''La belle au bois dormant'' (The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods) 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 three acts with music by

Charles Lecocq Alexandre Charles Lecocq (3 June 183224 October 1918) was a French composer, known for his opérettes and opéra comique, opéras comiques. He became the most prominent successor to Jacques Offenbach in this sphere, and enjoyed considerable succ ...

and words by

Albert Vanloo Albert Vanloo (; Brussels, 10 September 1846 – 1920, Paris) was a Belgium, Belgian librettist and playwright. Vanloo lived in Paris as a child and was attracted to the theatre. As a young student he began writing plays and opéra comique libret ...

and

Georges Duval Georges-Louis-Jacques Labiche (26 October 1772 – 21 May 1853), better known as Georges Duval, was an early 19th-century French playwright. Biography Duval was originally expected to become a priest, but the French Revolution occurred when ...

. It is a retelling, with modifications, of the fairy tale '' Sleeping Beauty''. The princess wakes from her long sleep and falls in love not with Prince Charming but with his companion, but all is well in the end. The opera opened at the Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens, Paris, in February 1900, and had a run of 28 performances.

Background and premiere

By the 1890s Lecocq's most successful days were behind him.Lamb, Andrew
"Lecocq, (Alexandre) Charles"
''Grove Music Online'', Oxford University Press, 2001. Retrieved 29 December 2018 In the 1870s his successes had included ''

Giroflé-Girofla ''Giroflé-Girofla'' is an opéra bouffe in three acts with music by Charles Lecocq. The French libretto was by Albert Vanloo and Eugène Leterrier. The story, set in 13th century Spain, concerns twin brides, one of whom is abducted by pirates. ...

'' and ''

La fille de Madame Angot ''La fille de Madame Angot'' (''Madame Angot's Daughter'') is an opéra comique in three acts by Charles Lecocq with words by Clairville, Paul Siraudin and Victor Koning. It was premiered in Brussels in December 1872 and soon became a success in ...

''. He had written very popular operas in the early 1880s, but of his later comic pieces only '' Ninette'' (1896) ran for more than the 100 performances regarded as the criterion of success in Parisian theatres of the time."Edmond Audran"
Opérette – Théâtre Musical, Académie Nationale de l'Opérette (in French). Retrieved 29 December 2018 After that, the most successful of his younger rivals,

André Messager André Charles Prosper Messager (; 30 December 1853 – 24 February 1929) was a French composer, organist, pianist and conductor. His compositions include eight ballets and thirty opéra comique, opéras comiques, opérettes and other stage wo ...

, wrote two highly successful pieces for the Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens, '' Les p'tites Michu'' (1897) and '' Véronique'' (1898), in collaboration with the librettists

and

. With the same librettists, Lecocq wrote his version of the Sleeping Beauty story for the same theatre. The cast included many popular performers including

Jean Périer Jean (Alexis) Périer (2 February 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French operatic baryton-martin and actor. Although he sang principally within the operetta repertoire, Périer did portray a number of opera roles; mostly within operas by Wolfgang ...

, Anne Tariol-Baugé, Maurice Lamy and Brunais. The new leading lady, Mlle. de Hally (sometimes billed as Dehelly, ''née'' Valentine Eugénie Stratsaert), a 23-year-old alumna of the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...

, appeared in this production by arrangement with the

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 ...

, of which she was a regular company member. The opera opened at the Bouffes-Parisiens on 19 February 1900, and ran for 28 performances before being withdrawn in favour of a revival of ''Véronique''.

Original cast

*Olivier, ''a falconer'' –

*Alcindor VI – Victor Regnard *Prince Charming, ''his son'' – M. Brunais *Le Taupier, ''a wizard'' –

Maurice Lamy Maurice Lamy or M. Lamy was the stage name of the French actor and singer Maurice Castarède (1863 – 1930). He came from a theatrical family but began as a violinist before becoming an actor. Among the leading roles he created were Aristide in An ...

*Gulistan – M. Poudrier *Marcassin – M. Casa *Loyse, ''the sleeping beauty'' – Mlle. de Hally *Aurore, ''a fairy'' – Anne Tariol-Baugé *Rosalinde – Léonie Laporte *Margot – Gabrielle Dziri ::Source: ''Le Photo-programme''.

Synopsis

In a chamber in a palace on the edge of a forest a young princess has been sleeping for a hundred years. Because of a magical spell, she can only be claimed by a bold prince who ventures into the enchanted forest to rescue her. The action takes place on the day when, according to the spell, the beautiful princess Loyse is due to wake from her century of sleep. Alcindor VI, lord of the country and Prince Charming's father, has decided that his son will go to the rescue of the princess; but Prince Charming, a gauche and timid young man, dares not venture out alone in the forest. Olivier the Falconer, who fears nothing, offers to accompany him. They have set out on the expedition, the success of which should give the prince a wife. But a struggle begins between the beneficent fairy Aurore and the Taupier, a wicked old wizard, who has sworn that the Sleeping Beauty will scorn her Prince Charming. The Sleeping Beauty awakes, falls for the handsome falconer and looks with derision on her supposed fiancé, the prince. But, much though she would like to marry the one she loves, she must sleep again for a hundred years if she does not marry the prince before midnight. The beneficent fairy, who distrusted the old Taupier and foresaw the future, had had the real prince raised by a forester and his family, while the supposed Prince Charming was really only the son of the forester. The substitution is revealed in the last act, and the Sleeping Beauty marries her falconer who assumes his true identity. :Source: ''Le Photo-programme''.

Numbers

*Act 1 **Chorus – Du printemps célébrons la fête **Couplets – Margot, n'est pas, j'en fais l'aveu (Margot) **Chorus – C'est lui, c'est Olivier **Air – Pour dompter les oiseaux des airs (Olivier) **Couplets – Le gibier que je chasse (Taupier) **Couplets – Fanfreluches, fanfreluchons (Aurore) **Duet – Il était une princesse (Aurore, Olivier) **Ensemble – Vive le roi! (Alcindor, Prince, Gulistan, Chorus) **Buffo quartet – Ceci, mon enfant, c'est un casque (Alcindor, Prince, Gulistan, Margot) **Trio – Prêt à vous protéger (Olivier, Prince, Aurore) **Finale: ***Chorus of fairies – Depuis cent ans ***Duet – Enfin, nous y voici (Olivier, Prince) ***Couplets – Oui! je m'en souviens maintenant (Loyse) *Act 2 **Introduction **Ensemble – En tierce! en quarte! en quinte! **Couplets – Lorsque, moi, le beau Gulistan **Chorus – Honneur! **Scène – Mon père, voici la promise (Alcindor, Prince, Gulistan, Loyse, Rosalinde) **Gavotte – Otons cette collerette (Aurore) **Minuet – Ceci, c'est (Aurore) **Duet – Dites-moi e mot en usage (Loyse, Olivier) **Quartet – Savez-vous, ô beau Gulistan (Rosalinde, Gulistan, Loyse, Olivier) **Ensemble – Ah! Coquettes! (Rosalinde, Gulistan, Loyse, Olivier, Chorus) **Romance – Mon âme était tout joyeuse (Loyse) **Finale: ***Chorus – Nous attendons votre repose ***Couplets – Vous êtes-vous, dans une glace (Loyse) ***Ensemble – Sonnez, clochettes! (All) *Act 3 **Chorus – De fleur et de guirlandes **Couplets – Un jeune cœur qui sommeille (Aurora) **Ariette – Qui vent connaitre (Taupier) **Couplets and duet – Al! le joli voyage (Olivier, Loyse) **Rêverie – Que du rendez-vous l'heure est lente (Rosalinde) **Duet – Pendant une heure (Loyse, Olivier) **Couplets – Aiguille trop vigilante (Loyse) **Couplets – C'est de toi qui je ris! (Aurore) **Finale - Chorus :::Source: ''Le Photo-programme''.

Critical reception

In ''

Les Annales du théâtre et de la musique ''Les Annales du Théâtre et de la Musique'' ("The Annals of Theatre and Music") was an annual French periodical which covered French dramatic and lyric theatre for 42 years, from 1875 to 1916. The volumes also covered concert series and ne ...

'', Edmond Stoullig reported on the librettists' treatment of the story, and doubted that their changes to the traditional version were wise. Of the music, he said merely that it was a great pity that Lecocq had failed to recapture the inspiration he had shown in ''La fille de Madame Angot'' and other earlier works.Stoullig (1901), pp. 322 and 324

References and sources

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Belle au bois dormant, La 1900 operas French-language operas Operas Operas by Charles Lecocq