Opéra comique in 3 acts
Libretto by Adolphe de Leuven & Léon-Lévy Brunswick
World premiere: October 13 1836, Opéra-Comique, Paris
Dialogue: Hans Walter Richter & Mareike Wink
Production acquired from the Tirol Festival in Erl
Sung in French with German & English surtitles
Introductory talks (in German) begin in the Holzfoyer 30 mins before curtain up, and appear here shortly after opening night
There's a chamber music concert at 11am on March 9 inspired by this work.
Conductor Beomseok Yi / Takeshi Moriuchi
Chapelou / Saint Phar Francesco Demuro
Madeleine / Madame de Latour Monika Buczkowska / Ava Dodd
Bijou / Alcindor Joel Allison
Marquis de Corcy Jarrett Porter
Bourdon Morgan-Andrew King°
Rose Gabriel Wanka
Louis XV Wolfgang Gerold
°Member of the Opera Studio
Coachman Chapelou gets an offer he can’t refuse, on his wedding day: The intendant of the Royal Opera wants to sign him up for the French King’s »smaller scale entertainments« … How will Chapelou’s newly wedded wife Madeleine react? Does a great singing career beckon the coachman in Paris? Will the bride and groom ever meet again?
Adolphe Adam’s sparkling Opéra comique was an international box office hit after its world premiere in Paris in 1836: People whistled the catchy tunes along streets in European capitals and quoted punchlines from the dialogues in taverns. Even Richard Wagner sometimes hummed the well-known »Postillion song«, with its spectacular high D, when he couldn’t sleep at night. The score of this all but forgotten, masterful comedy, reveals cleverly crafted ensemble and chorus numbers in addition to fiendishly high notes and coloratura.
Hans Walter Richter and Kaspar Glarner set this charming, heart-warming piece in a late baroque world of theatre, quoted in the libretto, allowing its timeless humour and wonderful theatrical parodied sidekicks come to life with much love and attention to detail.
