''L'Éclair'' (''The Lightning Flash'') is an

opéra comique ''Opéra comique'' (; plural: ''opéras comiques'') is a genre of French opera that contains spoken dialogue and arias. It emerged from the popular '' opéras comiques en vaudevilles'' of the Fair Theatres of St Germain and St Laurent (and to a l ...

in 3 acts by Fromental Halévy to a

libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...

by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges. ''L'Éclair'' was premiered by the Paris

Opéra-Comique The Opéra-Comique is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief rival, the Comédie-Italienne ...

at the

Salle de la Bourse The Salle de la Bourse was a Parisian theatre located on the rue Vivienne in the 2nd arrondissement, across from the Paris Bourse, hence the name. It was successively the home of the Théâtre des Nouveautés (1827–1832), the Opéra-Comique (1 ...

on 16 December 1835; Jacques Offenbach was a

cellist The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, D3 ...

in the orchestra. The opera was well received which placed Halévy in the unusual position of having two simultaneous successes on the Paris stage (the other being his grand opera masterpiece, ''

La Juive ''La Juive'' () (''The Jewess'') is a grand opera in five acts by Fromental Halévy to an original French libretto by Eugène Scribe; it was first performed at the Opéra, Paris, on 23 February 1835. Composition history ''La Juive'' was one of t ...

''). It was first performed in the United States on 16 February 1837 at the Théâtre d'Orléans in New Orleans.Loewenberg 1978, column 774. It remained popular in the 19th century ( Emma Calvé sang in it in 1885) and has been revived in modern times. Some of its arias (including the tenor aria 'Quand de la nuit') have been recorded.

Roles

Synopsis

:Place: Contemporary Boston :Time: It recounts the amours of the Englishman George and the American Lyonel for two sisters, Henriette and the widow Mme. Darbel. These are complicated by everyone being a bit indecisive and variable in their choice of preferred partner, and then further complicated by the temporary blindness suffered by Lyonel when he is struck by lightning in a thunderstorm.

References

Notes Sources *

Chouquet, Gustave Gustave Chouquet (16 April 1819 – 30 January 1886)Grove & Charlton 2001. was a French music historian, music critic, and teacher of French. Early life and career Born Adolphe-Gustave Chouquet in Le Havre, he spent six years in Paris studying ...

(1889)
"Valentino, Henri Justin Armand Joseph", vol. 4, p. 214
in ''

A Dictionary of Music and Musicians ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and theo ...

'', 4 volumes. London: Macmillan. * Jordan, Ruth (1996), ''Fromental Halévy: His Life and Music, 1799–1862'', pp. 76–78. London: Kahn & Averill. . * Jowers, Sidney Jackson; Cavanagh, John (2000), ''Theatrical Costume, Masks, Make-up and Wigs: A Bibliography and Iconography''. London: Routledge. . * Loewenberg, Alfred (1978). ''Annals of Opera 1597–1940'' (third edition, revised). Totowa, New Jersey: Rowman and Littlefield. . *

Pougin, Arthur Arthur Pougin ( 6 August 1834 – 8 August 1921) was a French musical and dramatic critic and writer. He was born at Châteauroux (Indre) and studied music at the Conservatoire de Paris under Jean Delphin Alard, Alard (violin) and Napoléon Henri ...

(1880)
"Valentino (Henri-Justin-Joseph)", pp. 597–598
in ''Biographie universelle des musiciens et Bibliographie générale de la musique par F.-J. Fétis. Supplément et complément'', vol. 2. Paris: Firmin-Didot
View
at Google Books. * Wolff, Stéphane (1953), ''Un demi-siècle d'Opéra-Comique (1900-1950).'' Paris: André Bonne.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Eclair, L' Operas by Fromental Halévy French-language operas 1835 operas Opéras comiques Operas Opera world premieres at the Opéra-Comique Operas set in the United States