''Le nabab'' is a three-act

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 ...

Fromental Halévy Jacques-François-Fromental-Élie Halévy, usually known as Fromental Halévy (; 27 May 179917 March 1862), was a French composer. He is known today largely for his opera '' La Juive''. Early career Halévy was born in Paris, son of the cantor ...

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 ...

Eugène Scribe Augustin Eugène Scribe (; 24 December 179120 February 1861) was a French dramatist and librettist. He is known for writing "well-made plays" ("pièces bien faites"), a mainstay of popular theatre for over 100 years, and as the librettist of man ...

. The title refers to a

Nawab Nawab (Balochi language, Balochi: نواب; ar, نواب; bn, নবাব/নওয়াব; hi, नवाब; Punjabi language, Punjabi : ਨਵਾਬ; Persian language, Persian, Punjabi language, Punjabi , Sindhi language, Sindhi, Urd ...

or Indian notable. The opera was the last collaboration of Scribe and Halévy, which began in 1835 with ''

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 ...

'', Halévy's greatest success. It premiered in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

on 1 September 1853. The opera had 38 performances and appears not to have been revived.

Roles

*Dora

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

– Caroline Miolan-Carvalho *Lord Evendale

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

– Charles-Auguste-Marie Ponchard *Clifford

baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...

–

Joseph-Antoine-Charles Couderc Joseph-Antoine-Charles Couderc (10 March 1810 – 16 April 1875) was a French operatic tenor (and later baritone) prominent on the stages of the Opéra Comique in Paris where he created numerous roles. Life and career Couderc was born in Toulous ...

Synopsis

:Place: India and England :Time: The Commissioner, Lord Evendale, bored with his life and especially with his wife, contemplates suicide. His doctor suggests he take a year's sabbatical. Before he leaves for England, Evendale arranges for the passage to England of Dora, an orphan girl. In England, Evendale works in disguise for Dora's uncle and wins her heart. In the third act, it is revealed that Lady Evendale had married Evendale's doctor in their youth. Her bigamy frees Evendale to marry Dora.

References

Sources * *Jordan, Ruth, ''Fromental Halévy: His Life and Music, 1799-1862'', (1996), {{DEFAULTSORT:Nabab, Le Operas by Fromental Halévy 1853 operas Opéras comiques Operas French-language operas Libretti by Eugène Scribe