant. Librettist: JeanFrançois Marmontel. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel Bourgogne), 19 February 1766. The story is taken from one of Marmontel’s tales. A critic considered the success of the poem due to its “well-presented situations, the good relationship of the scenes to each other, much spirit in the details”. The charming comedies of Marivaux had long since cleared the way for the grave Marmontel, who had a good idea in arranging for the stage this fashionable and conventional novel. Kohaut the composer had already produced a successful opéra-comique in 1764, Le Serrurier. Gimm said of him that “he became sublime when he touched the lute”. The lute, unfortunately, has little to do with the music of this work, which is very feeble. There were only 6 performances. Sophie, ou Le Mariage caché Comédie en trois actes, mêlée d’ariettes. Librettists: Marie-Jean Riccoboni and Marie-Thérèse Biancolelli. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 4 June 1768. The story is based on the play The Clandestine Marriage by David Garrick and George Colman. There were 8 performances. La Closière, ou Le Vin nouveau Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Alexandrine Masson de Pezay. First performance: Fontainebleau, Théâtre de la Cour, 10 November 1770. ____________________________________________________________

Charles-Frédéric KREUBÉ (1777-1846) Le Forgeron de Bassora Opéra-comique en deux actes. Librettist: Sewrin. First performance: Opéra-comique (Feydeau), 14 October 1813. The story is taken from the tale Les Parents de circonstance by Adrien

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Sarrazin. It was performed into 1814. Le Portrait de famille Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Eugène de Planard. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 12 July 1814. This was a lyric adaptation of Planard’s comedy. There were 5 performances. Une Nuit d’intrigue Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Constant Leber. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 1 June 1816. There was only one performance. L’Héritière Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Emmanuel-Guillaume-Marguerite Théaulon de Lambert: First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 29 December 1817. 2 performances. Edmond et Caroline, ou La Lettre et la résponse Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Benoît-Joseph Marsollier. First performed: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 5 August 1819. In the repertory until 1835. La Jeune Tante Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Mélesville. First performance: Opéra-comique (Feydeau), 18 October 1820. There were 16 performances.

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Le Philosophe en voyage Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Paul de Kock. First performance: Opéra-comique (Feydeau), 16 August 1821. A collaboration between Kreubé and Louis-Barthélémy Pradher. In the repertory until 1828. Le Coq du village Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Charles-Simon Favart, arranged by Achille Dartois. First performance: Opéra-comique (Feydeau), 11 September 1822. In the repertoire until 1831. Jenny la boutequière Opéra-comique en deux actes. Librettists: Jean-Nicolas Bouilly and Joseph Pain. First performance: Opéra-comique (Feydeau), 10 March 1823. A collaboration between Kreubé and Louis-Barthélemy Pradher. The story was adapted from the novel by Bouilly and Pain. There were 11 performances. L’Officier et le paysan Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Augustin-Eugène Scribe and Mélesville. First performance: Opéra-comique (Feydeau), 31 July 1824. In the repertory until 1830. Les Enfants de Maître Pierre Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Paul de Kock. First performance: Opéra-comique (Feydeau), 6 August 1825. Performed into 1826.

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La Lettre posthume Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Augustin-Eugène Scribe and Mélesville. First performance: Opéra-comique (Feydeau), 24 April 1827. The story is derived from Sir Walter Scott’s novel Redgauntlet. There were only 3 performances. Le Mariage à l’anglaise Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Jean-Baptiste-Charles Vial and Justin Gensoul. First performance: Opéra-comique (Feydeau), 4 March 1828 In the repertory until 1831. ____________________________________________________________

Rodolphe KREUTZER (1766-1831) Jeanne d’Arc à Orleans Drame historique en trois actes, mêlée d’ariettes. Librettist: Desforges (Pierre-Jean-Baptiste Choudard). First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 10 May 1790. Kreutzer wrote the music for this this work very quickly. It marked a happy debut, and he was consequently given new librettos. The following year Paul et Virginie was a complete success. Paul et Virginie Opéra en trois actes. Librettist: Edmond-Guillaume-François de Favières. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 15 January 1791. The poem is only a feeble imitation of some episodes from the celebrated novel of Bernadin de Saint’Pierre, with a denouement that is completely Favières's invention. The storm takes place at the point of Virginie's departure. Paul, having climbed on to a rock, witnesses the wreck of the vessel. He throws himself into the sea, saves Virginie, and carries her in his arms to the shore. Act 3 is realized entirely in pantomime. The music

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of this opera was very successful. There is a sense of local colour remarkable for the period, and very graceful arias. The overture in C opens with a rather simple and monotonous motif, but the second part is distinguished by a fine development full of ardour. Also remarkable are the dialogue romance for Paul and Virginie "de ta main tu cueilles le fruit” and the chanson négre “Quand toi s’en va de la case” which has a most piquant accompaniment. The Storm Scene is distinguished by fine harmony and dramatic orchestral effects. The opera was revived in 1846, but without great success. All the same, the act 2 finale was very successful. Jourdan and Mlle Lemercier played Paul and Virginie; Henri the old black servant; Grignon, Mmes Félix and Saint-Ange the other roles. Lodoïska, ou Les Tartares Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en trois actes. Librettist: Jean-Élie Dejaure. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 1 August 1791. The subject of the play is the same as that of the novel by Jean-Baptiste Louvet de Couvray (Fillette-Loreaux). Far from being a comedy, the subject is a sombre and lugubrious drama. The action takes place on the frontiers of Poland in a region exposed to incursions by the Tartars. In the first scene, a group of young captives is led across the stage by a party of barbarians led by Titsikan. He decides to besiege a castle, the turrets of which are in view. Count Lowinski, followed by his faithful squire Albert, is looking for his beloved Lodoïska, the daughter of Lupanski. Rather than giving her hand to the Count who has helped Pniatowski to mount the throne of Poland, the old man has brought her from Poland and put her in the care of of his friend Boleslas. The latter, abusing the the rights of hospitality, and taken by the charms of Lodoïska, would like to force her into marriage, but, unable to break her resistance, his passion has changed into fury and he has incarcerated the unfortunate girl in the tower, hoping to wear down her constancy by the boredom of captivity. At the moment when the count and Albert arrive at the castle of Boleslas, Titsikan attacks them. He is disarmed, but his life is spared by Lowinski. After this incident which later has its influence on the denouement, the count, on inspecting the castle, sees a letter fall at his feet, attached to a cord. He recognizes the writing of his beloved who has used this means to obtain help from without. Lowinski decides to enter the castle. He requests hospitality which Boleslas provides, albeit defiantly. In act 2, Lodoïska, on the terrace of her tower, breathes the morning air

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and bewails her fate—a touching scene, well handled by the composer. The captive deplores the death of her lover, which Boleslas has led her to believe has ocurred. The count, in hiding, hears this but is not able to disclose himself. Boleslas apprehends the guests, accuses them of spying, and spares Lowinski’s life only on condition that he will confirm with his own mouth to Lodoïska the news of the death of the count. This perfidy necessitates the meeting and recognition of the lovers in the presence of Boleslas. But before this has time to take place, old Lupanski arrives, looking for his daughter. He finds Lowinski in the castle, to his great astonishment, and learns of the conduct of one he believed was his friend. He declares that neither will be allowed to marry Lodoïska and prepares to take her away with him. Boleslas, erupting in anger, opposes their departure and hold them all prisoner. Meanwhile, a group of Tartars has surrounded the castle, and all prepare for its defence. From a dramatic point of view, the finale is dominated by a fine motif. The curtain is not lowered during the entr’acte. Groups of armed men pass and repass on the stage. The Tartars capture the castle. Boleslas blows up the the greater part, and throws himself into the flames. Titsikan frees the prisonners, and Lupanski consents to the to the union of Lodoïska with Count Lowinski. The score is Kreutzer’s most remarkable. The harmonic combinations are not very imaginative: he has too much recourse to the chord of the diminished seventh, but the expression is nonetheless strong and apt. He is always seeking to paint the situation musically. There is an introduction in place of an overture. The chorus of young captives emerges from a march for the Tatars, and has character. There are remarkable arias for Lowinski (counter-tenor) “Lodoïska, ma tendre amie” and for Titsikan (bass): “Comme moi jadis Alexandre”. The choruses on the other hand are insupportably long and ineffectual, a situation not improved by any harmonic interest. Act 2 is better handled. Lodoïska’s recitative “Comme l’air est tranquille et frais” is well accompanied by the orchestra, and the romance “La douce clarté del’aurore” is inspired. The duet for Boleslas and his captive is heavy and of little inerest. The grand finale “Il faut à nos voeux consentir” is the chief piece of the opera: It has passion and good scenic qualities: In act 3 there is the Tartar March and the B-minor couplets for Titsikan “Pour votre général vainqueur”. Werther et Charlotte Opéra en un acte. Librettist: Jean-Élie Dejaure. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 1 February 1792.

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Goethe’s novel does not really provide enough action for a stage setting. The analytic descriptions of the nature of passion do not lend themselves to dramatic composers. Kreutzer’s music was nonetheless appreciated, particularly the invocation to nature, sung to words imitating Ossian. It remained in the repertory until 1798. Le Franc Breton Opéra en un acte. Librettist: Jean-Élie Dejaure. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 3 November 1792. This was a collaboration between Kreutzer and Jean-Pierre Solié. In this piece sensibility shines brighter than talent. Montalde is a poor poet, who in his distress has been taken in by a rich amateur of Nantes, M. Plemer, who has the soubriquet, le franc Breton. Having received so many benefits from this man who has become his friend, Montalde is able to acquit himself towards him by saving him from the sea when he falls in. The man of letters becomes the idol of the Plemer family, and hero of the city of Nantes. But he falls madly in love with Gabrielle, his benefactor’s daughter, and impelled by delicate sentiment, wishes to leave the house of his friends where he is too embarrassed to betray his feelings. M. Plemer has discerned his secret, and following on a scene of separation between the two friends, which was intended to be moving by the authors, but has ended up ridiculous, the frank Breton and his wife bestow the hand of the young Gabrielle on Montalde. The girl, who is ingenuous as well as reserved, waits for the last scene of the work to reveal the secrets of her heart. The sentimental fashion of this work has aged. The music is also feeble. A dull overture is followed by a series of short pieces, with harmony hardly worthy of Kreutzer. The couplets for Mme Plemer “Le doux sentiment charme l’existence” has an agreeable melody and interesting harmony where one senses the hand of the celebrated violinist. The rest seems to belong to Solié, and more to the Vaudeville than the Opéra-Comique. Le Déserteur, ou La Montagne de Hamm Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Dejaure. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 6 February 1793.

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Encore une victoire Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Antilly. First performance: OpéraComique (Salle Favart 1), 7 November 1794. On respire! Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en un acte. Librettist: Charles-Louis Tissot. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 8 March 1795. There were 12 performances. Le Brigand Drame en trois actes et en prose. Librettist: François-Benoît Hoffman. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 7 thermidor an III (28 July 1795). This was a pièce de circonstance, intended to expose on stage the crimes of the agents of the Revolution, a year after the fall of Robespierre. Although the action takes place in the mountains of Scotland, the allusions are transparent, and the ferocious doctrines of the proconsuls are clearly exposed, as in, for example, the end of the couplets sung by Kirk in act 1: Les vaincus reviennent encore, Mais les morts ne reviennent plus. Kreutzer’s music, better known in Lodoïska and Paul et Virginie, shared the fate of this drama of circumstance, and was forgotten with it. The finale to act 2 was found to be pathetic and true by contemporary audiences (CL 1: 174). Imogène, ou La Gageure indiscrète Comédie en trois actes et en vers, mêlée d’ariettes. Librettist: Jean-ÉlieBedenc Dejaure. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 27 April 1796. The story is after Shakespeare’s Cymbeline. It was revised with changes and given again on 5 May 1796, but only had 4 performances in all. The subject was shocking to public taste (CL 1:574).

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Les Surprises, ou Le’Etourdi en voyage Opéra-comique en deux actes. Librettist: Sewrin. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 2 January 1806. There were 5 performances. François Ier, ou La Fête mystérieuse Comédie en deux actes et en vers, mêlée d’ariettes. Librettists: Sewrin and Alissan de Chazet. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 14 March 1807. This work belongs to the second period of this industrious composer’s life, and obtained only a succès d’estime. Fétis observes that Kreutzer seems to have become paralyzed when he endeavoured to become learned in music. Of his 32 operas, only those have survived which he wrote with inspiration despite his feeble notions of harmony and counterpoint: Lodoïska and Paul et Virginie (CL 1:484). Aristippe Opéra en deux actes. Librettists: Pierre-François Giraud and MichelThéodore Leclerc. First performance: Académie impériale de musique, 24 May 1808. This piece succeeded purely thanks to Kreutzer’s exceptional status as master of the musical situation, and the distinguished interpretations of Lays, Dérivis, Nourrit and Mlle. Hymm. One of the arias became widely popularized by the vaudevillists. Jadis et aujourd’hui Opéra-bouffon en un acte. Librettist: Sewrin. First performance: OpéraComique (Feydeau), 29 October 1808. In the repertory until 1827.

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La Mort d’Abel Opera en trois actes. Librettist: François-Benoît Hoffman. First performance: Opéra, 23 March 1810. Although this work was successful when it appeared, it was not revived. The score contains several melodies full of pathos and genuinely inspired. This type of composition really belongs more to the genre of oratorio than opera (CL 2:757). L’Homme sans façon, ou Les Contrariétés Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Sewrin. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 7 January 1812. This work remained in the repertory until 1833. Le Camp de Sobieski Opéra-comique en deux actes. Librettist: Emmanuel Dupaty. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 21 April 1813. Constance et Théodore, ou La Prisonnière Opéra en deux actes. Librettist: Benoit-Joseph Marsollier. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 22 November 1813. The story is taken from the unpublished novel Constance, ou La Prisonnière. There were 2 performances. Le Perruque et la redingote Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Augustin-Eugène Scribe. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 25 January 1815. A collaboration between Kreutzer and Frédéric Kreubé: the story is derived from a German tale. There were 9 performances.

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Le Maître et le valet, ou L’Intrigue au château Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Justin Gensoul. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 8 August 1816. There were only 7 performances. Le Négociant de Hambourg, ou Le Trésor secret Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Jean-Baptist-Charles Vial and Jacques-Antoine de Révéroni Saint-Cyr. First performance:OpéraComique (Feydeau), 15 October 1821. There were only 3 performances. Le Paradis de Mahomet; ou La Pluralité des femmes Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Augustin-Eugène Scribe and Mélesville. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 23 March 1822. A collaboration between Kreutzer and Kreubé. There were 14 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Joseph Napoléon Ney, Prince de LA MOSKOVA (1803-1857) Le Cent-Suisse Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Paul Duport et Édouard Monnais. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 17 June 1840. This concerns a soldier of the regiment Cent-Suisse [One Hundred Swiss], Rockly, who puts on his captain’s green domino in order to gain access to the hall where Mme de Châteauroux is holding a masked ball for the king. Exposed to the adventures and misfortunes of his master, Rockly is on the point of being sent to the Bastille, and is fortunate enough to escape a flogging when he removes the domino. This score contains two quartets and a lovely duet. The Prince de la Moskova was a fine musician and made a real contribution to music by holding concerts in his home where serious dilettantes could meet each other. It was performed into the

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following year, 1841. Yvonne Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Adolphe de Leuven and Alfred Pittaud de Forges. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 16 March 1855. The subject of the libretto has become banal because of its treatment in the straight theatre. It concerns two lovers, Yvonne and Jeannie, whose love is exploited by the old shepherd Kerkadec, who passes himself off as a sorcerer. The music has a retrospective character, apart from some pieces. Of note are the couplets for the sorcerer, the couplets for Jeannie, the duet for the two lovers, and the drinking song, which is orchestrated most originally. This small work was created by Jourdan, Sainte-Foy, and Mlle Boulard. There were 12 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Théodore-François-Joseph Berry LABARRE (1805-1870) Les Deux Familles Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Eugène de Planard. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Ventadour), 11 January 1831. The story was inspired by the Romances du Cid published by Creuzé de Lesser. The subject is derived from the history of the Cid. The music is well crafted, but has too many small arias, a genre in which Labarre had always shown an incontestable talent. The aria for the bass “Non, de ma juste colère” is a classic and so well written for this type of voice that the professors of singing universally adopted it for their puipils. This is one of the loveliest arias of the French repertoire. There were 16 performances. L’Aspirant de marine Opéra-comique en deux actes. Librettists: Edmond Rochefort and Alexis Decomberousse. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Bourse), 11 June 1834. Labarre, a pupil of Boieldieu, was already known to the public for his

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popular romances and his serious opera Les Deux Familles. Now, after this production, he was classed among the distinguished composers of the time. The music is vivacious and full of verve. Of particular note were the trio “Indicatif présent, j’aime” and the chorus “Allons, chers camarades”. There were 9 performances. Le Ménétrier, ou Les Deux Duchesses Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Augustin-Eugène Scribe. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 9 August 1845. The basic situation of the plot is a political intrigue, as are most of the lyrical poems of this vaudevillist. A German sovereign wishes to acquire the Tyrol for himself, and to achieve this end, researches his descent from a grand duchess abducted in her infancy, who, according to some, was taken in by a poor strolling fiddler, while others had her becoming a servant at the inn of the Black Bear. All of this gives rise to a series of quidproquo that are diverting on the stage, for all their banality. There are too many roles in this libretto. First there is the young fiddler Urbain, who loves Thérèse, his pupil; then the student Gédéon; the count Léopold, cousin of the duchess; Major Krifkraf, a big ridiculous military man; the interesting Thérèse; Lisabeth the servant who finds herself to be the true duchess; and finally Jeanowitz, the rich farmer who courts one and the other without success. All these characters have equal importance in the libretto, which limited the success of the opera more than Labarre’s music which is well written, well instrumented, and contains fine pieces. The overture presents a lovely Tyrolienne shared between the oboe, the flute and the horn, accompanied by a pianissimo effect on the timpani. Of note are the mélodie sung by Urbain “Ce que jamais je n’eusse osé te dire”; then a lovely national chorus in two strophes in which there is remarkable accenting of the verse: La liberté bannié, Qui fuit de notre sol. The couplets for Major Krifkraf have an original cut. Finally, there is a good trio in act 3. Mlle Lavoye was applauded for her daring vocal display in the Tyrolienne. This type of rhythm is perhaps too recurrent in the opera. The other roles were taken by: Mocker, Chollet, Henri, Sainte-Foy, Emon, and Mlle Révilly. There were 17 performances. ____________________________________________________________

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Jean-Benjamin de LABORDE (1734-1794) Gilles garçon peintre, z’amoureux-t-et-rival Parade et parodie du Peintre amoureux et son modèle en un acte. Librettist: Antoine-Alexandre-Henri Poinsinet. First performance: 1st version: Foire Saint-Germain, 2 March 1758; 2nd version: ComédieItalienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 26 February 1767. Brenner mentions a performance at the home of the comte de Clermont in 1757. This is a parody of Duni’s Peintre amoureux et son modèle (1762), with the composer Auletta (Il Maestro di musica). This was the first opéra-comique to use clarinets. The actor Bouret played the role of Gilles very well, and made the declaration of his passion to a mannequin in the most comical way. The music was the first work of Laborde, the author of L’Essau sur la musique ancienne et moderne. The work was performed for many years, until 1782. L’Anneau perdu et retrouvé Opéra-comique mêlé de morceaux de musique, en deux actes. Librettist: Michel-Jean Sedaine. First performance: 1st version: Foire Saint-Germain, 5 March 1761; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 20 August 1764. The last scenes were inspired by Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor. This work was first given at the Opéra-Comique de la Foire Saint-Germain in 1761, under the name Les Bons Compères, ou Les Bons Amis. It was not successful. Because of the beauties of the music by de Laborde, Sedaine revised the story, but it was not much more successful. He then totally restructured it, still retaining de Laborde’s music, and it was presented again as L’Anneau perdu et retrouvé, at the Hôtel de Bourgogne (1764), gaining 5 performances. It was remade for the fourth time, with additions and cuts by Sedaine and with new music by LouisArmand Chardiny, and presented at the Salle Favart (1788) (Calendrier musical). Annette et Lubin Comédie en un acte et en vers, mêlée d’ariettes et de vaudevilles. Librettist: Jean-François Marmontel. First performance: the private theatre

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of the Maréchal de Richelieu, 30 March 1762. Marmontel added some episodic scenes to his dramatized tale. Le Dormeur éveillé Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en deux actes. Librettists: Louis Anseaume or Ménilglaise. First performance: Fontainebleau, Théâtre de la Cour, by the Comédiens Italiens (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 27 October 1764. Never performed in Paris. The story is taken from Les Mille et une nuits. Les Amours de Gonesse Comédie mêlée d’ariettes/opéra bouffon en un acte. Librettists: CharlesSimon Favart and Sébastien Chamfort. First performance: ComédieItalienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 8 May 1765. There were 4 performances. La Meunière de Gentilly Comédie mêlée d’ariette en un acte. Librettist: Pierre-René Lemonnier. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 13 October 1768. An imitation of Le Soldat magicien (1762). It was performed until 1775. Le Billet de mariage Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: François-Georges Desfontaines. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 31 October 1772. The libretto is after Le Billet de mariage by Friderzi (performed privately 1771). There was one performance. It was later refashioned as La Dot (1785). ____________________________________________________________

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Ludwig Wenzel LACHNITH (1746-1820) L’Heureuse Réconciliation Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en un acte. Librettist: Devismes de SaintAlphonse. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 25 June 1785. The story is based on Jean-François Marmontel’s conte L’Hereux Divorce. There were 3 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Paul Jean-Jacques LACÔME D’ESTALENX (1838-1920) La Nuit de Saint-Jean Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Alfred Delacour and Jules de LauLusignan. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 13 November 1882. The story is based on a nouvelle by Erckmann-Chatrian, Les Fiancée de Grindelwald. The interpreters were MM. Mouliérat, Maris, Grivot, Mlles Thuillier and Vial. It was retained in the repertory until 1899. ____________________________________________________________

Paul LAGARDE L’Habit de mylord Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Thomas Sauvage and Alfred Desroziers. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 16 May 1860. The basic situation of this libretto is a rather intriguing quidproquo, but with no musical situations. Following on the Battle of Culloden, the young officer James Gordon is pursued and finds refuge in an inn where a young hairdresser has also fled after a quarrel. There they change clothes in order to avoid being recognized. Disguised as an artisan, the young officer reaches the port and embarks, while the hairdresser is soon arrested by the

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sheriff. He generously offers to shave a certain Lord Cokman who because of the officer’s dress he is wearing, invites him to an excellent dinner. He is allowed to pass by the guards because a letter from James Gordon arrives stating the hairdresser’s perfect innocence. The score is written with taste; the melodies are gracious, and the motifs appropriate to the light canvas of the work. There is a fine aria for the soprano “je ne suis pas coquette”; a duet for John and Jenny “Je le sais, dans notre Angleterre”, and the lovely couplets “Passe, passe, aimable liquer”. The roles were sung by Ponchard, Prilleux, Holtzem, Nathan, and Mlle Zoé Bélia. The vocal score was arranged by M. Soumis. The work was performed into the following year. ____________________________________________________________

Théodore-Édouard-Dufaure de LAJARTE (1826-1890) Mam’zelle Pénélope Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Henry Boisseaux. First performance: 1st version: Théâtre-Lyrique, 3 November 1859; 2nd version: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 8 June 1877. The manuscript of the libretto carries the title Mam’zelle Pénélope, ou la Neuvaine de Sainte-Catherine. This amusing work has four characters. The overture is orchestrated tastefully, and made up of pretty pastoral motifs. The duet for Catherine and Landry “Aujourd’hui, le doux mois de mai” has character and a lovely melody. The couplets bouffes for Bobinus “Rosa la rose” is written in a tempo diminuendo. The couplets of the sniffling Catherine are excellent “Ah! de chagrin mon âme est pleine”. The duet for Catherine and Landry is the most developed in the opera: there are many modulations, but all natural. The quartet “Quittez ce bas pour un amant” is treated in an interesting way. Grace and lightness with a touch of sentiment appropriate to the subject recur in the trio “Dans la nuit en silence”. This small score makes it clear that Lajarte was not only a musician but also a person of wit. Everything is in its place with a degree of expression appropriate to every situation. The work was interpreted well by Giradot, Gabriel, Potel, and Mlle Faivre. It was performed into the following year, 1878.

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Monsieur de Floridor Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Charles Nuitter and Étienne Tréfeu. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 11 November 1880. This is based on the fable by La Fontaine, L’Ivrogne et sa femme and the play by Anseaume L’Ivrogne corrigé. The work is mediocre. Mathurin wants his niece Germaine to marry Lucas, a stalwart of the inn, as he himself is. Germaine has promised heart and hand to a certain person who has left the country to become an actor, and who is due to return soon. He now calls himself M. de Floridor, and, together with Germaine's aunt, he arranges that his company should stage an infernal scene with dances by devils, and an appropriately hellish décor. The two drunkards awake amidst this flamboyant show. Terrified, they promise never to drink anything but water and to allow Germaine to marry M. de Floridor. For this libretto, Lajart wrote rather infantile drinking songs, with an antique twist, in the manner of Philidor, and in the trio he imitated the style of Lulli. All this contrasts strangely with the personal style of his music, which has vivacity and gaiety, and shows that he knew how to create brilliant orchestral effects. The sonority of his harmony is particularly notable. The work was created by Barnolt, Grivot, Mlle Ducasse and Mme Numa Dalbret. It was performed into the following year, 1881. Le Portrait Opéra-comique en deux actes. Librettists: Jules Adnis and Laurencin. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 18 June 1883. The story is based on Michel Dieulefoy’s play Le Portrait de Cervantes. This is a real opéra-comique, amusing, gay, easy-going, in a manner hardly ever seen again in the repertoire of this theatre. The music is frank, accommodating, without pretension, but received approbation. The public gave the work a sympathetic, even flattering, reception. Among other lovely pieces, the score contains a pretty tenor romance with a refrain in quartet, a spruce chanson “Vive la bouteille!”,and a very amusing and theatrical septet, which could be called the ‘key septet’. The work was both sung and acted delightfully by MM. Fugère, Bertin, Collin, Barnolt, Gourdon, Troy, and Mlles Chevalier and Lardinois. It was retained in the repertory until 1888. ____________________________________________________________

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Édouard-Victor-Antoine LALO (1823-1892) Le Roi d’Ys Légende bretonne. Opéra en trois actes et cinq tableaux. Librettist: Édouard Blau. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Châtelet), 7 May 1888. The original version of the work was designated Légende des guerres bretonnes au ve siècle, grand opéra. This was radically modified and presented in 1877 to Albert Vizentini, director of the Théâtre-Lyrique de la Gaîté, then proposed to several other theatres. Le Roi d’Ys only came to production 11 years later. There was a general rehearsal on 5 May 1888. The legend of the King of Ys and the nocturnal submergence of the ancient city was celebrated in the Middle Ages, and was perpetuated into modern times in the traditions of the Cornouailles region. The story was retold by the Comte Hersart in his book Chants populaires de la Bretagne Bargaz Breiz. The story served as the point of departure for Édouard Blau’s libretto. It would have seemed difficult to find a pretext for constructing a libretto around this subject, which is a little sombre and rather thin. The story remained sombre, and this is perhaps the great fault of the drama, in which the unique and dominant tone always creates a painful and almost dolorous impression. There is also too much simplicity in the means employed. Blau either did not want or could not find useful secondary episodes, that would have indirectly fleshed out the action and given it a necessary variety. He neglected to brighten the subject or give it more air by introducing certain picturesque elements which would have brought movement, colour and life, and at the same time would have offered to the composer the contrasts so necessary to the lyric stage. The action takes place in the Brittany of mythological times. In order to be reconciled with Karnac, the king of Ys offers him the hand of his daughter Margared in marriage. But she loves Mylio, who in turn loves the king’s other daughter Rozenn. Margared refuses Karnac. Mylio defeats Karnac, but the latter conspires with Margared to open the floodgates and submerge Ys. Mylio kills Karnac, and Margared throws herself into the flood. The waters recede, and Ys is saved. As incomplete as it is, the libretto offers the musician some very dramatic situations which allow him to make a proper contribution. Lalo did not long survive the appearance of his work. He was always among the most ardent of French Wagnerians, the most advanced, the most intransigent. But this opera shows that he made little use in practice of the extravagant principles he held in theory. The score of this work is short, neat and rapid, hardly different in this

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respect from the traditional French operas with its arias, duets and ensembles. It is a work in which the composer always goes straight to the point without losing and distracting himself in boring dissertations, a work which, despite its symphonic richness, has every element in its proper place, so that that which should be sung is sung, and that which should accompany is restricted to this purpose. There is no question that it is more researched than brilliant, but all is as it should be, and the composer emerges as master of the musical situation. The active and preponderant element indicated by reason, logic and common sense is simply the human voice. And if this powerful and remarkable score is a work of progress, it is not a work of provocation nor one of tendentiousness. And this was certainly one of the reasons for its great success. The overture, long known from concerts, is not one of the best because of its excessive development and rather brutal medium. At the beginning of act 1, there is a lovely vocal piece, the chorus “Noël! Noël!”, of good design and attractive sonority. This is followed by the duet for the two sisters in which occurs a cantilena for Rozenn, full of tender and delicate feeling “En silence pourquois souffir?” Less fortunate is the scene for Rozenn which is of poor invention and little melodic value. But in the scene leading to the finale, the phrase for the king “Aux jours futurs je dois soigner” is of remarkable breadth. The whole of the finale, with the defeat of Karnac, is full of feverish and animated movement. Act 2 is much stronger. It begins with an aria for Margared, remarkable for its vigour and passionate drive. Then follows a fine quartet that contains the charming episode of Mylio’s vision “Sur autel de saint Corentin”. The big scene for Margared and Rozenn is uneven: the imprecations of the first are accompanied violently, with unnecessary use of trumpets, trombones and drums to produce a dramatic effect. But Rozenn’s cantilena, speaking of her love “Un jour, il est venu dans le fond de nos coeurs”, is tender, ingenuous and beautifully coloured. The contrast between the two women is strikingly illustrated. The triumphal chorus marking the return of Mylio is boisterous. More remarkable is the lovely scene, most vigorous and very dramatic, in which Margared induces Karnac to vengeance, and even more appealing is the scene of the apparition of Saint Corentin who seeks to turn them from their dark project. This, marvellously handled, has a powerful effect with organ accompaniment and the intervention of distant angelic voices, which contrast in the most striking way with the grave song of the saint to produce a powerful impression. The culminating point of the work is also the most successful moment in the score. The whole first scene of act 3 is lovely from one moment to

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the next, of an accomplished beauty, without weakness. The dialogue chorus with dance which serves as an introduction is of lovely effect, with an elegant and supple rhythm. The stances for Mylio “Vainement , ô ma bien-aimée” which now follow, interrupted by the responses of the chorus, are charming, with a melodic design both graceful and elegant, underpinned by lovely harmonies and and discreet accompaniment for pizzicato violins. Rozenn’s strophes responding to her beloved are also delightful, full of tenderness, and strongly sustained by the violins and cellos. A small harmonic subterfuge, whereby most of the chords are left unresolved, lends a particular colour to these verses. The tableau includes the nuptial procession and the little religious chorus which accompanies it, the fine scene for Margared and Karnac, full of ferocious energy, a duet for Mylio and Rozenn which does not rest on a perceived plan but unfolds like a mysterious charm full of poetry, and finally the scene for Rozenn, Margared and the king where the latter’s invocation “Et surtout, Dieu bon!” produces a powerful impression. The final tableau, the inundation and the death of Margared, completed the success of this noble work— elevated, strong, powerful, conceived by an artist of the first order. The work was interpreted superbly by Mlle Deschamps (Margared), Mlle Simonnet (Rozenn), MM. Talazac (Mylio), Bouvet (Karnac), Cobalet (the King) and Fournets (Saint Corentin). It was retained in the repertory until 1940, and in 1941 was taken up by the Théâtre de l’Opéra. La Jacquerie Opéra en quatre actes et cinq tableaux. Librettists: Édouard Blau and Simone Arnaud. First performance: 1st version: Opéra de Monte-Carlo, 9 March 1895; 2nd version: Opéra-Comique (Châtelet), 22 December 1895. The music was a collaboration between Lalo and Arthur Coquard. A few years before his death, Lalo began composing this work, but he became ill after completing only the first act. Coquard was charged with the completion of the score, and accomplished this most successfully. The critics unanimously affirmed that his contribution was not of less worth than that of the great composer whose collaborator he had become, and that he had completed his task with great honour. The opera obtained success, but was performed only into the following year, 1896. ____________________________________________________________

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Louis LAMBERT Le Spahi Poème lyrique en quatre actes. Librettists: Louis Gallet and André Alexandre. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Châtelet), 18 October 1897. The story is derived from Pierre Loti’s novel Le Roman d’un spahi. The opera won the Prix du Concours musical de la Ville de Paris in 1896. The subject is not really suitable for the stage, the music still inexperienced, but it is not without interesting qualities (CL 2:1281). The interpreters were MM. Badiali, Carbonne, Gresse, Mlles Guiraudon and Chanoz. There were 9 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Lucien LAMBERT (1858-1945) La Marseillaise Oeuvre lyrique en un acte. Librettist: Georges Boyer. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 14 July 1900. This small musical tableau depicts very briefly the genesis of La Marseillaise, depicting the episode where Rouget de Lisle, in Dietrich's home, first heard his patriotic song to the applause of all. It amounts to a sort of living reproduction of the celebrated painting by Pils. The composer showed craft in the arrangement of this little intermezzo. It was retained in the repertory until 1927. ____________________________________________________________

Raoul-Louis-Félix-Émile LAPARRA (1876-1943) La Habanéra Drame lyrique en trois actes. Words and music by Raoul Laparra. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 26 February 1908. This was the composer's best-known work, and was retained in the

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repertory until 1947. ____________________________________________________________

Isidore de LARA (1858-1935) Sanga Drame lyrique en quatre actes (nouvelle version). Librettists: Eugène Morand and Paul de Choudens. First performance: 1st version (3 acts): Opéra de Nice, 19 March 1906; 2nd version (4 acts): Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 9 December 1908. This was performed into the following year, 1909. ____________________________________________________________

Jean-Louis LARUETTE (1731-1792) Le Médecin de l’amour Opéra-comique mise en musique en un acte. Librettists: Louis Anseaume and Pierre-Augustin-Lefèvre de Marcouville. First performance: 1st version: Paris, Foire Saint-Laurent, 22 September 1758; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 25 April 1762. The subject of the work is the same as that of Méhul’s Stratonice. The King of Syria has been transformed into a village bailiff, and all the rest follows the same pattern. There were 2 performances, and also a reprise on 30 July 1783 (Salle Favart 2), with the music revised by Saint-Amand and Coignet. Le Docteur Sangrado Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Louis Anseaume and Jean-Baptiste Lourdet de Santerre. First performance: 1st version: Paris, Foire SaintGermain, 13 February 1756; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 5 May 1762. The story is based on La Foire des fées (Théâtre de la Foire) and AlainRené Lesage’s Gil Blas de Santillane, drawn from the conte by La

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Fontaine Comment l’esprit vient aux filles. The work was entirely sung, either as ariettes or vaudevilles. It was performed until 1765. Les Amants trompés Pièce mêlée d’ariettes en un acte. Librettists: Louis Anseaume and PierreAugustin-Lefèvre de Marcouville. First performance: 1st version: Paris, Foire Saint-Laurent, 26 July 1756; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 20 June 1762. The music by Laruette was a parody of various composers and vaudevilles. The identified sources of the parodies are Desbrosses, Handel and Pergolesi.. The subject of the work was provided by M. Monnet, then the director. There were 3 performances. Cendrillon Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Louis Anseaume. First performance: 1st version: Paris, Foire Saint-Germain, 20 February 1759; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 14 July 1762. The music was by Laruette and Egidio Duni, with contributions from vaudeville. The story was based on the tale by Charles Perrault. The composer is less well known as a musician than as an actor, since, while playing the roles of father and tutor, he had no sooner began singing, than he gave his name to a type of actor with limited singing abilities usually associated with this kind of character. “This work is the story of the late Thévenard, celebrated actor at the Opéra, who while presenting the slipper [to Cinderella on stage], at the age of 60 fell in love with a young woman whom he had never seen before” (La Porte). The score was augmented for the reprise in July 1762. There were 7 performances. Le Guy de Chesne, ou La Feste des Druides Comédie mêlée d’ariettes avec un divertissement en un acte. Librettist: Jean-Baptiste-René de Junquières. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 26 January 1763. “Les Druides tiennent des trompes antiques” (libretto). It was performed into the following year, 1764.

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Les Deux Compères Opéra-comique mêlé de chants en deux actes. Librettists: Jean-Baptiste Lourdet de Santerre, also attributed to Louis Anseaume. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 3 September 1772 (24 August 1772—CL 2:316) There was one performance. ____________________________________________________________

Marcel LATTÈS (1886-1943) Athanaïs Légende mimo-lyrique en un acte. Scenario: Jean Civieu. First performance: 1st version: Opéra de Monte Carlo, 10 January 1910; 2nd version: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 7 June 1910. The choreography was by de Mariquita. There were 2 performances. Il était une bergère Conte mélodique en un acte. Librettist: André Rivoire. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 28 December 1910. The story is adapted from the play by Rivoire. This was a single extraordinary presentation. There was a reprise on 16 April 1913, preceded by a public general rehearsal on 14 April. It was retained in the repertory until 1925. ____________________________________________________________

Rodolphe LAVELLO Partie carrée Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Lucien Augé de Lassus. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 23 June 1884. The cast were: MM. Herbert, Maris, Dulin, Mlles Dupuis, Pierron and Dupont. There were 3 performances.

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Josef Fortunat Silvio LAZZARI (1857-1934) La Lépeuse Tragédie légendaire en trois actes. Librettist: Henry Bataille. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 7 February 1912. The story is adapted from Bataille’s tragédie Ton sang. It was retained in the repertory until 1945. ____________________________________________________________

Jean-Pierre LE GRAND (b. c 1695) Les Trois Rosses, ou les Grâces Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en trois actes. Librettist: Barnabé Farmian Durosoy. First performance: Versailles, Théâtre à la Cour, 10 December 1779. There is an indication on the libretto “Et sur le Théâtre Italien, le 12 décembre 1779", but there is no mention of this in the register of the Opéra-Comique. ____________________________________________________________

Mlle. le sénéchal de KERKADO (b. 1775) La Méprise volontaire, ou la Double Leçon Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en un acte. Librettist: Alexandre Pineu-Duval. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 24 June 1805. This is an agreeable comedy and in good taste. The music was praised, the sole known work of a young woman composer aged 19 years. It was performed over the next two years, until 1807. ____________________________________________________________

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Aimé-Ambroise-Simon LEBORNE (1797-1866) Le Camp du drap d’or See under BATTON La Violette See under CARAFA Cinq Ans d’entr’acte Opéra-comique en deux actes. Librettist: A. (Louis Auguste Second) Féréol. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Bourse), 15 June 1833. It is rare for an author to show invention when he improvises as a dramatic author. Féréol in his libretto reproduced situations which had great vogue at the time of Gresnich and Dalayrac. Simone is a mother of two sons, Pierre and Julien. Both love the young orphan Annette. But Pierre passes for an idiot, a poor awkward creature, while Julien is a fluent and presumptuous talker. The action takes place in 1812, and the handsome raconteur, preferred by Annette, is drafted. Pierre sacrifices himself and leaves in his brother’s place. Five years later Julien has disdained the hand of Annette, and behaves badly. Pierre returns covered in glory, reconciles everyone, and takes up his plough again. The composer had become a distinguished professor at the Conservatoire a little while before. He wrote another work Le Camp du drap d’or, and produced good students. He became the librarian of the Opéra. There were 20 performances of this opera. Lequel? Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Paul Duport and François Ancelot. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Bourse), 21 March 1838. An original basic situation is reflected in the title of the libretto. A rich business man, to encourage his son to behave well, has led a wise and regulated life, and has brought him up with another child who is not his own, leaving everyone ignorant of which of the two will inherit his name and fortune. It goes without saying that the son is the bad character, the other having been endowed with all the amiable qualities of heart and

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spirit. The music of this small work won for Leborne the praise and esteem of the connoisseurs. Several elegant melodies and a fine sextet demonstrated the science and taste of this skilled professor. The work was created by Couderc, Fleury, Henri, and Mlle Berthault. There were 14 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Louis-Sébastien LEBRUN (1764-1829) Marcelin Opéra en un acte. Librettist: François Bernard-Valville. First performance: 1st version: Feydeau, 22 March 1800; 2nd version: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 3 October 1801. This was performed until 1802. ____________________________________________________________

Alexandre-Charles LECOCQ (1832-1918) Plutus Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Albert Millaud and Gaston Jollivet. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2). 31 March 1886. The story was inspired by Aristophanes and similar to George Sand’s Le Dieu Plutus. The libretto is the lyric transformation of a two-act verse comedy given at the Vaudeville in 1874. The work marked the debut at the Opéra-Comique of Lecocq, one of the most amiable and skilled composers of the day, who should have been invited to the house ten years earlier. Lecocq, who strove to open up the genre of operetta, to which he was foolishly confined, introduced into it qualities of knowledge, grace, and elegance which it had hardly known before him, and which won him numerous and merited successes. Nevertheless, perhaps because the antique poem did not lend itself to his talent, or perhaps because he felt embarrassed and intimidated on the scene of so many glorious names, the score of Plutus was not successful. There were 8 performances.

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Louis-James-Alfred LEFÉBURE-WÉLY (1817-1869) Les Recruiteurs Opéra-comique en trois actes et quatre tableaux. Librettists: Amédée de Jallais and Alphonse Vulpian. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 11 December 1861. Using an insipid text, the famous organist wrote a score bristling with harmonic combinations, academically admirable for the detail, which was noted, but with little melody, and in short depleted of dramatic qualities. The counterpoint in the aria “La monoca” is interesting, the couplets for Lucas at the beginning of act 2 “Vous ne serrez pas mon nez, mon épouse” have a comic effect borrowed from the techniques often used in fair theatres. Such means of stirring laughter is better reserved for the Variétés. The song “Ce roi barbu qui s’avance, bu s’avance” we have heard before: the genre of opéra-comique should be preserved from these outworn and hardly witty jokes (CL 2:930). The cast were: Sainte-Foy, Berthelier, Gourdin, Capoul, Mlles Marimon, Bélia and Tual. The work was performed into the following year, 1862. ____________________________________________________________

Joseph LEFEBVRE (1761-1822) Caroline Comédie mêlée de ariettes en trois actes. Librettist: Auguste Poisson de La Chabeaussière. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 2 December 1789. The story is based on Isabelle de Montolieu’s Caroline de Lichtfield. There was only one performance. L’Incertain, ou l’Embarras du choix Comédie mêlée de ariettes en un acte. Librettists: Fabre d’Églantine and Auguste Poisson de La Chabeaussière. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 10 December 1789.

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The score is unlocated. There was only one performance. ____________________________________________________________

Eugène LEFÈVRE-DÉRODÉ Le Follet Poème lyrique en un acte. Librettist: Pierre Barbier. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 1 May 1900. There were 10 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Jean-Nicolas LE FROID DE MÉREAUX (1745-1797) La Ressource comique, ou La Pièce à deux actes Pièce mêlée d’ariettes en un acte avec prologue. Librettist: Louis Anseaume. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 22 August 1772. The libretto is based on L’Amoire, ou La Pièce à deux acteurs, an opéracomique by Charles-François Panard. Méreaux’s music was supplemented by vaudevilles in the Prologue. Frontin and Lisette replace some actors who are expected in vain, and between the two of them perform a play which is written for six parts. This small work, composed by the grandfather of Amédée Méreaux, a professor at Rouen, is mentioned in a biographical notice published by Fétis. La Rencontre imprévue Compliment de rentrée. Librettist: Louis Anseaume. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne)., 11 April 1774. Both libretto and score are unlocated.

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Le Retour de tendresse Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en un acte. Librettist: Louis Anseaume. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 1 October 1774. One recognizes the subject and part of the plan of La Réconciliation villageoise. Anseaume effectively preserved all that seemed appropriate, then turned the play into verse and added ariettes (Origny). This is not to be confused with the comédie by Fuzlier and Romagnesi for this theatre (1728). There were 8 performances. Le Duel comique Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en deux actes. Librettist: anonymous. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 15 September 1787. This opera was a parody of Giovanni Paisiello’s commedia per musica Il Secreto (Naples, spring 1774). The music of Paisiello’s score was arranged and augmented by Méreaux. There was a reprise at Fontainebleau, Théâtre de la Cour (October 1777), with cuts. It was in the repertory until 1829. L’Inconnue persecutée Comédie mêlée de’ariettes, imitées de l’italien sur la musique de Sieur Anfossi, en deux actes. Librettist: Giuseppe Petrosellini. French version by Pierre-Louis Moline. First performance: Fontainebleau, Théâtre de la Cour, 25 October 1776 (after an interdict forbidding presentation in Paris). This was a parody of Pasquale Anfossi’s dramma giocoso L’Incognita perseguitata (Rome, Carnevale 1773). The music of Anfossi’s score was arranged by Méreaux. Laurette Comédie nouvelle mêlée d’ariettes en un acte. Librettist: Danzel de Malzéville. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 23 July 1777. The story is derived from a tale by Jean-François Marmontel. There were 7 performances.

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Dormenon et Beauval, ou Le Fils corrigé Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en deux actes. Librettist: anonymous. First performance: Salle Favart 1, 15 September 1787. The story is based on a tale by Barthélémy Imbert. There was only one performance. Grisélide, ou La vertu à l’épreuve Comédie lyrique en trois actes. Libretist: Desforges. First performance: Salle Favart 1, 8 January 1791. The story is based on a tale by Barthélémy Imbert. There were 3 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Jean-Eugène-Gaston LEMAIRE (1854-1928) L’Intermezzo Opéra-comique en un acte. Libretto after a poem by Heinrich Heine. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 7 February 1901. The libretto describes the work as “Visions lyriques en dix neuf scènes.” Performance for the benefit of the Caisse de retraite. There was only one performance. ____________________________________________________________

Jean-Frédéric-Auguste LEMIÈRE DE CORVEY (1771-1832) La Prise de Toulon par les Français Comédie en ariettes en un acte. Librettist: Alexandre Pineu-Duval. First performance: Salle Favart 1, 21 January 1794. This is not to be confused with the opera of the same name with music by Dalayrac, produced at the Feydeau on 1 February 1794. This work was

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performed into the following year, 1795. Andros et Almona, ou Le Philosophe français à Bassora Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en trois actes. Librettists: Alexandre PineuDuval and Louis-Benoît Picard. First performance: Salle Favart 1, 5 February 1794. There were 18 performances. Les Rivaux de village, ou La Cruche cassée Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Jean-Baptiste Violet d’Épagny. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 24 December 1819. There were 19 performances. La Fausee Croisade, ou L’Habit du page Opéra-comique en deux actes. Librettists: Auguste Lepoitevin de Légreville Saint-Alme and Jean-Baptiste Violet d’Épagny. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 12 July 1825. There were only 3 performances. Les Rencontres, ou Le Même Roman Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Jean-Baptist-Charles Vial and Mélesville. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 11 June 1828. This was a collaboration between Auguste Lemière de Corvey and Giuseppe Catrufo. There were 10 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Jean-Baptiste LEMOYNE (1751-1796) Elfrida Comédie héroïque en trois actes. Librettist: Nicolas-François Guillard. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 17 December 1791.

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The libretto is based on William Mason’s dramatic poem, adapted for the stage by George Colman. The action depics an episode from the life of Edgar, king of England in 959. It is interesting, but the denouement is shocking. Lemoyne, exaggerating the genre of Gluck’s operas, specialized in terrible situations. There were 6 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Charles-Ferdinand LENEPVEU (1840-1910) Le Florentin Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Jules-Henri Vernoy de SaintGeorges. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 25 February 1874. This work, crowned in 1869 in the open competition for composers, was made known to the public only five years later. The libretto is not very interesting, like all those in which artists, painters, sculptors or musicians are put on stage. There is nothing colder in the theatre than these rivalries of amour-propre and glorification of genius. Andrea Galeotti, an old Florentine master, has as his pupil Angelo Palma. A competition is proposed by Lorenzo the Magnificent. Galeotti looks to eclipse all his rivals, but an unknown has dared to measure himself against Galeotti, and his painting, depicting Hebe, obtains the vote. This unknown is Angelo, who triumphs in spite of himself. After he had painted this canvas in secret, he had ordered the model Polpetto to destroy it so as not to enter into any conflict with his old master. But Polpetto made a mistake, and burned a picture by Galeotti instead. To add to this provocation, there is a love intrigue as Angelo has fallen for another pupil of the master, called Paola, who is also the object of the tenderness and vows of the old man. The latter, consumed with rage and jealousy, employs assassins to kill Angelo, but Polpetto saves his life. The duke informs Galeotti of the outrage to which Angelo has been subjected. Galeotti is left with no alternative but to efface the memory of his vengeance by bestowing the hand of Paola on the young artist. Lenepveu’s score attests to his good musical studies, his taste, and his skill in writing rather than in imagination. The various patterns of accompaniment, the many alterations of intervals, the dissonances ingeniously employed, cannot take the place of inspiration. His modulations rarely follow the formulas familiar to composers, rather he

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seems to take pleasure in tones loaded with accidents. Reminiscences are frequent, and the procedures he uses to develop an idea smack of the classroom. Individuality is not yet evident in this score, which in many ways is otherwise praiseworthy. The most interesting pieces are: in act 1, the organ prelude; the trio in D “Ô jour heureux! Par toi j’oublie”; Angelo’s aria “Comme un enfant”; the chorus of blacksmiths; in act 2, the chorus “Riante Italie”; Paola’s aria “La nuit est l’heure du mystère”; the romance for Angelo “Lorsquej’abandonnai Florence”; the sextet, the principal piece in this work; in act 3, the barcarolle, the lovely romance for Angelo “Songes aimés”; the couplets for Carita “Voulez-vous des fruits?”; a very dramatic duet for Paola and Andrea, and the scene of the denouement, are well handled. The cast were: Ismaël (Andrea Galeotti); Neveu (the duke Lorenzo de Medici); Lhérie (Angelo Palma); Potel (Polpetto); Laurent (Pietrino); Mlle Priola (Paola); Mlle Ducasse (Carita). There were 8 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Ruggero LEONCAVALLO (1858-1919) Paillasse/ I pagliacci Drame lyrique en deux actes. Words and music by Ruggero Leoncavallo; French version: Eugène Crosti. First performance: 1st version: Milan, Teatro dal Verme, 21 May 1892; 2nd version: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 13 January 1910. This was the stage debut of a young composer, 32 years old, who also wrote his own libretto. The subject of the opera is the same as that of a play presented by Catulle Mendès some years previously. Mendès tried to reclaim it, and appealed to the Société des auteurs with the aim of preventing the work of his Italian confrere appearing in France. Leoncavallo defended himself, declaring that the subject had been treated even before Catulle Mendès's version, and as a result did not properly belong to him. The work enjoyed brilliant success in Milan, and had soon spread all over Italy. The very dramatic libretto excited a lively interest, and the music, while brutal, sometimes a little vulgar, was also pathetic and imprinted with real theatrical feeling. It won the vote of the public as well as that of the critics, even if these did express some reservations. There was an excellent cast, at the head of which were the French singers Maurel and Mme Stehle, charged with the two principal roles. They were

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no strangers to immediate success, and after they had repeated the work on the stages of Italy, won plaudits again in Germany, Belgium, and even France. The opera was applauded in several French provincial cities. There was a reprise at the Opéra-Comique on 9 April 1954. ____________________________________________________________

Franco LEONI (1864-1949) Francesca da Rimini Drame lyrique en trois actes. Librettist: Francis Marion Crawford; French version: Marcel Schwob. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 6 January 1914. The story is based on the play by Gabrile d’Annunzio. There was a general public rehearsal on 30 December 1913, and 7 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Étienne-Alexandre LEPRÉVOST (1812-1874) Le Rêveur éveillé Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Mlle C. Duval. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 21 March 1848. A young man in love, son of a soldier who saved the life of his colonel, dreams of riches so that he can offer heart and hand to his beloved, the daughter of a rich proprietor. His dream is realized when the colonel finds the son of his saviour and fulfils all his wishes. Only the overture to this small work merited the approval of the audience. There were 7 performances. ____________________________________________________________

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Xavier-Henri-Napoléon LEROUX (1863-1919) La Reine Fiammette Conte dramatique en quatre actes et six tableaux. Librettist: Catulle Mendès. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 23 December 1903. This was the lyric adaptation of a play by Mendès. It won the Prix Monbinne. There was a reprise on 17 September 1910 (with a new ballet added to the Fourth Tableau), and it was retained in the repertory until 1936. Le Chemineau Drame lyrique en quatre actes. Librettist: Jean Richepin. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 6 November 1907. This was a lyric adaptation of Richepin’s drama. It was retained in the repertory until 1945. Le Carilloneur Pièce lyrique en quatre actes et six tableaux. Librettist: Jean Richepin. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 20 March 1913. The story is based on the novel of Georges Rodenbach. There were 11 performances. ____________________________________________________________

C. François LESCOT (1720-1801) La Négresse, ou le Pouvoir de la reconnaissance Comédie en vaudevilles, mêlée de divertissements en deux actes. Librettists: Pierre-Yvon Barré and Jean-Baptiste Radet. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 15 June 1787. The story is based on an anecdote in Guillaume Raynal’s Histoire philosophique et politique ... dans les deux Indes. The music by Lescot

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was a parody of various composers, with Grétry identified. On 22 June 1788 it was reduced to one act. It was performed until 1789. Les Solitaires de Normandie Opéra-comique en vaudevilles en un acte. Librettists: Pierre-Yvon Barré and Pierre-Antoine-Augustin de Piis. First performance: ComédieItalienne (Salle Favart 1), 15 January 1788. The story is derived from Mme de Genlis’s Veillées du château ou Cours de morale à l’usage des enfants. The composers parodied by Lescot are identified as: Champein, Dalayrac, Désaugiers, Dezède, Duni, Floquet, Grétry, Martini, Mondonville, Rodolphe and Salieri. It was performed until 1790. Candide marié, ou il faut cultiver son jardin Comédie en vaudevilles, mêlée de divertissements en deux actes. Librettists: Pierre-Yvon Barré and Jean-Baptiste Radet. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 20 June 1788. The story was derived from Voltaire’s Candide. The music of Lescot was supplemented by parodies and vaudevilles. Some of the identified parodies are of Désaugiers, Haydn (the andante of a symphony), and Martini. It was performed until 1790. La Suite des solitaires de Normandie Divertissements en vaudevilles en un acte. Librettist: Pierre-AntoineAugustin de Piis. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 4 May 1790. The music of Lescot provided “accompaniments and new airs” and vaudevilles. The parodied composers are identified as: Dalayrac, Grétry, Monsigny, and Tissier. There were 4 performances. ____________________________________________________________

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Jean-François LESUEUR (1760-1837) La Caverne, ou Les Voleurs Drame lyrique en trois actes. Librettist: Pierre Dercy, after Alain-René Lesage’s novel Gil Blas de Santillane. First performance: 1st version: Théâtre Feydeau, 15 February 1793; 2nd version: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 14 November 1801. During these days, long regarded as the most ill-fated in French history, there was still to be found in Paris a public capable of being interested in opera and applauding it every night. This was particularly the case with this opera of Lesueur, which in this very year obtained an incontestable success. One can see in this a sign of that casualness that infected so many at the end of the 18th century, a casualness that would have very serious consequences. La Caverne is Lesueur’s best dramatic work. His great qualities show themselves plainly without the tentative pedantry of an erudition erroneous in its principles as it is grotesque in its application (CL 1:210). The subject being neither Greek as in Télémaque, nor Gaelic as in Ossian, nor Oriental and primitive as in Paul et Virginie, served to preserve the composer from the excesses of imagination and kept him within the natural limits of his art. The basic theme of the story is arresting, with strong and pathetic situations. Later these were obviously to influence Mélesville in several scenes of Zampa. But the form, the style, the dialogue, have a certain clumsiness and disconcerting feebleness that make a revival of this work difficult, at least in its original form. The stage depicts a cave carved into the rock, and lit by a lamp. Above is a fores which is extended to the wings. The plot is derived from an episode in Le Sage’s Gil Blas. Séraphine, daughter of Count Alvar de Guzman, has been abducted by robbers, and separated from her husband Alphonse de Leiva, whom she believes killed. Léonarde, the servant of the band, consoles her in his own way. Gil Blas is touched by her grief and promises to save her. He finds the means to escape from this lair. Rolando, the captain, falls in love with the captive, and protects her several times from the attentions of his accomplices. Moreover, despite the horrors which Séraphine has witnessed from him, Rolando renounces the use of constraint, and the ferocious brigand seeks to gain her esteem by more delicate means. Alphonse de Leiva, who has only been wounded, has disguised himself as an old blind man, and gains access to the cave looking for his wife, rather like Blondel in Richard Coeur de Lion. The

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robbers, irritated by their chief, now plot against his life and that of the blind man, and the honour of Séraphine. A bloody drama is about to unfold when Gil Blas arrives to save them. The entry to the cave is broken down by the friends of Alphonse. But the robber-chief, so courteous and debonair, turns out to be the brother of Séraphine, whom he wanted for his mistress. He is in fact Don Juan de Guzman, who after many problems had ended up as a leader of brigands. He abjures all harm, and throws himself into his father’s arms. The action is improbable, and the dialogue antiquated and platitudinous. Fortunately, the music redeems all these faults, even if it is not particularly remarkable. Séraphine’s despair, and the sympathy felt for her by Léonarde and Gil Blas are perfectly expressed in the early trio in C minor. Gil Blas’s following aria is in A minor. Léonarde’s chanson is in G minor. This succession of pieces in the minor tonality lends a certain monotony to the opening of the work. The chorus of the robbers in scene 4, “La Bonne aubaine”, is treated most interestingly, with energetic rhythm and original harmony. This chorus was famous for a long time. The duet for Séraphine and Rolando provides some lovely phrases, but it is not particularly stage-worthy. The motif sung by Alphonse in the forest is full of charming melancholy. In act 2, Séraphine’s aria is distinguished by its breadth, that of the pretended blind man by its constant minor key, and the allegretto sung by Léonarde “Il y a cinquante et plus” by the bizarre accompaniment of all the parts, and especially by the flippant sense of the words. The final ensemble is the most successful piece of this act. Act 3 begins with a chorus for the rebelling robbers. Rolando’s aria is too long. On the other hand, the quartet “Quel intérêt vous faites naître” is one of the best pieces Lesueur ever wrote, even if it is more musical than dramatic. During the siege of the cave, there is a double chorus—of robbers and of assailants, sung off stage. When the confusion becomes general, when the cave is captured and the brigands either killed or put to flight, when Gil Blas, Alphonse and his friends appear as liberators, and Séraphine throws herself into the arms of her husband and then her brother, the public is little disposed to accommodate itself to the harmonic and rhythmic combinations. The choral music is poor accompaniment to the acts of violence and scenes of recognition. Instead of assigning this role to the voice, Lesueur would have done better to have given it to the orchestra, in this way not freezing the denouement and prolonging the finale. Whatever the details, this opera is the achievement of a great composer (CL 1:211). In the repertory until 1806. There were plans for a revival in 1826.

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Paul et Virginie, ou Le Triomphe de la vertu Drame lyrique en trois actes. Librettist: Dubreuil (Alphonse DucongéDubreuil). First performance: Théâtre Feydeau, 13 January 1794. The novel by Bernadin de Saint-Pierre provided merely the title for this work, since none of the episodes are found in it. Virginie does not leave the island; she is snatched from the hands of the captain by the islanders who board his vessel. As for the music, it presents, to a far greater extent than all his other operas, the strengths and weaknesses of Lesueur, from grandeur to monotony; a coldness in the recitatives and melodies, but also a rhythm that magisterially imposes itself on the listener; and finally power in the harmony of the choruses. Lesueur had the misfortune of being ahead of his times. Endowed with great originality, a most elevated feeling for art, and an extraordinary capacity for work, he never wrote anything without aspiring to an ideal, something which the state of the theatre of his time could not accommodate. This would explain the small success of most of his operas. Thirty years later, when the Romantic School had made fashionable that which became known as local colour, his genius, powerfully aided by the advances made by musical art in the meantime, would have resulted in masterpieces. The daring modulations, his independent style and the strange sonorities of his orchestra, all of which had once provoked opposition and often extreme criticism from musicians, would have been extolled as qualities. Ideas and intentions abound in his scores, but grace and vigour are lacking. His is an incomplete genius, but a place is reserved for him with Méhul, Spontini and Cherubini. Lesueur, who had a mania for antiquity, and who naively imagined himself to have rediscovered the music of the Greeks, sprinkled his scores with scientific words and with indicators borrowed from ancient modes, and it can be amusing to come across terms such as Dorian, Hypophrygian, Lydian applied to pieces conceived in modern tonality. There are also phrases like: In tutto quest’allegro eseguiteancora col carattere locale, e col sentomento della ritmopoeia ebraica dei profeti; e coll’ espressione e l’accento della melpoeia diastaltica, mescolata della systalita. He even pretended that pieces of his opera La Mort d’Adam explained several ancient texts about the music of the Hebrews, the Patriarchs, the Prophets, the Egyptians, the Chaldaeans, and also the ancient Greeks (see p. 14 of his full score). The overture announces the break of day, and act 1 begins with a hymn by the savage natives as the sun rises: “Divin soleil, âme du monde”. This

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chorus has a lovely character. The duet for Paul and Virginie “Quel air pur, quel beau jour!” has rising and falling scales which give it a suavity of tone. The romance for the good negro Domingo, languorous and without spirit, is totally unsuccessful, and that of the negress Sara is hardly better. In act 2 there is an original and well-constructed duet for Babet and Domingo “Je n’ai pas encore en d’amant et m’en suis passé à merveille”. To return to Paul et Virginie themselves, there is also the big duet in act 2 "Est-ce donc là la récompense?” and in act 3 the quartet “Ô rage, ô douleur infinie!”, the best-known piece of the score. The storm scene now seems rather feeble, even if it was once deemed moving. The authors changed Bernardin Saint-Pierre’s denouement. Virginie is saved from the wreck and firing of the boat by the natives, since through her kindness she has become their idol. ____________________________________________________________

Armand-Marie-Ghislain LIMNANDER, baron de Nieuwenhove (1814-1892) Les Monténégrins Drame lyrique en trois actes. Librettists: Jules Alboise du Pujol and Gérard de Nerval. First performance: Théâtre national de la OpéraComique (Salle Favart 2), 31 March 1849. The action takes place in 1807, but the picturesque nature of the Montenegrin setting diminished the resistance to any subject with contemporary mise en scène. The leader Andréas has sold himself to the Russians. Ziska, a national bard from Carinthia, on the other hand, encourages the people to seek Napoleon's protection. His adopted daughter, who loves a young French officer, supports him in this project. The life of the officer is exposed to danger during the dramatic course of action, but all eventually turns out to the liking of the Montengrins, and French national honour is saved. The libretto proffers situations analogous to those of La Dame blanche and is interesting. The music is by turn colourful, dramatic and original. The act 1 finale and the prayer to the Virgin in act 3 prove Limnander’s dramatic abilities. In act 1 there is a romance for Béatrice, the fantastic ballad Hélène la châtelaine, and the maladetta. In act 2 there is the trio “Il est minuit” for men’s voices; a chorus con bocca chiusa, an imitation of the Brummlieder (humming chorus) tradition which the composer was the first to bring on stage. The

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finale of this act is very dramatic and well realized. The most striking pieces in act 3 are the prayer to the Virgin and the trio finale. Mme Ugalde was much applauded in the role of Béatrice. Hermann-Léon struck a very picturesque pose as the bard Ziska. The other roles were realized by Bauche, Sainte-Foy and Mlle Lemercier. The work was revived on 14 August 1858, reduced to two acts. Le Château de Barbe Bleue Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Jules-Henri Vernoy de SaintGeorges. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 1 December 1851. The libretto, overloaded with unlikely details, further stimulated prejudice against Limnander’s music because the political events of this period were preoccupying everyone. The action takes place in India, in the vicinity of Madras. Barbe-Bleue is a woman, the Duchess of Lancaster, niece of King James II, who has come to this far country to rally the partisans to the cause of her fallen uncle. The Duchess, in order to allay suspicion, passes for an Indian woman, the widow of several marriages, Whatever the dark and ill-famed reputation of the castle where she lives, she gives herself over to a career of amorous intrigue. The happy sentiments she pursues find their fulfilment in act 3 in France in the Château de Saint-Germain. The score contains several successful and distinguished pieces. The theme “Tant douce patrie! ô pays charmant” for the tenor is suave and melancholic. In act 2 there is a pretty women’s chorus and the Ballad of the King of Lahore, an aria brilliantly interpreted by Mme Ugalde. The whole of act 3 is happily conceived: a Scottish chorus for male voices, an echo duet, a charming trio “Taisez-vous”, and a final passionate duet with much unison singing, following the fashion set by Verdi. The cast was Mme Ugalde, Mlle Lemercier, Dufresne, Sainte-Foy, Félix, Carvalho and Duvernoy. The work was performed into the following year, 1852. Yvonne Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Augustin-Eugène Scribe. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 29 November 1859. The subject is derived from a novella by Jules d’Herbauges. This work was first accepted by Émile Perrin in 1854 under the title Les Blancs et les Bleus and should have inaugurated his direction of the Théâtre Lyrique.

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Yvonne is a sort of female Vendée rebel (vendéenne), a type that became legendary. The action is interesting, and the music has dramatic character and an originality peculiar to the author of Les Monténégrins. Jean’s romance “Un nom glorieux”, the duet for Jean and Yvonne, and the act 1 finale are all powerful pieces. Further, the baritone aria “Ô mon beau pays de la Touraine!” has a skillful arrangement of the national airs “Le Chant du départ” and “Vive Henri IV” which provide a very dramatic contrast. Yvonne’s big aria “Mon fils, je t’ai perdu” contains phrases both pathetic and inspired. Mlle Wertheimber admirably interpreted the role of Yvonne; the rest of the cast were Troy, Ambroise, Holzem, Mlles Bousquet and Courdier. The work was performed into 1860. ____________________________________________________________

Charles Henry LITOLFF (1818-1891) L’Escadron volant de la reine Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Adolphe-Philippe Dennery and Jules Brésil. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Châtelet), 14 December 1888. It is well known that Catherine de Médicis always surrounded herself with a small group of young women from the high nobility, whom she chose involuntarily, without their specific agreement, to serve her wily politics and sinister diplomacy. These were known as ‘the Queen’s squadron’ and gave rise to the play that bears its name. The pity is that the libretto offers no flavour, no action, no interest, that it had remained for nearly twenty years in the coffers of the management of the Opéra-Comique, and that it was only for the sake of peace that they eventually decided to produce it. The story is set in Saint-Germain at the time of the minority of Charles IX and the supreme power of Catherine de Médicis. It concerns, at some length, a conspiracy hatched by the Guise to abduct the young king, and so free him from the influence of the Queen-Mother. She, having gained wind of the plot, sets her squadron on the tracks of the conspirators, and succeeds in this way in being fully informed of their project and how to make it miscarry. It goes wihout saying that a love story is grafted on to this pseudo-historical base, and that all eventually ends up in the most benign way. The music has better value than the somewhat infantile libretto, even if it is not in itself of superior quality. Inspiration is neither fresh nor abundant, but one at least finds a skilled hand and the great

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experience of an artist like Henry Litolff, whose fame nonetheless did not prevent the failure of his collaborators. The opera was performed by Mmes Vaillant-Couturier, Chevalier, Perron, Degrandi, Bréan, and MM. Dupuy, Fugère and Soulacroix. There were 7 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Alexandre LOUET (1753-1817) La Double Clef, ou Colombine commissaire Comédie parade en deux actes. Librettist: Jean-Louis BrousseDesfaucherets. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1). 26 June 1786. There was one performance. Amélie Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en trois actes. Librettist: François-Georges Desfontaines. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1). 11 January 1798. There was one performance. ____________________________________________________________

Émile-Timothée LUBBERT (1794-1859) Amour et Colère Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Charles de Longchamps. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 14 April 1823. The story is taken from Longchamps’s comédie A-t-il perdu? A-t-il gagné? (Odéon 2 November 1818). Lubbert was later director of the Opéra. ____________________________________________________________

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Ildephonse LUCE-VARLET (1781-1853) L’Élève de Presbourg Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Jean-Baptiste-Charles Vial and Théodore Muret. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Bourse), 24 April 1840. This pupil of Presburg is none other than the great Haydn in the days of his youth, for which the authors invented a tale of little interest. Haydn is poor and sells music. He loves the daughter of the kapellmeister of the emperor. But he has a rival in the person of a musician without talent who steals his sonata, attributing it to himself, and playing it before the emperor. The fraud is discovered, and Haydn is acclaimed as the author of the masterpiece. Of note in this small work are a song for the violoncellos in the overture, a comic duet for Haydn and his competitor, and an aria for Haydn sung by Roger. There were 24 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Lucien-Denis MAGNARD (1865-1914) Bérénice Tragédie en musique en trois actes. Librettist: Manoir des Fontaines. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 15 December 1911. The story is based on Racine’s tragédie. It was performed into the following year, 1912. ____________________________________________________________

Louis-Aimé MAILLART (1817-1871) Le Moulin des tilleuls Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Julien de Maillan and Eugène Cormon. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 9 November 1849. This work has little dramatic interest, but furnished the composer with an

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opportunity to write in the military and pastoral style (style champêtre). Sergeant Robert of the Champagne regiment, two women villagers, and Trichard, tenant of the mill by the lime trees, make up the cast. The sergeant’s couplets have an ingenious orchestration; the soprano’s pastorale “À mes moutons, m’éveillant”, is naive and well rendered, and treated in the style of Grétry: Moutons si blancs; si doux; Quand mon coeur bat, il bat pour vous. The romance “Loin de la pays, n’ayant plus d’espérance” has a fine melody. The cast was Hermann-Léon, Sainte-Foy, Mlles Lemercier and Meyer. The vocal score was arranged by M. Vauthrot. Performed until 1851. La Croix de Marie Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Joseph Lockroy and AdolphePhilippe Dennery. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 19 July 1852. Also given under the titles Le Baiser Vierge and La Vierge de Kerno. There were 28 performances. Les Dragons de Villars Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Eugène Cormon and Joseph Lockroy. First performance: 1st version: Théâtre-Lyrique, 19 September 1856; 2nd version: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 5 June 1868. This is a very interesting work, although most of the dramatic situations are commonplace in the theatre. But it is disposed with skill, and presents an ensemble full of movement and variety. The type represented by Rose Friquet is original and well realized. She is a young woman whose bizarre character has rendered her an object of suspicion and aversion throughout the countryside. However, under this singular exterior, she hides an excellent heart and a perceptive spirit. Thanks to her, some wretched outlaws are able to escape from a cave in Cévenne where they had found refuge, and capture Savoy. She is able to save the farmer Thibaud from a misguided marriage just in time. Finally she inspires a sincere and passionate love in the young villager Sylvain, and the two are married.

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The score of this work does Maillart great credit. It abounds in charming melodies, and indeed contains beauties of a high order. The prayer “Soutien de l’innocent” has a strong harmony and largeness of melody that perfectly captures the energetic character and religious fervour of the inhabitants of Cévennes. Rose Friquet’s aria unfolds in three movements, beautifully crafted into an effective whole. The andante “Espoir charmant, Sylvain m’a dit” is suave and expressive; the short allegretto “Ah! voyez, voyez cette figure” is full of breathless anticipation; and the cabaletta “Oui, c’est moi qu’il a choisie” has both passion and grace. The little duet “Quelle folie, moi jolie” is very graceful, if somewhat affected. The Couplets de la cloche has a powerful effect. The cast was Scott, Grillon, Girardot, Mlles Borghèse and Girard. Les Pêcheurs de Catane Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Eugène Cormon and Michel Carré. First performance: Théâtre-Lyrique, 19 December 1860. The subject of this work resembles that of Graziella, the novel by Lamartine. It concerns a young village girl, Nella, who, seduced by protestations of love from a young lord, Fernand, chooses him over her childhood friend, the good and faithful Cecco. But the young lord is engaged to Carmen, a person of his own class. Poor Nella retires to the Convent of the Annunciation. Before taking her vows, she sees Fernand again. He at last has the courage to marry her, but she has a heart attack and dies, an unforeseen and regrettable denouement. As for the fishermen of Catania, they appear only in the secondary scenes to provide some local colour to furnish the composer with motifs for the choruses. Maillart’s music is scenic above all. It is colourful, lively, and shows a talent for instrumentation. Some striking numbers are the chorus “Enfants de l’Etna”; a good quintet; some dances; a soldiers’ march; the romance that opens act 2 “Du serment qui m’engage”; the storm finale; and a chorus in act 3. The roles were taken by: Peschard, Balanqué, Girardot, Mlles Baretti, Faivre and Mme Vadé. Lara Opéra-comique en trois actes et six tableaux. Librettists: Eugène Cormon and Michel Carré. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 21 March 1864

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The poems of Lord Byron, The Corsair and Lara, provided the subject of this story. Lara returns to the castle of his parents which he left many years before to begin his life as a pirate. He is followed by Kaled, a young female slave disguised as a man and devoted to her master for whom she cherishes a passionate love. During his absence the castle has been guarded by Lambro, an old servant who has allowed no one to enter, not even the young Countess of Flor, cousin of Lara, and heir to his possessions. During act 2 Lara receives his guests as a great lord. One of them, Ezzelin, loves the Countess of Flor; Lara too is susceptible to her charms, to the great despair of Kaled, whose jealousy betrays her sex to the countess. She is not able to hide her sorrow from Ezzelin who learns from her the secret of her master. Ezzelin reveals what he has learned to the assembly, but Lara maintains his role so well, that all doubts are dispersed. In act 3 Lara has a dream, recalling that of Lorédan in Haydée. He sees himself in the midst of his companions; a battle is engaged, he is wounded and falls into the arms of Kaled. When Lara awakes, he reads the will of his parents and finds himself condemned for his past conduct. He feels unworthy to live in the home of his ancestors, to inherit their name and their wealth. He exiles himself, and embarks on a ship, followed by Kaled. This work was successful. Its dramatic character was skillfully captured by the composer. As in Les Dragons de Villars, there are many extended scenes of great effect. Among the most remarkable pieces are: in act 1 the ballad with its refrain “On te pendra”; the couplets for Lambro “Comme un chien fidèle”; in act 2: another set of well-turned couplets for Lambro; the big scene for Kaled, the best in the whole work; and the finale which is handled magisterially; in act 3, the Dream Scene. The cast was: Montaubry, Gourdin, Crosti, Mme Galli-Marié and Mlle Baretti. ____________________________________________________________

Henri-Charles MARÉCHAL (1842-1924) Les Amoureux de Catherine Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Jules Barbier. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 8 May 1876. The story is derived from the nouvelle by Erckmann-Chatrian. Catherine Koenig, a young and pretty innkeeper of the Carpe d’or in Alsace, is a most eligible match and her hand is disputed among several pretenders,

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among them the mayor of the village, the quinquagenarian Rebstock. Of them, Catherine’s preference is for Meinrich Walter, the young school master, timid and gentle, who secretly cherishes a sincere but resigned passion that touches the heart of the young girl. The plot is very simple, but the libretto is charmingly inventive, as is Maréchal’s music. Of particular popularity was the chanson du pays natal in which the refrain “Patrie!” muting itself in the choral accompaniment by its shift to the dominant, evoked sympathetic and sad memories for most of the audience. There is a lovely women’s duet, containing a graceful andante “Ce que voudrais, Salomé, c’est un jeune homme au doux visage”; a witty duo bouffe for Catherine and Rebstock interrupted by the “ba ba” of the school children. In short, this is a very pretty opéra-comique thanks to its naivete, the poetic colour of the libretto, and the charm of its melody, which distinguish it from the rowdy and vulgar operettas that encumbered the theatres of the time. The role of Catherine was a triumph for Mlle Chapuy. The cast was: Mme Decroix (Salomé), Nicot (Walter), and Thierry (Rebstock). It was retained in the repertory until 1923. La Taverne des trabans Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Erckmann-Chatrian and Jules Barbier. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 31 December 1881. Erckmann-Chatrian derived the libretto from his own nouvelle La Taverne du jambon de Mayence. The composer had recourse at the last moment to Barbier to put in proper order a badly conceived and tiresomely constructed libretto. Despite all these efforts, it was not viable. This is a pity because Maréchal’s score contains many good numbers. In the superior act 1 there is a duet full of grace and freshness, a lovely trio, and a drinking chorus of striking rhythm and good design.The work brought together the singers MM. Nicot, Fugère, Belhomme, and Grivot, and Mmes Bilbaut-Vauchelet and Vidal. It was performed into the following year. ____________________________________________________________

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Louis MARESSE L’Habit retourné Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Mendibourg. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 11 September 1821. There were 4 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Marco Aurelio MARLIANI (1805-1849) Le Marchand de forain Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Eugène de Planard and Paul Duport. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Bourse), 31 October 1834. The work was performed into the following year, 1835 ____________________________________________________________

Jean-Paul-Egide MARTINI (1741-1816) L’Amoureux de quinze ans, ou La Double Fête Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en trois actes.. Librettist: Pierre Laujon. First performance: 1st version: Chantilly, 1770; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Aux Italiens) (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 18 April 1771. The work was written for the celebration of the marriage of the Duc de Bourbon. At the reprise of 29 October 1784 the title was changed to L’Amoureux de quinze ans, ou Le Double Anniversaire. This charming work was very successful at its first appearance. It is the masterpiece of the doyen of vaudevillists, and the work which led to his reception into the Académie française. It was revived at the Salle Feydeau on 12 October 1801, and remained in the repertory until 1817.

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Le Fermier cru sourd, ou Les Méfiances Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en trois actes. Librettist: Pierre Laujon. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 7 December 1772. There was one performance. Le Rendez-vous bien employé Comédie parade en un acte. Librettist: Louis Anseaume. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 10 February 1774. There were 3 performances. Henri IV, ou La Bataille d’Ivry Drame lyrique mêlée d’ariettes en trois actes. Librettist: Barnabé Farmian Durosoy. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 14 November 1774. This was composed for the accession of Louis XVI to the throne in May 1774. There was a reprise on 23 April 1814 (Feydeau), “with changes by [J. F. Roger] for the happy return of the son of Henri IV to the throne of France” (libretto, 1814). Le Droit du seigneur Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en trois actes. Librettists: François-Georges Desfontaines and Paul-Antoine Laval. First performance: 1st version: Fontainebleau, Théâtre de la Cour, 17 October 1783; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 29 December 1783. The composer wrote gracious music for this absurd libretto, and so secured the work a succès de vogue. One does not find here the exquisite sensibility he revealed in the score of Annette et Lubin, and in the wellknown romance “Plaisir d’amour”. The subject does not admit of it. There was, however, a reprise on 23 June 1801 (Feydeau).

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L’Amant Sylphe, ou La Féerie de l’amour Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en trois actes. Librettist: François-Antoine Quétant. First performance: Fontainebleau, Théâtre de la Cour, 24 October 1783. There was a performance at Versailles in 1785, otherwise, it was not given in Paris. Annette et Lubin Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Marie-Justine Favart and JeanBaptiste Lourdet de Santerre, revised by Charles-Simon Favart. First performance: 1st version: Gennevilliers, for the Comte de Vaudreuil (1785); 2nd version: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 14 April 1800. This is the poem by Madame Favart, originally performed in 1762, for which Martini (Schwarzendorff) wrote new and charming music. It was first given privately for the Comte de Vaudreuil (1785), and then at Court on 16 February 1789. It appeared publicly only 11 years later in 1800. The score was published in 1789, and is prefaced in the following way: “M. Favart, the creator of the Opéra-Comique, has at the age of 78, rejuvenated his Annette et Lubin by making some changes to it. The intention of the composer of this work, in giving it light of day, does not wish to damage the favourable opinion the public may still have for the old music of Annette et Lubin. But he believes that he is restoring both to amateurs and real connoisseurs a poem full of character and situations that lend themselves to music, since the old vaudevilles and parodied arias, now 27 years old, have almost been forgotten” (Avertissement). There was a reprise on 24 September 1801 (Feydeau), and it remained in the repertory until 1806. L’Arts et l’amitié See under BERTON. La Maison louée, ou La Maison à deux maîtres Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en trois actes. Librettist: François-Georges Desfontaines. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 30 August 1806.

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There were 3 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Alfred de MASSA (1831-1911) Le Coeur de Paris Revue précédée d’un prologue en un acte. First performance: OpéraComique (Salle Favart 2), 23 May 1887. A soirée for the benefit of the work of the Société philanthropique. ____________________________________________________________

Félix-Marie known as Victor MASSÉ (1822-1884) La Chanteuse voilée Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Augustin-Eugène Scribe and Adolphe de Leuven. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 26 November 1850. The great painter Velasquez is the principal character of the story. He lives in Seville, crippled with debt. Palamita, his servant, disappears every evening, disguised by a veil and calling herself Lazarilla. She goes to sing in the great square, and always returns with the proceeds to the artist’s poor lodgings. Some young bloods plan to abduct the supposed Gypsy, who seeks refuge in the studio. She removes her veil, and Velasquez recognizes his servant. Since he has already fallen in love with her, he now determines to marry her. Despite the unlikely nature of the scenario, the skill of the details brought success for this work, especially in the graceful music, which was the composer’s first theatrical attempt. The overture contains a suave solo for cornet à pistons, a jolly allegro, and a dashing allegro of Spanish character. Several pieces from this charming work were well received: the cantilena for two voices “Tous les soirs sur la grande place”, the romance “Une lampe mourante”, the big duet for Velasquez and Palamita during the scene for the posing of the model; and the bolero “L’air au loin retentit du son des castagnettes”. The cast was Audran, Bussine, and Mlle Lefebvre (CL 1:219).

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Galathée Opéra-comique en deux actes. Librettists: Jules Barbier and Michel Carré. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 14 April 1852. The action takes place in Pygmalion’s studio. The celebrated sculptor has charged his servant Ganymede, although lazy and a glutton, to guard the statue of Galathea that he has completed and with which he is madly obsessed. Midas, a rich sybarite, arrives and demands to see the masterpiece. The untrustworthy Ganymede, corrupted by a few ecus, pulls away the curtain veiling the statue. Pygmalion enters at this moment, rails against his servant, and chases Midas from his house. Left alone with his idol, the artist exults: he wants her to respond to his wild ardour or he will destroy the work of his hands. An invisible chorus sings Ô Vénus, des amours suivie Ton haleine aux douces chaleurs Pénètre les bois et les fleurs, Ô Vénus, source de la vie! The libretto has incontestably literary qualities, and offers much beautiful verse. But the overly comic element of familiarity that almost debases the dialogue, nearly spoils the eminently lyrical subject which would have remained interesting and successful without these concessions made to the least educated part of the public. Galathea, bestowed with life, becomes a woman of a thousand caprices, and distresses Pygmalion with her ingratitude. She prefers the imbecile Ganymede to her melancholic lover; she accepts presents from old Midas while mocking him. She does even worse, and becomes drunk on the wine of Chio: Ah! Verse encore! Vidons l’amphore! Qu’un flot divin, De ce vieux vin, Calme la soif qui me dévore! Le vin Est un trésor divin! At last, after further such excesses, she decides to flee with Ganymede, while Pygmalion, cured forever of his passion by this new outrage, asks

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that Galathea be changed back into a statue “Ô toi qui donnas la vie et la beauté”. His wish is granted, and he sells the the statue to Midas without regret. His friends arrive and Pygmalion promises them to console himself for the deception with their company. The finale is vulgar, and threatens to spoil the nature of this masterpiece: Oui, mes amis, soyez contents. Dans la coup aux flots écumants, Je veux noyer une folle chimère, Et j’ai retrouvé mes vingt ans! À moi, folles maîtresses, Ephémères tendresses, Qui ne durent qu’un jour. The work contains charming things with regrettable inequalities (CL 1:496). Massé’s score is tasteful, containing as it does happy melodies, an elegant shapeliness, and witty orchestration. The slothful couplets Ah! Qu’il est doux De ne rien faire, Quand tout s’agite autour de nous! and the brindis “Ah! verse encore” became very popular. The roles of Pygmalion and Galathée were created by Mlle Wertheimber and Mme Ugalde respectively, those of Midas and Ganymede by Sainte-Foy and Mocker. The work remained in the repertoire for a long time. The vocal score was arranged by M. Vauthrot. Les Noces de Jeannette Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Jules Barbier and Michel Carré. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 4 February 1853. The story concerns a wise and industrious young woman who succeeds through her tenderness and deftness in bringing back to his proper behaviour her peasant fiancé, who is drunken, bad-tempered and crude. There is a real sensibility and grace in this work, as well as some trivial elements. The scene in which Jeannette mends the dress which Jean has torn in an excess of ill-humour is touching, and the romance “Cours, mon aiguille, dans la laine” became very popular. The vocalise in the duet with the flute, imitating the song of the nightingale, produced a great effect,

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especially because of the singing of Mme Miolan. The scene of the reconciliation of the two spouses is realized with exquisite taste: Allons, rapprochons-nous un peu... Je sens mon coeur tressaillir d’aise. Couderc played the role of Jean as an accomplished comedian. Of all Massé’s works, this obtained the greatest and most widespread success. The 1000th performance at the Opéra-Comique was on 10 June 1895, and featured M. Fugère and Mlle. Leclerc. La Fiancée du diable Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Augustin-Eugène Scribe and Hippolyte Romand. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 5 June 1854. The action takes place in Avignon. It describes how a poor girl, whom popular credulity imagines to have been affianced to the devil by her father, escapes from her misery. The Marquis de Langeai seeks to exploit this popular superstition to his own benefit. He is caught by his own ploy and obliged to marry the penniless peasant girl whom he has compromised. There is some wit in the dialogue, but there is a flaw in the general conception of the plot. The score contains interesting pieces: the sentimental romance for Gillette which is then very effectively united to the very rhythmical couplets for the armourer Andiol, her brother; Catherine’s aria in act 2 “Ah! qu’un a de peine à trouverun mari!”, and the duet for the married couple in act 3. The roles were created by Couderc, who by his skilled acting knew how to save the odious side of Langeai’s character, Bussine, Sainte-Foy, Puget, Mlles Boulart and Lemercier. (CL 1: 452). Miss Fauvette Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Jules Barbier and Michel Carré. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 13 February 1855. A milord has as his neighbour a pretty florist, Lisette, who sings every morning and evening. The Englishman, who is something of a dilettante, with very sensitive nerves, tries to find a way of stopping Miss Fauvette from singing. The tale of Le Savetier et le Financier inspires his plan. He

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gives a gift of guineas to the young florist who sings even more delightedly as this will enable her to enrich Robin, the poor young man whom she loves. The Englishman, disappointed, has recourse to other means by exciting the jealousy of Robin. This time there is no more singing, and milord, moved to compassion, repairs the damage he has done in hastening the marriage of the young people. The piece was well acted by Nathan, Sainte-Foy, Jourdan and Mlle Lefebvre. Robin has a romance “Lise, prenez garde!” of distinguished melody and harmony. There are some couplets intercalated in the champagne trio which were perfectly articulated by Sainte-Foy who created the role of the Englishman: La femme était toujours un’ créatiour pervers, L'amour avait toujours chagriné l’univers. Finally there is Lisette’s sentimental romance which the composer has invested with an apt dramatic expression. There were 38 performances. Les Saisons Opéra-comique en trois actes et quatre tableaux. Librettists: Jules Barbier and Michel Carré. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 22 December 1855. The title of this work reflects the action of the plot in which the marriage of Simone and Pierre is arranged at harvest time, broken during the vintage, renewed during the winter, and concluded in the spring. These realistic details about the lives of the peasants which the authors were anxious to portray should have been left in Le Journal amusant because they never entertained the public of the Opéra-Comique. The episode of Simone’s blindness was not well imagined (CL 2:995). The score, on the other hand, is the richest in ideas and striking effects which the composer ever gave to the theatre. The overture has real character, especially in the first part. The chorus of harvesters “Les blés sont coupés”; the hunt aria; the chorus of the vintage; the couplets of the vin nouveau; the tableau of the vigil of winter where the composer introduced the popular refrains “Il court, il court, le furet” and “Nous n’irons plus au bois”; and finally the chorus of spring make up the descriptive section of the work. This is the best part, although the big final scene of act 2 is dramatic and very beautiful, as is the duet for Simone and Pierre in act 3. The cast was Bataille, Couderc, Sainte-Foy, Delaunay-Ricquier, Mlles Caroline Duprez

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and Lemercier. Performed into 1856. La Reine Topaze Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Joseph Lockroy and Léon Battu. First performance: Théâtre-Lyrique, 27 December 1856. Topaze is a young girl who as a child was abducted from her parents, wealthy patricians of Venice. She has become the ‘queen’ of a type of troupe of Gypsies. She loves a young officer called Rafaël, and by her bold and original ploys has succeeded in detaching him from a great lady of Vicenza he is engaged to marry, and wishes to make him share her love. Rafaël hesitates, at least, that is, until the secret of Topaze’s birth is revealed to him by two Gypsies in a drunken moment. The score contains several numbers that drew special attention—be it by their own merits or because of the brilliant execution of Mme MiolanCarvalho who, in the creation of the role of Queen Topaze deployed all the marvels of her vocal talents. The overture has a strange sonority, most appropriate for a plot that takes place among a tribe of Gypsies. The motif of the small sextet “Nous sommes six seigneurs” has fine inspiration. The Air de l’abeille, independent of its graceful melody, is ingeniously accompanied by a high-pitched violin tremolo. The bolero, already heard in the orchestra, is loaded with virtuoso vocalism that provided a new occasion for the triumph of the prima donna. In act 2 there is the intercalated aria Le Carnaval de Venise, with variations by Paganini. Mme Carvalho executed these with a facility, a firmness of tone and finesse of detail altogether extraordinary. In act 3 there is a very successful scenic trio for Annibal and the two Gypsies. The cast was Montjauze, Meillet, Balanqué, Fromant and Mlle Pannetrat. The title role was inseparable from the name of its creator, Mme Carvalho. Les Chaises à porteurs Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Philippe Dumanoir and Clairville (Louis-François Nicolaïe). First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 28 April 1858. This is a rather amusing imbroglio, if a little flippant, between a financier, his wife, a female dancer and two gentlemen. The couple are seeking to escape—the husband from a jealous wife, the wife from surveillance by her husband. All the characters resort to sedan chairs, one after the other,

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which results in various quiproquos, grotesque and prolonged. The music is very elegant, especially the couplets for the chevalier, the duet of sedan chairs for the chevalier and the financier, and a lovely quartet. The roles were realized by Couderc, Ponchard, Prilleux and Mlle Lemercier. Fior d’Aliza Opéra-comique en 4 actes et sept tableaux. Librettists: Michel Carré and Hippolyte Lucas. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 5 February 1866. This work contains excellent pieces and most agreeable melodies, but the faults of the libretto have kept it off the stage. The subject is taken from the well-known novel by Lamartine, Graziella. The principal events as treated in the book have the benefit of being situated in circumstances which give them context, and with motivation that promotes verisimilitude. In the libretto these become brusque, disconnected and uninteresting. Géronimo and Fior d’Aliza have been brought up together in cottage shaded by a venerable chestnut tree. They love each other, and their parents have agreed to their union. But the captain of police in the neighbouring village asks to marry the young girl. Not being able to break the parents' resistance, he swears vengeance. He buys the property rented to the poor people, and seeks to fell the chestnut. Géronimo, outraged and giving way to his love and his anger, fires on the captain and kills him. He is taken to prison and soon after condemned to death. The unfortunate Fior d’Aliza, to save her beloved, disguises herself as a pifferaro, and gains access to the gaoler, or bargello, whose daughter is to be married. She enters the house with the wedding guests, and is recognized by the prisoner thanks to a song which they used to sing in the days of happiness. They manage to see each other, and are married by a kind monk hours before the designated execution. A strange incident, and well handled, complicates the situation, and leads to a happy denouement. A young girl, whose father was a bandit and whose mother was a Gypsy, has grown up in the prison. Her reason is impaired. She falls in love with Géronimo, and helps him to escape. Fior d’Aliza, for her part, when they come searching for the condemned man, puts on the robe prepared for him, and is taken for execution. Arriving at the ramparts, she is about to die, when Géronimo bursts on the scene to take his proper place. At the same time the good monk has succeeded in obtaining a pardon for the young man.

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The overture provides piquant effects of rhythm and concludes with an animated saltarello. Act 1 contains the romance “C’est l’amour” in which the imitative accompaniment has an ingenious gracefulness, and the quintet of the chestnut tree. The sections of the finale are lovely, but rather too elaborate for the limited confines of the action. In act 2 there is a fandango accompanied by Basque tambourines to charming effect. In act 3 the saltarello, already heard concluding the overture, returns for the wedding of the gaoler’s daughter (a stroke popular with the audience) which makes this the principal morceau de chant of the whole work. The aria of the young Gypsy also has originality. Act 4 contains a striking funeral march. The role of Fior d’Aliza was admirably interpreted by Mme Vandenheuvel-Duprez; that of Piccinina by Mme Galli-Marié, those of Géronimo and the Monk by Achard and Crosti respectively. There were 33 performances. Le Fils du brigadier Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Eugène Labiche and Alfred Delacour. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 25 February 1867. The scene is set is Spain during the siege of Burgos. It is a sort of melodrama in which several very comical scenes have been intercalated, but not in the best taste. The music is full of motifs, ingenious and wellcoloured. The overture is charming: it would be difficult to render the military formulas and banalities of retreat in a more poetic way. Act 1 contains a sung waltz, the romance “Trembler, quand on est militaire”; a popular refrain “Les Flamands, les Saxons”; and a comic rondo. In act 3 there is a trio and the romance “Pardonne-moi” accompanied by the cor anglais. The cast was: Crosti, Montaubry, Sainte-Foy, Prilleux, Mlles Girard, Roze and Révilly. (CL 1:463). Paul et Virginie Opéra en trois actes et six tableaux. Librettists: Jules Barbier and Michel Carré. First performance: 1st version: Théâtre National Lyrique de la Gaîté, 15 November 1876; 2nd version: Opéra-Comique (Châtelet), 18 December 1898. This was the most distinguished, the most poetic and the most inspired work to be given at the Théâtre-Lyrique for a long time. Bernadin de Saint

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Pierre’s masterpiece was skillfully arranged for the lyric stage, and the general colour captures the touching tale of the love of the two unfortunate young people. Act 1. In the first scene the action takes place in the house of Marguerite, a bamboo cabin opened to the terrain of the Île de Franc (Mauritius). Mme de La Tour and Marguerite are busy spinning cotton. The two mothers discuss their children, and their evident attachment to each other. Mme de La Tour announces her intention of sending Paul to the Indies for a while, less to test his love for Virginie than to prepare for their future happiness. The duet for the mothers has a charming effect. It is a dialogue and ensemble in the shape of a nocturne, full of tenderness and calm. Domigue, an old servant devoted to his employers and the family, has heard of the intention to send Paul away. He intervenes in the conversation and sings his couplets with a melody that is both parlante and original “N’envoyez pas le jeune maître vers le pays lointaines!” The arrival of a ship from France is announced, and Mme de La Tour leaves for Port-Louis where she hopes to find a letter from her family. The chorus of the island inhabitants, “Un navire entre dans le port” is at once popular and distinguished. One hears the rocking of the ship, the monotonous song of the sailors as they work to hoist the bales of merchandise. Only a real artist knows how to poeticize the most ordinary of details while avoiding the two pitfalls of banality and realism. Paul and Virginie, surprised by a storm, run to find shelter under the leaves of a banana palm. Their duet “Ô joie! ô douceur d’aimer qui nous aime!” successfully merges the two voices in the perfect and mysterious union of two loving hearts. The poetry of Félicien David and the harmonic forms of Mendelssohn seem to fuse in this piece. Méala, exhausted from running,with bruised limbs and clothes in shreds, appears on the doorstep. She implores refuge from a pitiless master. Virginie compassionately gives her some milk, and speaks soothingly to her. She undertakes with Paul to take her back to her owner’s house and obtain his pardon. This trio contains the lovely passage: Oui, les coeurs que Dieu même inspire, Dans l’innocence des champs Trouvent bien ce qu’il faut dire Pour émouvoir le méchants. The second scene is set on the plantation of M. de Sainte-Croix, a rich cultivator of Rivière-Noire. This evil colonist is not given a name by Bernadin de Saint-Pierre. So why did the librettists choose this name? No

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doubt it is an antitype, since it is through the branches of the tree of the cross that equality and human rights have been promoted throughout the world. The dolorous accents of the slaves are heard labouring in the heat of the sun, and a negro sings in the minor mode and with plaintive intonation of his misery. Paul and Virginie arrive with Méala. Here the recitatives have excellent expression and pass by stages from roughness to exquisite gentleness. “Pardonnez-lui” cries out Virginie, addressing Sainte-Croix. Her song, broad and sustained, is most affecting, a magnificent inspiration. The chorus is also enchanting: “Oh! La douce voix! Oh! Le doux sourire, c’est un chant d’oiseau dans l’air envolé; à peine elle parle, et chacun admire”. Sainte-Croix gives way to her. These pages recall the powerful expression of Gluck. Sainte-Croix pardons Méala, but Virginie’s beauty enflames a brutal passion in his heart. The intelligent and observant Méala immediately perceives what is happening, and when Sainte-Croix improvises a celebration in honour of his two guests, and orders Méala to sing for them, she warns them of the danger that threatens them: Parmi les lianes. Au fond des savans, Le tigre se couché... Le jour va s’éteindre, Voici la nuit; Il peut vous atteindre. Fuyez!—tout fuit. This harsh and savage song remains musical despite its daring intonation and violent rhythm, and proves that for a musician of imagination and taste it is never necessary to leave the realms of art to find a special effect . Sainte-Croix, enraged by the sudden departure of Virginie and Paul, blames Méala, and orders her to be punished. This scene is too long. The bamboula dance, the planter’s orgie, his drunkenness, the cries of the unfortunate slave that dominate the chorus, produce impressions almost too distressing for a lyrical work. One must guard against confusing emotion with physical sensation. An interesting symphonic interlude, entitled La Fôret, then follows. Act 2. The first scene depicts the house of Mme de La Tour. She is finishing dressing Virginie, and adorning her with some jewellery. She tells her daughter that an elderly relative has sent for Virginie, and has agreed to leave her her fortune on condition that Virginie leaves for France. Virginie does not want to leave her mother, and confides that she

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is in love. Mme de La Tour, after some gentle encouragement, leaves her alone. All this is handled by the composer with great delicacy. This is a scene poetic in its naivete, full of naturalness, which in itself could have secured the success of the opera. The young woman wants to know what Domigue has to say about her departure, since he is her oldest friend and has seen her grow up, and loves her as much as Paul does. He replies without looking at her or ceasing to work at his reed mat: L’oiseau s’envoie Là’bas, là’bas! Et ne revient pas. The melody of this cantilena is both expressive and touching. Paul’s despair on learning this news forms the counterpart to this scene. It is rendered even more dramatic by Marguerite's admission of her fault and the shame of his birth. This scene is realized in declamation that is most apt and successful. Nothing is so moving as the consolation that Paul lavishes on his mother, despite his own sadness, especially the phrases “Ah! ne brise pas mon courage” and “Je vous honor; je vous aime.” Méala comes back, again seeking refuge. This time she is closely followed by Sainte-Croix. Paul receives him, and engages him in discussion. It is decided that the slave will be ransomed, and the money sent to France with Virginie. The big duet in which Paul and Virginie pledge their troth to each other is rather long in its various movements— andante, allegretto, allegro maestoso, all broken by recitative in the fashion of the continuous flow in vogue across the Rhine. The peroration in A-flat major is well imagined. The composer chose this lovely phrase to represent the love between Paul and Virginie, a love noble and pure, above human vicissitude, stronger than death: Par tes larmes, par ton sourire, Je jure de n’être qu’à toi. The second scene is by the light of the moon, a view of the sea beyond the trees. The chorus of sailors heard earlier is repeated with fanfares of horns, and developed by a chorus in the distance. After a big aria for Virginie, Méala sings couplets given a special character by the use of appogiature. Virginie is asleep under a gauze net. M. de La Bourdonnais arrives, and urges departure. Mme de La Tour wakens her daughter, and the curtain falls.

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Act 3. This contains as many fine pieces as the first two. Méala’s chanson”En vain sur cette lontaine rive” is a very pretty melody with striking syncopation. The quartet “Que l’enfant que j’aime”, composed in alternating common and double time, is gracefully accompanied by the strings playing pizzicato. Paul is unconsolable without his beloved. He reads and re-reads Virginie’s letter in fine melodic declamation of refined sensibility. Chère mère, vous m’avez dit De vous mander les jours de joie Ou de chagrin que Dieu m’envoie...” The back of the stage opens, revealing through gauze an aristocratic salon. Virginie is invited to sing, and accompanies herself on the harp: Que ma chanson vers toi s’envoie, Ô doux ami que j’ai quitté... The melody is affecting in its grace and melancholy. A visitor is presented to her—Sainte-Croix. Virginie repulses his homage with disdain. The old relation expresses her indignation, and dismisses Virginie. Paul has followed this vision and cries out: “She is coming back to us!” Domigue rushes in to announce the arrival of a ship, but it is buffeted by a storm and cannot come into land. Paul hurries to the beach, and the scene changes. In the distance is the sea. One sees the ship the Saint-Géran halfsubmerged in the waves. Virginie is lying lifeless on the shore, with Paul kneeling near her. All the characters and inhabitants of the island are overcome with grief. The chorus sings: Pauvre amants! Séparés sur la terre Et longtemps malhereux, L’amour que rien n’altère Les attend dans le ciel et commence pour eux! This score is Massé’s masterpiece, now associated with Bernardin de Saint-Pierre’s novel, and must be counted among the better operas of the French school. The cast was: Capoul (Paul), Melchisédech (Sainte-Croix), Bouhy (Domigue), Bonnefoy (M. de La Bourbonnais), Mlle C. Ritter (Virginie), Mme Engalli (Méala), Mme Sallard (Mme de La Tour), Mme Téoni (Marguerite), Mlles Parent and Marcus (negro slaves). It remained

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in the repertory until 1898. Une Nuit de Cléopâtre Drame lyrique en trois actes et quatre tableaux. Librettist: Jules Barbier, after the novella by Théophile Gautier. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2) (opus posthumous). In the absence of Antony, who haunts her thoughts, the daughter of the Ptolemies is afflicted with a terrible boredom. The powerful Queen of Egypt, celebrated for her beauty, her lasciviousness, and her cruelty, does not know how to pass the long hours of her idleness in solitude. Having attended a display of loyalty, she returns to her palace, gently carried on the bridge of a sumptuous barge rowed by fifty strong oarsmen, swiftly carried across the limpid and fecund waters of the Nile. On her return, she orders her servant Charmion to sing to her, although she soon becomes bored again. Suddenly an arrow, shot through the open window, fixes itself in the wall. Attached is a fragment of papyrus, with the three words “I love you”. The queen orders the audacious culprit to be found “Quel est l’audacieux?” Later, the queen, emerging from her bath, is surrounded by her ladies. Suddenly the privacy of her retreat is broken and a young man, Manasses, a fisherman, kneels before her. The Queen is about to strike him with her dagger, when he repeats the declaration of love. She is amazed at his daring: “N’as-tu as conçu la pensé...?” Cléopâtre will love him for one night, after which he must drink a poisoned chalice. The scene changes to the festivity, a nocturnal orgy. Manassès, sumptuously arrayed, is the king of this feast, and will have to pay for it with his life. Soon the courtesans, dancers and slaves all leave, leaving Cléopâtre alone with the young man. They sing a long love duet, full of voluptuous delight. But as the fatal hour of dawn breaks, news is brought of Mark Antony’s arrival. She urges him to flee, but Manasses refuses, drinks the cup, and falls lifeless. Massé was not a man of grand vision and high aspiration. Rather a delicate and refined artist, he did not have sentiments of grand passion, and powerful movements of the soul were unknown to him. His disposition was not right for this subject, and, apart from the denouement, the composer was not able to adapt his nature to his subject. Act 1, which has its longeurs, nonetheless contains charming pages. Apart from the short song of the muleteer, there is Charmion's lovely cantelina “Loin de vous, j’ai vu l’année”, and the duet full of tenderness Cléopâtre sings with Manasses in which is embedded the beautiful Chanson de l’étoile. There

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follows Manasses’s aria, the andante of which in G-flat “Sous un rayon tombée des cieux” has exquisite colouring. The scene on the barge is very poetically imagined, with Cléopâtre’s vocalise supported by the chorus accompanied by light chords on the harp producing a delightful effect. The whole of the first scene of Act 2 is well imagined. Cléopâtre’s aria has ardor and allure, and is contrasted with refined and original stances for Charmion “Les heureux accusent la vie”. A short chorus of women then follows “Le flot limpide et pure t’appelle” in the key of C and with a light rhythm full of seductive coqueterie. The second scene opens with another women’s chorus, full of lovely sentiment, and concludes, afer the scene for Cléopâtre and Manasses, with a grand scenic finale in the Italian manner. Here novelty is not the dominant character, but pleasing vocal effect. The whole musical interest of Act 3 is concentrated on the central scene for the two lovers. The banquet scene does not offer anything particularly remarkable, apart from the graceful divertissement for the light and dark hours, and Cléopâtre’s ardent strophes “Le connais-tu, l’amour?” which certainly convey a sense of voluptuous rapture. The masterly pages of this act are the duet for Cléopâtre and Manasses, where the composer found inspiration and passion, even if the musical ideas are not absolutely new. It is at least very scenic, with really pathetic character and sentiment both powerful and intense. The finale is very short and rapid after the death of Manasses. The cast was: Mlle Heilbronn (Cléopâtre), Mlle Reggiani (Charmion), Talazac (Manasses), and Taskin (Bocchoris). ____________________________________________________________

Jules-Émile-Frédéric MASSENET (1842-1912) La Grand’ Tante Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Jules Adenis and Charles Grandvallet. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 3 April 1867. The subject is not lyrical. A miserly uncle has married a young girl to whom he has left all his fortune on his death.. But he has not signed his will. His nephew arrives at the chateau from Africa; he would like to sell the residence immediately. He sees the young woman, his great aunt. He is taken by her, and fascinated. He now thinks only of prolonging his stay at the chateau. He goes so far as to counterfeit his uncle’s signature on the will, but this is a step too far. The great aunt tears it up. After a contest of

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mutual generosity, the great aunt gives way to the entreaties of the young soldier and promises to wait for him. The music is well-made, interesting, indicative of considerable musical study. Of note are: an aria for the tenor “Allons, camarade”; a lovely phrase in the duet “Fée, ange ou femme”; the couplets of the corvette “File, corvette agile”. The work was created by Capoul, Mlles Girard and Heilbronn. There were 17 performances. Don César de Bazan Opéra-comique en trois actes et quatre tableaux. Librettist: Jules de Chantepie. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 30 November 1872. The story is taken from the drama by Philippe Dumanoir and Adolphe Dennery, in five acts and in prose (borrowed in its turn from Victor Hugo’s play Ruy Blas) produced at the Théâtre de la Porte-Saint-Martin in 1844. At a time when Romanticism was still much in favour, when Frédérick Lamartine was the Bible of the boulevard, the characters of Victor Hugo’s drama—Ruy Blas, Maritana, Don César de Bazan—became celebrated. Wallace, the Irish composer, wrote his best work on these ragged personages, revealing a rare merit. Otherwise, this subject is not lyrical. The literary work, disencumbered of its tirades and descriptive recitals, offers only a few dramatic incidents; the action is poor, and the episodes devoid of that feeling which is the principal source of inspiration for any composer. The music of this work is symphonic rather than dramatic. The vocal parts are sacrificed to harmonic effects and rhythms that often remove all expression and character. Instrumental colour is the principal faculty of the composer. The ideas are rarified, the inspiration dramatic rather than natural. All the picturesque elements from a literary point of view have been exploited by the musician, a process more ingenious than efficacious in an opera. Many French composers, led astray by the formal instruction they had received, and by the examples of their teachers, developed an erroneous idea of dramatic music. They gave too big a role to the descriptive genre. That which is admirable in the symphonies of Beethoven, and in Haydn’s The Seasons, is a distraction in opera where action, passion,and feeling should dominate. The effect is that of a concert that precedes a ball. Spanish motifs, fandangos, boleros, sevillanes, seguidillas, are all treated with much knowledge and talent. But in this work of three acts it is difficult to find even four or five captivating melodies. There is nothing complete, that has a beginning, middle and end,

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and the composer appears to have admired the cavatina that young musicians now avoid like the plague. Among the more striking moments are the Introduction, the first entr’acte, a lovely berceuse “Dors, ami, dors, et que les sognes t’apportent leurs riants mensonges”; the marriage scene, where the organ and the bells produce a charming effect; and a rather dramatic trio. The opera was created by: Bouhy, Lhérie, Neveu, Mme Galli-Marié and Mlle Priola. The work was performed into the following year, 1873. The score was destroyed in 1887 during the fire at the Salle Favart. Massenet composed a second version with new orchestration. Manon Opéra-comique en cinq actes et six tableaux, en vers libres. Librettists: Henri Meilhac and Philippe Gille. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 19 January 1884. The story is based on the Abbé Prévost’s novel L’Histoire de chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut. The librettists provided a really charming text for Massenet who set it to music in the loveliest and most exquisite manner. The story begins with the arrival of Manon in Paris and her first meeting with Des Grieux, and concludes with her death. The librettists have taken the usual liberties with the novel, but have brought the greatest variety to their scenes, so offering the composer the contrasts he knew how to exploit with talent and commendable skill. The score is charming, full of youth and freshness, marked by moments of verve and gaiety, and yet with a language of the most tender and touching kind. At the same time, it depicts a passion that is both violent and disordered. Massenet in writing this did not break with the ancient traditions of the opéra-comique, and one finds arias, couplets, duets and ensembles carefully distinguished one from the other. But he did refresh and renew these sacred forms to a certain point, with the aid of his own very personal style, and introduced a stimulating innovation that underlines all the spoken dialogue with a symphonic accompaniment as discreet as it is elegant. This was a great surprise for the public, but, thanks to the delicacy with which it was introduced into the work, it had the happiest effect. This was all very novel, but always presented in a theatrically and musically successful way, with abundant and easy inspiration that caresses and charms the ear in the most delicate manner. This is far from the barbarous crudeness, maladroit audacities, and voluntary and unfortunate stupidities of many others (CL 2:693). There are many striking moments in this fine, elegant work. The whole

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of act 1 must be included. The chorus marking the arrival of the coach is so full of movement, so lively, so smart and vivacious that it is irresistible. Manon’s aria that follows “Je suis encore tout étourdie” is full of grace and langour. Then comes the scene for Lescaut and his two companions, followed by the charming, spruce terzetto for the grisettes “Revenez, Guillot, revenez”. Lescaut’s couplets “Ne bronchez pas, soyez gentille” has a characteristic frankness. Finally, after the charming cantilena for Manon “Voyons, Manon, plus de chimères”, comes the lovely duet marking her meeting with Des Grieux, one of the tenderest and most amiable of love exchanges. Act 2 is intimate, quite different from the first, and set in the lodgings of the two lovers. After the piquant prelude comes the scene of the letter and its reading by the two voices, of a penetrating tenderness. The quartet that follows, a piece of excellent and solid structure, written in the true style of the opéra-comique, provides a complete contrast to the duet. Manon’s romance “Adieu, notre petite table!” is very moving in its touching expressiveness. Act 3 presents a fête at the Cours-la-Reine; after an elegant entr’acte, there is a lovely duetto for the grisettes, Lescaut’s bluff and well-drawn chanson “Ô Rosalinde”, and the excellent dialogue, so theatrical and moving, for Manon and the Comte Des Grieux. Act 4 opens with the austere exchange for Des Grieux and his father, and the big scene in which Manon, having abandoned her lover, and recovering all her passion for him, seeks him out in the seminary of SaintSulpice. From a dramatic point of view, this episode is the most important, the culminating point of the work. Here the composer has deployed all his pathetic powers, placing in the mouth of his hero the most human and intense of passions, attaining the ultimate limits of emotion, profoundly and effectively. It is indescribably poignant. It is difficult to single out the most striking element of this score: the purity of style, the grace and freshness of inspiration, the appropriateness of the theatrical feeling, the finesse and stimulating nature of the harmony, the lovely symphonic inventiveness that is constantly revealed, or the magisterial sense of ensemble that dominates the whole work. This loveliness is found throughout all its parts, and imparts a delicate and refined pleasure to the attentive listener. The score of Manon is certainly one of the most remarkable presented at the Opéra-Comique. The principal roles were realized by Mlle Heibronn (Manon), MM. Talazac (Des Grieux), Taskin (Lescaut), Cobalet (Des Grieux père) and Grivot (Guillot de Morfontaine). There were revivals on 12 October 1891 (Châtelet) with additions by the composer; 16 December 1898 (Salle Favart 3); 28 January

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1950 (Salle Favart 3). The work was performed until 1959. Esclarmonde Opéra romanesque en quatre actes et huit tableaux, dont un prologue et un epilogue. Librettists: Alfred Blau and Louis de Gramont. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Châtelet), 15 May 1889. The story is taken from a novel of chivalry, Parthenopius de Blois. The very name is full of gentleness and harmony, a sonority tender and penetrating, of the vague and blond colour of corn ripening in the sun. It seems that this name, which is entirely invented, engenders at once poetry, love and melancholy. In fact, there is a little of all of that in the libretto by Blau and Gramont. One regrets only that they did not introduce a little more novelty, and that their imagination, influenced especially by the availability of complex stage machinery, did not rise to a grander level of invention in the emotional range of the work, the depiction of the characters, and also the natural and logical sequence of events. The principal idea of the opera, moreover, consists of nothing less than to provide a counterpart to the basic notion of Richard Wagner’s Lohengrin. Esclarmonde is in fact nothing other than a female Lohengrin. The situation of the lovers is simply repeated. The only difference, less cruel than that conceived by the German composer, is the authors’ determination to finally unite the lovers, and instead of having one of them die, to arrange things to allow them a happy eternity. The prologue transports the spectator to Byzantium, where the emperor Phorcas explains to the assembled people that, for having wanted to delve too deeply into the mysteries of magic, heaven has obliged him to renounce the throne in favour of his daughter Esclarmonde. He will retire into profound solitude, during which she will inherit his power and authority. The new empress shows herself to the prostrate people, who swear obedience to her. Esclarmonde has been inducted by her father into the arts of commanding the spirits, and she possesses the magical power which has been so fatal for him. But in order to preserve it, her face must remain veiled until the age of twenty, and she must show her face to no man. On the day she attains her twentieth year, a solemn tournament will be held in Byzantium, and the victor will become her husband. Esclarmonde is melancholy. A single name keeps passing her lips: that of a French knight, the Count Roland de Blois, with whom she has fallen in love (although the circumstances under which this eastern princess has developed this burning passion are not disclosed). Suddenly she learns that

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Roland is on the point of marrying the daughter of the king of France, Cléomer, and she decides to use her magical powers to prevent the union. There is an arbitary confusion of fact and fiction at work here, a mixture of reality and the supernatural that is troublesome, and considerably weakens any dramatic interest in the action. Esclamonde invokes the spirits of the air, of the waves and of fire, her whole magical army. Docile to her voice, they make Roland appear in the moon, as if in a mirror. At this moment he is hunting with Cléomer in the forest of the Ardennes. At the height of the chase, a white stag draws the knight into pursuit. Roland soon finds himself at the seashore. A ship appears without crew. The hero boards it, and by the orders of Esclarmonde, the vessel conducts him to an enchanted island. Here Esclarmonde will join him, transported by her magic chariot. Roland lands on the island, and here it is not so much Lohengrin as Parsifal that has inspired the authors. Roland is now garlanded by flower-maidens, just as Parsifal is in Klingsor’s garden. Roland falls asleep, and is awakened by a kiss from Esclarmonde. At the knight’s question “Who are you?”, the empress-magician replies “I am a woman who loves you and who wishes to be united with you. But this can only be on the express condition: that you do not look at my face and that you will remain ignorant of my name.” The next day, at dawn, Esclarmonde and Roland awake. The latter remembers that he needs to go to the help of old Cléomer besieged in Blois by the Saracens commanded by the cruel Sarwégur. Esclarmonde reminds him of his vow to always keep silent about their mysterious marriage since she is sending him back to his duty, promising him that every night, in whatever place he should find himself, his beloved will come to join him. From this moment, the strange events accumulate and precipitate right up to the end, with a series of numerous reversals of fortune, among them the loss of Esclarmonde’s magical powers. Eventually, after several incidents which keep the lovers apart, they are reunited and bound together in an indissoluble union. The score of Esclarmonde, despite its real qualities, is not one of Massenet’s best. He seems to have deceived himself in perceiving inspiration in musical formulas which, now overused in all situations for a long time, have become common practice, especially the use and abuse of the Leitmotif in disclosing these formulas, accompanied all the while by an orchestra that is constantly in tumult, constantly quaking, always producing a maximum of sonority to the discomfort of the ears of the auditors. The drums, cymbals and percussion are in constant play. And as for the use of Leitmotif, Massenet could have borrowed the theories of Richard Wagner more interestingly. The score is full of instances of this

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kind, some almost haunting the composer’s imagination. For example, that announced by the strings at the beginning of the first scene of the prologue at the phrase for Phorcas “J’abandonne mon trône à ma fille Esclarmonde” that runs repeatedly throughout the work, passing incessantly from orchestra to voice, and back to the orchestra, and which recurs even more strongly in the epilogue. Inspiration, that warm, nervous, vivacious inspiration that Massenet has so often revealed, is missing in this score. It certainly appears on occasion, but not precisely at those times when one would have been happily overtaken by it. It appears especially in the episodic pages where the composer has been carried on the wings of his imagination—as in the airs de ballet and the entr’actes, which have received his careful attention, and which are free of the insupportable Leitmotifs. In this regard, one could indicate particularly the symphonic fragment, so clear, graceful and fresh, that opens the sixth tableau—with its broad melody for solo violoncelli, which the counterpoint of the first violins accompanies so well. This inspiration also appears in the ballet music, for example the dance of the spirits in act 2, with its interjections from the invisible chorus and in which the flutes and harps are heard with a rare delicacy. There is much of interest in the score, even if it is somewhat scattered, and the work lacks ensemble, cohesion and unity. Among the best pieces in act 1 are the melancholic cantilena for Esclarmonde “Comme il tient ma pensée” which has a tender and caressing quality; then the scene in trio which contains the lovely phrase for Parsëis “oui, je permets l’espoir”; then the ensemble for the two sisters, which has both warmth and movement; and the scene of the Evocation of the Spirits, despite certain vocal eccentricities provided to show off the singer. In act 2, there is the big scene for Roland and Esclarmonde which concludes with an ensemble whose vocal effect would be excellent if it were not stifled by the violence of the orchestra. The tableau of the Siege of Blois, with its short and vigorous opening chorus, does not work so well. One could desire more neatness and closure in the declamation, and also a less tiresome prosody, especially in the prayer for the bishop, in which the chorus respond with phrases that are disturbingly rapid. High praise is reserved for the following tableau, that of the scene of the confession, which is opened by a lovely melody for Roland “La nuit bientôt sera venue”, of a broad design and attractive sentiment. There are exquisite moments, like the touching lament for Esclarmonde, after the bishop has found her and removed her veil, which she addresses to her lover “Regardez-les, ces yeux, plus purs que les étoiles”. Esclarmonde’s phrase in act 4 “Hélas! En retrouvant la vie et la pensée” has lovely

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colouring. This follows a quartet in which all the force of the orchestra is unleashed with implaccable fury. Special mention must be made of the duet for the two lovers that forms a most harmonious ensemble, and which is perhaps the only page of the work where one feels the the breath of real passion. The work, as a whole, seems incomplete and unequal. The cast were: Sybil Sanderson (Esclarmonde), who made her public debut in this important role; Mlle Nardi (Persëis); Gibert (Rolande), who made his debut at the Opéra-Comique, having come from the Théâtre des Arts in Rouen; Taskin (Phorcas); Bouvet (the Bishop); Herbert (Enéas); and Boudouresque (Cléomer). The opera was performed into the following year, 1890. Werther Drame lyrique en quatre actes et cinq tableaux. Librettists: Édouard Blau, Paul Milliet and Georges Hartmann. First performance: 1st version: Vienna, Hofoper, 16 Febrauary 1892; 2nd version: Opéra-Comique (Châtelet), 16 January 1893. The story is based on Goethe’s epistolary novel Die Leiden des jungen Werthers. The librettists drew on the best possible parts of the novel. What they chose lent itself to the stage adaptation and provoked a tender and passionate inspiration from the composer. It is certain that Massenet found here one of the most delicate, touching and refined of themes, and that in taking possession musically of the poet’s Charlotte he created one of his most ideal and unforgettable characters. In the overall ensemble of the work there is no emphasis, no excess, no exaggeration, but an appropriate and sincere tone, realized with an intense emotion, and yet with a sobriety which consistently keeps the drama from lapsing into melodrama. In writing this score, the composer of Manon recovered, in his characteristically pure and polished style, all the poetry with which he had invested Des Grieux’s lover for his depiction of Charlotte. Of the four acts (the last of which is very short), the first and third are especially luminous, but each in its way has an absolute beauty. In act 1, where the picturesque mingles with the emotional, the scene with the children is totally charming. The singing lesson given by the old bailiff to his six children has verve and a lovely attractiveness. The episode of the departure for the ball has a more serious character, as does Werther’s beautiful and full invocation of nature. The lovely duet on the return of Werther and Charlotte is very moving, as the two gradually reveal in the most happy way the secret feelings of their hearts.

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Act 3 is one of pathos and passion, traversed fleetingly by a joyful light in the unexpected arrival of Sophie. It opens with the Letter Scene, handled in the most admirable way by the composer. Charlotte is alone at night, and, opening her desk and taking out Werther’s letters, re-reads them one by one. Her heart is oppressed, there are tears in her eyes. This scene, where the orchestra plays an extremely important role, and the declamation, punctuated by instrumental figures and replies, is of such truth and touching emotion, is among the most beautiful pages Massenet ever wrote. Here talent and inspiration fuse, and the composer’s skill reveals all the richness and generosity of his imagination. During Charlotte’s reading of the letters, her sister Sophie comes in to her. A charming duet ensues between the sisters, in which the juvenile grace and intrepidity of the young girl is contrasted with the tender melancholy that infuses Charlotte’s vocal line. It is a bright moment in a situation which, after Sophie’s departure, darkens more and more. Werther arrives and a duet follows for the two, a duet full of pathos, full of outbursts, really inspired, which could be criticised only for the strident sonority of its conclusion. Then there is the lovely song on the words of Ossian where melancholy and poignant emotion are released in the lovely colours the composer lavishes on it. At last Werther leaves. Albert has returned, anxious, disquieted, almost suspicious. He receives the letter in which Werther asks to borrow his pistols and requests Charlotte, who is understandably moved, to give them to the messenger herself. All this is handled, musically speaking, by the hand of a master, especially in the orchestral commentary. The scene is superb in its rapidity. Then to finish, comes the active entr’acte, in which Charlotte is seen going out into the wind and snow, to call at Werther’s house, without any idea of the funereal implications. In the last act she arrives at his home only to have to hold the dying man in her arms. All is treated in a sober way, contained, dramatically discreet, but overwhelmingly pathetic and intense. The score of Werther is a superior work, of exquisite art and profound emotion, and could only have been conceived by a musician of genius. It is worthy of the author of Marie-Magdaleine, of Manon, of Hérodiade and of Les Érynnies. The opera takes its place among the principal works of the time, and puts Massenet alongside the foremost musicians of all countries, not just France. Nevertheless, before the work was acclaimed by the Parisian public, it had first to find acceptance on a foreign stage. The brilliant première took place at the Imperial Opera in Vienna, where the principal roles were created by two excellent artists: M. van Dyck, the famous Wagnerian tenor, and Mlle Renard. At the Opéra-Comique, the

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cast were: Ibos (Werther), Bouvet (Albert), Mlle Delna (Charlotte), and Mlle Laisné (Sophie). Delna’s realization of Charlotte was an admirable achievement. There were revivals on 24 April 1904 (Salle Favart 3), and in September 1905. The work is part of the repertory, performed until 1971. Le Portrait de Manon Opéra-comique en un acte et en vers libre. Librettist: Georges Boyer. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Châtelet), 8 May 1894. Des Grieux is now 50 years old. His father has forgiven him, and he has inherited the paternal fortune. He has retired to an old chateau, where he lives with a young man, the Vicomte de Morcerf, who was entrusted to Des Grieux by his dying father. Des Grieux takes care of his education, and seeks to guard him from unfortunate love encounters, his own experiences having made him severe. This does not stop Des Grieux from living with the memories of his darling Manon, whom he thinks of sadly every time he is alone, contemplating her portrait which he guards piously. Suddenly, his pupil confides that he is in love, and that the object of his love is a young woman called Aurora—whom Des Grieux knows to be without fortune and without birth. At this avowal, Des Grieux decides to remove his ward, and tells him to prepare to leave. Tiberge, Des Grieux’s old friend, who is Aurora’s tutor, intercedes in vain in favour of the two young people. They are very unhappy, but their love carries away their anger: they chatter, they sing, they laugh, enjoying everything. As Jean tries to steal a kiss off Aurora, she runs off; as he pursues her, a casket falls to the floor, and in opening reveals a charming portrait. While they are looking at this picture, Tiberge arrives, and is surprised at this discovery. “O, the sly one!” he cries. An idea comes to him. He calms the lovers, tells them not to lose hope, and takes Aurora away. Night has fallen. Des Grieux is alone, absorbed in contemplation of his beloved portrait. Suddenly, at the window, illumined by the moon, the young Aurora appears, dressed as Manon was when she arrived in Paris, at her first meeting with Des Grieux. The Chevalier turns round, and frightened by the sight, cries out: “I am raving! Manon, is it you?...” Aurora sings, and he listens carefully, the victim of indescribable emotion. Tiberge, who has waited upon the moment, now enters. Des Grieux asks him the secret of this astonishing resemblance, and Tiberge tells him that Aurora is Manon’s niece, the daughter of Lescaut, and that he, Tiberge, was entrusted with her and has educated her. The Chevalier now consents to everything, and Aurora will become Vicomtesse de Morcerf with his

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blessing. This small ingenious act is treated with delicacy. It was only Massenet, the composer of Manon, who could write this music. It is charming, full of grace and poetry, with frequent happy reminiscences of the work of which it is a type of continuation, and which underlines and illuminates certain situations in the earlier work. One in effect recovers in the flow of this dainty score a furtive echo of certain exquisite pages from the older work. There is a reference to the lovely scene of the first meeting; a brief return to the table duet. It is another matter again for the ear, familar with these motifs, to experience singular pleasure in recapturing them for an instant, and then to see them immediately melt into a new idea. There are indeed only memories in this amiable and delicate score. One does however find vivid pages, like the aria for Des Grieux “Voilà ton image chérie”, which are imprinted with a penetrating melancholy. Others, are full of boldness and gaiety, like the first part of the duet with Tiberge; others again with exquisite invention and gracefulness, like the love duet for the lovers and the beautiful chanson for Aurora “Au jardin, Colin s’envint au matin”. All this achieved within the desired proportions, within the effective measure, with an orchestra that further enhances, by its piquant designs, delicate and varied, the value of the ideas expressed. The work was realized most admirably by Fugère (Des Grieux), Grivot (Tiberge), Mlles Laisné (Aurore) and Elven (the Vicomte). The work was retained in the repertory for ten years, until 1904. La Navarraise Épisode lyrique en deux actes. Librettists: Jules Claretie and Henri Cain. First performance: 1st version: London, Covent Garden, 20 June 1894; 2nd version: Opéra-Comique (Châtelet), 3 October 1895. The story is adapted from Claretie’s nouvelle, La Cigarette. The libretto, written in rhythmic prose, follows an episode in the Carlist War of 1874. The action, which the music follows step by step, has a rapidity, almost an overwhelming rapidity, yet is nonetheless thrilling and of a singular dramatic power. This is a love drama which is born, develops and dies between two skirmishes. The action takes place in a picturesque Basque village. The war has just started. A barricade has been erected, made up of all sorts of objects: carts, mattresses and sacks of earth, with a cannon in an embrasure, and on one side, two other unmounted cannons. It is six in the evening in the spring. Cannon shot and the firing of a platoon can be heard in the

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distance. Soldiers, black with powder, return from the valley, passing as they beat a retreat. Some, wounded, are supported by their comrades; others are carried, dying, on stretchers. Some women, kneeling, pray in silence at the foot of a Madonna before which a lamp burns, while others look beyond the barricade. Soon Anita, from Navarre, appears, anxious, palpitating, looking for Araquil, the one she loves. She utters a cry of joy: Araquil appears at her side, safe and well, and they enthusiastically express their love. Now Remigio appears, the father of sergeant Araquil, full of tenderness for his son and at the same time disdain for Anita, whom he judges too poor for his son. Perhaps he would consent to a marriage if she had a dowry. But where would she find one? A terrible coincidence will provide her with one. The Royalist general wants, at all costs, even to the point of committing a crime, to be rid of the Carlist chief. He would recompense anyone who would agree to kill the Carlist with a fortune. Anita wants only the money necessary to overcome the scorn of her beloved’s father. She speaks with the general, and then disappears into the night. A dark but transparent curtain descends on the stage, with the fires of a bivouac discernible to the one side. It is night. The curtain rises slowly. Dawn is about to break, and the denouement is approaching. The crime has been committed, and Anita is coming to collect her money. But the outposts bring in Araquil who is dying. The lovers speak, with embarrassed explanation from Anita who dares not admit to her crime, suspecting that Araquil would accuse her of selling herself, and who dies cursing her. But before this death, this malediction and the crumbling of the happiness she was about to grasp, Anita goes mad, bursting into maniacal laughter. The curtain falls. This rapid drama provided the composer with good opportunities, and he knew how to use them. Massenet has found the right tone for each personality. All the pieces have something striking to offer: the prayer to the Virgin, the duet for Anita and Araquil, the trio with the father, the scene of the pact, the bivouac with the Spanish song “J’ai trois maisons dans Madrid”, and all of act 2, almost entirely taken up by the powerful and moving scene of the two lovers, the death of Araquil, and madness of Anita. All of this is gripping. In London, the work was created by Mlle Calvé (Anita), MM. Alvarez (Araquil), Plançon (Garido), Bonnard (Ramon), Dufriche (Bustamente), and Gilibert (Remigio). At the OpéraComique in 1895 the main role was again taken by Calvé, with MM. Jerôme, Bouvet, Carbonne, Belhomme and Mondaud. The opera was retained in the repertory until 1931.

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Sapho Pièce lyrique en cinq actes. Librettists: Henri Cain and Arthur Bernède. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Châtelet), 27 November 1897. The story is drawn from Alphonse Daudet’s famous novel. The libretto is interesting and varied, fertile in theatrical situations. The music is warm, colourful, and full of verve and drive. This is particularly true of act 3 which is all sunny, then pathetic, almost heart-rending, or act 5 which produces a most poignant impression. The score is that of a master, thoroughly French and attentive to maintaining the received traditions—to the honour of his time and his country (CL 2: 278). The work was interpreted by Mlle Emma Calvé (Sapho), Mlles Wyns and Guiraudon, and MM. Leprestre, Marc-Nohel, Gresse, Jacquet and Dufour. There were reprises in April 1898 (Châtelet), with the addition of the scenes Place publique and Tableau de l’oasis; 22 January 1909 (Salle Favart 3), in a revised version in 6 scenes. The work was retained in the repertory until 1936. Cendrillon Cont de fées en quatre actes et six tableaux. Librettist: Henri Cain. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 24 May 1899. The story is derived from the tale by Charles Perrault. The pretty libretto of this work hardly follows the tale that inspired it at all. In act 1 we are introduced to the bustle at the home of Mme de la Haltière, the stepmother of Cendrillon, and assist at the toilette of madame and her daughters, who are all going to the prince’s ball. When they have gone, Cendrillon, left alone, falls asleep at the hearth, her usual place. She is awakened by the arrival of the fairy, her godmother, who changes her into a great lady and sends her to the ball, reminding her above all to return on the first stroke of midnight. In act 2 we see her next entering the ball, where her entry produces an extraordinary sensation, and enchants the young Prince Charming who immediately falls madly in love with the lovely unknown. A love scene for the two ensues, then when midnight sounds on the big clock, Cendrillon flies like a swallow, letting fall one of her slippers. In act 3 we are returned to the house. The ladies are furious because no one at the ball took any notice of them, since an unknown guest had engrossed all attention. While they are pouring out their bile, Cendrillon is secretly weeping at the thought that she will never see the prince again.

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Her father, without knowing her disappointment, tries to console her, embracing her and pressing her to his bosom, reproaching her for being so unhappy in front of her sisters. When everyone has left, Cendrillon, in despair, flees alone into the night. In the fourth scene we find her at the Fairies’ Oak where Prince Charming arrives, looking for his unknown beauty. He finds her under the care of her fairy-godmother, and they swear eternal love. Act 4 transports us to Cendrillon’s terrace. The child has been found lying in a faint at the foot of a big oak tree. They bring her back, apparently dying, but after a long illness she recovers. During this time, her father tells her, her mind was wandering, and she revealed things she could not have known, about the royal palace, the grand ball, Prince Charming etc. “Was I dreaming then? None of this really happened" she says. Just then a royal herald arrives inviting all the women of the city to the palace where the prince will try to fit the slipper lost at the ball, and promises to marry the one it fits. The famous denouement of the story takes place in the palace. This libretto, free of small secondary episodes, sometimes graceful, sometimes comical, provides the scope and the variety necessary to offer the composer the facility of playing with the colours of his palette, his personal procedures, and means of expression. The music is charming, in its whole as well as in its detail, some pieces stimulating and unexpected, others gracious and fresh. The whole score is an inspiration, fertile and tasty, with a seductive orchestra, as elaborate as one could want, sonorous and full without fracas and noise, which veers by the moment from the comical to an exquisite poetry. In this regard, one should mention the Fairies’ Oak, with its chorus of invisible spirits (a chorus singing with bouche fermée), of mysterious character and delicate effect, with the lovely vocalise of the fairies, vocal decoration that could not be better applied or more aptly placed. From the comical point of view, there is the very unusual scene for Mme de la Haltière and her daughters in act 1, then the introduction to act 2 (the ball), with the lovely entry of the courtesans and doctors, and then the arrival of Cendrillon which gives way to a chorus of the most original structure. As far as emotion is concerned, the first duet for Cendrillon and Prince Charming is striking, as is the episode of their meeting under the oak (which is perhaps a little too extended), as well as the two scenes for Cendrillon and her father in acts 3 and 4. All of this, together with the airs de ballet, fine-grained and exquisite, gives an idea of the suppleness of Massenet’s talent, which never showed more variety and aptness in capturing the most delicate and diverse nuances. The opera was sung and acted to perfection by Mmes Guiraudon (Cendrillon), Deschamps-Jehin (Mme de la Haltière), Bréjean-Gravière

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(the Fairy), Emelen (Prince Charming), Tiphaine and Marié de Isle, and M. Fugère (Pandolphe). It was performed for the next four years, until 1903. Grisélidis Conte lyrique en trois actes et un prologue. Librettists: Armand Silvestre and Eugène Morand. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 20 November 1901. The libretto is a lyrical adaptation of the mystère by Silvestre and Morand. The legend of Grisélidis is well-known, having been treated in different languages since the 13th century by poets in all countries, from Marie de France up to Hamilton, passing through the hands of Boccaccio, Chaucer, Petrarch and Perrault, among many others. It is this legend, so tender and naive, that Silvestre and Morand arranged for the stage in the form of a “mystery”, presented at the Comédie-Française on 13 May 1891, and from this work they produced a libretto for the use of Massenet. The nature of the subject, and the way in which it was handled, agreed incredibly well with Massenet’s musical inspiration. Apart from its mystical character, the original mixture of tenderness, comedy, and the supernatural provided the composer with all the contrasts he could have desired, and gave him the opportunity to vary all means of expression with all the rich colours of his palette. One knows that these days it is agreed that there is no longer either opéra or opéra-comique, but that the one should be replaced by music drama, and the other by musical comedy. But this is perhaps a simple and foolish play on words. And eventually, since some critics want to see a transformation into the lyrical form, they pretend to prescribe absolutely the neat division into separate pieces that comes with spoken dialogue, because they have established as a dogma the continuity of musical discourse. It would seem that Massenet, by a mezzo termine, adopted in Grisélidis the appropriate form to satisfy the more demanding critics. His discourse is never interrupted, but he has spared us the insupportably heavy recitatives (Sprechgesang), without value or flavour, so much used by the nouvelle école. He has actually written proper pieces—arias, duets, trios of precise form—but pieces linked with each other not by amorphous recitative, but by a series of phrases that are really musical, that have a sense, a form and an appreciable colour, which are sung all the time and which sometimes provide exquisite episodes, like the lovely cantilena for the marquis in act 1 “Traiter en prisonnière Grisélidis!”, or like the

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marvellous song for Grisélidis at her entry in act 2 “La mer, et sur les flots toujours bleus”, a seductive song, imprinted with penetrating poetry and touching melancholy. This is no longer the disarticulated music so often offered at this time, but music of muscles and nerve, living, palpitating, charming, and moving (CL 2:1229). The prologue, however short it might be, is in itself an enchantment to the ears. It is also a treat for the eyes, with all uniting to give the spectator an impression of exquisite poetry. The décor, the action of the characters who speak amidst the trees of the forest, the amorous call of Alain, the appearance of Grisélidis, the ecstacy of the Marquis at seeing her, the short dialogue which establishes a lovely harmony between them, all of it is seductive. Act 1 opens with a sort of fabliau, of a beautiful archaic turn, sung by Bertrade, one of Grisélidis’s attendants. Then comes the ariette for the entry of the devil, on the rhythm of a gaillard and very immediate, the touching cantilena for the Marquis mentioned above, another charming phrase for the same character “Oiseau qui pars à tire-d’aile”, full of melancholy, and finally the vow of Grisélidis “Devant le soleil clair”, accompanied at first by a solo violoncello in concert with the voice, then warmly by the whole orchestra, to conclude smorzando with the same procedure. Act 2 does not give the ear a moment of respite or distraction. After the air bouffe for the devil, whose bold design grows out of the pretty preceding entr’acte, following a comic duet with his wife, full of drive, tartness and vivacity, the contrast is striking when one sees Grisélidis coming down from the castle, seating herself on the terrace, and contemplating the sea, breathing out melancholy in her beautifully caressing song “Il partit au printemps, voici venir l’automne” which the orchestra perfectly underscores. Her prayer for her son, during which one hears the distant echo of an invisible chorus, is sustained by the bells of the angelus. This episode, with its gentleness and angelic suavity, is succeeded by the scene and trio for Grisélidis, the devil and his wife, divided into several episodes and excellent in ensemble. Then night falls, and we have the invocation of the devil, to which, out of the darkness, invisible voices respond, to be followed by the appearance and waltz of the spirits. The whole is a tableau, strange and fantastic, with music full of colour and character. This is followed by the great scene of temptation between Alain and Grisélidis, their duet passionate, full of warm emotion, up to the moment when Grisélidis, who appears about to succumb, is saved by the arrival of her child, which restores her to reason. And then the abduction of the child by the devil, the cries of the demented

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mother, her desperate cries, and the arrival of the servants from all sides and the chase in pursuit of the abductor. All of this is handled well musically, with a magisterial imagination and formal control, with contrasts treated in a thrilling manner. Act 3 is short. The marquis has a scene with Grisélidis, containing the touching phrase “L’oiseau est tombé du nid”, and their prayer before the triptych of Saint Agnes. Words are not able to convey certain impressions. How can one convey the grace of the melodies, sometimes poetic, sometimes pathetic, sometimes smiling, always full and substantial? How does one convey an idea of the finesse, the freshness, the novelty, the stimulating harmonies? How most especially does one characterize the astonishing mastery of the orchestra, its variety, its brilliance without brutality, its sonority without noisiness, this orchestra sometimes stiffled and discreet, but always present, always active, with delightful timbres, a prodigious orchestra that never encroaches on the voices, whose smallest details are audible, so that at every minute the words can be distinctly heard? It is exquisite, and completely seductive. The cast were of a similar stature, with the presence of Mlles Bréval (Grisélidis), Tiphaine (Fiametta), Daffetye (Bertrade), and MM. Dufranne (the Marquis), Fugère (the Devil) and Maréchal (Alain). There was a revival on 30 October 1942 (Salle Favart 3), and performances into the following year, 1943. Le Jongleur de Notre Dame Miracle en trois actes. Librettist: Maurice Léna. First performance: 1st version: Opéra de Monte-Carlo, 18 February 1902; 2nd version: OpéraComique (Salle Favart 3), 10 May 1904. The story is taken from an anonymous medieval fabliau and Anatole France’s L’Etui de nacre. The Medieval ‘miracle' was a play with scenery emerging from the mysteries, with less development, but which had as a point of departure, like the mysteries, a religious subject, and which, like them, was publicly performed. It was as part of this form, naturally modernized, that the author of Le Jongleur de Notre-Dame wrote his poem. It is peculiar in having no feminine characters, and is happy to put on the stage a juggler and two monks together with a crowd that gives the action its necessary colour and movement. Written in elegant verse, on a mystical subject, it has at least one comic role to secure some indispensable variety. On this poem, of original form and highly polished, where the religious feelings of the Middle Ages merge into a joyousness quite Rabelaisian,

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Massenet wrote a score exquisite in its inspiration, unusually researched in its apparent naiveté, full of fresh colour, and of a particular accent, which reveals a brilliant suppleness of talent which was always renewing itself, without ever failing and without for a moment ceasing to be essentially personal. One really needs to cite the whole score which is at once so dainty and yet so vivid, with ensembles so sober and complete, each part of which is like a pearl detached from a precious necklace. In act 1 there is “Alleluia du vin” sung by Jean the Juggler; the litany of the Prior “Tu seras pardonne”; Jean’s invocation to liberty and the whole comic scene, so charming, with Boniface, the convent cook. In act 2 there is the curious singing lesson at the lectern; the scene so amusingly and happily treated with all the taste of experience, the dispute of the monks over the superiority of this or that art, and the delightful Legend of the Sage that has exquisite colouring. In act 3, there is the adorable entr’acte that the composer entitled Pastorale mystique, the whole of the big scene for the juggler, so original from a theatrical point of view, so varied, of great musical interest, then the death of the poor creature and his apotheosis, a really moving episode, softened by the delightful chorus of the seraphims. But it is difficult to single out any individual scenes from a work that is so complete as to be nearly a masterpiece. There was a reprise on 9 April 1954 (Salle Favart 3), and it was performed over the next two years until 1956. Chérubin Comédie chantée en trois actes. Librettists: Francis de Croisset and Henri Cain. First performance: 1st version: Opéra de Monte-Carlo, 14 February 1904; 2nd version: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 23 May 1905. As in Le Portrait de Manon, where Massenet imagined the afterlife of the character Des Grieux from Manon, so in Chérubin he depicts the later experiences of the page from Beaumarchais’s Le Mariage de Figaro (made so famous by Da Ponte and Mozart in Le nozze di Figaro). Here the pubescent boy is now an adolescent of 17 years, a commissioned officer, but just as vulnerable as ever to female charms. Both Count and Countess Almaviva appear again, and there are some new characters, like L’Ensoleillad, a singer from Madrid, and the Philosopher, Chérubin’s tutor. After several amorous intrigues, his choice falls on Nina, the Count’s ward. The opera ends with reference to the serenade in Don Giovanni. The subject allowed Massenet to indulge his love of pastiche, and use music in the 18th-century style, as he had done in Manon. The role

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of Chérubin is maintained as travesti from Mozart. It was created by Mary Garden. The cast is large, and the dramatic structure rather rambling, elements that limited the effectiveness and wider appeal of this work. There were only 14 performances. Thérèse Drame musical en deux actes. Librettist: Jules Claretie. First performance: 1st version: Opéra de Monte-Carlo, 7 February 1907; 2nd version: OpéraComique (Salle Favart 3), 19 May 1911. The setting of this opera is the French Revolution, with act 1 in October 1792 and act 2 in June 1793. The libretto is in the verismo style of La Navarraise, with the same author, Jules Claretie, achieving an even more compact drama, just as compelling and forceful as the earlier work. The Girondin Thorel is protecting the residence of the emigré Marquis de Clerval in Clagny, near Versailles. In act 1 the marquis returns not only to inspect his home, but also to declare his love for Thorel’s wife, Thérèse. She responds, but in act 2, when the Girondins are overthrown, her husband is arrested, taken to Paris, and condemned to die she knows that her duty is to follow him. At the scaffold she cries out “Vive le roi!”, bringing a fatal reaction upon herself, and allowing the her husband to escape. The composer carries the drama into a symbolic depiction: nature’s calm is opposed to human menace and destructiveness. He conveys a sense of autumnal melancholy in act 1, with the fresh scents of summer in act 2, a strong element in this successfully realized score. His sense of stage effect is still strong, and is strengthened by his love of colour and pastiche. The atmosphere of Revolutionary Paris is evoked, and the love music is partly realized as a minuet played on an offstage harpsichord. The title role was written for Lucy Arbell, and the opera was successful. It was retained in the repertory until 1930. Don Quichotte Comédie héroïque en cinq actes. Librettist: Henri Cain. First peformance: 1st version: Opéra de Monte-Carlo, 19 February 1910; 2nd version: OpéraComique (Salle Favart 3), 7 October 1924. The story is derived from Cervantes’s novel (1605, 1615) and the comédie by Jacques Le Lorrain Le Chevalier de longue figure. Massenet’s last great

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success rather aptly made fun of an elderly man with a love for beautiful women. Don Quixote is a naive champion of goodness, charged by the sophisticated Dulcinea to recover her stolen necklace from brigands. He sets off with his squire Sancho Panza, and after attacking the windmills, is captured by the bandits. His innocence and idealism win over the brigands, who release him with the necklace. But he is rejected by Dulcinea, and dies broken-hearted. The mockery and satire of Cervantes’s novel offered the composer an opportunity for mingling sentiment and comedy, with his favoured mixture of pastiche and contemporary styles. It is a highly crafted work, full of affection and charm. It contains traditional Spanish colour (with 20 pairs of castanets called for) and folk pastiche (with romanesca antica in act 4). The boisterous music of act 1 recalls Cendrillon, with mocking counterpoint for Dulcinea’s suitors. The old hero is characterized with subtlety and sympathy, reflecting the skill and great experience of the composer. Don Quichotte’s death is realized with a quiet pastoral simplicity that recalls Le Jongleur de Notre Dame. The title role was written for Fyodor Chaliapin and the role of Dulcinea for Lucy Arbell. It was revived in December 1931 (Salle Favart 3) as a gala for Chaliapin, and remained in the repertory until 1965. ____________________________________________________________

Léon de MAUPÉOU L’Amour vengé Opéra-comique en deux actes, en vers libre. Librettist: Lucien Augé de Lassus. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Châtelet), 31 December 1890. This is an agreeable work, which won the Concours Cressent. In order to punish Amour (Cupid/Eros) for his continual teasing, Jupiter has the idea of chaining him to a tree in order to give him over to the raillery of nymphs, fauns and shepherds. But Cupid, liberated by Silène, vows to be avenged and at the same time to fulfil his promise to his deliverer. To do this, he inspires Antiope with love for Silène, and Jupiter with love for Antiope. The lord of thunder, jeered at in this ridiculous way, wounded in his pride and love, asks for pardon. Satisfied by his exploit, and avenged of his humiliation, Cupid restores everything and all feelings to their proper place. Silène returns to drinking, and Jupiter will be happy with Antiope. For this libretto written in harmonious verse, Meaupéou composed agreeable music, in which one is struck by a quartet full of

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comic sentiment and fine structure. The work was created by MM. Fugère and Carbonne, Mlle Chevalier and Mme Bernaert. It was performed into the following year, 1891. ____________________________________________________________

Jacques Féréol MAZAS (1782-1849) Le Kiosque Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Augustin-Eugène Scribe and Paul Duport. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 2 November 1842. The action takes place in Spain, in a lovely kiosque inhabited by a respectable customs officer and his two nieces. A young French officer, having been accused of slandering the new government, is obliged to hide himself, and since he is an amateur artist, instals himself in the park, and begins drawing the kiosque. While looking for a good perspective, he overhears a conversation between the two cousins who complain about the conceitedness of men, going so far as to wish they were all mutes. The officer then presents himself to the women as a young artist deprived of speech. He excites their interest, which redoubles when, taking up a violin, he responds to each of their questions with strikes of the bow. He becomes so much the master of the place, that he replaces a redoutable rival, a noble Spanish officer charged with arresting dissidents, and marries the young Estrelle. Such a story seems to have been imagined with the sole aim of using the violinistic skills of an actor at the Opéra-Comique, Emon, a singer of limited ability. One should add that the composer was a very skilled violinist who wrote several well-regarded works, The frequency of the violin pieces and the arias for female voice give this opera a very thin, sharp sonority, constant and rather wearying. The style of the score is nonetheless open and in the style of the old opéras-comiques. There is a quartet sung by Mmes Boulanger, Descot, Darcier and Révilly; a bolero sung by Sainte-Foy in which a figure for the flute sweetly imitates the glugging of a bottle; and finally a duet for soprano and tenor containing a charming melody with horn accompaniment. There were 8 performances. ____________________________________________________________

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Étienne-Nicolas MÉHUL (1763-1817) Euphrosine et Coradin, ou Le tyran corrigé Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: François-Benoît Hoffman. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 4 September 1790. Act 1. Alibour, Coradin’s doctor, welcomes three orphaned sisters, Euphrosine, Louise and Léonore, to his master’s castle. Coradin, tyrannical feudal lord, has agreed to give them shelter, and the sisters plan to reform him. Euphrosine learns of the existence of prisoners, among them a knight. The Countess of Arles now arrives, and is indignant at Euphrosine’s determination to marry Coradin since he has already rejected the Countess. Act 2. Coradin is falling under Euphrosine’s spell. The Countess had maliciously tried to persuade him that Euphrosine was in love with the imprisoned knight. Reassured that this is not so, Coradin kneels to Euphrosine, and now entrusts the castle to her care during the forthcoming battle with the knight’s followers. Act 3. Under the sway of the Countess once more, Coradin orders that Euphrosine be poisoned. When he believes her dead, he experiences bitter remorse and is forgiven. The Countess is exposed as a schemer. Méhul was 27 years old, and still struggling against fortune when Hoffman gave him this libretto. The composer’s genius revealed itself in this work, and was the point of departure in his brilliant career. The forceful score shows variety and passion. Jealousy is singled out as a fateful force, and is underpinned by thematic cross-reference. The duet “Gardez de la jalousie” in act 2 is a masterpiece of dramatic expression, and provided a new standard of psychological realism in the period after Gluck. Grétry was unstinting in his praise: “The duet from Euphrosine is perhaps the loveliest morceau d’effet in existence, and I am not excluding the wonderful pieces by Gluck. This duet is dramatic; it is not just that the furious Coradin must sing; it is not just that it is a woman disdained and a great character must express herself; it is not at all a principal question of the melody. This duet disturbs one throughout its duration. The explosion at the end seems to blow off the heads of the spectators with the roof of the theatre.” When one realizes that Grétry’s Essai sur la musique is nothing but praise for his own music, one understands how great his enthusiasm was in validating the work of his young contemporary. Of great interest is also the aria written for Alibour, Coradin’s doctor; it is very powerfully treated:

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Quand le comte se met à table De monseigneur j’observe l’appétit Et selon qu’il est faible, ou qu’il est indomptable, Je vois hausser ou baisser mon crédit. Cora Opéra en quatre actes. Librettist: Valadier. First performed: Opéra, 15 February 1791. The subject of the opera is taken from Les Incas by Jean-François Marmontel. The music was found to be a little cold, and the work did not remain in the repertoire. Stratonice Drame lyrique en un acte. Librettist: François-Benoît Hoffman, after the Classical story surrounding Antiochus I Soter of Syria. First performance: 1st version: Théâtre Favart, 3 May 1792; 2nd version: Académie royale de musique, with recitatives by Daussoigne and Méhul, 20 March 1821. Seleucus, the first king of Hellenistic Syria, and his court pray for the recovery of his son, Antiochus. The doctor who is summoned suspects a love malady. The son is about to reveal his secret but the arrival of his father causes him to fall silent. When Stratonice, the betrothed of Seleucus, appears, Antiochus’s pulse begins racing, so confirming the doctor’s diagnosis. He suggests that Antiochus and Stratonice should meet and talk, and informs them that he knows they are in love. He finds a way of telling the king, who, after testing the motives of each, relinquishes the princess in favour of his son. This libretto does honour to the literary talent of Hoffman, and Méhul was well capable of giving the beautiful verses their full value. This was his third opera, and consolidated his reputation. Whereas the Medieval Euphrosine became famous for its impassioned jealousy duet, Stratonice breathes an atmosphere of antique calm and Classical reason. The quartet has a nobility and amplitude of style that puts it among the composer’s best works. The aria “Versez tous vos chagrins dans le sein paternel” was successful in the theatre, and became popular in competitions and salons, especially as interpreted by Ponchard.

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Le Jeune Sage et le vieux fou Comédie en un acte, mêlée d’ariettes. Librettist: François-Benoît Hoffman. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 28 March 1793. There was a reprise on 18 December 1801 (Feydeau) in a revised version. It was performed into 1802. Horatius Coclès Opéra en un acte. Librettist: Antoine-Victor Arnault. First performance: Opéra, 18 February 1794. This is really an heroic tale devised for the political exigencies of a Republican public. It is in effect a work of circumstance, and Méhul’s severe music did not survive the occasion for which it was written (CL 1:563). Mélidore et Phrosine Drame lyrique en trois actes. Librettist: Antoine-Victor Arnault, after the novel by Gentil-Bernard, Phrosine et Melidore. First performance: Théâtre Favart, 6 May 1794. Act 1. Phrosine and her lover Mélidore are planning to elope, because their union is opposed by Phrosine’s brothers Aimar and Jule; the latter bears a forbidden passion for his sister. The lovers’ plan is overheard, and a fight in the darkness ensues. Aimar is fatally wounded and as he dies blames the innocent Mélidore for killing him. Mélidore’s friends drag him to safety. Act 2 takes place on an island across the straits of Messina. Mélidore disguises himself as a old hermit who died recently. Jule comes to consult the hermit in his search for his brother’s killer, and is told that the latter has drowned. Mélidore is able to explain the situation to Phrosine, and they swear fidelity. Act 3. Mélidore lights a beacon to guide Phrosine’s ship to shore, but a storm breaks, and only Jule emerges from the vessel. He has tried to thwart his sister’s plan, and when she attempted to swim the straits, pushed her away from his boat. Mélidore is able to save her. Jule renounces his incestuous love, and agrees to the marriage between Phrosine and Mélidore.

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The source in its treatment of incest and sensation provided more of a shock to public taste than the improbability of the action, with the heroine throwing herself into the sea to escape her brother’s sexual attentions. All is exaggerated in this drama which could have been written 40 years later, even if the form of dialogue is more polished and elegant than the style of the 19th-century melodramas. The downside of this sensationalism was the near-eclipse of Méhul’s music written at the flood of his inspiration (CL 2:729). The libretto contained new and experimental elements that the composer sought to match in his score. This is characterized by ideas and techniques that look to the future: a freely wandering tonality on a large scale, use of stopped horn notes, thematic recurrences, and an attempt at musical depiction of the wild elements. Le Jeune Henri Opéra-comique en deux actes. Librettist: Jean-Nicolas Bouilly. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 1 May 1797. The work is remembered for its overture, a lovely hunting symphony with prominent horn writing, once universally known and admired. It excited extraordinary enthusiasm, and on its first performance it had to be played encore. The public, who did not appreciate the work, demanded the curtain fall before the end of it, while at the same time they wanted to give the composer evidence of their admiration: so the magnificent overture had to be played a third time. This overture remains a model of its genre, and when executed by a fine orchestra, it always produces a great effect. In the grand festival that took place at the Palace of Industry during the Universal Exhibition of 1867, it was performed by about three thousand musicians, under the direction of George Hainl. It shared the honours with part of a Handel oratorio. Adrien Opéra en trois actes. Librettist: François-Benoît Hoffman. First performance: Théâtre de la Republique, et des Arts, 16 prairial an VII (4 June 1799). The poem more or less reproduces Metastasio’s Adriano. The music is worthy of Méhul’s genius. The choruses are admirable; the general style elevated and sustained; the recitative written in the manner of Gluck, always perfectly appropriate to the situations. Unfortunately, the situations

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were hardly in tune with the republican ideas of the period. The rehearsals of the work began in 1792. The Commune of Paris had them halted under the pretext that the poem was written according to Royalist principles. It was even alleged that the horse which should have pulled Adrian’s chariot had belonged to Marie-Antoinette. The painter David was consulted and replied that the Commune of Paris should burn the Opéra rather than see kings triumph. After seven years, these objections had still not passed, and the opera, despite its great beauties, was suppressed after four performances by order of the government. It was revived on 4 February 1800, and with changes, on 26 December 1801. It had 20 performances in all. Ariodant Drame lyrique en trois actes. Librettist: François-Benoît Hoffman, after Cantos 5 and 6 of Ariosto’s poem Orlando Furioso (1516). First performance: Théâtre Favart, 19 vendémiare VII (11 October 1798). Act 1. Othon, having failed in his request for the hand of Ina, Princess of Scotland, is in emotional turmoil, at once resigned and yet violent. When he hears of a rival, Ariodant, he is consumed by jealousy. Ina’s father, King Edgard, refuses to influence her decision. Othon plans to overthrow the king, and enlists the support of Dalinde. Ariodant opposes Othon’s insults, and is challenged to a duel. Act 2. Celebrations are in progress. Othon is still smarting. Ariodant’s brother Lurcain arrives with his friends to witness the duel. Othon suddenly announces that he will proved that Ina has been unchaste, and that she will incur official punishment by death. Dalinde disguises herself as Ina, and admits Othon to her rooms. Ariodant believes that Ina has betrayed him, and all her protestations of innocence are disbelieved. Act 3. Othon tries to persuade Ina to pretend that they were already married, but Ina refuses to save herself by perjury. Othon hears that Dalinde has been murdered, as he ordered, but actually Ariodant has rescued her and arranges for her to impersonate Ina at the latter’s trial. At the key moment, Othon storms in to claim that they are already married, only for Dalinde to unveil herself and expose his crimes to all. The subject of this opera was taken from Ariosto’s Orlando—the same original source as Handel’s Ariodante (1735) which had already inspired the librettist Dejaure’s Montano et Stéphanie (1799). The success of Berton’s masterpiece could not damage that of Méhul’s, and several pieces of Ariodant became more popular than any success obtained by Berton.

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The romance “Femme sensible, entends-tu le ramage?”, the duet for Ariodant and Ina “Dissipons ce sombre nuage”, and Dalinde’s aria “Calme, calme cette colère” were long sung in concerts and in the competitions at the Conservatoire. Other parts of the work offer dramatic beauties of a high order. The composer again shows insight into the depiction of psychological states: the demonic power of jealousy is once more examined, as is the mental anguish of Edgard. There is a good sense of setting, a spacious context of Medieval chivalry somewhat restricted only by the limited participation of the chorus. He also continued developing his technical novelties, like the orchestral bridge passages linking set-pieces to the dialogue. This was Méhul’s favourite among his own works. L’Irato, ou L’Emporté Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Benoît-Joseph Marsollier. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 17 February 1801. The libretto is fashioned in the taste of the comédie italienne, that is, strongly seasoned with buffoonery and grotesque scenes. It is as amusing as those of Le Tableau parlant and Les Rendez-vous bourgeois, but the music is interesting in quite another way. Fétis saw in this work a badly judged attempt by Méhul, an unjustified presumption. He accuses the composer of of having tried to Italianise music by using certain conventions. While some people see the opera as Italian, Méhul nevertheless remained constant to himself, and while using an Italian canvas, wrote music he believed was appropriate to the situations of the scenario. He accepted the subject of the opera to please the First Consul who had told him of his preference for Italian pieces. But similarly, when Corneille imitated Calderon and Lope de Vega he hardly abandoned his personal style, and neither did Molière renounce his Frenchness in Les Fourberies de Scapin. All musicians of genius are not able to be born in Naples or Pesaro. Méhul was born in Givet, and was educated in a severe and formal school. In L’Irato he showed the gaiety to be found in his personality and talent. His music, without having the verve and boisterous laughter of a buffone, is that of man of spirit and taste. The quartet in this opera is a masterpiece (CL 1: 585-6).

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Bion Opéra-comique en un acte et en vers. Librettist: François-Benoît Hoffman. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 27 December 1801. Agénor, a young Athenian, seeing that Bion is in love with Nisa, takes pleasure in abducting her. Bion, who has been aware of this plan, succeeds in confusing Agénor and securing union with the one he loves. The subject offers little of interest, but one finds freshness of ideas and grace in the style. The music is worthy of the celebrated author of Stratonice, although the work is often unaccountably overlooked in studies of the composer (CL 1: 156). Une Folie Opéra-comique en deux actes. Librettist: Jean-Nicolas Bouilly. OpéraComique (Feydeau), 4 April 1802. This is a very amusing work. It concerns, like Il Barbiere di Siviglia, a deceived guardian, but the episodes are happily varied. This is especially true of a scene in which an amorous exchange is conducted by means of a series of ribbons unfurled from a window. The overture is in the old style. The first duet “De l’intrigue, ô astes mystères!" was written for the singer Martin, and requires a formidable technique. The act 1 romance “Je suis encore dans mon printemps” became popular. In act 2 the picardy air “Si jamais, je prends femme” is very naive, and the concluding duet produces a good effect. In the trio for Cerberti, Armantine and Carlin, Méhul revealed a comic verve, a spiritedness, and an incontestable vivacity of declamation. The quartet finale is also remarkable. Une Folie and L’Irato remained in the repertoire for a long time. This opera was revived at the Opéra-Comique in 1843, with the participation of Chollet, Audran, Ricquier, Henri and Mlle. Révilly. Joanna Opéra-comique en deux actes. Librettist: Benoît-Joseph Marsollier. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 22 November 1802.

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Le Trésor supposé, ou Le Danger d’écouter aux portes Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: François-Benoît Hoffman. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 29 July 1802. The score, according to Fétis, is rather severe and not worthy of the reputation of the composer. The libretto was very successful. It contains the words: “Il ne faut jamais dire jamais: qui est-ce qui peut répondre de l’avenir?” The malicious stalls applied this phrase to a “never” put forward in the Elective Chamber by M. de Serre, guardian of the seals, and as a result of this political allusion, the phrase spread into public use and became proverbial. Héléna Opéra en trois actes. Librettists: Jacques-Antoine de Révéroni Saint-Cyr and Jean-Nicolas Bouilly. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 1 March 1803. The history of Eponine and Sabinus appears to have furnished the subject of this plot of frenetic action. The episodes have been so multiplied that the composer was not able to hold the attention of the public with any of the pieces in his score. Méhul was ill at ease treating with melodrama. He preferred simple, strong action, favourable to the extended development of musical forms. Les Deux Aveugles de Tolède Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Benoît-Joseph Marsollier. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 28 January 1806. The pretty duet “Vous don’t le coeur n’a pas parlé” became well-known, and the overture hardly less popular than that of La Chasse de jeune Henri. Uthal Drame lyrique en un acte. Librettist: Jacques-Benjamin Saint-Victor, after the poem Berrathon by Ossian (James Macpherson). First performance: Opéra-Comique Feydeau, 17 May 1806. Larmor, the ancient chief of Dunthalmon, has been stripped of his land and

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titles and shelters at night in the storm-ridden countryside. The voice of his daughter Malvina is heard, breaking into the overture, searching for him. Larmor tells Malvina that his envoy, the bard Ullin, has been sent to request help from Fingal , the chief of Morven. Conflict is inevitable, and Malvina is caught between filial loyalty to her father and love for her husband Uthal who has occupied Larmor’s palace. Fingal’s warrior bards approach, preparing themselves for battle at dawn. Uthal appears, looking for his wife. Malvina approaches him, but his warrior’s pride prevents him from listening to reason. With daybreak, Uthal, Larmor, and the warrior bards prepare for battle. Uthal is defeated. Malvina prepares to sacrifice all to follow him into exile, but all ends in reconciliation. The subject, drawn from Ossian, was far removed from the typical comedy of the Empire period, but in sympathy with the heroic aspirations of the age, and tuned into the Ossianic cult that had been in literary fashion ever since Goethe’s Werther. The plot offered pathetic scenes which were in accord with Méhul’s sturdy manly genius, while the score abounds in the qualities which distinguished his art and his innovatory instincts. In his search for ever more effective and atmospheric tone colour, Méhul removed the violins from the orchestra, and had their players use violas instead. To further sustain the ‘gloomy’ northern tone-painting and ‘antique’ epic style, he added harp-writing for the bards. The combination of these elements with the statuesque spoken episodes lent the whole grandiose nobility. Gabrielle d’Estrées, ou Les Amours de Henri IV Opéra en trois actes. Librettist: Saint-Just (Godard d’Aucourt). OpéraComique (Feydeau), 25 June 1806. The political allusions that one finds in this piece did not hamper its success, which, however, was of short duration. It contains tirades against the upheaval in France in favour of the leader who brought the happiness of stability. Joseph Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Alexandre Duval, after the Book of Genesis, chapters 37, 41-45. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 17 February 1807. There is no woman character, but the role of Benjamin is travesti, and

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female voices are used in the chorus. The action takes place in Memphis, in the palace of Joseph. He tells his confidant Utobal how his brothers sold him into slavery, and of his subsequent rise to power after his prophetic interpretation of dreams and advice to Pharaoh. Because of the widespread famine, Jacob’s sons have come seeking food and refuge for their tribe. Unrecognized by his family, Joseph (now known as the vizier Cléophas) admits the starving people. After an entr’acte, Joseph goes to the Hebrew encampment in Goshen at night. A hymn is heard, and Benjamin appears and describes the catastrophic effect of the news of Joseph’s presumed death on Jacob. Jacob, now blind, converses with Cléophas. The latter is summoned to a triumphant ceremony, and insists that Jacob’s family attend. Siméon appears and confesses his crime against Joseph 15 years before. Jacob curses his sons, apart from Benjamin. Joseph now reveals his identity, and forgives his brothers. All praise the God of goodness and mercy. Baour-Lormian produced a biblical tragedy entitled Omasis. In case public interest in the play was lacking because of its subject, he introduced an amorous intrigue. But this was bad reasoning and a blunder. Actually, the gravity of the subject and the austerity of the mores of the patriarchal family depicted excluded the admixture of any profane passion and served only to weaken the interest of the drama by inopportune diversion. The play consequently failed. Alexandre Duval wanted to deal with the same subject in collaboration with Méhul, but had the good sense to preserve the personality attributed to each character in the Bible, and not to compete with such venerable traditions. His libretto, in spite of the inflated and emphatically majestic literary forms fashionable during the First Empire, contains simple beauties and touching situations. The author avoided two faults. Firstly, he avoids idealizing the characters, something which would have weakened the audience’s impressions in ascribing to them sentiments that they would not have been able to share. Secondly, he avoided over-emphasis on what came to be called couleur locale, a factor very much in evidence since the advent of Romanticism. Indeed, a luxurious mise en scène, obtrusive tableaux, and a minute descriptiveness whose exactitude moreover becomes hypothetical in an ancient subject, cause natural sentiments to lose much of their impact, depriving the music of its elevated spiritual and emotional role and replacing it with idle curiosity and frivolous distraction. Méhul's score is pervaded by a restrained, sober mood, an apprehension of antiquity already found in Uthal. But he remains true to the melodic style he had developed, and unites profound emotion, strong

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and sustained expressiveness, and a style at once grandiose and severe with an orchestration characterized by its clarity and admirable limpidity. It is a score that one can only urge young musicians to study. The vocal parts are handled with skill, and the accompaniments with a sobriety of design that does not exclude either grace or variety. Elements of the biblical stories strike a resonating rapport with the human soul. Jacob and his twelve sons and an officer are the characters who make up this drama. It is not even the whole story of Joseph: only the later part of Joseph being recognized by his brothers. The action indeed is reduced to a grand simplicity. Even a century later nothing appeared to have aged in this work. What does age in music are formulas, the sustaining of conventions, the usages and fashions of the era. On the other hand, beauty, truth, balanced thought and true expressiveness in a work of art do not vanish, disappear, cannot be destroyed. At least this holds true so far as the constitutive elements of the musical system which served in their composition are employed and not replaced by others. Only in such cases are there negative judgments. It is also true to say that sometimes it happens that the public no longer has the aptitude to appreciate a work of merit, since among a people, as with individuals, there are moments of eclipse and loss (CL 1:617). The overture, with its chant-like motifs (as well as various hymns and entr’actes), establishes the setting, with its remote mood. It is more like an introduction, and begins with a smooth adagio, an effect produced by the purity of the harmony, since all the stringed instruments play only two parts. This is followed by a four-bar theme of the greatest simplicity, developed in a masterly manner. This theme has a melodic formula borrowed from the eighth mode of plainchant, the hypomixolydian. This is repeated throughout the work, imparting a particular character of religion, antiquity and grandeur. The impressive opening chorus “Dieu d’Israël” is sung at sunrise, while Jacob is still asleep. Méhul’s use of liturgical chant is not his only borrowing. Here and there are intervals and cadences recalling the first impressions of his youth, his sojourn in the abbeys of Récollets and Prémontrés where he functioned as organist. A quartet, each part of which holds interest, and brings back the opening melody, concludes this instrumental introduction. The characters are given individuality by their forceful statements. The big aria “Vainement, Pharaon, dans sa reconnaissance” has breadth and expressive force. Every word, every memory evoked by Pharaoh’s minister, is realized by the most ordinary of musical means, naturally and without apparent effort. Harmony reigns but by no means dominates the melody which is always living, animated, and never subservient to

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scholarly formula. The lovely recitative, the descriptive evocation of the paternal fields (“Champs paternels”) of the Valley of Hebron and family joys, the memory of Joseph’s sorrows and the perversity of his brothers, are pathetic in the truest sense of the word. Joseph’s following romance “À peine au sortir de l’enfance” is penetratingly touching, a masterpiece of taste. The secular romance was long popular transposed into a religious setting, with substituted pious words. Siméon’s aria “Non! non! L’Eternel que j’offense” and the chorus of the brothers are full of despair, pity and terror. Unity prevails in this piece, but the remorse of the guilty is always rumbling; the cries of conscience are at times heart-rending. Siméon also has children and their caresses accuse him, and cause him to think of even more bitterly of his ingratitude. For much of this scene a decrescendo serves to underscore how fear imposes on this unfortunate family the necessity of hiding their trouble. All becomes quiet at the appearance of Joseph. The act 1 finale “Ah! son aspect me fait horreur” now begins. The sentiments bursting from the preceding aria and chorus are continued in the actions of a greater actor who must also contain himself and pretend. Here everything is concentrated and revealed in asides. Here Méhul concentrates on the distress of a proud and outraged soul, just resentment, the storms of memory evoked by the faces of murderers, a situation ideal for a psychological study translated into music. The notes are held by the violas, under which the violoncellos and contrasbasses are heard muttering in an ascending scale that becomes an accented harmonic march. But Joseph regains control of himself “Reprenons mon empire sur ce coeur agité”. The rhythm changes, and a calm motif, regularly accompanied by woodwind chords, then accompanying the voices, depicts the serenity of the beautiful soul, henceforth the master of its own emotions. In act 2 the sun rises over the tents of the Hebrews. Male voices intone the lovely prayer of the introduction to act 1 “Dieu d’Israel, père de la nature”. It is in plainchant, which sustains its considerable effect. It is repeated by female voices, and on the third repeat by male and female voices together. It is one of the most beautiful effects that one could hear in the theatre. The Catholic liturgy contains very beautiful melodies which are hardly noticed simply because they are not performed with intelligence. This prayer was performed nearly every year in the concerts of the Paris Conservatoire. Benjamin’s romance “Ah! lorsque la mort, trop cruelle” has an incomparable candour; the ritornello is a burst of melody executed in octaves without accompaniment, with the timbres of various instruments adding a charming interest. Violas and basses play two bars,

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bassoons and clarinets the two following; violins carry it on, and it is concluded by the flute. Benjamin’s singing is accompanied by the same melody to which the composer has added a second part, executed pizzicato by the basses, with delightful effect. The trio “Des chants lointains ont frappé mon oreille” has a splendid phrase for the bass. Jacob’s prayer “Dieu d’Abraham” has a biblical character, a patriarchal unction that represents the composer’s respect for ancient traditions. There follows a remarkable chorus for the young girls of Memphis “Aux accents de notre harmonie” accompanied by harps. It is filled with ingenious details, an excellent disposition of the voices, with all parts engaged. The duet for Jacob and Benjamin “Ô toi le digne appui d’un père” reveals not only a close harmony and closely unified melody, but again is touched with a mutually informing pathos and grace realized with a simplicity of means so that not a note is superfluous to the three parts of the accompaniment. What makes this duet so touching is is the contrast drawn between the two characters: music, like the plastic arts with which it otherwise has little point of contact, needs the contrast of opposition. Nature offers variety of voice and timbre, and the composer in his turn adds to this by skilful employment of movement and intonation. The situation is fortunate in its presentation of youth and age—a child and a patriarch in Joseph, just as we have a young girl and an old man, Antigone and Oedipus, in Sacchini’s opera. The drama is characterized by simplicity, pathos and grace, without even mentioning the family scene so moving, tumultuous and terrible, in which Jacob curses his children while they implore his pardon, an episode succeeded by a scene in which Joseph is recognized by his brothers. A harp is prominent in the orchestra, and the tuba makes an appearance—the ‘turba curva’ devised during the Revolution for use in open-air festivals. Méhul’s opera was just as celebrated in Germany as in France, and always elicited a sincere enthusiasm. The original cast was Elleviou (Joseph), Solié (Jacob), Gavaudan (Simon), Mme Gavaudan (Benjamin). Later the perilous role of Joseph was taken on by the tenors Paul and Huet, but without much success. Ponchard, on the other hand, left indelible memories of the romance and aria “Vainement Pharaon”. Perrin recalled the memory of this celebrated singer when he revived the work in 1851. The interpreters on this occasion were Delaunay-Ricquier, Couderc, Bussine and Mlle Bussine. M. Réty also gave an interesting reprise of the opera at the Théâtre Lyrique. Petit and Mlle Amélie Faivre distinguished themselves in the roles of Jacob and Benjamin. There was no production of the this work at the Opéra because of the

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generic element. Recitatives would have been required if the opera was to have had the orchestral and vocal resources of the great house. Le Prince Troubadour Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Alexandre Duval. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 11 July 1813. La Journée aux aventures Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Pierre Capelle and Louis Mézières-Miot. Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 16 November 1816. The work was retained in the repertory for 10 years, until 1826. Valentine de Milan Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Jean-Nicolas Bouilly. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 28 November 1822. Written with, and completed by, Louis-Joseph Daussoigne-Méhul. It was rehearsed in the season 1808-1809 but not staged. Daussoigne composed five new numbers for the 1822 production. It was performed for two years, until 1824. ____________________________________________________________

Edmond MEMBRÉE (1820-1882) La Court Échelle Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Charles de La Rounat. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 10 March 1879. The story is interesting, full of action and good humour, and, if the music had not been overloaded with exaggerated developments and vocal and instrumental complications extraneous to its character, it would easily have succeeded. The action takes place during the reign of Louis XIII. The Vicomte Chamilly, elegant and insouciant, is about to redress his fortune by marrying a rich young heiress whom he has never seen, Mlle Diane Beaumont. She on the other hand has vowed devotion to Henri de

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Chavanne, friend of the Vicomte. Her tutor is an old galant who, no longer having his own resources, makes good use of that of others. Chamilly, carousing with his friends, has received from Chavanne the secret of his love, without the name of the young lady. He is diverted from his scruples, and in order to hinder the proposed marriage, which should be his own, he proposes an elopement, an idea supported by the old tutor, to the point of actually becoming involved in it. In act 2 Chamilly assists the young Chavanne in reaching Diane. The night watch comes by, and the gentlemen are provisionally arrested. Chavanne and Diane have fled to an inn. Here, in act 3, M. de Beaumont learns the details of the adventure in which he played a part. In his rage against himself and the abductor, he provokes Chavanne and lightly wounds him. Chamilly, who is going to inherit from an aunt, renounces Diane’s hand in favour of his friend. Several comic episodes augment this scenario which one could criticise for not offering some serious situations, an essential element for a work in three acts. The score contains numerous reminiscences or imitations of the style of other musicians rather than personal or spontaneous work. The romance “Je suivais triste et solitaire” in act 1 is striking, as, in act 2, is the march of the watch and the serenade for the tenor. The cast was: Morlet, Bertin, Maris, Bacquié, Caisso, Barnolt, Teste, Collin, Bernard, Davoust, Mlles Chevrier, Dupuis, and Decroix. ____________________________________________________________

Martin Joseph MENGAL (1784-1851) Une nuit au château Opéra-comique mêlé d’ariettes en un acte. Librettist: Paul de Kock. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 5 August 1818. The story is based on the novel by Paul de Kock. It was retained in the repertory until 1829. L’Île de Babilary Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Paul de Kock. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 27 March 1819. There was only one performance.

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Les Infidèles Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en un acte. Librettist: Paul de Kock. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 2 January 1823. This was performed into the following year, 1824. ____________________________________________________________

Bernardo MENGOZZI (1758-1800) La Dame voilée, ou L’Adresse et l’Amour Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Alexandre de Ségur. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 28 November 1799. “Bluette dans le genre de Marivaux” (Décade philosophique). It was performed into the following year, 1800. ____________________________________________________________

André-Charles-Prosper MESSAGER (1853-1929) La Basoche Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Albert Carré. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Châtelet), 30 May 1890. The story, teeming with improbabilities, puts on stage in a rather burlesque, if not ridiculous manner, King Louis XII of France, his wife Mary of England, sister of Henry VIII, and the gentle poet Clément Marot who is depicted as a little more than usually stupid. This libretto turns willingly in the direction of operetta, and on the whole is happy, vivacious, and lively, qualities so rare at the time that the public welcomed it. Any form of gaiety had been so thoroughly chased out of the Opéra-Comique for so many years. As for the music, this is also lively, alert and full of good humour. There could have been a little more originality, a little more abundance and facility of melody, perhaps fresher and more personal. Nonetheless, the music such as it is, was favourably received because on the whole book and music worked very well together, the ensemble was admirable, and the audience of the Opéra-Comique rediscovered at last in

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this work the agreeable genre which for more than a century had made the fortune of this theatre, and which, it would seem, those most involved were determined obstinately and clumsily to destroy, in spite of the taste and palpable wishes of the public. The work was interpreted by: Mmes Landouzy and Molé-Truffier, MM. Soulacroix, Fugère, Carbonne, Barnolt, and Maris. There was a revival on 16 November 1900 (Salle Favart 3). The work was retained in the repertory until 1940. Chevalier d’Harmental Opéra-comique en trois actes et cinq tableaux. Librettist: Paul Ferrier. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Châtelet), 5 May 1896. The story is derived from the novel by Alexandre Dumas (père) and Auguste Maquet. There were performances for the rest of the season. Fortunio Comédie lyrique en cinq actes. Librettists: Robert de Flers and GastonArman de Caillavet. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 3 June 1907. The story is based on the comédie Le Chandelier by Alfred de Musset. There were reprises on 12 November 1910 (reduced to four acts) and 17 March 1948 (in five acts). Véronique Opérette en trois actes. Librettists: Albert Vanloo and Georges Duval. First performance: 1st version: Théâtre Bouffes-Parisiens, 10 December 1898; 2nd version: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 7 February 1925. This is a pleasant and vivacious work, with a pretty, tender focus. The music, while elegant, is largely without novelty, but refined and delicate, written with rare distinction. The work was interpreted charmingly by Jean Périer and Mariette Sully. There was much to justify a real success that was to be expected. The performance at the Opéra-Comique in 1925 was a one-off gala for the benefit of the Associations d’artistes. ____________________________________________________________

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Giacomo MEYERBEER (1791-1864) L’Étoile du nord Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Augustin-Eugène Scribe. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 16 February 1854. The story is derived from Mlle Raucourt’s drama Henriette. Some of the music was taken from Ein Feldlager in Schlesien, created in Berlin on 7 December 1844 for the inauguration of the new Royal Theatre. The work is an opéra de démi-caractère, and was originally to be called L’Étoile polaire. This is one of Meyerbeer’s richest scores: it is perhaps here that he most fully used inventive harmonic combinations and rhythms, and unusual effects of orchestration. The libretto has the setback of presenting on stage heroes not suitable for opéra-comique: Catherine I and Peter the Great. The details of the story have little interest, and the story unfolds badly, with no scene engaging the spectator’s feelings. Peter’s romance “Ô jours heureux” is the only piece of real pathos in the score. It has the imprint of that sombre melancholy that Meyerbeer, better than any other, knew how to give to music. Danilowitz’s aria has spirit, but nothing of the gaiety one expects from the Feydeau. As for the Cossack Grizenko, he is grotesque even though he sings very good music. One would willingly demand the suppression of the words. This inhabitant of the Ukraine is in the service of the czar. Scribe instructs that he should speak in the Alsatian patois. Since all the Russians speak and sing in French, why should this Don Cossack speak in the accent of the Rhineland? The role of Catherine from the point of view of singing is very difficult to interpret. Every phrase demands a different set of ideas. Never has imitative music, in the elevated and really artistic meaning of the word, been pushed so far. It is more like a suite of tableaux, a polyrama, a musical kaleidoscope, than an opera: drinking choruses, Gypsy rounds, prayer, barcarolle, couplets for the cavalry, couplets for the infantry, a chorus of conspirators, couplets for the vivandières, a concertante aria with two flutes and chorus, and a polonaise. All this is handled with a consummate science and studied refinement. A breath of gracefulness fortunately refreshes this heady atmosphere in the delightful duettino “Sur son bras m’appuyant”. L’Étoile du nord is a score that would fruitfully repay study by conductors and by any artist concerned with harmony and wind bands. The opera was performed over 200 times, and retained in the repertory until 1887.

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Le Pardon de Ploërmel Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Jules Barbier and Michel Carré. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 4 April 1859. The story is based on Les Chercheurs de trésor, a play by Carré inspired by two stories by Émile Souvestre, La Chasse aux trésors and Le Kacouss de l’Armor. Original titles included Les Chercheurs d’or and Le Pardon de Notre-Dame d’Auray. Dinorah is the name under which the work was revived and which is mainly used in performances outside France. The stage machinery for Act 2 (the breaking bridge and real waterfall) were commissioned from Muhldorfer of the Mannheim Theatre. The libretto, which concerns a sad tale of Breton peasant life, and is ostensibly very boring, nevertheless offered the great composer the opportunity to use an infinite variety of effects. The context of the play is such that it resulted in a suite of tableaux that Meyerbeer composed music for with all the science, skill, and luxury of studied detail that, even in the absence of inspiration, always renders his operas interesting and justly excites the admiration of connoisseurs. The opera was played on foreign stages as Dinorah, with enduring success. In act 1 one immediately perceives the wonderful freshness of the theme of the chorus of peasants “Le jour radieux se voile à nos yeux”. It contains an ensemble for six female voices with a highly novel and original rhythm. The passage about Dinorah’s goat is ingeniously imitated by the orchestra. Corentin’s couplets, in two movements, are rather strange. Written in verses of nine syllables, at the request of the composer, they could not fall more harmoniously on the ear: Dieu nous donee à chacun en partage Une humeur différente ici-bas; Il en est qui sont pleine de courage; Moi, je suis de ceux qui n’en ont pas. The harmony, successively major and minor, baffles without charming, but the allegretto which follows is engaging. The duet between Dinorah the fool and Corentin the coward reflects a forced situation, which the music expresses. In these instances, as with Italian composers, the spirit is left to drift and reason is put to one side, as the public's interest is engaged through a technical virtuosity that is attractive to the ear. The baritone aria “Ô puissante magie” is most remarkable for its energy, rendered even more emotional by the introduction of a beautiful phrase in E major, full of

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tenderness. The first act is concluded by an elegant and gracious trio, accompanied by the distant rumblings of a storm which prepares for the change of fortune that is coming. Act 2 has a scene of real charm and poetry, a real godsend. This is what decided the success of the work; this is what pardons the authors for having focused so many ideas, efforts and ingenious features on a simple rural tale. This is the Valse de l’ombre. The moon illumines the stage. Poor Dinorah believes that she sees in her shadow a mysterious being with whom she wants to dance, and she sings and dances. The melody of this waltz is distinguished, lively, and instrumented with exquisite taste. The return of the principal theme is managed with great skill. As for the effects of the tempest, the breaking of the bridge, the flooding water, the leaping of the goat and fall of Dinorah, all of this had little effect on the public because the characters of Corentin and Hoël are antipathetic, and the idea of turning a fool into a victim is rather unpleasant. So Meyerbeer’s beautiful dramatic trio was largely written in vain, gold thrown into the torrent. Faithful to his system of opposition and contrast, Meyerbeer, who by his polite and tenacious demands ended up being more the author of his opera than the librettists themselves, wanted the unleashing of the elements in act 2 to be succeeded by calm, serenity, and images of rural happiness. A fanfare executed by five horns precedes an aria for a hunter “En chasse! Le jour est levé” which has a most original cut and a well accented melodic freshness. Then comes an air for a reaper, then a duet for two young goatherds, and finally a prayer in quartet. The baritone romance “Ah! mon remords te venge de mon fol abandon” is a piece full of feeling, like the aria in L’Étoile du Nord “Pour fuit son souvenir”: the melody is distinguished, full of sentiment and passion. The duet that leads to the denouement and the finale is handled with a consummate dramatic knowledge. The faults of this work lie more with the poem than with the score: but the great composer should no more be completely absolved for this than for his participation in the libretto of L’Africaine. A literary sense and taste are not often found at the heights of musical genius. The two principal roles of Dinorah and Hoël were created by Mme Cabel and by Faure; that of Corentin by Sainte-Foy; Bareille sang the Hunter, Warot the Reaper. The minor roles of the goatherds, shepherds and peasants were taken by Mlles Bélia, Breuillé, Decroix, and Dupuy, and by MM. Lemaire and Palianti. The work was retained in the repertory until 1912. ____________________________________________________________

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Albert MILLET Hilda Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Charles Narrey and MichelAntoine Carré (fils). First performance: Opéra-Comique (Châtelet), 15 January 1890. The work used the décor from Chabrier’s Le Roi malgré lui. The composer of this small work died tragically 18 months after this production. He contracted an incurable disease, and pressured by the intolerable suffering it caused, killed himself with a shot from a revolver between the eyes. He left a young widow and small child. There were 6 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Jean-Louis-Edmond MISSA (1861-1910) Juge et Partie Opéra-comique en deux actes. Librettist: Jules Adenis. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 17 November 1886. The libretto is a reduction and skilled adaptation of Montfleury’s celebrated five-act comedy La Femme juge et partie, performed at the Hôtel de Bourgogne on 2 March 1669. Thus transformed and set to music, Juge et partie was presented in the Concours Cressent and took the prize. The opera was then produced at the the Opéra-Comique where it won such a lively success that it is astonishing that it did not remain in the repertory. This was Missa’s stage debut. He had an honourable mention in the Concours de Rome, and this debut seemed to suggest a more successful future than turned out to be the case. The score, it is true, contains a number of pieces without much originality, but at least with some zest and good workmanship, with an overall verve and a natural gaiety. Of particular note are the charming couplets for Julia, also those for Bernadille, a happy quintet, and the judgment scene which is handled most skillfully. There is also a fine symphonic entr’acte. The opera was marvellously realized, especially the two principal roles, which were taken in a remarkable fashion by Mlle Esther Chevalier and M. Fugère. It was performed into the following year, 1887.

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Ninon de Lenclos Épisode lyrique en quatre actes et cinq tableaux. Librettists: André Lénéka and Arthur Bernède. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Châtelet), 19 February 1895. The title of the work is hardly more than trompe-l’oeil because the character of Ninon is to a certain extent secondary, while the real heroine of the piece is a certain little Chardonnerette, mistress of the Chevalier de Bussière, abandoned by him for the coquetry of Ninon. The Chevalier, eventually finding that she has never stopped loving him, dies in her arms, racked by consumption. In this scenario there are reminiscences of Halévy’s Les Mousquetaires de la reine, and Verdi’s Rigoletto and La Traviata. The librettists, following a tiresome fashion soon abandoned, wrote the whole text in prose, and indeed it is very prosaic without rhythm or cadence, as evidenced by these words of Ninon addressed to her admirers: “Ne savez-vous donc pas combien je suis coquette? Combien j’aime à me moquer de coeurs assez faibles pour m’aimer? Quelquefois je me laisse espérer, je me donne à demi; c’est pour mieux me reprendre. Je veux être maîtresse de tous, et non d’unseul.”

It is not an inspiring subject, and perhaps verses with their rhythm and balance would have worked better for the musician. Missa’s music is crammed with Leitmotifs, and is of grey tint, uniform and banal, which did not help to lift the work of his collaborators. Only two or three pages seem to be of lovely inspiration: in act 1, a pleasant men’s chorus, elegant and trim, and a madrigal for Bussière “Dans un frais décor de printemps joyeux”; in act 2, a small chanson, again for Bussière “Mignonne, veuxtu?”; and in act 3 the sad complaint for Chardonnerette “Comme un oiseau qui cherche le soleil”, filled with touching feeling. The principal roles were taken by: Mme Bréjean-Gravière (Ninon), Mlle Fernand Dubois (Chardonnette) making her debut, MM. Leprestre (Bussière) and Carbonne (Guérigny). The work was performed only in the one season. Muguette Opéra-comique en quatre actes. Librettists: Michel Carré (fils) and Georges Hartmann. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 18 March 1903.

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The librettists drew the subject from a touching novella by the pseudonymous English authoress Ouida, Two Little Wooden Shoes (Les Deux Petits Sabots) which enjoyed great success. The considerable liberties they took with their model did not increase the verisimilitude of their work: in fact it lacks movement and interest and is rather tedious.The music of the opera, while lacking freshness and novelty, is written with care and happily conceived. At the very least it is an honourable work which by its sobriety, grace and pleasant colouring is distinguished from so many works that are as foolishly ambitious as mediocre. Certain pages are really very well realized, and the whole leaves a favourable impression. The cast were: MM. Muratore, Fugère, Cazeneuve, Mesmaeker, Mmes Marie Thiéry (Muguette), Jenny Passama and de Craponne. It was performed into the following year, 1904. ____________________________________________________________

François-Louis-Hippolyte MONPOU (1804-1841) Les Deux Reines Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Frédéric Soulié and Auguste-JeanFrançois Arnould. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Bourse), 6 August 1835. Everything about this small work is interesting. The composer, from the Romantic school, wrote very attractive couplets which became popular, such as “Adieu, non beau navire au grand mât pavoisé” sung by Inchindi. The trio “las’l je suis une pauvre fils”, the duet “J’avais rêvé que dans mon toit modeste” and the chorus “Allons, vite à table” have real originality. The work could be revived with a chance of success. The libretto presents pleasant quidproquos between the two queens of Sweden and Denmark travelling incognito and en travestie. Le Luthier de Vienne Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Jules-Henri Vernoy de SaintGeorges and Adolphe de Leuven. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Bourse), 30 June 1836. The story is derived from E. T. A. Hoffmann’s tale Le Violon de Crémone. The libretto has not been handled inventively, and the denouement is very

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ordinary. A violin-maker in Vienne, Maître Crespel, wishes his son to marry his niece, an accomplished young woman, who plays the organ very well, but who because of her health is forbidden to sing. Frédéric is very fond of the Baronne de Castelfiore, who has heard him sing at a concert. This baroness, who is a singer herself, does not want to upset the plans of the good violin-maker. She makes Frédéric re-think, and resigns herself to marrying an old councillor. Crespel at various times in the story seems to manufacture organs, pianos and oboes as well as violins. The score is also curious. Monpou seems to have tried to free himself of the Classical forms, thinking up new modulations and rhythms. This is not always successful, and this mania for innovation results in strange vocal lines and fiddling harmonies. On the other hand, he is often successful and really inspired. The overture is very interesting, even if it is lacking in unity. It begins in C minor and ends in E-flat major. The most successful pieces are: the chanson for Couderc “Les fils de l’université”; the cavatina; the Cantique de sainte Cécile, a real religious piece; and the chanson of the old hunter “Ramenons mon troupeau” sung by the valiant Mme Damoreau for whom this work was a considerable success. Performed until 1838. Piquillo Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Alexandre Dumas and Gérard de Nerval (Labrunie). First performance: Opéra-Comique (Bourse), 31 October 1837. The libretto has little innate interest, since the hero of the story, Piquillo, a Spanish robber, does not elicit much sympathy. The music, on the other hand, has the stamp of originality, something distinguishing all Monpou’s work. Among the striking pieces are: the charming couplets sung by Jenny Colon “Je ne suis pas Phoebé, la déesse voilée”; the trio “Au voleur!”; the descriptive trio “Puisque vous voulez bien éclairer la justice”; and especially the ravishing aria “Mon doux pays des Espagnes” sung by Chollet in the theatre, and by Ponchard père in concerts, with great success. Performed until 1839. Le Planteur Opéra-comique en deux actes. Librettist: Jules-Henri Vernoy de SaintGeorges. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 6 August 1835.

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The story is very simple. Sir Jackson, the planter, and Miss Mackensie, a young orphan, are the chief characters of this piece which was badly received by the critics. There are couplets with female chorus at the beginning of act 1, and a quartet and aria for Miss Mackensie in act 2. The opera was sung by Grignon, Ricquier, Moreau-Sainti, and Mme Jenny Colon. It was given until 1840, and revived later with some interest at the Théâtre des Fantaisies-Parisiennes. Une conte d’autrefois Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Adolphe de Leuven and Léon-Lévy Brunswick. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Bourse), 28 February 1838. Despite several original ideas in this work, it was not successful, with only 6 performances. The score is missing. La Reine Jeanne Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Adolphe de Leuven and LéonLévy Brunswick. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 12 October 1840. This was a collaboration between Monpou and Bordsèse. The action takes place in Naples. The queen, Jeanne, has been dethroned by her subjects, incited by the revolt of Prince Durazzo. Jeanne disguises herself as a Gypsy, and opposes her enemy with the help of an adventurer called Lillo whom she turns into the pretender. Because of the new troubles which she stirs up, assisted by of the Duke of Taranto, she is able to regain the throne of Naples. The music of this collaborative opera is necessarily something of a pastiche. Never did two composers working together evince such opposing qualities. The colliding and unequal accents of Monpou are followed by Bordèse’s facile melodies in the Italian style. But in spite of this lack of unity, the work was well received. Act 1 has a bolero, act 2 a trio that is carefully planned. Mme Eugénie Garcia had success in the role of Jeanne. The rest of the cast were: Botelli, Mocker, Grignon, Daudé, and Mlle Darcier. There were 12 performances.

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Lambert Simnel Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Augustin-Eugène Scribe and Mélesville. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 14 September 1843. This is the composer’s opus posthumous; it would have remained uncompleted had it not been finished by Adolphe Adam. The action takes place during the reign of Henry VII of England. The Earl of Warwick, the last descendant of the Plantagenets, has died in the Tower of London. His followers find a young man who resembles him, Lambert Simnel. Historically he was the son of a baker, but Scribe preferred to make him a young pastry-cook, just as in Le Prophète he transformed John of Leyden from a tailor to an innkeeper. The Earl of Lincoln announces him as the pretender. Ambition takes hold of the poor boy, who abandons his fiancée Catherine and seeks to distinguish himself in military exploits. But the mask falls, the hero becomes a pastry-cook again, and marries Catherine. The libretto was refused by Donizetti and Halévy. In the music one finds both the qualities and weaknesses of this Romantic composer: the researching of colour, and real melodic sentiment, but on the other hand modulations that are too brusque, and colliding rhythms. He was probably not responsible for the anachronistic use of “God save the King”, composed more than 170 years after the War of the Roses. Scribe would not have thought that too far off, and Adam even less so. Among the more striking pieces are the introductory chorus, which is vigorous, and interrupted by by some attractive couplets; and the tenor aria, with an adagio infused with a mystical tenderness: Les yeux baissés, timide et belles, Ma fiancée est à mon bras; Doucement vers la chapelle Je guide ses pas. Then there is the trio “Il nous faut un Warwick” which is well-handled; the soprano aria which opens act 2 “Anges divins, de celui que j’aime” distinguished by an adagio of exquisite sentiment, and which, written for the cellos, features in the overture. The couplets “J’avais fait un plus joli rêve” are touching and have a delicate expressiveness. Act 3 has a romance for Simnel “Adieu, doux rêves de ma gloire” which is especially notable for the sentiment of the refrain:

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Vous m’avez donné la couronne, Vous m’avez ravi le bonheur! The musical interest is greater in act 1 than in the two that follow, and in a lyric work this is not a recipe for success. Masset and Mlle Darcier created the roles of Lambert Simnel and Catherine with talent. The other roles were interpreted by Grard, Mocker, Henri, Grignon, Duvernoy, Mmes Prévost and Révilly. There were 18 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Pierre-Alexandre MONSIGNY (1729-1817) Les Aveux indiscrets Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: La Ribadière. First performance: Paris, Foire Saint-Germain, 7 February 1759. This work, based on one of La Fontaine’s tales, launched the dramatic career of this agreeable composer. Colin, who has married Toinette, confesses to having had an attachment prior to their engagement; and Toinette makes the same confession to Colin. He is angry at not finding a heart as fresh as he had hoped; and she adopts the same attitude. An argument ensues. Lucas and Claudine, the mother and father of Toinette, run in. Lucas appeases Colin, Claudine scolds her daughter, not for having loved, because she agrees that she finds herself in the same position, but for having declared this to her husband. Lucas, who has heard her, realizes that he is in the same position as his son-in-law. He is about to start a row, but the bailiff restores peace. Le Maître en droit Opéra-comique/opéra bouffon en deux actes. Librettist: Pierre-René Lemonnier. First performance: 1st version: Paris, Foire Saint-Germain, 13 February 1760; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 8 February 1762. The story is taken from a conte by La Fontaine Le Roi Candaule et le maître en droit. The character of the old Roman lawyer is the first of an interminable series of loathsome doctors, tutors, and governors deceived by their pupils. These characters will re-appear so often in the plays of

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Scribe that they seem a part of the scenery of his libretti. The type is met in Le Comte Ory (1828) and reappears in La Part du Diable (1843). This work was performed until 1790. Le Cadi dupé Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Pierre René Lemonnier. First performance: Paris, Foire Saint-Laurent, 4 February 1761. This libretto, drawn from the Thousand and One Nights, has as its principal device a very piquant double misunderstanding. The poet Michel-Jean Sedaine was struck by the qualities of this work, especially by the comic verve of the duet between the Cadi and the dyer Omar. It led to a friendship with the composer, and a collaboration which produced many remarkable works, among them Le Roi et le Fermier, Rose et Colas, and Le Déserteur. On ne s’avise jamais de tout Opéra-bouffon en un acte. Librettist: Michel-Jean Sedaine. First performance: 1st version: Paris, Foire Saint-Laurent, 14 September1761; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 3 February 1762. The story is derived from a tale by La Fontaine. Outstanding in this jocular piece are the very graceful couplets, the ariette sung by Dorval “Je vais te voir, charmante Lise”; the chanson “Une fille est un oiseau qui semble aimer l’esclavage”; and the quintet finale, which is handled very well. It was retained in the repertory until 1789. Le Roy et le fermier Comédie mêlée de morceaux de musique en trois actes. Librettist: MichelJean Sedaine. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 22 November 1762. The story is based on Robert Dodsley’s ‘dramatick tale’ The King and the Miller of Mansfield, in turn drawn from Juan de Matos Fragoso’s Le Sage en sa retraite. The story concerns a certain King of England who becomes lost while hunting, finds shelter in the master of the hunt’s house in the forest, and as a reward for the hospitality he has received, permits the marriage of the master, a tenant called Richard, with the charming Jenny,

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whom Milord Lurewel wanted to take for himself and had even tried to abduct. The subject, which rather resembles Collé’s La Partie de chasse de Henri IV, is not complicated, but rather childish. But Sedaine knew so well how to invest familiar scenes and situations with natural dialogue and true feeling, a talent this work allowed him to exploit interestingly. Some well realized pathetic scenes were already presented here to the composer of Le Deserteur seven years later. In act 1, of note are the half-comic halfserious duet between Richard and and his sister Betsy; Jenny’s recital of her abduction; in act 2, the quartet finale; in act 3 the lovely trio “Lorsque j’ai mon tablier blanc”. All of this scene is charming, as are the three ariettes for Jenny, Richard, and the King in which the character of each is well expressed. There was a reprise on 23 October 1806 (Feydeau), and the work remained in the repertory until 1819. Rose et Colas Comédie en un acte, en prose, mêlée d’ariettes. Librettist: Michel-Jean Sedaine. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 8 March 1764. This work belongs to the first period of the genre of opéra-comique, which naturally divides into three distinct periods, because of the characteristics of the major works which exercised an influence on all aspects of the composers’ productions. So from 1757 to 1770, the scene was occupied by Duni, Philidor and Monsigny. From 1770 until 1791 Grétry, Dezède and Dalayrac used their talents, their grace and their sentiment in situations far more varied and moving than those treated by their predecessors. Finally, from 1791 until 1812, Cherubini, Kreutzer, and Méhul again enlarged the body of lyrical works, giving them a magnificent but excessive development. Indeed, they stopped the old repertoire from moving forward. Isouard and Boieldieu, from 1812 until 1825, returned to the genre of opéra-comique, but at the same time inaugurated the modern repertoire. Boieldieu enriched the work of Hérold, Auber and Halevy, and other masters who were on the whole eclectic. Towards the middle of the century the genres were completely confused. This opera enjoyed a vogue that can only be explained by the natural interaction of dialogue and music, since the foundations of the piece are very slender, and the melodies less than original. It was later revived at the Opéra-Comique, when Montaubry successfully sang the role of Colas. Remarkable pieces include the ariette “Pauvre Colas”, sung by Rose, and the aria in a single movement for the mother of Bobi; the duet “Ah!

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comme il y viendra”, very comical, if in rather mediocre taste; Colas’s graceful aria “C’est ici que Rose respire”, and Rose’s chanson “Il était un oiseau gris comme un’ souris” which lends its effect to the amusing scene of Colas’s succumbing. This scene probably contributed to the success of the work (CL 2:983). Aline, Reine de Golconde Opéra-ballet en trois actes. Librettist: Michel-Jean Sedaine. First performance: Opéra, 15 April 1766. A tale by Boufflers provided Sedaine with his subject. The music of this heroic ballet was not nearly as remarkable as that of the immensely successful Le Déserteur that came three years later, and caused this work to fall into oblivion. L’Isle sonnante Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Charles Collé. First performance: 1st version: Villiers-Cotterêts, at the home of Mme de Montesson, August 1767; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 4 January 1768. The story is derived from a posthumous text attributed to François Rabelais. The libretto was revised by Michel-Jean Sedaine for the Parisian production. This is an island ringing with music, where nothing is spoken, only sung. The score was lost for a long time. Le Déserteur Drame en trois actes, en prose, mêlé de musique. Text: Michel-Jean Sedaine. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 6 March 1769. This is certainly the best work to come from this composer’s pen. It is the score in which his exquisite sensibility is manifested most forcefully and charmingly. Everyone knew Alexis’ aria “Adieu, chère Louise”, and the recital of the gendarme Courcheman “Le roi passait” in the middle of which recurs the touching phrase “C’est mon amant, et s’il faut qu’il expire”. Adam controversially reshaped this phrase in the reprise of the work at the Opéra-Comique on 30 October 1843. Monsigny also handled

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the comic elements very well: the duet in canon, sung by the cousin and Montauciel, is very amusing, as is the Reading Lesson, and the aria “Je ne déserterai jamais” sung with such verve and so successfully at the reprise by Mocker. Le Faucon Opéra-comique mêlée d’ariettes en un acte. Librettist: Michel-Jean Sedaine. First performance: 1st version: Fontainebleau, Théâtre de la Cour, 2 November 1771; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 19 March 1772. The story is based on a fable by La Fontaine, drawn in its turn from a nouvelle by Boccaccio. The comédie of the same title by Louis-François Lisle de la Drevetière, produced at the Théâtre-Italien in 1725, remained in the repertory until 1779. This work, produced just after Le Déserteur, enjoyed some vogue, but was too light to share in its success. There were 5 performances. La Belle Arsène Comédie-féerie en quatre actes et en vers, mêlée d’ariettes. Librettist: Charles-Simon Favart. First performance: 1st version: Les Comédiens italiens ordinaires du roi, Fontainebleau, 6 November 1773; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 14 August 1775. The idea for this libretto was borrowed from Voltaire’s tale, Bégueule. The beautiful Arsène causes despair among her lovers by her indifference and disdain. Alcindor, the most constant of all and worthy of her favour, is not able to conquer her pride. To correct this, he pretends to be fickle, only to offend her pride instead of arousing her sensibility. Nevertheless, the selfregard of the lady cannot endure the indifference of her lover. So she asks her godmother, a fairy, to carry her to her palace where soon she is the sovereign commander, where all she desires is implemented, where all seek to entertain her with their dancing, and to amuse her with their concerts. But, alas, there are no men in the fairy’s palace, and so no purpose in longing. Not seeing Alcindor cannot stop her sense of regret. The fairies of which she is queen become tired of her, so she flees this brilliant retreat which holds no more attraction for her, and becomes lost in the forest. The fairy, who has kept her in view, stirs up a terrible storm. A charcoal burner who recognizes her adds to Arsène’s distress by his crude

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proposals. She collapses, overwhelmed by fear and fatigue, at the foot of a tree. During her faint, the scene changes: she finds herself transported anew to the midst of the brilliant court of her godmother where the marriage of Alcindor is about to take place. She is filled with regret, renounces her foolish vanity, and secures her happiness by taking him as her faithful lover. The opera was very successful. Monsigny, who worked very painstakingly, spent a long time composing the music. Some pieces reveal an exquisite sentiment: the trio “Doux espoir de la liberté”; the charming aria “L’Art surpasse ici la nature”; the aria from act 4 “Voici quel est mon caractère” in which one finds the phrase that has become a proverb: “Je me ris de tout la terre, oui, oui, Charbonnier est maître chez lui”. The opera everywhere bears the imprint of sensibility, the most striking characteristic of Monsigny’s music. Félix, ou L’Enfant trouvé Comédie en trois actes, mêlée d’ariettes. Librettist: Michel-Jean Sedaine. First performance: 1st version: Fontainbleau, 10 November 1777; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 24 November 1777. This was Monsigny’s last work. It is by no means inferior to Le Déserteur, and has the same qualities and faults that make up his style: a natural keenness, true sensibility, even passion, and a sense of rounded melody, but on the other hand phrases clumsily written for the voice, and a meagre, often defective harmony. The composer possessed intelligence for the musical stage, and it is to this that he owed his success. The opera was not initially popular with the public. Monsigny, vexed by this, stopped composing at the age of 48. Fétis reported that when questioned in 1810 on the reasons for his silence, Monsigny replied: “From the day I completed the score of Félix, music was as if dead for me; no further ideas came to me.” The subject of the libretto is impregnated with that exaggerated sensibility which inspired the paintings of Greuze. A young man, having been brought up since his early years by an honest villager, is the butt of the hatred of the latter’s son, and resolves to flee the house of hospitality which also shelters the gentle Thérèse whom he loves. But Felix saves the life of an unknown lord, who turns out to be the father of the foundling, and the proprietor of a considerable sum which the villager has guarded, and which he now restores. Felix is now free to marry Thérèse. The opera abounds in pieces that are poorly developed, but treated with

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energy and pathos. The aria “non, je ne serai point ingrat” was celebrated in its day. The trio “Ne vous repentes pas, mon père”, containing the phrase Nous travaillerons, Nous vous nourrirons led to the shedding of tears.The quartet “Ô ciel, est-il possible?”is most remarkable, and handled with great skill. There is duet full of passion “Adieu, Felix, adieu, Thérèse”. After these pieces of primary importance, there are others which are also not without merit. The aria for the Abbé “Qu’on se batte, qu’on se déchire”; Thérèse’s aria “Quoi, tu me quittes?”; the scene “non, je pars”; and finally the very agreeable quintet, original and of great effect “Finissez donc, monsieur le militaire”. The role of Felix was created by Clairval and taken on with style by Elleviou. The other roles were sung by Nainville, Trial, Narbonne, Julien, Meusnier, and Mmes Dugazon and Trial. The work was revived at the Opéra-National (Théâtre Lyrique) in 1847, with Lapierre, Junca, Lecourt, Pedorlini, Delsarte, Cabel, and Mlles Préti and Octave. The music has accents which will always seem sympathetic. Endowed with less talent and fewer means of invention than Grétry, Monsigny had a more profound sensibility, because it was more real. He could communicate with slender artistic means, and one can understand why Sedaine, on hearing his first work, Le Cadi dupé; exclaimed: “Here is the man for me!” ____________________________________________________________

Alexandre MONTFORT (1803-1856) Polichinelle Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Augustin-Eugène Scribe and Charles Duveyrier (fils). First performance: Opéra-Comique (Bourse), 14 June 1839. The favourite personages of the fairground theatre—of Riccoboni and Romagnesi—file past. Despite its improbability, the plot is amusing. Lelio has married Laurette, daughter of a noble inhabitant of Palermo, Theodoro-Theodori-Bambolino-Bambolini. Lelio is a charming husband, but his prolonged mysterious absences are a dark threat to Laurette’s happiness. Lelio becomes the subject of black accusations, but then

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Bambolino-Bambolini discovers that his son-in-law is none other than the celebrated Polichinelle, who, every night at the Teatro Bocchetta, delights the Neapolitans. To discover one is the father-in-law of Polichinelle is hard to bear, but Signor Bambolino-Bambolini is too Italian not to share in this with good grace. Montfort’s music is witty: examples are the couplets for Bambolino “Les talents d’un ambassadeur”, and Laurette’s aria “Si tu m’aimes, Laurette”. The trio “Savez-vous bien que c’est un vice affreux” is the best piece in the score. Ernest Mocker, who was subsequently to create many interesting roles, made his debut in this work. The other roles were sung by Henri, Mlle Rossi and Mme Boulanger. It was in the repertory until 1845. La Jeunesse de Charles-Quint Opéra-comique en deux actes. Librettists: Mélesville and Charles Duveyrier (fils). First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 1 December 1841. The monarch plays an ignoble role in this story. He is seeking to seduce the wife of his doctor, Magnus. His rival is a soldier, Ulrich, who wounds him with a sword thrust through a curtain. The doctor arrives immediately at the door of the house, to dress the wound of the man dishonouring him, and who stoops to the craven action of accusing another. Having failed in his amorous expedition, the young king leaves the scene, with the regrets and benedictions of everyone. The book of this opéra-comique, so badly conceived in its relation to the historical character of the principal personage, could not hope for much success. However, the music is estimable. Ulrich’s aria “je suis archer du roi” has bold rhythm and thrusting melody; the entr’acte has an elegant harmony and graceful effect; and the scene in which the doctor plays the role of George Dandin shows the composer’s verve and scenic wit. Henri, Mocker and Couderc played the roles of Magnus, Ulrich and Charles V, Mlle Révilly that of Marie, the doctor’s wife. It was in the repertory until 1845. Sainte Cécile Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Jacques-Arsène-PolycarpeFrançois Ancelot and Alexis Decomberousse. First performance: OpéraComique (Salle Favart 2), 19 September 1844.

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Carl Vanloo has accompanied the young Marquise de Gèvres to St Cecilia’s Day. He has fallen in love with her, and protects her from attempted seduction by the Marquis de Fronsac. This event has given the piece its title, which has little to do with the actual intrigue. The music is well-constructed, and became popular. The opening duet between Fronsac and the Marquise is agreeable: “Il lui disait: je vous adore”. Also striking are the quartet called le Courtpaille, the prayer “Reine de ciel, vierge divine”, the soprano aria in act 3 “Je coris encore entendre” sung so well by Mme Anna Thillon. This facile music obtained an easy success, but it is amusing. L’Ombre d’argentine Opéra-buffon en un acte. Librettists: Alfred Bayard and Edmond de Biéville. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 28 April 1853. 27 performances. La Charbonnière Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Augustin-Eugène Scribe and Mélesville. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 13 October 1845. The story is most improbable. A charcoal-burner of the Vendée, Mme Bertrand, saved the life of a person called Rigobert in the 1793 uprising. She was forced to flee, and had to entrust her child to some passers-by on the journey. She arrives in Westphalia, where she is able to build up a fortune for herself. She recovers her son, now a colonel, bearing the name of d’Apremont, who is on the verge of finalizing a marriage with the daughter of an emigré, M. le duc de Champearville. The revelation of the plebian birth of the colonel threatens to derail the marriage. The charcoalburner, however, happily recognizes in one of the reigning German princes the person whose life she once saved. Rigobert I bestows letters of nobility on Mme Bertrand, and all the rest falls into place. The score did not save the libretto from failure. It offers only a few melodies, hardly developed and without interest, apart from a romance sung by Audran and a good quartet. The cast was Chaix, Mocker, Ricquier, Grignon, Mlles Arthémise Duval and Prévost. It was performed into 1846. The score has not been located.

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Deucalion et Pyrrha Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Michel Carré and Jules Barbier, derived from the Metamorphoses of Ovid. First performance: OpéraComique (Salle Favart 2), 8 October 1855. The foolishness of a stupid clown makes up the story. He believes in the reality of Ovid’s metamorphoses, and tries to put them into action. He ends up being stoned rather than repopulating the world with pebbles. The concluding couplets were much applauded: “Pour un baiser” (first verse), “Pour un souflet” (second verse). The roles were impersonated by Mocker and Mlle Lemercier. There were 17 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART (1756-1791) Le Mariage de Figaro/Le nozze di Figaro Opéra-comique en quatre actes. Librettist: Lorenzo Da Ponte, after the play by Beaumarchais. French version: Jules Barbier and Michel Carré. First performance: 1st version (Italian): Vienna, Burgtheater, 1 May 1786; 2nd version: Théâtre-Lyrique, 8 May 1858; 3rd version: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 24 February 1872. Mozart’s comic masterpiece was first performed in Vienna, at the Burgtheater, on 1 May 1786. Beaumarchais’s play is properly called La Folle Journée ou le Mariage de Figaro. An arrangement of Beaumarchais’s play with Mozart’s music was produced at the Opéra on 20 May 1793. Lays sang the role of Figaro. At that time of political crisis any stage successes were impossible. The original Italian version of the score was produced at the Théâtre-Italien in Paris on 23 December 1807, and remained in the repertory of this house until 1840. The most remarkable artists who performed the opera in this period were Garcia, Morandi, Levasseur, Pellegrini, Lablache and Tamburini, Mmes Barilli, Mainvielle-Fodor, Catalani, Naldi, Cinti, Malibran, Grisi and Persiani. The corrupt French version of 1793 was again given, this time at the Théâtre-Feydeau, on 31 December 1818. It was planned to mount the work at the Opéra-Comique in 1822, and the Committee requested the assistance of Cherubini, but nothing came of this. Castil-Blaze then provided a French version of the opera as Les Noces de Figaro, an opéra

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comique with a dialogue of his devising. This was presented at the Odéon on 22 June 1826. Eventually Carvalho had the happy idea of presenting this masterpiece at the Théâtre-Lyrique, 8 May 1858, with new French words by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré. The female roles were particularly well realized: Mmes Vandenheuvel-Duprez, Miolan-Carvalho and Ugalde excelled as the Countess, Cherubino and Suzanna respectively. In the various reprises which followed, other roles were filled admirably by Meillet, Lutz, Petit, Mlle Albrecht, and Mlle Maria Brunetti. The Barbier-Carré version eventually reached the Opéra-Comique on 24 February 1872. Revivals took place on 29 May 1882 (Salle Favart 2); 5 March 1919 (Salle Favart 3), with the French libretto revised by Paul Ferrier and orchestration arranged by Paul Vidal; 1 July 1939 (Salle Favart 3) in a new French version by Adolphe Boschot; 16 June 1949; 14 November 1956 with a return to the version by Barbier and Carré; and 31 January 1964 in a new version in two acts and four scenes. It was performed until 1971. Don Juan (Don Giovanni, ossia Il dissoluto punito) Opéra en deux actes. Librettist: Lorenzo Da Ponte. First performance: 1st version (Italian): Prague, National Theatre, 29 October 1787 (in 2 acts); 2nd version: Paris, Théâtre-Lyrique, 8 May 1866 (French version: Henry Trianon, Auguste Challamel, and Eugène Gautier); 3rd version: OpéraComique (Châtelet), 17 November 1896 (French version: Louis V. Durdilly, revised by Charles Gounod). Mozart was so satisfied with the way in which Bondini’s troupe sang his Le nozze di Figaro, written in 1786 for Vienna, that he decided, with the director of the troupe, to request the Abbé Da Ponte who had arranged Beaumarchais’s Le Mariage de Figaro for the lyric stage, to arrange a libretto from Molière’s play Le Festin de Pierre for a musical setting (da metersi in musica). Mozart undertook to deliver the completed score by autumn, for the price of 1000 ducats. He left for Prague towards the end of the summer, and delivered his opera on 28 October. It is extraordinary that such work could have been learned in seven days, but these are the historical facts. The subject of the opera first appeared in the treatment by the Spanish poet Tirso de Molina. It had been set to music by Albertini, Righini, Fabrizzi and Gazzaniga. The success of Mozart’s opera was immense, and every piece was encored. It was given in Vienna in 1788, where the reception was almost indifferent. When given in Berlin on 12 October 1791, it was almost unnoticed by the public. It has been called

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“the opera of operas”. After hearing it in Vienna, Haydn, when asked about the merits of the score, replied: “All that I know and can tell you is that Mozart is the greatest composer of our age”. In this work Mozart had provided a proof of the justice of this lovely definition given by Father Félix from the pulpit of Notre Dame: “Art is the expression of ideal beauty in a created form.” Don Juan, opera in three acts, arranged after Da Ponte and Mozart’s Don Giovanni with words by Thuring and Baillot, and music by Kalkbrenner, was given at the Académie Impériale de musique on 17 September 1805. This French version was ridiculous. The dramatic situations were changed, the duel suppressed, as was the scene in which Donna Anna recognizes the assassin of her father; the trio of masks was replaced by a trio of ruffians; the soprano parts taken by tenors; there were innumerable inversions. Furthermore, motifs by Kalbrenner himself were intercalated. Despite this degradation, Mozart’s work remained in the repertory for several years. The cast were: Roland (Don Juan); Huby (Leporello); Laforêt (Ottavio); Dérivis (Masetto); Bertin (the Commendatore); Mlle Armand (Elvira); Mlle Ferrière (Zerlina); and Pelet (Donna Anna). Martin sung the part of a ruffian in the trio. Don Giovanni was given in Paris for the first time on 12 October 1811 at the Théâtre-Italien where it was kept in the repertory with ever-growing success, and interpreted by the most celebrated artists: Mmes MainvielleFodor, Sontag, Malibran, Méric-Lalande, Giulia Grisi, Persiani and Frezzolini, MM. Garcia, Lablache, Rubini, and Mario. Don Juan, arranged in four acts for the French stage by Castil-Blaze, was given at the Odéon on 24 December 1827. This translation was tastefully done. The dialogue actually reproduced some of Molière’s play. The Italian words are nevertheless always to be preferred, since in this opera musical science in the service of dramatic expression has never been pushed further. All the finesse and mobility of feeling are expressed in a language of incomparable harmony. Don Juan, translated and arranged in five acts by Castil-Blaze, A.-H. Castil-Blaze, and E. Deschamps, was produced at the Académie royale de musique on 10 March 1834. The cast was: Nourrit (Don Juan), since there was no adequate baritone; Levasseur (Masetto); Lafont (Don Ottavio); Dérivis père (the Commendatore); Mlle Falcon (Donna Anna); Mme Damoreau (Zerlina); and Mme Dorus-Gras (Donna Elvira). The major reprise of the opera took place in 1866, in two theatres: at the Opéra and at the Théâtre-Lyrique, and threw new light on the beauties of the score. Faure was very successful in the role of Don Juan at the Opéra, but the execution at the Théâtre-Lyrique (in the translation by

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Henry Trainon, Auguste Challamel and Eugène Gautier) was even more satisfying. Mme Charton-Demeur, Mlle Nilsson and Michot performed the trio of the masks as it had never before been heard at the Italiens, even when performed by more celebrated artists. Mme Carvalho played the part of Zerlina with her usual finesse and her particular vocal charm. The baritones Barré and Lutz were most appropriate in the roles of Don Juan and Masetto; the part of Leporello was also convincingly sung by Troy. The opera reached the Opéra-Comique only on 17 November 1896 in a new French version by Louis Durdilly, revised by Charles Gounod. A reprise took place on 30 April 1912 (Salle Favart 3) in a complete version in two acts and nine scenes by Paul Ferrier, with musical revisions by Reynaldo Hahn. There were other revivals, in revised forms, including that by Adolphe Boschot. La Flûte enchantée/Die Zauberflöte Opéra fantastique en deux actes. Librettist: Emanuel Schikaneder. French version: Charles Nuitter and Alexandre Beaumont. First performance: 1st version (German): Vienna, Theater auf der Wieden, 30 September 1791 (in 2 acts); 2nd version: Paris, Théâtre-Lyrique, 23 February 1865; 3rd version: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 3 April 1879. This score, composed in the last months of his life, is counted among Mozart’s masterpieces. It belongs to the Romantic and fantastical genres. Schikaneder, then director of the Theater an der Wien, found himself in an embarrassing financial situation. He approached Mozart and requested a score. The great artist gave himself to the task, and within some weeks delivered the score to the director, without demanding any honorarium other than the promise to to allow him to take some copies of his music and reserve for himself any benefits flowing from the sale of his score to other theatres if the work succeeded. Die Zauberflöte proceeded to have 100 performances. Copies poured out everywhere, and Mozart, deceived, never received any recompense. This was his swansong. The opera was received with favour by the Viennese public, but Mozart, because of his physical weakness, was able to direct the orchestra for only ten performances. He died three months later. Ten years later, in 1801, Morel and Lachnith presented at the Theatre of Arts (Opéra) an opera entitled Les Mystères d’Isis, into which they introduced the major portion of Die Zauberflöte, together with added fragments drawn from Mozart’s other works—Don Giovanni, La Clemenza di Tito, and Le Nozze di Figaro, and even some pieces from the

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symphonies of Haydn. This strange arrangement was very successful. Les Mystères d’Isis was interpreted by: Chéron, Lainez, Lays, Dufresne, Mmes Maillart, Henry, and Armand. In 1816 this work was repeated with Lays, Dérivis, Nourrit pères, Mmes Branchu, Armand, and Albert. Finally, Les Mystères d’Isis was given in 1827, with Dabadie, Alexis Dupont, Serda, Mmes Grassari, Quincy, and Jawureck. One should also remember the production of this work at the Théâtre-Italien in 1829, by a German troupe from Aix-la-Chapelle, directed by Roeckel. Although the majority of critics found Schikaneder’s naive and fantastical scenes ridiculous, the power of Mozart’s music came through. Mozart had indeed called on all the treasures of his imagination and his heart with a greater richness and profusion than in any other of his works. La Flûte enchantée in four acts with new words by Charles Nuitter and Alexandre Beaumont was presented at the Théâtre-Lyrique on 23 February 1865. The new libretto reproduced almost exactly the German original, and it is precisely in the German score that one must look for Mozart’s true inspiration. The composer must have worked in close co-operation with Schikaneder, and indeed, it is impossible to imagine a more perfect agreement between dramatic author and musician. The contrast of characters, the variety of scenes, and the progress of the action provided the composer with the most propitious of musical situations. In the mortal sphere, on an elevated plane, there is the love of the prince Tamino for Pamina: pure, chaste, ethereal; on a lower plane are the less mystical characters of Papageno and Papagena; and at the lowest, the savage brutality of the Moorish Monostatos. In the other more supernatural sphere, there is the Queen of the Night, with her maleficent power, jealous of the happiness of mortals; below her are the two pairs of three little fairies (the Three Ladies and the Three Boys) who each form a triple personage of gracious intervention. Finally, there is the hieratic element, magnificently represented by the procession of the priest of Isis, and preeminently in the person of the high priest of Osiris, Sarastro, whose sovereign influence confounds all falsehood, who opposes himself to homicidal tyranny and protects innocence, beauty, love and virtue. The supernatural/fantastical with Mozart is not lugubrious and despairing, as in Weber, but of a stimulating originality, a strange gracefulness. The spirit is engaged without discomfort, the ear is always charmed; Mozart remains always a musician expressing himself in his own language. Many later 19th-century composers changed all that. They attached themselves to the romancers and literary critics. They sought out effect, and little by little the puerile procedures of imitation replaced inspiration. Before long these procedures were known and imitated,

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reproduced everywhere on every occasion, wearying and obsessing audiences. This genre, whose development we have witnessed, has already aged, while Mozart’s muse still gaily carries its two centuries of existence (CL 1:474). The score of Die Zauberflöte without doubt lacks unity: the subject itself obstructs it. But from the purely musical point of view, it is the richest work to emerge from Mozart’s pen. It is as though, sensing himself arriving at the end of his earthly career, he sowed all his ideas with profusion, without reserving anything for other works he might yet have imagined. The interpretation of the opera at the Théâtre-Lyrique was excellent, and Carvalho did not economize on the voices he chose for the eighteen roles: Michot (Tamino); Troy (Papageno); Depassio (Sarastro); Lutz (Monostatos); Fromant (Pamina); Petit, Bamboloda, Gerpré (Manes); Péront and Gailland (Guardians of the Temple); Mme Carvalho (Pamina); Mme Ugalde (Papagena); Mlle Nilsson (the Queen of the Night); Mlles Albrecht, Estagel and Fonti (the Three Ladies); Mmes Daram, Willèm and Peyret (the Three Boys). A lovely edition of the score, with French words, and conforming to the presentation at the Théâtre-Lyrique, was published by Heigel, with a most interesting portrait of Mozart. The opera was produced at the Opéra-Comique on 3 April 1879 (Salle Favart 2). There was a reprise on 31 May 1909 (Salle Favart 3) directed by Gabriel Fauré, in a new French edition by Paul Ferrier and Alexandre Bisson. This was performed into the following year, 1910. ____________________________________________________________

Adolphe-André NIBELLE (1825-1895) La Fontaine de Berny Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Albéric Second. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 2 June 1869 There is an analogy between this story and Autour d’une bibliographie, a novel by Gustave Droz. This is a pretty little act distilled from an ingenious fantasy. The peasant Thibault has been ruined; the doctor Tronchin, to whom he owes his life, devises a way for him to make his fortune. He declares that the fountain of Berny has marvellous curative properties. He further sends those of his patients who want to put on weight and those who want to lose it, to the waters. These include his nephew Lysidias and Mme la présidente. The pretty widow, with whom

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the young man has fallen in love, is won over at the edge of the fountain. The farmer makes his profit from this fountain which becomes a thermal station. The music is very attractive, and abounds in ingenious motifs and skillful accompaniments. Of note are: the overture which is of a character well suited to the subject of the piece, the quartet of the fountain, and the doctor’s aria. The idea of having the role of Lysidas played by a mezzosoprano travesty was not wise. The work was sung by Couderc, Ponchard, Potel, Thierry, Mlles Belia and Moisset. There were 15 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Jean-Charles NOUGUÈS (1875-1832) Chiquito, le jouer de pelote Scènes de la vie basque en quatre actes. Librettist: Henri Cain. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 30 October 1909. The story is based on Pierre Loti’s novel Ramuntcho. There was a general public rehearsal on 28 October 1909, and 11 performances in all. La Danseuse de Pompéi Opéra-ballet en cinq actes et huit tableaux. Librettist: Henri Cain. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 29 October 1912. The story is based on the novel by Jean Bertheroy. ____________________________________________________________

Jacques OFFENBACH (1819-1880) Les Deux Aveugles Bouffonerie musicale en un acte. Librettist: Jules Moinaux. First performed: 1st version: Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens, 5 July 1855; 2nd version: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 28 May 1858. This was retained in the repertory until 1936.

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Barkouf Opéra-bouffe en trois actes. Librettists: Augustin-Eugène Scribe and Henri Boisseaux, from a Norwegian legend. First performance: OpéraComique (Salle Favart 2), 24 December 1860. The subject is drawn from a political-philosophical tale by the Abbé Blanchet who published several ingenious novellas. Few authors have dared to transpose this subject for the stage, and confer the principal role on a dog. It needed the skill of Scribe to take on such a strange enterprise. One of the chief difficulties has been wittily addressed. The action in large measure takes place off stage, and the audience knows the hero only by his barking. In fact, several dogs have featured as characters in plays, as in Le Juif errant, La Bergère des Alpes, Le Chien de Montargis. There are many dramas, vaudevilles, féeries where the colleagues of Barkouf have been tested and applauded by the public. But this was something new in a musical role. The story tells how the Grand Mogul sent a dog to the inhabitants of Lahore, the most turbulent and seditious of his subjects. Since they did not appreciate the last catmacan, he imposes a new governor on them. He has fangs and claws, barks at marvels, and will treat them well if the fancy takes him. All the subjects of the Grand Mogul tremble with fear every time Barkouf barks, But a young girl called Maïma tames the dog, and governs in his place with justice and goodness. The most complete happiness prevails in the kingdom of Lahore. Sadly Barkouf is killed, and his death is mourned by all his grateful people. The music did not seize the attention of the habitues of the OpéraComique. Offenbach was more at his ease in the little Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens than in the Opéra-Comique. There are several pretty arias, among them the couplets in act 2 “Ici, Barkouf!” and in act 3 “Mais buvez donc”. Some of the choruses have a lightness of touch, and are ingenious and spruce. But originality, the principal merit of this composer, is not much in evidence in this history of the crowned dog. The critics were not sympathetic to it. The singers were Sainte-Foy, Berthelier, Nathan, Mmes Marimon (Maïma), and Bélia and Casimir. Robinson Crusoé Opéra-comique en trois actes et cinq tableaux. Librettists: Eugène Cormon and Hector Crémieux. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 23 November 1867.

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The authors really only used several of the names from Daniel Defoe’s novel. Otherwise they thought up the most implausible tale. Robinson leaves his family to find his fortune, with the intention of returning a wealthy man to enrich his parents and his pretty cousin, Edwige, whom he loves. He sails off, is shipwrecked, and finds himself on a desert island, where Friday becomes his companion and confidant. He is joined in this place by his cousin Edwige, his childhood friend Toby, and the servant Suzanne who has also suffered shipwreck. After an encounter with cannibals and some pistol shots, everyone embarks to return to good old England. Descriptive tableaux abound in this work, but the author of Le Belle Hélène, despite all his efforts, was not able to rise above the mediocre in this genre. He was not successful at the exact same points where other serious composers had failed before him. Scenes depicting the mores of savage peoples, descriptions of natural beauty—of virgin forests, the ocean, of nights in the tropics—have all been treated in masterly ways by composers, among them Kreutzer and Lesueur in versions of Paul et Virginie, but none of them has remained popular. In this opera it is the music of act 1 that comes across as better: a lovely rondo, la ronde du dimanche, Suzanne’s ariette, and a fine quartet. In act 2 there is duet for Robinson and Friday, and the chanson bouffonne “Pot-au-fer”. Act 3 has the entertaining couplets “Maître avait dit à Vendredi”. The cast was: Montaubry, Sainte-Foy, Ponchard, Crosti, Mme Galli-Marié, Mlles Cico and Girard. The work was given into the next year, 1868 (32 performances in all). Vert-Vert Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Henri Meilhac and Charles Nuitter, from a vaudeville by Adolphe de Leuven and Alfred Pittaud de Forges, drawn from a poem by Jean-Baptiste Gresset, Ver-Vert [sic]. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 10 March 1869. The libretto copied an old play by de Leuven and de Forges in which Mlle Déjazet had great success 75 years before. The action takes place in a boarding-school. The sub-directress has secretly married the dancing teacher Baladon. Two of the pupils are also more or less married to two officers of the dragoons. One can already observe that the librettists have mistaken the Salle Favart for the Passage Choiseul. But this is still nothing as yet. The parrot Vert-Vert, the hero of Gresset’s charming poem, has died, and the gardener Binet buries him in a flowerbed in the garden, to the accents of a funeral chorus. The directress has a nephew, a pupil at the

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gymnasium, who is paying court to demoiselle Mimi. He has taken on the name of the deceased bird and inherits his preogatives. The directress sends him on a journey accompanied by the gardener Binet. Mimi is in despair. She finds the uniform of one of the dragoons, and sets off after her lover. She finds him in an inn giving an impersonation of the theatre singer, the prima donna Corilla. She wins the two dragoons over to her cause; they get Vert-Vert drunk, and take him back to the boarding-school. Arriving there, the dragoons, profiting from the troubles of the subdirectress who has allowed herself to be taken over by the new Vestris, Baladon, make off with their girls while Mimi takes possession of the inconstant Vert-Vert. Offenbach was not very happy when he produced Barkouf at the Opéra-Comique. However, Vert-Vert is perhaps his best work as a composer (CL 2:1136). It was performed only into the following year, 1870, but received with enthusiasm when produced at the BouffesParisiens. Vert-Vert’s romance Oui, l’oiseau reviendra dans sa cage, Retrouver le bonheur qui l’attend is lovely. The air du coche (the stage-coach aria) has an ingenious accompaniment. At the end of act 3 there is a quartet of fine effect. The work was created by Capoul, Sainte-Foy, Gailhard, Couderc, Potel, Mlles Girard, Cico, Moisset, and Tual. Fantasio Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Paul de Musset, with the collaboration of Charles Nuitter, Camille Du Locle and Alexandre Dumas (fils), after the play by Alfred de Musset. First performance: OpéraComique (Salle Favart 2), 18 January 1872. The literary reputation of Alfred de Musset and the success of some of his plays led to the belief that one could transfer to the lyric stage the scenes of dialogue that had grown out of his capricious imagination. The attempts to do so at the Théâtre-Français and the Odéon were not successful; and this renewed attempt at the Opéra-Comique failed as well. One forgets so often that a musical work in three acts needs rather more than some flippant conversation, that some witty words are not enough. Alfred de Musset’s Fantasio has neither grace nor sentiment. His characters do not live: their actions are absurd, like those of a marionette in a bad troupe. It

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also has to be admitted that Offenbach’s music has further debased them. There is perhaps no other work in the repertoire of the Opéra-Comique less worthy of the lyric stage than this one (CL 1:427). The overture has a jerky style; it is called an Introduction, but is too long for this appellation. In act 1, the couplets for the student Spark, with imitations of bells by the chorus, are hardly original. Nor is the talent of the composer any better revealed in the Ballad of the Moon that follows: Voyez dans la nuit brune Sur le clocher jauni La lune Comme un point sur un i. Instead of Fantasio singing a humoresque and bizarre melody, one seems rather to be listening to Patachon in Les Deux Aveugles, or something from Tombalcazar. The romance for Elsbeth Pourquoi ne puis-je voir sans plaisir et sans peine Les baisers du zéphyr trembler sur la fontaine...? is handled better. However, it would require a different muse to that of the author of La Belle Hélène to set the second couplet, which is preferable to the first: L’eau, la terre et les vents, tout s’emplit d’harmonie; Un jeune rossignol chante au fond du mon coeur. The duet for Elsbeth and Fantasio is a little waltz that could have come straight out of Le Mariage aux lanterns. The piece that does give value to the text is the Chorus of Penitents: Ô saint Jean! Ta joyeuse face A fait sa dernière grimace. Toi qui chantais, toi qui raillais, Grand docteur en plaisanterie. Here the word-smith and the musician are in harmony; to call St John a fool is to exceed the limits of mockery. The duet for Marinoni and the Prince “Je médite un projet d’importance” is written with burlesque repetition that recalls “Le roi barbu qui s’avance, bu qui s’avance” and would no doubt have been successful at the Variétés. The Chorus of

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Students Tout bruit sans cesse Le jour fuit Dans le calme de la nuit is, musically speaking, the best piece in the work. The chanson des fous (Song of the Fools) has neither brio nor elegance. Act 2 is even more feeble than the preceding one. The romance of the Prince “Je ne serai donc jamais aimé pour moi-même” and the couplets for Fantasio “C’est le nouveau bouffon du roi” are poor. In act 3 the melody of Elsbeth’s romance “Psyché, pauvre imprudente” shows the composer in the melodic mould familiar from so many of his works, using a triple metre for strophes made of lines of six and two syllables: Pysché, pauvre imprudente, Voici Que ton désir me tente Aussi. The duet that follows for Fantasio and Elsbeth sees the return of the banal phrase in waltz time from act 1: “Regarde-toi, la jeune fille”. This brings to mind a similar situation in Grétry’s opera where Azor fears for the effect of his unsightliness on Zémire’s heart. Du moment qu’on aime On devient si doux, Et je suis moi-même Plus tremblant que vous. Since then how times have changed in terms of a disappointed idealism and moral ugliness! The opera ends with a repetition of the Rondo of the Fools: Le sort des fous est agréable, Le sort des fous est trop heureux! There were 10 performances.

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Les Contes d’Hoffmann Opéra-fantastique en quatre actes. Librettists: Michel Carré and Jules Barbier, after various stories by E. T. A. Hoffmann. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 10 February 1881. Les Contes d’Hoffmann had been presented thirty years before on 31 March 1851 at the Odéon in the form of a comedy. As it had been conceived, the play offered an excellent frame for music, arranging for the stage in their fantastic form three of the tales by the German storyteller, related to each other in a most ingenious way, with their own innate contrasts. The lyric adaptation seemed very natural, and was accomplished with great skill and taste. Offenbach had almost completed the music when overtaken by death. He had not orchestrated the score, and Ernest Guiraud was charged with doing this. His contribution is easily recognizable, Guiraud being a musician educated in a different way to the composer of Orphée aux enfers and La Belle Hélène. It would be correct to say that many pieces of the score are brilliantly realized, and witness to the composer’s great efforts. This, added to the interest generated by the libretto and the excellent interpretation by the singers, explains the success of this work. The cast was: Mlle Adèle Isaac (Stella, Olympia, Antonia), Talazac (Hoffmann), Taskin (Lindorf, Coppélius, le docteur Miracle), Belhomme (Crespel), Grivot (Andrès, Cochenille, Franz), Gourdon (Spallanzani), Collin (Wilhelm), Mlles Marguerite Ugalde (Nicklause), and Molé (la Muse). The work was revived at the Renaissance during the brief tenure of M. Détroyat, who called it the Théâtre Lyrique. Le Violoneux Légende brétonne. Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Eugène Mestrépès and Émile Chevalet. First performance: 1st version: Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens, 31 August 1855; 2nd version: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 14 December 1901. It was performed into the following year, 1902. ____________________________________________________________

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André-Georges-Louis ONSLOW (1784-1853) L’Alcade de la Vega Drame lyrique en trois actes. Librettist: Bujac. First performance: OpéraComique (Feydeau), 10 August 1824. The story is taken from a comedy by Collot d’Herbois, Le Paysan magistrat, drawn in its turn from Calderon’s L’Alcade de Zalaméa. The libretto is feebly conceived and needed the lift of a more dramatic composer. Onslow wrote well, but too symphonically for the stage He did better in his chief lyric work, Le Colporteur. This was performed into the following year, 1825. Le Colporteur, ou l’Enfant du bûcheron Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Eugène de Planard. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 22 November 1827. The subject is drawn from an old Russian chronicle, and the libretto offers a good mix of dramatic and comic situations that lend themselves to musical setting. It is the work of an excellent musician who excelled at the symphony and in quartets, and offers several good pieces: the trio “Ah! depuis mon jeune âge” sung by Lafeuillade, Féréol and Mme Pradher; a rondo for two voices “C’est la fête du village”; and a lovely cavatina at the end of act 3 “Modèle d’innocence”. Despite the success of the work in 1827, it was performed for the rest of the season into 1828, but never revived. Guise, ou les États de Blois Drame lyrique en trois actes. Librettists: Eugène de Planard and JulesHenri Vernoy de Saint-Georges. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Bourse), 8 September 1837. The story is taken from a tragédie of Antoine Raynouard. It was performed into the following year, 1838. ____________________________________________________________

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Antonio Francesco Gaetano PACINI (1778-1866) Isabelle et Gertrude Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Charles-Simon Favart. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 1 March 1806. This was performed until 1808. Amour et mauvaise tête, ou la Réputation Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en trois actes. Librettist: Alexis Arnoult. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 17 May 1808. There were 5 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Ferdinando PAËR (1771-1839) Le Maître de Chapelle Opéra-comique en deux actes. Text: Sophie Gay. First performance: Opéra-comique (Feydeau) 29 March 1821. The composer was 50 years old when he wrote this small masterpiece. Melody abounds in all the scenes; the instrumentation is very neat and ingenious. These pieces became classics. He was a witty and brilliant man who possessed a unique sense of pastiche, rather rare in his period. The best example is the aria of the Maître de chapelle himself, which Lucien Fugère kept popular almost until the middle of the 20th c, in which the Choir Master describes the opera he is writing on the subject of Cleopatra, and in which he lists all the banalities of light opera in the first half of the 19th c. Also famous was the duet “Perchè, perchè” where he gives a bel canto lesson to the cook. Le Maître de Chapelle enjoyed instant success, which was also prolonged. The first act (complete in itself), stayed in the repertoire of the Opéra-Comique as a curtain-raiser until the eve of the Second World War. This work obtained just as much success as an opérabouffe as Agnese did as an opera seria. These are the composer’s two most significant achievements. ____________________________________________________________

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Giovanni PAISIELLO (1740-1816) Le Barbier de Séville, ou La Précaution inutile/Il barbiere di Siviglia, ovvero La precauzione inutile Opéra-comique en quatre actes. Text—Original libretto: Giuseppe Petrosellini; spoken text: comédie di Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais; sung text: French translation by Étienne-Nicolas Framery. First performance: 1st version: Versailles, Théâtre de la Reine, 14 September 1784 (with the participation of members of the ComédieItalienne); 2nd version: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 16 March 1793. The original Italian version was first performed in St Petersburg, Théâtre de l’Ermitage, 15 September 1782, and in Paris by the Italiens of the Théâtre de Monsieur, in the Salle des Tuilleries, 12 July 1789, and in the Feydeau on 22 July of the same year. Beaumarchais, who in the preface to Le Barbier de Séville was opposed to dramatic music, did not hesitate to change his position after hearing Paisiello’s charming Il barbiere di Siviglia presented in Paris two days before the storming of the Bastille. The Italiens were now banished from the Tuilleries by the series of events starting on 6 October that brought the Royal family back to Paris. The company sought refuge in a barn called the Théâtre des Variétés (the new Salle de Nicolet), situated in Saint-Germain on the square where the market of this quarter takes place, next to the carrefour de Buci. The Italiens made their debut in the new theatre on 10 January 1790 with Il barbiere di Siviglia. Paisiello’s opera enjoyed a European success, and contains seven remarkable pieces: the romance for Almaviva, the Calumny Aria, the aria for Bartolo, the comic trio where the young girl sneezes and where the waker yawns in front of the guardian; the charming Letter Trio, the duet at the entry of the false Don Alonso, and the Fever Quintet, where the phrase “buona sera” is treated most wittily. Paisiello knew, as Castil-Blaze rightly remarked, how to draw advantage from Beaumarchais’s scenic situations that so lend themselves to musical setting. Viganoni, Mengozzi, Mandini, Rovedino, Raffanelli, Mmes Morichelli, Baletti, Zerbini, Mandini, and their worthy helpers, sang and acted in Il barbiere di Siviglia, and attained an ideal of perfection. The memories of this performance were of such a kind, however, that between 1801 and 1806, any desire to revive this opera (which shared public favour with La cosa rara, La Frascatana, and La Molinara) was destroyed. A reprise finally did take place on 10 March 1806 (Feydeau).

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When Rossini’s version appeared in Paris in 1819, Paisiello’s work was revived in opposition to it, but without success, in fact a fiasco orribile. The current of musical ideas had changed direction. Now, despite the opposition of some journalists, Rossini was the man of the moment. Paisiello’s work was revived on 3 June 1960 (Salle Favart 3), as an exceptional production given by the Piccolo Teatro Musicale with the Virtuosi di Roma. ____________________________________________________________

Giovanni PAISIELLO/Domenico CIMAROSA Il Calzolaio/Le Cordonnier Intermède comique italien en un acte. Music attributed to Giovanni Paisiello. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 6 July 1801. There were 3 performances with invited artists. Il Maestro di cappella Intermède. Music attributed to Domenico Cimarosa and Giovanni Paisiello. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 10 July 1801. This was produced with invited artists. There was only one performance. La Marquis Tulipano, ou le Mariage inattendu/Il marchese Tulipano ossia Il matromonio inaspettato Opéra buffon en deux actes. Librettist: Joseph-Antoine Gourbillon. First performance: 1st version: Paris, Théâtre de Monsieur, 28 January 1789; 2nd version: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 13 October 1806. This was a refashioning of Le finte contesse (Rome, 1766) and Il matrimonio inaspettato (St Petersburg, 1779). The story was derived from Pietro Chiari’s Il marchese villano. There were 9 performances. ____________________________________________________________

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Émile PALADILHE (1844-1926) Le Passant Opéra en un acte. Librettist: François Coppée. First performance: OpéraComique (Salle Favart 2), 24 April 1872. This was a lyrical adaptation of of the comédie by Coppée. It was annoying for the young composer to have accepted such an essentially unlyrical work as Coppée’s poetic fantasy for his theatrical debut. The lovely verses, an interesting psychological study, and the dialogue of an original cast combined to secure a success for the poet, and in a period as sterile of talent as this was procured for him a type of ephemeral glory. But in this work there were no elements appropriate to the shaping of a proper libretto for an opéra comique. Paladilhe engaged in struggle with an ungrateful subject. The score and the libretto did each other mutual harm. The composer did not find any fresh melodies. His methods of composition, as laborious and estimable as they might be, did not lead to any appreciation on the part of the public, but rather a general impression of boredom and scepticism about his future as a composer. There is a lovely prelude and an unaccompanied chorus. The author of the Mandolinata had to take some revenge. The work was sung by Mme Galli-Marié and Mlle Priola. There were 3 performances. L’Amour africain Opéra-comique en deux actes. Librettist: Ernest Legouvé. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 8 May 1875. The story is based on the novel Théâtre de Clara Gazul, comédienne espagnole by Prosper Mérimée. This opera is a bizarre work of reprehensible taste derived from the fecund imagination of Mérimée. It was thought that a literary discovery had been made. People hungering for new impressions yearned for the power of violence and cynicism, for a product of the Spanish imagination. These pastiches, had they been published under the real name of the still unknown author, would have made them smile. L’Amour africain could at least have provided the book for an Opéra-comique like Carmen. Ernest Legouvé believed the contrary. He saw fit to embody the play in a prologue and epilogue of his making. This fantasy further contributed to diminish the little intrinsic interest it might otherwise have offered.

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In act 1, a rich amateur, Count X, gives a party at his chateau close to Nice. He is visited by two artist brothers, both winners of the Prix de Rome, one a painter, the other a musician. The young composer carries in his portfolio the score of an opera which he hopes will be performed by his brother, he himself, and his wife. The count employs them and organizes a performance of the work at the chateau. Act 2 takes place in the dwelling of a ferocious man. The Moors Zeïn and Nouman quarrel over the slave Moïana. After a series of scenes all characterized by violence that is not even interrupted by the aria “L’Arabe et son coursier” sung by Zeïn, Nouman kills his rival and then Moïana herself. At this interesting denouement, one is agreeably recalled to the spectators at the count’s chateau by the unexpected words: “Sir, the supper is ready and the play is over!” In act 1, a light hand has sketched the interview between Maecenas and the two artists, just as Boieldieu did in the analogous first act of Les Voitures verseés. Other interesting pieces are the couplets about the trials of the Prix de Rome, some passages from a quintet, and a type of vocal saltarello. The music of act 2 is blatant and noisy: not only do the intonations often slip out of classical tonality, but added to these incoherent phrases is an excessive instrumentation, with brass sonorities contesting the high notes of the voice. There are nonetheless some lovely effects like the piccolo and cymbals in a small Moorish march and expressive phrases in the trio finale on the words “Rends-moi mon serment”. The cast was: Melchissédec (Raymond/Zeïn); Ismaël (the Count/Mustapha); Paul Nicot; Mlle Dalti (Margherita/Moïana); Mlle Ducasse (the Countess). There were 6 performances. Suzanne Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Eugène Cormon and Joseph Lockroy. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 30 December 1878. However interesting some of the scenes in the libretto might be, the basic situation of the plot is too unlikely to captivate the audience. Suzanne is an orphan brought up by peasants in an ignorance against which her refined nature reacts to the point of wishing to educate herself at all costs. Richard, a young English student, meets her and without being otherwise engaged, agrees to take her to follow a course at the University of Cambridge on the condition that she will dress as a man and call herself Claudius. The two are installed in the same lodgings, and Richard soon

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falls in love with the young girl, and declares his love. She, fearing the danger she is courting, resumes her female identity and wants to flee. Dalton, Richard’s friend, has discovered the secret. He takes Suzanne for an adventuress, and says as much to the other students. Richard defends his protégée, who escapes from the inn in the middle of a type of orgy. After four years, Suzanne has become a celebrated tragedienne. Dalton, who has recognized her, wishes to repair the damage he did to her at the inn, and offers to marry her. Suzanne is disposed to accept the honour, but Richard, who has become a naval officer, returns and wins the heart of the actress over his rival. She agrees to give her hand to him. The other characters in the piece are: the merry servant Eva, the Quaker Paterley, a blustering and ridiculous financier, and a domestic servant— from all of which the actors created much comic fun. The score is better than the libretto, and was much more appreciated than the composer’s previous scores. It contains lovely pieces and a freshness and simplicity that one would not have expected from the composer of L’Amour africain and Le Passant. Of particular note were, in act 1: a chorus of peasants, an aria for Dalton, a gigue, a romance for Richard “Comme un oiseau posé sur le chemin”; in act 2, another romance for Richard, a song for Eva “Si j’étais garçon”, a quartet “Elle est charmante, en vérité”; and in act 3 a good trio. The principal roles were sung by: Mlle Bilbaut-Vauchelet, Mlle Ducasse, MM. Nicot and Barré. The work was performed into the following year, 1879. Diana Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Jacques Normand and Henry Régnier. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 23 February 1885. The action is rather dark. It takes place in England during the reign of William III, and concerns the conspiracies of the partisans of the exiled James II. Onto this historical trunk the authors have grafted an amorous and political intrigue that holds little interest and is very bleak. The subject was only a poor inspiration to the amiable composer of the scores Le Passant and Suzanne. The music, which is not lacking in certain qualities of form and workmanship, is somewhat lacking in personality. Certain pages are well imagined, but ensemble is a little flat, rather cold and heavy, and one wishes for something of the elegance that gives such charm to the graceful score of Suzanne. The music left the public indifferent, and was thus unsuccessful despite the valiant case made by its

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interpreters: Mlles Cécile Mézeray, Chevalier and Esposito, MM. Talazac, Taskin, Belhomme, Grivot, Isnardon and Dulin. There were only 4 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Auguste-Mathieu PANSERON (1795-1859) La Grille du parc, ou Le Premier parti Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Joseph Pain, François Ancelot and Auguste Audibert. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Théâtre Feydeau), 9 September 1820. There were 14 performances. Le Mariage difficile, ou Les Deux Cousins Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Auguste Rousseau and Ménard. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 19 February 1823. There was only one performance. ____________________________________________________________

J. and Philippe-Charles-Gabriel PARÈS (Ph. Parès b. 1860) Le Secret de Maître Cornille Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Edmond Sivieude. First performance: 1st version: Grand Théâtre de Marseille, 20 January 1893; 2nd version: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 13 January 1904. The story is based on the nouvelle by Alphonse Daudet. There were 2 performances. ____________________________________________________________

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Alexandre PARIS (1756-1840) La Veillée Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Paul Duport and Amable Villain de Saint-Hilaire. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Ventadour), 14 February 1831. The libretto, by one of the Roman scholars, is without invention, devoid of musical situations, and capable of discouraging any young artist from a lyric career. The hero of the story has left his father’s house and his fiancée in order to become a pirate. He returns after four years absence during which, thanks to his honest business, he finds he has amassed a fortune. He learns on his arrival that Mlle Nancy, his betrothed, is going to marry an odious rival. He manifests his indignation by announcing his departure, and bequeathing all his fortune to his unfaithful fiancée. This trait of delicacy touches all hearts, and leads to a reconciliation. Paris was a pupil of Lesueur, and his first compositions were publicly noted, but the score of his opéra-comique could only be considered as one of the numerous less successful entrants in the Concours de l’Institute. The interpreters were Moreau-Sainti, Henri and Mme Pradher. There were 11 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Prosper PASCAL (1825?-1880) Le Cabaret des amours Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Michael Carré and Jules Barbier. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 8 November 1862. This work is unusual in having two actors playing four characters. Couderc and Mme Chollet-Bayard acquitted themselves with skill in this double task. It was performed into the following year, 1863. ____________________________________________________________

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Giovanni Battista PERGOLESI (1710-1736) La Servante maîtresse/La serva padrona Comédie mêlée d’ariettes parodiées de La Serva padrona, intermède italien en deux actes. Librettist: Gennaro Antonio Federico. French version: Pierre Baurans. First performance: 1st version: Paris, ThéâtreItalien, 14 August 1754; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 29 March 1762. The creation of this key work in operatic history took place in Naples, Teatro San Bartolomeo, 5 September 1733. The composer was only 21 when he wrote his masterpiece. Although apart from a mute role there are only two singing actors in the piece, an old man dominated by his servant, and a servant disguised as a bully boy, interest never flags for a moment because of the truthfulness of the musical expression, and the elegance and vivacity of the dialogue. A simple string quartet accompanies this duet which lasts hardly an hour. Le Mercure de France (October 1746: 160-62) reported that La serva padrona had already been presented at the Académie royale de musique in 1729 by comic actors whom the Prince de Carignan had brought from Italy expressly. However, it is most unlikely that Pergolesi’s masterpiece, which established his reputation, would have been performed in France before appearing in his own country. The editor of the journal must have confused Pergolesi’s character Serpina with Serpilla e Bojacco ossia il Giocatore, an Italian opera in three acts presented at the Académie royale de musique on 7 June 1729. An Italian troupe, brought to Paris, produced La serva padrona at the Théâtre-Italien on 4 October 1746. Another Italian version was given at the Opéra on 2 August 1752. This was the signal for a reaction against French music, as still represented by Lulli and Rameau. The Coin du roi grouping supported national honour; the Coin de la reine, the party who grouped themselves under the queen’s box, were for the Italian cause. Pergolesi’s work, interpreted by Anna Tonelli who sang the role of Serpina, was an immense success. Pierre Baurans then provided a French translation in verse which was the occasion for a new production at the Théâtre-Italien under the title La Servante maîtresse on 14 August 1754, sung by Rochard and Mme Favart. There were 150 consecutive performances. “This very unusual piece, translated in such a superior manner by Mr Baurans, helped to form a new genre. The basic theme is a real subject of comedy, while the ariette, both as solo and in duet, mixed in with recited dialogue, seemed to merit the title of comédie-opéra rather

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than opéra-comique” (Orville). There were many reprises over the years: 9 August 1803 (Feydeau); 12 August 1862 (Salle Favart 2) for the remarkable debut of Mme GalliMarié (with the generic designation opéra-comique, in contemporary costume, and with Pergolesi’s rudimentary instrumentation retouched by François-Auguste Gevaert); 2 April 1929 (Salle Favart 3), designated comédie and in the French version of Paul Bérel; 23 December 1937 (Salle Favart 3); 4 June 1960 (Salle Favart 3), a production exceptionally in Italian, given by the Virtuosi di Roma, from the Piccolo Teatro Musicale. ____________________________________________________________

Joanny PERRONNET La Cigale madrilène Opéra-comique en deux actes. Librettist: Léon Bernous (Amélie Perronnet). First performance: Opéra-Comique (Châtelet), 15 February 1889. The story of the genesis of this opera is original. When one of the future interpreters, Mme Degrandi, wanted an engagement at the OpéraComique, and solicited an audition, she performed not a repertory aria, as was usual, but a simple song. The director was won over by the grace of the singer and charm of the song. This was not in fact an ordinary song, but “La cigale madrilène”. It has the reckless verve of youth, with caresses here and abandon there. She had to dance, to play the castanets, to whistle through her fingers imitating a breeze, and other things besides. In short, it was a little musical poem in a few measures and verses. The enchanted director engaged the singer and asked the name of the author of the song. This was Joanny Perronet, who wanted to write an opera in which this song would be the pretext and the pivot. Thereupon, the mother of the composer, Mme Amélie Perronet, undertook to write the piece, using a pseudonym, and her son wrote the music, using his own name. Both the one and the other were perhaps a little childish, and without much consistency, but the public accepted the work and even applauded several pieces of the score, particularly an attractive duo bouffe, a rather ingenious quintet, and a sung waltz that was very successful. The cast were: Mmes Degrandi, Bernaert, and Pierron, MM. Fugère, Galand, Grivot and Bernaert. It was performed for the next two years, until 1891. ____________________________________________________________

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Henri PERRY-BIAGIOLI (d. 1907) Les Héroïques Drame lyrique en trois partes. Librettist: Antoine Perry-Biagioli. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 4 May 1876. This was performed as a matinée, without costumes or decor. There was only one performance, The score is unlocated. ____________________________________________________________

Louis-Luc-Loiseau de PERSUIS (1769-1819) Fanny Morna, ou l’Écossaise Drame-lyrique mêlé d’ariettes en trois actes. Librettist: EdmondGuillaume-François de Favières. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 22 August 1799. There was a reprise on 25 November 1803 (Feydeau). Le Fruit défendu Opéra en un acte. Librettist: Étienne Gosse. First performance: OpéraComique (Salle Favart 1), 7 March 1800. The story is derived from Adolphe et Clara, ou les Deux Prisonniers (1799). The music was atributed to Persuis. There was one performance. Marcel, ou l’Héritier supposé Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: René-Charles-Guilbert de Pixérécourt. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 12 February 1801. There was one performance. The score is unlocated. ____________________________________________________________

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Émile-Louis-Fortune PESSARD (1843-1917) La Cruche cassée Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Hippolyte Lucas and Émile Abraham. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 21 February 1870. A sentimental woman agrees to give her hand to an elderly suitor on condition that he shows her an example of true and disinterested love. A villager is love with a charming girl who is courting a rich rival; an old avaricious uncle opposes the happiness of the young people; a love scene takes place at a fountain where the young peasant comes to fill his bucket. Mme Dorothée helps in the discussion, and is able to convince herself that sincere love still exists. The episode of the broken bucket serves as a pretext for the title of the opera. Mme Dorothée endows the peasants, and a double marriage ensues. There is no other connection with the celebrated painting of the artist Greuze other than the title selected by chance. Such are the libretti that were reserved for the old Roman scholars. Pessard wrote some agreeable music for this poor text. The overture has an antique character, and a duet and romance are noteworthy. It was sung by Leroy, Bernard, Lignel, Mlle Moisset and Mme Révilly, and performed until 1872. Le Char Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Paul Arsène and Alphonse Daudet. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 18 January 1878. The story concerns Alexander, in the middle of an arithmetic lesson from Aristotle. He is distracted by the presence of a slave, a Gaul called Briséis in Greek, who has come to wash at the fountain. After a small scene of mischievousness, interrupted by the arrival of the tutor, the slave, threatened with dismissal, arranges things to make the philosopher himself fall in love with her, to the point of leading him to fulfill all his fantasies; she harnesses him to a cart, with reins and bit, and he begins pulling it. Alexander mounts the cart behind the girl during the ride, and when Aristotle turns round, [astonished at the burden he is pulling,] he sees with amazement that he has been made fun of, and understands the irresistible power of love. The vulgar details, and the operetta style, spoiled this libretto drawn from stories of Aristotle. It is a sacrifice of literature to the

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genre of operetta which places Alexander on stage when he was already rather too old to be counting flowers, and assigns him a duet with Aristotle on the words “Deux fois trois font six, dix fois cinq font dix”, and has him folding linen and kissing the arms of a pert slave while he is being boxed on the ears. Such silliness should have been brushed aside by a composer of the wit and taste of Pessard. The most notable pieces in this small work were: the overture, where the development and character do not relate to the subject, but are well handled; the motif accompanying the first duet; the couplets for Briséis; the sung waltz “Mais je les tiens, tes jolis doigts”. The cast were: Mme Galli-Marié (Alexandre), Mme Irma-Marié (Briséis), M. A. Maris (Aristotle). The other characters are King Philip, a confidant, and some guards. It was performed into the next year, 1879. Les Folies amoureuses Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: André Lénéka and Emmanuel Matrat. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Châtelet), 15 April 1891. The story is based on the comédie by Jean-François Regnard. This was one of the playwright’s most delightful comedies, produced at the Comédie-Française on 15 January 1704. The work was preceded by a prologue in free verse and followed by a divertissement called Le Mariage de la folie which was soon discarded. The great actress Adrienne Lecouvreur played the role of Agathe. A contemporary chronicler observed; “Mlle Lecouvreur wanted to act the role of Folly in this work, but she did not know how to play the guitar. Chabrun, a famous teacher of the instrument, was placed in the prompter’s box and accompanied the Italian air while Mlle Lecouvreur mimed the actions. Despite all precautions, the illusion was not sustained, leading to some some light ridicule of Mlle Lecouvreur.” This did not prevent the illustrious actress leaving an immortal name behind her. Castil-Blaze, who was obsessed with pastiches, had the idea of transforming Les Folies amoureux into an opéra comique reduced to one act, and to have the verses he composed sung to arias by Mozart, Cimarosa, Paër, Generali, Rossini and Steibelt. This ridiculous arrangement was not successful because of the personality of the artist playing the central role, Mlle Lalande, who would later become famous under the name Mme Méric-Lalande. More rightly respectful than CastilBlaze, Lénéka and Matrat preserved the line and shape of Regnard’s masterpiece, limiting themselves only to revisions necessary for the transformation into an opéra comique. The work, with the agreeable music

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of Pessard, has many well imagined pieces, and looked very good on the stage of the Opéra-Comique, where the permanent company was also very good. The excellent interpretation was entrusted to Mmes Landouzy and Molé-Truffier, MM. Fugère, Carbonne, Soulacroix, Clément and Thierry. It was performed over three years, until 1894. ____________________________________________________________

Georges-Jean PFEIFFER (1835-1908) L’Enclume Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Pierre Barbier. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 23 June 1884. The cast were: MM. Mouliérat, Belhomme, Maris and Mlle Vial. Le Légataire universel Opéra bouffe en trois actes. Librettists: Jules Adenis and Lionel Bonnemère. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 6 July 1901. The story is taken from the comédie by Jean-François Regnard. The librettists rearranged this amusing masterpiece by reducing the five acts to three, in order to give the music the scenarios it needed. But they preserved the the essential situations and left the play with its fantastic character. Whatever they did, their text was sufficient to inspire the composer and allow him to write a very attractive score with excellent comic feeling, precisely in accordance with the tone, the form, and proportions that were needed. His music, very refined, elegant, and above all discreet, mostly composed in short pieces, is always appropriate to the situation and never slows down the action which it encapsulates in some way and lightly underlines. If Pfeiffer’s muse is not as unbridled as Regnard’s, it does not lack true and serious qualities: a comic feeling full of grace and lightness, a sense of scene and situation, an attractive melodic flow where one could sometimes wish for a little more novelty, a rare sobriety that does not prejudice the harmonic elegance nor the orchestral finesse, and finally a solid and rational structuring of the pieces. The work has the form of a dialogue, and the score naturally falls into discrete pieces. This meant that the public had the pleasure not only of

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hearing ariettes and couplets, but also ensembles: duets, trios, etcetera. This allowed the audience the pleasure of again hearing several voices resonating in concert. After a pleasant overture, act 1 contains a lovely introductory trio, finely crafted in the manner of Grisar, with an orchestra that is alert and spruce. Less effective is the romance for Eraste, also the duet with Isabelle where inspiration has flagged. But the little aria for Géronte “je suis sûr qu’étant marié” is charming, and the final trio, with its burlesque anathema, is very theatrical and of an excellent comic style. In act 2 one particularly notes the quartet for the widow, lively and full of movement, where all the composer’s verve is deployed freely. In act 3, which is possibly the best, there is the lovely entr’acte, with violin and cello solos, the scene of the will, which is handled well, very theatrical, with an elegant and vivacious orchestra; the small trio that follows, and the quintet of lethargy, written in an imitative fashion with piquant rhythm, and which is amusing and full of frankness. The cast were: MM. Périer, (Crispin), Grivot (Géronte), Carbonne (Éraste), Mesmaeker (Clistorel), Jacquin (Scrupule), and Mlles Eyreams (Isabelle) and Pierron (Mme Argante). It was performed over the next four years, until 1905. ____________________________________________________________

François-André-Danican PHILIDOR (1726-1795) Le Diable à quatre Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Michel-Jean Sedaine. First performance: Paris, Foire Saint-Germain, 14 April 1756. The music was by various composers. Blaise le savetier Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Michel-Jean Sedaine. First performance: Paris, Foire Saint-Germain, 9 March 1759. Blaise goes to work in a tavern, despite the remonstrances of his wife Blaisine, when officials, supported by the wife of the bailiff, arrive to seize their furniture. Blaise confesses to his wife that the wife of the bailiff is in love with him, and Blaisine for her part confesses the love of the bailiff for her. Both agree to dupe the bailiff. They decide to use a wardrobe as part of their strategem: the bailiff is disgraced and madame’s intentions

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unmasked. This was Philidor’s first dramatic work after having applied in vain for the post of superintendant of the King’s music. It reveals above all a freedom of rhythm and a continuity of style which contrasts with the laissez-faire attitude of the casual musicians who frequented the OpéraComique. There is a fine quintet written with verve and great talent. (CL 1:158) Le Soldat Magicien Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Louis Anseaume, based on a scenario provided by M. de Ferrières. First performance: Paris, Théâtre de la Foire Saint-Laurent, 14 August 1760. In this small work the composer justified the hopes concerning his musical future after the success of Blaise le savetier. It sustained the interest of the public despite the poor libretto. Le Jardinier et son seigneur and Le Maréchal which quickly followed bolstered his reputation. Le Jardinier et son seigneur Opéra-comique en un acte. Libretto: Michel-Jean Sedaine. First performance: Paris, Théâtre de la Foire Saint-Germain, 18 February 1761. This is one of the composer’s best works, and contains the remarkable duet “Un maudit lièvre”. Le Maréchal ferrant Opéra-comique en deux actes. Libretto: Louis Anseaume. First performance: Paris, Théâtre de la Foire Saint-Laurent, 22 August 1761, and at Court before the king and queen. The action takes place in the farrier Marcel’s shop. The subject has nothing remarkable to offer, but the music is that of a master. The structure is excellent, the harmony handled by an exceptional talent, the melody often interesting. There is no overture. The first aria, for Marcel, “Chantant à pleine gorge” is accompanied by the sound of an anvil, some of the violins and a bass, with some entries for the flute, producing an excellent effect. Then comes a trio for two sopranos and a bass. The couplets for Claudine and for Marcel are well rounded; the duet for

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Labride, coachman at the neighbouring chateau, and Marcel “Premièrement, buvons”, is very comical; the tenor ariette for Labride “Quand, pour le grand voyage, Margot plia bagage”, is an imitation of bells, with a pizzicato accompaniment of charming effect. The following pieces, sung by Jeannette and Colin, offer a detailed instrumentation, the like of which is not found in any other scores written in France at this time. Act 1 closes with a trio in which the composer surpasses himself in the comic genre. Bastien’s ass brays, Eustache’s mare goes clip-clopping, and, thanks to Philidor’s counterpoint, all produces a most original harmony. In act 2 Jeannette’s aria “J’ai perdu tout ce que j’aime” is written so high as to seem unsingable. We can only be relieved that the diapason was very sensibly lowered, since the aria is in E minor, and the counterbass frequently plays a G, its lowest note. Of further note is Labride’s aria “Brillant dans mon emploi”, a little masterpiece. It concludes with vocalise on the word “gare”, which only the most skilled singer can manage. The scene reveals all the suppleness of Philidor’s genius. Finally a tutti full of verve concludes the opera. The work is all the more remarkable for having been a great success when revived in the 19th century. In all it had more than 200 performances. Sancho Pança gouverneur dans L’Isle de Barataria Opéra-bouffon en un acte. Librettist: Anotoine-Alexandre-Henri Poinsinet jeune. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 8 July 1762. The story is based on an episode in Cervantes’s novel Don Quixote. It was performed until 1787. Le Bûcheron Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Guichard and Castet. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 28 February 1763. Suzette returns from the forest, singing. Colin hears her and pays court. But Suzette refuses to stay with him, since she fears being surprised by her mother who wants her to marry the farmer Simon against the wishes of her own husband Blaise, whose son-in-law Colin would like to become. Colin would like to tell Suzette of his sadness, but someone approaches. It is Blaise, the father of Suzette, returning from his work. Blaise, who is unhappy at home, deplores his sad situation. Thunder rolls, and Mercury

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appears, announcing to him that Jupiter, moved by his misery, will fulfil whatever three wishes he would like to make. Blaise, embarrassed, goes to consult the bailiff with whom he shares a table. Blaise knows that the bailiff loves eels, and to test his power offers him one. Hardly has the wish been formed when an eel appears on the table. Mrs Blaise, seeing that her husband has used his first wish so badly. becomes furious. Blaise wishes that she was dumb, and immediately this happens. Eventually, he has to sacrifice the third wish in order to restore her speech, but on condition that she agrees to the marriage of Suzette with Colin. Margot recovers her speech, the words pouring from her mouth until the source eventually dries up. This work is a pleasantry, a fable concerned with women who speak too much. It was given 24 times, and repeated often. Philidor’s music was much applauded, and its popularity lasted a long time. Le Sorcier Comédie en deux actes, en prose, mêlée de chant. Librettist: Poinsinet. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 2 January 1764. The story was amusing for its time, and the music tasteful, The public, in its enthusiasm, called the authors out to receive their plaudits on the stage. Poinsinet and Philidor were the first to submit to this caprice—after Voltaire, that is, who objected to this excess of honour after the presentation of his tragedy Mérope. This opera was revived at the Théâtre des Fantaisies-Parisiennes on 9 February 1867, thanks to the initiative of M. Martinet. Reduced to one act, it was played for several months, despite the naivete of the plot. One only has to hear a few bars to realize that this is the music of a master, with a perfect control of harmony, and accompaniments treated with conscientious taste. The charming romance of the young village girl has not aged. The same does not apply to the aria of the sorcerer which seems too long because it is monotonous. But the rondo finale has a gaiety and originality in its fresh and well-turned phrases that stimulate a real sense of pleasure and good humour, something that happens so rarely in the modern repertoire. The quartet reveals the extent of Philidor’s orchestra: now and then the bassoons and flutes hold the notes, but rarely offer any interesting patterns. This small work was sung by Geraizer, Barnoit, Mmes Decroix and Bonelli.

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Tom Jones Comédie en trois actes, en prose mêlée d’ariettes. Text: Poinsinet. Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 27 February 1765. It is said that the play displeased the public, and compromised the success of the admirable score. But the characters on stage were English, and in 1766, and even more so later, these were not taken seriously. Philidor always had a preference for English society, and he would never have thought that an English subject could ever be an obstacle to success. This is not a bad score: it has variety of situation, real passion, dash and gaiety. But the Quaker Dowling, who always keeps on his hat, seemed very amusing to the public. Further, there are several metaphors scattered about of doubtful literary taste. One need think only of the opening scene. Sophie is seated working at a tapestry frame and sings: Que les devoirs que tu m’impose, Triste raison, ont de rigeur! Tu gémis, Sophie, et tu n’oses T’interroger sur ta douleur. Quand sous les doigt naissent les roses, Les épines sont dans ton coeur. The whole subject of the opera is contained in these words. Tom Jones passes for a foundling. He has been brought up in in Squire Alworthy’s house with Blifil, nephew of this rich landowner. His talents, sympathetic character and graceful presence have made him popular with everyone, and particularly with Miss Sophie, daughter of Mr Western, a wealthy neighbour and fanatical hunter. Mistress Western, the sister of this Nimrod, prides herself on diplomacy. Her perspicacity is imaginary, however, and she has deluded herself into thinking that Sophie loves Blifil. She arranges the marriage which is approved by everyone except Tom Jones and Sophie who love each other without saying so. But in the face of an imminent marriage contract, they declare their feelings for each other. They are interrupted, Tom Jones is chased off, and Sophie escapes the unwanted marriage by fleeing with her friend Honora. The two families follow the fugitive. The scene changes to the town hall close to the castle. The Quaker Dowling, confidant of the secrets of the Alworthy family, discloses the truth about Tom Jones’s birth. He whom all believe to be a foundling is the legitimate son of Alworthy’s sister, and the older brother of the traitor Blifil. Tom gains his rightful position, and receives

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from Mr Western the hand of the one he loves. In fact each number, from the overture to the vaudeville finale, is assured. Like Rameau, Philidor loved descriptive situations, and excelled at them. Mr Western’s air de chasse “D’un cerf dix cors j’ai connaissance” is handled with skill and spirit, with great drive and consummate accompaniment. Of further note in act 1 is the concluding duet for Western and his daughter “Non, rien ne peut me retenir”. Act 2 contains Tom’s aria “Amour, quelle est donc ta puissance?”, Sophie’s touching ariette “C’est à vous que je dois la vie”, and the septet finale. Act 3 has a drinking quartet in canon with accompaniment, and Sophie’s big aria “Ô toi qui ne peux m’entendre”. Taking into account public taste at the time when Tom Jones was written, the genre of the piece and the weakness of the executants, as well as the obstacles hindering the composer in the plying of his skills, endowed as he was with fine organization and a sense of harmony delicate and so well adapted to dramatic situations, it is a pity that he did not live in Italy where he would have been influenced by Paisiello and Cimarosa. Ernelinde, Princesse de Norvège Opéra en trois actes. Libretto: Poinsinet. First performance: Académie royale de musique, 29 November 1767. The subject is taken from an Italian libretto called Ricimero set to music by Pergolesi and Jomelli. It is charged with incident and lacks interest. But the score is one of Philidor’s best. It contains lovely choruses, notably “Jurons sur nos galaives sangalantes”. The aria “Nédans un camp”was sung with success by Larrivée, and shows that at this time the tendency was to write rather high for the bass voice, even taking account of the raising of the diapason, since Ricimer’s aria rises to G. The introductory duet “Quoi! Vous m’abandonnes, mon père!” is also striking. The other roles were sung by Logors, Golin, and Mme Larrivée. Vestris, Gardel and Mlle Guimard distinguished themselves in the ballet. This extremely remarkable work was revived two years later, on 24 January 1769, under the new title Sandomir, Prince de Danemark. The weakness of the libretto still harmed the music, which was appreciated even though the work as a whole did not satisfy the spectators. MichelJean Sedaine became involved with the work, extending it from three to five acts, Philidor having to recast and expand his music. It resumed its old name, Ernelinde, and was produced in this new form at Versailles, before the Court, on 11 December 1773, and at the Opéra on 7 July 1777. This

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time the success was complete, and the public gave full justice to the masculine style and high worth of Philidor’s work (CL 1:400). Le Jardinier de Sidon Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en deux actes. Librettist: Régnard de Pleinchesne. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 18 July 1768. The story is based on the comédie by Fontenelle Abdolonime, roi de Sidon. This gardener is none other than Abdolonymem, a descendant of of the kings of Sidon whom Alexander the Great re-places on the throne of his ancestors in recognition of his virtues. In the libretto, the Macedonian hero is replaced by Cliton, the deus ex machina. Abdolonyme has a daughter who is loved by Agénor, son of a king. There is a mutual combat of generosity between these people. It is an unusual libretto for Philidor’s music, as he was not so suited to the interpretation of great feeling. There were 12 performances. L’Amant déguisé, ou le Jardinier supposé Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en un acte. Librettist: Charles-Simon Favart. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 2 September 1769. This is a refashioning, with the addition of ariettes, of L’Amour jardinier ou les Amusements de la campagne, a comédie by Favart and ClaudeHenri Fusée de Voisenon, presented by the Comédiens Italiens on 7 June 1756. It was performed until 1782. La Nouvelles École des femmes Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en trois actes. Librettist: Alexandre-Guillaume Mouslier de Moissy. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 22 January 1770. This was the lyric adaptation of the comédie by Moissy given by the Comédiens Italiens on 6 April 1758. The story is taken from an historical anecdote drawn from Les Amusements du coeur et de l’esprit. There were 3 performances.

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Le Bon Fils Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en un acte. Librettist: François-André Devaux. First performance: 1st version: Composed for a society theatre cc.1768-69; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 11 January 1773. The story is based on the comedy by Johann Jacob Engel Der dankbare Sohn. The subject is a rather flat protest against game-keepers and bailiffs. Philidor’s music is is rather pallid, if well-made, but was not strong enough to render the libretto more entertaining. Mélide, ou le Pouvoir de la nature Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en trois actes. Librettist: Louis Anseaume. First performance: Fontainebleau, Théâtre de la Cour, 30 October 1773. Not given in Paris. The story is derived from Salomon Gessner’s poem Der erste Schiffer. Les Femmes vengées, ou Les Feintes Infidélités Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Michel-Jean Sedaine. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel Bourgogne), 20 March 1775. The subject of this work is taken from Les Rémois, a fable by La Fontaine. Whatever merit the composer displayed in this score, it was not translated onto the stage. When it was performed in Toulouse, the audience demanded that it be replaced. The troupe had not sufficiently prepared themselves, and the theatre had to be closed for 8 days. The score was later composed afresh by Felice Blangini, and produced on 22 October 1808. This was successful, and the work was retained in the repertoire until 1820. L’Amitié au village Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en trois actes. Librettist: Pierre-Jean-Baptiste Desforges. First performance: 1st version: Fontainebleau, Théâtre de la Cour. 15 October 1785; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 31 October 1785. The story is taken from “un trait historique consigné dans l’Encylopédie”.

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A lord has established a prize for virtue in his village. The one who earns it will be able to pick a wife of his choice from among the loveliest beauties of the canton. Prosper and Vincent are rivals in virtue and love. The first moves away to leave the field free for his friend, who, out of delicacy, refuses the prize. Everything works out in the end. This is Orestes and Pylades transformed into peasants. The basic situation is weak, but Philidor provided the music all the same. There were 6 performances. La Belle Esclave Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Dumaniant. First performance: Théâtre des Beaujolais, 1787. This work is worthy of the other more famous productions by Philidor. The arias “Avant de sortir de la vie”, “De l’amante la plus chérie”, “Quel espoir c’est pour moi l’aurore” and the chanson “Riches de la terre” are most skilfully worked out. But the trio for Ali, Fatmé, and Zizine is perhaps the most elaborated piece in all Philidor’s work. The motif on the words “Cher Ali! Je t’ouvre mes bras” passes successively in each part through the most interesting harmonic stages. The dances are graceful with sometimes original rhythm, with ingenious employment of counterpoint and a freshness of motif and invention (CL 1: 139). Bélisaire Comédie-héroïque en trois actes. Librettist: Auguste-Louis Bertin d’Antilly. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 3 October 1796. The music was posthumously by Philidor (acts 1 and 2) and completed by Henri Montan Berton (act 3). The story is based on the novel by JeanFrançois Marmontel. The moment chosen by the librettists is that when Belisarius, a victim of intrigue at the court of Justinian, is deprived of his sight, and withdraws with his daughter, the young Tibère, a girl of 12 years, to a house on the frontier of the Empire. The plan is badly conceived and executed, the dialogue is cold, but the music is not unworthy of Philidor: act 2 is particularly remarkable. There were 10 performances. ____________________________________________________________

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Niccolò PICCINNI (1728-1800) La buona figliuola/La Bonne Fille Opéra-comique parodié en français sur la musique du célèbre Piccini/opéra bouffon en trois actes. Librettist: Carlo Goldoni. French version and arrangement: Jean-François Cailhava de l’Estandoux. First performance: 1st version: Rome, 1760; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 17 June 1771. The French adaptation of Piccinni’s famous opera buffa. The libretto and score carry only the Italian title. It was in the repertory until 1788. Phaon Drame lyrique mêlée d’ariettes en deux actes. Librettist: Claude-Henri Watelet. First performance: Choisy, Théâtre de la Cour, September 1778. Not performed in Paris. The story is derived from “un passage de Lucien”. The score is unlocated. Le Dormeur éveillé Opéra-comique en quatre actes. Librettist: Jean-François Marmontel. First performance: 1st version: Fontainebleau, Théâtre de la Cour, 14 November 1783; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 28 June 1784. The story is taken from Les Mille et une nuits. It was revised with new music for the Parisian production. There were 6 performances. Le Faux Lord Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en deux actes. Librettist: Joseph-Marie Piccinni. First performance: 1st version: Fontainebleau, Théâtre de la Cour, 5 December 1783; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 6 December 1763. There was one performance, and a reprise on 8 July 1802 (Feydeau).

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Lucette Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en trois actes. Librettist: Joseph-Marie Piccinni. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 30 December 1784. There was one performance. Both libretto and score are unlocated. Le Mensonge officieux Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en deux actes. Librettist: Joseph-Marie Piccinni (?). First performance: 1st version: Versailles, Théâtre de la Cour, 16 March 1787; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 17 March 1787. The story is based on David Garrick’s comedy The Lying Valet. ____________________________________________________________

Henri-Constant-Gabriel PIERNÉ (1863-1937) La Fille de Tabarin Comédie lyrique en trois actes. Librettists: Victorien Sardou and Paul Ferrier. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 20 February 1901. The authors of the libretto re-arranged their view of history for this Homeric comedy. They transport the audience into the domain of Tabarin, the Sire of Beauval, with his cherished daughter Diane whom he loves. The Sire is receiving all the nobility of the area. The son of one of the guests, the young Roger de la Brède, has fallen in love with Diane, who returns his love; the two fathers are in agreement and soon the marriage is settled. Meanwhile, Mondor, an old companion of Tabarin's, arrives in the village for the festival. Poor and miserable, Mondor sets up his stall but no one enters and he does not know how he will feed himself and his dependents. He then meets Tabarin, they recognize each other, and embrace. Mondor asks permission of his friend to give his spectacle in the orangery, where he will certainly attract a crowd. Tabarin agrees, and even helps to spread the news. There, dissatisfied with the manner in which Mondor has played his role, he gives him advice, and to make him better heard, himself mounts the trestles and acts the scene. He is surprised at

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this point by the guests, who find it all scandalous. The Marquis de la Brède indicates that the marriage is now impossible. Tabarin's supplications leave him unmoved. Tabarin, left alone, says that he would himself die to secure the happiness of his daughter, and leaves in sombre mood. Soon afterwards, there is gunshot, followed by cries and lamentations. Diane, bewildered, runs to the gate of the garden, which opens just as the servants carry out the corpse of Tabarin who is dying. Everyone surrounds the dying man, to whom the Marquis de la Brède declares that their children will be united, and Tabarin, consoled by these words, departs for heaven. Like all his young confrères, Gabriel Pierné, Grand Prix de Rome of 1882, wanted, for his dramatic debut, to show that he knew his craft and to show what he was capable of. He stacked up Pelion on Ossa, Leitmotif on Leitmotif, modulation on modulation, one orchestral effect after another, caring less about making his singer sing, something that seemed to be out of fashion, and drowning the words under formidable symphonic designs. He was capable of talent, as he showed on more than one occasion. But why sacrifice the substance to the form, treating melody, song properly acknowledged, like some negligible quantity, and not concern himself with the actual effect? Having created a ‘lyric comedy’, normally something light and attractive, the composer treated his subject with the elements normally used to create a violent and sombre drama. It goes without saying that all takes place in the medium of eternal recitative, interminable dialogue according to the customary formula, with the avoidance of any ensemble at all costs. In act 3 in the scene of the parade, the composer wanted to make a pastiche of ancient music, in the manner of Grétry or Monsigny. He does this with elegance and grace, treating the voices as they should be treated, allowing them to sing, allowing them to sing together. There is a little trio for women, of charming shape and very musical, and an excellent sextet, all accompanied by an orchestra that is fast, alert, spruce, cherished, full of colour and elegance. He provided in act 2 in the meeting of Tabarin and Mondor, an episode that could have been interesting to treat, but sadly lacks essential emotion where it was needed most. The scene for Diane and Roger in act 1 is dry, without warmth, completely depleted of passion. Pierné eventually proved in Mondor’s comic scene of patter in act 2, which is excellent, the qualities of a dramatic composer, and shows what he could have done had he wanted. He should have broken with these funereal tendencies which could have killed French music if it had not been so well constituted (CL 2: 1222). The opera was created by MM. Fugère, Beyle, Delvoye, Boudouresque, Cazeneuve and Mmes Tiphaine, Garden, Landouzy,

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Daffeye, Chevalier and de Craponne. There were 14 performances. La Coupe enchantée Opéra-comique en deux actes. Librettist: Emmanuel Matrat. First performance: 1st version: Casino de Royan, 24 August 1895; 2nd version: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 26 December 1905. The story is based on the comédie by La Fontaine and Champmeslé. It was retained in the repertory until 1919. On ne badine pas avec l’amour Comédie lyrique en trois actes. Librettists: Louis Leloir and Gabriel Nigond. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 30 May 1910. The story is based in the play by Alfred de Musset. There were 8 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Jean-Alexandre-Ferdinand POISE (1828-1892) Bonsoir, voisin! Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Léon-Lévy Brunswick and Arthur de Brunswick. First performance: 1st version: Théâtre-Lyrique, 18 September 1853; 2nd version: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 12 June 1872. This was the debut of the young composer, graduate of the Institut, and a pupil of Adolphe Adam. His verve and fluency were noted. The work was played until 1877. Les Charmeurs Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Adolphe de Leuven. First performance: 1st version: Théâtre-Lyrique, 17 March 1855; 2nd version: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 25 February 1862.

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There were 9 performances. Don Pèdre Opéra-comique en deux actes et trois tableaux. Librettists: Eugène Cormon and Eugène Grangé. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 30 September 1857. Performed into 1858. Le Jardinier galant Opéra-comique en deux actes. Librettists: Adolphe de Leuven and Paul Siraudin. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 4 March 1861. The subject of this piece is a satirical song entitled “Le jardinier galant”, composed by Collé against Mme de Pompadour. The court clerk Tiphaine is charged with examining the printed copies and the author. He fixes on a gardener called Galant, and has him arrested—a situation which gives rise to a series of burlesque situations. The flower-sellers take up the cause of the poor gardener, and empty the contents of their baskets onto the soldiers of the watch, as well as the little green books containing the song. Collé has them hidden and himself sings the song at full voice once he learns of the disgrace of the favourite. The music is graceful and of a facile cut. The duet for Collé and Mme Tiphaine “Allons, quittons nos grands airs” was well received, as was the chorus of flower-sellers. There is also a chanson dialoguée “Cadet and Badet” the Gallic turn of which is interesting. The interpreters were Crosti, Ambroise, Prilleux, Ponchard, Mlles Lemercier and Tual. There were two performances. Les Absents Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Alphonse Daudet. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 26 October 1864. In the repertory until 1866.

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Le Corricolo Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Eugène Labiche and Alfred Delacour. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 28 November 1868. This is an eccentric vaudeville, implausible but amusing. The score contains some lovely motifs, notably the romance “Faut-il sitôt on oublie”, and the arrangement of the air “Il pleut, il pleut, bergère”. The singers were Sainte-Foy, Barré, Laurent, Prilleux, Mme Cabel, Mlle Heilbronn. It was performed into 1869. Les Trois Souhaits Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Jules Adenis. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 29 October 1873. The Tale of the Three Wishes from A Thousand and One Nights provided the subject of this amusing work. The music is well-written, and abounds in lovely motifs. The couplets “C’était le temps où fleutrit l’eglantine” were especially popular. It was sung by Neveu, Mlles Nadaud and Ducasse. It was performed into 1874. La Surprise de l’amour Opéra-comique en deux actes. Librettists: Charles Monselet, after the play by Marivaux. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 31 October 1877. The charming comedy by Marivaux was produced at the Théâtre des Italiens in 1722 with success. Monselet arranged it tastefully and added his own pretty verses. The characters are Lélio, Colombine, Arlequin. The action takes place in an ark. Lelio, betrayed in his first love, has not only become a misanthrope, but has also sworn to flee the fair sex so as not to be entangled in any tender sentiments. The Countess, a young widow, has also, for her part, resolved to resist all attachments. Colombine pretends to share in the distaste of her mistress for all the aspirants, while Arlequin takes on his master’s quarrel. Lelio and the Countess begin by evincing a mutual coldness tempered only by the politeness demanded of distinguished persons. They both begin to feel the pull of attraction. In the meantime, Arlequin and Colombine in quarrelling about everything begin

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to feel a pleasure on these occasions. Friendliness is beginning to turn into a more tender affection, the manifestations of which are met with surprise by both valet and maid who prove to their employers that they love each other in spite of themselves, obliging them to admit the same. All concludes with a double marriage according to the custom of the theatre. The composer treated this comedy demi-caractère with all his customary delicacy. The overture is in the form of a minuet, and is orchestrated mostly elegantly. In act 1 there is Lelio’s romance “Cet or qui rayonne sur le vert gazon”; a scenic quartet full of finesse; Colombine's aria “Une vipère”, full of brio; and the duet for Lelio and the Countess “Puisque le destin nous amène”. In act 2 the best pieces are: Colombine’s chanson “Chacun connaît de Colombine le pied fripon”; the Countess’s aria “En venait ici, Colombine”; and the quartet finale. The cast was: Nicot, Morlet, Mmes Galli-Marié and Irma Marié. It was performed into the following year, 1878. L’Amour médecin Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Charles Monselet, after the comedy by Molière. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 20 December 1880. The libretto, less charged with incidents than the play, was lightened and adapted by the author to serve the needs of the musician to an unusual degree, and as result is more elegant than strong, more graceful than characterful. During the introduction, which is lightly orchestrated, Mlle Thuillier, who created the role of Lisette, declaimed some verses: Quand il écrivait pour son roi Une de ces farces hardies, Il disait: “La France, c’est moi,” Frappant les plaches agrandies. The instrumentation of the sung pieces in act 1, particularly the writing for the horn accompanying the voice, has a charming effect. The romance à la fenêtre demi-close is written with taste, the aria for Sganarelle is less inspired. Words like “Embrasse, ma mignone, ton petit, petit, petit papa, ton papa mignon, ton papa poupon” are in the style of operetta, perhaps the reason for their being encored. The consultation quartet is very comical; but the procession of a dozen apothecaries armed with the classic instruments of their trade, which are deployed with saucy dexterity by the

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young girls playing these parts shares in the dubious taste of the operetta (CL 1:54). Poise’s music is melodic and pure. It abounds in pretty details and ingenious combinations. There is an agreeable minuet which serves as an entr’acte. Act 3 has a trio and quartet that are well handled. In the latter piece, the character of Molière’s play is altered by the words: hearing the graceful phrase written by the composer to the words “Ainsi qu’au pays des aimées”, one forgets that the action is taking place in the 17th century. The cast was: Nicot (Clitandre); Fugére (Sganarelle); Maris, Barnolt, Grivot, Gourdon (the four doctors); Davoust (M. Josse); Teste (M. Guillaue); Mlle Thuillier (Lisette); Mlle Molé (Lucinde). The work remained in the repertory until 1898. Joli Gilles Opéra-comique en deux actes. Librettists: Charles Monselet, after the old comedy by d’Allainval. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 10 October 1884. This is the last work presented by this delicate musician. It is in the manner of his second period and won a success worthy of his high qualities. He had, in effect, found a new form, essentially personal, which made him a peculiarly original artist, and which no else could have thought to imitate. Three of his lovely works La Surprise de l’amour, L’Amour médecin and Joli Gilles have an exquisite taste all of their own, and won great favour with the public. Poise was also able to use Marivaux, Molière and d’Allainval through the offices of his friend Monselet who arranged these authors with marvellous tact to suit the composer’s musical intentions. These three scores have an inspiration full of elegance and grace, like a discreet and ancient perfume which suffuses them with inexpressible charm. Listening to this music produces a sensation analogous to viewing a canvas by Watteau or a pastel by La Tour. There is research in his style, finesse in his harmonies,a discreet delicacy and sobriety in his orchestration. These works were received by the public with a surprise mixed with pleasure. Poise also found in the old repertory of the Comédie-Française a resource that marvellously suited his talent and artistic nature. Grace and tenderness were his special portion, and because he was a true composer of opéra-comique, he is also full of an agreeable smiling gaiety (CL 1:615-6). All this is evident in the score of Joli Gilles, complete and perfect from its charming overture to the last note. This exquisite work was interpreted by Mmes Molé-Truffler, Pierron and Dupont, and MM. Fugère, Mouliérat,

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Barnolt, Grivot and Gourdon. In the repertory until 1886. ____________________________________________________________

Charles-Émile POISOT (1822-1904) Le Paysan Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Jules Alboise du Pujol. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2). 16 October 1860. The librettist reproduced a legendary episode from the life of Henri IV, but attributed it to Joseph II. The action takes place on the borders of Austria and Prussia. A young officer of fortune, in the service of the emperor, loves the niece of a baron much attached to his noble status. He refuses to allow an alliance of his family with a peasant, but the Emperor interests himself in the fate of the two young people. A hunting party leads him to the village. He partakes with appetite in a hunk of roe-deer, and to relieve the scruples of the baron, ennobles his rustic host. This subject, often treated because of public interest, is not suitable for a young composer. This work was the theatrical debut of Poisot, a distinguished pupil of Halévy. The score of the opera provides evidence of solid qualities, of melodic verve, a real feeling for declamation, and harmony both correct and varied. It is regrettable that this composer was not encouraged in the career which he pursued with organization and application. The overture begins with an andante where there is a charming effect on the clarinets, horns and bassoons. It concludes with an allegretto rustique full of drive. Among the most striking pieces are the romance for Thérèse, both naive and tender “Ne plus le voir”; and the comic duet “Qui! Vou! Devenir noble un jour” which really captures the colour and tone of the old French music. The work was created by Jourdan, Nathan, Lemaire, Hermann Léon and Mme Decroix. The editor Richault published a lovely edition in quarto of this score. It was performed into the following year, 1851. ____________________________________________________________

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Joseph (Michal Xawery Franciszek Jan) PONIATOWSKY, Prince of Monte Rotondo (1816-1873) Au travers du mur Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Jules-Henri Vernoy de SaintGeorges. First performance: 1st version: Théâtre-Lyrique, 8 May 1861; 2nd version: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 29 October 1861. In the repertory until 1864. ____________________________________________________________

Charles PONS (1870-1957) Le Voile de bonheur Comédie musicale en deux actes. Librettist: Paul Ferrier. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 26 April 1911. The story is derived from the play by Georges Clémenceau. It was retained in the repertory until 1925. Pons’s Hymne triomphale was performed with Alexandre Georges’s cantata La Victoire at a special matinée at the OpéraComique to celebrate peace and victory on 14 July 1919. ____________________________________________________________

Bernardo PORTA (1759-1829) Le Diable à quatre, ou La Double Métamorphose Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Michel-Jean Sedaine. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 14 February 1790. Performed until 1793. Blanche Haquenée Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Michel-Jean Sedaine. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 22 May 1793.

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The single performance was uncompleted and there was no reprise. Both libretto and score are unlocated. Agricole Viala ou le Héros de treize ans Anecdote patriotique en ariettes en un acte. Librettist: François-Xavier Audouin. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 1 July 1794. In June 1793 Marseilles raised a departmental army to travel to Paris and reverse the Convention. Viala died on 5 July 1793 when this army tried to cross the Durance. Both libretto and score are missing. There were 8 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Henri-Hippolyte POTIER (1816-1878) Mademoiselle de Mérange Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Adolphe de Leuven and Léon-Lévy Brunswick. First performed: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 14 December 1841. The action takes place in Fontainebleau. Chevalier de Mercillac, a bad character, becomes so seriously involved with one of the queen's ladies in waiting, Mlle de Méranges, that he is obliged to marry her by order of the queen. Mercillac marries, and is sent to the Bastille with his wife for company during his captivity. The purity of of Mlle Mérange’s feelings triumph over the egoistic instincts of this Don Juan. The librettists introduced an extremely entertaining incidental character, a German baron called Pompernick who sings some well-turned couplets: Sur son château de Pompernick Qu’on voit aux portes de Munich... The soprano romance, sung at the end of the work, and already heard in the overture, is distinguished and expressive. Also remarkable are a duettino for the heroine and her confidante, and the adagio on the duet for Blanche and the Chevalier. This was the composer’s debut work, and his facile and light muse received a flattering reception from the press. The interpreters of the score were: Ricquier, Couderc, Mmes Potier and

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Descot. It was performed into the following year, 1842. Le Caquet du couvent Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Eugène de Planard and Adolphe de Leuven. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 5 August 1846. This libretto, for which the excellent critic Henri Blanchard claimed ownership, depicts some young girls, naive and curious, and an intrigue for the same object as that in the well-known Agnès in L’École des femmes. Of note, amidst many reminiscences, are the mystical couplets for Mathias Pacheo, the bell chorus which is extremely gracious, and the general elegant instrumentation of the work. Mmes Potier and Lavoye acted with grace and wit, well seconded by Sainte-Foy. It was performed until 1849. Il Signor Pascarello Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Adolphe de Leuven and LéonLévy Brunswick. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 24 August 1824. There were 26 performances. Le Rosier Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Auguste Challamel. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 10 August 1859. The work was realized by Ambroise, Ponchard, Mlles Pannetrat and Marietta Guerra. It was performed into the following year, 1860. ____________________________________________________________

Louis-Barthélémy PRADHER (1781-1843) Le Voisinage Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Jean-Baptiste Pujoulx. First performed: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 24 January 1800.

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The music was written jointly by Bertaud, Dubuat, Gustave Dugazon, Louis-Barthélémy Pradher and Quinebaud—all pupils of H. M. Berton. There were 5 performances. Le Chevalier d’industrie Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Jacques Bins de Saint-Victor. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 17 November 1804. A collaboration between Pradher and Gustave Dugazon. There was only one performance. La Folie musicale, ou Le Chanteur prisonnier Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: François d’Allarde. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 24 September 1807. There were 3 performances. L’Emprunt secret, ou Le Prêteur sans le vouloir Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Eugène de Planard. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 25 July 1812. There were 8 performances. Jenny la bouquetière Comédie mêlée de chant en deux actes. Librettists: Joseph Pai and JeanNicolas Bouilly. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 24 September 1807. Written in collaboration with Frédéric Kreubé. The story was derived from the novel by Pain and Bouilly. There were 11 performances. Le Philosophe en voyage See under KREUBÉ.

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L’Enlèvements imprévus Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Paul de Kock and Eugène de Planard. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 2 December 1824. There was only one performance. ____________________________________________________________

Eugène-Prosper PRÉVOST (1809-1872) Cosimo Opéra-bouffe en deux actes. Librettists: Paul Duport and Amable Villain de Saint-Hilaire. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Bourse), 13 October 1835. The libretto is based on an Italian source. A prince exchanges clothes with a worker, a painter called Cosimo. The music is attractive. After a lively overture, there is a well handled bass aria “Ô mon auguste maître”, Cosimo’s aria “Avec mon Angéla. J’ai perdu; e courage”, and the chorus of elderly dowagers in act 1; in act 2 a duet in waltz time and a saltarello. The chief roles were realized by Chollet and Mme Rifaut. The work was performed for two years, until 1837. Les Pontons de Cadix Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: François Ancelot and Paul Duport. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Bourse), 8 November 1836. This was performed into the following year, 1837. Le Bon Garçon Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Auguste Anicet-Bourgeois and Joseph Lockroy. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Bourse), 22 September 1837. Performed into the following year, 1838.

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L’Illustre Gaspard Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Félix Duvert and Augustin de Lauzanne. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 11 February 1863. This was an adaptation of an old vaudeville by Duvert and Lauzanne. It is another bandit story, about the celebrated Provençal malefactor Gaspard de Besse, but treated in a lively fashion. The composer intercalated into a trio a popular romance from the past “Portrait charmant, portrait de mon amie”. The cast were: Couderc, Lemaire and Mme Chollet-Bayard. There were 12 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Catherine-Joseph-Ferdinand Girard de PROPIAC (1759-1823) Isabelle et Rosalvo Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en deux actes. Librettist: Joseph Patrat. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 18 June 1787. This is another of the teacher-pupil stories so often presented on stage. The music of this composer found a better reception in Le Chansonnier des grâces than in the theatre itself. Les Trois Déesses rivales, ou le Double Jugement de Paris Divertissement mêlée d’ariettes/Comédie lyrique mêlée d’ariettes en un acte. Librettist: Antoine-Pierre-Augustin de Piis. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 28 July 1788 Performed into the following year, 1789. La Fausse Paysanne Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en trois actes. Librettist: Antoine-PierreAugustin de Piis. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 26 March 1789.

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There are detailed descriptions of the decor and stage directions on the libretto. There were 14 performances. Les Savoyards, ou la Continence de Bayard Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en un acte. Librettist: Antoine-Pierre-Augustin de Piis. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 30 May 1789. There were 7 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Félix-Jean PROT (1747-1823) Les Rêveries renouvelées des grecs Parodie de Iphigénie en Tauride en trois actes. Librettists: Charles-Simon Favart, Claude-Henri Fusés de Voisenon and Jean-Nicolas Guérin de Frémicourt. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 26 June 1779. A parody of Gluck’s Iphigénie en Aulide and Iphigénie en Tauride (Paris, Théâtre de l’Opéra, 1774 and 1779), with accompaniments by Prot and vaudevilles. It was performed until 1790. Le Bal Bourgeois Opéra-comique mêlée d’ariettes en un acte. Librettist: Charles-Simon Favart. First performance: 1st version: Paris, Foire Saint-Germain 13 March 1738 (en vaudevilles); 2nd version: Foire Saint-Laurent, August 1761 (en ariettes); 3rd version: Brunoy, 22 November 1788, by the Comédiens italiens, Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1); 4th version: Marly, Théâtre de la Cour, 16 May 1781 (in an unknown version). The work was not performed in Paris.. The third version had music or accompaniment by Prot.

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Le Printemps Divertissements pastoral en vaudevilles en un acte. Librettist: AntoinePierre-Augustin de Piis. First performance: 1st version: Marly, 19 May 1781; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 22 May 1781. The music was a parody of various composers arranged by Prot (Albanese, Dezède and Monsigny). It was performed for the next two years, until 1783. La Fête du village Comédie mêlée de chants et de danses. Librettist: A. Carrière-Doisins. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne) (Salle Favart 1), 11 March 1784. There was one performance only. ____________________________________________________________

Giacomo PUCCINI (1858-1924) La Bohème Comédie lyrique en quatre actes. Librettists: Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica. French version: Paul Ferrier. First performance: 1st version (in Italian): Turin, Teatro Reggio, 1 February 1896; 2nd version (in French): Opéra-Comique (Châtelet), 13 June 1898. The story is based on Henry Murger’s novel Scènes de la vie de Bohème and its theatrical adaptation by Théodore Barrière. Ruggero Leoncavallo’s opera of the same name, produced six months after Puccini’s, also uses this source. Conceived very differently, the two works each obtained great success, running brilliant concurrent careers in Italy. Puccini’s version, adapted for the French stage by Paul Ferrier, was very favourably received at the Opéra-Comique on 13 June 1898. The score of agreeable melodic sentiment, without great novelty, is vivacious, trim, gracious and very theatrical. There were reprises in 1960 (Salle Favart 3) and 20 October 1964 (in Italian), and it is currently in the repertory.

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La Tosca Opéra en trois actes. Librettists: Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica. French version: Paul Ferrier. First performance: 1st version (in Italian): Rome, Teatro Costanzi, 14 January 1900; 2nd version (in French): OpéraComique (Salle Favert 3), 13 October 1903. The story is based on a drama by Victorien Sardou. This work by by one of the most active and distinguished of the new Italian school was thus appreciated by an Italian critic: “As far as the music is concerned, one would say that Puccini, in seeking to avoid the manner of La Bohème, has returned with Tosca to the dramatic conception of Edgar and of Manon Lescaut, following again a more serious path. His melodic individuality remains intact, and his musical personality accents itself to advantage. The technique, relative to the preceding works, is softened by all accounts; the instrumentation is delicate, refined and without affectation. The work could be discussed as a form of art, it could not perfectly satisfy those who hope for a renewal of the popular theatre, but it is undeniable that Puccini remains one of the most marked individuals, one of the best promises of young Italian music”. The work was interpreted by: Mme Darclée, MM. De Marchi, Giraldoni, Borelli, Giordani and Galli. There was general public rehearsal on on 10 October 1903. Reprises occurred on: 31 October 1904 (Italian version); 31 May 1910 (in Italian, with Antonio Scotti and Geraldine Farrar); 22 January 1904 (in Italian, with Patricia Neway, Libera de Luca and Paul Cabanel). It is still in the repertory. Madama Butterfly Tragédie japonaise. Drame lyrique en trois actes. Librettists: Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica. French version: Paul Ferrier. First performance: 1st version (in Italian): Milan, Teatro alla Scala 14 February 1904, 1 February 1896; 2nd version (in French): Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 17 February 1904. The story is based on the drama by David Belasco and the nouvelle by John Luther Long, inspired in part by Pierre Loti’s Madame Chrysanthème. There were reprises on: 13 June 1953 (in Italian, with Constantina Arraujo); 25 June 1953 (in Japanese, with Michiko Sunahara); 23 January 1960 (in Italian). It is still in the repertory. ____________________________________________________________

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Loïsa PUGET (1810-1889) Le Mauvais Oeil Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Augustin-Eugène Scribe and Gustave Lemoine. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Bourse), 1 October 1836. This is a historical episode taken from the Spanish civil war between Maria-Cristina and Don Carlos (Moulin). The piece is a little naive. It seems that the authors had feared imposing on this light salon musician a task beyond her abilities. They were perhaps wrong. Mlle Puget did not lack melodic inspiration, as she abundantly proved. One should have provided her with greater scope for her qualities by offering her a bigger scenario. The expression and the sensibility which one finds in her romances place her near Dezède, Gresnick and Della Maria. A young muletier called Pedro is engaged to Inès, the daughter of the alcalde. He tells his comrades the story of his mule, which, he says, is possessed of the devil’s evil eye. Inès, while walking in the valley, has been able to save the life of an officer from Cristina’s army, pursued by the Carlists. His eyes were fascinating, and from that day she has become reserved and sad. Pedro pretends that his fiancée is like his mule. They encourage him to coax her by means of a song that serves as the signal for their rendez-vous. A monk passes, and the peasant invites him to help conjure away the evil eye. This monk, as in Le Comte Ory, is none other than the officer himself, who ends up asking for Inès’s hand from the alcalde for himself. There are some lovely passages in this score, notably the romance played by the horn in the overture, and recurring throughout the opera, and the duet sung by Ponchard and Mme Damoreau, who enjoyed complete success both as actress and singer in this small opera. It was played for two years, until 1838. ____________________________________________________________

Paul-Charles-Marie-Curet known as Paul PUGET (1848-1917) Beaucoup de bruit pour rien Opéra en quatre actes et cinq tableaux. Librettist: Édouard Blau. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 24 March 1899.

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The story is based on Shakespeare’s comedy Much Ado About Nothing. Puget wrote a score that is intricate, coloured, conceived along the lines of a modern lyric drama, but with some episodes that light up the whole and help to give it movement and life. The construction of the score is skilled, an interesting work, sometimes too researched, and orchestrated with particular care. Among the better pages are: in act 1 the introduction, very short perhaps, but in broad style and of a happy character. The pleasant couplets â deux for Hero and Beatrix as they present flowers to Don Pedro might lack simplicity, but have charm and colour. The sung and danced sicilienne has excellent movement, and the big phrase for Claudio “Par la sérénité de toute la nature” has a fullness that is a bit fussy but has real feeling. In act 2 there is a small distant chorus, of charming design and very poetic; and Benedict’s madrigal is elegant, with very graceful orchestral accompaniment. Less effective is the quartet for Don Pedro, Leonato, Benedict and Beatrix, very pleasant, and presented well by the librettist, even if the composer has not drawn all he could have from it. In act 3 the scene of the cortège arriving at the church with organ and chorus has noblity and grandeur, and in the last scene Claudio’s long monologue addressed to the crowd “Témoins de la démence...” is a broad phrase, but with excessive brass accompaniment. The excessive orchestration is the main fault in this otherwise honourable score. The interpreters were; MM. Fugère (Don Pédro), Clément (Bénédict), Isnardon (Don Juan), Carbonne (Borachio), Gaston Beyle (Leonato), Mlles Mastio (Héro), Telma (Béatrix) and Dehelly (Margarita). There was a public general rehearsal on 22 March 1899, and it was performed until the end of the season. ____________________________________________________________

Henri-Benjamin RABAUD (1873-1949) La Fille de Roland Tragédie musicale en quatre actes. Librettist: Paul Ferrier. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 16 March 1904. The story is based on the drame by Henri de Bornier. There were 10 performances.

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Mârouf, serviteur du Caire Opéra-comique en quatre actes et cinq tableaux. Librettist: Lucien Népoty. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 15 May 1914, with Davelli, Jean Périer, Vieuille, cond. Ruhlmann. The story of the adventurous cobbler from Mille et une nuits was performed until 1939. New York (19 December 1917) with Alda, De Luca, Rothier, cond, Monteux. ____________________________________________________________

Louis-Charles RAGUÉ (1760-c. 1793) Memnon Opéra-comique mêlée d’ariettes en trois actes. Librettists: Jean-François Guichard and Régnard de Pleinchesne. First performance: ComédieItalienne (Salle Favart 1), 26 August 1784. The story is based on Voltaire’s histoire orientale Memnon, ou la Sagesse humaine. Both libretto and score are missing. There was only one performance. L’Amour filial Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en deux actes. Librettist: Barnabé Farmian Durosoy. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 2 March 1786. The story is based on the comedy by Johann Jacob Engel Der dankbare Sohn. The aria for Colette “Un sentiment cher et paisible” sung by Mme Desbrosses obtained some success; the cabalette in B-flat minor has much grace. There were 2 performances. ____________________________________________________________

(Joseph-) Maurice RAVEL (1875-1937) L’Heure espagnole Comédie musicale en un acte. Librettist: Franc-Nohain (Maurice-Étienne

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Legrand). First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 19 May 1911. The clockmaker Torquemada (tenor) goes off to attend to the town clocks, leaving a customer, Ramiro ( baritone), to await his return. Concepción (soprano), his wife, who is accustomed to receive her lovers in her husband’s absence, sets him carrying clocks about. Gonzalve (tenor), a poet, enters and serenades her. On the arrival of a second lover, Don Indigo Gomez (bass), Ramiro is made to carry Gonsalve, hidden in a clock, up to the bedroom. The same happens to Don Idigo, while the first clock is brought down. Annoyed by their ineffectiveness, Concepción, admiring of his strength and demeanor, eventually orders Ramirez upstairs again—this time without a clock. Torquemada returns, finds the two abandoned lovers inside clocks ‘examining’ them, and, pretending ignorance, effects a quick sale by obliging each to buy his clock. Torquemada tells his wife they have no more clocks, but she replies that Ramiro will pass beneath her window every day to tell her the time. The playwright Legrand (1873-1934) adapted his comedy when he learned that Ravel wished to use it as a comic opera. The satire contained many attractive features, and its riqué subject, a farce in the spirit of the old opera buffa, attractive for its dramatic potential. There is a surreal element in the animation of objects as the clocks take on a life of their own and strike different times (a feature that would be much developed in Ravel’s later fantasie lyrique L’Enfant et les sortilèges [Monte Carlo, 25 March 1925]). Although the comedy was well received, the opera had to wait longer for recognition. It was finished in 1907, written during a period when Ravel was concerned for his dying father’s health, but was not performed for another four years. The critical response was reserved, but not dismissive. The subject was attacked, and Ravel’s musical idiom not fully understood. His delicacy of expression creates a magical musical language, with his refined sensibilities and apt, balanced harmonies raising the level of the comedy which could otherwise have deteriorated into doubtful taste. The tradition of the opéra bouffe is captured in the Spanish dance rhythms. The orchestral dominance and the vocal lines, however, owe more to the contemporary style of Richard Strauss. It nevertheless disappeared from the stage after a few performances and was not produced again until 1938, but was still not successful until a year later, on the second anniversary of the composer’s death. The roles were created by Vix, Périer, Delvoye, Coulomb, and Cazeneuve, conducted by Ruhlmann. The London performance followed at Covent Garden on 24 July 1919 with Donalda, Maguénat and Pitt conducting; the first American production

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was in Chicago on 5 January 1920 with Gall, Maguénat and Hasselmans conducting. It was revived on 7 November 1945 and retained in the repertory of the Opéra-Comique until 1970. ____________________________________________________________

Napoléon-Henri REBER (1808-1880) La Nuit de Noël, ou L’Anniversaire Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Augustin-Eugène Scribe. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 9 February 1848. A game-keeper lives in disagreement with his young wife; the lord of the manor wishes to capitalize on the argument which he sustains by his suggestions to a bad-tempered widow and a schoolmaster. A Lutheran pastor re-establishes order and peace in the village first by enterprisingly locking the baron in a chapel, and then by playing on the peasant superstition that one will die in the course of the year if one should encounter anyone on the steps of the chapel during Christmas Eve. The two spouses find themselves in this position, and the fear of death causes them to seek reconciliation. The skill and intelligent details conceal a work that is false and unwholesome (CL 2:793). Reber’s score was immediately appreciated in this, his debut at the Opéra-Comique. The overture is full of animation and well constructed. The quartet in act 1 has remarkable scenic verve. There is also a ballad that concludes in canon, and was very successful. The big duet in act 3 for the game-keeper and his wife is full of touching expression, with fine declamation and interesting instrumentation. The roles were created by Mocker, Ricquier, Ponchard, Mmes Darcier and Lemercier. Le Père Gaillard Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Thomas Sauvage. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 7 September 1852. The story is derived from Balzac’s novel of the same name. This work was not very successful, although the score was admired by connoisseurs because of the composer’s method of composition. It was performed for the next two years, until 1854.

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Les Papillotes de Monsieur Benoist Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Jules Barbier and Michel Carré. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 28 December 1853. This is a work of taste, full of learning and feeling. Two young people, who believe themselves to be brother and sister, and whose fortune is very modest, have as their neighbour a good and dignified man, M. Benoist, who plays the violin. He is well received by the two young workers, so well that he at once feels himself to be loved by Suzanne, who had pleasantly observed that she could not have wanted any other man for a husband but him. Nevertheless, Benoist remembers his first and only love. He had addressed a declaration in verse to a charming young woman who lived in the rooms next to his. The madrigal had been accepted. The next day the pretty girl came in through the window: one of her paper-curlers had been blown away by the wind. Our amorous poet had taken possession of it, but he was stupefied to find it to be a fragment of his declaration. So, from this time, he has very much doubted himself and any feelings he might inspire in others. He is right, because when a box containing a will is opened, it declares that Suzanne is not the sister of André. The two weep at the idea of leaving each other, and then with full hearts decide to become engaged. The brave Benoist returns to his garret with his violin. The role of Benoist was created for Sainte-Foy who was an accomplished comedian. All the pieces in this score have character expressing the truth of the situation, and the intimate feelings of each character. The melody is always distinguished, the harmony of sustained interest. There is an overall simplicity about this work, which led to accusations of affectation and prejudice in the composer’s style. This is probably erroneous. His accompaniments reveal a very considerable symphonic knowledge and ingenious arrangements. Grétry and Haydn seem to live again in Reber’s dramatic style, and to evoke the style of these shades is no mean feat. Among the most striking pieces in the score are: the romance for M. Benoist; the couplets for André “Suzanne n’est plus en enfant”; the dialogue between the voice of Suzanne and the violin of M. Benoist; the duet for the sharing out of the maternal effects; and the final love duet. The composer has handled the orchestration with great sobriety, omitting the brass altogether. The roles were created by SainteFoy, Couderc, and Mme Miolan-Carvalho. The work was performed for the next three years, until 1856.

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Les Dames capitaines Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Mélesville. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 3 June 1857. The action takes place during the time of the Fronde. The Duchess of Châtillon is the heroine. The story is a tissue of improbabilities without interest, and it is unfortunate that the composer had to deal with such a libretto. Reber employed much knowledge, taste, and skill in his score, without being able to overcome the awkward situations of the poem. Among the more notable elements are: the military overture; the refrain for Bischoff “Vive le vin du Rhin!”; the finale to act 1 with its interesting rhythms; in act 2, the lovely duet for Guitaut and the Duchess; the couplets for Gaston with harp accompaniment; in act 3, a small trio. The roles were created by: Barbot, Couderc, Sainte-Foy, Mme Vandenheuvel-Duprez, and Mlle Lemercier. The work was retained in the repertory for ten years, until 1867. ____________________________________________________________

Louis-Étienne-Ernest Rey, known as Ernest REYER (1823-1909) Maître Wolfram Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Joseph Méry and Théophile Gautier. First performance; 1st version: Théâtre-Lyrique, 20 May 1854; 2nd version: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 5 December 1873. The action takes place in Germany and depicts a scene of bourgeois manners that is both simple and touching. Two young orphans, Léopold Wolfram and Hélène, brought up together in the care of an old professor, Wilhelm, seem destined to marry. This is the hope of both Wilhelm and Master Wolfram, who has become a skilled organist. But Hélène, cherishing the latter as a brother, loves the soldier Frantz. A letter, mislaid by her, reveals her secret, and poor Wolfram is resigned to forgetting his love and devoting himself to the cult of art. He turns to his organ to find the consolation needed by his spirit after such cruel deception. The overture is treated with care, and the colour of the instrumentation is appropriate to the subject. The invocation to harmony, sung by Wolfram, is a very expressive melody. It is followed by the couplets for

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Hélène: Je crois ouïr dans les bois Une voix; Le vent me parle à l’oreille. La fleur me dit ses secrets Le plus frais, Et le ramier me conseille. The aria for the soldier Frantz “Maudit soit le ferrailleur”, a chorus of students, a romance for Léopold, and a developed duet composed in most original phrases, all make up a small interesting score, in which the individual musical theory and feeling of the author of La Statue reveal themselves in a way that promised much for his future development. The roles were first created by Laurent, Talon, Grignon, and Mme Meillet. There was a reprise on 7 February 1902 (Salle Favart 3), and it was performed until 1904. La Statue Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists; Michel Carré and Jules Barbier. First performance: 1st version: Théâtre-Lyrique, 11 April 1861; 2nd version: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 20 April 1878. The story is taken from a tale in Les Mille et une nuits; another source is La Statue merveilleuse, an opéra-comique by Lesage and d’Orneval after an Arab story. The Oriental colour of the libretto is original, and the situations lend themselves perfectly to Reyer’s talents. This is perhaps his best work. As a passionate admirer of Weber, he often tries to imitate him. But his own resources are rich in elegant ideas, with a convincing colour and rhythm that were becoming rare at the time. Of particular note are the chorus of the neighbours of Kaloum-Barouchm, the chorus of musicians, and the aria for Sélim. The roles were crated by Monjauze, Balanqué, Wartel, Girardot, and Mlle Baretti. There were 10 performances at the Opera-Comique. ____________________________________________________________

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Tiarko RICHEPIN (1884-1973) La marchande d’allumettes Conte lyrique en trois actes. Librettists: Rosemonde Gérard and Maurice Rostand. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 25 February 1914. The story is taken from a tale by Hans Christian Andersen. There were 7 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Louis-Victor-Étienne RIFAUT (1798-1838) Le Duel, ou Une loi de Frédéric Drame lyrique en trois actes. Librettists: Jean-Baptiste Pelissier and Joseph Desessarts d’Ambreville. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 4 July 1826. There were 11 performances. Le Roi et le batelier See under HALÉVY Un jour de réception Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Henri Dupin. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 6 November 1828. There were 8 performances. Térésa Drame mêlé de musique en cinq actes. Librettists: Alexandre Dumas (père) and Auguste Anicet-Bourgeois. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Ventadour), 6 February 1832. As the director Laurent did not have any novelty at this time to draw the

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spectators into the theatre, he conceived the idea of presenting the work of a popular writer and adding pieces of music to it during the entr’actes, such as the overtures to Stratonice, Die Zauberflöte, Oberon and Der Freischütz. There was only one ballad sung by Féréol which was composed expressly for the drama by Rifaut. The score is unlocated. La Sentinelle perdue Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Jules-Henri Vernoy de SaintGeorges. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Bourse), 1 December 1834. This was performed over two years, until 1836. Le Camp de Drap d’or See under BATTON Gasparo Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Pierre-Jean-Baptiste Desforges and Émile van der Burch. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Bourse), 14 January 1836. The libretto and score are unlocated. There were 3 performances. ____________________________________________________________

André-Jean RIGADE La Nouvelle Italie See under DUNI. Zélie et Lindor Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en un acte. Librettist: Henri-François Pelletier. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 12 November 1763. There were 4 performances. ____________________________________________________________

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Henri-Jean RIGEL [RIEGEL] (1772-1852) Le Duel nocturne Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Charles de Longchamps. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 23 December 1805. There was one performance. ____________________________________________________________

Henri-Joseph RIGEL [RIEGEL] (1741-1799) Le Savetier et le financier Opéra-comique d’ariettes en deux actes. Librettist: Jean-Baptiste Lourdet de Santerre. First performance: 1st version: Marly, 22 October 1778; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 29 October 1779. The story is based on the fable of La Fontaine. It was performed until 1791. Le Départ des matelots Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en un acte. Librettist: James Rutledge. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 23 November 1778. The story is adapted from “la belle action de Jean Broussard” (Origny). There was only one performance. Les Deux Amis, ou Le Faux Vieillard Drame lyrique mêlée d’ariettes, parodiées sur la musique des plus grands maîtres d’Italie en trois actes. Librettists: Barnabé Farmian Durosoy and Pierre-Louis Guinguené (for the ariettes). First performance: 1st version: Versailles, Théâtre de la Cour, 26 February 1779; 2nd version: ComédieItalienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 15 March 1779. The music was parodied from various composers identified as Anfossi, Bach, Majo and Paisiello. Riegel composed a quintet in act 1. There was

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one performance. Rosanie Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en trois actes. Librettist: Devismes de SaintAlphonse. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 24 July 1780. The story is derived from Ricdin, Ricdon, a conte by Marie-Jeanne Lhéritier de Villadon, and the Bibliothèque universelles des romans (juillet 1776, 2: 163-194). Blanche et vermeille Comédie pastorale mêlée de musique en trois actes. Librettist: Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 5 March 1781. This was reduced to one act on 26 May 1782. The opera contains the spirit and the grace of the author of Les Nouvelles and Jeannot et Colin. The music is pleasant and well-written.The style and the harmony are worthy of a pupil of Richter and Jomelli. Riegel’s music was more successful in concerts spirituels than in the theatre. L’Automate Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en un acte. Librettist: Cuinet-Dorbeil. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 20 August 1781. The score is missing. There were 6 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Antonio RIGGIERI (1735-1790) Le Gondolier vénitien/Il gondoliere veneziano Canevas italien en deux actes. Librettists: François-Antoine Zanuzzi, Antoine Colalto, and Carlo Goldoni. First performance: 1st version: Paris, Théâtre-Italien, 21 January 1762; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 5 February 1762.

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Performed until 1777. ____________________________________________________________

RINALDO DI CAPUA (1710-1770) La Bohémienne/La zingara Comédie mêlée d’ariettes traduite de La Zingara en deux actes. Librettist: Charles-Simon Favart. First performance: 1st version: Théâtre-Italien, 28 July 1755; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 22 April 1762. This was the French adaptation of La Zingara, the intermezzo by Rinaldo di Capua (Paris, Académie royale de musique [Théâtre de l’Opéra], 19 June 1753). The composer enjoyed some reputation in Italy, but only fragments of his score survive. On 14 July 1755, the Opéra-Comique de la Foire had presented La Zingara under the title La Bohémienne in a one-act translation by Mouston, but without success. The music of the two-act French version which appeared two weeks later, was arranged by CharlesFrançois Clément from parodies of Ciampi, Cocchi, Pergolesi, and Rinaldo di Capua. This work obtained great success, and was retained in the repertory until 1774. ____________________________________________________________

Toussaint-Prévost, known as Théodore RITTER (1841-1886) Marianne Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Jules Prével. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 17 June 1861. The interpreters were: Troy, Berthelier, Mlles Bélia and Tual. It was performed into the following year, 1862. The score is unlocated. ____________________________________________________________

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Jean-Joseph RODOLPHE (1730-1812) Le mariage par capitulation Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en deux actes. Librettist: Louis Dancourt. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 3 December 1764. There was one performance only. Both score and libretto are unlocated. L’Aveugle de Palmyre Comédie pastorale mêlée d’ariettes en deux actes. Librettist: Desfontaines. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 5 March 1767. The story is based on Marie-Jeanne Riccoboni’s conte L’Aveugle. There was a reprise with changes in December 1776, with 5 performances altogether. ____________________________________________________________

Antoine-Joseph-Michel, known as Henri ROMAGNESI (1781-1850) Nadir et Sélim Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Justin performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 27 July 1822.

Gensoul. First

There were 10 performances. Trois Jours en une heure See under ADAM. ____________________________________________________________

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Andreas Jacob ROMBERG (1767-1821) Dom Mendoze, ou Le Tuteur portugais Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Joseph-Alexandre de Ségur and Emmanuel Dupaty. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 12 February 1802. Written in collaboration with Bernhard Heinrich Romberg. There were 2 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Joseph-Guy-Marie ROPARTZ (1864-1955) Le Pays Drame en musique en trois actes et quatre tableaux. Librettist: Charles Le Goffic. First performance: 1st version: Nancy, 1 February 1912; 2nd version: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 16 April 1913. The story is derived from a nouvelle by Le Goffic, L’Islandaise. There was a general public rehearsal on 14 April 1913. It was retained in the repertory until 1924. ____________________________________________________________

Gioacchino Antonio ROSSINI (1792-1868) Le Barbier de Séville/Il barbiere di Siviglia Opéra-comique en quatre actes. Librettist: Cesare Sterbini, after the play by Beaumarchais; French translation by Castil-Blaze. First performance (in Italian): Rome, Teatro Argentina, 20 February 1816; 2nd version (in French): Paris, Théâtre-Odéon, 6 May 1824; 3rd version (in French): Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 8 November 1884. Rossini’s comic masterpiece was first performed in 2 acts, under the title Almaviva ossia l’inutile precauzione, in Rome, Teatro Argentina, 20 February 1816. Il barbiere di Siviglia, translated into French by CastilBlaze, was produced at the Odéon on 6 May 1824. In October 1837, once

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it had been adapted to the stage requirements, it was given at the Académie de musique, for the benefit of bass in the chorus, but performed in the Salle Chantereine because of the serious damage to the Opéra at the time. It was performed by Lafont (Almaviva), Alizard (Basile), Prosper Déviris (Figaro), Bernadet (Bartolo), Mme Dorus (Rosina), and Mlle Flécheux (Marcellina). Many difficulties prevented further stagings at the Opéra. Even after the reprise at the Opéra National on 28 September 1851, it was not given again at the Opéra until 9 December 1853. Since the director of the Théâtre-Italien was opposed to the production of a translated Barbier de Séville, the minister authorized only a single incomplete performance, with several episodes removed. Mme Bosio appeared as Rosina with all the brilliance of her talent, and was ravishing in the Lesson Scene where she interpolated the difficult cavatine from Niobe “Di tuoi frequenti palpiti”. Chapuis, Morelli, Obin, and Marié perfectly seconded this eminent virtuoso. The chorus and orchestra worked marvels in the finale. Act 2 of Il barbiere appeared again, this time at the Théâtre-Lyrique in 1857. Mme Carvalho sang Rosina. Eventually, after having been performed in French at the Théâtre-Lyrique de la Gaîté on 5 December 1876, then at the Théâtre au Château d’Eau on 14 August 1879, Le Barbier de Séville finally made its triumphant appearance at the OpéraComique on 8 November 1884, where it became an established part of the repertory. There were revivals in December 1931 (Salle Favart 3) as a gala for Feodor Chaliapin; 15 January 1947; and 16 May 1958 in a French version of 3 acts and 4 scenes. Performances continued until 1971. ____________________________________________________________

Jean-Jacques ROUSSEAU (1712-1778) Le Devin du village Petit opéra pastorale en un acte. Words and music by Jean-Jacques Rousseau. First performance: 1st version: Fontainebleau, 18 October 1752; 2nd version: Paris, Académie royale de musique, 1 March 1753. This lyrical trifle would have long been forgotten had the author not secured its place in public consciousness for posterity with his description of its first performance as one of the great events of his life. It was performed for the first time at Fontainebleau before the king and the Court, and was very successful. Rousseau observed: “It was performed very badly by the actors, but well-sung and executed by the musicians.

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From the first scene, which has a touching naivete, I heard rising from the boxes a murmur of surprise and applause unheard of in this type of play. The ferment grew, to the point where it was felt by the whole assembly. At the scene for the two young people, the effect reached a pitch. I heard all around me a feminine whispering in half-tones: ‘This is charming, this is ravishing. There is not a note that does not speak to the heart’. I saw that the piece excited the most lively enthusiasm, never a wild intoxication, but rather a gentle and touching effect, which prevailed throughout the spectacle at Court on the day of its first performance.” The opera contains some chansonnettes not devoid of sentiment and natural charm, although connoisseurs attach more importance to the musical collection entitled Consolations des misères de ma vie. This is made up of nearly a hundred romances and small airs that Rousseau composed or arranged under the influence of various sentiments that affected him. His ariette “J’ai perdu tout mon bonheur” became almost popular. The opera was first performed at the Académie royale de musique on 1 March 1753. The great literary talents of Rousseau, his liaison with Diderot and d’Alembert, a collaboration that was carried over to the Encyclopédie, and which led to interaction with influential people at Court and at the Opéra, all helped to attract the public’s attention to a work hardly better than mediocre, and which would have been forgotten long since, if its author had been one of the secondary composers of the 18th century—like Gresnick, Dezède, or Solié. Even Rousseau, as a musician, could not compare with these. It seems to us childish, even on the authority of Rameau, to contest the philosopher’s paternity of the musical compositions attributed to him. The music of this opera has been attributed to Granet, to Lyon; that of Pygmalion to Horace Coignet; that of Les Muses galantes to some other musician. It is possible that Rousseau did not have the skill to disguise his borrowing: but it is certain that his opera owed its success more to the renown of the author than to the intrinsic merit of the music. The subject of the libretto is a pale pastoral without character or dramatic emotion. When it comes to the melodies, they are characterized by a simplicity and gaucherie indicating a complete inexperience in writing music, yet at the same time have an instinctive sentimental expressiveness that helps the notes. All of this is rudimentary. The melodies have bad prosody and bad accentuation, while the harmony is poor, shaky and incorrect. Musicians protested against the success of the work in an indirect way. They went so far as to hang the author in effigy in the foyer of the Opéra. Rousseau himself said of this: “I was not at all

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surprised that they hanged me, after having questioned me for so long.” It is at least a little singular that the architect of the Palais Garnier placed the bust of Rousseau in the midst of great musicians. The author of Le Devin du village cuts a poor figure between Lully and Rameau. The ungrateful friend of Mme Epinay lived in the midst of people of wealth who had the entrée, to one degree or another, to the Opéra. The director of the Académie de musique, Francoeur, and the singer, Jélyotte, were associates of the Marquise d’Epinay, of Mme Houdetot, of the family de la Live de Bellegarde. These circumstances explain why this work could be mounted at the Opéra, sustained as it was by a coterie crucial to its success. Later the opera was maintained in the repertoire by the inertia of the force of habit and routine, so common in the theatrical world. The literary and philosophical reputation of the author contributed to immortalizing this weak work until one evening a joker threw a wig on stage during a performance. This was the last. Since then there have been several attempts at reviving it out of archaic interest. It is as a man of taste and of quality as a writer that Rousseau exerted an influence on the destiny of musical art in France. In his Dictionnaire de musique one finds, besides manifest errors, the elevated views of an ingenious critic. He was among the first to appreciate the beauties of Gluck’s music, and his analysis of the opera Alceste demonstrated the vivacity and justice of his impressions (CL 2:323-4). There were plans to produce this opera at the Opéra-Comique in 1855 and 1864. Eventually it was produced in the revision of Julien Tiersot on 22 June 1912 (Salle Favart 3), and was performed during this season until 1913. ____________________________________________________________

Samuel-Alexandre-Marcel ROUSSEAU (1853-1904) Dianora Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Jules de Chantepie. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 22 December 1879. This work won the Prix Anatole Cressent. One might have thought that to have won this prize, the work must have not only triumphed over all the others considered by the jury awarding this prize, which had been inaugurated by the city of Paris and various societies, but must also have stirred public admiration. The libretto is a little naive. Fantasio the shepherd, not able to make Dianora share his passion, pretends to poison

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himself. The pretty girl is hoodwinked by the strategem, and gives in to this act of despairing love. One can hardly understand how the jury could have found this score interesting, as its monotony caused its precipitate failure (CL 1:328). There were 5 performances. Léone Opéra-comique en quatre actes. Librettist: Georges de Montorgeuil. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 7 March 1910. This was a posthumous production of the composer’s score. The story was derived from Le Derneir Bandit, a nouvelle by Emmanuel Arène. There were 8 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Scipion ROUSSELOT Zurich Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Léon Pillet. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Bourse), 10 December 1838. This was performed into the following year, 1839. ____________________________________________________________

Henri-Catherine-Camille de RUOLZ [-MONTCHAL] (1808-1887) Attendre et courir See under HALÉVY. Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Henri de Tully and Fulgence de Bury. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Ventadour), 27 May 1830. There were 7 performances. The score is missing. ____________________________________________________________

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Raphaël RUSSO (1786-1850) L’Exil de Rochester, ou la Taverne Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Charles Moreau de Commagny and Henri-François Dumolard. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 29 November 1829. This was the lyric adaptation of the vaudeville by Morceau and Dumolard. It was performed into 1832. ____________________________________________________________

Antonio Maria Gaspare Gioacchino SACCHINI (1730-1786) La Colonie Comédie imitée de l’italien en deux actes. Librettists: Antonio Gori; French version: Nicolas-Étienne Framery. First performance: ComédieItalienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 16 August 1775. This was a parody of Sacchini’s dramma giocoso L’isola d’amore (Rome, Carnival 1766). There was a reprise on 16 October 1801 (Feydeau). L’Olimpiade Drame héroïque mêlée de musique en trois actes. Librettists: Metastasio; French version: Nicolas-Étienne Framery. First performance: ComédieItalienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 2 October 1777. This was a parody of Sacchini’s opera seria L’Olimpiade (Padua, 1763). There were reprises on: 15 January 1778 with modifications; 24 April 1780 with a new act 3. ____________________________________________________________

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Louis-Joseph-Claude SAINT-AMANS (1749-1820) Alvar et Menicia, ou le Captif de retour Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en trois actes. Librettist: Adrien-Guillaume Cailly. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 30 June 1770. The story is derived from Alain-René Lesage’s Gil Blas de Santillane. Both libretto and score are unlocated. There were 2 performances. La Coquette de village, ou le Baiser pris et rendu Opéra-comique mêlée d’ariettes en deux actes. Librettist: Louis Anseaume. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 19 September 1771. There was one performance. Le Poirier Opéra-comique mêlée d’ariettes en un acte. Librettist: Louis-JosephClaude Saint-Amans. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 21 June 1772. The libretto is based on the opera-comique en vaudevilles by Jean-Joseph Vadé given at the Foire Saint-Laurent in 1752, and the conte by La Fontaine La Gageure des trois commères. It was performed until 1775. ____________________________________________________________

Joseph Bologne, chevalier de SAINT-GEORGES (1745-1799) Ernestine Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en trois actes. Librettist: Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, revised by Desfontaines. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 19 July 1777. The story is derived from Marie-Jeanne Riccoboni’s tale L’Histoire

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d’Ernestine. There was only one performance. La Chasse Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en trois actes. Librettist: Desfontaines. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 12 October 1778. This work was not successful despite the interest attaching to the person of the Chevalier de Saint-Georges, who brought more honour to his fencingmaster La Boëssière than to Gossec, his master of musical composition. This amateur also left some violin concerti that are well regarded. There were 4 performances. La Fille Garçon Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en deux actes. Librettist: Antoine-François Ève. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 18 August 1787. This was the third lyrical work by the composer who aspired to shine in all genres. There were 4 performances. Both libretto and score are unlocated. ____________________________________________________________

Alfred de SAINT-JULIEN La Sérafina, ou l’Occasion fait le larron Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Henri Dupin and Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint Georges. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 16 August 1851. The libretto is very inventive. The singer Sérafina has left the theatre to marry a baron of contraband, the usurer José Corvo. Both of them are captured in an ambush staged by brigands. But the latter, disturbed by the arrival of the gendarmes, leave their prisoners in the hands of some young artists whom they number among their band. These young people make themselves pass for the brigands themselves. One, called Léoni, pays court to Sérafina, while the other, the Count Julio, is made to reimburse José Corvo the 1000 francs stolen from him. Sérafina, in the dress of a comedienne, discovers the ruse, and amuses herself at the expense of Léoni, declaring to him that only the poetry and picturesqueness of his

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profession as a brigand are able to subjugate her heart, and that she loves him because he is a robber. The papal soldiers arrive and are going to open fire when Sérafina, by a generous impulse, throws herself in front of them and saves the life of Léoni. All works itself out in the end. The music of this small work is not very original. Nevertheless, it was received with pleasure. Of note are: a tenor romance, a pretty bolero and Sérafina’s romance, well instrumented. Saint-Julien was a pupil of Adam. The opera was interpreted by: Audran, Sainte-Foy, Mlles Lemaire, Decroix and Ponchard. There were 21 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Charles-Camille SAINT-SAËNS (1835-1921) La Princess jaune Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Louis Gallet. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 12 June 1872. The basic situation of the libretto is of little interest, as is the case with everything improbable that does not spring from natural feelings. A young Dutch servant has fallen in love with a Japanese image, and in his folly has disdained the love of his young cousin. He drinks a beverage, the effects of which are to transport him to Japan to his idol. He in fact believes himself to be at her feet. But he finds her with the features of his cousin, whose portrait hangs on his wall depicting her in Dutch costume. He emerges from this bizarre dream and gives way in good grace to the charms of his relative. The music of Saint-Saëns is even stranger than the libretto. He wanted to avoid traversing the familiar paths of music, and realized this ambition. But he did it with a rare lack of interest, and could have damaged his reputation. The phrases are incoherent and obscure, the modulations vague and too frequent. Of note are a romance and a duet. The score and the orchestration are handled with much knowledge and skill. It was sung by Lhérie and Mlle Ducasse. There were reprises on: 9 November 1906 (Salle Favart 3); and 10 October 1935 during the festival of the composer’s centenary. It was in the repertory until 1947. Proserpine Drame lyrique en quatre actes. Librettist: Louis Gallet. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 16 March 1887.

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The story is based on a conte dialogué by Auguste Vacquerie. This work did not please the public, especially as regards the libretto where there is an audacity and excessive brutality in its sombre and lugubrious character. It was interpreted by Mmes Caroline Salla and Simonnet, MM. Lubert, Taskin, Cobalet, Herbert, Collin, Caisso and Barnolt. There was a reprise on 29 November 1899 (Salle Favart 3), and it was performed into the following year, 1900. Phryné Opéra-comique en deux actes. Librettist: Lucien Augé de Lassus. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Châtelet), 24 May 1893. This is a badinage, an exquisite badinage, a charming fantasy that could come only from the hands of a great artist. The composer has written a lovely score, where gaiety mingles with grace, without foregoing for a moment the beautiful musical qualities of purity of style, a harmony of piquant savour, an elegance and orchestral vivacity that is always alert, always varied, full of colour, handled by a master. The introductory chorus, the comic couplets for Dycéphile, so curiously accompanied, those for Nicias, with a delightful dance motif, the aria for Phryné, the scene of mystification, all are worthy of note in this charming score, where the composer shows the suppleness of his talent. The public received this badinage in the spirit intended. The cast was excellent: MM. Fugère, Clément, Barnolt and Périer, Mlles Sybil Sanderson and Buhl. It was retained in the repertory intil 1935. Hélène Poème lyrique en un acte et trois tableaux. Libretto and music by Camille Saint-Saëns. First performance: 1st version: Opéra de Monte Carlo, February 1904; 2nd version: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 18 January 1905. There were 7 performances. La Fille du tourneur d’ivoire Poème antique. Librettist: Mme Henry Ferrare. First performance: OpéraComique (Salle Favart 3), 12 June 1909.

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This was a work especially devised for a matinée à bénéfice. The story is derived from a nouvelle by Jean Bertheroy. The score was arranged from Saint-Saëns' music. L’Ancêtre Drame lyrique en trois actes. Librettist: Lucien Augé de Lassus. First performance: 1st version: Opéra de Monte Carlo, 24 February 1904; 2nd version: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 23 January 1911. This was performed only for the one season. ____________________________________________________________

Hector SALOMON (1838-1906) L’Aumônier du régiment Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Jules-Henri Vernoy de SaintGeorges and Adolphe de Leuven. First performance: 1st version: ThéâtreLyrique, 13 September 1877; 2nd version: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 28 December 1881. The story, in all its episodes, is based on the vaudeville of the same name that became popular at the Gymnase. Robert, quartermaster general, wounded in combat in Italy during the First Republic, is billeted with Carlo, a young blacksmith. The old soldier’s daughter has accompanied him, we are not told how or why, but only that Carlo falls in love with her. But Robert wants a soldier son-in-law. There now appears a young regimental chaplain, something rather rare in 1792. The old soldier has particular ill-feeling towards priests, especially since a parish priest in his village in Alsace had prevented his daughter from receiving an inheritance. He discovers that the chaplain in question is the brother of the author of this unfortunate incident, but the chaplain, as a man of heart, does what he can to make good the deed. He dresses himself as a soldier, flatters the tastes of the old quartermaster, to the point that he overtakes the blacksmith in popularity, is accepted as the future son-in-law and is ordered to embrace the pretty Marie. But this is not all. Hostilities ensue, and a battle is imminent. The chaplain takes the place of the old soldier, and returns victorious, but wounded. All is now disclosed. The chaplain makes good from his own means the loss caused to Robert’s family. The

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latter decides to give his daughter’s hand to the blacksmith, and recognizes that the soutane, can, like all other uniforms, conceal the breast of a man of feeling. The score is most attractive, with the music always wittily related to the situations of the libretto and the personalities of the characters. The most remarkable pieces are: the overture; several different military marches; the couplets for Marie “Ce bon garçon est un peu bête”; those in which the blacksmith lists his several merits “Un beau jeune homme”; the chaplain’s aria in which the phrase from the old vaudeville “Aumônier du régiment” is most happily recalled and developed; and a morceau d’ensemble. The work was created by Lepers, Gresse, Grivot, and Mme Sablairolles-Caisso. It was performed until 1882. ____________________________________________________________

Gervais-Bernard-Gaston SALVAYRE (1847-1916) Egmont Drame lyrique en quatre actes. Librettists: Albert Wolff and Albert Millaud. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 6 December 1886. The story is taken from Goethe’s drama. The work was originally conceived for the Opéra. The plot centres on Count Egmont and the noble role he played in the war of enfranchisement in the Netherlands to escape Spanish domination. This is a fine subject for a lyric drama, and Beethoven was magisterially inspired to write his incidental music to Goethe’s tragedy. But the two vaudevillists were evidently not well equipped to try to derive possible situations from this very poignant episode. Their libretto offers none of the qualities which one would have a right to expect from it: neither grandeur in the action, nor dramatic sentiment, nor historical colour, nor depiction of character. It would have been difficult to have served the composer any more poorly. The work was nonetheless accepted by the Opéra, and only by a succession of various circumstances did it pass from this theatre to the Opéra-Comique where it by no means found its proper place. Salvayre’s score reflects the feeble quality of the libretto he was given. It is not without value: one notes that the composer tried to embrace the prevailing tendencies and play his part in the developments that were shaping musical art at the time. Inspiration, however, eluded his efforts which remain pallid and without distinction,

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unable to excite attention. Rather unusually for a work of this kind, there is a small ballet in act 3 that has a delightful effect. The cast were: Mlles Adèle Isaac and Blanche Deschamps, MM. Talazac, Soulacroix, Taskin, and Fournets. The work was performed into the following year, 1887. Solange Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Adolphe Aderer. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 10 March 1909. There were 14 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Théodore-Aimé-Émile SEMET (1824-1888) La Petite Fadette Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Michel Carré. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 11 September 1869. This is the adaptation of a vaudeville by Anicet-Bourgeois and Charles Lafont with musical interventions by Semet. This in turn is based on the novel by George Sand. The novel with its combination of sentimentality and realism was successful in a way the operatic adaptation was not. The theme of the literary work can only be fully explored with the help of many details and long blocks of dialogue. In a dramatic work the action must be simple and not impeded by descriptions and analysis of feelings. Where Sedaine, or even more obviously Desforges, would have succeeded, Mme Sand has failed. The hard-working and committed musician Semet undoubtedly showed much talent in this work, but unfortunately for him, he wasted his time. His charming melodies, ingenious intentions and distinguished orchestration were all lost on the amateurs. Of particular note are, in act 1, Fadet’s song “Fadet, petit Fadet, prend ta cape”; the lovely drinking song and the children’s chorus “Fadette qui naguère ne dansait”. In act 2 there are the good wishes of the grandmother “Ce soir, oublie en dormant”; the couplets for Cadet-Caillaux “Je suis jeune et bel home”. There is also the chorus in which the sound of bells is depicted by horns. Everything in this opera is interesting, musically speaking. Act 3 also contains pieces handled with much taste, among them a romance for Landry “Oui, Fadette, quand je t’appelle”. The

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cast was: Barré (Landry), Potel (Cadet-Caillaux), Mme Galli-Marié (Fadette), Mlle Révilly (le mère Fadet), Mlle Bélia (Madelon). It was performed into the following year, 1870. ____________________________________________________________

Joseph-Marie Déodat de SÉVERAC (1873-1921) Le Coeur du moulin Pièce lyrique en deux actes. Librettist: Maurice Magre. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 8 December 1909. This was performed into 1910. ____________________________________________________________

Charles SILVER (1868-1949) Le Clos Drame lyrique en quatre actes. Librettist: Michel Carré. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 6 June 1906. The story is derived from the novel by Amédée Achard Le Clos pommier. There were 6 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Charles SODI (1715-1788) Les Amours de Bastien et Bastienne Parodie du Devin du village. Parodie en vaudeville en un acte. Librettists: Marie-Justine Favart and Harny de Guerville. First performance: 1st version: Théâtre-Italien, 4 August 1753; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne) , 11 February 1762. The music was made up of vaudeville arrangements by Charles Sodi. Brenner mentions Charles-Simon Favart as the librettist. The work was in the repertory until 1790.

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Les Amusements champêtres Ballet-pantomime en un acte. Scenario: attributed to Jean-BaptisteFrançois Dehesse (1749) or Pierre Sodi (1753). First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 19 April 1762. The music was attributed to Robert Desbrosses (1749) or Charles Sodi (1753). There were 20 performances. La Femme orgueilleuse Intermède en deux actes. Librettist: François-Antoine Quétant. First performance: 1st version: Théâtre-Italien, 8 October 1759; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne) , 1 December 1762. A parody of La donna superba, intermezzo by Rinaldo di Capua (Théâtre de l’Opéra, 1752). There was only one performance. Baïocco et Serpilla Parodie française du Joueur, opéra bouffon italien en trois intermèdes. Librettist: Charles-Simon Favart. First performance: 1st version: ThéâtreItalien, 9 August 1753; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 25 January 1764. A parody of Il Giocatore, intermezzo by Giuseppe Maria Orlandini (Verona, 1715; Paris, Théâtre de l’Opéra, 1752), and of Joueur, a bilingual parody by Biancolelli and Romagnesi (Théâtre-Italien, 21 July 1729). There was one performance. Les Batteurs en granges Ballet-pantomime en un acte. Scenario: Pierre Sodi. First performance: 1st version: Paris, Foire Saint-Laurent, 12 August 1752; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 12 August 1769. The music was composed by Charles Sodi. There were 2 performances.

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Le Diable â quatre, ou La Double Métamorphose Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Michel-Jean Sedaine and Pierre Baurans (for the ariettes). Music parodied from various composers. First performance: 1st version: Paris, Foire Saint-Laurent, 19 August 1756. 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 30 January 1764. The story is derived from an opera of Charles Coffey The Devil to Pay, or The Wives Metamorphosed. The parodied composers have been identified as: Ciampi, Duni, Galuppi, and G. Scarletti, with music also attributed to Jean-Louis Laurette and Philidor. The work was performed for over twelve years, until 1776. A new score was provided by Bernardo Porta, 14 February 1790, Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1). This version was in the repertory for three years, until 1793 ____________________________________________________________

Jean-Pierre SOLIÉ (1755-1812) Les Fous de Médine, ou La Rencontre imprévue Opéra buffon en trois actes. Librettist: Louis Dancourt. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 1 May 1790. The music is by Jean-Pierre Solié, et divers compositeurs parodiés, an adaptation of Gluck's La Rencontre imprévue (Vienna, 1764). Dancourt had published a version of this adaptation in 1776. The composers parodied were Berton, Gluck and Solié. There was only one performance. Le Franc Breton Opéra en un acte. Librettist: Jean-Élie Dejaure. First performance: Théâtre Favart, 3 November 1792. See under KREUTZER Jean et Geneviève Comédie mise en musique en un acte. Librettist: Edmond-GuillaumeFrançois de Favières. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 3 December 1792.

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There was a reprise on 12 October 1801 (Feydeau), and the work was retained in the repertory until 1822. La Moisson Opéra-comique en vaudevilles en deux actes. Librettist: Sewrin. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 5 September 1793. Solié is described as providing accompagnements et airs nouveaux, airs parodiés et vaudevilles. The parodied composer is identified as Dalyrac. The work was performed into the following year, 1794. Le Plaisir et la gloire Scènes patriotiques mêlées de chants. Librettist: Sewrin. performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 19 January 1794.

First

This patriotic piece concluded with the Marseillaise, cannon fire, the general salute, and the tocsin. There were 19 performances. L’École de village Opéra-comique en vaudevilles en un acte. Librettist: Sewrin. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 10 May 1794. The music is described as airs parodiés et vaudevilles. 10 pieces were attributed to Solié, and the parodied composers identified as Dalyrac and Grétry. There were 2 performances. La Soubrette, ou L’Éyui de harpe Comédie en un acte. Librettist: François-Benoît Hoffman. First performed: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 3 December 1794. This was performed over the next two years, until 1796. Les Arts et l’amitié See under JADIN.

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Le Jockei Comédie en un acte, mêlée d’ariettes et en prose. Librettist: FrançoisBenoît Hoffman. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 6 January 1796 (16 nivôse an 4). For several years, this work was played once or twice a week, and was successful enough to secure Hoffman a place among the stage authors. Solié’s music did not age well. It is true that the principal motifs in this work survived in vaudevilles, among them the couplets from the opening scene “Lorsque vous verrez un amant”. The facile nature of Solié’s airs appealed to the tastes of a public recently allowed to exercise freely the pleasures of the spirit. This is probably why this composer provided most of that type of melody known as timbres à la Clef du caverne (CL 1:614). The work was revived on 7 October 1801 (Feydeau), and remained in the repertory until 1807. Le Secret Comédie mêlée de musique en un acte. Librettist: François-Benoît Hoffman. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 20 April 1796. The story is derived from the comedy by François-Antoine Jolly, La Femme jalouse. The story is amusing, and the dialogue witty. Valère has fought a duel, and appears to have killed his adversary. He is obliged to hide at a friend’s house, who places him in a room with a secret door that opens and closes often during the course of the act. This devoted friend is called Dupuis. Cécile, his wife, is ignorant of this secret door. The mysterious behaviour of her husband causes her to become jealous. Circumstances lead Angélique, the young person at the heart of the duel, into this room. The two lovers recognize each others’ voices through the secret door. The door opens for Angélique, who then emerges almost immediately with Valère, to the astonishment of Cécile. Hoffman has sprinkled this light canvas with many diverting details. The jealousy of Cécile and the foolishness of the valet Thomas provide several comic episodes. The music is rather flat, but at the time pleased many by its novelty. The striking pieces are: the romance for Cécile “Qu’on soit jaloux dans sa jeunesse”; Valère’s romance “Je te perds, fugitive espérance”; and that for Dupuis, which became very popular “Femmes, voulez-vous éprouver si vous êtes encore sensible”. It seems

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that Solié who played the part of Dupuis sang it beautifully. The libretto above all won a prolonged success for this little opera: it is written with talent. Solié’s musiquette was also interpreted superbly by Martin, Dozainville, and Mme Dugazon. It was revived on 21 September 1801 (Feydeau), and remained in the repertory until 1824. Azeline Comédie mêlée de musique en trois actes. Librettist: François-Benoît Hoffman. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 5 December 1796. The story is taken from a tale by Barthélémy Imbert, Les Ruses innocentes. The work was later reduced to two acts, and remained in the repertory for three years, until 1799. La Femme de quarante-cinq ans Comédie mêlée de musique en un acte. Librettist: François-Benoît Hoffman. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 19 November 1798. The libretto notes: “Sifflée, pour la première et dernière fois, sur le Théâtre Favart, le 29 brumaire an 7.” There was only one performance. Le Chapitre second Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Emmanuel Dupaty. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart), 17 June 1799. The score of this work was printed, but suffered the fate of the 24 other works by this singer, with the exception of perhaps two. The ariettes written by Solié by their very nature and cut belong to the genre of vaudeville. There was a reprise on 8 August 1803 (Feydeau), and the work remained in the repertory until 1810. Une Matinée de Voltaire, ou La Famille Calas à Paris Drame lyrique en un acte. Librettist: Jean-Baptiste Pujoulx. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 22 May 1800.

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The story is based on Pujoulx’s play La Veuve Calas à Paris, produced by the Comédiens Italiens on 31 July 1791. The rehabilitation of the memory of Calas was the objective of this piece. There were 4 performances. Une Nuit d’été, ou Un peu d’aide fait grand bien Vaudeville en un acte. Librettists: N. Gersin and Antoine Année. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 7 June 1800. The music is described as “vaudevilles et airs nouveaux de Jean-Pierre Solié”. There were 4 performances. Oui, ou Le Double Rendez-Vous Opéra-Vaudeville en un acte. Librettist: Jean-François-Thomas Goulard. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 9 August 1800. There were 6 performances. La Rivale d’elle-même Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Bins de Saint-Victor. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 4 October 1800. The work could not be sustained to its conclusion (Magasin encyclopêdique). There was only the one performance. La Pluie et le beau temps, ou L’été de l’an VIII Vaudeville en un acte. Librettist: Emmanuel Dupaty. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 17 November 1800. The music was made of “airs et couplets” by Solié, and “vaudevilles”. There was only one performance. Lisistrata, ou Les Athéniennes Comédie mêlée de vaudevilles imitée d’Aristophane, en un acte. Librettist: François-Benoît Hoffman. First performed: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 15 January 1802.

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The story is taken from Aristophanes’s play. The production was suspended by order after one performance. Plutarque Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Léger and Alissande Chazet. First performed: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 20 January 1802. Henriette de Verseuil Comédie mêlée de chant un en acte. Librettists: P. Guillet and Eugène Hus. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 30 July 1803. Hus is attributed with the words of only three sung pieces. There were 5 performances. L’Incertitude maternelle, ou Le Choix impossible Comédie en acte. Librettist: Jean-Claude Dejaure. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 6 August 1803. This was a collaboration between Solié and André-Joseph Grétry, the composer’s nephew. The story was adapted from Dejaune’s comédie, produced by the Comédiens Italiens on 5 June 1790. The work remained in the repertory until 1810. L’Époux généreux, ou Le Pouvoir des procédés Comédie en un acte. Librettist: Jean-Claude Dejaure. First performed: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 7 February 1804. This was a lyric adaptation of a comedy by Dejaure, produced by the Comédiens Italiens on 15 February 1790. The libretto indicated that it was reshaped as an opéra-comique by Grétry (neveu). It was performed into the following year, 1805. Louise, ou La Malade par amour Comédie en un acte. Librettist: François-Benoît Hoffman. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 16 April 1804.

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The story is based on Hoffman’s own libretto Stratonice for Méhul (1804). There were 7 performances. Les Deux Oncles Comédie en un acte. Librettist: André-Joseph Grétry (neveu). First performed: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 3 January 1805. The story is derived from the comedy by Nicolas-Julien Forgeot, produced by the Comédiens Italians on 29 September 1780. There were 10 performances. Chacun son tour Opéra en un acte. Librettist: Justin Gensoul. First performed: OpéraComique (Feydeau), 26 October 1805. The story is based on the play Les Rivaux d’eux-mêmes by Pigault-Lebrun (Décade philosophique). Solié’s contemporaries were struck by the gaiety and naturalness of the dialogue, and found the music agreeable. The facile and poorly developed melodies of the singer/composer owed their fleeting success to their French taste—that is, a touch superficial, with an allure both nimble and spruce—as well as the bad musical education of the audiences which caused irritation and even anger in the tender and gentle Mozart (CL 1:216). The success of Solié’s music, which is more or less reproduced in all twenty-five of his opéras comiques, makes one appreciate the path traversed in the following fifty years in the development of French opera. The work was performed into the following year, 1806. L’Opéra au village, ou La Fête impromptu Divertissement en un acte. Librettist: Sewrin. First performance: OpéraComique (Feydeau), 30 July 1807. The divertissement was provided “for the occasion of the peace and return of His Majesty the Emperor and King” after the signing of the Treaty of Tilsit. This occasional piece owed its success to the mentality of the times (CL 2:812). There were 10 performances.

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L’Amante sans le savoir Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en un acte. Librettist: Auguste Creuzé de Lesser. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 10 August 1807. There were 5 performances. Anna, ou Les Deux Chaumières Comédie mêlée de chants en un acte. Librettist: Sewrin. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 20 February 1808. There were 9 performances. Mademoiselle de Guise Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Emmanuel Dupaty. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 17 March 1808. The librettist has combined the details of a novel by Mme de Genlis, Mademoiselle de Clermont, with those taken from the history of Charlemagne. The characters of Eginhard and Irma have been transformed into M. de Beaufort, secretary to the Duc de Guise, and Mlle de Guise, sister of the duke. The music was successful, and the score engraved. The work remained in the repertory until 1811. Le Hussard noir Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Emmanuel Dupaty. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 10 December 1808. The story is based on “un trait mis dans les journaux l’été dernier.” There was only one performance. Le Diable à quatre, ou La Femme acriâtre Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Michel-Jean Sedaine, revised by Auguste Creuzé de Lesser. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 30 November 1809. This old story, with Solié’s new music, was produced with great success.

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The character of Margot was a triumph for the charming Mme Gavaudan. The other roles were taken by Gavaudan, Chenard, Darancourt, Solié himself, Saint-Aubin, Mlles Regnault, Aglaé Gavaudan and Lesage. The work was revived on 15 October 1853 (Salle Favart 2) with reorchestration by Adolphe Adam. Les Ménestrels, ou La Tour d’Ambroise Opéra en trois actes. Librettist: Jacques-Antoine de Révéroni Saint-Cyr. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 27 August 1811. There were 3 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Gaspare Luigi Pacifico SPONTINI (1774-1851) La Petite Maison Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Michel Dieulafoy and N. Gersin. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 12 May 1804. The first performance of this work was stormy. The public found the story unpleasant, and after a tirade from Elleviou, the creator of the principal role, the audience turned hostile. A row ensued with shouting and whistling and the performance had to be abandoned. There were 3 performances. Milton Fait historique. Opéra en un acte. Librettists: Étienne de Jouy and Michel Dieulafoy. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 27 November 1804 (6 frimaire an 13). An episode from the life of the celebrated English poet provided the subject of the story. Old, blind and persecuted, Milton has sought refuge in the home of a Quaker friend called Godwin. Lord William Davenant arrives, drawn by his love for Emma, the poet’s daughter, and also by the wish to negotiate the return of the poet to the graces of King Charles II. This work of demi-caractère provides a good plot, well-handled and treated with propriety and taste. With this work, Spontini acquitted himself

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of the failure of La Petite Maison, which had collapsed six months before because of the imprudence of Elleviou. The singer had understood the merits of Spontini, but was wrong to want to impose his conviction on the public. Yet it was not with the score of Milton that the composer was to win the admiration of his contemporaries, however remarkable the roles. The D-major overture is charming. The first aria for Charlotte is pitched too high, particularly for a secondary singer. The same problem affects the trio which follows for Charlotte, Arthur Davenant and Godwin. Emma’s romance “J’aurai le sort de la fleur du désert” has a touching simplicity, with an accompaniment of exquisite suavity. The Hymn to the Sun sung by Milton looks forward to the prayer in La Vestale. It is doubtful that Solié, who undertook the role, interpreted this appropriately. The Scottish air “Quittez les riantes campagnes” is tastefully arranged successively as a duet and a trio. Also striking is the quartet “Quel traits, quelle grâce touchantes!”, and the quintet in which the poet by his improvisation unwittingly brings about the denouement. Obviously Jouy had tried to contrive situations of noble aspiration for his collaborator. The opera remained in the repertory of the Opéra-Comique for a while, but it would have been difficult for the staff of this theatre to maintain a lyric work of this nature, which would have been better placed at the Grand Opéra or the Italian Opera. Spontini wanted to expand the limits of his composition, since he had his French score translated into Italian by Luigi Balochi and added recitatives that pertain more to opéra-seria, which is the form in which the work became known more widely. Solié created the role of Milton, M. and Mme Gavaudan those of Lord Davenant and Emma, Chenard that of the Quaker Godwin, and Mme Crétu that of Miss Charlotte. The work was performed until 1806. Julie, ou Le Pot de Fleurs Comédie en un acte, en prose, mêlée de chants. Librettist: Antoine-Gabriel Jars. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 12 March 1805. This was a collaboration between Spontini and Étienne Fay. Fay composed two pieces, an aria and a duet, that were part of the production, but not included in the printed score. This was the second score to French words Spontini wrote for Paris. It was coldly received, and there were only 6 performances. ____________________________________________________________

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Daniel Gottlieb STEIBELT (1765-1823) Roméo et Juliette Opéra en trois actes. Librettist: Joseph-Alexandre de Ségur. First performance: 1st version: Feydeau, 11 September 1793; 2nd version: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 19 October 1801. The story is based on Shakespeare’s drama. Steibelt’s opera appeared just 14 months after the production of Monvel and Dalayrac’s work on the same subject, Tout pour l’amour, ou Juliette et Roméo (Théâtre Favart, 7 July 1792). Ségur and Steibelt’s opera had been refused by the Académie de musique earlier in 1792, and the authors sacrificed the recitatives which they replaced with prose dialogue for the Feydeau. It had great success, and assured the composer a fine career. Effects full of power and originality, and distinguished and abundant melody secured a great vogue for the work. Mme Scio interpreted the role of Juliet with real talent. There is a fine soprano aria “Du clame de la nuit” and a fine quartet “Grâce, vertus, soyez en deuil, Juliette” that is a work of genius (CL 2:977). The work remained in the repertory until 1822. During the gloomy year of 1793, three distinguished works were produced, none of which survived in the longer term: Paisiello’s Le Barbier de Séville, Lesueur’s Le Caverne and Steibelt’s Roméo et Juliette. ____________________________________________________________

Georg Jacob STRUNZ (1793-1858) Les Courses de Newmarket Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Étienne de Jouy and Jean-Toussant Merle. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 26 December 1818. There were only two performances. ____________________________________________________________

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Théodore-Jean TARADE (1732-1788) La Réconciliation villageoise Comédie lyrique en un acte. Librettists: La Ribardière, with revisions by Antoine-Alexandre-Henri Poinsinet. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 15 July 1765. Performed into the following year, 1766. ____________________________________________________________

Claude Antoine TERRASSE (1867-1923) La Petite Femme de Loth Opéra-bouffe en deux actes. Librettist: Tristan Bernard. First performance: 1st version: Théâtre des Mathurins, 10 October 1900; 2nd version: OpéraComique (Salle Favart 3), 2 May 1901. A matinée for the benefit of Louis Morlet. This curious fantasy is lively and amusing, accompanied by pleasant and vivacious music, in which the chorus and hymn in the introduction, the couplets of the flood, and the scene of the petrifaction are particularly notable. The interpreters were: Mlles Marguerite, Deval, Jolly, Varley, and Mindès, MM. Tarride, Liesse and Chalande. Le Mariage de Télémaque Comédie-lyrique en cinq actes et six tableaux. Librettists: Jules Lemaître et Maurice Donnay. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 4 May 1910. The story is taken from Homer’s Odyssey, and a conte by Lemaître. There were reprises on 13 November 1913 in a reduced 3-act version, and 21 October 1921, with performances into 1922. ____________________________________________________________

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Charles-Louis-Ambroise THOMAS (1811-1896) La Double Échelle Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Eugène de Planard. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Bourse), 23 August 1837. The story is charming and in the best of taste. This was the first step in the composer’s brilliant career. The score contains lovely pieces, among others a duet, couplets sung by Couderc, a most original trio and a quintet based on the motif of an old minuet, very well handled. The two principal roles of this small work full of youth, grace, and elegance were wonderfully created by two of the most distinguished artists, Couderc and Mlle. Prévost. The public accorded it a warm reception, leading to a series of some 287 performances. Le Perruquier de la Régence Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Eugène de Planard and Paul Duport. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Bourse), 30 March 1838. This was the composer’s second work, and it also received a number of performances. The poem is not of the same quality as La Double Échelle, but this did not prevent Thomas from setting it with an elegance and purity of style that never contradicts itself. The duet, the trio and ensemble in act 2 are particularly notable. The principal roles were created by Chollet and Mlle Jenny Colon. Le Panier fleuri Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Adolphe de Leuven and Léon-Lévy Brunswick. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Bourse), 6 May 1839. The triviality of the subject contrasts with the rare elegance of Thomas’s music. The widow Mme Beausoleil is playing a role in Mère Grégoire (sung by Béranger), even after the unexpected return of her husband, the hussar Beausoleil, who had been presumed dead. Le Panier fleuri is the sign of the inn taken by this accommodating couple. There must be frank gaiety in producing such a subject. Among the lovely pieces in the score are: the duet sung by Chollet and Mme Prévost “J’ai bien appris à te connaître”; the military air “Mes beaux seigneurs”; and the quartet finale

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“À la consigne sois fidèle”. Ricquier played the part of the clerk of court with great comic verve. The work was revived at the Théâtre-Lyrique in 1854. Carline Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Adolphe de Leuven and LéonLévy Brunswick. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Bourse), 24 February 1840. The improbability of the libretto is not redeemed by the agreement of detail. The Baronne de Montbreuse, jealous of the actress Carline who has turned the head of the Vicomte de Quincy, her fiancé, devises an intrigue in which she herself is duped. The vicomte is only all the more drawn to the actress on whom he bestows all his goods, with a signed commitment to marry her. Carline has the natural generosity to refuse everything. The score carries the imprint of that elegant craftsmanship that Thomas bestowed on all his work. There is a round for the harvesters, a lovely nocturne for Quincy and Carline, a good trio, and Carline’s big aria in act 3, which was sung with great intelligence by Mme Henri Potier. Le Guerillero Opéra en deux actes. Librettist: Théodore Anne. First performance: Académie royale de musique, 22 June 1842. The action takes place in 1640, during the war that separated Portugal from Spain. A guerrilla, called Fernand passes for an ordinary soldier for the sake of the king Juan de Bragance, and serves in this way in order to marry, at the king’s orders, a poor girl whom he has abducted. But the king is false, and none other than the brother of Thérèse, who has Fernand shot and his sister united with Francesco, her fiancé. The chorus which opens act 2 is remarkable. There is also in the same act an attractive duet sung by Mme Nathen-Treillet and Octave as well as a bolero sung by Massol. At the time the grand French stage was occupied by Meyerbeer, Halévy, and Donizetti. Thomas felt he should fall back on works of a demi-caractère—and thereby secured several good successes. It is nonetheless regrettable that there were to be some 26 years between Le Guerillero and Hamlet, a work of the first order.

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Angélique et Médor Opéra-bouffe en un acte. Librettist: Thomas Sauvage. First performed: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 10 May 1843. This opera preceded Le Caïd by five years, the popular success of which totally eclipsed this graceful work. The orchestral score was published by Escudier. Mina, ou Le Ménage à trois Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Eugène de Planard. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 10 October 1843. This comedy is well-made from a literary point of view, but the situations are too complicated for musical purposes. Mina is a young girl, victim of a betrayal on the part of the one she was to marry, and who is now the husband of another. The young girl finds a liberator. The orchestration of the overture is ravishing. After a dialogue between the wind instruments, treated with ingenious science in various effects, there is a brilliant allegro in which the composer has introduced a melody for the violins. This score shows the composer developing to the full his eminent qualities. The melody is elegant, witty, and accompanied by a richness of detail which we otherwise find only in the scores of Meyerbeer. Outstanding pieces include: the quintet initiated by by a gracious melody for the mezzosoprano “Oui, je suis tremblante”; the couplets for the gardener Jacques; and the delightful act 1 finale. The most striking piece in act 2 is Mina’s poetic aria “Le lever de l’aurore est plus beau dans les cieux”. Mlle Darcier created the difficult role of the ingénue Mina. The others were Boulanger, Roger, Mocker, and Moreau-Sainti. There can be no doubt that after 20 years of further musical education, the public of the OpéraComique would not accept a reprise of this work, however distinguished. Act 3 contains a lovely waltz sung in quartet, and concluding with a unison effect of the most exhilarating kind. Le Caïd Opéra-bouffe en deux actes. Librettist: Thomas Sauvage. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 3 January 1849. It cannot be denied that this work is amusing and the music very

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agreeable. Nevertheless, in our view, the whole has a touch of vulgarity about it, a familiarity and parody which is not part of the opera buffa, nor of the old Opéra-comique. The score teems with charming melodies. In the harmony, under a piquant exterior, lie the purest and most learned forms. The instrumentation is ravishing. So where does this slightly negative impression arise from? It probably to do with the disparity of costume and theatrical genre, typical of pieces that increasingly found popularity in France at the time—where no true sentiment is taken seriously, and the spectator finds no rest from the foolery and exaggerations of the actors. A continual alliance of the most noble of art forms with the lowly side of the human character seems to us regrettable (CL 1:185). This did not stop Thomas from writing a brilliant score which assured the success of the work. The opera inspired a very considerable number of nasty little operettas which infected lyrical art with a character both trivial and discordant with the French spirit. A barber, Biroteau, who has arrived in Algeria is not able to practice his trade, and in the hope of obtaining 20,000 boudjons by way of recompense, he proposes to the Caïd that he be allowed to meet and punish those people who are sentenced to the bastinado during the nocturnal exercise of the Caïd's function as magistrate. The Caïd accepts the arrangement, resolving in petto to substitute the hand of his daughter for the 20,000 boudjons. But the heart of Biroteau belongs to Mlle Virginie, a seamtress on the Rue Vivienne, who has also come to seek her fortune in Algeria, while the daughter of the Caïd has fallen in love with a French drum-major. After a scene of misapprehensions in which the barber administers the bastinado to the Caïd himself when he should have protected him, the wretch is forced to pay the 20,000 boudjons in exchange for a pot of ointment, an infallible remedy for the bastinado. The overture is vivacious and original. The couplets of reveille “Amour, ce dieu profane” and the aria of the Drum-Major have a roundness and verve. The duet for the barber and the seamstress is a charming piece. Act 1 concludes with a fine quintet, initially without accompaniment, and then with orchestra. Act 2 contains a pretty romance accompanied by the harp; a graceful nocturne for soprano and bass “Ô ma gazelle; a very brilliant aria which is often sung in concerts, “Plaignez la pauvre demoiselle"; and a comic trio in which one finds traces of doubtful taste imposed on the composer by the nature of the subject. The finale is a masterpiece of musical comedy. The success of the opera was enduring. The role of Virginie was one of Mme Ugalde’s best. Hermann-Léon sang and acted the Drum-Major with aplomb. Mlle Decroix, Sainte-Foy, Boule and Henri made up the rest of the cast.

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Le Songe d’une nuit d’été Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Joseph Rosier and Adolphe de Leuven. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 20 April 1850. One should not imagine finding in this work the characters and delightful inventions of Shakespeare: Puck, Oberon and Titania are replaced by Queen Elizabeth, Shakespeare himself, Latimer, Falstaff and Olivia. The music of the composer is well adapted to this English fantasy, although the libretto offers several scenes in equivocal taste. The authors have not depicted the better sides of the queen and the great poet. Elizabeth and her maid of honour Olivia find themselves separated from the Royal party. They are pursued by sailors, and seek refuge in a place where Shakespeare is engaged in a drinking debauch with his friends. The queen, who is masked, vainly attempts to persuade the national poet to follow a better way of life. He mocks her sermons, continues drinking, and eventually rolls under the table. Elizabeth orders Sir John Falstaff, governor of Richmond, to have Shakespeare carried to the palace park. It is night, and the water of the lake and the trees illumined by the moon all conspire to confuse William’s senses when he awakes. He hears the sound of music, then sees a white form, a voice calling to him. It seems to be the voice of his genius who reproaches him for his excesses and threatens to abandon him. On the instant, the poet, under the sway of this apparition, perceives his genius to be a beautiful woman. Olivia takes the place of the queen to guard her secrecy. But one of Olivia’s admirers, Latimer, having witnessed Shakespeare’s responses, challenges him to a duel. This follows on immediately, and Latimer falls after some passes. Olivia is distressed, and is supported by the Queen, but blows the royal incognito. Shakespeare believes he has killed Lord Latimer. He flees and throws himself in the river. He is rescued in a faint, and carried to his lodgings. The Queen, having instructed Falstaff and the others who played a part in the nocturnal scene to forget all that they witnessed, has Shakespeare summoned. The poet believes himself to be loved by the Queen. He arrives, transported by love, and finds himself treated like madman. Elizabeth alone takes pity on his despair, admonishing him: “May the events of this night be a dream for all the world, apart from you.” The overture is dominated by a march of original rhythmic cut. Falstaff’s couplets and the parade of scullions were well-received. The trio “Où courez-vous, mes belles?” is striking. The chorus of forest-wardens which opens act 2 is well-developed to great effect. The scene of the

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apparition is handled by Thomas with that delicacy of touch and distinguished colour that are the distinctive marks of his talent. Act 3 contains a passionate duet for Olivia and Latimer, and the Queen’s Couplets du Rêve, of exquisite sentiment, accompanied by only the flute and violins pizzicati. This was often encored. The first interpreters were Bataille, Couderc, Boulo, Mmes Lefebvre and Grimm. Mme Ugalde later took on the role which only illness had prevented her from creating. The vocal and solo piano scores were arranged by Vauthrot. Raymond, ou Le Secret de la reine Drame lyrique en trois actes. Librettists: Adolphe de Leuven and Joseph Rosier. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 5 June 1851. The legend of the iron mask furnished the subject of this sombre melodrama. The action takes place in Moret near Fontainebleau. In act 1, Raymond, a young peasant, is enriched through the protection of an unknown patron. He is about to marry the poor orphan Stella, but the marriage is interrupted by the intervention of Chevalier de Rosargue, an agent of Cardinal Mazarin. Raymond is in fact the King’s brother, and is not permitted to marry a peasant. He receives an officer’s commission, and leaves for the wars. In act 2 Raymond is at Fontainebleau, and sees the Queen, his mother, and learns the fatal secret from the ladies of the Court. Mazarin is informed, and gives the order to conduct Raymond to a faraway prison, where the physical traits that could reveal his parentage are to be hidden under an iron mask. After various sudden changes of fortune, all the characters find themselves at a convent in act 3. The Chevalier recognizes in Stella his own daughter. He determines to repair the broken relationship, and take the place of Raymond. He pushes the denouement to the point of heroism by putting on the fatal iron mask, and allowing himself to be taken to the Bastille. A story of this kind was little suited to the talents of Thomas, who had the ill fortune to produce treasures of knowledge and skill for mediocre texts. The overture opens with a remarkable andante followed by a brilliant peroration. The chorus of old men, in the middle of which occurs a most original drinking song, was popular with the public. The same applied to a dialogue chorus for women “Hereux époux, quelle faveur!” Act 2 includes, among other interesting pieces, a charming tenor romance “En proie de douloureux martyre”, and a pastoral scene that is by turns musical and choreographic. Thomas very successfully imbued this part of the work with an archaic character. The ariette “Petits oiseaux, que vous

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êtes hereux” has exquisite taste. Act 3 has a prayer for the monks, a tenor cavatina “Point de pitié pour mes larmes” and a mélodie for Stella “Illusion chérie”. The style of the composer is is almost always out of tune with the basic premise of this work borrowed from the repertoire of the Théâtre-Ambigu. The cast was Boulo, Bussine, Mocker, and Mlles Lefebvre and Lemercier. Both vocal and piano scores were arranged by Vauthrot. La Tonelli Opéra-comique en deux actes. Librettist: Thomas Sauvage. OpéraComique (Salle Favart 2), 30 March 1853. The action takes place in Naples. La Tonelli, the prima donna of the Teatro San Carlo, is loved a by ridiculous magistrate. She, however, prefers the Primo buffo of the opera house, and plots for the magistrate to marry a young village girl called Bettina, who bears an uncanny resemblance to the singer, and whom Tonelli's grotesque suitor takes to be her. Thomas’s score shines with those qualities of science and taste which he reveals in all his works. Musicians find more pleasure in it than the public. The overture, the chorus of pifferari, Tonelli’s aria, the tarentella for Bettina (Tonelli in disguise); the duet for Carlo Puppo and Bettina; the aria for the primo buffo—all are pieces of piquant interest. The work was created by Faure and Mme Ugalde. La Cour de Célimène Opéra-comique en deux actes. Librettist: Joseph Rosier. performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 11 April 1855.

First

The librettist has provided the coquette Célimène with no fewer than 14 admirers. A commander and a young officer dispute her hand. The latter is disgusted by the caprices of Comtesse Célimène, and ends up marrying her sister, the Baronne. Although several dramatic incidents conceal the fundamental simplicity of the story, the basic idea of the piece is hardly musical. A psychological study hardly befits a lyric work. The score is full of interesting ideas. The overture has a delightful sonority and is shaped by an ingenious design. The chorus of pretenders, at the beginning and end of act 1, is handled with wit and skill. The arias, filled with all sorts of fioriture, were written expressly for the interpreters, and did justice to their talents: Mmes Miolan-Carvalho and Colson, Bataille and Jourdan (who

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played the Chevalier). Psyché Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Jules Barbier and Michael Carré. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 5 January 1857. The ancient fable is too well-known to warrant being re-told. All the principal characters and incidents are retained in the libretto. Thomas had wanted to apply his talents to such a subject. The grace, the mystery, the symbolism of this story seduced him. Unfortunately the public was not so familiar with such elevated spirit; Thomas’s work is most delicate: the vaporous introduction, the invocation to Venus, the melody sung by Eros, Psyche’s romance, and the act 1 finale. Act 2 begins with a delightful chorus of young girls. It is followed by a graceful duet for Psyche and Eros. The most striking pieces of act 3 are Psyche’s aria “Non, c’est ne pas Eros!”, and Eros’s imprecation. Female voices dominate this work, which has no leading role for the tenor. Mme Ugalde created the role of Eros with talent, Mlle Lefebvre that of Psyche. Bataille took on the role of Mercury. Sainte-Foy, Prilleux, Mlles Révilly and Boulart played the others. Le Carnaval de Venise Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettist: Thomas Sauvage. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 9 December 1857. This canvas is very complicated. Lelio, a violinist, in marrying an actress, has incurred the disgrace of his whole family, particularly of his father Signor Palifornio. The latter has composed a violin concerto which is due to be performed in a concert, but all is in jeopardy. Sylvia, the singeractress, comes in Lelio's place, and under the title Ariette sans paroles, sings the concerto as a vocalise. Her talent and success cause him to forgive her for becoming the wife of Lelio. The opera was conceived for Mme Cabel, to show off her fearless and brilliant vocal skills. Thomas, for his part prepared the way for her success by writing the charming variations on “Le Carnaval de Venise” and the most melodic lines in the Ariette sans paroles. The roles were created by Stockhausen, DelaunayRicquier, Prilleux, Beckers, Mmes Cabel, Félix, and Mlle Révilly.

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Le Roman d’Elvire Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Alexandre Dumas and Adolphe de Leuven. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 4 February 1860. The basic idea of the plot is very strange. Gennaro, a young fool, plays the libertine and refuses to marry his fiancée. She swears to be avenged. Disguised as a frightful old woman, and thanks to a Gypsy who abuses the credulity of Gennaro, she is married to him at a moment when he is ruined and pursued by creditors. After many incidents and tests by white magic, Gennaro realizes that he is in fact married to a charming, young and beautiful woman, and is cured of his waywardness. This strange work, half féerique-half realistic, suited Thomas’s particular talent well—most ingenious, complex in its effects, all vested in nuance and detail. The music is also very interesting. Of particular interest are the Sorcery Duet for Marquise and the Gypsy; the couplets for Gennaro “J’aime l’or”; those of the Podestà “C’est un Grec”; the grand air for the tenor, the act 2 finale; and the romance for Gennaro in act 3 “Ah! c’est serait un crime”. The roles were created by Montaubry, Crosti, Prilleux, Mlles Monrose and Lemercier. Mignon Opéra-comique en trois actes et cinq tableaux. Librettists: Jules Barbier and Michel Carré. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 17 November 1866. It seemed that Thomas strayed for too long away from the road most open to his type of talent, most suited to a nature so refined and distinguished. Perhaps dazzled by the reception given to Le Caïd, he made too many concessions to the genre of opéra comique. His particular genius, endowed with an exquisite sensibility, easily became withdrawn and focused on the inner realm of feeling, accommodating itself badly to the demands of convention, the forms used to meet the requirements of the stage. All this did not suit him well at all. To please the public of the Opéra-Comique, he could not be proud and disdainful, nor draw back from the procedures which were familiar to him. It never occurred to him to impose his own ideas other than by suggestion. It was in Mignon that Thomas was able to give complete free rein to his abilities. It is a work dominated by grace, tastefulness and sentiment. In this poetic, picturesque and artistic element

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the composer found his proper self. His melodic phrases well express the surface of his characters, of Mignon, of Philine, of Wilhelm Meister, of Lothario, while his harmony beautifully depicts their intimate character and the depth of their sentiments. The librettists treated the difficult subject of Mignon well, inspired as they were by the paintings of Ary Schaeffer, whose insights were never more penetrating than in his Goethe cycle for the Années de voyage de Wilhelm Meister. The history of Mignon is captured by a pathetic scene in act 3. The scene is remarkable from a literary point of view, and handled by the composer with sustained inspiration. Mignon recalls for Wilhelm the only memories she has of her childhood, finding focus in her famous romance "Connais-tu le pays où fleurit l’oranger”. The dreamy and melancholic character of the music and the poetry, both in recitatives and couplets, bestows a great charm on the opera. The diverting parts of the libretto also have merit and sustain the atmosphere without damaging the serious character of the unity of action. An example of this is when the comedian Laertes tells of the unfortunate experience of his companions whom the audience saw leave at the end of act 1 with their baggage. Surprised by a storm on route to the château where they are to play in a comedy, they lose their way and become lost in a marsh. The score abounds in well-characterized motifs. In act 2 there is a charming styrienne; Wilhelm’s romance “Adieu, Mignon, courage!”; and the pathetic duet “As-tu souffert? As-tu pleure?” Act 3 contains the berceuse "De son coeur j’ai calmé la fièvre”; and a touching romance for Wilhelm “Elle ne croyait pas dans sa candeur naïve”, with the refrain “Ô printemps”, broad and inspired. There is also an elegant Boating Chorus and the love duet for Mignon and Wilhelm where expressive melody and varied harmony lend each other mutual support. There are few works in the repertoire of the Opéra-Comique that can move the audience like Mignon. It was very successful in France and abroad. In several German cities the dialogue was replaced by recitatives by the composer himself. The character of Mignon was interpreted with talent by Mme Galli-Marié. The other roles were sung by Léon Achard, Bataille, Couderc, Bernard Voisy, Davoust, and Mme Marie Cabel. The mise en scène benefited from the experience and taste of M. Mocker. On 13 May 1894, in the presence of the author, the Opéra-Comique, in solemn spectacle, gave the 1000th presentation of Mignon, the first time such an extraordinary event had occurred. On this occasion, Ambroise Thomas was awarded the Grand-Croix de la Légion d’honneur—the highest distinction of this kind accorded to a French musician.

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Gille et Gillotin Opéra-comique en un acte, en vers. Librettist: Thomas Sauvage. First performance: Théâtre national de l’Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 22 April 1874. The success of Le Caïd, with music by Thomas, and of Gilles ravisseur, also with libretto by Sauvage, without doubt encouraged the two authors to provide the public with an opéra-bouffon, all the more especially as the genre was expanding all the time. The completed opera was received by the Opéra-Comique in 1859 under the title Gillotin et son père, but did not come to production at that time. In 1874, whether the situation of the composer fifteen years later was no longer in tune with the light subject of Gille et Gilleton, or whether his acquaintance with Goethe in Mignon and Shakespeare in Hamlet had caused him to follow the example of Gounod and yield to his personal inclination to work with these poets of genius, Thomas clashed with those who now wanted to produce this work, and it required a judgment from the tribunal of the Seine to overcome his objections. The story of the piece is thin and common. Gille is in the service of M. Roquentin whose niece is secretly married to a sergeant of the guard. One morning, having forgotten his sabre at his wife’s house, the latter throws it down to him from a window, wrapped in a garment belonging to Gillotin, the son of Gille. The garment is torn in the process, and Roquentin, drawn by the noise, supposes that the owner of the valuable smock is seducing his niece. But poor Gillotin is not aspiring so high. He loves Mlle Jacquette, the chambermaid, and begs Rosaure to help him in obtaining his father’s consent. In his ardour, he kisses her hands. Surprised in this audacious attitude, he is denounced by the jealous Jacquette, not only as a seducer, but for having eaten the food requested by M. Roquentin in honour of the sergeant, his guest. The affair becomes more and more complicated, and the sergeant arrives to declare his marriage with Roquentin’s niece. Gille, who has had a letter for fifteen years which he has not been able to give to Roquentin until the day when he is in a good mood, now decides to do it. M. Roquentin learns from the letter that Brisacier, the sergeant at arms, is his son. All he can do is congratulate him on his clandestine marriage with his niece. The score of this opera teems with lovely details, and it is regrettable that the composer has taken such useless pains to set situations that are of little interest, childish, and devoid of wit, scenes that are grubby and boring. Gille’s long description of a godiveau, is, for example, extended

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into his couplets in A major, and into a duet in E-flat. One finds it difficult to understand how a composer who is resigned to treat with scrupulous conscience and minute care all the details of harmony and orchestration could deal with a verse like: Non! Ce n’est pas l’alouette Qui t’invite à la retraite. C’est la voix de rossignol. Qui, la nuit, chant en bémol Comme un galant Espagnol. The poor taste of this parody of the Balcony Scene in Romeo and Juliette adds to the vulgarity and ineptitude of the words. The work opens with a small instrumental introduction based on a delicately orchestrated motif. The most notable pieces are the duet for Jacquette and Gillotin “Jaquette, entends-moi!”; the quartet, and the couplets for Gillotin “Oh! oh! oh! Quel gâteau”; and the military couplets for Bricasier “Ne me déchire pas; ô ma Toinon fidèle”. As for the sextet, this is a pastiche of the fine dramatic finales, so powerfully pathetic, that everyone admires in the operas of Donizetti. The intention of the authors is evident here: they sought to achieve a big comic effect by having everyone in the little world of Gilles and Jacquette sing the grandiloquent phrases reserved for the heroic subjects of grand opera. The large forms of these masterpieces of inspiration and passion, like the sextet in Lucia di Lammermoor, or the finale in Ernani, are skillfully parodied, no doubt. But since the period when Thomas, in collaboration with the same Sauvage, had inaugurated this genre of musical parody in Le Caïd in 1849, the path had been so frequently trodden that Gille et Gillotin in 1874 seemed like an ineffectual throwback. This idea of turning into ridicule the procedures used by the great composers in writing their masterpieces is like nature drying up the flower of admiration in the souls of young artists. Instead, this flower should be opening up freely, producing a faith that, without being blind, should allow itself to carried on the wings of genius. Skill, elegance, the refinement of detail are sovereign qualities. It would be better to develop these superior faculties through love of art and respect for its masters (CL 1:507). The opera was created by Thierry (Roqentin), Mlle Reine (Rosaure), Neveu (Brisacier), Ismaël (Gille), Mlle Ducasse (Gillotin), Mlle Nadaud (Jacquette). ____________________________________________________________

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Alphonse THYS (1807-1879) Oreste et Pylade Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Augustin-Eugène Scribe and Henri Dupin. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 28 February 1844. The story is taken from Scribe’s vaudeville Les Inséparables. The characters of this scenario are not from the heroic age. It concerns a hussar who obtains a warrant on a debtor who haunts him. The idea had been used by Scribe in his vaudeville and in another play L’Ami intime. This little opera was not successful. There were 7 performances. L’Amazone Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Thomas Sauvage. performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 25 November 1845.

First

Performed into 1846. La Sournoise Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Thomas Sauvage and Gabriel de Lurieu. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 13 September 1848. This concerns a young girl without a dowry who wants to secure a husband at any cost. Her ruses and deceptions result in her marrying a footman. The subject is hardly musical, but the music is rather gay. Of note are a quintet in which the composer has intercalated a lovely duet for two female voices, and a jolly waltz that was sung by Mlle Lemercier. The other roles were filled by Nathan, Sainte-Foy and his wife. There were 19 performances. ____________________________________________________________

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Pauline THYS Alda Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Alfred Bayard and Paul Duport. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Bourse), 8 July 1835. The story concerns a military and gallant episode in the wars of the Empire. There were 13 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Émile TRÉPARD Céleste Drame lyrique en quatre actes et cinq tableaux. Words and music: Émile Trépard. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 1 December 1913. The story is derived from Gustave Guiches’s novel Céleste Prudhomat. There were 7 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Armand-Emmanuel TRIAL (1771-1803) Julien et Colette, ou La Milice Comédie mise en musique en un acte. Librettist: Pierre-Germain Parisau. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 3 March 1788. Trial was only 15 when he wrote this work. There were 9 performances. Both libretto and score are unlocated. Adélaïde et Mirval, ou La Vengeance paternelle Comédie en trois actes. Librettist: Joseph Patrat. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 6 June 1791. The work was performed 9 times. Both libretto and score are unlocated. It

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was restructured as a one-act work La Vengeance paternelle (18 February 1792). This had 6 performances. Les Deux Petits Aveugles Comédie en un acte, en prose, mélêe d’ariettes. Librettist: Noël. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 28 July 1792. This was performed into the following year, 1793. Both libretto and score are unlocated. Cécile et Julien, ou Le Siège de Lille Comédie mêlée de chants en trois actes. Librettist: Joigny. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 21 November 1792. The siege of Lille by the Austrian army lasted 26 September to 7 October 1792. The opera owed its success to circumstance, since Lille emerged victoriously from the siege, and the opera, reflecting the public mood, was played without interruption over nine consecutive days from 21 to 29 November, something quite unprecedented in the lyric theatre to that point. The work was kept in the repertory for three years, until 1795. It is not to be confused with a work with the same name by Rodolphe Kreutzer, presented at the Feydeau on 14 November 1792. Le Congrès des rois See under CHERUBINI La Cause et les effets, ou Le Réveil du peuple en 1789 Comédie en cinq actes. Librettist: Joigny. First performance: OpéraComique (Salle Favart 1), 17 August 1793. This was reduced to 4 acts on 27 August. There were 7 performances. Both libretto and score are unlocated. ____________________________________________________________

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Jean-Claude TRIAL (1732-1771) Le Tonnelier See under GOSSEC Renaud d’Ast Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en trois actes. Librettist: Pierre-René Lemonnier. First performance: Fontainebleau, Théâtre de la Cour, 12 October 1765. This was a collaboration between Jean-Claude Trial and Pierre Vachon. It was not performed in Paris. Ésope à Cythère Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en un acte. Librettist: Louis Dancourt. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 15 December 1766. This was a collaboration between Jean-Claude Trial and Pierre Vachon. Dancourt had intended this work for the Comédie-Française, but l’enthousiasme lyrique that he found in Paris on his return from Germany determined him to adapt his play for musical setting (Avertissement on the libretto). There were 9 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Pierre VACHON (1731-1802) Renaud d’Ast See under TRIAL (1765) Ésope à Cythère See under TRIAL (1765)

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Les Femmes et le secret See under GOSSEC (1767) Sara Comédie mêlée d’ariettes en deux actes. Librettist: Jean-Baptiste Collet de Messine. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 8 May 1773. The story is based on the novel Sara Th... by Jean-François de SaintLambert. There were 6 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Avelino VALENTINI (1681-1753) Embrassons-nous, Folleville! Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Auguste Lefranc and Eugène Labiche. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 6 June 1879. This was a refashioning of the comédie-vaudeville by Lefranc and Labiche. This version was produced in 1850 and did not lend itself to development for the lyric stage. Of note from the score were a pretty minuet, and a duet in which the old minuet of Exaudet was freshly represented. Sung by Barré, Barnolt, Maris, and Mlle Clerc, it was performed over three years, until 1882. ____________________________________________________________

Constance VALGRAND (pseud. of Marie Félicie Clémence de Reiset, Vicomtesse de Grandval) (1830-1907) La Pénitente Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Henri Meilhac and William Busnach. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 13 May 1868. This was an adaptation of a vaudeville by Désaugiers. The libretto is of

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questionable taste and morality. It concerns the marriage of the noble Torribio with the daughter of a food merchant, the indigestion of the husband, and a young abbé who takes advantage to declare his feelings for the young woman. This type of work is better suited to the BouffesParisiens of the Théâtre du Palais-Royale than the Opéra-Comique. The music by the Comtesse de Grandval offered nothing striking, other than a few pretty phrases scattered here and there in a comic trio. It was created by Potel, Leroy and Mlle Cico. There were 13 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Pierre VAN MALDERE (1729-1768) La Bagarre Opéra bouffon/Opéra-comique mêlée d’ariettes en un acte. Librettists: Jean-François Guichard and Antoine-Alexandre-Henri Poinsinet. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 10 February 1763. The story is derived from Les Accidents, a poem by Antoine Le Metel d’Ouville. There was only one performance. ____________________________________________________________

Luce VARLET. See Ildephonse LUCE-VARLET ____________________________________________________________

Pierre-Joseph-Alphonse VARNEY (1811-1879) L’Opéra au camp Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Paul Foucher. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 18 August 1854. The story revolves around the characters of the Maréchal de Saxe and Madame Favart, a troupe of comedians, and a troop of soldiers. The music is notable for military song, a melody on La Charité, and a good duet sung by the major and Mme Favart. The cast were: Lemaire, Duvernoy, Ricquier-Delaunay, Mlles Andrea Favel and Bélia. There were 13 performances.

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Auguste-Emmanuel VAUCORBEIL (1821-1884) Bataille d’amour Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Victorien Sardou and Karl Daclin. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 13 April 1863. The story is based on the comédie by Antoine Dumaniant Guerre ouverte, ou Ruse contre ruse, inspired by Beaumarchais and a Spanish play by Moreto y Cabaña. Used to triumphs, Sardou experienced a rather extraordinary failure at the hands of the public of the Opéra-Comique. It was a particularly resounding failure, because the music was very successful: indeed, it was judged by all connoisseurs as a most distinguished work, and brought great honour to the composer. This, unfortunately, could not save Sardou’s libretto. The dialogue is stimulating, the basic situation amusing. However, several flippant issues irritated the public, and a scene of particularly bad taste spoiled everything. The action takes place in 1630, on the terrace of SaintGermain and in a pavillion belonging to Baron de Hocquincourt. His niece and ward, the charming Diane de Hocquincourt, is requested in marriage by the young Comte Tancrède. The young people love each other, but the baron has promised Diane’s hand to the Chevalier Ajax de Hautefeuille, a ridiculous character. Tancrède is refused. But he persists, with Hocquincourt’s agreement. Presuming that he has the young girl’s heart, the count speaks as if he will triumph over all obstacles—to the point of escorting the baron’s niece from his apartments before midnight. The work had only four performances. In writing the music, Vaucorbeil applied a theory all his own, and which the direction of his studies had allowed him to develop successfully. By setting to music a libretto of the nature of the comedies of the 18th century, he thought to adopt the musical forms of this period. The score has strong stylistic qualities, and also charming motifs and distinguished orchestration. The overture, in sonata form, introduces an elegant phrase in F-sharp major repeated in E minor. The action commences with a lovely trio accompanied by un sol passo. In the quartet which follows, patterns can be distinguished in the orchestra ingeniously imitating the twittering of birds. The baron’s rondo is a little too modulated, but the theme is well founded. The duet between the baron and Tancrède was succesful: there is a phrase

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in the style of Handel, an effect both original and comical. In Tancrède’s invocation to the night, there are are phrases of a modern sentiment, full of warmth and passion. The archaisms return in the pavane that serves as the entr’acte. The duettino has the Gallic turn of the drinking songs of Philidor and Monsigny. The beginning of act 2 has a lovely stage sense, Tancrède’s aria in act 3 a fine andante motif in D minor, the quartet a broad and melodious lyricism, and finally there is a sérénade d’action which leads to the denouement. The work was interpreted by Montaubry, Crosti, SainteFoy, Nathan, Mlles Baretti, Bélia and Révilly. ____________________________________________________________

VAUDEVILLES Acajou Opéra-comique en deux actes. Librettist: Charles-Simon Favart. First performance: 1st version (3 acts): Foire Saint-Germain, 28 September 1744; 2nd version (2 acts): Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel Bourgogne), 19 July 1773. The story is derived from a tale by Charles Duclos, Acajou et Zirphile. The music used vaudevilles, with accompaniments arranged by Jean-Baptiste Moulinghen. It was performed until 1788. Achmet et Almanzine Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Alain-René Lesage, Louis Fuzelier and Jacques-Philippe d'Orneval, revised by Louis Anseaume. First performed: 1st version: Paris, Foire Saint-Laurent, 30 June 1728; 2nd version (revision by Lesage) Fontainebleau, Théâtre de la Cour, 25 October 1776. The composers parodied were Hinner and Grandval, with later contributions by Jean-Claude Gilliers (jeune). Les Adieux de Thalie Compliment de clôture en trois actes. Librettists: Pierre-Antoine-Augustin de Piis and Louis-Pierre-Pantélon Resnier. First performance: ComédieItalienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 4 April 1778.

696

Opéra-Comique

The music was anonymous, and there was only one performance. Both book and score are unlocated. Agis Parodie d’Agis en un acte. Librettist: Jean-François-Thomas Goulard. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 2 August 1782. This was a parody of the tragédie Agis by Joseph-François Laignlot (Versailles, 1779). The music used vaudevilles. There were six performances. Les Ailes de l'amour Comédie en vaudevilles, mêlée d’airs nouveaux. Librettist: Louis Abel Beffroy de Reigny [pseud. Cousin Jacques]. First performance: ComédieItalienne (Salle Favart 1), 27 July 1784. The music used parodies of vaudevilles and various composers: Exaudet, Gossec, L. Grétry, Martini and Paisiello. There were 10 performances. L’Amant statue Opéra-comique en vaudevilles en un acte. Librettist: François-Georges Fouques (dit Desfontaines). First performance, 1st version: Brunoy, 23 November 1780; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 20 February 1781. There were 8 performances. L’Amour et la folie Opéra-comique en vaudevilles en trois actes. Librettist: François-Georges Fouques (dit Desfontaines). First performance: 1st version: Brunoy, 6 December 1781; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 8 March 1782. The story is based on a fable by La Fontaine. It was performed until 1783.

Composers and Their Works at the Opéra-Comique (1762-1915)

697

Les Amours de Chérubin Comédie mêlée de musique et de vaudevilles en trois actes. Librettist: François-Georges Fouques (dit Desfontaines). First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 4 November 1784. The music by Luigi Piccinni parodied various composers and vaudevilles. There was only one performance. Les Amours d'été Divertissement et vaudeville en un acte. Librettists: Pierre-Yvon Barré and Pierre-Antoine-Augustin de Piis. First performance: 1st version: La Muette, théâtre de M. Auvillier, 20 September 1781; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 25 September 1781. The story was derived from Giraud’s play La Statue de Cupidon. The music was arranged from various composers and vaudevilles. It was in the repertory until 1790. Aristote amoureux, ou Le Philosophe bridé Opéra-comique en vaudevilles en un acte. Librettists: Pierre-Yvon Barré and Pierre-Antoine-Augustin de Piis. First performance: ComédieItalienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 11 August 1780. The story was based on Le Lay d’Aristote, a 12th-century fabliau by Henri d’Andely. It was performed until 1789. Arlequin marchand de proverbs Compliment de clôture. Librettist: Louis Anseaume. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 16 March 1771. The music used vaudevilles. Le Baquet de santé Divertissement mêlé de couplets. Librettists: Pierre-Yvon Barré and JeanBaptiste Radet. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 16 November 1784.

698

Opéra-Comique

A divertissement preceding Les Docteurs modernes. There was only one performance. Le Bateliers de Saint-Cloud Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Charles-Simon Favart. First performance: 1st version: Paris, Foire Saint-Laurent, 10 September 1743; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 14 February 1768. This was a remake of Favart’s La Fête Saint-Cloud (Saint-Laurent, August/September 1741). There was only one performance. Le Berceau Divertissement en un acte. Librettist: René-Charles-Guilbert de Pixérécourt. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 23 March 1811. This was arranged for the occasion of the birth of Napoleon’s son, the King of Rome. The music was made up of vaudevilles parodying music by Cherubini, Dalayrac, Della Maria, Gaveaux, Kreutzer, Lemoyne, Monsigny and Solié. There were four performances. La Bonne Femme, ou Le Phénix Parodie d’Alceste, mêlé de vaudevilles et de danses en deux actes. Librettists: Pierre-Yvon Barré and Pierre-Antoine-Augustin de Piis, JeanBaptiste-Denis Després and Louis-Pierre-Pantélon Resnier. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 7 July 1776. Parody of Gluck’s tragédie lyrique Alceste ((Paris, Théâtre de l’Opéra, 1776), with music parodied from Exaudet, Gluck, Grétry, Laborde, Monsigny, Rousseau. Performed until 1780. Le Bouquet du vaudeville, ou Dialogue d’un charbonnier et d’une poissarde sur le naissance de monseigneur le Dauphin Librettist: Pierre-Antoine-Augustin de Piis. First performance: ComédieItalienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 26 October 1781. This was part of the festivities for the birth of Louis Joseph, the son of Louis XVI on 22 October 1781. The music was made up of vaudevilles.

Composers and Their Works at the Opéra-Comique (1762-1915)

699

Cassandre astrologue, ou Le Préjugé de la sympathie Comédie-parade en vaudevilles en un acte. First performance: 1st version: Brunoy, 23 November 1780; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 5 December 1780. The music used vaudevilles, with parodies of Grétry. Performed until 1786. Cassandre mécanicien, ou Le Bateau volant Comédie-parade en vaudevilles en un acte. Librettist: Jean-FrançoisThomas Goulard. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 1 August 1783. There were six performances. Cassandre oculiste, ou L’Oculiste dupe par son art Comédie-parade en vaudevilles en un acte. Librettists: Pierre-Yvon Barré and Pierre-Antoine-Augustin de Piis. First performance: ComédieItalienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 3 May 1780. The libretto is derived from a tale by Stanislas-Jean de Boufflers, L’Oculiste dupe par son art. The music uses vaudevilles. Performed until 1789. La Chercheuse d'esprit Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Charles-Simon Favart. First performance: 1st version: Paris, Foire Saint-Germain, 20 February 1741; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 12 September 1763. The libretto is derived from Comment l’esprit vient aux filles, a tale by La Fontaine. It was performed until 1781. There was a revival on 22 February 1900 (Salle Favart 3) in the reconstruction and orchestration of JeanBaptiste Weckerlin.

700

Opéra-Comique

Claude et Claudine Comédie en vaudevilles en un acte. Librettist: Mension (secrétaire de Beaumarchais). First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1). 28 June 1785. The music used vaudevilles. There was only one performance. Les Clefs du jardin, ou Les Pots de fleurs Divertissement en vaudevilles en un acte. Librettist: Louis Abel Beffroy de Reigny [pseud. Cousin Jacques]. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 24 March 1787. There was one performance. Le Conciliateur à la mode, ou Les Étrennes du public Divertissement en vaudevilles en un acte. Librettist: Joseph Patrat. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 5 January 1784. The music used parodies and vaudevilles. There was one performance. La Confession du vaudeville Prologue en vaudevilles. Librettists: P. Charles Gaugiran-Nanteuil, P. Moras and Charles-Guillaume Étienne. First performed: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 26 March 1801. The work satirizes the extravagances of the Théâtre de la rue de Chartres (Théâtre de Vaudeville). The music parodied Bruni, Della Maria and Monsigny. There were several performances. Constance Parodie de Pénélope en vaudevilles en un acte. Librettists: Pierre-Yvon Barré, Pierre-Antoine-Augustin de Piis, Jean-René Le Couppey de la Rozière and Jean-Baptiste Radet. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 6 January 1786 This was a parody of Niccolò Piccinni’s tragédie lyrique Pénélope

Composers and Their Works at the Opéra-Comique (1762-1915)

701

(Fontainebleau, 1785). There were two performances. Le Coq de village Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Charles-Simon Favart. First performance: 1st version: Paris, Foire Saint-Germain, 31 March 1743; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 18 August 1762. The music parodied Mouret’s Les Amours de Ragonde. It was performed until 1780. La Couronne de Fleurs Compliment en vaudevilles de rentrée. Librettist: Louis Abel Beffroy de Reigny [pseud. Cousin Jacques] or Abbé François Lambert Bonnefoy de Bonyon. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 20 April 1789. There was only one performance. Dame Jeanne Parodie en vaudevilles in un acte. Librettist: Jean-Baptiste Radet. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 8 June 1783. This was a parody of the tragédie by Jean-François de La Harpe, Jeanne Ire, reine de Naples (Paris, Théâtre-Français, 1781). The music used vaudevilles. There were seven performances. Le Déménagement d'Arlequin, marchand de tableaux Compliment de clôture en vaudevilles. Librettist: Charles-Nicolas-Justin Favart. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 5 April 1783. Written for the definitive closure of the Hôtel de Bourgogne. Désirée, ou la Paix du village Allégorie en vaudevilles en un acte. Librettists: P. Charles GaugiranNanteuil, P. Moras and Charles-Guillaume Étienne. First performance:

702

Opéra-Comique

Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 26 March 1801. Presented to mark the occasion of the signing of the Peace of Lunéville and dedicated to General Bonaparte. The composers parodied were Dalayrac, Foignet, Jadon, Monsigny. There was only one performance. Les Deux Morts, ou La Ruse de Carnaval Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Joseph Patrat. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 27 February 1781. The composers parodied were Grétry, Monsigny and Philidor. There were two performances, and a reprise with new music, as Isabelle et Rosalvo (1787). Les Deux Porteurs de chaise Comédie-parade en vaudevilles en un acte. Librettists: Pierre-Yvon Barré and Pierre-Antoine-Augustin de Piis. First performance: Versailles, Trianon, 26 July 1781. Not given in Paris. The music was made up of parodies of Duni, Grétry, Monsigny and Rousseau. Les Deux Voisins Comédie en deux actes. Librettist: Guillemain-Charles J. La Roche. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 25 January 1791. There was one performance. Both libretto and score are unlocated. Le District de village Ambigu mêlé de vaudevilles en un acte. Librettist: François-Georges Fouques (dit Desfontaines). First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 15 March 1790. The music was made up of parodied airs of Monsigny, vaudevilles and a new aria. There were 15 performances.

Composers and Their Works at the Opéra-Comique (1762-1915)

703

Le Docteur Sangrado Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Louis Anseaume and Jean-Baptiste Lourdet de Santerre. Composers: Duni, Laruette and vaudevilles. First performance: 1st version: Paris, Foire Saint-Germain, 13 February 1756; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 5 May 1762. The libretto was derived from Alain-René Lesage’s La Foire des fées (Théâtre de la Foire) and Gil Blas de Santillane, and La Fontaine’s tale Comment l’esprit vient aux filles. The work was entirely sung—in vaudevilles and arias. It was performed until 1765. Les Docteurs modernes Comédie-parade en vaudevilles en un acte. Librettists: Pierre-Yvon Barré and Jean-Baptiste Radet. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 16 November 1784. This satire of mesmerism was created to follow Le Baquet de santé. It was performed until 1790. Les Ensorcelés, ou Jeannot et Jeannette Parodie des Surprises de l’Amour en un acte. Librettists: Charles-Simon Favart, Mme Marie Favart, Jean-Nicolas Guérin de Frémicourt, Harny de Guerville. First performance: 1st version: Paris, Théâtre-Italien, 1 September 1757; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 21 February 1763. This was a a parody of Rameau’s opera-ballet Les Surprises de l’Amour (Paris Opéra, 1757). The music was made up of parodies of various composers (Handel and Marmontel) and vaudevilles. It was performed until 1786. L’Esquisse du grand tableau Allégorie mêlée de vaudevilles en un acte. Librettist: Anonymous. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 10 March 1801. There was only one performance.

704

Opéra-Comique

Les Étrennes de Mercure, ou Le Bonnet magique Opéra-comique en vaudevilles trois actes. Librettists: Pierre-Yvon Barré and Pierre-Antoine-Augustin de Piis. First performance: ComédieItalienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 1 January 1781. The music was parodied from Dezède, Grétry, Philidor. Performed until 1788. La Fête civique du village Divertissement. Librettist: Mitelet. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 9 October 1793. One vaudeville has been identified—on a rondo from Cloinette aux bois. It was performed into the following year. La Fête du château Divertissement mêlé de vaudevilles et de petits airs en un acte. Librettists: Charles-Simon Favart and Jean-Baptiste Lourdet de Santerre. First performance: 1st version: the home of the Marquise de Mauconseil; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 25 September 1766. The composers parodied were Duni, Monsigny, Rameau. It was performed into 1789. La Fin du bail ou le Repas des fermiers Divertissement en vaudevilles en un acte. Librettist: Louis Abel Beffroy de Reigny [pseud. Cousin Jacques]. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 8 March 1788. Given for the closure. The composers parodied were Champein, Dalayrac, Dezède, Exaudet, Martini, Salieri. There was only one performance. Les Fleurs du château Bouquet à l’occasion de la St-Louis en acte. Librettists: Pierre-FrédéricAdolphe Carmouche, Marie-Emmanuel-Guillaume Théaulon de Lambert and Émile-Louis Van der Burch. First performance: Opéra-Comique

Composers and Their Works at the Opéra-Comique (1762-1915)

705

(Feydeau), 24 August 1823. The music uses vaudevilles. There were four performances. Gabrielle de Passy Parodie de Gabrielle de Vergi en vaudevilles en deux actes. Librettists: Barthélémy Imbert and Louis d'Ussieux. First performance: ComédieItalienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 30 August 1777. This is a parody of the tragédie Gabrielle de Vergy by Pierre-Laurent Buirette de Belloy (Paris, Théâtre-Français, 1777). It was performed into the following year. Le Gâteau à deux fèves Divertissement en vaudevilles en un acte. Librettists: Pierre-Yvon Barré and Pierre-Antoine-Augustin de Piis. First performance: ComédieItalienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 18 January 1766. Both book and score are unlocated. There was only one performance. Les Gémeaux Parodie de Castor et Pollux en ariettes et vaudevilles, avec spectacle et divertissement. Librettist: Pierre-Thomas Gondot. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 10 May 1777. Parody of Rameau’s tragédie en musique Castor et Pollux (Paris Opéra, 1737). There were two performances. Georget et Georgette Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Harny de Guerville. Music: Alexandre and vaudevilles. First performance: 1st version: Paris, Foire Saint-Laurent, 28 July 1761; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 21 February 1763. The libretto is based on a tale by La Fontaine, Les Oies de Frère Philippe, and scenes 5 and 6 of Shakespeare’s play The Tempest. The music was supplemented with unattributed parodies of ariettes.

706

Opéra-Comique

L’Incendie du Havre Fait historique en vaudeville en un acte. Librettist: François-Georges Fouques (dit Desfontaines). First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 21 February 1786. The story was inspired by the recent fire at Le Havre during the night of 6 January 1786, a precursor of the Revolution. The music was a parody of Monsigny. There were 10 performances. L’Intérieur d'un ménage republicain Opéra-comique en vaudevilles en un acte. Librettist: Armand-MarcJacques de Chastenet de Puységur. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 4 January 1794. The music consisted of parodies of Baudron, Dalayrac, Devienne, and Gaveaux. It was performed until 1795. Isabelle hussard Parade en vaudevilles en un acte. Librettist: François-Georges Fouques (dit Desfontaines). First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 31 July 1781. The composers parodied were Grétry and Monsigny. There were four performances. Les Jardiniers de Montreuil, ou Le Trébuchet Comédie en vaudevilles en un acte. Librettist: Armand-Marc-Jacques de Chastenet de Puységur. First performance: 1st version: the home of Mme de Montesson; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 11 June 1782. There were two performances. Jérôme et Fanchonette Pastorale de la Grenouillière en un acte. Librettist: Jean-Joseph Vadé. First performance: 1st version: Paris, Foire Saint-Germain, 18 February

Composers and Their Works at the Opéra-Comique (1762-1915)

707

1755; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 17 May 1781. The story is derived from a Languedoc pastoral by Mondonville, Daphnis et Alimadure (Fontainebleau, 1754). There was one performance. Les Jeunes Mariés Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Charles-Simon Favart and André Parmentier. First performance: 1st version: Paris, Foire Saint-Laurent, 1 July 1740; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 25 May 1778. The composer parodied was Rochard de Bouillac. There was only one performance. Lanlaire, ou Le Chaos Parodie de Tarare en vaudevilles et divertissement en un acte. Librettists: Louis de Boissy and Abbé François-Lambert Bonnefoy de Bonyon. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 27 July 1787. This was a parody of Salieri’s opera Tarare (Paris Opéra, 1787). There was only one performance. Léandre candide, ou Les Reconnaissances en Turquie Comédie-parade en vaudevilles en un acte. Librettists: Jean-Baptiste Radet, Pierre-Antoine-Augustin de Piis, Jean-René Le Couppey de la Rozière. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 27 July 1784. The libretto is based on Voltaire’s tale Candide. It was performed until 1791. Le Magasin des modernes Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Nicolas Fromaget and CharlesFrançois Panard. First performance:1st version: Paris, Foire Saint-Germain, 3 February 1736; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 2 March 1763.

708

Opéra-Comique

There were three performances. Le Mai Comédie mêlée d’ariettes et de vaudevilles, et terminés par un ballet en trois actes. Librettist: François-Georges Fouques (dit Desfontaines). First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 8 May 1776. The music was parodied from various composers and vaudevilles. It was performed until 1777. Le Marchand d'esclaves Parodie de La Caravane en vaudevilles en deux actes. Librettist: JeanRené Le Couppey de La Rozière. First performance Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 27 January 1784 This was a parody of Grétry’s opera-ballet La Caravane du Caire (Paris, Théâtre de l’Opéra, 15 January 1784). It was performed into the following year. Le Mariage singulier Comédie mêlée de vaudevilles en un acte. Librettist: Charles-NicolasJustin Favart. First performance Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 2 January 1787. There were three performances. Les Mariniers de Saint-Cloud Im-promptu. Librettist: Charles-Augustin de Bassompierre (dit Sewrin). First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 13 November 1799. The work was written in the wake of the coup d’état of 18 Brumaire [9 November], and suspended after two performances. The composer parodied was Dalayrac.

Composers and Their Works at the Opéra-Comique (1762-1915)

709

La Matinée et la veillée villageoises Divertissement en vaudevilles en deux actes. Librettists: Pierre-Yvon Barré and Pierre-Antoine-Augustin de Piis. First performance: ComédieItalienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 27 March 1781. This vaudeville was performed until 1790. La Matinée, la soirée, et la nuit des Boulevards Ambigu de scènes épisodiques mêlée de chants et de danses, divisé en quatre parties. Librettist: Charles-Simon Favart. First performance: Fontainebleau, Théâtre de la Cour, 11 October 1776. The music was made up of anonymous vaudevilles, airs, ensembles and dances. It was not performed in Paris. Le Médecin de l'amour Opéra-comique mis en musique en un acte. Librettists: Louis Anseaume and Pierre-Augustin Lefèvre de Marcouville. Music: Jean-Louis Laruette and vaudevilles. First performance: 1st version: Paris, Foire-Saint-Laurent, 22 September 1758; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 25 April 1762. Marcouville wrote scenes 7 and 14. There were two performances, with a reprise on 30 July 1783 (Salle Favart 1), when the music was revised by ‘an amateur’. Les Missionnaires républicains Tableau patriotique en prose et vaudevilles en un acte. Librettist: Sylvain Maréchal. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 4 April 1794. There was only one performance. Nicaise Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Jean-Joseph Vadé. First performance: 1st version: Paris, Foire Saint-Germain, 7 February 1756; 2nd

710

Opéra-Comique

version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 12 May 1780. The libretto was based on the tale by La Fontaine. The music was made up of various vaudevilles. There were 8 performances. Nicaise Opéra-comique mêlée d’ariettes en un acte. Librettist: Nicolas-Étienne Framery. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 15 July 1767. The story is based on the tale by La Fontaine. This was a re-making with ariettes of the opéra-comique by Jean-Joseph Vadé, given at the Foire Saint-Germain on 7 February 1756. The music was by Felice Bambini and Alessandro Mario Antonio Fridzeri. The original version with vaudevilles was revived in 1780. There were originally 6 performances. Les Nymphes de Diane Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Charles-Simon Favart and P. E. Staupleton (dit Eugène Hus). Music: Jean-Baptiste Moulinghen and vaudevilles. First performance: 1st version: Brussels 1747; 2nd version: Paris, Foire Saint-Laurent, 22 September 1755; 3rd version: ComédieItalienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 11 August 1774. The story is based on La Fontaine’s tale Les Lunettes. It was performed until 1782. L’Oiseau perdu et retrouvé Opéra-comique en vaudevilles en un acte. Librettists: Pierre-Yvon Barré and Pierre-Antoine-Augustin de Piis. First performance: ComédieItalienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 5 November 1782. It was performed until 1783. L’Opéra de province Parodie nouvelle d’Armide mêlée de vaudevilles en deux actes. Librettists: Pierre-Yvon Barré and Pierre-Antoine-Augustin de Piis, JeanBaptiste-Denis Després and Louis-Pierre-Pantélon Resnier. First

Composers and Their Works at the Opéra-Comique (1762-1915)

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performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 17 December 1777. A parody of Gluck’s tragédie lyrique Armide (Paris, Théâtre de l’Opéra, 1777), with music derived from Dezède, Gaviniès, Lagarde, Monsigny and Philidor. Le Panorama de Paris, ou C'est fête partout! Divertissement en vaudevilles en cinq tableaux. Librettists: FrançoisVictor d' Artois de Bournonville dit Armand and Marie-EmmanuelGuillaume Théaulon de Lambert. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 30 April 1821. Given on the occasion of the baptism of the Duc de Bordeaux. There were three performances. Le Premier Homme du monde, ou La Création du sommeil Folie-vaudeville en un acte. Librettists: Pierre-Ange Vieillard and Antoine Anée. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 30 December 1800. The music was made up of vaudevilles and parodies of arias. Le Printemps Divertissement pastoral en vaudevilles en un acte. Librettists: Pierre-Yvon Barré and Pierre-Antoine-Augustin de Piis. First performance: 1st version: Marly, 19 May 1781; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 22 May 1781. The music was parodied by Félix-Jean Prot from various composers (Albanese, Dezède, Monsigny). It was performed until 1783. Le Public vengé Comédie-vaudeville en un acte. Librettist: Auguste Lepoitevin de Légreville Saint-Alme. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 9 April 1782.

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Opéra-Comique

Also attributed to Prévôt, a representative at the Parlement. There were four performances. Pygmalion Ballet en un acte. Librettist: Michel Rieu Billion [Billioni]. First performance: 1st version: Paris, Théâtre-Itlaien; 2nd version: ComédieItalienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 24 May 1762. The scenario was derived from Ovid. The score is unlocated. Les Quatre Coins Opéra-comique en vaudevilles en un acte. Librettists: Pierre-Yvon Barré and Pierre-Antoine-Augustin de Piis. First performance: Fontainebleau, Théâtre de la Cour, 3 November 1783. Not given in Paris. The music used vaudevilles and a popular air, with dances by Laval. Les Racoleurs Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Jean-Joseph Vadé. First performance: 1st version: Paris, Foire Saint-Germain, 11 March 1756; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 1 August 1762. The music was drawn from vaudevilles. It was retained in the repertory until 1784. La Rage d'amour Parodie de Roland mêlée de vaudevilles et ariettes. Librettist: Dorvigny. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 19 March 1778. This is a parody of the tragédie lyrique Roland by Niccolò Piccinni (Paris, Théâtre de l’Opéra, 1778). The music was a parody of several composers and vaudevilles.

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Raton et Rosette, ou La Vengeance inutile Parodie de Titon et l’Aurore en un acte. Librettist: Charles-Simon Favart. First performance: 1st version: Paris, Théâtre-Italien, 24 March 1753; 2nd version: First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 13 December 1762. This is a parody of Mondonville’s pastorale héroïque Titon et l’Aurore (Paris, Théâtre de l’Opéra, 1753). The composers parodied were Auletta, E. Jacquet de La Guerre, Latilla, Lemaire, Mondonville, Pergolesi, Rousseau. It was performed until 1781. La Résolution inutile, ou Les Déguisements amoureux Comédie mêlée de vaudevilles en un acte. Librettist: Joseph Patrat. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 18 November 1783. It was retained in the repertory until 1792. Le Réveil de Thalie Comédie mêlée de vaudevilles en trois actes. Librettist: François-Georges Fouques (dit Desfontaines). First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 6 May 1783. The work was conceived for the inauguration of the new theatre. There were four performances. Richard Parodie de Richard III en vaudevilles en un acte. Librettist: PierreGermain Parisau. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 4 September 1781. This was a parody of the tragedy Richard III by Barnabé Farmian Durosoy (Paris, Théâtre-Français, 1781). It was performed until 1790. Roger-Bontems et Javotte Parodie d’Orphée et Euridice. Pièce mêlée d’ariettes en un acte. Librettists: Pierre-Louis Moline and Dorvigny. First performance:

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Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 13 May 1775. This is a parody of Gluck’s tragédie-opéra Orphée et Eurydice (Paris, Théâtre de l’Opéra, 1774). The music was made up of vaudevilles and parodies of Duni, Martini, Moncrieff, Mondonville, Philidor, Rinaldo di Capua, Rousseau. Sans adieu Pièce en vaudevilles. Librettist: Louis Abel Beffroy de Reigny [pseud. Cousin Jacques]. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 28 May 1789. Written for the closure of the house.. There was one performance. Sans dormir Parodie en deux actes. Librettist: Rousseau. First performance: ComédieItalienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 12 October 1777. This is a parody of Philidor’s Sandomir, prince de Dannemarck (Paris, Théâtre de l’Opéra, 1787, revived 1777). Rousseau was secretary to the Marquis de Villette. There were two performances. La Servante justifiée Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Barthélémy-Christophe Fagan and Charles-Simon Favart. First performance: 1st version: Paris, Foire SaintGermain, 19 March 1740; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 31 May 1762. The story is derived from a tale by La Fontaine. The music uses vaudevilles. It was performed until 1773, and revived in 1774 with new music. La Servante justifiée Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettists: Barthélémy-Christophe Fagan and Charles-Simon Favart. Music: Jean-Baptiste Moulinghen and vaudevilles. First performance: 1st version: Fontainebleau, Théâtre de la Cour, 9 October 1773; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 10

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January 1774. It was retained in the repertory until 1793. La Soirée d'été Divertissement en vaudevilles en un acte. Librettist: Pierre-Germain Parisau. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 5 February 1782. The composers parodied were Dezède, Exaudet, Monsigny, Philidor. There were changes at the second performance. There were six performances in total. La Soirée des boulevards Ambigu mêlé de scènes, de chants et de danses en un acte. Librettist: Simon-Charles Favart. First performance: 1st version: Paris, ThêâtreItalien, 13 November 1758; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 1 June 1762. The music is anonymous and from vaudevilles. It was performed until 1777. Le Suffisant Opéra-comqiue en un acte. Librettist: Jean-Joseph Vadé. First performance: 1st version: Paris, Foire Saint-Germain, 12 March 1753; 2nd version: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 18 September 1762. The music used vaudevilles. There were two performances. Le Tableau des Sabines Vaudeville en un acte. Librettists: Joseph-Marie-Armand-Michel Dieulafoy, Victor-Joseph-Étienne Jouy, dit Étienne de, and Charles de Longchamps. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 30 March 1800. The work is a topical allusion to the painting by David shown at the Louvre from 21 December 1799. There was a reprise on 20 September

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1801 (Feydeau). It was performed until 1804. Tibère Parodie de Tibère et Sérénus en vaudevilles en deux actes. Librettist: JeanBaptiste Radet. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 8 October 1782. This was a parody of the tragedy Tibère et Sérénus by Nicolas Fallet (Paris, Théâtre-Français, 1782). There were two performances. Le Tribut du coeur à l'occasion de la paix Scène lyrique sur des airs connus. Librettist: Albert Liénard (dit Louis Payen). First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 3 December 1783. The work marked the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in recognition of the independence of the United States of America (3 December 1783). Une nuit de Frédéric II, ou le Rappel de Potsdam Anecdote en un acte et en vaudeville. Librettists: André-François de Coupigny, Joseph-Marie-Armand-Michel Dieulafoy and EdmondGuillaume-François de Favières. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 13 July 1800. Although the portrait of Frederick II was regarded as totally inadequate, there was a reprise on 23 September 1801 (Feydeau). The libretto and score are unlocated. Vadé chez lui Comédie en vaudevilles, mêlée de scènes du genre grivois en un acte. Librettist: Jacques-Benoît Demautort. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 1), 4 August 1800. There was a reprise on 26 September 1801 (Feydeau).

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717

Les Vendangeurs, ou Les Deux Baillis Divertissement en vaudevilles en un acte. Librettists: Pierre-Yvon Barré and Pierre-Antoine-Augustin de Piis. First performance: ComédieItalienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 7 November 1780. The music is made up of vaudevilles. La Veuve de Cancale Parodie de La Veuve du Malabar en cinq actes. Librettist: Pierre-Germain Parisau. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Hôtel de Bourgogne), 3 October 1780. This was a parody of the tragedy La Veuve du Malabar by Antoine-Marin Le Mierre (Paris, Théâtre-Français, 1770). There was a reduction to three acts and other changes in the course of the following performances. It was in the repertory until 1789. Les Voyages de Rosine Opéra-comique en vaudevilles trois actes. Librettists: Pierre-Yvon Barré and Pierre-Antoine-Augustin de Piis. First performance: ComédieItalienne (Salle Favart 1), 20 May 1783. The story was adapted from a tale by Alexis Piron, Rosine, ou Tout vient à point à qui peut attendre. The music used parodies of several composers: Désaugiers, Lagarde, Monsigny, Philidor, Piccinni. There was a reprise on 23 May 1783 in two acts. The work was performed until 1788. ____________________________________________________________

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Giuseppe VERDI (1813-1901) La Traviata/Violetta Opéra en quatre actes. Librettist: Francesco Maria Piave; French version: Édouard Duprez. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 12 July 1886. The story is derived from the novel by Alexandre Dumas (fils), La Dame aux camélias. The première was complex, with the 1st version in Venice, Teatro La Fenice, 6 March 1853; the 2nd version: Venice, Teatro San Benedetto, 6 May 1854. The opera was first given in Paris at the ThéâtreItalien on 6 December 1856. The first French version was at the ThéâtreLyrique, 27 October 1864. The subject is very sad. One is accustomed to the spectacle of violent death, but one is always afflicted with a feeling of discomfort at the agony of a poor consumptive woman, and if this woman is a artist who sings until the last scene, one is tempted to add: “Enough! Rest now!” Violetta Valéry, the new version of the Dame aux camélias, leads a tumultuous existence, dissipated and giddy, with her lover Alfredo. The father of the latter comes to find the courtesan and makes desperate efforts to tear his son away from her. The Ball and Gambling Scenes follow. Violetta, compromised, outraged, becomes odious to Alfredo, who storms out cursing her. In act 3, the unhappy woman reaches the last stages of her pulmonary affliction. Lying on her deathbed, she gathers her last strength to sing a duet with Alfredo who has come to help her. She dies in his arms while from outside the sounds of the Mardi Gras revels filter through. The composer’s music has made the subject acceptable. It is most effective in captivating even the most prejudiced audience. The introductory brindisi “Libiamo ne’ lieti calici” and the duet in waltz time are the most striking pieces where the melody is firm, accentuated, and well characterized. In act 2 , the scene between the father and the girl is most pathetic. The scene in which the indignant Alfredo throws his winnings at Violetta has energy and movement. Act 3 is dolorous to watch, but the music is delightful to hear. The romance sung by the dying Violetta, her passionate duet with Alfredo, count among Verdi’s best inspirations, It is to be regretted that the composer rather neglected his orchestration. Certain brass instruments, like the cornet à pistons, obstinately accompany the voices for whole extended phrases. The principal role was successfully taken on by Mlle Piccolomini in 1856; the others were sung by Mario and Graziani. The opera provided a new

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719

triumph for Mlle Patti. It was given at the Théâtre-Lyrique, under the title Violetta, on 27 October 1864, when Mlle Nilsson enjoyed one of her greatest successes. It was another 22 years before the opera was produced at the Opéra-Comique in 1886. There were reprises on: 12 February 1903 (Salle Favart 3), in the style of the Second Empire; 3 June 1938; and 26 March 1971, with decor borrowed from Capriccio and Eugène Onegin. Falstaff Comédie lyrique en trois actes et six tableaux. Librettist: Arrigo Boito; French version by Paul Solanges and Arrigo Boito. First performance: 1st version (in Italian): Milan, Teatro alla Scala, 9 February 1893; 2nd version (in French): Opéra-Comique (Châtelet), 18 April 1894. Shakespeare’s celebrated comedy The Merry Wives of Windsor did not have its first musical adaptation by the author of Rigoletto and Aida. Apart from Salieri’s Falstaff, given in Vienna in 1798, and the singer-composer Balfe’s opera given in London in 1838, the German composer Otto Nicolai presented an opera with the same name as Shakespeare’s play in Berlin in May 1849. This was given without success in a translation by Jules Barbier at the Théâtre-Lyrique on 25 May 1866. It should also be remembered that the rubicund and Rabelaisian character of Falstaff appeared twice on the French stage: firstly, in Ambroise Thomas’s Le Songe d’une nuit d’été, where the type is treated by the hand of master who, particularly in act 1, provided a pure masterpiece of musical comedy; secondly, in a small inconsequential act by Adolphe Adam, Falstaff, given at the Théâtre-Lyrique in 1856, with only ephemeral existence. This play was not the only source for the librettist, and the score of Falstaff contains the note: “The present comedy is is drawn from The Merry Wives of Windsor and from several passages of Henry IV by Shakespeare.” The character of Falstaff also appears in the latter drama which is rather more serious than The Merry Wives. It is rather astonishing to recall that Falstaff was an actual historical figure, a valiant soldier who had dealings with the French when he became governor of Harfleur, played an important role in the Battle of Agincourt, and participated in the siege of Orleans, where he was forced to flee before the triumphant Jeanne d’Arc. Falstaff, the basketed knight, died aged 82 in the county of Norfolk, his native region, after numerous brave exploits, occupying his old age with the affairs of the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, to whose foundation he had generously contributed. How could this person, of such respectable aspect, have become, at

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Shakespeare’s hands, the boaster, coward, glutton, drunkard, potbellied and voracious like Gargantua, presented to us in The Merry Wives? Did not the French, in a celebrated song, besmirch and slur the Duke of Marlborough, a great man of war and an arch-enemy? Nevertheless, Shakespeare made Falstaff into the most paltry rascal and arrant rogue that one could imagine. But this is not our affair. The essential matter as it affects the theatre, is that the physiognomy of the character as transformed by the poet should have the relief, the colour, and the vigour to dominate the stage. In this respect one can affirm that he is complete, and without fault. The piece in which Boito borrowed elements from Shakespeare certainly has hilarious incidents, but the intrigue is a little too trifling, with too little interest, and it concludes with buffooneries that become a prolonged carnavalesque parade. The general form of the music of Falstaff is innovatory, Here it is no longer an affair in the style of the old Italian opera buffa, devised in regularly constructed setpieces separated by rapid recitatives, or in the French tradition of Opéra-comique, by spoken dialogue. In this opera there are no more pieces (beyond a certain point), and no more recitatives. All the scenes are linked one to the other without the resolution of continuity, as in the Wagnerian method, but transported into a different genre. Is this the comic opera of the future? It is to be doubted, because it requires all the genius and theatrical experience of an artist like Verdi, who had the theatre in his blood, to cope with such a procedure and to use it happily. The evolution is remarkable and interesting. What is striking is the comic sentiment that Verdi tried out in this work in such a new way, written as it was when he was 80. Throughout this score he deploys a youthfulness, a verve, a brio, a truly incomparable gracefulness. With regard to pure inspiration, it might be questioned whether there can be found in this work the freshness of imagination, the abundance of ideas of which the composer gave such proof elsewhere. One seeks in vain for the motifs di prima intenzione, as in the romance for Germont in La Traviata, the canzona for the Duke of Mantua in Rigoletto, or the Miserere in Il Trovatore. On the other hand, the score has a purity, a remarkable svelteness, an astonishing lightness in the constantly vivacious allure of the musical discourse, and an orchestra that is charming, playful, agreeable, varied, full of coquettishness, where one finds all the brilliance and facility of a Rossinian workmanship. The work is not divided into distinct pieces. It would nevertheless have been astonishing if an artist like Verdi had not sought and found the means to concentrate attention on certain characteristic episodes, detaching them from the whole, and repeating this procedure in various ways. There is the

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dissertation on honour that Falstaff gives to his acolytes Bardolph and Pistol, in the first scene, perhaps not the best page of the score. More effective is the Letter Quartet for the four merry wives, an exquisite turn. Then there is the little syllabic episode for Falstaff in the scene with Alice “Quand j’étais page du sire de Norfolk” where the comic feeling is irresistible and which the public always wants to hear two, three even four times. Then there is also the romance for Nanetta in act 3 where the two verses are broken by the chorus. Finally there is the fugue which concludes the piece. These are certainly the most characteristic and most characterized pieces. How can one sum up in a few words the impressions produced by this work that seems so strange to the artistic temperament of the artist who wrote it? Act 1 is is interesting for several pages; act 2 is exquisite and has a delectable colouring; act 3, by fault of the libretto, is too long and weakens the effectiveness of what precedes it. This does not mean to say that this is not the work of a master, worthy of his briliant and noble past, and forming the happy crown of his long and glorious career. It was written as much to astonish as to charm; to think that, at 80 years of age this composer transformed his abilities, and that his genius, up to that point so powerful and profoundly dramatic, could transmute itself into something at once light, witty, graceful and of irrepressible gaiety. The same artist, the French singer Victor Maurel, took the role of Falstaff in both Milan and Paris. Verdi in fact insisted on the engagement of Maurel by La Scala for the creation of the role in the theatre. And he agreed to the presentation of Falstaff at the Opéra-Comique on the express condition that it should be this artist who played his hero. The other artists were: Clément (Fenton), Soulacroix (Ford), Carrell (Caius), Belhomme (Pistolet), Barnolt (Bardolphe), Mme Grandjean (Alice Ford), Mme Landouzy (Nanette), Mme Chevalier (Meg Page). There was a reprise on 16 May 1952 (Salle Favart 3), and it was performed during that season. ____________________________________________________________

Paul-Antonin VIDAL (1863-1931) Guernica Drame lyrique en trois actes. Librettists: Pedro Gailhard and PierreBarthélémy Gheusi. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Châtelet), 7 June 1895.

Opéra-Comique

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The action concerns a historical episode in the Carlist Wars which bloodied Spain in 1873. Vidal wrote a score deprived of movement, of life, and of that quality without which there is no robust work of art. Inspiration is in short supply, and although the arrangement might be skilled, it cannot compensate for this lack. There are some qualities to this intricate score, but they are fragmentary and episodic.There are some pleasant passages in the introductory duet for Nella and her father, and also some in the duet with Mariano, although the final ensemble lacks grace. The best pages of act 1 consist in the female chorus which concludes it. In act 3 the entr’acte is interesting, as are the scene where Juan indicates to his men the positions they should take during the combat, and the duet for Nella and Mariano, where the composer seems to have been moved a little. The ensemble of the work is feeble, and there is a complete absence of personality. The cast were: Mlles Lafargue and Elven, MM. Bouvet, Jerôme and Mondaud. It was performed during the season 1895. ____________________________________________________________

Armand de VILLEBLANCHE Le Nègre par amour Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Claude Godars d’Acour de SaintJust. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 22 February 1809. There were 9 performances. ____________________________________________________________

Charles-Louis-Adolphe VOGEL (1808-1892) Le Podestat Opéra-comique en un acte. Librettist: Jean Lafitte. First performance: 1st version: Paris, Théâtre des Nouveautés, 16 December 1831; 2nd version: Opéra-Comique (Bourse), 3 April 1833. There were 9 performances.

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Composers and Their Works at the Opéra-Comique (1762-1915)

723

Georg Joseph VOGLER (1749-1814) La Kermesse, ou la Foire flamande Opéra-comique en deux actes. Librettist: Joseph Patrat. First performance: Comédie-Italienne (Salle Favart 1), 15 November 1783. There was one uncompleted performance. Les Paysannes patriotes Comédie lyrique en trois actes. Librettist: Masson de Morvilliers. First performance: Versailles, Théâtre de la Cour, 25 March 1784. Not produced in Paris. Presented by order of the queen on the occasion of the siege of Gibralter. Both libretto and score are missing. ____________________________________________________________

Wilhelm Richard WAGNER (1813-1883) Le Vaisseau fantôme/Der fliegende Holländer Opéra en trois actes. Words and music by Richard Wagner; French version: Charles Nuitter. First performance: 1st version (in German): Dresden, Hofoper, 2 January 1843; 2nd version (in French): OpéraComique (Châtelet), 17 May 1897. The story is based on Heinrich Heine’s Memoiren des Herrn von Schnabelewopski. This is a fine subject for a lyric drama, where the author has known how to weave interesting incidents and episodes into the action, some ferocious and sombre, others picturesque and gracious. The music shows the influence of Weber, Wagner’s primary model, but is not without his own personality breaking through and accentuating itself in powerful fashion. The work is not essentially original, but is interesting and contains very beautiful parts. Many pieces became famous, especially the overture, and the delightful spinning chorus. But others should be singled out, like the chorus of Norwegian sailors, the ballad of the Flying Dutchman related by Senta, her first duet with Erik, and above all her duet with the Dutchman. Moreover, because of the period at which the work was

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written, and especially because of the nature of the subject treated, the music of the opera touches on Wagner’s great works, and if it contains some longeurs, one can at least assert that this music is less grandiloquent than that of his famous symbolic dramas (CL 2:1123). The two roles of the Dutchman and Senta were created in Dresden by Wachter and the celebrated Mme Schröder-Devrient. The opera was given in French in Brussels, at the Théâtre de la Monnaie on 9 April 1872. The OpéraComique followed in 1897, with a reprise on 28 December 1904 (Salle Favart 3), and was retained in the repertory until 1912. ____________________________________________________________

Carl Maria VON WEBER (1786-1826) Robin des bois, ou Les Trois Balles/Der Freischütz Opéra romantique en trois actes. Librettist: Friedrich Kind; French adaptation: Castil-Blaze, Thomas Sauvage and Augustin-Eugène Scribe. First performance: 1st version (in German): Berlin, Schauspielhaus, 18 June 1821; 2nd version (in French): Paris, Théâtre-Odéon, 7 December 1824; 3rd version: Opéra-Comique (Bourse) 15 January 1835; 4th version: Opéra, 7 June 1841. The story is taken from a popular legend recorded by Johann August Apel and Friedrich Laun in their Gespensterbuch. When first presented in Berlin, the opera had an immense success, and made the composer universally famous. It reached Paris three years later in the French version by Castil-Blaze and Thomas Sauvage, which was revised on the 16 December 1824, with Scribe guarding his anonymity. This production was then moved to the Opéra-Comique in 1835. There were 60 performances, authorized by the Société des Auteurs et Compositeurs Dramatiques; there were eventually more than 100 performances of this version. It was again translated, this time by E. Pacini, and arranged for the French stage by Hector Berlioz, and presented at the Académie royal de musique on 7 June 1841. In the earlier translation by Thomas Sauvage, given at the Odéon under the title of Robin des bois, the names of the characters appeared inseparable from the musical character of the roles. Castil-Blaze had truncated the denouement, replacing the entry of the hermit by a reprise of the huntsmen’s chorus, without doubt with the very French intention of sending the spectators home in a happier frame of mind. Pacini and Berlioz judiciously re-established the order of the original.

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The German dialogue was turned into recitative by Berlioz, who acquited himself of this task with taste and all the success desirable. Crevel de Charlemagne published a translation of the opera, and it is not without its merits. Léon Carvalho produced the work at the Théâtre-Lyrique firstly in the 1824 version on 24 January 1855, and then in a new version, this time translated by Eugène Gautier and Henry Trianon, on 19 December 1866. Carvahlo wanted to use this version for a reprise at the Opéra-Comique in 1894, the cast was announced, but the project was abandoned. The work was conceived with a unity of feeling and plan, and however laboriously written, it does offer happy contrasts, but insufficient for the French taste. These contrasts are particularly noticeable in the feminine element, tender, gentle, a little fearful, always gracious and confident, and the masculine roles, all of them rough, stern and ferocious. The composer could have rendered these nuances more effectively, since he had these types before him in the period when he was writing, a period of agitation and renewal in Germany. Mlle Stolz created the role of Agathe at Opéra with great charm; her duet with Mlle Nau (Annette) was delightful; Bouché, Marié and Massol interpreted the other roles (with 231 performances until 1906). ____________________________________________________________

Joseph WEIGL (1766-1846) La Vallée suisse/Der Schweizerfamilie Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Sewrin and René Alissan de Chazet. First performance: 1st version: Saint-Cloud, 29 October 1812; 2nd version: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 31 October 1812. This was a French adaptation of Die Schweizerfamilie, an opera by the same composer (Vienna, 1809), which was in turn adapted from a comédie mêlée de vaudevilles by Sewrin and Chazet, Pauvre Jacques (1807). Both book and music were equally pleasant. There was a reprise at the Théâtre de l’Odéon on 6 February 1827 with the title Emmeline, ou la Famille suisse. There were 6 performances at the Opéra-Comique. ____________________________________________________________

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Charles-Marie WIDOR (1844-1937) Maître Ambros Drame lyrique en quatre actes et cinq tableaux. Librettists: François Coppée and Auguste Dorchain. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 2), 6 May 1886. This sombre drame takes us to Holland at the time of the siege of Amsterdam by the Stadhouder William of Orange, with a love story deadened by the roughness of the situation. The former pirate Amros is both the hero of the warlike action and of the love episode. The libretto is too little developed, but is not without some interest. The music is a little inexperienced from a theatrical point of view, but is far from valueless. This was the operatic debut of the composer who to that point had written only a ballet, Le Korrigane, presented at the Opéra. Widor was one of the most solid and gifted of the new French school. A very well formed musician, an inspired artist, he was naturally one of those in the public attention, and alert to serious experience. The score of the opera is lacking light, but is nonetheless interesting, with some striking moments. In act 1 there is a good introductory chorus “Verse en nos âmes le courage”, and a fine sailor’s song written for a female voice; in act 3 the whole fair scene with the chorus of fishmongers, the song of the ship’s boy and the pretty airs de ballets; and most of act 4, very dramatic and musically very emotional. The cast were: MM. Bouvet, Lubert, Fournets, Dulin, Mmes Salla and Castagné. There were 6 performances. Les Pêcheurs de Saint-Jean Scène de la vie maritime en quatre actes. Librettist: Henri Cain. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Salle Favart 3), 26 December 1905. This was performed into the following year, 1906. ____________________________________________________________

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Joseph WÖLFFL (1788-1863) L’Amour romanesque Opéra-comique mêlé de chants en un acte. Librettist: Armand Charlemagne. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Feydeau), 3 March 1804. There were 7 performances. Fernando, ou les Maures Opéra en trois actes. Librettist: De Bussy. First performance: OpéraComique (Salle Favart 1), 11 February 1805. This was an imitation of Guilbert de Pixérécourt’s Victor, l’Enfant de la forêt. There was only one performance. Both libretto and score are unlocated. ____________________________________________________________

Pierre-Joseph-Guillaume ZIMMERMANN (1785-1853) L’Enlèvement, ou les Guelfes et les Gibelins Opéra-comique en trois actes. Librettists: Augustin-Eugène Scribe, JeanBaptiste Violet d’Épagny and Jacques Bins de Saint-Victor. First performance: Opéra-Comique (Ventadour), 26 October 1830. There were 5 performances. The score is unlocated.

INDEX

A. Index of Composers, Librettists and Authors Composer names are given in upper case. All works are cross-referred to composer (under librettists) and to librettist (under composers). All works were premiered at the Opéra-Comique, unless otherwise indicated in parentheses. ABRAHAM, Émile, librettist Cruche Cassé, La (Pessard), 605 Accursi, Michele, friend of Donizetti, 301 Achard, Amédée, novelist, 662 ADAM, Adolphe-Charles, composer, xvi, xxiv, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 61-79, 151, 172, 173, 374, 445, 570, 574, 620, 648, 657, 672, 719 Baiser au porteur, Le (Scribe, Gensoul & Courcy (Théâtre du Gymnase), 61-2 Bijou perdu, Le (Leuven & Pittaud de Forges) (Théâtre-Lyrique), 77-8 Brasseur de Preston, Le (Leuven & Brunswick), 39, 68-9 Cagliostro (Scribe & Saint-Georges), 41, 72-3 Châlet, Le (Scribe & Mélesville), 37, 64-6, 67, 69 Danilowa (Vial & Duport), 36, 62 Fardondaine, La (Dupeuty & Bourget) (Théâtre à la Porte-Saint-Martin), 76 Farfadet, Le (Planard), 43, 75-6 Fête des arts, Le (Méry), 43, 76 Fidèle Berger, Le (Scribe & Saint-Georges), 39, 67-8 Giralda (Scribe) 42, 73-4 Grand Prix, Le (Lurieu & Michel Masson), 36, 63-4 Houzard de Berchini, Le (Rosier), 44, 78 Intermède, 38, 66 Joséphine (Gabriel), 36, 62 Main de Fer, La (Scribe & Leuven), 40, 71 Marquise, La (Saint-Georges & Leuven), 38, 66 Micheline (Saint-Hilaire, Michel Masson & Villeneuve), 38, 66 Morceau d'ensemble, Le (Courcy & Carmouche), 36, 62-3 Pantins de Violette, Les (Battu) (Bouffes-Parisiennes), 78-9 Pierre et Catherine (Saint-Georges), 35, 62

730

Opéra-Comique

Postillon de Lonjumeau, Le (Leuven & Brunswick), 38, 67 Proscrit, Le (Carmouche & Saintine), 37, 64 Poupée de Nuremberg, La (Leuven & Beauplan) (Opéra-National), xvi, 74-5 Régine (Scribe), 39, 69-70 Reine d'un jour, La (Scribe & Saint-Georges), 39, 70 Roi des Halles, Le (Leuven & Brunswick) (Théâtre-Lyrique), 77 Roi d'Yvetot, Le (Leuven & Brunswick), 40, 72 Rose de Péronne La (Leuven & Dennery), 40, 71 Si j’étais roi (Dennery & Brésil) (Théâtre-Lyrique), 75 Sourd, Le, (Desforges, rev. Leuven & Langlé), 43, 76-7 Toréador, Le (Sauvage), 42, 73 Trois Jours en une heure (Gabriel & Michel Masson), 36, 62, 648 Une bonne fortune (Féréol & Mennechet), 37, 64 Adenis, Jules, librettist Grand' Tante, La (Massenet), 524 Jolie Fille de Perth (Bizet), 157 Juge et partie (Missa), 565 Légataire universel, Le (Pfeiffer), 607 Sylvie (Guiraud), 399 Trois Souhaits, Les (Poise), 622 Advenir de Fontenille, Hyppolite, librettist Jeune Oncle, Le (Blangini), 168 Pari de la duchesse d’Alençon, Le (Chancourtois), 226 ALARY, Jules-Eugène-Abraham, composer, 79 Beauté du diable, La (Scribe & Najac), 46, 79 Alissan de Chazet, René, librettist Le Présent de noces, ou Le Pari (Berton fils), 144 Jeune et Vieille (Berton fils), 145 Bayard à Mézières (Div. comp), 182, 241 François Ier, ou La Fête mystérieuse (Kreutzer), 466 Plutarque (Solié), 669 La Vallée suisse/Der Schweizerfamilie (Weigl), 725 Allarde, François d', librettist Folie musicale, La (Pradher), 629 ANFOSSI, Pasquale, composer, 79-80, 488, 645 Inconnue persécutée, La (Petrosellini, French trans. Moline) 9, 79-80 Anicet-Bourgeois, Auguste, librettist Bon Garçon, Le (Prévost), 630 Petite Fadette, La (Semet), 661 Térésa (Rifaut), 643 Annunzio, G. d', dramatist, 493 Anseaume, Louis, librettist, 475 Achmet et Almanzine (Vaudeville) 695 Amants trompés, Les (Laruette), 481 Arlequin marchand de proverbes (Vaudeville) 697 Cendrillon (Laruette) 481

Index

731

Clochette, La (Duni) 311 Coquette de village, La (Saint-Amans), 655 Deux Chasseurs et la laitière, Les (Duni), 310 Deux Compères, Les (Laruette), 482 Docteur Sangrado, Le (Duni, Laruette & vaud.) 307, 480, 703 Dormeur éveillé, Le (Laborde), 472 École de la jeunesse, L’ (Duni), 311 École de la jeunesse, L’ (Prati), 311 Isle des fous, L’ (Duni), 308 Jugement de Midas, Le (Grétry), 376 Maréchal ferrant, Le (Philidor), 609 Mazet (Duni), 308 Médecin de l’amour, Le (Laruette & vaud), 480, 709 Mélide (Philidor), 615 Milicien, Le (Duni), 309 Peintre amoureux de son modèle, Le (Duni), 306 Poirier, Le (Saint-Amans), 655 Rencontre imprévue, La (Lefroid de Méreaux), 487 Rendez-vous bien employé, Le (Martini), 509 Ressource comique, La, (Lefroid de Méreaux) 487 Retour de tendresse, Le (Lefroid de Méreaux), 488 Soldat magicien, Le (Philidor), 609 Tableau parlant, Le (Grétry), 369 Veuve indécise, La (Duni), 307 AUBER, Daniel-François-Esprit, composer, xiv, xv, xvii, xxiii, 75, 80-123, 172, 173, 189, 211, 220, 250, 328, 352, 393, 429, 573; (all librettos by Scribe unless otherwise indicated) Actéon, 38, 97, 99 Ambassadrice, L’, 38, 98-100, 107, 115 Barcarolle, La, 41, 107, 110-11, 123 Bergère châtelaine, La (Planard), 32, 81-3, 107, 121 Chaperons blancs, Les, 38, 97-8, 99 Circassienne, La, 46, 118-19 Concert à la cour, Le (Scribe & Mélesville), 34, 86 Diamants de la couronne, Les (Scribe & Saint-Georges) 40, 82, 103-4 Domino noir, Le, xiv, 39, 100-2, 107, 111, 292 Duc d'Olonne, Le (Scribe & Saintine), 40, 104-5 Emma (de Planard), 33, 83-4 Fiancée, La, 35, 90-2, 107 Fiancée du roi de Garbe, La (Scribe & Saint-Georges), 46, 120 Fiorella, 35, 89-90 Fra Diavolo, xiv, 36, 92-4 107, 114 Haydée, xv, 42, 107, 112-3, 506 Jenny Bell, 44, 115-6 Leicester (Scribe & Mélesville), 33, 84-5 Léocadie (Scribe & Mélesville), 34, 86-7

732

Opéra-Comique

Lestocq, 37, 95 Maçon, Le (Scribe & Delavigne), 34, 88-9, 107, 121 Manon Lescaut, 44, 116-18 Marco Spada, 43, 114-15 Marquise de Brinvilliers, La (Scribe & Castil-Blaze), 36, 94-5 Neige, La (Scribe & Delavigne), 34, 82, 85-6, 121 Part du diable, La, 40, 105-8, 572 Premier Jour de bonheur, Le (Dennery & Cormon), 47, 120-2 Rêve d’amour (Dennery & Cormon), 48, 122-3 Séjour militaire, Le (Bouilly & Dupaty), 29, 80-1, 82 Sirène, La, 41, 107, 108-10, 114, 123 Testament et les billets doux, Le (Planard), 32, 81, 82 Timide, Le (Scribe & Saintine), 34, 89 Zanetta (Scribe & Saint-Georges), 40, 102-3 AUBIN, Tony, composer, 143 Aucour de Saint-Just, see Godard d'Aucour de Saint-Just Audibert, Auguste, librettist Grille du parc, La (Panseron), 600 Audinot, Nicolas Médard, librettist Tonnelier, Le (Gossec), 356 Audouin, François-Xavier, librettist Agricole Viala (Porta), 627 Augé de Lassus, Lucien-Joseph, librettist Amour à la Bastille, L’ (Hirschmann), 435 Amour vengé, L’ (Maupéou), 543 Ancêtre, L’ (Saint-Saëns), 659 Partie carrée (Lavello), 482 Phryné (Saint-Saëns), 658 AULETTA, Pietro, composer, 471, 713 Aulnoy, Marie-Catherine Le Jumel de Barnville d', writer, 149 Avrigny, see Loeillard d'Avrigny Azémar, Louis Guérin d', librettist Deux Miliciens, Les (Fridzeri), 330 BACCELLI, Domenico, composer, 7, 124 . Nouveau Marié, Le (de l'Estendoux), 7, 124 BACULARD d'Arnaud, François-Thomas-Marie, writer, 205, 257 Badet, André de, translator, 301 BAILLE, Casimir, composer, 124 Angélus, L’ (Mitchell), 54, 124 BALFE, Michael William, 124-6, 719 Puits d'amour, Le (Scribe & Leuven), 40, 124-5, 126 Quatre Fils Aymon, Les (Leuven & Brunswick), 41, 126 Rose of Castile, The, 425 Balzac, Honoré de, writer, 409, 410, 639

Index BAMBINI, Felice, composer, 126, 710 Amants de village, Les (Riccoboni), 4, 126 Nicaise (Framery), 5, 330, 710 BANÈS, Antoine, composer, 127 Madame Rose (Bilhaud & Barré), 53, 127 Soeur de Jocrisse, La (Vanloo), 55, 127 Baour-Lormian, Louis-Pierre-Marie-François, writer, 554 Barbier, Paul-Jules, librettist, xxv, 719 Amoureux de Catherine, Les (Maréchal), 506 Anneau d'argent, L’ (Deffès), 274 Cabaret des amours, Le (Pascal), 601 Chercheur d'esprit, Le (Besanzoni), 155 Colombe, La (Gounod), 358 Contes d'Hoffmann, Les (Offenbach), 592 Deucalion et Pyrrha (Montfort), 580 Don Mucarade (Boulanger), 195 Éventail, L’ (Boulanger), 195 Fidelio (trans.) (Beethoven), 134, 135 Galathée (Massé), 512 Mariage de Figaro, Le (trans.) (Mozart), 580-1 Médecin malgré lui, Le (Gounod), 358 Mignon (Thomas), 684 Mireille (Gounod), 361 Miss Fauvette (Massé), 514 Noces de Jeannette, Les (Massé), 513 Papillotes de Monsieur Benoist, Les (Reber), 640 Pardon de Ploërmel, Le (Meyerbeer) 563 Paul et Virginie (Massé), 518 Perles de Brésil, La (rev.) (David), 268-9 Philémon et Baucis (Gounod), 363 Psyché (Thomas), 683 Roméo et Juliette (Gounod), 359 Sabots de la marquise, Les (Boulanger), 194 Saisons, Les (Massé), 515 Statue, La (Reyer), 642 Taverne des Trabans, La (Maréchal), 507 Trovatelles, Les (Duprato), 313 Une nuit de Cléopâtre (Massé), 523 Valentine d'Aubigny (Halévy), 421 Barbier, Pierre, librettist Baiser de Suzon, Le (Bemberg), 135 Enclume, L’ (Pfeiffer), 607 Follet, Le (Lefèvre-Dérodé), 487 Barneville d'Aulnoy, see Aulnoy BARNI, Camille, composer, 128 Édouard 29, 128

733

734

Opéra-Comique

Barouillet, J. Martin, dramatist, 129 Barra, François-Joseph, child patriot, 389 Barré, Albert, librettist Madame Rose (Banès), 127 Barré, Pierre-Yvon, librettist (all works are vaudevilles unless otherwise indicated) Amours d'été, Les, 697 Aristote amoureux, 697 Baquet de santé, Le, 697 Bonne Femme, La, 698 Candide marié (Lescot), 495 Cassandre oculiste, 699 Constance, 699 Deux Porteurs de chaises, Les, 702 Docteurs modernes, Les, 703 Étrennes de Mercure, Les, 704 Gâteau à deux fèves, Le, 705 Matinée et la veillée villageoises, La, 709 Négresse, La (Lescot), 494 Oiseau perdu et retrouvé, L’, 710 Opéra de province, L’, 710 Printemps, Le, 711 Quatre Coins, Les, 712 Renaud d'Ast (Dalayrac), 258 Solitaires de Normandie, Les (Lescot), 495 Vendangeurs, Les, 717 Voyages de Rosine, Les, 717 Barrière, Theodore, 633 BARTHÉLÉMON, François-Hippolyte, composer, 128 Fleuve Scamandre, Le (Renout), 6, 128 Barthet, Armand, librettist Chapelle et Bachaumont (Cressonnois), 254 Basset, Charles [pseud. Adrien Robert], librettist Veuf du Malabar, Le (Doche), 298 Bassompierre, see Sewrin Basté, see Grangé Bataille, Henry, librettist Lépreuse, La (Lazzari), 483 BATTON, Désiré-Alexandre, composer, 128-9 Camp du Drap d'or, Le (Kock & Lefebvre), 35, 129 Éthelvina (Kock & Lemaignan), 35, 128 Fenêtre secrète, La, 32 (d'Ambreville), 32, 128 Marquise de Brinvilliers, La (Scribe & Castil-Blaze), 36, 94-5 Prisonnier d'état, Le (Mélesville), 35, 129 Remplaçant, Le (Scribe & Bayard), 38, 129

Index

735

Battu, Léon [pseud. Jules Dubois], librettist Anneau d'argent, L’ (Deffès), 274 Jacqueline (Costé and d'Osmond), 254 Pantins de Violet, Les (Adam), 78 Reine Topaze, La (Massé), 516 Baud-Bovy, Daniel, librettist Armaillis, Les (Doret), 301 BAUDRON, Antoine-Laurent, composer, 129 Trois Folies, Les (Charles-Nicolas Favart), 14, 129 Baurans, Pierre, librettist Diable à quatre, Le (Sodi), 664 Servante Maîtresse La (trans.) (Pergolesi), 602 Bayard, Jean-François-Alfred, librettist Alda (Thys), 689 Fille du régiment, La (Donizetti), 299 Médicine sans médecin, La (Hérold), 426 Miroir, Le (Gastinel), 335 Ombre d'Argentine, L’ (Montfort), 579 Remplaçant, Le (Batton), 129 Une voix (Boulanger), 193 BAYON, Marie-Emmanuelle, composer, 130 Fleur d'épine (Voisenon), 9, 130 BAZIN, François-Emmanuel-Joseph, composer, 130-3 Désespérés, Les (Leuven & Moinaux), 45, 132 Madelon (Sauvage), 43, 131 Maître Pathelin (Leuven & Langlé), 44, 131-2 Malheur d'être jolie, Le (Desnoyer), 42, 130-1 Ours et le pacha, L’ (Scribe & Saintine), 48, 133 Saint-Sylvestre, La (Mélesville & Michel Masson), 42, 131 Trompette de Monsieur le Prince, Le (Mélesville), 41, 130 Voyage en Chine, Le (Labiche & Delacour), 47, 132-3 Beaumarchais, Pierre-Augustin Caron de, dramatist, 378, 580, 595, 649, 694, 700 Beaume, see Beaumont, A. Beaumont, Louis Alexandre Beaume, known as Alexandre, librettist Flûte enchantée, La/Die Zauberflöte (trans.) (Mozart), 583, 584 Beaunoir, Alexandre-Louis-Bertrand Robineau, known as Alexandre [pseud. Mme de Beaunoir], librettist Mariage d'Antonio, Le (Grétry), 385 Nouvelle Omphale, La (Floquet), 323 BEAUPLAN, Amédée-Joseph-Louis-Rousseau de, composer, 133-4 Amazone, L’ (Scribe, Delestre-Poirson & Mélesville), 36, 133 Mari au bal, Le (Deschamps), 41, 133-4 Beauplan, Victor-Arthur-Rousseau de, librettist Bacchante, La (Gautier), 336 Bonsoir voisin! (Poise), 620 Pain bis, Le (Dubois), 303

736

Opéra-Comique

Parents d'un jour, Les (Benincori), 136 Poupée de Nuremberg, La (Adam), 74 Bedenc, see Dejaure BEETHOVEN, Ludwig van, composer, 134-5, 138, 174, 238, 239, 240, 339, 4289, 525, 660 Fidelio (Sonnleithner & Treitschke; Fr. trans. Barbier & Carré), xviii, 54, 1345, 233, 234, 235, 236, 239, 240 Beffroy de Reigny, Louis-Abel [pseud. Cousin Jacques], librettist; all works are vaudevilles Ailes de l'amour, Les 696 Clefs du Jardin, Les 700 Couronne de Fleurs, La 701 Fin du bail, La 704 Sans adieu 714 Belasco, David, dramatist, 634 Belle, Gabriel-Alexandre, librettist Roi René, Le (Hérold), 425 Belloy, Pierre-Laurent-Buirette de, dramatist, 705 BEMBERG, Hermann, composer, 135 Baiser de Suzon, Le (Pierre Barbier), 52, 135 BENDA, Georg, composer, 136 Ariane abandonnée dans l'Île de Naxos (Dubois), 11, 136 BENINCORI, Angelo Maria, composer, 136 Époux indiscrets, Les (Légreville Saint-Alme and Saint-Yon), 32, 136 Parents d’un jour, Les (Beauplan), 30, 136 Promesse de mariage, La (Dieulafoy & Gersin), 31, 136 BENOIST, Françoise, composer, 137 Léonore et Félix (Saint-Marcellin), 33, 137 Béranger, Pierre-Jean de, 72 Bérel, Paul, 603 Bergerat, Émile, poet and librettist Enguerrande (Chapuis), 227 BERLIOZ, Louis-Hector, composer, 90, 137-43, 159, 297, 724-5 Béatrice et Bénédict (Berlioz), 143 Damnation de Faust, La (Berlioz & Gandonnière), 41, 137-9 Enfance du Christ, L’ 44, 138-9 Troyens [à Carthage], Les (Berlioz), 52, 139-42 Bernard, F., see Bernard-Valville Bernard, Pierre-Joseph [pseud. Gentil-Bernard], writer, 547 Bernard, Tristan, librettist Petite Femme de Loth, La (Terrasse), 675 Bernard-Valville, François Bernard, known as François, librettist Marcelin (Lebrun), 485 Marie-Thérèse (Blangini), 167 Retour inattendu, Le (Gaveaux), 340 Trompeur trompé, Le (Gaveaux), 340

Index

737

Bernardin de Saint-Pierre, Jacques-Henri, writer, 499, 522 Bernède, Arthur, librettist Légende du Point d'Argentan, La (Fourdrain), 330 Ninon de Lenclos (Missa), 566 Sapho (Massenet), 536 Bernous, Amélie-Perronnet, known as Léon, librettist Cigale madrilène, La (Joanny Perronnet), 603 Berry, duc de, 82, 184 Berry, Th., see Labarre Bertati, Giovanni Mariage secret, Le (Cimarosa), 242 BERTAUD, composer, 144 Voisinage, Le 144, 628-9 BERTHA, Alexandre de, composer, 144 Matthias Corvin (Millet & Levallois), 50, 144 Bertheroy, Berthe-Corinne Le Barillier, known as Jean, writer, 586, 659 Bertin, Mme, 312 BERTIN, Louise-Angélique, composer, 144 Loup garou, Le (Scribe & Mazères), 35, 144 Bertin d'Antilly, Auguste-Louis, librettist Bélisaire (Henri-Montan Berton), 148 Encore une victoire (Kreutzer), 465 Isle des foux, L’ (Duni), 308 Le Pelletier de Saint-Fargeau (Blasius), 169 Vieillesse d’Annette et Lubin, La (Chapelle), 227 BERTON, Henri-François, composer, 144-6 Caquets, Les (Vial), 33, 145 Château d'Urtuby, Le (Lurieu & Vandière), 37, 146 Jeune et vieille (Chazet & Dubois), 28, 145 Monsieur Desbosquets (Sewrin), 28, 145 Ninette à la cour (Charles-Simon Favart & Lasser), 28, 145 Présent de noces, Le (Chazet), 28, 144-5 Revenant, Le (Saint-Marcellin & Dozauz fils), 31, 145 Une heure d'absence (Loraux), 35, 146 BERTON, Henri-Montan, composer, 146-54, 172, 173, 180, 189, 220, 393, 549, 616, 629, 664 Aline, reine de Golconde (Vial & Favières), 24, 147, 151 Amant à l'épreuve, L’ (Moline & Loraux), 15, 146-7 Amour bizarre, L’ (Lesueur), 20, 150, 151 Arts et l'amitié, Les (Bouchard), 15, 147 Bélisaire (Antilly), 19, 148, 616 Brouilleries, Les (Avrigny), 16, 147 Chant du retour, Le 27 Charme de la voix, Le (Gaugiran-Nanteuil), 28, 151, 153 Chevalier de Sénanges, Le (Ségur & Forbin), 27, 152 Christophe et Jérôme (Favières), 19, 149

738

Opéra-Comique

Concert interrompu, Le (Marsollier & Favières), 23, 148, 151 Congrès des rois, Les, (Desmaillots), 18, 237 Corisandre (Ancelot & Saintine), 32, 154 Créoles, Les (Lacour), 35, 154 Délia et Verdikan (Elleviou), 25, 152 Délire, Le (Saint-Cyr), 20, 147, 149, 150-1 Dénouement inattendu, Le (Joigny), 19, 149 Deux Mousquetaires, Les (Vial & Gensoul), 34, 154 Deux Sentinelles, Les (Andrieux), 16, 148 Deux Sous-lieutenants, Les (Favières), 17, 148 Féodor (Claparède), 31, 154 Françoise de Foix (Bouilly & Dupaty), 27, 153 Grand Deuil, Le (Vial & Étienne), 21, 151 Maris garcons, Les (Gaugiran-Nanteuil), 26, 152 Marquise de Brinvilliers, La, (Scribe & Castil-Blaze), 36, 94-5 Montano et Stéphanie (Dejaure), 20, 147, 149-50, 449 Ninon chez Madame de Sévigné (Dupaty), 27, 152-3 Nouveau d'Assas, Le (Dejaure), 16, 148 Petits Appartements, Les (Dupin, Varner & Ymbert), 35, 154 Ponce de Léon (Henri-Montan Berton), 19, 149 Promesses de mariage, Les (Desforges), 14, 146 Rendez-vous supposé, Le (Pujoulx), 20, 149 Rigueurs du cloître, Les (Fiévée), 16, 147 Romance, La (Loraux), 24, 151 Vaisseau Amiral, Le (Saint-Cyr), 25, 152 Valentin (Picard & Loraux), 29, 153 Victime des arts, La (Estourmel), 28, 153 BERTON, Pierre-Montan, composer, 155 Deucalion et Pyrrha (Sainte-Foix & Morand), 155 BESANZONI, Ferdinand, composer, 155 Chercheur d'esprit, Le (Foussier, Barbier & Carré), 44, 155 Biagioli, see Perry-Biagioli BIANCHI, Francesco, composer, 155-6 Mort marié, Le (Sedaine), 9, 156 Réduction de Paris, La (Durozoy), 8, 155 Biancolelli, Marie-Thérèse, librettist Sophie (Kohaut), 458 Biancolelli, Pierre-François [pseud. Dominique], 663 Bibiena, Jean Galli de, librettist Nouvelle Italie, La (Duni), 309 Biéville, Edmond-Desnoyers, known as Edmond, librettist Ombre d'Argentine, L’ (Montfort), 579 Bilhaud, Paul, librettist Madame Rose (Banès), 127 Billardon de Sauvigny, Louis-Edme, librettist À trompeur, trompeur et demi (Dezède), 295

Index

739

Billion, see Billioni Billioni, Michel-Rieu Billion, known as Billioni, librettist Pygmalion (Vaudeville), 712 Bins de Saint-Victor, Jacques-Maximilien-Benjamin, librettist Chevalier d'industrie, Le (Dugazon & Pradher), 304, 629 Enlèvement, L' (Zimmermann), 727 Habit du chevalier de Grammont, L' (Eler), 316 Rivale d'elle-même, La (Solié), 668 Uthal (Méhul), 552 Bisson, Alexandre-Charles-Auguste, librettist, 585 Petite Maison, La (Chaumet), 232 BIZET, Alexandre-César-Léopold, known as Georges, composer, xvii, xxv, 15663 Arlésienne, L' (Daudet), 57, 160 Carmen (Meilhac & Ludovic Halévy), x, xv, xvii, xix, 49, 160-63, 597 Djamileh (Gallet), 48, 158-9 Jolie Fille de Perth, La (Saint-Georges & Adenis), 157-8 Pêcheurs de perles, Les (Cormon & Carré), 53, 156-7 BLAISE, Adolphe-Benoît, composer, 164-6 Annette et Lubin [1762] (Marie-Justine Favart/Charles-Simon Favart (?) and Santerre/L’Abbé de Voisenon (?) ), 1, 164 Colin-Maillard, Le (Dehesse & Pitrot), 13, 164 Isabelle et Gertrude [1765] (Charles-Simon Favart), 5, 165 Rendez-vous nocturnes, Les (Riccoboni), 4, 165 Talents à la mode, Les (Boissy), 2, 164-5 Trompeur trompé, Le (Vadé), 6, 166 BLANGINI, Giuseppe Marco Mario Felice, composer, 94, 166-9, 615 Chimère et réalité (Aignan), 24, 166 Comtesse de Lamarck, La (Saint-Cyr & Achille and Armand Dartois), 31, 167 Duc d'Aquitaine, Le (Lambert, Dartois & Rancé), 34, 168-9 Fausse Duègne, La [Della Maria] (Duval & Épinay), 23, 166 Femmes vengées, Les (Sedaine), 27, 167 Fête des souvenirs, La (Dumersan), 31, 167 Gondoliers, Les 37 Jeune Oncle, Le (Fontenille), 33, 168 Marie-Thérèse (unperformed) (Bernard-Valville), 167-8 Marquise de Brinvilliers, La, (Scribe & Castil-Blaze), 36, 94-5 Premier Pas, Le 37 Projet de pièce, Le (Mély-Janin), 34, 169 Sourde-muette, La (Valmette), 30, 167 BLASIUS, Matthieu-Frédéric, composer, 169, 237 Congrès des rois, Le (Desmaillots), 18, 237 Le Peletier de Saint-Fargeau (Antilly), 17, 169 Paysanne supposée, La (Dubois), 15, 169 Trois Sultanes , Les (Charles-Simon Favart), 17, 169

740

Opéra-Comique

Blau, Alfred, librettist Esclarmonde (Massenet), 528 Blau, Édouard Bathyle (Chaumet), 231 Beaucoup de bruit pour rien (Puget), 635 Chevalier Jean, Le (Joncières), 455 Dante et Béatrice (Godard), 351 Jacquerie, La (Lalo), 478 Roi d'Ys, Le (Lalo), 476 Werther (Massenet), 531 Blaze, see Castil-Blaze BLOCH, Ernest Macbeth 57 BOCHSA, Robert-Nicolas-Charles, composer, 170-1 Alphonse, roi d’Aragon (Saint-Marc), 30, 170 Héritier de Paimpol, L’ (Sewrin), 29, 170 Héritiers Michau, Les (Planard), 30, 170 Lettre de change, La (Planard), 30, 171 Noces de Gamache, Les (Planard), 30, 171 Roi et la ligue, Le (Lambert & Dartois), 30, 170 Un mari pour étrennes (Lambert & Dartois), 30, 171 Bodekin (?) Heureux Naufrage, L’ 12, 14 BOIELDIEU, Adrien-Louis-Victor, composer, 172-4 Aïeule, L’ (Saint-Georges), 40, 173 Bouquet de 1’infante, Le (Leuven & Planard), 42, 173-4 France et Algérie 47 Marguerite (Scribe & Planard), 39, 172 Opéra à la Cour, L' (Scribe & Planard), 40, 172-3 BOIELDIEU, François-Adrien, composer, xiv, xvii, xxiii, 66, 87, 123, 172, 173, 174-89, 220, 264, 281, 332, 333, 346, 429, 438, 439, 441, 450, 469, 573, 598 Aline, reine de Golconde (Vial & Favières), 180 Angéla (Epinay & Boieldieu), 30, 182, 332 Baiser et la quittance, Le (Picard, Dieulafoy & Longchamps), 24, 178, 440 Bayard à Mézières (Dupaty & Chazet), 30, 182, 241 Béarnais, Le (Sewrin), 30, 182 Beniowski (Duval), 21, 175-6 Calife de Bagdad, Le (Saint-Just), 21, 176, 177, 178, 179, 185 Charles de France ((Lambert, Dartois & Rancé), 31, 172-3, 184, 189, 393 Dame blanche, La (Scribe), xiv, 34, 183, 184-8, 194, 214, 317, 384, 499 Deux Nuits, Les 36, 173 Dot de Suzette, La ( Fiévée), 20, 175 Famille suisse, La (Saint-Just), 174-5 Fête du village voisin, La (Sewrin), 30, 182-3, 281 Intermède 38, 66 Jean de Paris (Saint-Just), 29, 177, 180-1, 270

Index

741

Jeune Femme colère, La (Étienne & Claparède), 29, 178-9 Ma tante Aurore (Longchamps), 21, 177-8, 185, 187 Marquise de Brinvilliers, La, (Scribe & Castil-Blaze), 36, 94-5 Nouveau Seigneur de village, Le (Lesser & Favières), 29, 181-2 Opéra à la cour, L’ (Scribe & Saint-Georges/Planard), 40, 172-3, 188-9, 393 Pari, Le (Saint-Just & Longchamp), 19, 175 Petit Chaperon rouge, Le 32 Rien de trop (Pain), 28, 180 Voitures versées, Les (Dupaty), 32, 179-80, 185, 187, 333 Zoraïme et Zulnar (Saint-Just), 20, 175 BOILLY, Édouard, composer, 189 Bal du sous-préfet, Le (Saint-Hilaire & Duport), 41, 189 Boisseaux, Henry, librettist Barkouf (Offenbach), 587 Clef des champs, La (Deffès), 274 Mam’zelle Pénélope (Lajarte), 474 Boissel de Monville, Thomas Charles Gaston, baron de, librettist Nouveau Don Quichotte, Le (Champein), 223 BOISSELOT, Dominique-François-Xavier, composer, 189-90 Ne touchez pas à la reine (Scribe & Vaëz), 41, 189-90 Boissy, Louis de, librettist Lanlaire (Vaudeville), 707 Talents à la mode, Les (Blaise), 164 Boito, Arrigo, librettist Falstqff (Verdi), 719, 720 Boll, André, librettist Béatrice et Bénédict (Berlioz), 143 BONESI, Barnaba, composer, 191 Pygmalion (Durosoy), 11, 191 Bonnefoy de Bonyon, François-Lambert (abbé), librettist . Couronne de Fleurs, La (Vaudeville), 701 Lanlaire (Vaudeville), 707 Bonnemère, Lionel, librettist Légataire universel, Le (Pfeiffer), 607 Bonnières,Guillaume-François-Robert de Wierre de, librettist Attendez-moi sous l’orme (Indy), 436 Bonyon, see Bonnefoy de Bonyon Bordeaux, duc de, 711 BORDÈSE, Luigi, 191-2 Automate de Vaucanson, L’ (Leuven), 40, 191 Deux Bambins, Les (Leuven & Brunswick), 42, 192 Mantille, La (Planard & Goubaux), 39, 191 Reine Jeanne, La 40, 191, 569 Sultan Saladin, Le (Dupin & Scribe), 41, 191-2 Bornier, Henri de, dramatist and librettist, 636 Dimitri (Joncières), 454

742

Opéra-Comique

Boschot, Adolphe 581, 583 Bottens, see Montolieu Bouchard, Armand de, librettist Arts et 'amitié, Les (Berton), 147 Arts et l'amitié, Les (Jadin), 452 Boufflers, Stanislas-Jean, chevalier de, writer, 574, 699 Bouhélier, see Saint-Georges de Bouhélier Bouilly, Jean-Nicolas, librettist, 134 Cimarosa (Isouard), 443 Deux Journeés, Les (Cherubini), 238 Françoise de Foix (Henri-Montan Berton), 153 Héléna (Méhul), 552 Intrigue aux fenêtres, L’ (Isouard), 441 Jenny la bouquetière (Kreubé & Pradher), 460, 629 Jeune Henri, Le (Méhul), 548 Léonore (Gaveaux), 134 Pierre le Grand (Grétry), 387 Séjour militaire, Le (Auber), 80 Une folie (Méhul), 551 Valentine de Milan (Méhul), 558 BOULANGER, Ernest-Henri-Alexandre, composer, 192-5, 216 Cachette, La (Planard), 42, 194 Deux Bergères, Les (Planard), 40, 193 Diable à l’école, Le (Scribe), 40, 192-3 Don Mucarade (Barbier & Carré), 49, 195 Éventail, L’ (Barbier & Carré), 45, 195 Quinze Août aux Champs, Le 46, Sabots de la marquise, Les (Barbier & Carré), 44, 194-5 Une voix (Bayard & Potron), 41, 193-4 Bourbon, duc de, 508 Bourgeois, Anicet, see Anicet-Bourgeois BOURGES, Jean Maurice, composer, 196 Sultana (Monnais & Pitaud de Forges), 41, 196 Bourlin, see Dumaniant Bournonville, see Dartois BOUSQUET, Ange-Georges-Jacques, composer, 196 Mousquetaire, Le (Armand & Achille Dartois), 41, 196 BOUTEILLER, Pierre-Guillaume de, composer, 197 Trompeur sans le vouloir, Le (Lesser, Vial & Roger), 31, 197 Boutet de Monvel, Jacques-Marie, librettist Alexis et Justine (Dezède), 296 Ambroise (Dalayrac), 261 Blaise et Babet (Dezède), 295 Erreur d'un moment, L’ (Dezède), 294 Jérôme le porteur de chaise (Dezède), 294 Julie (Dezède), 294

Index Philippe et Georgette (Dalayrac), 260 Raoul, sire de Créqui (Dalayrac), 259 Sargnes (Dalayrac), (Dalayrac), 258 Stratagème découvert, Le (Dezède), 294 Tout pour l’amour (Dalayrac), 261 Trois Fermiers, Les (Dezède), 294 Boutillier, Maximilien-Jean, librettist Adèle et Didier (Deshayes), 289 BOUVAL, Jules-Henri, composer, 197 Chambre bleue, La (Noël & Mars), 55, 197 Bovy, see Baud-Bovy Boyer, Georges-Victor-Louis-Joseph, librettist Marseillaise, La (Lambert), 479 Portrait de Manon, Le (Massenet), 533 Brahain, see Ducange Brandes, J.C. dramatist, 136 Brésil, Jules-Henri, librettist . Escadron volant de la reine, L’ (Litolff), 501 Si j'etais roi (Adam), 75 Silvio-Silvia (Estribaud), 320 BRÉVAL, Jean-Baptiste-Sebastien, composer, 197-8 Inès et Léonore (Gautier), 15, 197-8 Brousse-Desfaucherets, Jean-Louis, librettist Double Clef, La (Louet), 502 Brucker, Raymond Ph. A., writer, 91 Brun, see Lebrun-Tossa BRUNEAU, Louis-Charles-Alfred, composer, 198-204 Angélo, tyran de Padoue (Méré), 204 Attaque du moulin, L’ (Gallet), 53, 200-03 Enfant-roi, L’ (Zola), 56, 204 Ouragan, L’ (Zola), 55, 203 Quatre Journées, Les (Bruneau), 204 Rêve, Le (Gallet), 52, 198-200 Roi Candaul, Le (Donnay), 204 Tambour, Le (Bouhélier), 204 BRUNI, Antonio Bartolomeo, composer, 205-6, 700 Auteur dans son ménage, L’ (Gosse), 22, 206 Célestine (Magnitot), 15, 205 Claudine (Deschamps), 23, 205 Coradin (Magnitot or Tacusset), 14, 205 Major Palmer, Le (Pigault-Lebrun), 23, 205-6 Mariage par commission, Le (Simonnin), 30, 206 Règne de douze heures, Le (Planard), 30, 206 Brunswick, Arthur de, librettist Bonsoir voisin! (Poise), 620

743

744

Opéra-Comique

Brunswick, Léon Lévy. known as Léon [pseud. Léon Lhérie], librettist Bonsoir voisin! (Poise), 620 Brasseur de Preston, Le (Adam), 68 Carline (Thomas), 677 Conseil des Dix, Le (Girard), 351 Deux Bambins, Les (Bordèse), 192 Deux Voleurs, Les (Girard), 350 Eva (Coppola), 251 Gibby la cornemuse (Clapisson), 246 Mademoiselle de Mérange (Potier), 627 Pain bis , Le (Dubois), 303 Panier fleuri, Le (Thomas), 676 Postillion de Lonjumeau, Le (Adam), 67 Quatre Fils Aymon, Les (Balfe), 126 Reine Jeanne, La (Monpou), 569 Roi des Halles (Adam), 77 Roi d'Yvetot, Le (Adam), 72 Signor Pascarella, Il (Potier), 628 Un conte d'autrefois (Monpou), 569 Buirette de Belloy, see Belloy Bujac, librettist Alcade de la Véga, L’ (Onslow), 593 Burani, Paul-Urbain-Roucoux, known as Paul, librettist Roi malgré lui, Le (Chabrier), 220 Burney, Fanny [Frances], writer, 268 Bury, Fulgence-Joseph-Desiré de, librettist Attendre et courir (Halévy & Ruolz), 405, 653 Bataille de Denain, La (Catrufo), 217 Busnach, Bertrand-William, librettist Pénitente, La (Valgrand), 292 BUSSER, Paul-Henri, composer, 363 Daphnis et Chloé 54, Bussy, de, librettist Fernando (Wolffl), 727 Byron, George Gordon, Lord, 506 CADAUX, Justin, composer, 206-7 Colette (Planard), 43, 207 Deux Gentilshommes, Les (Planard), 41, 206 Deux Jaket, Les (Planard), 43, 207 CAHEN, Albert, composer, 207-8 Bois, Le (Glatigny), 50, 207 Femme de Claude, La (Gallet), 53, 208 Cailhava de l'Estendoux, Jean-François, librettist Buona figliuola, La/Bonne Fille, La (Piccinni), 617 Nouveau Marié, Le (Baccelli), 124

Index

745

Caillavet, Gaston-Arman de, librettist Fortunio (Messager), 561 Cailly, Adrien-Guillaume, librettist Alvar et Mencia (Saint-Amans), 655 Cain, Henri, writer and librettist, 252 Armaillis, Les (Doret), 301 Cabrera, La (Dupont), 312 Cendrillon (Massenet), 536 Chérubin (Massenet), 541 Chiquito, le joueur de pelote (Nouguès), 586 Danseuse de Pompéi, La (Nouguès), 586 Don Quichotte (Massenet), 542 Juif polonais, Le (Erlanger), 318 Légende du point d 'Argentan, La (Fourdrain), 330 Navarraise, La (Massenet), 534 Pêcheurs de Saint-Jean, Les (Widor), 726 Sapho (Massenet), 536 Vivandière, La (Godard), 353 Calderòn de la Barca, Pedro, dramatist, 197, 222, 550, 593 Calvimont, Albert de, librettist Revenant, Le (Gomis), 355 CAMBINI, Giuseppe Maria, composer, 208 Rose d'amour (Ducongé-Dubreuil), 10, 208 CAMONDO, Isaac de, composer, 208-9 Clown Le (Capoul), 57, 208 Campenon, François-Nicolas, poet, 343 CAMPRA, André, 164 Camus, see Merville CANDEILLE, Amélie-Julie, composer, 209 Ida (Simons-Candeille), 27, 209 Capelle, Pierre-Adolphe, librettist, Journée aux aventures, La (Méhul), 558 Capoul, Joseph-Amédée-Victor, librettist Clown, Le (Camondo), 208 CARAFA [DE COLOBRANO], Michele Enrico Francesco Vicenzo, composer, 209-14 Auberge d 'Auray, L’ (Commagny & Épagny), 36, 425-6 Auberge supposée, L’ (Planard), 34, 210 Grande Duchesse, La (Mélesville & Merville), 38, 214 Jeanne d'Arc (Dartois & Lambert), 33, 209 Jenny (Saint-Georges), 36, 211-12 Livre de l'ermite, Le (Planard & Duport), 36, 211-12 Marquise de Brinvilliers, La, (Scribe & Castil-Blaze), 36, 94-5 Masaniello (Commagny & Lafortelle), 35, 211, 212, 213, 214 Prison d'Édimbourg, La (Scribe & Planard), 37, 212-13 Sangarido (Planard & Pelissier), 35, 210

746

Opéra-Comique

Solitaire, Le (Planard), 33, 209-10, 214 Thérèse (Planard & Leuven), 39, 214 Une journée de la Fronde (Mélesville), 37, 213 Valet de chambre, Le (Scribe & Mélesville), 34, 210 Violette, La (Planard), 35, 211 Carmouche, Pierre-Frédéric-Adolphe, librettist Fleurs du château, Les (Vaudeville), 704 Lapin blanc, Le (Hérold), 425 Morceau d'ensemble, Le (Adam), 62, 63 Pendu, Le (Clapisson), 244 Proscrit, Le (Adam), 64 Souvenirs de Lafleur, Les (Halévy), 405 Carré, Hugues-Michel-Albert, librettist Basoche, La (Messager), 560 Carré, Jenny, 231 Carré, Michel-Florentin, librettist, xxv Cabaret des amours, Le (Pascal), 601 Château-Trompette, Le (Gevaert), 346 Chercheur d'esprit, Le (Besanzoni), 155 Clos, Le (Silver), 662 Colombe, La (Gounod), 358 Contes d'Hoffmann, Les (Offenbach), 592 Déa (Cohen), 250 Deucalion et Pyrrha (Montfort), 580 Diable au moulin, Le (Gevaert), 346 Don Mucarade (Boulanger), 195 Éventail, L’ (Boulanger), 195 Fidelio (Trans.) (Beethoven), 134, 135 Fior d'Aliza (Massé), 517 Fourberies de Marinette, Les (Creste), 255 Galathée (Massé), 512 Lalla Roukh (David), 270 Lara (Maillart), 505 Mariage de Figaro, Le/Le nozze di Figaro (trans.), (Mozart), 580-1 Médecin malgré lui, Le (Gounod), 358 Mignon (Thomas), 684 Mireille (Gounod), 361 Miss Fauvette (Massé), 514 Noces de Jeannette, Les (Massé), 513 Papillotes de Monsieur Benoist, Les (Reber), 640 Pardon de Ploërmel, Le (Meyerbeer), 563 Paul et Virginie (Massé), 518 Les Pêcheurs de Catane (Maillart), 505 Pêcheurs de perles, Les (Bizet), 156 Petite Fadette, La (Semet), 661 Philémon et Baucis (Gounod), 363

Index

747

Psyché (Thomas), 683 Quentin Durward (Gevaert), 346 Roméo et Juliette (Gounod), 359 Sabots de la marquise, Le (Boulanger), 194 Saisons, Les (Massé), 515 Saphir, Le (David), 269 Statue, La (Reyer), 642 Trovatelles, Les (Duprato), 313 Valentine d'Aubigny (Halévy), 421 Carré, Michel-Antoine (fils), librettist Hilda (Millet), 565 Muguette (Missa), 566 Pris au piège (Gédalge), 344 Carrière-Doisin, A. [pseud. A. Croisier], librettist Fête du village, La (Prot), 633 Carvalho, Léon-Cavaille, known as Léon, singer and theatre director, 301, 457, 500, 581, 585, 725 CASPERS, Louis-Henri-Jean, composer, 214-5 Ma tante dort (Crémieux), 45, 214-5 Castel, René-Richard-Louis, librettist Prince de Catane, Le (Isouard), 447 Voyage incognito, Le (Gasse), 334 Castera, Désirée de, writer, 184 Castet, N., librettist Bûcheron, Le (Philidor), 610 Castil-Blaze A. H., 582 Castil-Blaze, François-Henri-Joseph Blaze, known as Castil-Blaze, writer and librettist, 580, 582, 595, 606 Le Barbier de Séville/Il barbiere di Siviglia (Trans.) (Rossini), 649 Marquise de Brinvilliers, La, (Div. comp.), 94 Robin des bois (trans.) (von Weber), 724 CATEL, Charles-Simon, composer, 215-7 Artistes par occasion, Les (Pineu-Duval), 26, 215 Auberge de Bagnères, L’ (Jalabert), 27, 215 Aubergistes de qualité, Les (Jouy), 29, 215-6 Bayard à Mézières (Dupaty & Chazet), 30, 182, 216, 241 Officier enlevé L’ (Pineu-Duval), 32, 217 Premier en date, Le (Désaugiers & Pessey), 30, 216 Wallace (Saint-Marcellin), 31, 216 CATRUFO, Giuseppe [Gioseffo], composer, 217-9 Aventurier, L’ (Leber), 29, 217 Bataille de Denain, La (Lambert & Bury), 31, 217-8 Caprice d’une jolie femme, L (Dartois), 31, 218 Épreuve, L’ (Radet), 32, 218 Félicie (Dupaty), 30, 217 Intrigue au château, L’ (Gensoul), 33, 218

748

Opéra-Comique

Passage du régiment, Le (Sewrin), 37, 219 Rencontres, Les (Vial & Mélesville), 35, 219, 490 Une matinée de Frontin (Leber), 30, 217 Voyage de cour, Le (Merville), 34, 219 Cavé, Hygin-Auguste, librettist Diable à Séville, Le (Gomis), 355 Centlivre, Susanna, dramatist, 377 Cervantes, Miguel de, writer, 87, 171, 223, 290, 542, 543, 610 CHABRIER. Alexis-Emmanuel, composer, 220 Roi malgré lui, Le (Najac & Burani), 51, 220, 565 Challamel, Jean-Baptiste-Marie-Auguste, librettist, 583 Don Juan (trans.) (Mozart), 581 Rosier, Le (Potier), 628 Chamfort, Sébastien-Roch-Nicolas, librettist Amours de Gonesse, Les (Laborde), 472 Champ-Rion, see Lévrier Champ-Rion CHAMPEIN, Marie-François-Stanislas, composer, 220-5, 336, 495, 704 Amours de Colombine, Les (Faur), 13, 222 Baiser, Le (Florian), 11, 222 Bayard dans Bresse (Lisle), 16, 223 Dettes, Les (Forgeot), 14, 223 Épreuves du Républicain, Les (Laugier), 18, 224 Espiègleries de garnison, Les (Favières & Sedaine), 16, 223-4 Fausses Nouvelles, Les (Fallet), 14, 223 Ferme du Mont-Cenis, La (Martelière), 27, 225 Hussards en cantonnement, Les (Saint-Alme), 31, 225 Isabelle et Fernand (Faur), 12, 222 Léonore (Duveyrier (père) ), 11, 221-2 Mélomanie, La (Grenier), 11, 220-1, 222, 223 Menzikoff et Feodor (Martelière), 27, 224-5 Mina (Garnier), 10, 220 Noveau Don Quichotte, Le (Monville), 19, 223, 222 Poéte supposé, Le (Laujon), 12, 222 Rivaux d'un moment, Les (La Plante), 29, 225 Trois Hussards, Les (Favières), 25, 224 Champmeslé Charles-Chevillet de, dramatist, 344, 620 CHANCOURTOIS, Louis, composer, 225-6 Bohémien, Le 32, Ceinture, La (Ducis & Meun), 31, 225-6 Charles XII et Pierre le Grand (Meun), 32, 226 Pari de la duchesse d’Alençon, Le (Chabeaussière), 34, 226 Chantepie, Jules de, librettist Dianora (Rousseau), 652 Don César de Bazan (Massenet), 525 Chapais, see Vandière Chapelle, Paul, see Laurencin

Index

749

CHAPELLE, Pierre-David-Augustin, composer, 226-7 Destin et les Parques, Le (Desfontaines), 15, 226 Famille réunie, La (Charles-Nicholas Favart), 16, 227 Un mal pour un bien (Davesne), 13, 226 Vieillesse d'Annette et Lubin, La (d'Antilly), 15, 227 CHAPUlS, Auguste-Paul-Jean-Baptiste, composer, 227-8 Enguerrande (Bergerat & Wilder), 52, 227-8 Charbonnières, Alexis de, librettist Leçon d'une femme, La (Duret), 316 CHARDINY, Louis-Armand Chardin, known as Chardiny, composer, 228-9, 471 Anneau perdu et retrouvé, L’ (Sedaine), 15, 228 Chose impossible, La (Charles-Nicholas Favart), 16, 229 Diable boiteux, Le (Charles-Nicholas Favart), 12, 228 Charlemagne, Crevel de, publisher, 725 Charlemagne, Jean-Armand, librettist Amour romanesque L’ (Wolfll), 727 Charles X, king of France, 169, 322, 404 CHARLOT, Joseph-Auguste, composer Bonne Moisson, La 47 CHARPENTlER, Gustave, composer, 229-31 Julien (Charpentier), 58, 231 Louise (Charpentier), xix, 54, 229-31 CHARTRAlN, Nicolas-Joseph, composer, 231 Lord supposé, Le (Doismont), 9, 231 Chastenet de Puységur, Armand-Marc-Jacques de, librettist Intérieur d’un ménage républicain (Vaudeville), 706 Jardiniers de Montreuil, Les (Vaudeville), 706 Chatrian, see Erckmann-Chatrian CHAUMET, Jean-Baptiste-William, composer, 231-2 Bathyle (Blau), 49, 231-2 Petite Maison, La (Bisson & Docquois), 55, 232 Chazet, see Alissan de Chazet Chazot, Paul de, librettist Fourberies de Marinette, Les (Creste), 255 Chédeville, see Morel de Chédevil CHELARD, Hippolyte-André-Jean-Baptiste, composer, 232-3, 329 Table et le logement, La (Lurieu & Dumersan), 36, 232-3 CHERUBINI, Mario Luigi Carlo Zanobi Salvadore, composer, xiv, xvi, xxiii, 23341, 429, 439, 441, 498, 573, 580, 698 Bayard à Mézières (Dupaty & Chazet), 30, 182, 216, 241 Congrès des rois, Le (Desmaillots), 18, 237 Crescendo, Le (Sewrin), 28, 241 Deux Journées, Les (Bouilly), xiv, 22, 238-40 Éliza (Sain Cyr) 23, 236 Épicure (Demoustier), 21, 240-1 Hôtellerie portugaise, L' (Aignan), 238

750

Opéra-Comique

Lodoïska (Loraux), xiv, 23, 233-6, 240 Marquise de Brinvilliers, La, (Scribe & Castil-Blaze), 36, 94-5 Médée (Hoffman), 237-8 Chevalet, Émile, librettist Violoneux, Le (Offenbach), 592 Chiari, Pietro (abbé), writer, 596 Chivot, Henri Charles, librettist Zilda (Flotow), 324 Choderlos de Laclos, Pierre-Ambroise-François, librettist Ernestine (Saint-Georges), 655 Choquart, Adolphe, librettist Talisman, Le (Josse), 457 Choudard, see Desforges, P.J.B. Choudens, Paul de, librettist, 358 Amour à la Bastille, L' (Hirschmann), 435 Sanga (Lara), 480 CIAMPALANTI, composer Tonnelier, Le [1765] 356 CIAMPI, Vincenzo Legrenzio, composer, 241, 647, 664 Caprice amoureux, Le (Charles-Simon Favart), 1, 241 CIFOLELLI, Giovanni, composer, 242 Indienne L’ (Framery), 7, 242 Perrin et Lucette (Davesne), 8, 242 Prudent (Davesne), 242 CIMAROSA, Domenico, composer, xvii, xviii, 178, 242-3, 342, 596, 606, 613 Mariage secret, Le (Bertati trans. Muller), xviii, 242-3 Maestro di cappella, Il 22, 596 Civieu, Jean, librettist Athanaïs (Lattès), 482 Clairville, Louis François Nicolaïe, known as Clairville, librettist Chaises à porteurs, Les (Massé), 516 Claparède, librettist Auteur malgré lui L’ (Jadin), 452 Féodor (Henri-Montan Berton), 154 Jeune Femme colère, La (Boieldieu), 178 CLAPISSON, Antoine-Louis, composer, 243-9 Bergers trumeaux, Les (Dupeuty & Courcy), 41, 245-6 Code noir, Le (Scribe), 40, 245 Fanchonnette, La (Saint-Georges & Leuven), 247-8, 322 Figurante, La (Scribe & Dupin), 39, 243 Frère et mari (Humbert & Polak), 40, 245 Gibby la cornemuse (Leuven & Brunswick), 41, 246-7 Mystères d'Udolphe, Les (Scribe & Delavigne), 43, 247 Pendu, Le (Courcy & Carmouche), 40, 244 Perruche, La (Dupin & Dumanoir), 39, 244 Sylphe, La (Saint-Georges), 44, 248

Index Symphonie, La (Saint-Georges), 39, 243-4 Trois Nicolas, Les (Scribe, Lopez & Lurieu), 45, 248-9 Claretie, Jules, writer and librettist Navarraise, La (Massenet), 534 Thérèse (Massenet), 542 Clémenceau, Georges, dramatist, 626 CLÉMENT, Charles-François, composer Bohémienne, La 2, 647 Clément, Pierre, writer, 311 Clermont, comte de, 471 COCCHI, Gioacchino, composer, 241, 267, 647 COFFEY, Charles, composer, 664 Cogniard, Charles-Théodore, librettist Souper du mari, Le (Despréaux), 291 Cogniard, Jean Hippolyte, librettist Souper du mari, Le (Despréaux), 291 COHEN, Jules-Émile-David, composer, 249-50 Déa (Cormon & Carré), 48, 250 José Maria (Cormon & Meilhac), 47, 249-50 Maître Claude (Saint-Georges & Leuven), 46, 249 Vive l’Empereur! 45 Coigny, duc de (à Choisy), 14 Colalto, Antoine Mattiuci, known as Colalto, librettist Gondolier vénitien, Le (Riggieri), 646 COLET, Hippolyte-Raymond, composer, 251 Ingénue, L’ (Scribe & Dupin), 40, 251 Collé, Charles, librettist, 573 Isle sonnante, L’ (Monsigny), 574 Collet de Messine, Jean-Baptiste, librettist Sara (Vachon), 692 Collot d'Herbois, Jean-Marie, dramatist, 593 Colman, George, dramatist, 458, 491 Colombeau, see Adenis Commagny, see Moreau de Commagny Condé, prince de, 377 CONTE, Jean Beppo 49 Coppée, François, dramatist and librettist Maître Ambros (Widor), 726 Passant, Le (Paladilhe), 597 COPPOLA, Pier Antonio, composer, 251-2 Éva (Leuven & Brunswick), 39, 251-2 COQUARD, Arthur-Joseph, composer, 252-3 Jacquerie, La (Blau & Arnaud), 53, 252, 478 Mari d’un jour, Le (Dennery & Silvestre), 51, 252 Troupe Jolicoeur, La (Coquard), 55, 252-3

751

752

Opéra-Comique

Cormon, Pierre-Étienne-Piestre, known as Eugène, librettist Château-Trompette, Le (Gevaert), 346 Chien du jardinier, Le (Grisar), 397 Déa (Cohen), 250 Diable au moulin, Le (Gevaert), 346 Docteur Mirobolan, Le (Gautier), 336 Don Pedre (Poise), 621 Dragons de Villars, Les (Maillart), 504 Jocrisse (Gautier), 337 José Maria (Cohen), 249 Lara (Maillart), 505 Madame Turlupin (Guiraud), 400 Mariage extravagant, Le (Gautier), 335 Moulin des tilleuls, Le (Maillart), 503 Pêcheurs de Catane, Les (Maillart), 505 Pêcheurs de perles, Les (Bizet), 156 Premier Jour de bonheur, Le (Auber), 120 Quentin Durward (Gevaert), 346 Rêve d'amour (Auber), 122 Robinson Crusoé (Offenbach), 587 Suzanne (Paladilhe), 598 Trésor de Pierrot, Le (Gautier), 337 Corneau, André-Jean-François-Jacques, librettist Titania (Huë), 435 Corneille, Thomas, dramatist, 153, 237, 550 Corsange de La Plante, Jean-François-Jacques, librettist Rivaux d’un moment, Les (Champein), 225 COSTÉ, Jules, composer, 254 Jacqueline (Scribe, Battu & Fournier), 44, 254 Coupigny, André-François de, librettist Une nuit de Frédéric II (Vaudeville), 716 Courcy, Frédéric de Baiser au porteur, Le (Adam), 61 Bergers trumeaux, Les (Clapisson), 245 Lettre au bon Dieu, La (Duprez), 315 Morceau d'ensemble, Le (Adam), 62, 63 Pendu, Le (Clapisson), 244 Souvenirs de Lafleur, Les (Halévy), 405 COURT DE FONTMICHEL, Hippolyte-Honoré-Joseph, composer, 329 Chevalier de Canolle, Le (Gay), 38, 329 Couvray, see Louvet de Couvray Crawford, Francis Marion, librettist Francesca da Rimini (Leoni), 493 Crémieux, Hector-Jonathan, librettist Ma tante dort (Caspers), 214 Robinson Crusoé (Offenbach), 587

Index

753

CRÉMONT, Pierre, composer, 254 Capitaine Belronde, Le (Picard & Mazères), 34, 254 CRESSONNOIS, Jules-Alfred, composer, 254-5 Chapelle et Bachaumont (Barthet), 45, 254-5 CRESSONNOIS, Paul, composer, 255 Saute, Marquis! (Truffier), 50, 255 CRESTE, Jules-Jean-Baptiste, composer, 255, 349 Fourberies de Marinette, Les (Carré & Chazot), 45, 255 Creuzé de Lesser, Auguste-François, librettist, 469 Amante sans le savoir, L’ (Solié), 671 Billet de loterie, Le (Isouard), 446 Déjeuner de garçons, Le (Isouard), 441 Diable à quatre, Le (Solié), 671 Mademoiselle de Launay à la Bastille (Gail), 332 Magicien sans magie, Le (Isouard), 446 Méprise, La (Gail), 332 Monsieur Deschalumeaux (Gaveaux), 342 Ninette à la cour (Berton fils), 145 Nouveau Seigneur de village, Le (Boieldieu), 181 Trompeur sans le vouloir, Le (Bouteiller), 197 Croisier, see Carrière-Doisin Croisset, Franz Wiener, known as Francis de, librettist Chérubin (Massenet), 541 Crosnier, Edmond, dramatist and theatre director, 209, 345 Crosti, Eugéne, librettist Paillasse/I Pagliacci (trans.) (Leoncavallo), 492 CUI, César Antonovitch, composer, 255-6 Flibustier, Le (Richepin), 53, 255-6 Cuinet-Dorbeil, librettist Automate, L’ (Rigel), 646 Cuvelier de Trie, Jean-Guillaume-Antoine, dramatist, 129 D'Annunzio, see Annunzio, G. d' Da Ponte, Lorenzo, librettist, 378, 541 Don Juan (Mozart), 581, 582 Noces de Figaro, Les (Mozart), 580 Daclin, Karl, librettist Bataille d'amour (Vaucorbeil), 694 DALAYRAC, Nicolas-Marie, composer, 169, 172, 173, 189, 248-9, 251, 256-65, 393, 484, 489, 495, 573, 674 698, 702, 704, 706, 708 Adèle et Dorsan (Marsollier), 19, 261 Adolphe et Clara (Marsollier), 20, 118, 263 Agnès et Olivier 16 Alexis (Marsollier), 22, 262 Amant statue, L’ (Desfontaines), 13, 257 Ambroise (Monvel), 17, 261

754

Opéra-Comique Antichambre, L’ (Dupaty), 23, 264 Arnill 18 Asgill 17 Azémia (Lachabeaussière), 14, 258 Bathilde et Éloy 18 Boucle de cheveux, La 23 Camille (Marsollier), 16, 260 Château de Monténéro, Le (Hoffman) 20, 262-3 Chêne patriotique, Le 16 Congrès des rois, Le (Desmaillots), 18, 237 Corsaire, Le 12 Corsaire algérien, Le 17 Détenus, Les 18 Deux Mots (Marsollier), 26, 265 Deux Petits savoyards, Les (Vivetières), 15, 259 Deux Sérénades, Les 15 Deux Tuteurs, Les 13 Dot, La (Desfontaines), 14, 256-7 Éclipse totale, L’ 11 Élise-Hortense 28 Enfance de Jean-Jacques Rousseau, L’ 18 Famille américaine, La 19 Fanchette 15 Gulistan (Étienne & Lachabeaussière), 26, 264 Gulnare (Marsollier), 19, 261-2 Jeune Prude, La (Dupaty), 24, 264 Journée du 12 Germinal, La 19 Koulouf (Pixérécourt), 26, 265 Laure 20 Léhéman (Marsollier), 23, 263 Lina 27 Maison à vendre (Duval), 21, 263 Maison isolée, La (Marsollier), 19, 261 Marianne 19 Mathieu 13 Nina (Vivetières), 14, 257-8 Pauvre Femme, La 19 Pavillon des fleurs, Le 33 Philippe et Georgette (Monvel), 16, 260 Picaros et Diégo 24 Poète et le musicien, Le 28 Primerose 20 Prise de Toulon, La (Picard) (Théâtre Feydeau,), 261 Raoul, Sire de Créqui (Monvel), 15, 259 Renaud d'Ast (Radet & Barré), 14, 258 Rocher de Leucade, Le 21

Index

755

Roger 20 Sargines (Monvel), 15, 258-9 Soirée orageuse, La (Radet), 16, 260 Tout pour l’amour (Monvel), 17, 261 Une heure de mariage (Étienne), 24, 264 Une matinée de Catinat 22 Urgande et Merlin 18 Vert-Vert 16 Dalcroze, see Jaques-Dalcroze DALVIMARE, Martin-Pierre, composer, 265 Mariage par imprudence, Le (Jouy), 27, 265 Dancourt, Louis Hurtout, librettist Ésope à Cythère (Trial), 691 Fous de Médine, Les (Solié), 664 Mariage par capitulation, Le (Rodolphe), 648 Danzel de Malzéville, librettist Laurette (Le Froid de Méreaux), 488 DARCIS, François-Joseph, composer Bal masqué, Le 7 Fausse Peur 8 DARONDEAU, Benoni, composer, 265 Soldat par amour, Le 15, 265 Dartois, Charles-Achille d' Artois de Bournonville, known as Achille, librettist Caprice d'une jolie femme, Le (Catrufo), 218 Comtesse de Lamarck, La (Blangini), 167 Coq de village, Le (Kreubé), 460 Mousquetaire, Le (Bousquet), 196 Troqueurs, Les (Hérold), 267, 424 Dartois, François-Victor d' Artois de Bournonville, known as Armand, librettist Bataille de Denain, La (Catrufo), 217 Charles de France (Boieldieu), 184 Comtesse de Lamarck, La (Blangini), 167 Duc d'Aquitaine, Le (Blangini), 168 Jeanne d'Arc (Carafa), 209 Mousquetaire, Le (Bousquet), 196 Panorama de Paris, Le (Vaudeville), 711 Roi et la Ligue, Le (Bochsa), 170 Troqueurs, Les (Hérold), 267, 424 Un mari pour étrennes (Bochsa), 171 Daudet, Alphonse, writer and librettist, 536, 600 Absents, Les (Poise), 621 Arlésienne, L’ (Bizet), 160 Char, Le (Pessard), 605 DAUSSOIGNE-MÉHUL, Louis-Joseph, composer Valentine de Milan [Méhul) 558 DAUVERGNE, Antoine, composer, 266-7

756

Opéra-Comique

Troqueurs, Les (Vadé), 1, 266-7 DAVAUX, Jean-Baptiste, violinist and composer, 267-8 Cécilia (Lambert or Descomles), 14, 268 Théodore (Marsollier & Després), 13, 267 Davesne, Bertin, librettist Perrin et Lucette (Cifolelli), 242 Prudent (Cifolelli), 242 Un mal pour un bien (Chapelle), 226 DAVID, Félicien-César, composer, xvii, 157, 177, 250, 268-71, 381, 519, Lalla Roukh (Carré & Lucas), 46, 177, 270-1 Perle du Brésil, La (Lurieu & Saint-Étienne, rev. Barbier), 50, 268-9 Saphir, Le (Carré, Leuven & Hadot), 47, 269-70 David, Jacques-Louis, painter, 169, 549, 715 DAVID, Samuel, composer, 271 Mademoiselle Sylvia (Fournier), 47, 271 Davyl, Louis Poupart, librettist Galante Aventure (Guiraud), 401 De Bussy, librettist Fernando (Wolffl), 727 DEBLOIS, Charles-Gui-Xavier van Gronnerade, known as Charles, composer, 271 Rubans, Les (Parisau), 13, 271 DEBUSSY, Claude-Achille, composer, xix, 306, 271-4 Damoiselle élue, La 56 Pelléas et Mélisande (Maeterlinck & Debussy), 55, 271-4, 306 Decomberousse, Alexis Barbe Benoît, librettist Aspirant de marine, L’ (Labarre), 469 Sainte-Cécile, La (Montfort), 578 DEFFÈS, Pierre-Louis, composer, 274-6 Anneau d'argent, L’ (Barbier & Battu), 44, 274 Bourguignonnes, Les (Meilhac), 46, 275 Café du roi, Le (Meilhac), 47, 274-5 Clef des champs, La (Boisseaux), 44, 274 Noces de Fernande, Les (Sardou & Najac), 49, 275-6 Dehesse, Jean-Baptiste-François-Deshayes, librettist Amusements champêtres, Les (Desbrosses or Sodi), 663 Colin-Maillard, Le (Blaise), 164 Dejaure, Jean-Claude-Bedenc, dramatist and librettist Époux généreux, L’ (Solié), 669 Incertitude maternelle, L’ (Solié), 669 Dejaure, Jean-Élie-Bedenc, librettist, 549 Déserteur de la montagne de Hamm, Le (Kreutzer), 464 Franc Breton, Le (Kreutzer & Solié), 464, 664 Imogène (Kreutzer), 465 Linnée (Dourlen), 302 Lodoïska (Kreutzer), 462

Index

757

Montano et Stéphanie (Henri-Montan Berton), 149 Nouveau d'Assas, Le (Henri-Montan Berton), 148 Werther et Charlotte (Kreutzer), 463 Delacour, Alfred-Charlemagne-Lartigue, known as Alfred, librettist Corricolo, Le (Poise), 622 Fils du brigadier, Le (Massé), 518 Nuit de Saint-Jean, La (Estalenx), 473 Voyage en Chine, Le (Bazin), 132 Delahaye, Jules, librettist Pépita (Léon Delahaye), 276 DELAHAYE, Léon, composer, 276-7 Pépita (Nuitter & Jules Delahaye), 49, 276-7 Delavigne, Germain, librettist Maçon, Le (Auber), 88 Mystères d’Udolphe, Les (Clapisson), 247 Neige, La (Auber), 85 Vieille, La (Fétis), 322 Delestre-Poirson, Charles-Gaspard Poirson, known as Delestre-Poirson, librettist Amazone, L’ (Beauplan), 133 DELIBES, Clément-Philibert-Léo, composer, xv, xvii, xxv, 277-85, 317 Danses slaves 58, 285 Jean de Nivelle (Gondinet & Gille), 50, 278-82 Kassya (Meilhac & Gille), 53, 284-5 Lakmé (Gondinet & Gille), xv, xix, 50, 282-4, 285 Roi l'a dit, Le (Gondinet), 48, 277-8, 285 DELLA MARIA, Pierre-Antoine-Domenico, composer, 285-6, 635, 698, 700 Fausse Duègne, La 23, 166 Jacquot (Després & Lille), 20, 286 Maison du Marais, La (Pineu-Duval), 20, 286 Oncle valet, L’ (Pineu-Duval), 20, 286 Opéra-comique, L’ (Ségur jeune & Dupaty), 20, 286 Prisonnier, Le (Pineu-Duval), 20, 285 Delrieu, Étienne-Joseph-Bernard, librettist Deux Lettres, Les (Jadin), 451 Impromptu de campagne, L’ (Isouard), 438 Marini (Dourlen), 303 Michel-Ange (Isouard), 438 Tonnelier, Le (Isouard), 438 Demautort, Jacques-Benoît, librettist Vadé chez lui (Vaudeville), 716 Demoustier, Charles-Albert, librettist Amour filial, L’ (Gaveaux), 337 Épicure (Cherubini), 240-1 Demun, see Hélitas de Meun Dennery, Adolphe-Philippe, librettist Croix de Marie, La (Maillart), 504

758

Opéra-Comique

Don César de Bazan (Massenet), 525 Escadron volant de la reine, L’ (Litolff), 501 Mari d’un jour, Le (Coquard), 252 Premier Jour de bonheur, Le (Auber), 120 Rêve d’amour (Auber), 122 Rose de Péronne, La (Adam), 71 Si j'etais roi (Adam), 75 Déodat de Séverac, see Séverac Dercy, Pierre, librettist Caverne, La (Lesueur), 496 DES ROCHERS, composer Bûcherons, Les 8 Désaugiers, Marc-Antoine (père), dramatist and librettist, 336 Premier en date, Le (Catel), 216 DÉSAUGIERS, Marc-Antoine-Madeleine (fils), composer, 28, 287-8, 495, 692, 717 Deux Sylphes, Les (Imbert), 11, 287 Florine (Imbert), 10, 287 Jumeaux de Bergame, Les (Florian), 12, 288 Petit Oedipe, Le (Landrin), 10, 287 Desboulmiers, Jean-Auguste Jullien, known as Desboulmiers, librettist, 241, 310 Bon Seigneur, Le (Desbrosses), 287 Toinon et Toinette (Gossec), 357 DESBROSSES. Robert, composer, 288-9, 481 Amusements champêtres, Les 2, 663 Bal impromptu, La (Harny), 288 Bon Seigneur, Le (Desboulmiers), 3, 288-9 Deux Cousines, Les (La Ribardière), 3, 289 Deux Soeurs rivales, Les (La Ribardière), 2, 288 May, Le 5 Deschamps, Émile, librettist, 582 Mari au bal, Le (Beauplan), 133 Deschamps, Jacques-Marie, librettist Claudine (Bruni), 205 Descombles, librettist Cécilia (Davaux), 268 Desessarts d’Ambreville, Joseph, librettist Duel, Le (Rifaut), 643 Fenêtre secrète, La (Batton), 128 Desfaucherets, see Brousse-Desfaucherets Desfontaines, François-Georges Fouques, known as Desfontaines, librettist Amant statue, L’ (Vaudeville), 696 Amant statue, L’ (Dalayrac), 257 Amélie (Louet), 502 Amour et la folie, L’ (Vaudeville), 696 Amours de Chérubin, Les (Vaudeville), 697

Index Aveugle de Palmyre, L’ (Rodolphe), 648 Billet de mariage, Le (Laborde), 472 Chasse, La (Saint-Georges), 656 Clarice et Belton (Grétry), 389 Destin et les Parques, Le (Chapelle), 226 District de village, Le (Vaudeville), 702 Dot, La (Dalayrac), 256 Droit du seigneur, Le (Martini), 509 Ernestine (Saint-Georges), 655 Incendie du Havre, L’ (Vaudeville), 706 Isabelle hussard (Vaudeville), 706 Mai, Le (Vaudeville), 708 Maison louée, La (Martini), 510 Mélite (Deshayes), 290 Prisonnier anglais, Le (Grétry), 385 Réveil de Thalie, Le (Vaudeville), 713 Trois lnconnues, Les (Hinner), 434 Desforges, Alfred, see Pittaud de Forges Desforges, Pierre-Jean-Baptiste Choudard, known as Desforges, librettist, 661 Amitié au village, L’ (Philidor), 615 Épreuve villageoise, L’ (Grétry), 381 Gasparo (Rifaut), 644 Grisélide (Le Froid de Méreaux), 489 Jeanne d’Arc à Orléans (Kreutzer), 461 Promesses de mariage, Les (Henri-Montan Berton), 146 Rock le barbu (Gomis), 355 Sourd, Le (Adam), 76 Théodore et Paulin (Grétry), 381 Deshayes, J.B, see Dehesse DESHAYES, Prosper-Didier, composer, 289-10 Adèle et Didier (Boutillier), 16, 289 Berthe et Pépin (Pleinchesne), 15, 289 Congrès des rois, Le 237 Dom Carlos (Léger & Dutremblay), 21, 289 Mélite (Desfontaines), 17, 290 Zélia (Dubuisson), 19, 289 Deslandes, Nicolas-Théodore-Paulin, librettist Travestissements, Les (Grisar), 393 DESLANDRES, Adolphe-Édouard-Marie, composer, 290-1 Baiser, Le (Gillet), 51, 290-1 Dimanche et lundi (Gillet), 52, 290 Desnoyer, Charles-Louis-François, librettist Malheur d’être jolie, Le (Bazin), 130 Souper du mari, Le (Despréaux), 291 Desnoyers, see Bieville

759

760

Opéra-Comique

DÉSORMERY, Léopold-Bastien, composer, 291 Fête de village, La (Dorvigny), 8, 291 DESPRÉAUX, Guglielmo Ross, known as Despréaux, composer, 291 Dame d’honneur, La (Duport & Monnais), 39, 291 Souper du mari, Le 37 (Desnoyer & the brothers Cogniard), 291 Després, Jean-Baptiste-Denis, librettist Bonne Femme, La (Vaudeville), 698 Cécile et Ermancé (Grétry), 388 Despotisme monacal, Le (Grétry), 389 Jacquot (Della Maria), 286 Opéra de province, L’ (Vaudeville), 710 Théodore (Davaux), 267 Desroziers, Alfred-Léris, known as Alfred, librettist Habit de Mylord, L’ (Lagarde), 473 Destourmel, see Estourmel Devaux, François-Antoine, librettist Bon Fils, Le (Philidor), 615 DEVlENNE, François, composer, 292-3 Congrès des rois, Le (Desmaillots), 18, 237 École des parvenus, L’ (Pujoulx), 17, 292 Pensionnat des jeunes demoiselles, Le (Picard), 34, 293 Valet de deux maîtres, Le [1801], (Roger), 23, 293 Visitandines, Les (Picard), 22, 292-3 Volécour (Favières), 19, 292 Devismes de Saint-Alphonse, Alphonse-Marie-Denis, librettist Heureuse Réconciliation, L’ (Lachnith), 473 Rosanie (Riegel), 646 DEZÈDE, Florine, composer Lucette et Lucas 11 DEZÈDE, Nicolas, composer, 257, 294-7, 495, 573, 633, 635, 651, 704, 711, 715 À trompeur, trompeur et demi (Sauvigny), 10, 295 Alexis et Justine (Monvel), 13, 296 Blaise et Babet (Monvel), 12, 294, 295-6 Cécile (Mabille), 10, 295 Erreur d’un moment, L’ (Monvel), 8, 294 Ferdinand (Dezède), 16, 296-7 Jérôme le porteur de chaises (Monvel), 10, 294 Julie (Monvel), 7, 257, 294 Stratagème découvert, Le (Monvel), 8, 294 Trois Fermiers, Les (Monvel), 9, 294 Zulima 9 DIAZ DE LA PENA, Eugène-Émile, composer, 297-8 Benvenuto (Hirsch), 52, 297-8 Diderot, Denis, 308, 373, 651 DIET, Edmond-Marie, composer, 298 Revanche d’Iris, La (Ferrier), 56, 298

Index Dieulafoy, Joseph-Marie-Armand-Michel, librettist Baiser et la quittance, Le (Boieldieu and div comp), 178, 440 Milton (Spontini), 672 Petite Maison, La (Spontini), 672 Promesse de mariage, La (Benincori), 136 Tableau des Sabines, Le (Vaudeville), 715 Une nuit au bois (Gaveaux), 343 Une nuit de Frédéric II (Vaudeville), 716 DOCHE, Alexandre-Pierre-Joseph, composer, 298-9 Alix (Nus & Follet), 42, 299 Veuf du Malabar, Le (Siraudin & Basset), 41, 298 Docquois, Georges-Louis-Edmond, librettist Petite Maison, La (Chaumet), 232 Dodsley, Robert, writer, 572 Doismont, librettist Lord supposé, Le (Chartrain), 231 Dominique, see Biancolelli, P DONIZETTI, Domenico Gaetano Maria, composer, 65,172, 173, 189, 299-301, 331, 393, 570, 677, 687 Don Pasquale (Donizetti & Ruffini, trans. Vaëz & Royer), 53, 300-1 Fille du régiment, La (Saint-Georges & Bayard), 39, 299-300 Rita (Vaëz), 45, 300 Donnay, Charles-Maurice, librettist Mariage de Télémaque, Le (Terrasse), 675 Roi Candaule, Le (Bruneau), 204 Dorat, Claude Joseph, dramatist, 289 Dorbeil, see Cuinet Dorbeil Dorchain, Auguste, librettist Maître Ambros (Widor), 726 DORET, Gustave, composer, 301 Armaillis, Les (Cain & Baud-Bovy), 56, 301 Dorvigny, Louis-François Archambault, known as Dorvigny, librettist Fête de village, La (Désormery), 291 Rage d’amour, La (Vaudeville), 712 Roger Bontems et Javotte (Vaudeville), 713 DOURLEN, Victor-Charles-Paul, composer, 302-3 Cagliostro (Saint-Cyr & Dupaty), 28, 302 Dupe de son art, La (Sapey), 27, 302 Frère Philippe, Le (Duport), 31, 303 Linnée (Dejaure), 27, 302 Marini (Delrieu), 32, 303 Petit Souper, Le (Épagny), 33, 303 Philoclès (Gensoul), 26, 302 Plus heureux que sage (Mézières-Miot), 31, 302-3 Dozaux, librettist Revenant, Le (Berton fils), 145

761

762

Opéra-Comique

Dreyfus, Abraham, librettist Battez Philidor! (Dutcq), 316 Droz, Gustave, writer, 585 Du Crest de Saint-Aubin, see Genlis, Mme de Du Fresny, see Rivière du Fresny Du Locle, Camille, librettist Déesse et le berger, La (Duprato), 314 Fantasia (Offenbach), 589 Du Pujol, Jules Alboise, librettist Monténégrins, Les (Limnander), 499 Paysan, Le (Poisot), 625 Dubois, C. Paysanne supposée, La (Blasius), 169 Dubois, Charles Jeune et vieille (Berton fils), 145 DUBOIS François-Clement-Théodore, composer, 303-4 Pain bis, Le (Brunswick & Beauplan), 50, 303-4 Xavière (Sardou & Ferrier), 53, 304 Dubois, Jules, see Battu Dubois de Jancigny, Jean-Baptiste, librettist Ariane abandonnée dans l’îsle de Naxos (Benda), 136 Dubreuil, A., see Ducongé-Dubreuil DUBUAT, composer, 629 Voisinage, Le 629 Dubuisson, Paul-Ulrich, librettist Zélia (Deshayes), 289 Ducange, Henri-Joseph-Brahain, known as Victor, writer, 209 Ducis, Jean-François, dramatist, 287 Ducis, Paul Auguste, librettist Ceinture magique, La / Bohémien, Le (Chancourtois), 225 Deux Capitaines de hussards, Les (Isouard), 449 Duclos, Charles, known as Pinot-Duclos, writer, 695 Ducongé-Dubreuil, Alphonse, known as Dubreuil, librettist Paul et Virginie (Lesueur), 498 Rose d’amour (Cambini), 208 DUGAZON, Alexandre-Louis-Gustave, composer, 151, 304-5 Chevalier d’industrie, Le (Saint-Victor), 25, 304, 629 Marguerite de Waldemar (Saint-Félix), 29, 304 Noce écossaise, La (Dumersan), 30, 305 Voisinage, Le (Pujoulx), 21, 144, 305, 628-9 DUKAS, Paul, composer, 305-6, 416 Ariane et Barbe-Bleue (Maeterlinck), 57, 272, 305-6 Péri, La 58 Dulac, librettist Roi de Sicile, Le (Gide), 349

Index

763

Dumaniant, Antoine-Jean-Bourlin, known as Antoine, librettist and dramatist, 694 Belle Esclave, La (Philidor), 616 Dumanoir, Philippe-François-Pinel, known as Philippe, librettist and dramatist, 525 Chaises à porteurs, Les (Massé), 516 Perruche, La (Clapisson), 244 Dumas, Alexandre (père), writer and librettist, 561 Piquillo (Monpou), 568 Roman d’Elvire, Le (Thomas), 684 Térésa (Rifaut), 643 Dumas, Alexandre (fils), writer and librettist, 208, 718 Fantasia (Offenbach), 589 Dumersan, Théophile-Marion [pseud. Théophile; Mme Olympe], librettist Fête des souvenirs, La (Blangini), 167 Noce écossaise, La (Dugazon), 305 Table et le logement, La (Chelard), 232 Dumolard, Henri François, librettist Exil de Rochester, L’ (Russo), 654 DUNl, Egidio Romualdo, composer, xii, xxii, 306-12, 495, 573, 664, 702, 704, 714 Cendrillon (Anseaume), 2, 307, 481 Clochette, La (Anseaume), 5, 311 Deux Chasseurs et la laitière, Les (Anseaume), 4, 310 Docteur Sangrado, Le (Anseaume & Santerre), 2, 307, 703 École de la jeunesse, L’ (Anseaume), 5, 311 Fée Urgèle, La (Favart), 5, 311, 373 Fille mal gardée, La (Charles-Simon Favart & Santerre), 1, 307 Isle des foux, L’ (Marcouville & d'Antilly), 2, 308 Mazet (Anseaume), 2, 308 Milicien, Le (Anseaume), 3, 309-10 Moissonneurs, Les (Favart), 6, 311-2 Nouvelle Italie, La (Bibenia & Metastasio), 2, 309 Peintre amoureux de son modèle, Le (Anseaume), 1, 306, 471 Plaideuse, La (Charles-Simon Favart), 2, 309 Rendez-vous, Le (Légier), 4, 310 Sabots, Les (Sedaine), 6, 312 Thémire (Sedaine), 7, 312 Veuve indécise, La (Vadé & Anseaume), 4, 307 Dupaty, Louis-Emmanuel-Mercier, known as Mercier-Dupaty, librettist Antichambre, L’ (Dalayrac), 264 Bayard à Mézières (Boieldieu, Cherubini, Catel, Isouard), 182, 241 Cagliostro (Dourlen, Reicha), 302 Camp de Sobieski, Le (Kreutzer), 467 Chapitre second, Le (Solié), 667 Dom Mendoze (Romberg), 649 Félicie (Catrufo), 217 Françoise de Foix (Henri Montan Berton), 153

764

Opéra-Comique

Hussard noir, Le (Solié), 671 Intrigue aux fenêtres, L’ (Isouard), 441 Jeune Prude, La (Dalayrac), 264 Mademoiselle de Guise (Solié), 671 Ninon chez Madame de Sévigné (Henri-Montan Berton), 152 Opéra-comique, L’ (Della Maria), 286 Pluie et le beau temps, La (Solié), 668 Prise de Passaw, La (Isouard), 442 Séjour militaire, Le (Auber), 80 Voitures versées, Les (Boieldieu), 179 Dupeuty, Charles Désiré, librettist Bergers trumeaux, Les (Clapisson), 245 Fardondaine, La (Adam), 76 Dupin, Jean Henri, librettist Figurante, La (Clapisson), 243 Ingénue, L’ (Colet), 251 Oreste et Pylade (Thys), 688 Perruche, La (Clapisson), 244 Petits Appartements, Les (Henri-Montan Berton), 154 Sérafina, La (Saint-Julien), 656 Sultan Saladin, La (Bordèse), 191 Un jour de réception (Rifaut), 643 DUPONT, Gabriel-Édouard-Xavier, composer, 312 Cabrera, La (Cain), 56, 312 Duport, Auguste, librettist Frère Philippe, Le (Dourlen), 303 Duport, Paul [pseud. Paulin), librettist Alda (Thys), 689 Bal du sous-préfet, Le (Boilly), 189 Cent-Suisse, Le (La Moskova), 468 Cosimo (Prévost), 630 Dame d’honneur, La (Despréaux), 291 Danilowa (Adam), 62 Kiosque, Le (Mazas), 544 Lequel? (Leborne), 484 Livre de l’ermite, Le (Carafa), 212 Mannequin de Bergame, Le (Fétis), 322 Marchand forain, Le (Marliani), 508 Perruquier de la Régence, Le (Thomas), 676 Pontons de Cadix, Les (Prévost), 630 Rock le barbu (Gomis), 355 Treize, Les (Halévy), 409 Veillée, La (Paris), 601 DUPRATO, Jules-Laurent-Hinard, known as Jules, composer, 313-15 [Cantate] 45, 46 Cerisier, Le (Prével), 49, 314-5

Index

765

Déesse et le berger, La (Du Locle), 46, 314 Pâquerette (Grangé & Rounat), 44, 313-4 Salvator Rosa (Grangé & Trianon), 46, 314 Trovatelles, Les (Carré & Barbier), 44, 313 Duprez, Édouard, librettist Traviata, La (trans.) (Verdi), 718 DUPREZ, Gilbert-Louis, singer and composer, 315 Lettre au bon Dieu, La (Scribe & Courcy), 43, 315 Durdilly, Louis-V., librettist Don Juan (trans.) (Mozart), 581, 583 DURET, Marcel-Antoine, composer, 316 Leçon d’une jeune femme colère, La (Charbonières), 30, 316 Durosoy, Barnabé Fannian [Farmian, Durusoy, Du Rosoi, Rozoy, Durozoy], writer and librettist, 713 Amour filial, L’ (Ragué), 637 Deux Amis, Les (Rigel), 645 Henri IV (Martini), 509 Mariages samnites, Les (Grétry), 376 Pygmalion (Bonesi), 191 Réduction de Paris, La (Bianchi), 155 Trois Roses, Les (Le Grand), 483 Duru, Henri Alfred, librettist Zilda (Flotow), 324 Dusseuil, see Rey-Dusseuil DUTACQ, Amédée-Jean, composer, 316 Battez Philidor! (Dreyfus), 50, 316 Dutremblay, A.P, librettist Dom Carlos (Deshayes), 289 Duval, A., see Pineu-Duval Duval, Mlle C., librettist Rêveur éveillé, Le (Leprévost), 493 Duval, Georges, librettist Fausse Duègne, La (Blangini), 166 Veronique (Messager), 561 Duval, Henri, see Pineu-Duval, H. Duvert, Félix-Auguste, writer and librettist, 127 Illustre Gaspard, L’ (Prévost), 631 Voyage autour de ma chambre (Grisar), 397 Duveyrier, A.H.J. (aîné), see Mélesville Duveyrier, Charles (fils), librettist Jeunesse de Charles Quint, La (Montfort), 578 Polichinelle (Montfort), 577 Duveyrier, Honoré-Marie-Nicolas (père), librettist Léonore (Champein), 221

766

Opéra-Comique

ELER, André-Frédéric, composer, 316-7 Habit du Chevalier de Grammont, L’ (Saint-Victor), 21, 316-7 Elleviou, Pierre-Jean-Baptiste, librettist Délia et Verdikan (Henri-Montan Berton), 152 Engel, Johann Jacob, dramatist, 615, 637 Ennery, see Dennery Épagny, see Violet d'Épagny Épinay, see Montcloux d'Épinay Erckmann, Émile, see Erckmann-Chatrian Erckmann-Chatrian [collective pseud. of Émile Erckmann and Alexandre Chatrian], writers and librettists, 318, 473, 506 Taverne des Trabans, La (Maréchal), 507 ERLANGER, Camille, composer, 317-19 Aphrodite (Gramont), 56, 318-9 Juif polonais, Le (Cain & Gheusi), 54, 318 Kermaria (Gheusi), 54, 317-8 Sorcière, La (Sardou), 58, 319 ERLANGER, Frédéric d’, composer, 319 Noël (Jeanne & Paul Ferrier), 58, 319 ESTOURMEL, A. d’, composer, 319-20 Colonel, Le (Pineu-Duval), 29, 319-20 Procès, Le (Pineu-Duval), 30, 320 Victime des arts, La (d'Estourmel), 319, 153, 446 Estourmel, Louis-Marie d’, librettist Victime des arts, La (Isouard, Solié, Henri-Montan Berton), 153, 446 ESTRIBAUD, Paul d’, composer, 320 Silvio-Silvia (Brésil), 46, 320 Étienne, Charles-Guillaume, librettist and composer Aladin (Isouard) (Opéra), 449 Cendrillon (Isouard), 445 Confession du vaudeville, La (Vaudeville), 700 Désirée (Vaudeville), 701 Deux Maris, Les (Isouard), 448 Fête de village, La (Isouard), 446 Grand Deuil, Le (Henri-Montan Berton), 151 Gulistan (Dalayrac), 264 Jeannot et Colin (Isouard), 448 Jeune Femme colère, La (Boieldieu), 178, 346 Joconde (Isouard), 447 Rêve, Le (Gresnick), 367 Tonnelier, Le (Gossec), 356 Un jour à Paris (Isouard), 443 Une heure de mariage (Dalayrac), 264 Une nuit de Gustave Wasa (Gasse, Isouard), 334-5, 449-50 Une pour l’autre, L’ (Isouard), 448 Zélomir (Isouard), 444

Index

767

Étienne, V.J., see Jouy Ève, Antoine-François, librettist Fille garçon, La (Saint-Georges), 656 EXAUDET, Joseph, composer, 166, 692, 696, 698, 704, 715 Fabre, Ferdinand, writer, 304 Fabre d’Églantine, Philippe-Nazaire-François Fabre, known as Fabre d’Églantine librettist Incertain, L’ (Lefebvre), 486 Fagan, Barthélémy-Christophe, dramatist and librettist, 332 Servante justifiée, La [1762] (Vaudeville), 714 Servante justifiée, La [1774] (Vaudeville), 714 Falbaire de Quingey, see Fenouillot de Falbaire de Quingey FALLA, Manuel de, composer, 320 Vie brêve, La (Shaw & Milliet), 58, 320 Fallet, Nicolas, dramatist and librettist, 716 Fausses Nouvelles, Les (Champein), 223 Farmian Durosoy, see Durosoy FAUCONNIER, Benoit-Constant, composer, 321 Pagode, La (Saint-Georges), 45, 321 Faur, Louis-François, librettist, 297 Amours de Colombine, Les (Champein), 222 Isabelle et Fernand (Champein), 222 FAURÉ, Gabriel Urbain, composer, 585 Favart, Charles-Nicolas-Justin, librettist Chose impossible, La (Chardiny), 229 Déménagement d’Arlequin (Vaudeville), 701 Diable boiteux, Le (Chardiny), 228 Famille réunie, La (Chapelle), 227 Mariage singulier, Le (Vaudeville), 708 Trois Folies, Les (Baudron), 129 Favart,Charles-Simon, writer and librettist, xi, xxii, 380, 662 Acajou (Vaudeville), 695 Amant deguisé, L' (Philidor), 614 Amité à l’épreuve L' (Grétry), 370 Amours de Gonesse, Les (Laborde), 472 Annette et Lubin (Martini), 510 Baïocco et Serpilla (Sodi), 663 Bal bourgeois, Le (Prot), 632 Bateliers de Saint-Cloud, Les (Vaudeville), 698 Belle Arsène, La (Monsigny), 575 Bohémienne, La (Di Capua), 647 Caprice amoureux, Le (Ciampi), 241 Chercheuse d’esprit, La (Vaudeville), 699 Coq de village, Le [1762] (Vaudeville), 701 Ensorcelés, Les (Vaudeville), 703

768

Opéra-Comique

Fée Urgèle, La (Duni), 311 Fête du château, La (Vaudeville), 704 Fille mal gardée, La (Duni), 307 Isabelle et Gertrude (Blaise), 165 Isabelle et Gertrude (Pacini), 594 Jeunes Mariés, Les (Vaudeville), 707 Matinée, la soirée et la nuit des Boulevards, La (Vaudeville), 709 Moissonneurs, Les (Duni), 311 Ninette à la cour (Berton fils), 145, 306 Nymphes de Diane, Les [1774] (Vaudeville), 710 Plaideuse, La (Duni), 309 Raton et Rosette (Vaudeville), 713 Rêveries renouvelées des Grecs, Les (Prot), 632 Servante justifiée, La [1762] (Vaudeville), 714 Servante justifiée, La [1774] (Vaudeville), 714 Soirée des Boulevards, La (Vaudeville), 715 Soliman II (Gibert), 348 Trois Suitanes, Les (Blasius), 169 Favart, Marie-Justine-Benoîte Cabaret Duronceray, Mme, librettist Amours de Bastien et Bastienne, Les (Sodi), 662 Annette et Lubin (Blaise), 164, 227 Annette et Lubin (Martini), 510 Ensorcelés, Les (Vaudeville), 703 Favières, Alexandre de, librettist Grand-père, Le (Jadin), 452 Favières, Edmond-Guillaume-François de, librettist Aline, reine de Golconde (Henri-Montan Berton), 151 Aline, reine de Golconde (Boieldieu), 180 Christophe et Jérôme (Henri-Montan Berton), 149 Coin du feu, Le (Jadin), 450 Concert interrompu, Le (Henri-Montan Berton), 151 Deux Sous-lieutenants, Les (Henri-Montan Berton), 148 Elisca (Grétry), 391 Espiègleries de garnison, Les (Champein), 223 Fanny Morna (Persuis), 604 Inconnu, L’ (Jadin), 453 Jean et Geneviève (Solié), 664 Lisbeth (Grétry), 391 Nouveau Seigneur de village, Le (Boieldieu), 181 Paul et Virginie (Kreutzer), 461 Trois Hussards, Les (Champein), 224 Une nuit de Frédéric II (Vaudeville), 716 Volécour (Devienne), 292 FAY, Étienne, composer Clémentine 22 Julie (Jars), 25, 673

Index Rendez-vous espagnols, Les 19 Federico, Gennaro Antonio, librettist Servante maîtresse, La (Pergolesi), 602 FELTRE, Alphonse de, composer Fils du prince, Le 37 Fenouillot de Falbaire de Quingey, Charles-Georges, librettist Deux Avares, Les (Grétry), 370 Féréol, Louis-Auguste Second, known as A., librettist Cinq Ans d’entr’acte (Leborne), 484 Une bonne fortune (Adam), 64 Ferrare, Mme Henry, librettist Fille du tourneur d’ivoire, La (Saint-Saëns), 658 Ferrier, Jeanne, librettist Noël (Erlanger), 319 Ferrier, Paul-Raoul-Michel-Marie, dramatist and librettist, 581, 583, 585 Bohème, La (trans.) (Puccini), 633 Chevalier d’Harmental (Messager), 561 Fille de Roland, La (Rabaud), 636 Fille de Tabarin, La (Pierné), 618 Madama Butterfly (trans.) (Puccini), 634 Noël (Erlanger), 319 Revanche d’Iris, La (Diet), 298 Tosca, La (trans.) (Puccini), 634 Voile du bonheur, Le (Pons), 626 Xavière (Dubois), 304 Ferrières, Alexandre de, librettist Souliers mor-dorés, Les (Fridzeri), 331 FÉTIS, François-Joseph, writer and composer, 321-3, 466, 487, 550, 552, 576 Amant et le mari, L’ (Jouy & Roger), 32, 321 Bourgeois de Reims, Le (Saint-Georges & Ménissier), 34, 322 Mannequin de Bergame, Le (Duport & Planard), 37, 322-3 Marie Stuart en Écosse (Planard & Roger), 34, 321-2 Soeurs jumelles, Les 33 Vieille, La (Scribe & Delavigne), 34, 322 FÉVRIER, Henry-Carmosine, composer, 323 Roi aveugle, Le (Leroux), 56, 323 Fiévée, Joseph, librettist Dot de Suzette, La (Boieldieu), 175 Rigueurs du cloître, Les (Henri-Montan Berton), 147 FIJAN, André, composer, 323 Fugitifs, Les (Loiseau), 58, 323 Fillette, see Loraux FIOCCHI, Vicenzo, composer, 293 Valet de deux maîtres, Le 23, 293 Flers, Robert-de La Motte-Ango, marquis de, librettist Fortunio (Messager), 561

769

770

Opéra-Comique

FLOQUET, Étienne-Joseph, composer, 266, 323-4, 495 Nouvelle Omphale, La (Beaunoir), 12, 323-4 Florian, Jean-Pierre Claris de, writer and librettist, 175, 205, 391 Baiser, Le (Champein), 222 Blanche et vermeille (Rigel), 646 Jumeaux de Bergame, Les (Désaugiers père), 288 FLOTOW, Friedrich von, composer, 324-8 Esclave du Camoëns, L’ (Saint-Georges), 41, 324 Ombre, L’ (Saint-Georges), 48, 325-8 Zilda (Saint-Georges, Chivot & Duru), 47, 324-5 FOIGNET, Charles-Gabriel, composer, 329, 702 Discipline républicaine, La (Plancher-Valcour), 18, 329 Follet, Auguste, librettist Alix (Doche), 299 Font Réaux de Jallais, see Jallais Fontaines, see Manoir des Fontaines Fontanès de Saint-Marcellin, Jean-Victor, librettist Léonore et Félix (Benoist), 137 Revenant, Le (Berton fils), 145 Wallace (Catel), 216 Fontenelle, Bernard Le Bovier de, writer, 312, 614 Fontenille, see Advenier de Fontenille Fontmichel, see Court de Fontmichel Forbin, Louis-Nicolas-Philippe-Auguste de, librettist Chevalier de Sénanges, Le (Henri-Montan Berton), 152 Forgeot, Nicolas Julien, dramatist and librettist, 670 Dettes, Les (Champein), 223 Rival confident, Le (Grétry), 386 Forges, see Pittaud de Forges Foucher, Paul-Henri, dramatist and librettist, 324 An mil, L’ (Grisar), 392 Opéra au camp, L’ (Varney), 693 Fouques, see Desfontaines FOURDRAIN, Félix-Alfred, composer, 330 Légende du Point d'Argentan, L’ (Cain & Bernède), 57, 330 FOURNIER, A.G., composer, 330 Deux Aveugles de Bagdad, Les (Marsollier), 12, 330 Fournier, Édouard, librettist Jacqueline (Costé & Osmond), 254 Fournier, Narcisse, librettist Mademoiselle Sylvia (Samuel David), 271 Foussier, Édouard, librettist Chercheur d’esprit, Le (Besanzoni), 155 Framery, Nicolas Étienne, writer and librettist, 166 Barbier de Seville, Le (trans.) (Paisiello), 595

Index Colonie, La (Sacchini), 654 Indienne, L’ (Cifolelli), 242 Nanette et Lucas (Herbain), 423 Nicaise (Bambini, Fridzeri & Vaudeville), 710 Olimpiade L' (trans.) (Sacchini), 654 Franc-Nohain, Maurice-Étienne Legrand, known as Franc-Nohain, librettist Bonhomme jadis, Le (Jaques-Dalcroze), 453 Heure espagnole, L’ (Ravel), 637 Francis, see Allarde Frémicourt, see Guérin de Frémicourt FRIDZERI, Alessandro Mario Antonio, composer, 330-1 Deux Miliciens, Les (Azémar), 7, 330 Lucette (Lantier), 13, 331 Nicaise (Framery), 5, 710 Souliers mor-dorés, Les (Ferrières), 9, 331 Fromaget, Nicolas, librettist Magasin des Modernes, Le (Vaudevilles), 707 Fusée de Voisenon, Claude-Henri, writer and librettist, 164, 165, 614 Fleur d’épine (Bayon), 130 Rêveries renouvelées des Grecs, Les (Prot), 632 Fuzelier, Louis, librettist Achmet et Almanzine (Vaudeville), 695 Gabriel, see Lurieu GABRIELLI, Nicolò, composer, 331 Don Gregorio (Sauvage & Leuven), 45, 331 GAIL, Edmée Sophie (née Garre), composer, 332-3 Angéla (Epinay & Boieldieu), 30, 182, 332 Deux Jaloux, Les (Vial), 29, 332 Mademoiselle de Launay à la Bastille (Lesser, Roger & Villiers), 29, 332 Méprise, La (Lesser), 30, 332 Sérénade, La (Gay), 31, 332-3 Gailhard, Pierre, known as Pedro, librettist Guernica (Vidal), 721 Gallet, Louis-Marie-Alexandre, librettist Attaque du moulin, L’ (Bruneau), 200 Chevalier Jean, Le (Joncières), 455 Cinq-Mars (Gounod), 364 Djamileh (Bizet), 158 Femme de Claude, La (Cahen), 208 Kobold, Le (Guiraud), 399 Princesse jaune, La (Saint-Saëns), 657 Proserpine (Saint-Saëns), 657 Rêve, Le (Bruneau), 198 Spahi, Le (Lambert), 479 Titania (Huë), 435

771

772

Opéra-Comique

Xavière (Dubois), 304 GALUPPI, Baldassare, composer, 308, 369, 664 Gandonnière, Almire, librettist Damnation de Faust, La (Berlioz), 137 Garaudé, Alexis-Albert-Gauthier de 216 GARCÍA, Vicente-Rodríguez, known as Manuel, composer, 332-3, 334 Deux Contrats de mariage, Les (Planard), 34, 334 Prince d’occasion, Le (Martelière), 31, 334 Sérénade, La (Gay), 31, 332-3 Garnier, Charles-Georges-Thomas, librettist Mina (Champein), 220 Garnier, Ernest, composer Myrtil 57 Garrick, David, dramatist, 458, 618 GASSE, Ferdinand, composer, 334-5 Idiote, L’ (Anonymous), 32, 334 Une nuit de Gustave Wasa (Leber & Étienne), 35, 334-5, 449-50 Voyage incognito, Le (Castel - pseud. of Planard), 32, 334 GASTINEL, Léon-Gustave-Cyprien, composer, 335 Miroir, Le (Bayard & Avrigny), 43, 335 Gaugiran-Nanteuil, P. Charles, librettist Charme de la voix, Le (Henri-Montan Berton), 153 Confession du vaudeville, La (Vaudeville), 700 Désirée (Vaudeville), 701 Lulli et Quinault (Isouard), 446 Maris garçons, Les (Henri-Montan Berton), 152 Gautier, librettist, 583, 725 Don Juan (trans.) (Mozart), 581 Garde de la Marin, La (Saint-Yves) (Théâtre Beaumarchais), 335 Inès et Léonore (Bréval), 197 GAUTIER, Jean-François-Eugène, composer, 335-7 Bacchante, La (Beauplan & Leuven), 45, 336 Docteur Mirobolan, Le (Cormon & Trianon), 45, 336-7 Jocrisse (Cormon & Trianon), 46, 337 Mariage extravagant, Le (Cormon), 44, 335-6 Trésor de Pierrot, Le (Cormon & Trianon), 47, 337 Gautier, Théophile, writer and librettist, 111, 523 Maître Wolfram (Reyer), 641 GAVEAUX, Pierre, composer, 337-44, 698, 706 Amour filial, L’ [1801] (Demoustier), 22, 337 Avis aux femmes (Pixérécourt), 25, 341-2 Bouffe et le tailleur, Le (Gouffé & Villers), 38, 340-1 Deux Ermites, Les (Planterre), 23, 338 Échelle de soie, L’ (Planard), 27, 343 Enfant prodigue, L’ (Ribouttés & Saint-Marc), 28, 343 Famille indigente, La (Planterre), 22, 338

Index

773

Léonore (Bouilly), 22, 239, 339 Locataire, Le (Sewrin), 21, 339-40 Monsieur Deschalumeaux (Lesser), 26, 342-3 Petit Matelot, Le (Pigault-Lebrun), 22, 338-9 Retour inattendu, Le (Bernard-Valville), 23, 340 Rose blanche et la rose rouge, La (Pixérécourt), 27, 343 Sophie et Moncars (Guy), 23, 339 Traité nul, Le (Marsollier), 23, 339 Trompeur trompé, Le (Bernard-Valville), 22, 340 Un quart d’heure de silence (Guillet), 24, 340 Une nuit au bois (Dieulafoy & Gersin), 31, 343-4 GAVINIÈS, Pierre, composer, 164, 344, 711 Prétendu, Le (Riccoboni), 4, 344 Gay, Marie-Françoise-Sophie Nichault de La Valette, known as Sophie, librettist, 121 Chevalier de Canolle, Le (Fontmichel), 121, 329 Maître de chapelle, Le (Paër), 594 Sérénade, La (Gail), 332-3 GÉDALGE, André, composer, 344 Phoébe 55, 344 Pris au piège (Carré), 53, 344 GENIN, F., composer, 344-5 On ne s’avise jamais de tout (Planard), 41, 344-5 Genlis, Caroline-Stéphanie-Félicité Du Crest de Saint-Aubin, comtesse de, writer, 206, 209, 260, 342, 495, 671 Gensoul, Marie Alexis Justin, librettist Baiser au porteur (Adam), 61 Chacun son tour (Solié), 670 Deux Mousquetaires, Les (Henri-Montan Berton), 154 Français à Venise, Le (Isouard), 447 Intrigue au château, L’ (Catrufo), 218 Maître et le valet, Le (Kreutzer), 468 Mariage à l’anglaise, Le (Kreubé), 461 Nadir et Sélim (Romagnesi), 648 Philoclès (Dourlen), 302 Gentil Bernard, see Bernard, P. J GEORGES, Alexandre, composer, 345 Miarka (Richepin), 56, 345 Victoire, La 345 Gérard, Rosemonde, librettist Marchande d’allumettes, La (Richepin), 643 Gersin, N., librettist Petite Maison, La (Spontini), 672 Promesse de mariage, La (Benincori), 136 Une nuit au bois (Gaveaux), 343 Une nuit d’été (Solié), 668

774

Opéra-Comique

Gessner, Salomon, writer, 338, 374, 391, 615 GEVAERT, François-Auguste, composer, 135, 346-8 Capitaine Henriot, Le (Vaëz & Sardou), 47, 347-8 Château Trompette, Le (Cormon & Carré), 45, 346-7 Diable au moulin, Le (Cormon & Carré), 45, 346 Quentin Durward (Cormon & Carré), 45, 346 Ghelderode, see De Ghelderode Gheusi, Pierre-Barthélémy, librettist Guernica (Vidal), 721 Juif polonais, Le (Erlanger), 318 Kermaria (Erlanger), 317 Giacosa, Giuseppe, librettist Bohème, La (Puccini), 633 Madame Butterfly (Puccini), 634 Tosca (Puccini), 634 GIBERT, Paul-César, composer, 348-9 Apelle et Campaspe (Poinsinet), 3, 349 Soliman II (Charles-Simon Favart), 2, 348-9 GIDE, Casimir, composer, 349-50 Angélus, L’ [1834] (Ader), 37, 350 Roi de Sicile, Le (Soulié & Dulac), 36, 349-50 Gille, Philippe-Émile-François, librettist, 117, 278 Jean de Nivelle (Delibes), 278 Kassya (Delibes), 284 Lakmé (Delibes), 282 Manon (Massenet), 256 Gillet, Henri, librettist Baiser, Le (Deslandres), 290 Dimanche et lundi (Deslandres), 290 GILLIERS, Jean-Claude (le jeune), composer, 695 Ginestet, Émilien de, librettist Maréchal Fabert, Le (Prosper de Ginestet), GINESTET, Prosper de, composer, 350 Maréchal Fabert, Le (Ginestet), 33, 350 Mort fiancé, Le 37 Orphelin et le brigadier, L’ 35 GIRARD, Narcisse, composer, 39, 216, 251-2, 350-1 Conseil des Dix, Le (Leuven & Brunswick), 40, 351 Deux Voleurs, Les (Leuven & Brunswick), 40, 350 Giraud, comte, dramatist, 331, 697 Giraud, painter, 159 Giraud, composer, 155 Giraud, Pierre-François, librettist Aristippe (Kreutzer), 466 Glatigny, Joseph-Albert-Alexandre, dramatist and librettist Bois, Le (Cahen), 207

Index

775

GLUCK, Christoph Willibald, composer, 5, 134, 138, 155, 165, 185, 233, 238, 266, 278, 491, 520, 545, 548, 652 Alceste 56, 142, 652, 698, 711 Arbre enchanté, L' 8 Iphigénie en Aulide 57, 266, 632 Iphigénie en Tauride 55 Orphée et Eurydice 53, 714 Rencontre imprévue, La 56, 664 GODARD, Benjamin-Louis-Paul, composer, 351-4 Dante et Béatrice (Blau), 52, 351-2 Vivandière, La (Cain), 53, 353-4 Godard d’Aucour de Saint-Just, Claude, librettist Calife de Bagdad, Le (Boieldieu), 177 Famille suisse, (Boieldieu), 174 Gabrielle d’Estrées (Méhul), 553 Jean de Paris (Boieldieu), 180 Nègre par amour, Le (Villebranche), 722 Pari, Le (Boieldieu), 175 Zoraïme et Zulnar (Boieldieu), 175 Godefroid, Félix, harpist, 354 GODEFROID, Jules-Joseph, composer, 354 Diadesté, Le (Saint-Hilaire & Pillet), 38, 354 Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von, writer, 64, 65, 138, 240, 289, 360, 387, 463-4, 531, 553, 660, 685, 686 Goldoni, Carlo, dramatist and librettist, 217, 293, 308 Buona Figliuola, La (Piccinni), 617 Gondolier vénitien, Le (Riggieri), 646 GOMIS [y Colomer], José Melchior, composer, 355-6 Diable à Séville, Le (Hurtado & Cavé), 36, 355 Portefaix, Le (Scribe), 38, 355 Revenant, Le (Calvimont), 37, 355 Rock le barbu (Duport & Desforges), 38, 355-6 Gondinet, Pierre-Edmond Julien, librettist Jean de Nivelle (Delibes), 278 Lakmé (Delibes), 282 Roi l’a dit, Le (Delibes), 277 Gondot, Pierre-Thomas, librettist Gémeaux, Les (Vaudeville), 705 Gori, Antonio [anagram of Rigo], librettist Colonie, La (Sacchini), 654 Gosse, Étienne, librettist Auteur dans son ménage, L’ (Bruni), 206 Fruit défendu, Le (Persuis), 604 GOSSEC, François-Joseph, composer, 289, 356-7, 656 Athalie 16

776

Opéra-Comique

Double Déguisement, Le (Houbron), 6, 357 Faux Lord, Le (Parmentier), 5, 356 Femmes et le secret, Les (Quétant), 6, 357 Pêcheurs, Les (Salle d'Offément), 5, 356-7 Toinon et Toinette (Desboulmiers), 5, 357 Tonnelier, Le (Audinot & Quétant), 5, 356, 457, 691 Goubaux, Prosper Parfait [pseud. Hautefeuille; Dinaux], librettist Mantille, La (Bordèse), 191 Gouffé, Armand, librettist Bouffe et le tailleur, Le (Gaveaux), 340 Médecin turc, Le (Isouard), 440 Goulard, Jean-François-Thomas, librettist Agis (Vaudeville), 696 Cassandre mécanicien (Vaudeville), 699 Oui (Solié), 668 GOUNOD, Charles-François, composer, xvi, xvii, xxv, 157, 352, 358-66, 581, 583, 686 Cinq Mars (Poirson rev. Gallet), 49, 364-6 Colombe, La (Barbier & Carré), 47, 358 Faust xv, xvi Gallia 48 Médecin malgré lui, Le (Barbier & Carré), 48, 358-9 Mireille (Barbier & Carré), xvi, 49, 361-3 Philémon et Baucis (Barbier & Carré), 49, 363-4 Roméo et Juliette (Barbier & Carré), xvi, 48, 359-61 Gourbillon, Joseph-Antoine, librettist Marquis Tulipano, Le (Paisiello/Cimarosa), 596 Gramont, Louis-Ferdinand de, librettist Aphrodite (Erlanger), 318 Esclarmonde (Massenet), 528 GRANDFORT, Eugène, composer Monsieur Desbosquets (Sewrin), 28, 145 GRANDVAL, Constance, see VALGRAND Grandvallet, Charles, librettist Grand’tante, La (Massenet), 524 Madame Turlupin (Guiraud), 400 Grangé, Eugène-Pierre-Basté, known as Eugène, librettist Don Pedre (Poise), 621 Pâquerette (Duprato), 313 Salvator Rosa (Duprato), 314 Gravollet, Paul, librettist Madame Dugazon (Hess), 434 Grenier, librettist Mélomanie, La (Champein), 220 GRESNICK, Antoine-Frédéric, composer, 367, 635, 651 Rêve, Le (Étienne), 20, 367

Index

777

Gresset, Jean-Baptiste, writer, 588 GRÉTRY, André-Ernest-Modeste, composer, xiv, xvi, xvii, xxiii, 281, 296, 36791, 404, 495, 504, 545, 573, 577, 591, 619, 640, 665, 698, 699, 702, 704, 706 Albert et Antoine (Sedaine), 18, 391 Amant jaloux, L’ (Hèle & Levasseur), 10, 377-8 Ami de la maison, L’ (Marmontel), 7, 371-2 Amitié à l’épreuve, L’ (Favart), 7, 14, 370-1 Anacréon chez Polycrate (Guy) (Opéra), 391 Andromaque (Pitrat) (Académie royale de musique), 380 Aucassin et Nicolette (Sedaine), 10, 378-80 Bazile (Sedaine), 17, 388 Callias (Hoffman), 18, 390 Caravane de Caire, La (Chedeville) (Académie royale de musique), 381 708 Cécile et Ermancé (Lisle & Desprès), 17, 388 Céphale et Procris (Marmontel) (Versailles), 375 Clarice et Belton (Desfontaines), 17, 389 Clarisse et Ermancé 17 Comte d’Albert, Le (Sedaine), 14, 385-6 Congrès des rois, Le Congrès des rois, Les, (Desmaillots), 18, 237 Denys le Tyran (Maréchal) (Opéra national), 389-90 Despotisme monacal, Le (Lisle & Desprès), 17, 389 Deux Avares, Les (Falbaire), 7, 370 Double épreuve, La (Santerre) (Académie royale de musique), 380 Élisca (Favières), 20, 29, 391 Épreuve villageoise, L’ (Desforges), 13, 68, 281, 381-2 Évenéments imprévus, Les (Hèle), 10, 378 Fausse Magie, La (Marmontel), 8, 375-6 Guillaume Tell (Sedaine), 16, 236, 387-8 Huron, Le (Marmontel), 6, 367-8 Joseph Barra (Champ-Rion), 18, 389 Jugement de Midas, Le (Hèle & Anseaume), 10, 376-7 Lisbeth (Favières), 19, 391 Lucile (Marmontel), 6, 368-9 Magnifique, Le (Sedaine), 8, 374 Mariage d’Antonio, Le (Beaunoir), 14, 385 Mariages samnites, Les (Rosoi [Rozoy]), 9, 376 Matroco (Laujon), 9, 377 Méprises par réssemblance, Les (Parat), 14, 385 Panurge (Comte de Provance & Chedeville) (Opéra), 384-5 Pierre le Grand (Bouilly),16, 387 Prisonnier anglais, Le (Desfontaines), 15, 385 Raoul Barbe-Bleue (Sedaine), 15, 386-7 Richard Caur de Lion (Sedaine), xiv, 13, 233, 382-4 Rival confident, Le (Forgeot), 15, 386 Rosière de Salenci, La (Pézay), 8, 374-5 Silvain (Marmontel), 7, 369-70

778

Opéra-Comique

Tableau parlant, Le (Anseaume), 6, 188, 369 Thalie au nouveau théâtre (Sedaine), 12, 380-1 Théodore et Paulin (Desforges), 13, 381 Zémire et Azor (Marmontel), 7, 372-4 GRÉTRY (nephew), André-Joseph, composer and librettist, 386 Deux Oncles, Les 670 Incertitude maternelle, L’ 669 GRÉTRY, Angélique-Dorothée-Louise-Lucile, composer, 696 Mariage d'Antonio, Le (Beaunoir), 14, 385 Toinette et Louis 14 Grimm, Jacob Ludwig 331, 436 Grimm, Wilhelm Carl 373 GRISAR, Albert, composer, 392-8 Amours du Diable, Les (Saint-Georges), 46, 398 An mil, L’ (Mélesville & Foucher), 38, 392 Bonsoir, monsieur Pantalon! (Lockroy & Morvan), 42, 395-6 Carillonneur de Bruges, Le (Saint-Georges), 43, 396 Chien du jardinier, Le (Lockroy & Cormon), 44, 397 Eau merveilleuse, L’ (Sauvage), 40, 392-3 Gilles ravisseur (Sauvage), 42, 394 Joaillier de Saint-James, Le (Saint-Georges & Leuven), 46, 398 Opéra à la cour, L’ (Scribe & Saint-Georges), 40, 172-3, 188-9, 393 Porcherons, Les (Sauvage & Lurieu), 42, 394-5 Sarah (Mélesville), 38, 392 Travestissements, Les (Deslandes), 39, 393 Voyage autour de ma chambre (Duvert & Vauroussel), 45, 397-8 GUÉNÉE, Pierre-Luc, composer, 398-9 Chambre à coucher, La (Scribe), 29, 398-9 Comtesse de Troun, La (Scribe), 30, 399 Guérin d’Azémar, see Azémar Guérin de Frémicourt, Jean Nicolas, librettist Ensorcelés, Les (Vaudeville), 703 Rêveries renouvelées des Grecs, Les (Prot), 632 Guerville, see Harny de Guerville Guichard, Jean-François, librettist Bagarre, La (van Maldere), 693 Bûcheron, Le (Philidor), 610 Memnon (Ragué), 637 Guiches, Gustave, writer, 689 Guilbert de Pixérécourt, René-Charles, writer and librettist, 209, 322, 727 Avis aux femmes (Gaveaux), 341 Berceau, Le (Vaudeville), 698 Koulouf (Dalayrac), 265 Marcel (Persuis), 604 Rose blanche et la rose rouge, La (Gaveaux), 343 Guillard, Nicolas-François, librettist

Index

779

Elfrida (Lemoyne), 490 Guillet, P., librettist Henriette et Verseuil (Solié), 669 Un quart d’heure de silence (Gaveaux), 340 Guinguené, Pierre-Louis, librettist Deux Amis, Les (Rigel), 645 GUIRAUD, Ernest, composer, 163, 284, 399-402, 592 Galante Aventure (Davyl & Silvestre), 50, 401-2 Kobold, Le (Nuitter & Gallet), 48, 399-400 Madame Turlupin (Cormon & Grandvallet), 52, 400-1 Piccolino (Sardou & Nuitter), 49, 401 Sylvie (Adenis & Rostaing), 46, 399 Guy, Jean-Henri, librettist Anacron chez Polycrate (Grétry), 391 Sophie et Moncars (Gaveaux), 339 Hadot, T., librettist Saphir, Le (David), 269 Haendel, Georg Friedrich, see Handel HAHN, Reynaldo, composer, 402-3, 583 Carmélite, La (Mendès), 55, 403 Île du rêve, L’ (Alexandre & Hartmann), 54, 402-3 HALÉVY, Jacques-Fromental-Élie, composer, xvii, xxiv, 349, 352, 363 403-22, 570, 625, 677 Artisan, L’ (Saint-Georges & Simonnin), 35, 403 Attendre et courir (Tully & Bury), 36, 405 Dame de pique, La (Scribe), 42, 417-18 Dilettante d'Avignon, Le (Hoffman & Halévy), 36, 404-5 Éclair, L’ (Planard & Saint-Georges), xv, 38, 408-9, 411 Fée aux roses, La (Scribe & Saint-Georges), 42, 416-17 Guitarrero (Scribe), 40, 411-12 Italie 45 Jaguarita l’indienne (Saint-Georges & Leuven), 48, 419-21 Langue musicale, La (Lurieu & Commagny), 36, 405 Ludovic (Saint-Georges), 37, 406-7 Mousquetaires de la reine, Les (Saint-Georges), 41, 412-14, 566 Nabab, Le (Scribe & Saint-Georges), 43, 418-19 Roi et le batelier, Le (Saint-Georges), 35, 403-4 Shérif, Le (Scribe), 39, 410-11 Souvenirs de Lafleur, Les (Carmouche & Coursy), 37, 405-6 Treize, Les (Scribe & Duport), 39, 409-10, 411 Val d’Andorre, Le (Saint-Georges), 42, 414-16 Valentine d'Aubigny (Barbier & Carré), 44. 421-2 Halevy, Léon, librettist Dilettante d’Avignon, Le (Halévy), 404-5 Halévy, Ludovic, librettist

780

Opéra-Comique

Carmen (Bizet), 160 HALPHEN, Fernand-Gustave, composer, 422 Cor fleuri, Le (Mikhaël & Hérold), 56, 422 Hamilton, Anthony, writer, 130, 317, 538 HANDEL [Haendel], George Frideric [Georg Friedrich], composer, 106, 481, 548, 549, 694-5, 703 Haraucourt, Edmond, librettist Circé (Hillemacher), 434 Harny de Guerville, librettist Amours de Bastien et Bastienne (Sodi), 662 Bal impromptu, Le (Desbrosses), 288 Ensorcelés, Les (Vaudeville), 703 Georget et Georgette (Vaudeville), 705 Hartmann, Georges, librettist Île du rêve, L’ (Hahn), 402 Muguette (Missa), 566 Werther (Massenet), 531 HASSE, Johann Adolf, composer, 106, 164 Hautefeuille, see Goubaux Hauteroche, Noël-Lebreton de, dramatist, 336, 442 HAYDN, Joseph, composer, 138, 240, 454, 495, 526, 582, 583-4, 640 Heine, Heinrich, writer, 489, 723 Hèle, Thomas d' [Thomas Hales], librettist Amant jaloux, L’ (Grétry), 377 Évenéments imprévus, Les (Grétry), 378 Jugement de Midas, Le (Grétry), 376-7 Hélitas de Meun, Joseph [pseud. Demun], librettist Ceinture magique, La (Chancourtois), 225 Charles XII et Pierre le Grand (Chancourtois), 226 Deux Capitaines de hussards (Isouard), 449 Henri IV, king of France, 509 HÉQUET, Charles-Joseph-Gustave, composer, 422 Braconnier, Le (Burch & Leuven), 42, 422 HERBAlN, Chevalier d', composer, 423 Deux Talents, Les 4 Nanette et Lucas (Framery), 4, 423 Herbauges, Julie de Saint-Aignan known as Jules d’, writer, 500 Herbois, see Collot d'Herbois Hérold, André Ferdinand, librettist Cor fleuri, Le (Halphen), 422 HÉROLD, Louis-Joseph-Ferdinand, composer, xvii,, xxiv, 185, 220, 355, 407, 423-33, 573 Auberge d’Auray, L’ (Commagny & Épagny), 36, 425-6 Auteur mort et vivant, L’ (Planard), 32, 424 Charles de France (Lambert, Dartois & Rancé), 31, 172-3, 184, 189, 393 Clochette, La (Lambert), 31, 423-4

Index Émeline 36 Illusion, L’ (Saint-Georges & Ménissier), 36, 425 Lapin Blanc, Le (Mélesville & Carmouche), 34, 407, 425 Ludovic (Saint-Georges), 37, 406-7 Marie (Planard), 35, 424, 425 432 Marquise de Brinvilliers, La, (Scribe & Castil-Blaze), 36, 94-5 Médecine sans médecin, Le (Scribe & Bayard), 37, 426 Muletier, Le (Kock), 33, 424-5, 432 Pré-aux-clercs, Le (Planard), 37, 76, 424-5, 428, 429, 430-3 Premier Venu, Le (Vial & Planard), 32, 424 Roi René, Le (Belle & Sewrin), 34, 425 Rosières, Les (Lambert), 31, 423 Troqueurs, Les (Vadé & Dartois), 32, 266-7, 424 Zampa (Mélesville), xiv-xv, 36, 279, 363, 424, 426-30, 432, 496 HESS, Charles, composer, 433-4 Dîner de Perrot (Millanvoye), 53, 433-4 Madame Dugazon (Leloir & Gravollet), 55, 434 HILLEMACHER, Lucien-Joseph-Édouard , composer, 434 Circé (Haraucourt), 57, 434 HILLEMACHER, Paul-Joseph-Guillaume, composer, 434 Circé (Haraucourt), 57, 434 Hinard see Duprato HINNER, Philipp-Joseph, composer, 434, 695 Trois Inconnues, Les (Desfontaines), 12, 434 Hirsch, Gaston-Philippe, librettist Benvenuto (Diaz), 297 HIRSCHMANN, Henri, composer, 435 Amour à la Bastille, L’ (Lassus & Choudens), 54, 435 Hoffman, François-Benoît-Henri, writer and librettist, 404 Adrien (Méhul), 548 Ariodant (Méhul), 549 Azeline (Solié), 667 Bion (Méhul), 551 Brigand, Le (Kreutzer), 465 Callias (Grétry), 390 Château de Monténéro, Le [or Léon] (Dalayrac), 262 Confidences, Les (Isouard), 440 Dilettante d’Avignon, Le (Halévy), 404-5 Euphrosine (Méhul), 545 Femme de quarante-cinq ans, La (Solié), 667 Idala (Isouard), 442 Jeune Sage et le vieux fou, Le (Méhul), 547 Jockei, Le (Solié), 666 Lisistrata (Solié), 668 Louise (Solié), 669 Médée (Cherubini), 237

781

782

Opéra-Comique

Mort d'Abel (Kreutzer), 467 Rendez-vous bourgeois, Le (Isouard), 442 Ruse inutile, La (Isouard), 442 Secret, Le (Solié), 666 Soubrette, La (Solié), 665 Statue, La (lsouard), 438 Stratonice (Méhul), 546 Trésor supposé, Le (Méhul), 552 Hoffmann, Ernst Theodor Amadeus, writer, 592 Houbron, librettist Double Déguisement, Le (Gossec), 357 Houdetot, Mme, 652 HÜE, Georges-Adolphe, composer, 435-6 Pantins, Les (Montagne), 50, 435 Titania (Gallet & Corneau), 55, 435-6 Hugo, Victor Marie, writer, 204, 525 Humbert, Auguste, librettist Frère et mari (Clapisson), 245 HUMPERDINCK, Engelbert, composer, 436 Hänsel et Gretel (Wette & Mendès), xviii, 54, 436 Hurtado, Antonio, librettist Diable à Séville, Le (Gomis), 355 Hurtout, see Dancourt Hus, P.E. Staupleton, known as Eugène, librettist Henriette et Verseuil (Solié), 669 Nymphes de Diane, Les (Vaudeville), 710 Illica, Luigi, librettist Bohème, La (Puccini), 633 Madame Butterfly (Puccini), 634 Tosca (Puccini), 634 Imbert, Barthélémy, writer and librettist, 489, 667 Deux Sylphes, Les (Désaugiers), 287 Florine (Désaugiers), 287 Gabrielle de Passy (Vaudeville), 705 INDY, Paul-Marie-Théodore-Vincent d’, composer, 436-7 Attendez-moi sous l’orme (Bonnières & Préval), 50, 436-7 Fervaal (Indy), 54, 437 ISOUARD, Nicolas, known as Nicolò, composer, 181, 438-50, 573 Aladin (Étienne), (Opéra), 449 Baiser et la quittance, Le (Picard, Dieulafoy & Longchamps), 24, 178, 440 Bayard à Mézières (Dupaty & Chazet), 30, 182, 241 Billet de lotterie, Le (Roger & Lesser), 28, 446 Cantate de la paix 23 Cendrillon (Lambert), 28, 444-6 Cimarosa (Bouilly), 27, 443

Index Confidences, Les (Hoffmann), 24, 440 Créanciers, Les (Vial), 27, 443 Déjeuner de garçons, Le (Lesser), 26, 441-2 Deux Capitaines de hussards, Les (Meun & Ducis), 31, 449 Deux Maris, Les (Étienne), 31, 448 Fête de village, La (Étienne), 28, 446 Français à Venise, Le (Gensoul), 29, 447 Idala (Hoffmann), 26, 442 Impromptu de campagne, L’ (Delrieu), 22, 438 Intrigue aux fenêtres, L’ (Bouilly & Dupaty), 25, 441 Jeannot et Colin (Étienne), 30, 448 Joconde (Étienne), 30, 441, 445, 447-8 Léonce (Marsollier), 26, 442 Lulli et Quinault (Gaugiran-Nanteuil), 29, 446-7 Magicien sans magie, Le (Roger & Lesser), 28, 446 Médecin turc, Le (Villiers & Gouffé), 24, 440-1 Michel-Ange (Delrieu), 23, 438-9 Prince de Catane, Le (Castel), 29, 447 Prise de Passaw, La (Dupaty), 26, 442 Rendez-vous bourgeois, Le (Hoffmann), 27, 439, 442-3 Ruse inutile, La (Hoffmann), 25, 442 Statue, La (Hoffmann), 23, 438 Tonnelier, Le (1801) (Delrieu & Quétant), 21, 356, 438 Un jour à Paris (Étienne), 27, 443 Une nuit de Gustave Wasa (Leber & Étienne), 35, 334-5, 449-50 Une pour l’autre, L’ (Étienne), 31, 448 Victime des arts, La (Estourmel), 28, 153, 446 Zélomir (Étienne), 27, 444 JACQUET DE LA GUERRE, Elizabeth-Claude, composer, 713 Jadin, Adolphe, librettist Fanfan et Colas (L-E Jadin), 453 JADIN, Louis-Emannuel, composer, 389, 450-3 Arts et l’amitié, Les (Bouchard), 27, 147, 452 Auteur malgré lui (Claparède), 29, 452 Cabaleur, Le (Lebrun-Tossa), 18, 451 Coin du feu, Le (Favières), 17, 450 Congrès des rois, Le (Desmaillots), 18, 237 Deux Lettres, Les (Delrieu), 19, 451 Écolier en Vacances, Le (Picard & Loraux), 18, 450 Fanfan et Colas (Adolphe Jadin), 453 Grand-père, Le (Favières), 26, 452 Inconnu, L’ (Vial & Favières père), 31, 453 Jean Bart et Patoulet (Léger), 24, 452 Marriage de la veille, Le (Avrigny), 19, 451 Négociant de Boston, Le (Avrigny), 19, 451

783

784

Opéra-Comique

Partie de campagne, La Martelière), 28, 452 Supercherie par amour, La (Avrigny), 19, 451 Jalabert, C., librettist Auberge de Bagnères, L’ (Catel), 215 Jallais, Amédée-Jean-Baptiste-Font-Réaux de, librettist Recruteurs, Les (Lefébure-Wély), 486 Jancigny, see Dubois de Jancigny Janin, see Mély-Janin JAQUES-DALCROZE, Émile, composer, 453 Bonhomme jadis, Le (Franc-Nohain), 56, 453 Jars, Antoine Gabriel, librettist Julie (Spontini) 673 Joigny, librettist Cause et les effets, La (Trial), 690 Dénouement inattendu, Le (Henri-Montan Berton), 149 Siège de Lille, Le [Cécile et Julien] (Trial), 690 Jollivet, Gaston, librettist Plutus (Lecocq), 485 Jolly, François Antoine, writer, 666 JOMELLI, Niccolò, composer, 218, 241, 267, 613, 646 JONCIÈRES, Félix-Ludger-Rossignol, known as Victorin de, composer, 454-6 Chevalier Jean, Le (Gallet & Blau), 51, 455-6 Dimitri (Bornier & Silvestre), 52, 454-5 JOSSE Giovanni, composer, 457 Talisman, Le (Voirin & Choquart), 42, 457 Jouy, Victor-Joseph-Étienne, known as Étienne de, librettist Amant et le mari, L’ (Fétis), 321 Aubergistes de qualité, Les (Catel), 215 Courses de Newmarket, Les (Strunz), 674 Mariage par imprudence, Le (Dalvimare), 265 Milton (Spontini), 672-3 Tableau des Sabines, Le (Vaudeville), 715 Jullien, see Desboulmiers Junquières, Jean-Baptiste-René de, librettist Guy de chesne, Le (Laruette), 481 KASTNER, Jean-Georges, composer, 154 Maschera, La 40 Kelly, Hugh, dramatist, 267 Kerkado, see Le Sénéchal de Kerkado Kind, Johann Friedrich, librettist Robin des bois (von Weber), 724 Kock, Charles-Paul de, writer and librettist, 90, 211 Camp du Drap d’or, Le (Batton), 129 Enfants de Maître Pierre, Les (Kreubé), 460 Enlèvements imprévus, Les (Pradher), 630

Index

785

Éthelvina (Batton), 128 ÎIe de Babilary, L’ (Mengal), 559 Infidèles, Les (Mengal), 560 Muletier, Le (Hérold), 424 Philosophe en voyage, Le (Kreubé), 460 Une nuit au château (Mengal), 559 KOHAUT, Josef-Wenzel-Thomas, composer, 457-8 Bergère des Alpes, La (Marmontel), 5, 458 Closière, La (Pezay), 7, 458 Serrurier, Le (Quétant), 4, 457 Sophie (Riccoboni & Biancolelli), 6, 458 Tonnelier, Le [1765], 5, 356 Kotzebue, August Friedrich Ferdinand von, dramatist, 175 KREUBÉ, Charles-Frédéric, composer, 458-61 Coq de village, Le (Favart, arr. Dartois), 33, 460 Edmond et Caroline (Marsollier), 32, 459 Enfants de Maître Pierre, Les (Kock), 34, 460 Forgeron de Bassora, Le (Sewrin), 29, 458-9 Héritière, L’ (Lambert), 31, 459 Jenny le bouquetière (Bouilly & Pain), 33, 460, 629 Jeune Belle-mère, La 31 Jeune Tante, La (Mélesville), 32, 459 Lettre posthume, La (Scribe & Mélesville), 35, 461 Mariage à l’anglaise, Le (Vial & Gensoul), 35, 461 Officier et le paysan, L’ (Scribe & Mélesville), 34, 460 Philosophe en voyage, Le (Kock), 33, 460 Portrait de famille, Le (Planard), 30, 459 Une nuit d’intrigue (Leber), 31, 459 KREUTZER, Rodolphe, violinist and composer, 168, 441, 461-8, 573, 588, 690, 698 Aristippe (Giraud & Leclerc) (Académie impériale de musique), 466 Baiser et la quittance, Le (Picard, Dieulafoy & Longchamps), 24, 178, 440 Béarnais, Le (Sewrin), 30, 182 Brigand, Le (Hoffmann), 19, 465 Camp de Sobieski, Le (Dupaty), 29, 467 Congrès des rois, Le (Desmaillots), 18, 237 Constance et Théodore (Marsollier), 29, 467 Déserteur de la montagne de Hamm, Le (Dejaure), 17, 464 Encore une victoire (Antilly), 18, 465 Franc Breton, Le (Dejaure), 17, 464 Francis I (Sewrin & Chazet), 26, 466 Homme sans façon, L’ (Sewrin), 28, 467 Imogène (Dejaure), 19, 465 Jadis et aujourd’hui (Sewrin), 27, 466 Jeanne d’Arc à Orleans (Desforges), 16, 461 Lodoïska (Dejaure), 16, 23, 233, 462-3, 465, 466

786

Opéra-Comique Maître et le valet, Le (Gensoul), 31, 468 Mort d'Abel, La (Hoffmann), (Opéra), 467 Négociant de Hambourg, Le (Vial & Saint-Cyr), 33, 468 On respire! (Tissot), 18, 465 Paradis de Mahomet, Le (Scribe & Mélesville), 33, 468 Paul et Virginie (Favières), 16, 461-2, 465, 466, 588 Perruque et le redingote, La (Scribe), 30, 467 Surprises, Les (Sewrin), 26, 466 Werther et Charlotte (Dejaure), 17, 463-4

La Chabeaussière, see Poisson de La Chabeaussière La Chaussée, see Nivelle de La Chaussée La Drevetière, see Lisle de La Drevetière, dramatist, 575 La Font, Joseph, dramatist, 288 La Fontaine, Jean de, writer, 120, 128, 155, 227, 228, 229, 258, 266, 307, 308, 314, 344, 356, 358, 363, 374, 475, 571, 572, 575, 615, 620, 645, 655, 696, 699, 703, 705, 710, 714 La Harpe, Jean-François de, dramatist, 701 La Martelière, Jean-Henri-Ferdinand, writer and librettist, 90 Ferme du Mont-Cenis, La (Champein), 225 Menzikoff et Féodor (Champein), 224 Partie de campagne, La (Jadin), 452 Prince d’occasion, Le (Garcia), 334 La Metel d'Ouville, Antoine, writer, 693 LA MOSKOVA, Joseph-Napoléon-Ney, prince de, composer, 468-9 Cent-Suisse, Le (Duport & Monnais), 40, 468-9 Yvonne (Leuven & Forges), 44, 469 La Motte, see Flers, R. de La Plante, see Corsange de La Plante La Ramée, see Ouida La Ribardière, dramatist and librettist, 457 Aveux indiscrets, Les (Monsigny) 571 Deux Cousines, Les (Desbrosses), 289 Deux Soeurs rivales, Les (Desbrosses), 288 Réconciliation villageoise, La (Tarade), 675 La Roche, Guillemain-Charles-Jacques, librettist Deux Voisins, Les (Vaudeville), 702 La Rounat, Charles de, librettist Courte Échelle, La (Membrée), 558 Pâquerette (Duprato), 313 La Rozière, see Le Couppey de La Rozière La Salle d’Offémont, Adrien-Nicolas-Piédefer de, librettist and composer Amant corsaire, L’, 2 Pêcheurs, Les (Gossec), 356 LABARRE, Théodore-François-Joseph-Berry, known as Théodore, composer, 469-70

Index Aspirant de marine, L’ (Rochefort & Decomberousse), 37, 469-70 Deux Familles, Les (Planard), 36, 469 Ménétrier, Le (Scribe), 41, 470 Labiche, Eugène-Marin, librettist Corricolo, Le (Poise), 622 Embrassons~nous, Folleville! (Valentini), 692 Fils du brigadier, Le (Massé), 518 Voyage en Chine, Le (Bazin (132) LABORDE, Jean-Benjamin de, composer, 164, 296, 471-2, 698 Amours de Gonesse, Les (Charles-Simon Favart & Chamfort), 5, 472 Anneau perdu et retrouvé, L’ [1764] (Sedaine), 4, 471 Annette et Lubin (Marmontel) (private theatre of Richelieu), 471-2 Billet de mariage, Le (Desfontaines), 7, 472 Dormeur éveillé, Le (Anseaume or Ménilglaise), 4, 472 Gilles, garçon peintre, z'amoureux-t-et rival (Poinsinet), 5, 471 Meunière de Gentilly, La (Lemonnier), 6, 472 LACHNITH, Ludwig Wenzel, composer, 583, 473 Heureuse Réconciliation (Saint-Alphonse), 13, 473 Laclos, P., see Choderlos de Laclos LACÔME [D'ESTALENX], Paul-Jean-Jacques, composer, 473 Nuit de Saint-Jean, La (Delacour & Lau-Lusignan), 50, 473 Lacour, Louis, librettist Créoles, Les (Henri-Montan Berton), 154 Laffitte, Jean, librettist Podestat, Le (Vogel), 722 Lafont, Charles, 661 Lafontaine, Auguste, writer, 224 Lafortelle, A. M., librettist Masaniello (Carafa), 211 LAGARDE, Paul, composer, 473-4, 711, 717 Habit de Mylord, L’ (Sauvage & Desroziers), 45, 473-4 LAJARTE, Théodore-Édouard-Dufaure de, composer, 474-5 Mam’zelle Pénélope (Boisseaux), 49, 474 Monsieur de Floridor (Nuitter & Tréfeu), 50, 475 Portrait, Le (Adnis & Laurencin), 50, 475 LALO, Édouard-Victoire-Antoine, composer, 476-8 Jacquerie, La (Blau & Arnaud), 53, 478 Roi d’Ys , Le (Blau), 52, 476-8 Lamartine, Alphonse-Marie-Louis de, writer, 361, 505, 517, 525 Lambert, see Théaulon de Lambert Lambert, L. T., librettist Cécilia (?) (Davaux), 268 LAMBERT, Louis, composer, 479 Spahi , Le (Gallet & Alexandre), 54, 479 LAMBERT, Lucien, composer, 479 Marseillaise , La (Boyer), 55, 479

787

788

Opéra-Comique

Landrin, C., librettist Lucette (Fridzeri), 331 Petit Oedipe, Le (Désaugiers), 287 Langlé, Joseph-Adolphe-Ferdinand-Langlois, known as Ferdinand, librettist Maître Pathelin (Bazin), 131 Sourd, Le (Adam), 76 Langlois, see Langlé Lantier, Étienne-François de, librettist Lucette (Fridzeri), 331 LAPARRA, Raoul-Louis-Félix-Émile, composer, 479-80 Habanéra, La (Laparra), 57, 479-80 Jota, La 58 LARA, Isodore de, composer, 480 Sanga (Morand & Choudens), 57 Lartigue, see Delacour LARUETTE, Jean-Louis, composer, 445, 480-2 Amants trompés, Les (Anseaume & Marcouville), 2, 481 Cendrillon (Anseaume), 2, 481 Deux Compères, Les (Santerre & Anseaume), 7, 482 Docteur Sangrado, Le (Santerre), 2, 307, 480-1 Guy de chesne, Le (Junquières), 3, 481 Médecin de l’amour, Le (Anseaume & Marcouville), 2, 480 Lassale d’Offémont, see La Salle d’Offémont Lassus, see Augé de Lassus LATILLA, Gaetano, composer, 241, 267, 713 LATTÈS, Marcel, composer, 482 Athanaïs (Civieu), 57, 482 Il était une bergère (Rivoire), 58, 482 Lau-Lusignan, Jules de, librettist Nuit de Saint Jean, La (Lacome), 473 Laugier, Balthazar-Marie, librettist Épreuves du républicain, Les (Champein), 224 Laujon, Pierre, librettist Amoureux de quinze ans, L’ (Martini), 508 Fermier cru sourd, Le (Martini), 509 Matroco (Grétry), 377 Poète supposé, Le (Champein), 222 Laun, Friedrich August Schulze known as Friedrich, writer, 724 Launay, see Staal de Launay Laurencin, Paul Aimé Chapelle, known as Laurencin, librettist Portrait, Le (Lajarte), 475 Lauzanne de Vauroussel, Augustin-Théodore de, librettist Illustre Gaspard, L’ (Prévost), 631 Voyage autour de ma chambre (Grisar), 397 Laval, Paul-Antoine-Nolivos Saint-Cyr, known as Laval, librettist, 712 Droit du Seigneur, Le (Martini), 509

Index LAVELLO, Rodolphe, composer, 482 Partie carrée (Lassus), 51, 482 Lavergne, see Tressan LAZZARI, Josef-Fortunat-Silvester, known as Sylvio, composer, 483 Lépreuse, La (Bataille), 58, 483 Le Barillier, see Bertheroy Le Couppey de La Rozière, Jean-René, librettist Constance (Vaudeville), 700 Léandre Candide (Vaudeville), 707 Marchand d'esclaves, Le (Vaudeville), 708 Le Froid de Méreaux, see Lefroid de Méreaux Le Goffic, Charles, writer and librettist Pays, Le (Ropartz), 649 LE GRAND, Jean-Pierre, composer, 483 Trois Roses, Les (Durosoy), 10, 483 Le Jumel de Barneville d'Aulnoy, see Aulnoy Le Lorrain, Jacques, dramatist, 542 Le Peletier de Saint-Fargeau, Louis, 169 LE SÉNECHAL DE KERKADO, Mlle, composer, 483 Méprise volontaire, La (Pineu-Duval), 25, 483 LE SUEUR, Jean-François. See LESUEUR Leber, Jean-Michel-Constant, librettist Aventurier, L’ (Catrufo), 217 Une matinée de Frontin (Catrufo), 217 Une nuit d’intrigue (Kreubé), 459 Une nuit de Gustave Wasa (Gasse & Isouard), 334, 449 Leblanc du Roullet, see Du Roullet LEBORNE, Aimé-Ambroise-Simon, composer, 484-5 Camp du Drap d’or, Le (Kock & Lefebvre), 35, 129, 484 Cinq Ans d’entr’acte (Féréol), 37, 484 Lequel? (Duport & Ancelot), 39, 484-5 Violette, La (Planard) 35, 211, 484 Lebreton, see Hauteroche LEBRUN, Louis-Sébastien, composer, 485 Marcelin (Bernard-Valville), 2, 485 Lebrun-Tossa, Jean Antoine Brun, known as Lebrun-Tossa, librettist Cabaleur, Le (Jadin), 451 LECOCQ, Alexandre-Charles, composer, 485 Cygne, Le 54 Plutus (Millaud & Jollivet), 51, 485 LEFÉBURE-WÉLY, Louis-James-Alfred, composer, 486 Après la victoire! 46 Recruteurs, Les (Jallais & Vulpian) 46, 486 LEFEBVRE, Joseph, composer, 486-7 Caroline (Chabeaussière), 486 Incertain, L’ (Eglantine & Chabeaussière), 15, 486-7

789

790

Opéra-Comique

Lefèbvre, Noël, librettist Camp du Drap d’or, Le (Batton & Leborne), 129 Lefèvre de MarcouvilIe, see Marcouville LEFÈVRE-DÉRODÉ, Eugène, composer, 487 Follet, Le (Barbier), 54, 487 Lefranc, Auguste, librettist Embrassons-nous, Folleville! (Valentini), 692 LEFROID DE MÉREAUX, Jean-Nicolas, composer, 487-9 Dormenon et Beauval (Anon), 15, 489 Duel comique, Le (Anon), 9, 488 Grisélide (Desforges), 16, 489 Inconnue persécutée, L’ (Petrosellini trans. Moline), 9, 80, 488 Laurette (Malzéville), 9, 488 Rencontre imprévue, La (Anseaume), 8, 487 Ressource comique, La (Anseaume), 7, 487 Retour de tendresse, Le (Anseaume), 8, 488 Léger, François-Pierre Auguste, librettist Dom Carlos (Deshayes), 290 Jean Bart et Patoulet (Jadin), 452 Plutarque (Solié), 669 Légier, Pierre, librettist Rendez-vous, Le (Duni), 310 Legouvé, Ernest, librettist Amour africain, L’ (Paladhile), 597 Legouvé, Gabriel-Marie-Jean-Baptiste, 150 Legrand, see Franc-Nohain LEGRENZIO, V., composer, 241 Légreville Saint-Alme, see Lepoitevin de Légreville Saint-Alme Leloir, Louis, librettist Madame Dugazon (Hess), 434 On ne badine pas avec l'amour (Pierné), 620 Lemaignan, Mme, librettist Éthelvina (Batton), 128 LEMAIRE, Gaston, composer, 489, 713 Féminissima 56 Intermezzo, L’ 55, 489 Lemaître, Jules, writer and librettist Mariage de Télémaque, Le (Terrasse), 675 LEMIÈRE DE CORVEY, Jean-Frédéric-Auguste, composer, 489-90 Andros et Almona (Pineu-Duval & Picard), 18, 490 Fausse Croisade, La, (Saint-Alme & Épagny), 34, 490 Prise de Toulon par les Français, La (Pineu-Duval), 18, 489-90 Rencontres, Les (Vial & Mélesville), 35, 219, 490 Rivaux de village, Les (Épagny), 32, 490 Lemierre, Antoine Marin, dramatist, 242, 387

Index

Lemoine, Gustave, librettist Mauvais Oeil, Le (Puget), 635 Lemonnier, Pierre-René, librettist Cadi dupé, Le (Monsigny), 572 Maître en droit, Le (Monsigny), 571 Meunière de Gentilly, La (Laborde), 472 Renaud d'Ast [1765] (Trial & Vachon), 691 LEMOYNE, Jean-Baptiste, composer, 490, 698 Elfrida (Guillard), 16, 490-1 Léna, Maurice, librettist Jongleur de Notre-Dame, Le (Massenet), 540 Lénéka, André, librettist Folies amoureuses, Les (Pessard), 606 Ninon de Lenclos (Missa), 566 LENEPVEU, Charles-Ferdinand, composer, 491-2 Florentin, Le (Saint-Georges), 49, 491-2 Lentz, see Mitchell LEONCAVALLO, Ruggero, composer, xvii, 492-3 634 Paillasse (Leoncavallo trans. Crosti), xviii, 492-3 LEONI, Franco, composer, 493 Francesca da Rimini (Crawford trans. Schwob), 58, 493 Lepelletier de Bouhélier, see Saint-Georges de Bouhélier Lepoitevin de Légreville Saint-Alme, Auguste, librettist Époux indiscrets, Les (Benincori), 136 Fausse Croisade, La (Lemière de Corvey), 490 Hussards en cantonnement, Les (Champein), 225 Public vengé, Le (Vaudeville), 711 LEPRÉVOST, Étienne-Alexandre, composer, 493 Rêveur éveillé, Le (Duval), 42, 493 Leris, see Desroziers Leroux, Hugues, librettist Roi aveugle, Le (Février), 323 LEROUX, Xavier-Henri-Napoléon, composer, 494 Cadeaux de Noël, Les 59 Carillonneur, Le (Richepin), 58, 494 Chemineau, Le (Richepin), 57, 494 Reine Fiammette, La (Mendès), 55, 494 Lesage, Alain-René, writer and librettist, xi, 307, 480, 496, 642, 655, 672, 703 Achmet et Almanzine (Vaudeville), 695 LESCOT, C. François, composer, 494-5 Candide marié (Barré & Radet), 15, 495 Négresse, La (Barré & Radet), 14, 494-5 Solitaires de Normandie, Les (Barré & Piis), 15, 495 Suite des Solitaires de Normandie, La (Piis), 16, 495 Lesguillon, Hermance, writer, 408

791

792

Opéra-Comique

Lesser, see Creuzé de Lesser LESUEUR, Jean-François, composer, 233, 496-9, 588, 601 Caverne, La (Dercy), 23, 496-7, 674 Paul et Virginie (Dubreuil) (Théâtre Feydeau), 498-9, 588 Lesueur, Charles-Louis, librettist Amour bizarre, L’ (Henri-Montan Berton), 150 Leuven, Adolphe de Ribbing, known as Adolphe de, librettist, 588 Aumonier du régiment, L’ (Salomon), 659 Automate de Vaucanson, L’ (Bordèse), 191 Bacchante, La (Gautier), 336 Bijou perdu, La (Adam) , 77 Bouquet de l'infante, Le (Boieldieu), 173 Braconnier, Le (Héquet), 422 Brasseur de Preston, Le (Adam), 68 Caquet du couvent, Le (Potier), 628 Carline (Thomas), 677 Chanteuse voilée, La (Massé), 511 Charmeurs, Les (Poise), 620 Conseil des Dix, Le (Girard), 351 Désesperés, Les (Bazin), 132 Deux Bambins, Les (Bordèse), 191 Deux Voleurs, Les (Girard), 350 Don Gregorio (Gabrielli), 331 Éva (Coppola), 251 Fanchonnette, La (Clapisson), 247 Gibby la cornemuse (Clapisson), 246 Jaguarita l'indienne (Halévy), 419 Jardinier galant, Le (Poise), 621 Joaillier de Saint-James, Le (Grisar), 398 Luthier de Vienne, Le (Monpou), 567 Mademoiselle de Mérange (Potier), 627 Main de fer, La (Adam), 71 Maître Claude (Cohen), 249 Maître Pathelin (Bazin), 131 Marquise, La (Adam), 66 Panier fleuri, Le (Thomas), 676 Postillon de Lonjumeau, Le (Adam), 67 Poupée de Nuremberg, La (Adam), 74 Puits d'amour, Le (Balfe), 124 Quatre Fils Aymon, Les (Balfe), 126 Raymond (Thomas), 681 Reine Jeanne, La (Monpou), 569 Roi des Halles, Les (Adam), 77 Roi d'Yvetot, Le (Adam), 72 Roman d'Elvire, Le (Thomas), 684 Rose de Péronne, La (Adam), 71

Index

793

Saphir, Le (David), 269 Signor Pascarello, Il (Potier), 628 Songe d'une nuit d'été, Le (Thomas), 680 Sourd, Le (Adam), 76 Thérèse (Carafa), 214 Un conte d'autrefois (Monpou), 569 Yvonne (La Moskova), 469 Levallois, Jules, librettist Matthias Corvin (Bertha), 144 Levasseur, Pierre-François, librettist Amant jaloux, L’ (Grétry), 377 Lévrier de Champ-Rion, Guillaume-Denis-Thomas, librettist Joseph Barra (Grétry), 389 Levy, Léon, see Brunswick Lewis, Matthew Gregory, writer, 265 Lhéritier de Villandon, Marie-Jeanne, writer, 646 Lhéry, see Brunswick Liénard, see Payen LIMNANDER, Armand-Marie-Ghislain, baron de Nieuwenhove, composer, 499501 Château de la Barbe-Bleue, Le (Saint-Georges), 43, 500 Monténégrins, Les (Pujol & Nerval), 42, 499-500 Yvonne (Scribe), 45, 500-1 Linguet, Simon-Nicolas-Henri, writer, 222 Lisle de La Drevetière, Louis-François, dramatist, 575 LITOLFF, Henry-Charles, composer, 501-2 Escadron volant de la reine, L’ (Dennery & Brésil), 52, 501-2 Lockroy, Joseph-Philippe-Simon, known as Joseph, librettist, 348 Bon Garçon, Le (Prévost), 630 Bonsoir, Monsieur Pantalon! (Grisar), 395 Chien du jardinier, Le (Grisar), 397 Croix de Marie, La (Maillart), 504 Dragons de Villars, Les (Maillart), 504 Reine Topaz, La (Massé), 516 Suzanne (Paladhile), 598 Loeillard d’Avrigny, Charles-Joseph, librettist Brouilleries, Les (Henri-Montan Berton), 147 Mariage de la veille, Le (Jadin), 451 Miroir, Le (Gastinel), 335 Négociant de Boston, Le (Jadin), 451 Supercherie par amour, La (Jadin), 451 Loiseau, Georges, librettist Fugitifs, Les (Fijan), 323 Loiseau de Persuis, see Persuis Long, John Luther, writer, 634 Longchamps, Charles de, dramatist and librettist

794

Opéra-Comique

Amour et colère (Lubbert), 502 Baiser et la quittance, Le (Boieldieu/Méhul/Kreutzer/Isouard), 178, 440 Duel nocturne, Le (Rigel), 645 Ma tante Aurore (Boieldieu), 177 Pari, Le (Boieldieu), 175 Tableau des Sabines, Le (Vaudeville), 715 Lopez, Bernard, librettist Trois Nicolas, Les (Clapisson), 248 Loraux (jeune), Claude-François-Fillette, known as, librettist Amant à l’épreuve, L’ (Henri-Montan Berton), 146 Lodoïska (Cherubini), 233 Romance, La (Henri-Montan Berton), 151 Valentin (Henri-Montan Berton), 153 Loraux (aîné), Michel Fillette, known as Loraux, librettist Écolier en vacances, L’ (Jadin), 450 Une heure d’absence (Berton fils), 146 Lormian, see Baour-Lormian Loti, Louis-Marie-Julien-Viaud, known as Pierre, writer, 402, 479, 586, 634 LOUET, Alexandre, composer, 502 Amélie (Desfontaines), 20, 502 Double Clef, La (Brousse-Desfaucherets), 14, 502 Louis XIV, king of France, x, xviii, 106, 152 Louis XV, king of France, 274 Louis XVI, king of France, 291, 390, 509, 698 Louis XVIII, king of France, 218 Louis-Joseph, son of Louis XVI, 698 Lourdet de Santerre, Jean-Baptiste, librettist Annette et Lubin (?) (Blaise), 164 Annette et Lubin (Martini), 510 Deux Compères, Les (Laruette), 482 Docteur Sangrado, Le (Duni & /Laruette), 307, 480, 703 Double Épreuve, Le (Grétry), 380 Fête au château, La (Vaudevilles), 704 Fille mal gardée, La (Duni), 307 Savetier et le financier, Le (Rigel), 645 Louvet de Couvray, Jean-Baptiste, writer, 152, 234, 462 Louÿs, Pierre, writer, 319 LUBBERT, Émile-Timothée, composer, 502 Amour et colère (Longchamps), 33, 502 Lucas, Hippolyte-Julien-Joseph, librettist Cruche cassée, La (Pessard), 605 Fior d’Aliza (Massé), 517 Lalla-Roukh (David), 270 LUCE-VARLET, Ildephonse, composer, 503 Élève de Presbourg, L’ (Vial & Muret), 39, 503 LULLY, Jean-Baptiste, composer, 406, 652

Index

Lurieu, Jules-Joseph-Gabriel de [pseud. Gabriel], librettist Château d’Urtuby, Le (Berton fils), 146 Grand Prix, Le (Adam), 63 Joséphine (Adam), 62 Langue musicale, La (Halévy), 405 Perle du Brésil, La (David), 268 Porcherons, Les (Grisar), 394 Sournoise, La (Thys), 688 Table et le logement, La (Chelard), 232 Trois Jours en une heure (Adam), 62 Trois Nicolas, Les (Clapisson), 248 Mabille, librettist Cécile (Dezède), 295 Macpherson, James, poet, 552 Maeterlinck, Maurice, dramatist and librettist Ariane et Barbe-Bleue (Dukas), 305, 306 Pelléas et Mélisande (Debussy), 271, 272 MAGNARD, Lucien-Denis-Gabriel-Albéric, composer, 503 Bérénice (des Fontaines), 58, 503 Magnitot, librettist Célestine (Bruni), 205 Coradin (?) (Bruni), 205 Magre, Maurice, librettist Coeur du moulin, Le (Sèverac), 662 Maillan, Julien de, librettist Moulin des tilleuls, Le (Maillart), 503 MAILLART, Louis-Aimé, composer, 503-6 Croix de Marie, La (Lockroy & Dennery), 43, 504 Dragons de Villars, Les (Cormon & Lockroy), 47, 504-5 Lara (Cormon & Carré), 47, 505-6 Moulin des tilleuls, Le (Maillan & Cormon), 42, 503-4 Pêcheurs de Catane, Les (Cormon & Carré) (Théâtre-Lyrique), 505 Mailly, M. de, 164 MAJO, Gian Francesco de, composer, 645 Malherbe, Henri, 118 Malzéville, see Danzel de Malzéville Manoir des Fontaines, librettist Bérénice (Magnard), 503 Manteufel, 297 Maquet, Auguste-Jules, writer, 561 MARC, François, composer Arabelle et Vascos 18 Marcouville, Pierre-Augustin-Lefèvre de, librettist Amants trompés, Les (Laruette), 481

795

796

Opéra-Comique

Isle des foux, L’ (Duni), 308 Médicin de l’amour, Le (Laruette &Vaudeville), 480, 709 MARÉCHAL, Henri-Charles, composer, 506-7 Amoureux de Catherine, Les (Barbier), 49, 506-7 Taverne des Trabans, La (Erckmann-Chatrian & Barbier), 50, 507 Maréchal, Sylvain, librettist Denys le Tyran (Grétry), 389 Missionnaires républicains, Les (Vaudeville), 709 MARESSE, Louis, composer, 508 Habit retourné, L’ (Mendibourg), 33, 508 Marie-Antoinette, queen of France, 549 Marie-Caroline, queen of Naples, 184 Marie-Louise, princess, 441 Marivaux, Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de, dramatist, ix, 374, 458, 560, 622, 624 MARLIANI, Marco Aurelio, composer, 508 Marchand forain, Le (Planard & Duport), 38, 508 Marmontel, Jean-François, writer and librettist, xxiii, 148, 164, 169, 227, 286, 348, 473, 488, 546, 616, 703 Ami de la maison, L’ (Grétry), 371-2 Annette et Lubin (Laborde), 471-2 Bergère des Alpes, La (Kohaut), 458 Céphale et Procris (Grétry), 375 Dormeur éveillé, Le (Piccinni), 617 Fausse Magie, La (Grétry), 375 Huron, Le (Grétry), 367 Lucile (Grétry), 368 Silvain (Grétry), 369 Zémire et Azor (Grétry), 372, 373-4 Mars, Antony, librettist Chambre bleue, La (Bouva1), 197 Marsollier des Vivetières, Benoît-Joseph, librettist Adèle et Dorsan (Dalayrac), 261 Adolphe et Clara (Dalayrac), 263 Alexis (Dalayrac), 262 Camille (Dalayrac), 260 Concert interrompu, Le (Henri-Montan Berton), 148, 151 Constance et Théodore (Kreutzer), 467 Deux Aveugles de Bagdad, Les (Fournier), 330 Deux Aveugles de Tolède, Les (Méhul), 552 Deux Mots (Dalayrac), 265 Deux Petits Savoyards, Les (Dalayrac), 259 Edmond et Caroline (Kreubé), 459 Gulnare (Dalayrac), 261 Irato, L’ (Méhul), 550 Joanna (Méhul), 551 Léhéman (Dalayrac), 263

Index

797

Léonce (Isouard), 442 Maison isolée, La (Dalayrac), 261 Marianne (Dalayrac) Nina (Dalayrac), 251, 257 Traité nul, Le (Gaveaux), 339 Théodore (Davaux) 267 MARTINI, Jean-Paul-Egide, composer, 495, 508-11, 696, 704, 714 Amant Sylphe, L’ (Quéton), 13, 510 Amoureux de quinze ans, L’ (Laujon), 7, 508 Annette et Lubin (1800) (M-J Favart & Santerre, rev. C-S Favart), 21, 164, 510 Arts et l’amitié, Les (1788) (Bouchard), 15, 147 Droit du Seigneur, Le (Desfontaines & Laval), 13, 509 Fermier cru sourd, Le (Laujon), 8, 509 Henri IV (Durosoy), 8, 509 Maison louée, La (Desfontaines), 26, 510-11 Rendez-vous bien employé, Le (Anseaume), 8, 509 MASCAGNI, Pietro, composer Cavalleria Rusticana 52 Mason, William, poet, 491 MASSA, Alexandre-Philippe-Régnier, marquis de, composer Royal-Cravate 46, 511 MASSA, Alfred, marquis de, composer Coeur de Paris, Le 51 MASSÉ, Félix-Marie, known as Victor, composer, xvii, xxv, 281, 282, 511-24 Chaises à porteurs, Les (Dumanoir & Clairville), 45, 516-7 Chanteuse voilée, La (Scribe & Leuven), 42, 511 Fiancée du diable, La (Scribe & Romand), 44, 514 Fils du brigadier, Le (Labiche & Delacour), 47, 518 Fior d’Aliza (Carré & Lucas), 47, 517-8 Galathée (Barbier & Carré), 43, 512-3 Miss Fauvette (Barbier & Carré), 44, 514-5 Noces de Jeannette, Les (Barbier & Carré), 43, 513-4 Paul et Virginie (Barbier & Carré), 53, 518-23 Reine Topaz, La (Lockroy & Battu) (Théâtre-Lyrique), 516 Saisons, Les (Barbier & Carré), 44, 515-6 Une nuit de Cléopâtre (Barbier), 51, 523-4 MASSENET, Jules-Émile-Frédéric, composer, xvii, xxv, 198, 202, 284, 403, 52443 Cendrillon (Cain), 54, 536-8, 543 Chérubin (Croisset & Cain), 56, 541-2 Cigale, La 56 Don César de Bazan (Chantepie), 48, 525-6 Don Quichotte (Cain), 542-3 Esclarmonde (Blau & Graumont), 52, 528-31 Grand’tante, La (Adenis & Grandvallet), 47, 524-5 Grisélidis (Silvestre & Morand), 55, 538-40

798

Opéra-Comique

Jongleur de Notre-Dame, Le (Léna), 56, 540-1 Kassya see Delibes Manon (Meilhac & Gille), xix, 51, 117, 526-8, 531, 532, 541 Marie-Magdeleine 49, 56 Navarraise, La (Claretie & Cain), 53, 534-5, 542 Portrait de Manon, Le (Boyer), 53, 533-4, 541 Rosati, Les 55 Sapho (Cain & Bernède), 54, 536 Scènes alsaciennes 57 Thérèse (Claretie), 58, 542 Werther (Blau, Milliet & Hartmann), 53, 531-3 Masson, Auguste-Michel-Benoît-Gaudichot, known as Michel, librettist, 91 Grand Prix, Le (Adam), 63 Micheline (Adam), 66 Saint-Sylvestre, La (Bazin), 131 Trois Jours en une heure (Adam), 62 Masson de Morvilliers, librettist Paysans patriotes, Les (Vogler), 723 Masson de Pezay, Alexandre-Frédéric-Jacques, librettist Closière, La (Kohaut), 458 Rosière de Salenci, La (Grétry), 374 Matos Fragaso, Juan de, writer, 572 Matrat, Emmanuel, librettist Coupe enchantée, La (Pierné), 620 Folies amoureuses, Les (Pessard), 606 Mattiuci, see Colalto Mauconseil, marquise de, 704 MAUPÉOU, Léon de, composer, 543-4 Amour vengé, L’ (1890) (Lassus), 52, 543-4 MAZAS, Jacques-Féréol, composer, 544-5 Kiosque, Le (Scribe & Duport), 40, 544-5 Mazères, Édouard-Joseph-Ennemond, librettist Capitaine Belronde, Le (Crémont), 254 Loup-garou, Le (Bertin), 144 Mazza, Giuseppe, 88 MÉHUL, Étienne-Nicolas, composer, xiv, xxiii, 172, 178, 181, 185, 189, 233, 238, 404, 429, 439, 449, 451, 480, 498, 545-58, 573 Adrien (Hoffmann) (Théâtre de la Republique et des Arts), 548-9 Ariodant (Hoffmann), 20, 549-50 Baiser et la quittance, Le (Picard, Dieulafoy & Longchamps), 24, 178, 440 Bion (Hoffmann), 21, 551 Caverne, La 19 Chant du départ, Le 58 Congrès des rois, Le Congrès des rois, Le (Desmaillots), 18, 237 Cora (Valadier) (Opéra), 546 Deux Aveugles de Tolède, Les (Marsollier), 26, 552

Index

799

Doria 18 Épicure (Demoustier), 21, 240-1 Euphrosine (Hoffmann), 16, 545-6 Gabrielle d'Estrées (Saint-Just), 26, 553 Héléna (Saint-Cyr & Bouilly), 24, 552 Heureux malgré lui, L’ 24 Horatius Coclès (Arnault) (Opéra), 547, Irato, L’ (Marsollier), 21, 178, 550 Jeune Henri, Le (Bouilly), 19, 548 Jeune Sage et le vieux fou, Le (Hoffmann), 17, 547 Joanna (Marsollier), 23, 551 Joseph (Duval), xiv, 26, 553-8 Journée aux aventures, La (Capelle and Mézières-Miot), 31, 558 Mélidore et Phrosine (Arnault), 18, 547-8 Prince troubadour, Le (Duval), 29, 558 Stratonice (Hoffmann), 17, 546 670 Trésor supposé, Le (Hoffmann), 23, 552 Une folie (Bouilly), 23, 551 Uthal (Saint-Victor), 26, 552-3 Valentine de Milan (Bouilly), 33, 558 Meilhac, Henri, librettist, 117 Bourguignonnes, Les (Deffès), 275 Café du roi, Le (Deffès), 274 Carmen (Bizet), 160 José Maria (Cohen), 249 Kassya (Delibes), 284 Manon (Massenet), 256 Pénitente, La (Valgrand), 692 Vert-Vert (Offenbach), 588 Mélesville, Anne-Honoré-Joseph Duveyrier, known as Mélesville, librettist, xxiii Amazone, L’ (Beauplan), 133 An mil, L’ (Grisar), 392 Chalet, Le (Adam), 64, 65 Charbonnière, La (Montfort), 579 Concert à la cour, Le (Auber), 86 Dames capitaines, Les (Reber), 641 Édouard (Barni), 128 Grande Duchesse, La (Carafa), 214 Jeune Tante, La (Kreubé), 459 Jeunesse de Charles Quint, La (Montfort), 578 Lambert Simnel (Monpou), 570 Lapin blanc, Le (Hérold), 407, 425 Leicester (Auber), 84 Léocadie (Auber), 86 Lettre posthume, La (Kreubé), 461 Officer et le paysan, L' (Kreubé), 460

800

Opéra-Comique

Paradis de Mahomet, Le (Kreutzer), 468 Prisonnier d’État, Le (Batton), 129 Rencontres, Les (Catrufo & Lemière de Corvey), 219, 490 Saint-Sylvestre, La (Bazin), 131 Sarah (Grisar), 392 Trompette de Monsieur le Prince, Le (Bazin), 130 Une journée de la Fronde (Carafa), 213 Valet de chambre, Le (Carafa), 210 Zampa (Hérold), 426, 427, 496 Mély-Janin, Jean-Marie Janin, known as Mély-Janin, librettist Projet de pièce, Le (Blangini), 169 MEMBRÉE, Edmond, composer, 558-9 Courte Échelle, La (Rounat), 50, 558-9 Ménard, librettist Mariage difficile, Le (Panseron), 600 Mendès, Catulle, dramatist and librettist, 492 Carmélite, La (Hahn), 403 Hänsel et Gretel/Jeannot et Margot (Humperdinck), 436 Reine Fiammette, La (Leroux), 494 Mendibourg, librettist Habit retourné, L’ (Maresse), 508 MENGAL, Martin-Joseph, composer, 559-60 ÎIe de Babilary, L’ (Kock), 32, 559 Infidèles, Les (Kock), 33, 560 Une nuit au château (Kock), 32, 559 MENGOZZI, Bernardo, composer, 560 Dame voilée, La (Ségur), 20, 560 Ménilglaise, librettist Dormeur éveillé, Le (Laborde), 472 Ménissier, Jules-Constant, librettist, 211-2 Bourgeois de Reims, Le (Fétis), 322 Illusion, L’ (Hérold), 425 Mennechet, Édouard, librettist Une bonne fortune (Adam), 64 Mension (Beaumarchais' secretary), librettist Claude et Claudine (Vaudeville), 700 Mercier-Dupaty, see Dupaty Méré, Charles, librettist Angélo, tyran de Padoue (Bruneau), 204 Méreaux, see Lefroid de Méreaux Merimée, Prosper, writer, 103, 112, 161, 197 Merle, Jean-Toussaint, dramatist and librettist, 62 Courses de Newmarket, Les (Strunz), 674 Merville, Pierre François Camus, known as Merville Grande Duchesse, La (Carafa), 214 Voyage de cour, Le (Catrufo), 219

Index

Méry, François-Joseph-Pierre-André, librettist Fête des arts, La (Adam), 76 Maître Wolfram (Reyer), 641 MESSAGER, André-Charles-Prosper, composer, 273, 560-1 Basoche, La (Carré), 560-1 Chevalier d’Harmental (Ferrier), 53, 561 Fortunio (Flers & Caillavet), 57, 561 Une aventure de la Guimard 55 Véronique (Vanloo & Duval), 561 Messine, see Collet de Messine Mestépès, Eugène, librettist Violoneux , Le (Offenbach), 592 Metastasio, Pietro Trapassi, known as Metastasio, writer and librettist, 548 Nouvelle Italie, La (Duni, Rigade & Traetta), 309 Olympiade, L’ (Sacchini), 654 Meun, see Hélitas de Meun Meunier, critic, 330 MEYERBEER, Giacomo [Jakob Liebmann Meyer Beer], composer, 134, 158, 168, 278, 355, 363, 562-4, 677, 678 Étoile du Nord, L’ (Scribe), xv, 44, 562, 564 Pardon de Ploërmel, Le (Barbier & Carré), 45, 563-4 Mézières-Miot, Louis, librettist Journée aux aventures, La (Méhul), 558 Plus heureux que sage (Dourlen), 302 MICHIELS, Gustave, composer Colombine 52 Mikhaël, Ephraim, librettist Cor fleuri, Le (Halphen), 422 MILLANVOYE, Bertrand, librettist Dîner de Pierrot, Le (Hess), 433 Millaud, Albert, librettist Egmont (Salvayre), 660 Plutus (Lecocq), 485 MILLET, Albert, composer, 565 Hilda (Narrey & Carré fils), 52, 565 Milliet, Paul, librettist Matthias Corvin (Bertha), 144 Vida breve, La (de Falla), 320 Werther (Massenet), 531 Miot, see Mézières-Miot MISSA, Jean-Louis-Edmond, composer, 566-7 Juge et parti (Adenis), 51, 565 Muguette (Carré fils & Hartmann), 55, 566-7 Ninon de Lenclos (Lénéka and Bernède), 53, 566 Mistral, Joseph-Étienne-Frédéric, writer, 361

801

802

Opéra-Comique

Mitchell, Georges Lentz, known as Georges, dramatist and librettist Angelus, L’ (Baille), 124 Mitelet, librettist Fête civique du village, La (Vaudeville), 704 Moinaux, Joseph-Désiré-Moineau, known as Jules, librettist Désespérés, Les (Bazin), 132 Deux Aveugles, Les (Offenbach), 586 Moirmoiron, Raimond de, writer, 211 Moissy, Alexandre-Guillaume-Mouslier de, librettist Nouvelle École des femmes, La (1770) (Philidor), 614 Molière, Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, known as Molière, dramatist, ix, 336, 358, 359, 385, 550, 581, 582, 623, 624 Moline, Pierre Louis, librettist Amant à l’épreuve, L’ (Henri-Montan Berton), 146 Inconnue persecutée (trans.) (Anfossi/later parody by Lefroid de Méraux), 79, 488 Roger-Bontemps et Javotte (Vaudeville), 713 Moline de Saint-Yon, Alexandre Pierre, librettist Époux indiscrets, Les (Benincori), 136 MONCRIEFF, composer, 714 MONDONVILLE, Jean-Joseph-Cassanéa de, composer, 164, 166, 266, 495, 707, 713, 714 Monnais, Guillaume-Édouard-Désiré, librettist Cent-Suisse, Le (La Moskova), 468 Dame d’honneur, La (Despréaux), 291 Sultana (Bourges), 196 Monnet, Jean, director of the Opéra comique, 267, 481 MONPOU, François-Louis-Hippolyte, composer, 243, 567-71 Deux Reines, Les (Soulié & Arnould), 38, 567 Lambert Simnel (Scribe & Mélesville), 41, 570-1 Luthier de Vienne, Le (Saint-Georges & Leuven), 38, 567-8 Piquillo (Dumas & Nerval), 39, 568 Planteur, Le (Saint-Georges), 39, 568-9 Reine Jeanne, La (Leuven & Brunswick), 40, 569 Un conte d’autrefois (Leuven & Brunswick), 39, 569 Monselet, Charles-Pierre, librettist Amour médecin, L’ (Poise), 623 Joli Gilles (Poise), 624 Surprise de l’amour, La (Poise), 622 MONSIGNY, Pierre-Alexandre, composer, xiv, xxii, 281, 345, 495, 571-7, 619, 633, 695, 698, 700, 702, 704, 706, 711, 715, 717 Aline, Reine de Golconde (Sedaine) (Opéra), 574 Aveux indiscrets, Les (La Ribadière), 3, 571 Belle Arsène, La (Charles-Simon Favart), 8, 575-6 Cadi dupé, Le (Lemonnier), 1, 572

Index Déserteur, Le (Sedaine), xiv, 6, 328, 574-5 Faucon, Le (Sedaine), 7, 575 Félix (Sedaine), 9, 576-7 Isle sonnante, L’ (Collé), 6, 574 Maître en droit, Le (Lemonnier), 1, 571-2 On ne s’avise jamais de tout (Sedaine), 1, 572 Rose et Colas (Sedaine), 4, 573-4 Roy et le fermier, Le (Sedaine), 3, 572-3 Montagne, Édouard, librettist Pantins, Les (Huë), 435 Montcloux d’Épinay, G., librettist Fausse Duègne, La (Blangini), 166 Montesson, Mme de, 12, 574, 706 Montfleury, Antoine Jacob, known as Montfleury, dramatist, 565 MONTFORT, Alexandre, composer, 577-80 Charbonnière, La (Scribe & Mélesville), 41, 579 Deucalion et Pyrrha (Carré & Barbier), 44, 580 Jeunesse de Charles Quint, La (Mélesville & Duveyrier fils), 40, 578 Ombre d’Argentine, L’ (Bayard & Biéville), 43, 579 Polichinelle (Scribe & Duveyrier fils), 39, 577-8 Sainte-Cécile, La (Ancelot & Decomberousse), 41, 578-9 Montolieu, Elisabeth-Jeanne-Pauline Polier de Bottens, known as Isabelle de, writer, 486 Monvel, see Boutet de Monvel Monville, see Boissel de Monville Moore, Thomas, 270 Morand, Eugène-Édouard, librettist Deucalion et Pyrrha (Pierre-Montan Berton), 155 Morand, Eugène, librettist Grisélidis (Massenet), 538 Sanga (Lara), 480 Moras, P., librettist Confession du vaudeville, La (Vaudeville), 700 Désirée (Vaudeville), 701 Moreau de Commagny, Charles-François-Jean-Baptiste, librettist Auberge d’Auray, L’ (Hérold), 425 Exil de Rochester, L’ (Russo), 654 Langue musicale, La (Halévy), 405 Masaniello (Carafa), 211 Morel de Chédeville, librettist, 583 Caravane de Caire (Grétry), 381 Panurge dans Isle des lanternes (Grétry), 384 Moreto Y Cabaña, dramatist, 694 Morlet, Louis, 575 Mortonval, writer, 355 Morvan, de, librettist

803

804

Opéra-Comique

Bonsoir, Monsieur Pantalon! (Grisar), 395 Morvilliers, see Masson de Morvilliers Moskova, see La Moskova MOULINGHEN, Jean-Baptiste, composer Acajou 8, 695 Bonne Femme, La 9, 698 Nymphes de Diane, Les 8, 710 Servante justifiée, La (1774), 8, 714-5 MOURET, Jean-Joseph, composer, 3, 307, 701 Mouslier de Moissy, see Moissy MOZART, Wolfgang Amadeus, composer, xvii, 134, 138, 185, 189, 233, 393, 425, 428-9, 541-2, 606, 670, 580-5 Bastien et Bastienne 55 Don Juan (Da Ponte trans. Trianon, Challamel & Gautier [1866], Durdilly rev. Gounod [1896]), xviii, 53, 581-3 Flûte enchantée, La (Schikaneder trans. Nuitter & Beaumont), xviii, 50, 383, 583-5 Noces de Figaro, Les (Da Ponte, trans. Barbier & Carré), xviii, 48, 172-3, 378, 541-2, 580-1, 583 Petits Riens, Les 58 Muller, Daniel, librettist Mariage secret, Le (Cimarosa), 242 Muret, Théodore, librettist Éleve de Presbourg, L’ (Luce-Varlet), 503 Murger, Henry, writer, 453, 633 Musset, Louis-Charles-Alfred de, writer, 158, 561, 589, 620 Musset, Paul de, librettist Fantasio (Offenbach), 589 Najac, Émile-Fernand de, librettist Beauté du diable, La (Alary), 79 Noces de Fernande, Les (Deffès), 275 Roi malgré lui, Le (Chabrier), 220 Nanteuil, see Gaugiran-Nanteuil Napoleon II, king of Rome, 698 Narrey, Charles, librettist Hilda (Millet), 565 Navarre, Marguerite de, writer, 314 Népoty, Lucien, librettist Mârouf, savetier du Caire (Rabaud), 637 Nerva1, Gérard-Labrunie, known as Gérard de, writer and librettist, 138 Monténégrins, Les (Limnander), 499 Piquillo (Monpou), 568 Ney, see La Moskova NIBELLE, Adolphe-André, composer, 585-6 Fontaine de Berny, La (Second), 48, 585-6

Index Nichault de La Valette, see Gay Nicolaïe, see Clairville Nicolò, see Isouard Nigond, Gabriel, librettist On ne badine pas avec l’amour (Pierné), 620 Nion, François de, writer, 323 Nodier, Charles, writer, 400 Noël, librettist Deux Petits Aveugles, Les (Trial), 690 Noël, Édouard, librettist Chambre bleue, La (Bouval), 197 Nolivos Saint-Cyr, see Laval Normand, Jacques, librettist Diana (Paladhile), 599 NOUGUÈS, Jean-Charles, composer, 586 Chiquito, le joueur de pelote (Cain), 57, 586 Danseuse de Pompéi, La (Cain), 58, 586 Nuitter, Charles-Louis-Étienne-Truinet, known as Charles, librettist Fantasio (Offenbach), 589 Flûte enchantée, La /Die Zauberflöte (trans.) (Mozart), 583, 584 Kobold, Le (Guiraud), 399 Monsieur de Floridor (Lajarte), 475 Pépita (Delahaye), 276 Piccolino (Guiraud), 401 Vaisseau fantôme, Le/Der fliegende Holländer (trans.) (Wagner), 723 Vert-Vert (Offenbach), 588 Nus, Eugène Jean-Baptiste, librettist Alix (Doche), 299 O’Hara, Kane, dramatist, 376 O’KELLY, Henri-Joseph, composer Zingarella, La 50 Offémont, see La Salle d’Offémont OFFENBACH, Jacques, composer, xv, xvii, xviii, xix, xxv, 277, 279, 281, 327, 328, 586-92 Barkouf (Scribe & Boisseaux), 45, 587 Contes d’Hoffmann, Les (Carré & Barbier), 50, 592 Deux Aveugles, Les (Moinaux), 45, 586 Fantasio (Musset), 48, 589-91 Robinson Crusoë (Cormon & Crémier), 47, 587-8 Vert-Vert (Meilhac & Nuitter), 47, 588-9 Violoneux, Le (Mestrépès & Chevalet), 55, 592 Oisement, see Doismont Olympe, Mme, see Dumersan ONSLOW, André-Georges-Louis, composer, 593 Alcade de la Véga, L’ (Bujac), 34, 593

805

806

Opéra-Comique

Colporteur, Le (Planard), 35, 593 Guise (Planard & Saint-Georges), 38, 593 ORLANDINI, Giuseppe Maria, composer, 241, 663 Orneva1, Jacques-Philippe d', librettist, 642 Achmet et Almanzine (Vaudeville), 695 Orvigny, see Dorvigny OSMOND, comte d', composer, 254 Jacqueline (Scribe, Battu & Fournier), 44, 254 Ouida, Louise de La Ramée, known as Ouida, writer, 567 Ouvillé, Le Metel d’, writer, 693 Ovid, Roman poet, 363, 580, 712 PACINI, Antonio Francesco Gaetano, composer, 165, 594 Amour et mauvaise tête (Arnoult), 27, 594 Isabelle et Gertrude (Charles-Simon Favart), 26, 594 Pacini, E., 724 PAËR, Ferdinando, composer, 86, 259, 260, 594, 606 Maître de chapelle, Le (Gay), 33, 594 Marquise de Brinvilliers, La, (Scribe & Castil-Blaze), 36, 94-5 Un caprice de femme 37 Paganini, violinist, 140, 516 Pain, Joseph-Marie, librettist Grille du parc, La (Panseron), 600 Jenny la bouquetière (Kreubé), 460, 629 Rien de trop (Boieldieu), 180 PAISIELLO, Giovanni, composer, xvii, 257, 342, 595-6, 613, 645, 696 Barbier de Séville, Le [1793] (Petrosellini after Beaumarchais, trans. Framery), 17, 595-6 Il Calzolaio 22, 596 Duel comique, Le 9 Maestro di Cappella, Il 22, 596 Marquis Tulipano, Le (Gourbillon), 26, 596 PALADILHE, Émile, composer, 597-600 Amour africain, L’ (Legouvé), 49, 597-8 Diana (Normand & Régnier), 51, 599-600 Passant, Le (Coppée), 48, 597 Suzanne (Cormon & Lockroy), 49, 598-9 Palat, see Dercy Panard, Charles-François, librettist, xi, 487 Magasin des Modernes, Le (Vaudeville), 707 PANSERON, Auguste-Mathieu, composer, 600 Grille du parc, La (Pain, Ancelot & Audibert), 32, 600 Mariage difficile, Le (Rousseau & Ménard), 33, 600 PARENTI, Paolo Francesco, composer Cri de la patrie, Le 18 Homme et le malheur, L’ 18

Index

807

Portraits, Les 16 PARÈS, J., composer, 600 Secret de Maître Cornille, Le (Sivieude), 56, 600 PARÈS, Philippe-Charles-Gabriel, composer, 600 Secret de Maître Cornille, Le (Sivieude), 56, 600 PARIS, Alexandre, composer, 601 Veillée, La (Duport & Saint-Hilaire), 36, 601 Parisau, Pierre-Germain, librettist Julien et Colette (Trial), 689 Richard (Vaudeville), 713 Rubans, Les (Deblois), 271 Soirée d’été, La (Vaudeville), 715 Veuve de Cancale, La (Vaudeville), 717 Parmentier, André, librettist Faux Lord, Le (Gossec), 356 Jeunes Mariés, Les (Vaudeville), 707 PASCAL, Prosper, composer, 601 Cabaret des amours, Le (Carré & Barbier), 46, 601 Patrat, Joseph, librettist Adélaïde et Mirval (Trial), 689 Conciliateur à la mode, Le (Vaudeville), 700 Deux Morts, Les (Vaudeville), 702 Isabelle et Rosalvo (Propiac), 631 Kermesse, La (Vogler), 723 Résolution inutile, La (Vaudeville), 713 Paulin, see Duport, P. Pavie, Théodore, poet, 282 Payen, Albert-Liénard, known as Louis, librettist Tribut du coeur à l’occasion de la paix, Le (Vaudeville), 716 Pélissier-Laqueyrie, Jean-Baptiste, librettist Duel, Le (Rifaut), 643 Sangarido (Carafa), 210 Pelletier, Henri-François, librettist Zélie et Lindor (Rigade), 644 Pelletier, V.A., see Rabuteau PERGOLESI, Giovanni Battista, composer, 241, 267, 311, 369, 481, 602-3, 613, 647, 713 Servante maîtresse, La (Federico trans. Baurans), 2, 602-3 Périgord, Mlle de, 164 Perrault, Charles, writer and librettist, 306, 386, 444, 481, 536, 538 Perrin, Émile, theatre director, 448, 500, 557 Perronnet, A., see Bernous PERRONNET, Joanny, composer, 603 Cigale madrilène, La (Bernous [Amélie Perronnet], 52, 603 Perry-Biagioli, Antonine, librettist Heroïques, Les (H. Perry-Biagioli), 604

808

Opéra-Comique

PERRY-BIAGIOLI, Henri, composer, 604 Heroïques, Les (A. Perry-Biagioli), 49, 604 PERSUIS, Louis-Luc-Loiseau de, composer, 604 Fanny Morna (Favières), 20, 604 Fruit défendu, Le (Gosse), 21, 604 Marcel (Pixérécourt), 21, 604 PESSARD, Émile-Louis-Fortuné, composer, 605-7 Char, Le (Arsène & Daudet), 49, 605-6 Cruche cassée, La (Lucas & Abraham), 48, 605 Dalila 47 Folies amoureuses, Les (Lénéka & Matrat), 52, 606-7 Pessey, Yacinthe-Antoine, librettist Premier en date, Le (Catel), 216 Petrosellini, Giuseppe, librettist Barbier de Séville, Le (Paisiello), 595 Inconnue persecutée, L’ (Anfossi), 79, 488 Pezay, see Masson de Pezay PFEIFFER, Georges-Jean, composer, 607-8 Enclume, L’ (Barbier), 51, 607 Légataire universel, Le (Adenis & Bonnemère), 55, 607-8 PHILIDOR, François-André-Danican, composer, xiv, xxii, 164, 289, 308, 357, 475, 573, 608-16, 695, 702, 704, 711, 714, 715, 717 Amant déguisé, L’ (Charles-Simon Favart), 6, 614 Amitié au village, L’ (Desforges), 14, 615-6 Bélisaire (Antilly), 19, 148, 616 Belle Esclave, La (Dumaniant) (Théâtre des Beaujolais), 616 Blaise le savetier (Sedaine), 1, 608-9 Bon Fils, Le (Devaux), 8, 615 Bûcheron, Le (Guichard & Castet), 3, 610-11 Diable à quatre, Le (Sedaine) (Foire Saint-Germain), 608, 664 Ernelinde (Poinsinet), (Académie royale de musique), 613-4 Femmes vengeés, Les (Sedaine), 8, 167, 615 Festes de la paix, Les 3 Jardinier de Sidon, Le (Pleinchesne), 6, 614 Jardinier et son Seigneur, Le (Sedaine), 2, 609 Maréchal ferrant, Le (Anseaume), 1, 609-10 Mélide (Anseaume), 8, 615 Nouvelle École des femmes, La (Moissy), 7, 614 Sancho Pança gouverneur dans l’Isle de Barataria (Poinsinet), 2, 610 Soldat magicien, Le (Anseaume), 2, 609 Sorcier, Le (Poinsinet), 4, 611 Tom Jones (Poinsinet), 5, 612-3 Tonnelier, Le (1765) (Audinot rev. Quétant), 5, 356 Philippe, A., see Dennery Piave, Francesco Maria, librettist

Index Traviata, La (Verdi), 718 Picard, Louis-Benoît, dramatist and librettist, 179 Andros et Almona (Lemière de Corvey), 490 Baiser et la quittance, Le (Boieldieu and div comp.), 178, 440 Capitaine Belronde, Le (Crémont), 254 Écolier en vacances, L’ (Jadin), 450 Pensionat de jeunes demoiselles, Le (Deviennes), 293 Prise de Toulon, Le (Dalayrac), 261 Valentin (Henri-Montan Berton), 153 Visitandines, Les (Deviennes), 292 Piccinni, Joseph Marie [Giuseppe Maria], librettist Faux Lord, Le (N. Piccinni), 617 Mensonge officieux, Le (N. Piccinni), 618 Lucette (N. Piccinni), 618 PICCINNI, Louis-Alexandre, composer Amoureux par surprise, L’ 25 Avis au public, L’ 26 Époux avant le mariage, Les 27 Sceptre et la charrue, Le 31 PICCINNI, Luigi, composer Amours de Chérubin, Les 13, 697 Avis aux jaloux 28 Rancune trompée, La 32 Sigisbé, Le 24 PICCINNI, Niccolò, composer, 80, 617-18, 712, 717 Buona Figliuola, La (Goldoni trans. Estandoux), 7, 617 Dormeur éveillé, Le (Marmontel), 13, 617 Faux Lord, Le (J-M Piccinni), 12, 617 Lucette (J-M Piccinni), 13, 618 Mensonge officieux, Le (J-M Piccinni), 14, 618 Phaon (Watelet), 10, 617 PIERNÉ, Henri-Constant-Gabriel, composer, 618-20 Coupe enchantée, La (Matrat), 56, 620 Fille de Tabarin, La (Sardou & Ferrier), 55, 618-20 On ne badine pas avec l’amour (Leloir & Nigond), 57, 620 Piestre, see Cormon Pigault de l’Épinoy, see Pigault-Lebrun Pigault-Lebrun, Charles-Antoine-Guillaume Pigault de l’Épinoy, known as Pigault-Lebrun, librettist, 670 Major Palmer, Le (Bruni), 205 Petit Matelot, Le (Gaveaux), 338 Piis, Pierre-Antoine-Augustin de, librettist Adieux de Thalie, Les (Vaudeville), 695 Amours d’été, Les (Vaudeville), 697 Artistote amoureux (Vaudeville), 697 Bonne Femme, La (Vaudeville), 698

809

810

Opéra-Comique

Bouquet du vaudeville, Le (Vaudeville), 698 Cassandre oculiste (Vaudeville), 699 Constance (Vaudeville), 700 Deux Porteurs de chaise, Les (Vaudeville), 702 Étrennes de Mercure, Les (Vaudeville), 704 Fausse Paysanne, La (Propiac), 631 Gâteau à deux fèves, Le (Vaudeville), 705 Léandre candide (Vaudeville), 707 Matinée et la veillée villageoises, La (Vaudeville), 709 Oiseau perdu et retrouvé, L’ (Vaudeville), 710 Opéra de province, L’ (Vaudeville), 710 Printemps, Le (Prot & vaud.), 633, 711 Quatre Coins, Les (Vaudeville), 712 Savoyardes, Les (Propiac), 632 Solitaires de Normandie, Les (Lescot), 495 Trois Déesses rivales, Les (Propiac), 631 Suite des Solitaires de Normandie, La (Lescot), 495 Vendangeurs, Les (Vaudeville), 717 Voyages de Rosine, Les (Vaudeville), 717 Pillet, Léon, librettist Diadasté, Le (Godefroid), 354 Zurich (Rousselot), 653 Pinel, see Dumanoir Pineu-Duval, Alexandre-Vincent, librettist Andros et Almona (Lemière de Corvey), 490 Artistes par occasion, Les (Catel), 215 Beniowski (Boieldieu), 175 Colonel, Le (Estourmel), 319, 320 Joseph (Méhul), 553, 554 Maison à vendre (Dalayrac), 263 Maison du Marais, La (Della Maria), 286 Méprise volontaire, La (Kerkado), 483 Officier enlevé L’ (Catel), 217 Oncle valet, L’ (Della Maria), 286 Prince troubadour, Le (Méhul), 558 Prise de Toulon par les Français, La (Lemière de Corvey), 489 Prisonnier, Le (Della Maria), 285 Pineu-Duval, Henri, librettist Procès, Le (Estourmel), 320 Pinot-Duclos, see Duclos, Charles Piron, Alexis, writer, xi, 717 Pitrot, Antoine-Bonaventure, librettist Colin-Maillard, Le (Blaise), 164 Pittaud de Forges, Philippe Auguste Alfred [pseud. Desforges], 588 Bijou perdu, La (Adam), 77 Sultana (Bourges), 196

Index Yvonne (La Moskova), 469 Pixérécourt, see Guilbert de Pixérécourt Planard, François-Antoine-Eugène de, librettist, 213 Auberge supposée, L’ (Carafa), 210 Auteur mort et vivant, L’ (Hérold), 424 Bergère châtelaine, La (Auber), 81 Bouquet de l’infante, Le (Boieldieu), 173 Cachette, La (Boulanger), 194 Caquet du couvent, Le (Potier), 628 Colette (Cadaux), 207 Colporteur, Le (Onslow), 593 Deux Bergères, Les (Boulanger), 193 Deux Contrats de mariage, Les (Garcia), 334 Deux Familles, Les (Labarre), 469 Deux Gentilshommes, Les (Cadaux), 206 Deux Jaket, Les (Cadaux), 207 Double Échelle, La (Thomas), 676 Échelle de soie, L’ (Gaveaux), 343 Éclair, L’ (Halévy), 408 Emma (Auber), 83 Emprunt secret, L’ (Pradher), 629 Enlèvements imprévus, Les (Pradher), 630 Farfadet, Le (Adam), 75 Guise (Onslow), 593 Héritiers Michau, Les (Bochsa), 170 Lettre de change, La (Bochsa), 171 Livre de l’ermite, Le (Carafa), 212 Mannequin de Bergame, Le (Fétis), 322 Mantille, La (Bordèse), 191 Marchand forain, Le (Marliani), 508 Marguerite (Boieldieu), 172 Marie (Hérold), 425 Marie Stuart en Écosse (Fétis), 321 Mina (Thomas), 678 Noces de Gamache, Les (Bochsa), 171 On ne s’avise jamais de tout (Genin), 344 Opéra à la cour, L’ (Boieldieu), 172-3 Perruquier de la Régence, Le (Thomas), 676 Portrait de famille, Le (Kreubé), 459 Pré-aux-clercs, Le (Hérold), 430 Premier Venu, Le (Hérold), 424 Prison d’Édimbourg, La (Carafa), 212 Règne de douze heures, Le (Bruni), 206 Sangarido (Carafa), 210 Soeurs jumelles, Les (Fétis), 321 Solitaire, Le (Carafa), 209

811

812

Opéra-Comique

Testament et les billets doux, Le (Auber), 81 Thérèse (Carafa), 214 Violette, La (Carafa), 211 Voyage incognito, Le (Gasse), 334 Plancher-Valcour, Philippe-Aristide-Louis-Pierre, librettist Discipline républicaine, La (Foignet), 329 PLANTADE, Charles-Henri, composer Bayard à La Ferté 28 Mari de circonstance, Le 29 Palma 22 Zoé 21 Planterre, Barthélémy-Ambroise, librettist Deux Ermites, Les (Gaveaux), 338 Famille indigente, La (Gaveaux), 338 Pleinchesne, Roger-Timotée-Regnard de, librettist Berthe et Pépin (Deshayes), 289 Jardinier de Sidon, Le (Philidor), 614 Memnon (Ragué), 637 Poinsinet, Antoine-Alexandre-Henri, librettist Apelle et Campaspe (Gibert), 349 Bagarre, La (van Maldere), 693 Ernelinde (Philidor), 613 Gilles garçon peintre, z’amoureux-t-et rival (Laborde), 471 Réconciliation villageoise, La (Tarade), 675 Sancho Pança gouverneur dans l’Isle de Barataria (Philidor), 610 Sorcier, Le (Philidor), 611 Tom Jones (Philidor), 612 Poirson, Ch.-G., see Delestre-Poirson Poirson, Paul, librettist Cinq-Mars (Gounod) 364 POISE, Jean-Alexandre-Ferdinand, composer, 303, 620-5 Absents, Les (Daudet), 46, 621 Amour médecin, L’ (Monselet), 50, 623-4 Bonsoir voisin (Brunswick & Brunswick), 48, 620 Charmeurs, Les (Leuven), 46, 620-1 Corricolo, Le (Labiche & Delacour), 47, 622 Don Pèdre (Cormon & Grangé), 44, 621 Jardinier galant, Le (Leuven & Siraudin), 46, 621 Joli Gilles (Monselet), 51, 624-5 Moissonneurs, Les 47 Surprise de l’amour, La (Monselet), 49, 622-3 Trois Souhaits, Les (Adenis), 48, 622 POISOT, Charle-Émile, composer, 625 Paysan, Le (Pujol), 42, 625 Poisson de La Chabeaussière, Auguste-Étienne-Xavier, librettist Azémia (Dalayrac), 258

Index Caroline (Lefebvre), 486 Gulistan (Dalayrac), 264 Incertain, L’ (Lefebvre), 486 Pari de la duchesse d’Alençon, Le (Chancourtois), 226 Polak, Théodore, librettist Frère et mari (Clapisson), 245 Polier de Bottens, see Montolieu Ponce de Léon, Juan (conquistador), 149 PONIATOWSKY, Joseph, prince de, composer, 626 Au travers du mur (Saint-Georges), 46, 626 PONS, Charles, composer, 626 Hymne triomphal 345, 626 Voile du bonheur, Le (Ferrier), 58, 626 PORPORA, Nicola Antonio Giacinto, composer, 106, 241 PORTA, Bernardo, composer, 626 Agricole Viala (Audouin), 18, 627 Blanche Haquenée, La (Sedaine), 17, 626-7 Diable à quatre, Le (Sedaine), 16, 626, 664 POTIER, Henri-Hippolyte, composer, 627-8 Caquet du couvent, Le (Planard & Leuven), 41, 628 Il Signor Pascarello (Leuven & Brunswick), 42, 628 Mademoiselle de Mérange (Leuven & Brunswick), 40, 627-8 Rosier, Le (Challamel), 45, 628 Potron, Charles [pseud. Régnault], librettist Une voix (Boulanger), 193 Poullain de Saint-Foix, see Saint-Foix PRADHER, Louis-Barthélémy, composer, 628-30 Chevalier d’industrie, Le (Saint-Victor), 25, 304, 629 Emprunt secret, L’ (Planard), 29, 629 Enlèvements imprévus, Les (Kock & Planard), 34, 630 Folie musicale, La (Allarde), 27, 629 Jenny la bouquetière (Pain & Bouilly), 33, 460, 629 Jeune et vieille (Chazet & Dubois), 28, 145 Philosophe en voyage, Le (Kock), 33, 460, 629 Vosinage, Le (Pujoulx), 21, 305, 628-9 PRATI, Alessio, composer École de la jeunesse, L’ 10, 311 Prével, Jules-Marie-Joseph, librettist Attendez·moi sous l’orme (Indy), 436 Cerisier, Le (Duprato), 314 Marianne (Ritter), 647 PRÉVOST, Eugène-Prosper, composer, 630-1 Bon Garçon, Le 39 Cosimo (Duport & Saint-Hilaire), 38, 630 Illustre Gaspard, L’ (Duvert & Lauzanne), 46, 631 Pontons de Cadix, Les (Ancelot & Duport), 38, 630

813

814

Opéra-Comique

Prévost d’Arlincourt, Charles-Victor, writer, 209 Prévost d’Exiles, Antoine-François (abbé), writer,117, 526 Prévôt (representative at the Parlement), 712 PROPIAC, Catherine-Joseph-Ferdinand Girard de, composer, 631-2 Fausse Paysanne, La (Piis), 15, 631-2 Isabelle et Rosalvo (Patrat), 14, 631 Savoyardes, Les (Piis), 15, 632 Trois Déesses rivales, Les (Piis), 15, 631 PROT, Félix-Jean, composer, 632-3 Bal bourgeois, Le (Charles-Simon Favart), 11, 632 Fête du village, La (Carrière-Doisins), 13, 633 Printemps, Le (Piis), 11, 633, 711 Rêveries renouvelées des Grecs, Les (Charles-Simon Favart, Voisenon & Frémicourt), 10, 632 PRUDENT, composer Jardiniers, Les 7 PUCCINI, Giacomo, composer, xvii, 633-4 Bohème, La (Giacosa & Illica, trans. Ferrier), xviii, 54, 633 Madame Butterfly (Giacosa & Illica, trans. Ferrier), xvii, 56, 634 Tosca (Giacosa & Illica, trans. Ferrier), xviii, 55, 634 PUGET, Loïsa, composer, 635 Mauvais Oeil, Le (Scribe & Lemoine), 38, 635 PUGET, Paul-Charles-Marie Curet, known as Paul, composer, 635-6 Beaucoup de bruit pour rien (Blau), 54, 635-6 Signal, Le 51 Pujoulx, Jean-Baptiste, dramatist and librettist École des parvenus, L’ (Devienne), 292 Rendez-vous supposé, Le (Henri-Montan Berton), 149 Une matinée de Voltaire (Solié), 667, 668 Voisinage, Le (Pradher), 628 Pushkin, Aleksandr, Russian poet, 417 Puységur, see Chastenet de Puységur Quétant, François-Antoine, librettist Amant Sylphe, L’ (Martini), 510 Femme orgueilleuse, La (Sodi), 663 Femmes et le secret, Les (Gossec), 357 Serrurier, Le (Kohaut), 457 Tonnelier, Le (Gossec/Isouard), 356, 438 QUINEBAUD, composer Voisinage, Le 628-9 RABAUD, Henri-Benjamin, composer, 636-7 Fille de Roland, La (Ferrier), 56, 636 Mârouf, savetier du Caire (Népoty), 58, 637 Rabelais, François, 384, 385, 574

Index

815

RABUTEAU, Victor-Alfred-Pelletier, known as Alfred, composer Daniel 47 Racine, Jean, dramatist, 503 Radcliffe, Ann, English writer, 247, 262 Radet, Jean-Baptiste, librettist Baquet de santé, Le (Vaudeville), 697 Candide marié (Lescot), 495 Constance (Vaudeville), 700 Dame Jeanne (Vaudeville) 701 Docteurs modernes, Les (Vaudeville), 703 Épreuve, L' (Catrufo), 218 Léandre candide (Vaudeville), 707 Négresse, La (Lescot), 494 Renaud d’Ast [1787] (Dalayrac), 258 Soirée orageuse, La (Dalayrac), 260 Tibère (Vaudeville), 716 RAGUÉ, Louis-Charles, composer, 637 Amour filial, L’ [1786] (Durusoy), 14, 637 Memnon (Guichard & Pleinchesne), 13, 637 RAMEAU, Jean-Philippe, composer, 155, 266, 275, 406, 602, 613, 651, 652, 703, 704, 705 Rancé, E. de, librettist Charles de France (Boieldieu), 184 Duc d'Aquitaine, Le (Blangini), 168 Raucourt, Françoise-Marie-Antoinette Saucerotte, known as Mlle Raucourt, dramatist, 562 RAVEL, Maurice, composer, 637-9 Enfant et les sortilèges, L’ 638 Heure espagnole, L’ (Franc-Nohain), xix, 58, 637-9 Raynal, Guillaume, writer, 494 Raynouard, Antoine-Just-Marie, dramatist, 593 REBER, Napoléon-Henri, composer, 639-40 Dames capitaines, Les (Mélesville), 44, 641 Nuit de Noël, La (Scribe), 42, 639 Papillotes de Monsieur Benoist, Les (Barbier & Carré), 43, 640 Père Gaillard, Le (Sauvage), 43, 639 Regnard, Jean-François Renard, known as Regnard, dramatist, 333, 437, 606, 607 Régnard de Pleinchesne, see Pleinchesne Régnault, see Potron Régnier, A. Ph., see Massa, Alexandre Régnier, Henry, librettist Diana (Paladhile), 599 REICHA, Anton, composer Cagliostro (Saint-Cyr & Dupaty), 28, 302 Reigny, see Beffroy de Reigny

816

Opéra-Comique

Renard, see Régnard, J.F. Rennefort, see Souchu de Rennefort Renout, Jean-Julien-Constantin, librettist Fleuve Scamandre, Le (Barthélémon), 128 Resnier, Louis-Pierre-Pantaléon [pseud. Rochard], librettist Adieux de Thalie, Les (Vaudeville), 695 Bonne Femme, La (Vaudeville), 698 Opéra de province, L’ (Vaudeville), 710 Révéroni Saint-Cyr, Jacques-Antoine de, writer and librettist Cagliostro (Dourlen, Reicha), 302 Comtesse de Lamarck, La (Blangini), 167 Délire, Le (Henri-Montan Berton), 150 Eliza (Cherubini), 236 Héléna (Méhul), 552 Ménestrels, Les (Solié), 672 Négociant de Hambourg, Le (Kreutzer), 468 Vaisseau Amiral, Le (Henri-Montan Berton), 152 Rey-Dusseuil, librettist, 350 Reybaud, Mme Charles, writer, 245 REYER, Louis-Étienne-Ernest Rey, known as Ernest, composer, 157, 381, 641-2 Maître Wolfram (Méry & Gautier), 48, 641-2 Statue, La (Carré & Barbier), 49, 642 Ribbing, see Leuven, A. de Ribouttés, François Louis Enfant prodigue, L’ (Gaveaux), 343 RICCI, Federico, composer, 172, 173, 189, 393 Riccoboni, Antoine-François, librettist Amants de village, Les (Bambini), 126 Prétendu, Le (Gaviniès), 344 Rendez-vous nocturnes, Les (Blaise), 165 Riccoboni, Marie-Jeanne, dramatist and librettist, 146, 295, 577(?), 648, 655 Sophie (Kohaut), 458 Richepin, Jean-Auguste-Jules, dramatist and librettist Carillonneur, Le (Leroux), 494 Chemineau, Le (Leroux), 494 Flibustier, Le (Cui), 255, 256 Miarka (Georges), 345 RICHEPIN, Tiarko, composer, 643 Marchande d’allumettes, La (Gérard & Rostand), 58, 643 RIFAUT, Louis-Victor-Étienne, composer, 216, 643-4 Camp du Drap d’or, Le (Kock & Lefebvre), 35, 129 Duel, Le (Pelissier & d'Ambreville), 34, 643 Gasparo (Desforges & Burch), 38, 644 Roi et le batelier, Le (Saint-Georges), 35, 403-4 Sentinelle perdue (Saint-Georges), 38, 644 Térésa (Dumas & Anicet-Bourgeois), 37, 643-4

Index

817

Un jour de réception (Dupin), 35, 643 RlGADE, André-Jean, composer, 644 Nouvelle Italie, La (Bibiena & Metastasio), 2, 309 Zélie et Lindor (Pelletier), 4 RIGEL, Henri-Jean, composer, 645 Duel nocturne, Le (Longchamps), 26, 645 RIGEL, Henri-Joseph, composer, 645-6 Automate, L’ (Cuinet-Dorbeil), 11, 646 Blanche et vermeille (Florian), 11, 646 Départ des matelots, Le (Rutledge), 10, 645 Deux Amis, Les (Farmian & Guiguené), 10, 645-6 Rosanie (Saint-Alphonse), 10, 646 Savetier et le financier, Le (Santerre), 10, 645 RIGGIERI, Antonio, composer, 646-7 Gondolier vénetien, Le (Zenuzzi, Colalto & Goldoni), 1, 646-7 Rigo, see Gori RILLÉ, Laurent de, composer Paris en l867 47 RIMSKI-KORSAKOV, Nikolai Andreievitch, composer Snegourotchka 57 RINALDO DI CAPUA, composer, 241, 647, 663, 714 Bohémienne, La (Charles-Simon Favart), 647 RITTER, Toussaint-Prévost, known as Théodore, composer, 647 Marianne (Prével), 46, 647 Rivière du Fresny, Charles, dramatist, 332 Rivoire, André, librettist Il était une bergère (Lattès), 482 Victoire, La 345 Robert, A., see Basset, Ch. Robineau, see Beaunoir Rochard, see Resnier ROCHARD DE BOUILLAC, composer, 707 Rochefort, Claude-Louis-Marie de Rochefort-Luçay, known as Edmond, librettist Aspirant de marine, L’ (Labarre), 469 ROCHEFORT, Jean-Baptiste, composer, 80 Rodenbach, Georges, writer, 494 RODOLPHE, Jean-Joseph, composer, 495, 648 Aveugle de Palmyre, L’ (Desfontaines), 5, 648 Mariage par capitulation, Le (Dancourt), 4, 648 Roger, Jean-François, dramatist and librettist, 170, 509 Amant et le mari, L’(Fétis), 321 Billet de loterie, Le (Isouard), 446 Mademoiselle de Launay à la Bastille (Gail), 332 Magicien sans magie, Le (Isouard), 446 Marie Stuart en Écosse (Fétis), 321

818

Opéra-Comique

Trompeur sans le vouloir, Le (Bouteiller), 197 Valet de deux maîtres, Le (Devienne), 293 Valet de deux maîtres, Le (Fiocchi) ROMAGNESI, Antoine-Joseph-Michel, known as Henri, composer, 62, 647 Nadir et Selim (Gensoul), 33, 648 Trois Jours en une heure (Gabriel & Masson), 36, 62 Romagnesi, Jean-Antoine, dramatist, 488, 577, 663 Romand, Hippolyte, librettist Fiancée du diable, La (Massé), 514 ROMBERG, Andreas, composer, 649 Dom Mendoze (Ségur & Dupaty), 23, 649 ROMBERG, Bernhard Heinrich, composer Dom Mendoze (Ségur & Dupaty), 649 ROPARTZ, Joseph-Guy-Marie, composer, 649 Pays, Le (Goffic), 58, 649 Rosier, Joseph Bernard, librettist Cour de Célimène, La (Thomas), 682 Houzard de Berchini, Le (Adam), 78 Raymond (Thomas), 681 Songe d’une nuit d’été, Le (Thomas), 680 Ross, G., see Despréaux ROSSI, Lauro, composer, 88 Rossignol, see Joncières ROSSINI, Gioachino Antonio, composer, xvii, 80, 82, 85, 134, 172, 173, 185, 189, 210, 213, 214, 343, 356, 393, 429, 445, 450, 572, 596, 606, 635, 649-50, 720 Barbier de Séville, Le [1884] (Sterbibi trans. Castil-Blaze), xviii, 51, 596, 649-50 Rostaing, Jules, librettist Sylvie (Guiraud), 399 Rostand, Maurice Marchande d’allumettes, La (Richepin), 643 Roucoux, see Burani Rouget de Lisle, Claude-Joseph, librettist, 479 Bayard dans Bresse (Champein), 223 Cécile et Ermancé (Grétry), 388 Despotisme monacal, Le (Grétry), 389 Jacquot (Della Maria), 286 Rousseau, librettist Sans dormir (Vaudeville), 714 Rousseau, Auguste, librettist Mariage difficile, Le (Panseron), 600 Rousseau, Jean-Baptiste, dramatist, 226 ROUSSEAU, Jean-Jacques, writer and composer, xii, xvi, 164, 166, 236, 267, 345, 376, 388, 650-2, 698, 702, 713, 714 Devin du village, Le (Rousseau), xii, 58, 126, 650-2 ROUSSEAU, Samuel-Alexandre, composer, 652-3

Index Dianora (Chantepie), 50, 652-3 Léone (Montorgueil), 57, 653 Rousseau de Beauplan, see Beauplan ROUSSELOT, Scipion, cellist and composer, 653 Zurich (Pillet), 39, 653 Royer, Alphonse, librettist Don Pasquale (Donizetti) (trans.), 300, 301 RUBINSTEIN, Anton Grigorievitch, composer, 256 Ruffini, Giovanni, librettist Don Pasquale (Donizetti), 300, 301 RUGE, Filippo, composer, 2 RUOLZ, Henri de, scientist and composer, 653 Attendre et courir (Tully & Bury), 36, 405, 653 RUSSO, Raphaël, composer, 654 Exil de Rochester, L’ (Commagny & Dumolard), 35, 654 Rutledge, James, librettist Départ des matelots, Le (Rigel), 645 SACCHINI, Antonio-Maria-Gaspare, composer, 333, 557, 654 Colonie, La (Gori trans. Framery), 8, 654 Olympiade, L’ (Metastasio trans. Framery), 9, 654 Sacher-Masoch, Czech writer, 284 Sachot, Octave, writer, 156 Saint-Aignan, see Herbauges Saint-Alme, see Lepoitevin de Légreville Saint-Alme Saint-Alphonse, see Devismes de Saint-Alphonse SAINT-AMANS, Louis-Joseph-Claude, composer, 655 Alvar et Mencia (Cailly), 7, 655 Coquette de village, La (Anseaume), 7, 655 Poirier, Le (Saint-Amans), 7, 655 Saint-Aubin, see Genlis, Mme de Saint-Étienne, Joseph-Sylvain, librettist Perle du Brésil, La (David), 268 Saint-Félix, librettist Marguerite de Waldemar (Dugazon), 304 Saint-Foix, Germain-François-Poullain de, dramatist, 170 SAINT-GEORGES, Joseph-Bologne, chevalier de, composer, xxv, 655-6 Chasse, La (Desfontaines), 10, 656 Ernestine (Laclos), 9, 655 Fille garçon, La (Éve), 15, 656 Saint-Georges, Jules-Henri, Vernoy de, librettist, 216 Aïeule, L’ (Boieldieu), 173 Amours du diable, Les (Grisar), 398 Artisan, L’ (Halévy), 403 Au travers du mur (Poniatowsky), 626 Aumonier du régiment, L’ (Salomon), 659

819

820

Opéra-Comique

Bourgeois de Reims, Le (Fétis), 322 Cagliostro (Adam), 72 Carillonneur de Bruges, Le (Grisar), 396 Château de la Barbe-Bleue, Le (Limnander), 500 Diamants de la couronne, Les (Auber), 103 Éclair, L’ (Halévy), 408 Esclave du Camoëns, L’ (Flotow), 324 Fanchonnette, La (Clapission), 247 Fée aux roses, La (Halévy), 416 Fiancée du roi de Garbe, La (Auber), 120 Fidèle Berger, Le (Adam), 67 Fille du régiment, La (Donizetti), 299 Florentin, Le (Lenepveu), 491 Guise (Onslow), 593 Illusion, L’ (Hérold), 425 Jaguarita l’indienne (Halévy), 419 Jenny (Carafa) 211 Joaillier de Saint-James, Le (Grisar), 398 Jolie Fille de Perth, La (Bizet), 157 Ludovic (Halévy), 406 Luthier de Vienne, Le (Monpou), 567 Maître Claude (Cohen), 249 Marquise, La (Adam), 66 Mousquetaires de la reine, Les (Halévy) 412 Nabab, Le (Halévy), 418 Ombre, L’ (Flotow), 325 Opéra à la cour, L’ (Boieldieu, Grisar), 188, 393 Pagode, La (Fauconnier), 321 Pierre et Catherine (Adam), 62 Planteur, Le (Monpou), 568 Reine d’un jour, La (Adam), 70 Roi et le batelier, La (Halévy), 403 Sentinelle perdue, La (Rifaut), 644 Sérafina, La (Saint-Julien), 656 Sylphe, Le (Clapisson), 248 Symphonie, La (Clapisson), 243 Val d'Andorre, Le (Halévy), 414 Zanetta (Auber), 102 Zilda (Flotow), 324 Saint-Georges de Bouhélier, Georges-Lepelletier de Bouhélier, known as SaintGeorges de Bouhélier, librettist Tambour, Le (Bruneau), 204 Saint-Hilaire, see Villain de Saint-Hilaire SAINT-JULIEN, Alfred de, composer, 656-7 Sérafina, La (Dupin & Saint-Georges), 43, 656-7 Saint-Just, see Godard d’Aucour de Saint-Just

Index Saint-Lambert, Jean-François de, writer, 692 Saint-Marc, see Souriguière de Saint-Marc Saint-Marcellin, see Fontanes de Saint-Marcellin Saint-Pierre, see Bernardin de Saint-Pierre SAINT-SAËNS, Charles-Camille, composer, 657-9 Ancêtre, L’ (Lassus), 58, 659 Fille du tourneur d’ivoire, La (Ferrare), 57, 658-9 Hélène (Saint-Saëns), 56, 658 Javotte 54 Phryné (Lassus), 53, 658 Princesse jaune, La (Gallet), 48, 657 Proserpine (Gallet), 51, 657-8 Saint-Victor, J., see Bins de Saint-Victor Saint-Yon, see Moline de Saint-Yon Saintine, Joseph-Xavier-Boniface, librettist Corisandre (Henri-Montan Berton), 154 Duc d’Olonne, Le (Auber) 104 Ours et le pacha, L’ (Bazin), 133 Proscrit, Le (Adam), 64 Timide, Le (Auber), 89 SALIERI, Antonio, composer, 495, 704 Salm, prince de, 205 SALOMON, Hector, composer, 659-60 Aumônier du régiment, L’ (Saint-Georges & Leuven), 50, 659-60 SALVAYRE, Gervais-Bernard-Gaston, composer, 660-1 Egmont (Wolff & Millaud), 51, 660-1 Solange (Aderer), 57, 661 Sand, Aurore Dupin, baronne Dudevant, known as George, writer, 661 Santerre, see Lourdet de Santerre Sapey, Louis Charles, librettist Dupe de son art, La (Dourlen), 302 Sardou, André, librettist Sorcière, La (Erlanger), 319 Sardou, Victorien, dramatist and librettist, 319, 634 Bataille d’amour (Vaucorbeil), 694 Capitaine Henriot, Le (Gevaert), 347 Fille de Tabarin, La (Pierné), 618 Noces de Fernande, Les (Deffès), 275 Piccolino (Guiraud), 401 Xavière (Dubois), 304 Sarrazin, Adrien, writer, 458-9 Sauvage, Thomas-Marie-François, librettist, 724 Amazone, L’ (Thys), 688 Angélique et Médor (Thomas), 678 Caïd, Le (Thomas), 678 Carnaval de Venise, Le (Thomas), 683

821

822

Opéra-Comique

Don Grégorio (Gabrielli), 331 Eau merveilleuse, L’ (Grisar), 392 Gille et Gillotin (Thomas), 686, 687 Gille ravisseur (Grisar), 394 Habit de Milord, L’ (Lagarde), 473 Madelon (Bazin), 131 Père Gaillard, Le (Reber), 639 Porcherons, Les (Grisar), 394 Sournoise, La (Thys), 688 Tonelli, La (Thomas), 682 Toréador, Le (Adam), 73 Sauvigny, see Billardon de Sauvigny SCARLATTI, Domenico, composer, 107, 218, 267 Schikaneder, Emmanuel, librettist Flûte enchantée, La (Mozart), 583, 584 SCHOBERT, Johann, composer Garde-chasse et le braconnier, Le 5 Tonnelier, Le (1765), 356 Schwob, Marcel, librettist Francesca da Rimini (Trans.), (Leoni), 493 Scott, Walter, Sir, poet and novelist, 184, 185, 213, 392 Scribe, Augustin-Eugène, librettist and dramatist, xiv, xxiii, 64, 83, 292, 327, 347, 374, 571-2, 724 Actéon (Auber), 97 Amazone, L’ (Beauplan), 133 Ambassadrice, L’ (Auber), 98, 99 Baiser au porteur, Le (Adam), 61 Barcarolle, La (Auber), 110 Barkouf (Offenbach), 587 Beauté du diable, La (Alary), 79 Cagliostro (Adam), 72 Chalet, Le, (Adam), 64, 65 Chambre à coucher, La (Guénée), 398 Chanteuse voilée, La (Massé), 511 Chaperons blancs, Les (Auber), 97 Charbonnière, La (Montfort), 579 Cheval de bronze, Le (Auber), 95 Circassienne, La (Auber), 118, 119 Code noir, Le (Clapisson), 245 Comtesse de Troun, La (Guénée), 399 Concert à la cour, Le (Auber), 86 Dame blanche, La (Boieldieu), 184, 185 Dame de pique, La (Halévy), 417 Deux Nuits, Les (Adam), 69 Diable à l’école, Le (Boulanger), 192 Diamants de la couronne, Les (Auber), 103

Index Domino noir, Le (Auber), 100 Due d’Olonne, Le (Auber), 104, 105 Enlèvement, L’ (Zimmermann), 727 Étoile du Nord, L’ (Meyerbeer), 562 Fée aux roses, La (Halévy), 416 Fiancée, La (Auber), 90, 91 Fiancée du diable, La (Massé), 514 Fiancée du roi de Garbe, La (Auber), 120 Fidèle Berger, Le (Adam), 67 Figurante, La (Clapisson), 243 Fiorella (Auber), 89 Fra Diavolo (Auber), 92 Giralda (Adam), 73 Guitarrero, Le (Halévy), 411 Haydée (Auber), 112 Ingénue, L’ (Colet), 251 Jacqueline (Costé, Osmond), 254 Jenny Bell (Auber), 115 Kiosque, Le (Mazas), 544 Lambert Simnel (Monpou), 570 Leicester, (Auber), 84, 85 Léocadie (Auber), 86 Lestocq (Auber), 95 Lettre au bon Dieu, La (Duprez), 315 Lettre posthume, La (Kreubé), 461 Loup-garou, Le (Bertin), 144 Maçon, Le (Auber), 88 Main de fer, Le (Adam), 71 Manon Lescaut (Auber), 116, 117, 118 Marco Spada (Auber), 114 Marguerite (Boieldieu), 172 Marquise de Brinvilliers, La (Auber), 94 Mauvais Oeil, Le (Puget), 635 Médicine sans médecin, La (Hérold), 426 Ménétrier, Le (Labarre), 470 Mystères d’Udolphe, Les (Clapisson), 247 Nabab, Le (Halévy), 418 Ne touchez pas à la reine! (Boisselot), 189, 190 Neige, La (Auber), 85 Nuit de Noël, La (Reber), 639 Officier et le paysan, L' (Kreubé), 460 Opéra à la cour, L’ (Boieldieu, Grisar), 172, 188, 393 Oreste et Pylade (Thys), 688 Ours et le pacha, L’ (Bazin), 133 Paradis de Mahomet, Le (Kreutzer), 468 Part du diable, La (Auber), 105

823

824

Opéra-Comique

Perruque et la redingote, La (Kreutzer), 467 Polichinelle (Montfort), 577 Portefaix, Le (Gomis), 355 Prison d’Édimbourg, La (Carafa), 212, 213 Puits d’amour, Le (Balfe), 124 Reine d’un jour, La (Adam), 70 Remplaçant, Le (Batton), 129 Shérif, Le (Halévy), 410 Sirène, La (Auber), 108, 109 Sultan Saladin, Le (Bordèse), 191, 192 Timide, Le (Auber), 89 Treize, Les (Halévy), 409 Trois Nicolas, Les (Clapisson), 248 Valet de chambre, Le (Carafa), 210 Vieille, La (Fétis), 322 Yvonne (Limnander), 500 Zanetta (Auber), 102 Second, Albéric, librettist Fontaine de Berny, La (Nibelle), 585 Second, L., see Féréol Sedaine, Michel-Jean, dramatist and librettist, xiv, xxiii, 345, 385, 572, 574, 613, 661 Albert et Antoine (Grétry), 391 Aline, reine de Golconde (Monsigny), 574 Anneau perdu et retrouvé, L’ (Laborde), 471 Anneau perdu et retrouvé, L’ (Chardiny), 228, 229 Aucassin et Nicolette (Grétry), 378, 379, 380 Bazile (Grétry), 388 Blaise le savetier (Philidor), 608 Blanche Haquenée, La (Porta), 627 Comte d’Albert, Le (Grétry), 385 Déserteur, Le (Monsigny), 574 Diable à quatre, Le (Philidor), 608 Diable à quatre, Le (Solié), 671 Diable à quatre, Le (Sodi), 664 Diable à quatre, Le (Porta), 626 Espiègleries de garnison, Les (Champein), 223 Faucon, Le (Monsigny), 575 Félix (Monsigny), 576, 577 Femmes vengées, Les (Blangini), 167 Femmes vengées, Les (Philidor), 615 Guillaume Tell (Grétry), 387 Jardinier et son Seigneur, Le (Philidor), 609 Magnifique, Le (Grétry), 374 Mort marié, Le (Bianchi), 156 On ne s’avise jamais de tout (Monsigny), 572

Index Raoul Barbe-bleue (Grétry), 386 Richard Coeur de Lion (Grétry), 382 Rose et Colas (Monsigny), 573 Roy et le fermier, Le (Monsigny), 572, 573 Sabots, Les (Duni), 312 Thalie au nouveau théâtre (Grétry), 380-1 Thémire (Duni), 312 Ségur, Joseph-Alexandre-Pierre de, librettist Chevalier de Sénanges, Le (Henri-Montan Berton) 152 Dame voilée, La (Mengozzi), 560 Dom Mendoze (Romberg), 469 Opéra-comique, L’ (Della Maria), 286 Roméo et Juliette (Steibelt), 674 SELLITTO, composer, Giuseppe, 241 Chinoise, Le 4 SEMET, Théodore-Aimé-Émile, composer, 661-2 Petite Fadette, La (Carré), 48, 661-2 SÉVERAC, Joseph-Marie-Déodat de, composer, 662 Coeur du moulin, Le (Magre), 58, 662 Sewrin, Charles-Augustin de Bassompierre, known as Sewrin, librettist Anna (Solié), 671 Béarnais, Le (Boieldieu), 182 Crescendo, Le (Cherubini), 241 École de village, L’ (Solié), 665 Fête du village voisin, La (Boieldieu), 182 Forgeron de Bassora, Le (Kreubé), 458 François I (Kreutzer), 466 Héritier de Paimpol, L’ (Bochsa), 170 Homme sans façon, L’ (Kreutzer), 467 Jadis et aujourd’hui (Kreutzer), 466 Locataire, Le (Gaveaux), 339 Mariniers de Saint-Cloud, Les (Vaudeville), 708 Monsieur Desbosquets (Berton fils), 145 Moisson, La (Solié), 665 Opéra au village, L’ (Solié), 670 Passage du régiment, Le (Catrufo), 219 Plaisir et la gloire, Le (Solié), 665 Roi René, Le (Hérold), 425 Surprises, Les (Kreutzer), 466 Vallée suisse, La (Weigl), 725 Shakespeare, William, poet and dramatist, 435, 680, 686, 719, 720 Shaw, Carlos Fernández, librettist Vie brève, La (de Falla), 320 SILVER, Charles, composer, 662 Clos, Le (Carré), 56, 662 Silvester, see Lazzari

825

826

Opéra-Comique

Silvestre, Paul-Armand, librettist Dimitri (Joncières), 454 Galante Aventure (Guiraud), 401 Grisélidis (Massenet), 538 Mari d’un jour, Le (Coquard), 252 Simon, J. Ph., see Lockroy Simonnin, Antoine-Jean-Baptiste, librettist Artisan L' (Halévy), 403 Mariage par commission, Le (Bruni), 206 Siraudin, Paul, librettist Jardinier galant, Le (Poise), 621 Veuf du Malabar, Le (Doche), 298 Sivieude, Edmond, librettist Secret de Maître Cornille, Le (Parès), 600 Smithson, Harriet, actress, 426 SODI, Charles, composer, 164, 662-4 Amours de Bastien et Bastienne, Les (Marie-Justine Favart & Guerville), 1, 662 Amusements champêtres, Les (Dehesse or Pierre Sodi), 2, 663 Baïocco et Serpilla (Charles-Simon Favart), 4, 663 Batteurs en grange, Les (Pierre Sodi), 6, 663 Diable à quatre, Le (Sedaine) (Foire Saint-Germain), 608, 664 Femme orgueilleuse, La (Quétant), 3, 663 Pouvoir de l'amour, Le 6 Sodi, Pierre, librettist Amusements champêtres, Les ? (Sodi), 663 Batteurs en grange, Les (Sodi), 663 Solanges. Paul, librettist Falstaff (trans.) (Verdi), 719 SOLIÉ, Jean-Pierre, singer and composer, 340, 342, 442, 557, 651, 664-72, 673, 698 Amant sans le savoir, L’ (Lesser), 27, 671 Anna (Sewrin), 27, 671 Arts et l’amitié, Les [1788] (Bouchard), 147 Azeline (Hoffman), 19, 667 Chacun son tour (Gensoul), 26, 670 Chapitre second, Le (Dupaty), 20, 667 Congrès des rois, Le (Desmaillots), 18, 237 Deux Oncles, Les (Grétry nephew), 25, 670 Diable à quatre, Le [1809] (Sedaine rev. Lesser), 28, 671-2 École de village, L’ (Sewrin), 18, 665 Époux généreux, L’ (Dejaure), 24, 669 Femme de 45 ans, La (Hoffman), 20, 667 Fous de Médine, Les (Dancourt), 16, 664 Franc Breton, Le (Dejaure), 17, 464 Henriette de Verseuil (Guillet & Hus), 24, 669

Index Hussard noir, Le (Dupaty), 27, 671 Incertitude maternelle, L’ (Dejaure), 24, 669 Jean et Geneviève (Favières), 17, 664-5 Jockei, Le (Hoffman), 19, 666 Lisistrata (Hoffman), 23, 668-9 Louise (Hoffman), 24, 669-70 Mademoiselle de Guise (Dupaty), 27, 671 Ménestrels, Les (Saint-Cyr), 28, 672 Moisson, La (Sewrin), 17, 665 Opéra au village, L’ (Sewrin), 27, 670 Oui (Goulard), 21, 668 Plaisir et la gloire, Le (Sewrin), 18, 665 Pluie et le beau temps, La (Dupaty), 21, 668 Plutarque (Léger & Chazet), 23, 669 Rivale d’elle-même, La (Saint-Victor), 21, 668 Secret, Le (Hoffman), 19, 666-7 Soubrette, La (Hoffman), 18, 665 Une matinée de Voltaire (Pujoulx), 21, 667-8 Une nuit d’été (Gersin & Année), 21, 668 Victime des arts, La (Estourmel), 28, 153, 446 Sonnleithner, Joseph, librettist Fidelio (Beethoven), 134 Soulié, Frederic, writer and librettist 214 Deux Reines, Les (Monpou), 567 Roi de Sicile, Le (Gide), 349 Souques, Jean-François, dramatist, 121 Souriguière de Saint-Marc, Jean-Marie, librettist Alphonse, roi d’Aragon (Bochsa), 170 Enfant prodigue, L’ (Gaveaux), 343 Souvestre, Émile, writer, 563 SPONTINI, Gaspare Luigi Pacifico, composer, 233, 498, 672-3 Julie (Jars), 25, 673 Milton (Jouy & Dieulafoy), 25, 672-3 Petite Maison, La [1804] (Dieulafoy & Gersin), 24, 672 Staal de Launay, Marguerite-Jeanne-Cordier, baronne de, 332 Staupleton, see Hus STEIBELT, Daniel-Gottlieb, composer, 606, 674 Roméo et Juliette (Ségur), 22, 674 Sterbini, Cesare, librettist Barbier de Séville, Le (Rossini), 649 Sterne, writer, 149 STRAUSS, Richard Georg, composer, 638 STREET, Georges,composer Fidès 53 STRUNZ, Georg Jacob, composer, 674 Courses de Newmarket, Les (Jouy & Merle), 32, 674

827

828

Opéra-Comique

Sue, Eugène, writer, 420 Tacusset, librettist Coradin (?) (Bruni), 205 Tallemant des Réaux, Gédéon, writer, 244 TARADE, Théodore-Jean, composer, 675 Réconciliation villageoise, La (La Ribardière), 5, 675 TARCHI, Angelo, composer Astolphe et Alba 23 Cabriolet jaune, Le 20 D’auberge en auberge 21 Général suédois, Le 20 Trente et quarante, Le 20 Une aventure de Saint-Foix 23 Tardieu Saint-Marcel, writer, 166 TCHAIKOVSKI, Piotr Ilitch, 256 TERRASSE, Claude-Antoine, composer, 675 Lucioles, Les 58 Mariage de Télémaque, Le (Lemaître et Donnay), 57, 675 Petite Femme de Loth, La (Bernard), 55, 675 Théaulon de Lambert, Marie-Emmanuel-Guillaume, librettist Bataille de Denain, La (Catrufo), 217 Cendrillon (Isouard), 444 Charles de France (Boieldieu), 184 Clochette, La (Hérold), 423 Duc d’Aquitaine, Le (Blangini), 168 Fleurs du château, Les (Vaudeville), 704 Héritiere, L’ (Kreubé), 459 Jeanne d’Arc (Carafa), 209 Panorama de Paris, Le(Vaudeville), 711 Roi et la Ligue, Le (Bochsa), 170 Rosières, Les (Hérold), 423 Un mari pour étrennes (Bochsa), 171 Théophile, see Dumersan THOMAS,Charles-Louis-Ambroise, composer, xvii, 676-87 Angélique et Médor (Sauvage), 41, 678 Caïd, Le (Sauvage), 42, 678-9 Carline (Leuven & Brunswick), 39, 677 Carnaval de Venise, Le (Sauvage), 44, 683 Cour de Célimène, La (Rosier), 44, 682-3 Double Échelle, La (Planard), 38, 246, 676 Gille et Gillotin (Sauvage), 49, 686-7 Guerillero, Le (Anne), (Académie royale de musique), 677 Mignon (Barbier & Carré), 47, 684-5 Mina (Planard), 41, 678

Index Panier fleuri, Le (Leuven & Brunswick), 39, 676-7 Perruquier de la Régence, Le (Planard & Duport), 39, 676 Psyché (Barbier & Carré), 44, 683 Raymond (Leuven & Rosier), 42, 681-2 Roman d’Elvire, Le (Dumas & Leuven), 45, 684 Songe d’une nuit d’été, Le (Rosier & Leuven), 42, 680-1 Tonelli, La (Sauvage), 43, 682 THOMÉ, Francis, composer Endymion et Phoébé 56 Premier Rendez-vous, Le 57 THYS, Alphonse, composer, 688 Amazone, L’ [1845] (Sauvage), 41, 688 Oreste et Pylade (Scribe & Dupin), 41, 688 Sournoise, La (Sauvage & Lurieu), 42, 688 THYS, Pauline, composer, 689 Alda (Bayard & Duport), 38, 689 Tiersot, Jean-Baptiste Élisée Julien, 200, 652 TISSIER, composer, 495 Tissot, Charles-Louis, librettist On respire! (Kreutzer), 465 Tossa, see Lebrun-Tossa TOULMOUCHE, Frédéric, composer Blanc et noir 57 Tourville, comte Anne de (vice-admiral of the fleet), 152 Touzé, see Bocage TRAETTA, Tommaso, composer, 369 Nouvelle Italie, La (Bibiena & Metastasio), 2, 309 Tréfeu, Étienne Victor Tréfeu de Fréval, known as Étienne, librettist Monsieur de Floridor (Lajarte), 475 Treitschke, Georg Friedrich, librettist Fidelio (Beethoven), 134 Tremblay, see Dutremblay TRÉPARD, Émile, composer, 689 Céleste (Trépard), 58, 689 Tressan, Louis-Elisabeth de Lavergne, comte de, writer, 211 TRIAL, Armand-Emmanuel (fils), composer, 689-90 Adelaïde et Mirval (Patrat), 16, 689-90 Cause et les effets, La (Joigny), 17, 690 Congrès des rois, Le (Desmaillots), 18, 237 Deux Petits Aveugles, Les (Noël), 17, 690 Julien et Colette (Parisau), 15, 689 Siège de Lille, Le (Joigny), 17, 690 Vengeance paternelle, Le 17 TRIAL, Jean-Claude, composer, 691 Ésope à Cythère (Dancourt), 5, 691 Renaud d’Ast (Lemonnier), 5, 691

829

830

Opéra-Comique

Tonnellier, Le [1765] (Audinot, rev. Quétant), 5, 356 Trianon, Henry, librettist, 725 Docteur Mirobolan, Le (Gautier), 336 Don Juan (trans.) (Mozart), 581 Jocrisse (Gautier), 337 Salvator Rosa (Duprato), 314 Trésor de Pierrot, Le (Gautier), 337 Trie, see Cuvelier de Trie Truffier, Jules, librettist Saute, Marquis! (Cressonnois), 255 Truinet, see Nuitter Tully, Henri de, librettist Attendre et courir (Halévy), 405, 653 Ussieux, Louis d’, librettist Gabrielle de Passy (Vaudeville), 705 VACHON, Pierre, composer, 691-2 Ésope à Cythère (Dancourt), 5, 691 Femmes et le secret, Les (Quétant), 6, 357 Renaud d’Ast (Lemonnier), 5, 691 Sara (Messine), 8, 692 Vacquerie, Auguste, writer, 658 Vadé, Jean-Joseph, dramatist and librettist, 655 Jérôme et Fanchonette (Vaudeville), 706 Nicaise (Vaudeville), 709, 710 Racoleurs, Les (Vaudevilles), 712 Suffisant, Le (Vaudeville), 715 Trompeur trompé, Le (Blaise), 166 Troqueurs, Les (Dauvergnes), 266, 267 Veuve indécise, La (Duni), 307 Vaëz, Jean-Nicolas-Gustave van Nieuwenhuysen, known as Gustave, librettist Capitaine Henriot, Le (Gevaert), 347 Ne touchez pas à la reine! (Boisselot), 189 Don Pasquale (trans.) (Donizetti), 300, 301 Rita (Donizetti), 300 Valcour, see Plancher-Valcour VALENTINI, Avelino, composer, 692 Embrassons-nous, Folleville! (Lefranc & Labiche), 50, 692 VALGRAND, Constance, composer, 401, 692-3, 695 Pénitente, La (Meilhac & Busnach), 47, 692-3 Vallou de Villeneuve, see Villeneuve Valori, Henri-Zozime de, dramatist, 336 Valville, see Bernard-Valville Van der Burch, Émile Louis, librettist Braconnier, Le (Héquet), 422

Index

831

Fleurs du château, Les (Vaudeville), 704 Gasparo (Rifaut), 644 Van Gronnerade, see Deblois VAN MALDERE, Pierre, composer, 693 Bagarre, La (Guichard & Poinsinet), 3, 693 Van Nieuwenhuysen, see Vaëz Vandière, Raoul Chapais, known as Vandière, librettist Château d’Urtuby, Le (Berton fils), 146 Vanloo, Albert, librettist Soeur de Jocrisse, La (Banès), 127 Véronique (Messager), 561 Varez, E.-F., dramatist, 209 Varillas, Antoine, writer, 153 VARLET, Luce, see LUCE-VARLET Varner, Antoine-François, dramatist and librettist, 110, 127 Petits Appartements, Les (Henri-Montan Berton), 154 VARNEY, Pierre-Joseph-Alphonse, composer, 693-4 Opéra au camp, L’ (Foucher), 44, 693-4 VAUCORBEIL, Auguste-Emmanuel, composer, 694-5 Bataille d’amour (Sardou & Daclin), 46, 694-5 Vaudevilles, 695-717 Acajou (Charles-Simon Favart), 8, 695 Achmet et Almanzine (Lesage, Fuzelier & Orneval, rev. Anseaume), 9, 695 Adieux de Thalie, Les (Piis & Resnier), 9 695 Agis (Goulard), 12, 696 Ailes de l'amour, Les (Reigny [pseud. Cousin Jacques]), 14, 696 Amant statue, L' (Desfontaines), 11, 696 Amour et la folie, L' (Desfontaines), 11, 696 Amours de Chérubin, Les (Desfontaines), 13, 697 Amours d'été, Les (Barré & Piis), 11, 697 Aristote amoureux, ou Le Philosophe bridé (Barré & Piis), 10, 697 Arlequin marchand de proverbs (Anseaume), 7, 697 Baquet de santé, Le (Barré & Radet), 13, 697 Bateliers de Saint-Cloud, Les (Charles-Simon Favart), 6, 698 Berceau, Le (Pixérécourt), 28, 698 Bonne Femme, ou Le Phénix, La (Barré, Piis, Desprès & Resnier), 9, 698 Bouquet du vaudeville, ou Dialogue d’un charbonnier et d’une poissarde sur le naissance de monseigneur le Dauphin, Le (Piis), 11, 698 Cassandre astrologue, ou Le Préjugé de la sympathie 11, 699 Cassandre mécanicien, ou Le Bateau volant (Goulard), 12, 699 Cassandre oculiste, ou L’Oculiste dupe par son art (Barré & Piis), 10, 699 Chercheuse d'esprit, La (Charles-Simon Favart), 3, 699 Claude et Claudine (Mension [secretary to Beaumarchais]), 13, 700 Clefs du jardin, ou Les Pots de fleurs, Les (Reigny [pseud. Cousin Jacques]), 14, 700 Conciliateur à la mode, ou Les Étrennes du public, Le (Patrat), 13, 700

832

Opéra-Comique Confession du vaudeville, La (Gaugiran-Nanteuil, Moras & Étienne), 21, 700 Constance (Barré, Piis, Le Couppey de la Rozière & Radet), 14, 700 Coq de village, Le (Charles-Simon Favart), 3, 701 Couronne de Fleurs, La (Reigny [pseud. Cousin Jacques] or Abbé Bonnefoy de Bonyon), 5, 701 Dame Jeanne (Radet), 12, 701 Déménagement d'Arlequin, marchand de tableaux, Le (Charles-Nicolas-Justin Favart), 12, 701 Désirée, ou la Paix du village (Gaugiran-Nanteuil, Moras & Étienne), 21, 7012 Deux Morts, ou La Ruse de Carnaval, Les (Patrat), 11, 702 Deux Porteurs de chaise, Les (Barré & Piis), 11, 702 Deux Voisins, Les (La Roche), 16, 702 District de village, Le (Desfontaines), 16, 702 Docteur Sangrado, Le (Anseaume & Lourdet de Santerre), 2, 307, 480, 703 Docteurs modernes, Les (Barré & Radet), 13, 698, 703 Ensorcelés, ou Jeannot et Jeannette, Les (Charles-Simon Favart, Marie Favart, Frémicourt & Guerville), 3, 703 Esquisse du grand tableau, L' 21, 703 Étrennes de Mercure, ou Le Bonnet magique, Les (Barré & Piis), 11, 704 Fête civique du village, La (Mitelet), 17, 704 Fête du château, La (Charles-Simon Favart & Santerre), 5, 704 Fin du bail ou le Repas des fermiers, La (Reigny [pseud. Cousin Jacques]), 15, 704 Fleurs du château, Les (Carmouche, Lambert & Burch), 34, 704-5 Gabrielle de Passy (Imbert & Ussieux), 9, 705 Gâteau à deux fèves, Le (Barré & Piis), 11, 705 Gémeaux, Les (Gondot), 9, 705 Georget et Georgette (Guerville), 4, 705 Incendie du Havre, L' (Desfontaines), 14, 706 Intérieur d'un ménage republicain, L' (Puységur), 18, 706 Isabelle hussard (Desfontaines), 11, 706 Jardiniers de Montreuil, ou Le Trébuchet, Les (Puységur), 12, 706 Jérôme et Fanchonette (Vadé), 11, 706-7 Jeunes Mariés, Les (Charles-Simon Favart & Parmentier), 9, 707 Lanlaire, ou Le Chaos (Boissy & Abbé Bonnefoy de Bonyon), 15, 707 Léandre candide, ou Les Reconnaissances en Turquie (Radet, Piis & Le Couppey de la Rozière), 13, 707 Magasin des modernes, Le (Fromaget & Panard), 3, 707-8 Mai, Le (Desfontaines), 9, 708 Marchand d'esclaves, Le (Le Couppey de La Rozière), 13, 708 Mariage singulier, Le (Charles-Nicolas-Justin Favart), 14, 708 Mariniers de Saint-Cloud, Les (Sewrin), 20, 708 Matinée et la veillée villageoises, La (Barré & Piis), 11, 709 Matinée, la soirée, et la nuit des Boulevards, La (Charles-Simon Favart), 9, 709

Index

833

Médecin de l'amour, Le (Anseaume & Marcouville), 2, 709 Missionnaires républicains, Les (Maréchal), 18, 709 Nicaise [1767] (Vadé), 10, 709-10 Nicaise [1780] (Framery), 5, 710 Nymphes de Diane, Les (Charles-Simon Favart & Hus), 8, 710 Oiseau perdu et retrouvé, L' (Barré & Piis), 12, 710 Opéra de province, L' (Barré, Piis, Desprès & Resnier), 9, 710-11 Panorama de Paris, ou C'est fête partout!, Le (Bournonville & Lambert), 33, 711 Premier Homme du monde, ou La Création du sommeil, Le (Vieillard & Anée), 21, 711 Printemps, Le (Barré & Piis), 11, 633, 711 Public vengé, Le (Saint-Alme), 12, 711-2 Pygmalion (Billioni), 2, 712 Quatre Coins, Les (Barré & Piis), 13, 712 Racoleurs, Les (Vadé), 3, 712 Rage d'amour, La (Dorvigny), 9, 712 Raton et Rosette, ou La Vengeance inutile (Charles-Simon Favart), 3, 713 Résolution inutile, ou Les Déguisements amoureux, La (Patrat), 12, 713 Réveil de Thalie, Le (Desfontaines), 12, 713 Richard (Parisau), 11, 713 Roger-Bontems et Javotte (Moline & Dorvigny), 8, 713 Sans adieu (Reigny [pseud. Cousin Jacques]), 15, 714 Sans dormir (Rousseau), 714 Servante justifiée, La [1762] (Fagan & Charles-Simon Favart), 2, 714 Servante justifiée, La [1774] (Fagan and Charles-Simon Favart), 8, 714-5 Soirée d'été, La (Parisau), 11, 715 Soirée des boulevards, La (Simon-Charles Favart), 2, 715 Suffisant, Le (Vadé), 3, 715 Tableau des Sabines, Le (Dieulafoy, Jouy, & Longchamps), 21, 715-6 Tibère (Radet), 12, 716 Tribut du coeur à l'occasion de la paix, Le (Payen), 12, 716 Une nuit de Frédéric II, ou le Rappel de Potsdam (Coupigny, Dieulafoy & Favières), 21, 22, 716 Vadé chez lui (Demautort), 21, 716 Vendangeurs, ou Les Deux Baillis, Les (Barré & Piis), 10, 717 Veuve de Cancale, La (Parisau), 10, 717 Voyages de Rosine, Les (Barré & Piis), 12, 717 Vaudreuil, comte de, 510 Vauroussel, see Lauzanne de Vauroussel VERDI, Giuseppe, composer, xvii, 55, 158, 214, 352, 363, 500, 718-21 Falstaff (Boito, trans. Solange & Boito), xviii, 53, 719-21 Reqiuem Mass (concert), 49 Traviata, La (Piave, trans. Duprez), xviii, 51, 718-9 Vial, Jean-Baptiste Charles, librettist, 293 Aline, reine de Golconde (Henri-Montan Berton), 151

834

Opéra-Comique

Aline, reine de Golconde (Boieldieu), 180 Caquets, Les (Berton fils), 145 Créanciers, Les (Isouard), 443 Danilowa (Adam), 62 Deux Jaloux, Les (Gail), 332 Deux Mousquetaires, Les (Henri-Montan Berton), 154 Élève de Presbourg, L’ (Luce-Varlet), 503 Grand Deuil, Le (Henri-Montan Berton), 151 Inconnu, L’ (Jadin), 453 Mariage à l’anglaise, Le (Kreubé), 461 Négociant de Hambourg, Le (Kreutzer), 468 Pensionnat de jeunes demoiselles, Le (Devienne), 293 Premier Venu, Le (Hérold), 424 Rencontres, Les (Catrufo & Lemière de Corvey), 219, 490 Trompeur sans le vouloir, Le (Bouteiller), 197 Viala, Joseph-Agricol, 627 VIDAL, Paul-Antonin, composer, 353, 581, 721-2 Ballet des Nations 58 Guernica (Geilhard & Gheusi), 53, 721-2 Maître Corbeau 55 Soldats de France, Les 59 Sur le front 59 Vieillard, Pierre-Ange, librettist Premier Homme du monde, Le (Vaudeville), 711 Vigny, Alfred de, writer, 364 Villain de Saint-Hilaire, Amable, dramatist and librettist, 209 Bal du sous-préfet, Le (Boilly), 189 Cosimo (Prévost), 630 Diadesté, Le (Godefroid), 354 Micheline (Adam), 66 Veillée, La (Paris), 601 Villandon see Lhéritier de Villandon VILLEBLANCHE, Armand de, composer, 722 Nègre par amour, Le (Saint-Just), 27, 722 Villeneuve, Théodore Ferdinand Vallou de, librettist Micheline (Adam), 66 Villeroy, duchesse de, 12 Villette, Charles-Michel, marquis de, 714 Villiers, Mme, librettist Mademoiselle de Launay à la Bastille (Gail), 332 Villiers, Pierre Antoine Jean-Baptiste, librettist Bouffe et le tailleur, Le (Gaveaux), 340 Médecin turc, Le (Isouard), 440 VINCI, composer, 241 Violet d'Épagny, Jean-Baptiste-Rose-Bonaventure, librettist Auberge d’Auray, L’ (Hérold), 425

Index

835

Enlèvement, L’ (Zimmermann), 727 Fausse Croisade, La (Lemière de Corvey), 490 Petit Souper, Le (Dourlen), 303 Rivaux de village, Les (Lemière de Corvey), 490 Vivetières, see Marsollier des Vivetières Vizentini, albert, theatre director, 476 VOGEL, Charles Louis Adolphe, composer, 722 Podestat, Le (Lafitte), 37, 722 VOGLER, Georg Joseph, composer, organist and teacher, 723 Kermesse, La (Patrat), 12, 723 Paysans patriotes, Les (Morvilliers), 13, 723 Voirin, Charles (pseud. Varin), librettist Talisman, Le (Josse), 457 Voisenon, see Fusée de Voisenon Voisins, see Gilbert de Voisins Voltaire, François-Marie Arouet, known as Voltaire, writer, 165, 218, 325, 367, 377, 387, 447, 451, 495, 575, 611, 637, 707 Vulpian, Alphonse, librettist Recruteurs, Les (Lefébure-Wély), 486 WAGNER, Wilhelm Richard, composer, xix, xx, 156-7, 159, 198, 199, 229, 256, 272, 318, 437, 454, 476, 528, 529, 720, 723-4 Vaisseau fantôme, Le (Wagner trans. Nuitter), xviii, 54, 723-4 WALTER, Georg Antoine, composer Fête américaine, La 18 Watelet, Claude-Henri, librettist Phaon (Piccinni), 617 WEBER, Carl Maria von, composer, 172-3, 174, 181, 188-9, 235, 236, 240, 264, 384, 393, 431, 435, 584, 642, 723, 724-5 Robin des bois (Kind, trans. Castil-Blaze, Sauvage & Scribe), xvii, 38, 724-5 Weckerlin, Jean-Baptiste Théodore, 699 WEIGL, Joseph, composer, 725 Vallée suisse, La (Sewrin & Chazet), 29, 725 Wette, Adelheid, librettist Hänsel et Gretel (Humperdinck), 436 WIDOR, Charles-Marie, composer, 726 Maître Ambros (Coppé & Dorchain), 51, 726 Pêcheurs de Saint-Jean, Les (Cain), 56, 726 Wiener, F., see Croisset Wilder, Victor, librettist and composer Centenaire, Le 48 Enguerrande (Chapuis), 227 Wolff, Albert, librettist Egmont (Salvayre), 660 WÖLFFL, Joseph, composer, 727 Amour romanesque, L’ (Charlemagne), 24, 727

836

Opéra-Comique Fernando (Bussy), 25, 727

Ymbert, Jacques-Gilbert, librettist Petits Appartements, Les (Henri-Montan Berton), 154 Zanuzzi, François-Antoine, librettist Gondolier vénitien, Le (Riggieri), 647 ZIMMERMANN, Pierre-Joseph-Guillaume, composer, 727 Enlèvement, L’ (Scribe, d’Épagny & Saint-Victor), 36, 727 Zola, Émile-Édouard-Charles-Antoine, writer and librettist, 198, 200, 204 Enfant-roi, L’ (Bruneau), 204 Ouragan, L’ (Bruneau), 203

B. Index of Singers Abel, 160 Achard, Léon (1831-1905), tenor, later teacher, 120, 186, 348, 401, 518, 685 Albert (also Albert-Hymm), Mme Louise-Marie-Augustine (b. 1791), soprano, 466, 584 Albrecht, Mlle Luise (1841-1911), soprano, 581, 585 Alda, Frances [Frances David] (1883-1952), New Zealand soprano, 637 Alfred, 95 Alizard, Adolphe-Joseph-Louis (1814-1850), bass, later baritone, 650 Allard, André (1874-1938), bass-baritone, 434 Alvarez, Albert (né Albert-Raymond Gourron) (1861-1933) tenor, 535 Ambre, Mlle, 450 Ambroise, 119, 501, 621, 628 Andrieux, 179 Arbell, Lucy [Georgette Wallace] (1882-1947), contralto, 542, 543 Arimondi, Vittorio (1861-1928), bass, 273 Armand, Mme Marie-Amable (1774-1846), soprano, 176, 582, 584 Arraujo, Constantina, 634 Audinot, Mlle, 380 Audran, Marius Pierre (1816-1887), tenor, 72, 74, 109, 113, 125, 174, 190, 194, 196, 416, 417, 511, 551, 579, 657 Auguez, Mlle Pauline-Mathilde (b.1868), soprano, 135, 220 Avrigny, Mme d', Rose (b. 1767), soprano, 371 Bacquié, Guillaume (1843-1887), bass, 559 Badiali [Badovaille], Eugène-Charles (b. 1865), baritone, 127, 304, 354, 479 Balanqué, Mathieu-Émile (1827-1866), bass, 143, 364, 505, 516, 642 Baletti, Mme Rosa (b. 1767), soprano, 595 Bamboloda, 585 Baptiste, 81, 343, Barbot, Joseph-Théodore-Désiré (1824-1896), tenor, 641

Index

837

Baretti, Mlle Blanche (1836-1877), soprano, 270, 275, 314, 398, 505, 506, 642, 695 Barielle, 119, 300, 321, 346, 398 Barilli, Mme, 580 Barré, Auguste-Armand (1838-1885), bass-baritone, 158, 232, 250, 284, 316, 361, 366, 401, 437, 583, 599, 622, 662, 692 Barnoit, 163, 611 Barnolt [né Fleuret], Paul (1844-1900), tenor, 127, 135, 220, 252, 276, 278, 304, 315, 402, 437, 475, 559, 561, 624, 625, 658, 692, 721 Bartet, Mlle, 160 Barthelier, 336 Bataille [Battaille], Charles-Amable (1822-1872), bass, 73, 76, 114, 120, 135, 358, 364, 396, 415, 416, 417, 418, 422, 515, 681, 682, 683, 685 Bauche, 500 Beckers, 118, 346, 683 Belgirard, Mlle, 455 Belhomme, Hippolyte (1854-1923) bass-baritone, 144, 318, 507, 535, 592, 600, 607, 721 Bélia [Belia], Mlle Zoé, 118, 120, 133, 250, 270, 346, 348, 398, 422, 474, 486, 564, 586, 587, 647, 662, 693, 695 Bélia, Mlle Emma (younger sister of Mlle Zoé Bélia) (also sang at the OpéraComique) Belmont, 81 Belnie, 89, 94, 186 Bernaert, César, baritone, 135, 344, 603 Bernaert, Mme, 544, 603 Bernard, 122, 276, 277, 559, 605, 685 Bernadet, 650 Berthault, Mlle, 70, 172, 244, 485 Berthe, Mlle, 192 Berthelier, Jean (1830-1888), comedian and singer, 132, 249, 255, 337, 347, 398, 486, 587, 647 Bertin, 291, 475, 559, 582 Beyle, Gaston (b 1860), baritone, brother of Léon Beyle, later theatre director, 619, 636 Beyle, Léon (1871-1922), tenor, brother of Gaston Beyle, 253, 437 Bilbaut-Vauchelet [Bilbaut-Vachelet], Mme Juliette (1855-1925), 281, 282, 402, 507, 599 Blanchard, Mme, 105 Bonelli, Mme, 611 Bonnard, Claude (Charles), (b. 1865?), tenor, 535 Bonnefoy, 522 Borghese [Borghèse] [née Bourgeois], Mme Juliette (b. 1818), soprano, 300, 505 Borelli, Ettore (b. 1850), bass-baritone, 634 Bosio, Mme Angiolina (1830-59), Italian soprano, 650 Botelli [Bouteiller], Félix (1804-1850), bass, 172, 189, 393, 412, 569 Boucart, Mlle, 228

838

Opéra-Comique

Bouché (1807-1891), bass, 269, 725 Boudouresque, Auguste-Acanthe, (1835-1905), bass, 531, 619 Bouhy, Jacques-Joseph-André (1848-1929), baritone, 163, 522, 526 Boulanger, Mme Marie-Julienne (1786-1850), soprano, 70, 73, 83, 84, 85, 86, 89, 90, 94, 95, 100, 101, 186, 219, 300, 333, 354, 430, 544, 578, 678 Boulard, 64, 94, 212 Boulard, Mlle, 469 Boulart Mlle Sophie (1836-1889), soprano, 116, 155, 195, 346, 514, 683 Boule, 131, 679 Boulo, Jean-Jacques (1820-1887), tenor, 114, 396, 418, 681, 682 Bourbon, Jean-Louis (b. 1875), baritone, 253, 273 Bourgeois, 273 Bousquet, Mlle, 119, 321, 337, 501 Boutin, 76 Bouvet, Max (b. 1854), baritone, 200, 203, 208, 220, 318, 456, 478, 531, 533, 535, 722, 726 Branchu, Mme Alexandrine Caroline [neé Chevalier de Lavit] (1780-1850), 168, 584 Bréan, Mme, 502 Bréjean-Gravière, Georgette-Amélie-Sixsout (b.1870), soprano, 537, 566 Breuillé, Mme (1841-1859), 564 Bréval, Lucienne [Berthe-Agnès-Lisette Schilling] (1869-1935), soprano, 540 Brunetti, Mme Maria, 581 Buhl, Mlle Marie-Renee, 658 Bussine, Prosper-Alphonse (or -Albert) (1821-1881), baritone, 74, 76, 195, 246, 274, 395, 419, 448, 511, 514, 557, 682 Bussine, Mlle, 557 Cabanel, Paul (1891-1958), baritone-bass, later teacher, 634 Cabel , Edmond-Antoine-Auguste [né Druelette] (1832-1888), 78, 346, 577 Cabel, Marie-Josephe [née Druelette] (1827-1885), soprano, sister of the above, 78, 118, 122, 325, 336, 347, 421, 564, 622, 683, 685 Cailleau [Caillaud], actor and baritone, 368, 370 Caillot, Joseph (1733-1816), tenor and actor, 367, 368 Caisso, Victor (b. 1846), tenor, 559, 658 Calvé, Mlle Emma [Rosa Calvet] (1858-1942), soprano, 456, 535, 536 Cambot, 456 Camoin, Mlle (Miro, Mme), 97, 409 Capdeville, Mme, 71, 260, 412 Capoul, Joseph-Amédée-Victor (1839-1924), tenor, 122, 123, 208, 251, 314, 358, 450, 486, 522, 525, 589 Carbonne, Ernest (b. 1866), tenor, 298, 344, 437, 479, 535, 544, 561, 566, 607, 608, 636 Carrier, 376 Carlo, 196

Index

839

Carré, Marguerite [née Giraud] (1881-1947), soprano, 231 Carrell, 721 Caruso, Enrico (1873-1921), tenor, 231 Carvalho, Léon (1825-1897), bass; married Marie Miolan 1853; later theatre director, 301, 457, 501, 581, 585, 703 Carvalho, Mme (see Miolan-Carvalho, Marie-Caroline) Casimir, Mme Marie [née Dubois] (1801-1888), soprano, 64, 97, 194, 219, 329, 356, 403, 430, 432, 445, 587 Castagné, Mlle Marie (b. 1859), mezzo-soprano, 456, 726 Catalani, Mme Angelica (1780-1849), Italian soprano, 580 Cazeneuve, Maurice (1861-1915), tenor, 567, 619, 638 Chaix, 111, 298, 422, 579 Chalande, 675 Chaliapin, Fyodor (1873-1938), Russian bass, 543, 650 Challet, 285 Chanoz, Mlle, 479 Chapron, 313 Chapuis, 650 Chapuy, Mlle Marguerite (b. 1850), soprano, 163, 278, 507 Charton-Demeur, Mme Anne-Arsène (1824-1892), soprano, 141, 143, 583 Chenard, Simon (1758-1832), baritone, 84, 343, 672, 673 Chenevière [Chennevieres], tenor, 284 Chéron, Augustin (1760-1829), bass, 380, 584 Chevalier, Mlle Esther, 163, 255, 304, 315, 402, 475, 502, 544, 565, 600, 620, 721 Chevrier, Mlle Hélène (b. 1850), soprano, 276, 559 Chollet, Jean-Baptiste-Marie (1798-1892), tenor, 67, 69, 72, 73, 77, 92, 94, 98, 125, 126, 172, 189, 192, 212, 216, 244, 329, 393, 409, 410, 430, 448, 470, 551, 568, 630, 676 Chollet-Bayard, Mme, 601, 631 Cico, Mlle Alexandrine (1841-1875), soprano, 120, 270, 358, 588, 589, 693 Cinti-Damoreau, Laure [Laure-Cinthie Montalant Damoreau] (1801-1863), soprano and teacher, 71, 97, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 269, 411, 568, 580, 582, 635 Clairval [or Clerval] (1735-1793), tenor, 368, 369, 374, 577 Claparède, 179 Clément, Edmond (1867-1928), tenor, 203, 256, 304, 354, 607, 636, 658, 721 Clerc, Mlle, 692 Cobalet, Jean-Henri-Arthur (b. 1855), bass, 284, 478, 527, 658 Colas [Henzel- or Hennezel-Colas], Mlle Augusta, 120, 348 Colbrun, 76 Collin, 255, 276, 475, 559, 592, 658 Colombe, Mme (1754-1837), soprano, 221 Colon, Mlle Jenny (1808-1842), soprano, 89, 100, 243, 392, 410, 568, 569, 676 Colson, Charles-Alexandre (1814-1877), tenor, 421 Colson, Mme Pauline [née Marchand], soprano, 682 Comte, 455

840

Opéra-Comique

Cordier, Mlle Angèle, 195, 249 Couderc, Joseph-Antoine-Charles (1810-1875), tenor, 66, 71, 100, 101, 103, 104, 114, 116, 119, 132, 133, 172, 249, 274, 331, 337, 346, 348, 398, 409, 418, 419, 485, 514, 515, 517, 557, 568, 578, 586, 589, 601, 627, 631, 640, 641, 676, 681, 685 Coulomb, 638 Courdier, Mlle, 501 Crabbe, Armand (1883-1947), baritone, 273 Craponne, Mlle de, 253, 434, 567, 620 Crétu, Mme [Crétu-Simonet, Mme], (1722-1829), mezzo-soprano, 167, 673 Crosti, Eugene-Charles-Antoine (b. 1833), bass, later teacher, 195, 314, 325, 331, 492, 506, 518, 588, 621, 684, 695 Cruvelli, Mlle Sophie [Sofia] (1826-1907), German soprano, 135 Dabadie, Henri-Bernard (1797-1853), baritone, 584 Daffetye (Daffeye), Mme, 540, 620 Dalbret, Mlle Numa, 282, 475 Dalti, Mlle Zina, 250, 455, 598 Damoreau, Mme (see Cinti-Damoreau) Daram, Mlle Joséphine (b. 1845), mezzo-soprano, 361, 401, 585 Darancourt, 81, 85, 88, 89, 672 Darcier, Mlle Célestine (1818-1879), soprano, 72, 104, 125, 126, 216, 245, 251, 324, 350, 351, 395, 414, 415, 416, 445, 448, 544, 569, 571, 639, 678 Darclée, Mme Hariclea [Hariclea Haricly] (1860-1939), Rumanian soprano, 634 Daudé, 105, 343, 569 Davelli, Marthe, soprano and comedian, 637 Davoust, bass, 120, 276, 277, 559, 624, 685 Decroix, 155 Decroix, Mme Marguerite (b. 1828), mezzo-soprano, 77, 276, 313, 395, 396, 457, 507, 559, 564, 611, 625, 657, 679 Degenne, 252 Degrandi, Mme Marie (b. 1858), soprano, 252, 502, 603 Dehelly, Mlle Suzanne, 636 Delaquerrière, Louis (b. 1858), tenor, 220 Delaunay, see Delaunay-Ricquier Delaunay-Ricquier, Edmund-Jules (1826-1899), tenor, 77, 116, 423, 515, 557, 683, 693 Delille, Mlle Octavie [Mme Morize], 111, 246 Delna, Mlle Marie [Marie Ledan] (1875-1932), contralto, 142, 202, 203, 354, 533 Delsarte (jeune), tenor, 577 De Luca, Giuseppe (1876-1950), Italian baritone, 637 Delvoye, baritone, 619, 638 Depassio, Jean (1824-1887), bass, 585 Dereims, Étienne (1845-1904), tenor, 366 Dérivis (père), Henri-Étienne, bass, 466, 582, 584 Dérivis (fils), Prosper (1808-1880), bass, 582

Index

841

Desbrosses, Mme Marie (1763-1856), mezzo-soprano, 81, 83, 86, 186, 333, 637 Deschamps, Mlle Blanche (see Deschamps-Jéhin, Mme) Deschamps-Jéhin, Mme Blanche (1857-1932), mezzo-soprano, 200, 231, 253, 298, 478, 537, 661 Descot, Mlle, 71, 193, 544, 628 Desessart, 85 Deslandes, 98 Deval, Mlle, 675 Devriès, Jeanne (1850-1924), 158 Donalda [Lightstone], Pauline (1882-1970), Canadian soprano, 638 Dorus, See Dorus-Gras Dorus-Gras, Mlle Julie-Aimée-Josephe (1805-1896), soprano, 433, 582, 650 Dozainville, 340, 439, 667 Dubois, Mlle Fernand, 304, 566 Ducasse, Mlle Alice-Anna-Elisa (b. 1846), mezzo-soprano, 158, 163, 232, 277, 475, 492, 598, 599, 622, 657, 687 Duchenet, 95 Duchesne, tenor, 159, 455 Duez, Mlle Zoë, soprano, 269 Duflot-Maillard, Mme, 138 Dufranne, Hector (1870-1951), baritone, 273, 540 Dufresne, 500, 584 Dufriche, Eugène (b. 1848), bass, 163, 450, 535 Dugazon, Mme Louise-Rosalie (1755-1821), mezzo-soprano, 117, 166, 256, 258, 275, 285, 296, 386, 434, 577, 667 Dulin, 482, 600, 726 Dupont, Alexis [Pierre-Auguste, known as Alexis] (1796-1874), tenor, 84, 584 Dupont, Mlle, 144, 482, 624 Duprez (-Vandenheuvel), Caroline (1832-1875), soprano, 114-5, 116, 248, 315, 422, 515, 518, 581, 641 Dupuis, Mlle, 435, 482, 559, Dupuy, 502 Dupuy, Mme Alphonsine (b. 1838), soprano, 402, 564 Duret, Mme Cecile (Mme Saint-Aubin-Duret) (1785-1862), soprano, 445 Duval, Mlle Arthémise, 579 Duvernoy, Charles-Francois (1796-1872), bass-baritone, later teacher, 85, 109, 118, 120, 126, 163, 196, 337, 339,500, 571, 693 Dyck, Ernest van (1861-1923), Belgian tenor, 532 Eigenschenk, Mlle, 232 Elleviou (Elléviou), Jean (1769-1842), tenor, 166, 176, 285, 341, 374, 390, 439, 441, 451, 557, 577, 672, 673 Elven, Mme Suzanne (1866-1906), soprano/mezzo-soprano, 285, 534, 722 Emelen, Mme Marie-Louise van (b.1871), soprano, 538 Emon, 103, 130, 196, 343, 394, 470, 544 Engalli, Mme, 281, 282, 455, 522

842

Opéra-Comique

Engel, Pierre-Emile (1847-1927), tenor, 200, 276 Ernest, 323 Esposito, Mlle, 600 Estagel, Mlle soprano, 585 Eyreams, Mlle Cecile (b. 1874), soprano, 608 Fain, Mlle, 401 Faivre, Amélie (Mme Charles Réty) (1836-1897), 135, 359, 474, 505, 557 Falcon, Mlle Cornélie (1814-1897), soprano, 582 Fargueil, bass, 94, 323, 356, 433 Fargueil, Mlle, 97 Farrar, Geraldine (1882-1967), American soprano, 231, 634 Faure, Jean-Baptist (1830-1914), baritone, 116, 118, 248, 346, 397, 564, 582, 682 Faure-Lefebvre, Mme Constance-Caroline (1828-1905), soprano, 76, 195, 207, 249, 254, 300, 335, 346, 362, 382, 397, 448, 511, 515, 681, 682, 683 Favart, Charles-Simon (1710-1792), dramatist, tenor and theatre director, 221 Favart, Mme Marie (1727-1772), soprano, 602 Favel, Mlle Andrea, 115, 274, 419, 693 Feart, Rose (1878-1954), soprano, 273 Félix, 500 Félix, Mme (see Miolan-Carvalho, Marie-Caroline),77, 118, 130, 343, 351, 395, 462, 683 Félix-Miolan, Mme (see Miolan-Carvalho, Marie-Caroline) Ferdinand Mlle (Mme Ferdinand-Sallard), soprano, 314, 522 Féréol, Auguste [né Louis Second] (1795-1870), tenor and librettist, 66, 90, 94, 97, 186, 212, 213, 393, 430, 433, 484, 593, 644 Ferrière, Mlle, 582 Firmin, 186, 322 Flécheux, Mlle Maria, mezzo-soprano, 650 Fleury, 410, 485 Fonti, Mlle, 585 Fournets, René [Antoine]. (1858-1926), bass, 456, 478, 661, 726 Franck-Duvernoy, Mlle, soprano, 366, 401 Frandin, Mlle Elisabeth (1859-1911), Finnish soprano, 284 Frezzolini, Mme Erminia (1818-1884), Italian soprano, 582 Fromageat, 343 Fromant [Froment], tenor, 364, 423, 450, 516, 585 Fugère, Lucien (1848-1935), baritone, 220, 228, 231, 252, 256, 277, 304, 354, 475, 502, 507, 514, 534, 538, 540, 544, 561, 565, 567, 594, 603, 607, 619, 624, 636, 658 Gabriel, 423, 474 Gailhard, Pierre [also known as Pedro] (1848-1918), baritone, librettist, later director of the Paris Opéra, 123, 589, 699 Gailland, 585 Galabert, 401

Index

843

Galand, 603 Galand, Mme, 135 Gall, Yvonne (1885-1972), soprano, 639 Galli, 634 Galli-Marié, Mme [Marie-Célestine Marié de l’Isle] (1840-1905), soprano, 163, 250, 276, 348, 398, 401, 506, 518, 526, 588, 597, 603, 606, 623, 662, 685 Garcia, Manuel (1775-1832), tenor, teacher and composer, 580, 582 Garcia, Mme Eugénie (1815-1880), soprano and teacher, 172, 189, 252, 393, 569 Garden, Mlle Mary (1874-1967), Scottish soprano, 273, 542, 619 Garnier, Mlle Marie, 78 Gassier, Edouard (1820-1872), bass-baritone, 111 Gavaudan, Jean-Baptiste-Sauveur (1772-1840), tenor, 80, 151, 176, 340, 557, 672, 673 Gavaudan Mme Alexandrine (wife of Jean-Baptiste Gavaudan), 81, 340, 557, 672, 673 Gavaudan, Mlle Aglaé (sister of Jean-Baptiste Gavaudan), 380, 672 Génot, 98 Geoffroy [Guffroy], Mme Coralie, mezzo-soprano, 143, 321 Geraizer, 611 Gérard, Mlle, 123 Gerpré, 585 Gerville-Réache, Mlle Jeanne (1882-1915), contralto, 273 Gibert, Étienne, (b. 1859), tenor , 228, 285, 531 Gilbert, 352 Gilibert, Charles, baritone, 535 Giordani, 634 Giraldoni, Eugenio (1871-1924), bass-baritone, 634 Girard, Mlle Caroline (b. 1830), 270, 275, 358, 359, 376, 399, 423, 505, 518, 525, 588, 589 Girardot, Adolphe (d.1874), tenor, 359, 401, 505, 642 Giraudet, Alfred-Auguste (1845-1911), bass, later teacher, 366 Godefroy, Mlle, 277 Golin, 613 Gonthier, 81 Gourdin, Alexandre (1842-1865), baritone, 249, 270, 314, 376, 486, 506 Gourdon, baritone, 282, 475, 592, 624, 625 Grandjean, Mme Louise (1870-1934), soprano, 721 Granger, 86 Grard, 72, 108, 245, 324, 571 Grassari, Mlle (b. 1793), soprano, 584 Graziani, Francesco (1828-1901), Italian baritone, 718 Gresse, André (1868-1937), bass; son of singer Léon Gresse, later teacher, 455, 479, 536, 660 Grignon (fils), Hippolyte, tenor, 642 Grignon (père), Honoré (1800-1880), bass, 70, 73, 75, 101, 103, 105, 189, 196, 245, 246, 343, 351, 412, 445, 462, 569, 571, 579

844

Opéra-Comique

Grillon, baritone, 505 Grimm, Mlle Sophie (1824-1879), soprano, 113, 194, 409, 681 Grisi, Mme Giulia (1811-1869), soprano, 301, 580, 582 Grivot, [Laurence?] (d. 1912), 282, 316, 402, 473, 475, 507, 527, 534, 592, 600, 603, 608, 624, 625, 660 Guardi, 135 Guerra, Mlle Marietta, 628 Guerrin, 143 Guichard, Mlle Adèle-Louise (1816-1878), soprano, 269 Guillot, Mlle, 278 Guimard, Mlle, 387, 613 Guiraudon, Mme Julia (b. 1893), soprano, 253, 318, 479, 536, 537 Haitzinger, Anton (1796-1869), tenor, 135 Haussard, 103 Hébert, 213 Hébert-Massy, Mme Marie (1813-1875), soprano, 64, 76, 95, 213, 407, 426, 433 Heilbronn [Heilbron], Marie (1851-1886), Belgian soprano, 400, 450, 524, 525, 622 Henri [Henry], bass, 67, 70, 73, 89, 94, 98, 104, 105, 109, 125, 130, 138, 172, 173 186, 193, 246, 300, 410, 411, 416, 462, 470, 485, 551, 571, 578, 601, 679 Henrion [Henrion-Berthier], Mlle Marie (b.1838), 314, 336, 398 Henry, Mme, 584 Herbert, 482, 531, 658 Hermann-Léon [né Léonard Hermann] (1814-1858), bass, 111, 113, 126, 138, 190, 194, 216, 246, 248, 394, 395, 414, 500, 504, 625, 679 Herteaux [Hurtaux], 393 Holtzem [Holzem, Holtzhem], Louis-Alphonse (1827-1892), tenor, 474, 501 Horwitz, Mlle, 228 Huby, 582 Huet, 81, 83, 85, 88, 89, 322, 557 Hymm, Mlle (see Albert, Mme) Ibos, Guillaume (1860-1952), tenor, 533 Inchindi [Hinnekindt], Jean-Francois (1798-1876), Belgian bass, 66, 97, 97, 567 Irma-Marié, Mme, soprano, 606, 623 Isaac, Mlle Adèle (1854-1915), soprano, 220, 592, 661 Ismaël [né Jean-Vital-Ismaël Jammes] (1827-1893), baritone, 157, 278, 301, 362, 401, 492, 598, 687 Isnardon, Jacques (b. 1860), baritone-bass, later teacher, 208, 252, 304, 600, 636 Jacquin, Émile (b. 1861), baritone, 608 Jansenne, Louis (b. 1810), tenor, 172, 291, 329 Jawureck, Mme Constance (1803-1858), soprano, 584 Jérome [Jérôme], Henri (b. 1860), tenor, 208, 318, 722 Jolly, Mlle [Fleury-Jolly], Amélie (b. 1820), soprano, 675

Index

845

Jourdan, Pierre-Marius (1823-1879), tenor, 76, 118, 274, 314, 315, 321, 335, 346, 374, 409, 422, 462, 469, 515, 625, 682 Julien, 123, 159, 577 Juliet, Antoine (1755-1825), baritone, 323, 333, 339, 343 Junca, François-Marcel (c.1818-1878), bass, 77, 421, 577 Labis, 255, 291, Lablache, Luigi (1794-1858), bass, 301, 580, 582 Lafargue, 142 Lafargue, Mlle Marie (b. 1871), soprano, 722 Lafeuillade, tenor, 88, 89, 90, 593 Lafont, Marcellin-Léger (1800-1838), tenor, 582, 650, 661 Laforêt, 582 Laget, Paul-Pierre (1821-1875), tenor, 71, 119 Laguerre, Mlle Marie-Joséphine-Sophie (1755-1783), soprano, 380 Laîné [Lainez], Étienne (1753-1822), tenor, later teacher, 380 Laïs (see Lays) Laisné, Mlle Marie-Sophie (b. 1870), soprano, 354, 533, 534 Landouzy, Mme Lisa (1861-1943), soprano, 256, 561, 607, 619, 721 Lapierre, tenor, 577 Lardinois, Mlle, 475 Larrivée, Henri-Étienne (1737-1802), bass, 380, 613 Larrivée, Mme Marie-Jeanne (née Lemière) (1733-1786), 613 Laruette, Jean-Louis (1731-1792), tenor/baritone, 368 Laruette, Mme Marie-Thérèse (1744-1837), soprano, 368, 369 Lasalle [Lassalle], Jean (1847-1909), baritone, 455 Laurent, tenor, 492, 622, 642 Lavoye, Mlle Louise (1823-1879), soprano, 100, 109, 113, 174, 190, 194, 196, 414, 416, 470, 628 Lays [Laïs], Francois (1758-1831), bass, 380, 385, 466, 580, 584 Le Sage, 81, 343 Leblanc, Georgette (1896-1941), soprano, 203, 306 Lebrunn, Annette, 356 Leclerc Mlle, 84, 333 Leclerc, Mme Jeanne (1868-1942), soprano, 127, 304, 344, 514 Lecourt [Lecour], tenor, 577 Lefebvre, Mlle Constance-Caroline (see Faure-Lefebvre, Mme) Lefort, Jules (1829-1898), baritone, 143 Lejeune, 114 Lemaire, baritone,76, 118, 132, 274, 314, 331, 336, 337, 347, 398, 401, 564, 625, 631, 693 Lemaire, Mlle Anna, 657 Lemercier, Mlle Marie-Charlotte (b. 1827), mezzo-soprano, 76, 77, 118, 131, 132, 190, 195, 249, 274, 331, 337, 346, 347, 394, 396, 397, 417, 422, 457, 462, 500, 504, 514, 516, 517, 580, 621, 639, 641, 682, 684, 688 Lemesle, Mme, 323

846

Opéra-Comique

Lemonnier, Louis-Auguste (1793-1875), baritone, 81, 86, 88, 90, 92, 176, 219, 322, 407, 433, Lemonnier [Lemonnier-Regnault], Mme Louise-Thérèse-Antoinette (1789-1866), soprano, 85, 89, 92, 445, 672 Léon, 98 Lepers, 401, 455, 660 Leplus, Mme, 70, 243, 410 Leprestre, Julien (1864-1909), tenor, 536, 566 Leroy, Ernest, ténor comique, 78, 250, 400, 605, 693 Lesage, Mlle, 672 Levasseur, Nicholas Prosper (1791-1871), bass, later teacher, 580, 582 Levasseur, Mlle Rosalie (1749-1826), soprano, 380 Levasseur, Mlle [née Mercier, changed her name to avoid confusion with Mlle Lemercier], soprano, 409 Lévy, Mme Clarisse Yvel, 298 Lévy, Mlle Philippine, 366 Lhérie, Paul [Paul Lévy] (1844-1937), tenor then baritone, later teacher, 163, 278, 352, 492, 526, 657 L'Héritier, Mlle, 255, 450 Liesse, 675 Lignel, tenor, 605 Lloyd, Mlle, 304 Logors, 613 Lorrain, Eugène (b. 1856), bass-baritone, 200, 285, 298 Lubert, 456, 658, 726 Luca, Libera de (b. 1913), tenor, 634, 637 Luguet, Mme, 173 Lutz, F., baritone, 158, 581, 583, 585 Maësen, Mlle Léontine de (1835-1906), soprano, 157, 301 Maguénat, Alfred (b. c. 1880), baritone, 638, 639 Maillart [Maillard], Mme Marie-Thérèse (1766-1818), soprano, 584 Mainvielle-Fodor, Mme Joséphine (1789-1879),soprano, 580, 582 Malibran, Mme Maria (1809-1836), Spanish mezzo-soprano, 580, 582 Mandini, Stefano (1750?-1810?), bass, 595 Mandini, Mme Maria (b. 1762), mezzo-soprano, 595 Marc-Nohel, 536 Marchi, de, Emilio, tenor, 634 Maréchal, Adolphe (1867-1935), Belgian tenor, 231, 540 Marcus, Mlle, 522 Marguerite, Mlle, 592, 675 Margueron, Mme Clara, 213, 291 Marié, 244, 300, 650, 725 Marié de Isle, Mme Jeanne [Jeanne Beugnon] (1872-1926), soprano, 538 Marie-Roze, Mlle, 122, 328 122, 326 Mario, Giovanni, conte di Candia (1810-1883), Italian tenor, 301, 582, 718

Index

847

Maris, A., 144, 282, 473, 482, 559, 561, 606, 607, 624, 692 Marimon, Mlle Marie-Ernestine (1839-1923), soprano, 249, 486, 587 Martin, Jean-Blaise (1768-1837), bass-baritone, 176, 178, 180, 293, 333, 341, 406, 551, 582, 667 Martin [Martin-Charlet], Mme, 134 Masset, Nicolas (1811-1903), tenor, 70, 172, 186, 189, 393, 430, 571 Massol 677, 725 Mastio, Mlle Catherine (b 1874), soprano, 636 Massy, 158 Massy, Mlle (see Hébert-Massy, Mme Marie) Maurel, Victor (1848-1923), baritone, 492, 721 Mées, Henri (1757-1820), baritone, 179 Mées, Mme, 179 Meillet, Auguste-Alphonse-Edmond (1828-1871), baritone, 75, 78, 215, 328, 359, 421, 516, 581 Meillet [Meillet-Meyer], Mme Marie-Stéphanie (b.1828), soprano, 74, 417, 416, 418, 504, 642 Melchissédec [Melchisédec], Léon (1843-1925), baritone, 122, 250, 598 Mélotte, Mme, 126 Mengozzi, Bernardo (1758-1800), bass, 595 Menjaud, Horace, 75 Méric-Lalande, Mme Henriette (1798-1867), soprano, 582, 606 Mesmaeker [Mesmaecker], Georges-Louis (1858-1933), tenor, 567, 608 Meyer, Mlle (see Meillet, Mme) Mézeray, Mlle Cécile, 220, 600 Michot, Pierre-Jules (1832-1896), tenor, 361, 583, 585 Michu, Louis (1754-1802), tenor, 221, 296 Mindès, Mlle, 675 Miolan, Mlle (see Miolan-Carvalho, Marie-Caroline) Miolan-Carvalho, Marie-Caroline [née Félix-Miolan] (1827-1895), coloratura-lyric soprano, 74, 247, 269, 361, 362, 364, 396, 419, 514, 516, 581, 583, 585, 640, 650, 682 (as Mme Félix, 77, 118, 130, 343, 351, 395, 462, 683) Mirane, Mme, 282 Mocker, Ernest, (1811-1895), baritone, 70, 71, 72, 73, 103, 104, 105, 126, 131, 174, 216, 244, 245, 324, 343, 346, 347, 350, 351, 394, 395, 410, 414, 416, 419, 422, 448, 470, 513, 569, 571, 575, 578, 579, 580, 639, 678, 682, 685 Moisset, Mlle, soprano, 586, 589, 605 Molé, Mlle (see Molé-Truffier, Mme) Molé-Truffier, Mme, 127, 255, 284, 291, 344, 434, 437, 561, 592, 607, 624 Mondaud (1865-1902), baritone, 203, 318, 354, 535, 722 Monjaud, 78 Monjauze, Jules-Sébastien (1824-1877), tenor, 141, 248, 328, 416, 421, 642 Montaubry, Achille-Félix (1826-1898), tenor, 119, 143, 249, 250, 270, 398, 430, 506, 518, 573, 588, 684, 695 Monrose [Montrose], Mlle., soprano, 119, 143, 398, 684 Morandi, Rosa (1782-1824), soprano, 580

848

Opéra-Comique

Moreau, 81, 83, 333, 340 Moreau-Sainti, Théodore-Étienne (1799-1860), tenor, 63, 94, 100, 101, 134, 194, 244, 343, 350, 411, 412, 430, 569, 601, 678 Morelli, 650 Morichelli [Morichelli-Bosello], Mme Anna (1745-1800), soprano, 595 Morini, tenor, 157, 362 Morlet, Auguste-Louis (1849-1913), baritone, 276, 559, 623, 675 Mouliérat, Jean-Baptiste (b. 1853), tenor, 144, 435, 473, 607, 624 Mouret, 450 Mousel, Mlle, 98, 100 Muratore, Lucien (1878-1954), tenor, 567 Nadaude, (Nadaud) Mlle, 278, 622, 687 Nainville, (b. c. 1745), baritone, 577 Naldi, Mme Carolina (1801-1876), soprano, 580 Narbonne, Pierre-Marie (b. 1751), baritone, 221, 577 Nardi, Mlle Jeanne-Eugènie (b. 1867), mezzo-soprano, 220, 352, 531 Nathan, Elias (1822-1884), bass, 114, 118, 120, 163, 250, 255, 274, 314, 331, 336, 400, 422, 474, 515, 587, 625, 688, 695 Nathen-Treillet, Mme, 677 Nau, Mlle Maria-Dolorès-Bénédicta-Joséphine (1818-1891), soprano, 123, 725 Neveu, bass, 492, 526, 622, 687 Neway, Patricia, (b. 1919), soprano, 634 Nicot Charles-Auguste (1843-1899), tenor, 277, 316, 507, 599, 623, 624 Nicot, Paul, 598 Nilsson, Mlle Christine (1843-1921), Swedish soprano, 583, 585, 719 Nourrit (fils), Adolphe (1802-1839), tenor, 582 Nourrit (père), Louis (1780-1831), tenor, 466, 584 Nuovina, Mme de, soprano, 285 Obin, Louis-Henri (1820-1895), baritone, 650 Octave, 677 Octave, Mlle, 577 Olivier, Mlle Thérésè, 101, 329, 356 Packet, Mme Nina, 208 Palar, Mlle (see Rigaut, Antoinette) Palianti, Louis (1810-1875), bass, scene designer, 105, 416, 564 Pannetrat, Mlle, soprano, 331, 516, 628 Parade, 160 Parent, Mlle, 522 Pascal, Mme, 208 Passama, Mme Jenny [Jeanne] (b. 1860), mezzo-soprano, 567 Patti, Mlle Adelina [Adela Juana Maria] (1843-1919), Italian soprano, 719 Paul, tenor 83, 84, 343, 557 Paul, Mme, 84

Index

849

Pedorlini, Juan (known as ‘Jouanni’), bass, 577 Peignet, Mlle, 95 Pelet, Mlle, 582 Pellegrini, 580 Périer, Jean (1869-1954), baritone, 273, 433, 561, 608, 637, 658 Péront, 585 Perron, Mme, 502 Persiani, Mme Fanny (1812-1867), Italian soprano, 580, 582 Peschard, Albert [August-Jacques-Étienne] (1834-1898), tenor, 505 Petit, Jules (1837-1886) baritone, 362, 557, 581, 585 Petit-Brière, Mme Marie Adolphine, soprano, 335 Peyret, Mme Éléonore, 585 Philippe, tenor, 176 Philis [Phillis], Mme Jeanette (1779-1830), soprano, 179 Piccaluga, Nino (1890-1973), tenor, 435, 437 Piccolomini, Mlle Mariette (1834-1899), Italian soprano, 718 Pierron, Mlle Juliette (b. 1859), mezzo-soprano, 135, 284, 482, 603, 608, 624 Pingenet, Mlle, 343 Plançon, Pol-Henri (1854-1914), bass, 535 Potier, Mme Henri [née Marie Ambroisine ‘Minette’ de Cussy] (1817-1871), soprano, 69, 73, 126, 173, 194, 196, 244, 298, 627, 628, 677 Ponchard (fils), Charles-Marie-Auguste (1824-1891), ténor comique, son of the below, manager, producer, 133, 195, 248, 250, 274, 313, 336, 346, 347, 348, 396, 397, 399, 419, 457, 474, 517, 586, 588, 621, 628, 657 Ponchard (père), Louis-Antoine-Eléonore (1787-1866), tenor, composer and teacher, 81, 85, 86, 88, 89, 146, 186, 211, 333, 374, 448, 546, 557, 568, 635, 639 Ponchard, Mme Sophie (née Carrault) (1792-1873), soprano, 84, 89, 97, 213, 433 Potel, Pierre-Armand (1831-1879), baritone, 133, 159, 163, 398, 474, 492, 586, 589, 662, 693 Pradher, Mme Félicité (1800-1876), soprano, 66, 85, 86, 88, 89, 90, 92, 95, 97, 146, 212, 213, 322, 407, 409, 593, 601 Prelly, Mme Aline [Baronne de Presles and Mlle de Pomeyrac], soprano, 159 Préti [Préty, Mme Gennetier], Mlle, soprano, 577 Prévost , Mlle Geneviève-Aimeé-Zoe (1802-1861), soprano, 62, 63, 69, 94, 95, 98, 110, 189, 196, 212, 244, 246, 291, 323, 343, 393, 571, 579, 676 Prilleux, Victor (1814-1876), bass, 120, 122, 123, 132, 133, 143, 249, 314, 325, 337, 346, 347, 348, 474, 517, 518, 621, 622, 683, 684 Priola, Mlle [Marguerite-Marie-Sophie Polliart] (1849-1876), soprano, 123, 278, 328, 492, 526, 597 Prost, Mlle, 119, 331, 337, 398 Puget, Jules (1820-1887), tenor, 118, 361, 514, Quincy, Mme, 584 Raffanelli, Luigi (1752-1821), bass, 595

850

Opéra-Comique

Raunay [Raunay-Dumeny], Mme Jeanne (b. 1868), soprano, 437 Reboux, Mlle Melanie (1834-1876), soprano, 362 Reggiani, Mlle, 524 Regnault, Mlle, soprano (see Lemonnier, Mme) Reine, Mlle Julia (b. 1851), mezzo-soprano, 315, 687 Rémy, Mlle, 284, 291 Renard, Mlle Marie [Marie Pölzi] (1864-1939), Austrian soprano, 532 Renaud, Mlle (see Avrigny, Mme d') Renaud, Maurice (1861-1933), baritone, 298 Résicour, 339 Révial, Louis-Benoît-Alphonse (1810-1871), singer and teacher, 97, 146, 213 Révilly, Mlle Anoinette-Jeanne-Hermance (1822-1899), soprano, 105, 108, 111, 130, 131, 194, 245, 278, 315, 325, 337, 346, 396, 416, 448, 470, 518, 544, 551, 571, 578, 605, 662, 683, 695 Rey, Mlle Anaïs, soprano, 274, 450 Ricquier (see Delaunay-Ricquier) Ricquier-Delaunay (see Delaunay-Ricquier) Rifaut [Rifault], Mme, 630 Rigaud, Mme, 84, 85, 86, 88, 89 Rigaut, Antoinette-Eugénie [née Paillard, pseud. Mme Palar] (b. 1797), soprano, 81, 186 Rioton, Mlle Marthe (1878-1966), soprano, 231 Ritter [Ritter-Ciampi], Mlle Cécile (1859-1939), soprano, 522 Rochard [Rochard de Bouillac] (1711-1791), bass-baritone, 602 Roger, Gustave-Hippolyte (1815-1879), tenor, 70, 101, 105, 107, 108, 109, 111, 113, 138, 172, 173, 186, 189, 193, 243, 245, 246, 393, 409, 411, 412, 414, 503, 678 Roland, 582 Rolandeau, Mlle Louise-Philippine-Joséphine (1771-1807), soprano, 339 Rosières, tenor, 221 Rosine, Mlle, 339 Rossi, Mlle, soprano,70, 102, 103, 172, 243, 244, 245, 392, 411, 578 Rossi, Mme Henriette Sontag, Comtesse de (see Sontag, Henriette) Rossi-Caccia, Mme Juana (1805-1892), soprano, 107, 108, 186, 430 Rothier, Léon (1874–1951), bass, 637 Rousselière, Charles (1875-1950), tenor, 637 Rouvroy, Mlle Louise (c.1825-1883), soprano, 72, 75 Rovedino, 595 Roy, 100, 101 Roy, Mme, 101 Roze, Mlle Marie-Hippolyte [née Ponsin] (1846-1926), soprano, 518 Roziès, Mlle, soprano, 416 Rubini, Giovanni Battista (1794-1854), Italian tenor, 582 Sablairolles-Caisso, Mme, 660 Saint-Ange, Mme, 462

Index

851

Saint-Aubin, 672 Saint-Aubin, Mme Jeanne-Charlotte (1764-1860), soprano, 81, 166, 175, 285, 439 Saint-Aubin, Mlle Alexandrine (1793-1867), soprano, daughter of JeanneCharlotte Saint-Aubin, 445 Saint-Urbain, Mlle, soprano, 314 Sainte-Foix, 278 Sainte-Foy [né Charles-Louis Pubereaux] (1817-1877), tenor, 71, 74, 76, 77, 103. 116, 120, 122, 123, 126, 130, 132, 173, 192, 194, 195, 196, 207, 246, 254, 298, 314, 325, 347, 394, 396, 398, 399, 417, 430, 445, 448, 469, 470, 486, 500, 504, 513, 514, 515, 518, 544, 564, 587, 588, 589, 622, 628, 640, 641, 657, 679, 683, 688, 695 Sainte-Foy, Mme, 688 Salla [de Septavaux], Mme Caroline (b.1852), 658, 726 Sallard, Mme (see Ferdinand) Sanderson, Sybil (1865-1903), American soprano, 531, 658 Schroeder-Devrient, Wilhelmine (1804-1860), German soprano, 135, 724 Scio, Mme Julie-Angélique (1768-1807), soprano, 238, 338, 339, 343, 439, 674 Scio-Messié, Mme (see Mme Scio) Scott, 505 Scotti, Antonio (1866-1936), Italian baritone, 634 Serda, Jacques-Émile (1804-1863), bass, 584 Serène, baritone, 135 Simonnet, Mlle, 200, 252, 285, 352, 478, 658 Solié, Jean-Pierre (1755-1812), tenor-baritone and composer, 340, 342, 442, 557, 667, 672, 673 Sontag, Henriette (Countess Rossi) (1806-1854), German soprano, 99, 300, 582 Soulacroix, Gabriel (1853-1905), baritone, 285, 502, 561, 607, 661, 721 Soyer, Philippe, ténor comique, 269 Stehle, Mme, 492 Stéphane, [Mlle?], 366 Stockhausen, Julius (1826-1906), baritone, later teacher, 683 Stolz, Mlle Rosine (1815-1903), soprano, 725 Sujol, tenor, 78 Sully, Mariette (1874-?1940), Belgian soprano, 561 Sunahara, Michiko, (b. 1923), Japanese soprano, 634 Talazac, Jean-Alexandre (1853-1892), tenor, 282, 284, 402, 478, 524, 527, 592, 600, 661 Talmon, Mlle, 76, 77, 335 Talon [Tallon], tenor, 642 Tamburini, Antonio (1800-1876), Italian baritone, 301, 580 Tarquini d'Or, Mme, 256 Tarride, 675 Taskin, Émile-Alexandre (1853-1897), baritone, 256, 282, 402, 450, 524, 527, 531, 592, 600, 658, 661 Telma, Mlle, 636

852

Opéra-Comique

Téoni, Mme, 522 Teste [Leclerc], André-Joseph (b. 1840), bass, 163, 255, 559, 624 Thénard, Étienne-Bernard-Auguste (1807-1838), tenor, 95, 97, 98, 213, 219, 291, 349, 356, 433 Thévenard, Gabriel-Vincent (1669-1741), bass, 406, 481 Thibaut, Mlle, 278 Thierry, baritone[?], 315, 507, 586, 607, 687 Thiéry [Thierry], Mme Marie (1870-1918), soprano, 567 Thillon, Anna [Sophie Anne Hunt] (1819-1903), English soprano, 73, 104, 105, 107, 108, 125, 393, 579 Thomas, 354 Thuillier, Mlle, 208, 316, 437, 473, 623, 625 Tilly, Nicolas-Auguste (b. 1800), tenor, later theatre director, 92 Tiphaine, Mme Jeanne (1873-1958), soprano, 538, 540, 619 Tonelli, Anna (b. c.1710), soprano, 602, 682 Tour, Imbart de la Georges (1865-1911), tenor, 437 Trial, Antoine (1737-1795), tenor and composer, 221, 248, 249, 371, 577 Trial, Mme Marie-Jeanne [née Milon] (1746-1818), soprano, 577 Troy, Eugène-Louis (1836-1871), baritone, 119, 144, 249, 282, 301, 321, 361, 398, 475, 501, 583, 585, 647 Tual, Mlle Valérie (1836-1883), soprano, 120, 398, 486, 589, 621, 647 Ugalde, Delphine [née Beaucé] (1819-1910), soprano, later teacher, 73, 76, 215, 250, 349, 417, 418, 500, 513, 581, 585, 681, 682, 683 Ugalde, Marguerite (1862-1940), mezzo-soprano, daughter of the above, 208, 592 Vadé [-Bibre], Mme, soprano, 505 Vaillant-Couturier, Mme Marguerite (b. 1860), soprano, 502 Valère, 90 Vandenheuvel-Duprez, Mme Caroline [also Mme Van de Heuvel] (see Duprez, Caroline) Vanni-Marcoux [né Jean-Émile Diogène] (1877-1962), bass-baritone, 273 Varley, Mlle, 675 Vergnet, Edmond (1850-1904), tenor, 203 Vernouillet, 435 Vertueil, Mme, 339 Vial, Mlle, 473, 607 Viardot-Garcia, Mme Pauline (1821-1910), mezzo-soprano, 135 Victor, 98, 105, 108 Vidal, Mlle Émilie [Henriette] (b. 1849), mezzo-soprano, 144, 507 Vieuille, Félix (1872-1953), baritone, 273, 306, 637 Viganoni, Giuseppe (1757-1822), Italian tenor, 595 Viscentini (see Vizentini) Vix, Geneviève (1879-1939), soprano, 638 Vizentini, 81, 84, 86, 88, 219, 333, 407 Voisy, Bernard, 685

Index

853

Wachter, 724 Warnery, Edmond [Mathieu-Edmond Edy] (b. 1873), tenor, 273 Warot, Victor-Alexandre (1834-1906), tenor, later teacher, 300, 314, 331, 337, 564 Wartel, Louis-Émile (b.1834), bass, 158, 642 Wertheimber, Mme Palmyre (1832-1917), mezzo-soprano, 396, 501, 513 Willèm [Wilhème], Mme, mezzo-soprano, 585 Wyns, Mlle Charlotte (b. 1868), mezzo-soprano, 318, 536 Zandt, Mlle Marie van (1858-1919), American coloratura soprano, 283, 284 Zélo-Duran, Mlle, 435 Zerbini, Mme, 595