''Le jeune Henri'' (''Young Henri'') is an

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

by the French composer Étienne Méhul. It takes the form of a ''comédie mêlée de musique'' (a type of ''

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 two acts. The

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 Jean-Nicolas Bouilly, is based on an episode from the life of King Henri IV of France. It was first performed on 1 May 1797 at the Théâtre Favart, Paris. The opera was a failure but the overture was warmly applauded and has often been performed separately since. Known as ''La chasse du jeune Henri'' ("Young Henri's hunt"), it is a piece of

programme music Program music or programatic music is a type of instrumental art music that attempts to musically render an extramusical narrative. The narrative itself might be offered to the audience through the piece's title, or in the form of program notes ...

describing the course of a hunt from dawn to the killing of the stag. Bouilly was later to become famous as the author of '' Léonore, ou L'amour conjugal'' (1798), the basis of Beethoven's only opera, ''

Fidelio ''Fidelio'' (; ), originally titled ' (''Leonore, or The Triumph of Marital Love''), Op. 72, is Ludwig van Beethoven's only opera. The German libretto was originally prepared by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly, with ...

''. He had written the libretto for ''Le jeune Henri'' (under the title ''La jeunesse de Henri IV'') in 1791 for Grétry, who had turned it down. Méhul had composed the score but the first staging had been delayed for years for political reasons. The premiere was a "major disaster" thanks to the poor quality of Bouilly's libretto. The audience applauded Méhul but hissed Bouilly. A reviewer in ''Le courrier des spectacles'' wrote that "it would be impossible to imagine anything worse" and that there was "no intrigue, no action, nothing of interest." The overture was encored at the premiere and became a favourite orchestral piece throughout the 19th century. It contains traditional hunting horn calls taken from

Philidor Philidor (''Filidor'') or Danican Philidor was a family of musicians that served as court musicians to the French kings. The original name of the family was Danican (D'Anican) and was of Scottish origin (Duncan). Philidor was a later addition to t ...

's opera ''

Tom Jones Tom Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Tom Jones (singer) (born 1940), Welsh singer * Tom Jones (writer) (1928–2023), American librettist and lyricist *''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'', a novel by Henry Fielding published in ...

''. It influenced the "Royal Hunt and Storm" in Berlioz's ''

Les Troyens ''Les Troyens'' (; in English: ''The Trojans'') is a French grand opera in five acts by Hector Berlioz. The libretto was written by Berlioz himself from Virgil's epic poem the ''Aeneid''; the score was composed between 1856 and 1858. ''Les Tro ...

''.Orga

Roles

Roles and cast taken from Pougin, p. 142, note 1.

Recordings

There have been several recordings of the overture: *Included on ''Sir Thomas Beecham Conducts Berlioz, Grétry, Méhul and Massenet'' with Sir Thomas Beecham conducting the Royal Philharmonia Orchestra (Sony Classical reissue, 2003) *Included on Méhul ''Overtures'', Orchestre de Bretagne, conducted by Stefan Sanderling (ASV, 2002) *Included on Méhul ''The Complete Symphonies'', Orchestra of the Gulbenkian Foundation, conducted by Michel Swierczewski (Nimbus Records, 1989)

References

Sources

*Adélaïde de Place ''Étienne Nicolas Méhul'' (Bleu Nuit Éditeur, 2005) pp. 104–105 *Arthur Pougin ''Méhul: sa vie, son génie, son caractère'' (Fischbacher, 1889) *Malcolm Boyd (ed.) ''Music and the French Revolution'' (Cambridge University Press, 2008) *Booklet notes to the Sanderling recording by Ates Orga {{DEFAULTSORT:Jeune Henri, Le Operas by Étienne Méhul 1797 operas Opéras comiques French-language operas Operas