''Le financier et le savetier'' (The financier and the cobbler) is a one-act opérette bouffe of 1856 with words by

Hector Crémieux In Greek mythology, Hector (; grc, Ἕκτωρ, Hektōr, label=none, ) is a character in Homer's Iliad. He was a Trojan prince and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. Hector led the Trojans and their allies in the defense o ...

and Edmond About, and music by

Jacques Offenbach Jacques Offenbach (, also , , ; 20 June 18195 October 1880) was a German-born French composer, cellist and impresario of the Romantic period. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s to the 1870s, and his uncompleted opera ' ...

, based on the poem by

La Fontaine Jean de La Fontaine (, , ; 8 July 162113 April 1695) was a French fabulist and one of the most widely read French poets of the 17th century. He is known above all for his '' Fables'', which provided a model for subsequent fabulists across Eu ...

. In 1842 Offenbach had set '' The Cobbler and the Financier'' (''Le Savetier et le Financier'') among a set of six fables of La Fontaine.

Performance history

''Le financier et le savetier'' was first performed in Paris, at the refurbished

Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens The Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens () is a Parisian theatre founded in 1855 by the composer Jacques Offenbach for the performance of opéra bouffe and operetta. The current theatre is located in the 2nd arrondissement at 4 rue Monsigny with a ...

, on 23 September 1856, and ran into 1857. In 1858 it was performed by the company at Bad Ems. At the Carltheater in Vienna it was staged as ''Schuhflicker und Millionär'' in January 1859.Yon, Jean-Claude. ''Jacques Offenbach.'' Éditions Gallimard, Paris, 2000. A complete recording of Keck’s critical edition was made in 2007.

Roles

Synopsis

:The drawing-room of rich financier Belazor on his name-day; it is 1856 and nine o’clock in the evening ''A page waits at the entrance, Belazor paces up and down. Larfaillou can be heard singing off-stage.'' Larfaillou, the cobbler who works downstairs comes in, uninvited, and is asked to leave by Belazor (who is fed up with his constant singing). Larfaillou says he has come to ask for the hand of Belazor’s daughter Aubépine. Belazor asks how he has come to know the girl, and the cobbler replies that he does the repairs for the pensionnat where she stays. The cobbler also admits that the girl’s potential dowry and inheritance are no barriers to his proposal. Belazor stalls his first guests as he gets rid of Larfaillou. After the guests have gushed their admiration for him, Belazor (with Larfaillou singing off-stage again) outlines his hopes to get rid of his neighbour through statistical analysis of the death rate of cobblers: he will achieve it by forcing the merger of all the cobbler businesses in Paris so that Larfaillou is the only one left, and that given at least one cobbler dies each year in the city he will then get rid of him. Aubépine, released from the pension for the celebration, enters and sings some couplets after which she presents a gift to her father. She then sings a 'fable', based on that by La Fontaine (‘Le Savetier et le Financier’), but arranged by her school mistresses. A waltz is heard in preparation for dancing. Belazor has a brainwave: invite the cobbler back up and bribe him with 300 écus. Larfaillou comes in and reluctantly accepts the money. Alone with Aubépine – who has fallen in love with him – he admits he is no Prince of Gerolstein, but – in a duo with Aubépine – declares his love for her. They wonder how to get round the problem of his lack of money. Aubépine says that she has learnt from her father how to play the stock exchange but as it is nearly midnight and it is closed, Larfaillou challenges one of the guests to a game of

lansquenet Lansquenet is a banking game played with cards, named after the French spelling of the German word Landsknecht ('servant of the land or country'), which refers to 15th- and 16th-century German mercenary foot soldiers; the lansquenet drum is a ty ...

. Chance is on his side; in the 'trio' he continually beats the guest. Then Belazor plays against him, but loses 8, 16, then 32 million, then his house, his spectacles and finally the financier has to strip out of his evening dress to hand over to Larfaillou. The cobbler, donning these fine clothes loses his common accent – while Belazor, in the cobbler’s old clothes begins to speak in slang. As a final attempt to annoy his neighbour the financier tries a song of his own, but Larfaillou merely asks for another verse. However, as a millionaire now, Larfaillou can again demand the hand of Aubépine. The end of the trio ('Le jeu, fièvre brûlante') refers to the duo of Blondel and Richard 'Une fièvre brûlante' from Act II of '' Richard Coeur-de-lion''. In the scene of ‘jeu d’oie’ in Act II of ''

La belle Hélène ''La belle Hélène'' (, ''The Beautiful Helen'') is an opéra bouffe in three acts, with music by Jacques Offenbach and words by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy. The piece parodies the story of Helen of Troy, Helen's elopement with Paris (myt ...

'' Offenbach referred back to ''Le financier et le savetier''.Keck, Jean-Christophe. Introductory notes for 442 8964, Association des Concert Pasdeloup/Universal, 2007.

References

;Notes

Recording

Ghyslaine Raphanel (soprano), Eric Huchet (tenor), Frank Thézan (tenor), Frédéric Bialecki (baritone); Orchestre des Concerts Pasdeloup conducted by Jean-Christophe Keck; recorded November 13, 14 & 16, 2007. CD: Universal Music Classics France 442 8964 DDD Stereo.

External links

Fontaine's fable 'Le Savetier et le Financier'
{{DEFAULTSORT:Financier et savetier Operas by Jacques Offenbach French-language operas One-act operas 1856 operas Operas Fictional businesspeople Fiction about shoemakers