''Le congrès des rois'' (''The Congress of the Kings'') was a 3-act French Revolutionary

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

of the genre '' comédie mêlée d'ariettes'' with a

libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) 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 th ...

by De Maillot, a stage name used by Antoine-François Ève early in his career, and music by a collaborative of twelve composers (see below). It was a

satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of exposin ...

directed against the "enemies of France". The libretto and most of the music (except for that by

Henri-Montan Berton Henri-Montan Berton (17 September 1767 – 22 April 1844) was a French composer, teacher, and writer, mostly known as a composer of operas for the Opéra-Comique. Career Henri-Montan Berton was born the son of Pierre Montan Berton.Charlton 2 ...

) has been lost.Wild and Charlton (2005), pp. 56, 200. The composition of the opera was ordered by the ''Comité du Salut public'' (

Committee of Public Safety The Committee of Public Safety () was a committee of the National Convention which formed the provisional government and war cabinet during the Reign of Terror, a violent phase of the French Revolution. Supplementing the Committee of General D ...

) to be completed in two days. The opera was first performed on 26 February 1794 vent IIby the

Opéra-Comique The Opéra-Comique () is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular Théâtre de la foire, theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief riva ...

in the first Salle Favart and was presented a total of 2 times. At the premiere, "the length of the work and its couplets' lack of charm tired the audience, which took out its bad feelings on the ballet. Sharp whistles grew louder still, and the authors were not acknowledged." When the second performance met a similar reception, the management ended its run. The opera tells the story of an imagined meeting of monarchs at the court of Prussia to discuss the partition of France. Participants include the kings of England, Spain,

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...

, and Naples, the Austrian emperor, and the English minister Pitt.

Catherine II of Russia Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter I ...

has sent a representative and the

pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

has delegated

Cagliostro Giuseppe Balsamo (; 2 June 1743 – 26 August 1795), known by the alias Count Alessandro di Cagliostro ( , ), was an Italian occultist and confidence trickster. Cagliostro was an Italian adventurer and self-styled magician. He became a gl ...

to speak on his behalf. Madame Cagliostro engages six women, enemies of tyranny, to employ their charms to arouse the passions of these notables and have fun at their expense. Cagliostro is secretly a French patriot who plans to manipulate the others. He stages an elaborate show of ghosts who predict a revolution in which reason triumphs over error. The crowned heads are frightened, but one consoles the others: "Fortunately these are only ghosts." When the Congress finally meets, the assembly decides to partition France province by province. With a sudden burst of cannons, a group of French patriots arrive and force their way into the palace. The royals flee, return in disguise as

sans-culottes The (; ) were the working class, common people of the social class in France, lower classes in late 18th-century history of France, France, a great many of whom became radical and militant partisans of the French Revolution in response to their ...

crying "Vive La Republique!", and then escape. The French, having planted a liberty tree and made a bonfire of symbols of the

Ancien Régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for " ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France {{disambig ...

, dance and sing in praise of the awakening of the people and the downfall of tyranny. The opera was later denounced in the Conseil général of the Commune de Paris on the grounds that it espoused anti-revolutionary ideas. Its representation of Cagliostro as a virtuous republican was thought scandalous, and the presentation of "the immortal Marat" in the procession of ghosts was deemed disrespectful. Aristocrats had been seen applauding. A police report was ordered and it confirmed the charges. Further performances were banned on 17 March 1794.Pougin (1891), p. 108n. The libretto has not been found. A piano–vocal score in manuscript form of the music by Henri-Montan Berton is located at the

Bibliothèque nationale de France The (; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites, ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national repository of all that is published in France. Some of its extensive collections, including bo ...

(Département de la Musique, Ms. 3649).

Composers

* Frédéric Blasius *

Luigi Cherubini Maria Luigi Carlo Zenobio Salvatore Cherubini ( ; ; 8 or 14 SeptemberWillis, in Sadie (Ed.), p. 833 1760 – 15 March 1842) was an Italian Classical and Romantic composer. His most significant compositions are operas and sacred music. Beethov ...

Nicolas Dalayrac Nicolas-Marie d'Alayrac (; bapt. 13 June 175326 November 1809), nicknamed the Musician poet, more commonly Nicolas Dalayrac, was a French composer of the Classical period. Intended for a military career, he made the acquaintance of many mu ...

* François Devienne * Prosper-Didier Deshayes *

André Grétry André Ernest Modeste Grétry (; baptised 11 February 1741; died 24 September 1813) was a composer from the Prince-Bishopric of Liège (present-day Belgium), who worked from 1767 onwards in France and took French nationality. He is most famous ...

Louis-Emmanuel Jadin Louis-Emmanuel Jadin (21 September 1768 – 11 April 1853) was a French composer, pianist and harpsichordist. Jadin was born in Versailles. He learned piano from his brother Hyacinthe Jadin and later worked at the Théâtre de Monsieur. His fir ...

Rodolphe Kreutzer Rodolphe Kreutzer (15 November 1766 – 6 January 1831) was a French violinist, teacher, conductor, and composer of forty French operas, including '' La mort d'Abel'' (1810). He is probably best known as the dedicatee of Beethoven's Violin Son ...

Étienne Méhul Étienne Nicolas Méhul (; 22 June 1763 – 18 October 1817) was a French composer of the late Classical period (music), classical and early Romantic period (music), romantic periods. He was known as "the most important opera composer in France ...

* Jean-Pierre Solié * (Trial fils)

References

Notes Citations Sources * Pougin, Arthur (1891)
''L'Opéra-Comique pendant la Révolution de 1788 à 1801: d'après des documents inédits et les sources les plus authentiques''
Paris: Albert Savine. * Wild, Nicole; Charlton, David (2005). ''Théâtre de l'Opéra-Comique Paris: répertoire 1762–1972''. Sprimont, Belgium: Editions Mardaga. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Congres Des Rois, Le French-language operas Operas 1794 operas Operas set in France Operas by multiple composers Operas by Luigi Cherubini Operas by André Grétry Operas by Étienne Méhul Operas by Nicolas Dalayrac Opera world premieres at the Opéra-Comique Lost operas Cultural depictions of Alessandro Cagliostro Cultural depictions of Catherine the Great Cultural depictions of William Pitt the Younger