''Le shérif'' (The

Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

) 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 composed by Fromental Halévy to a libretto by Eugène Scribe. It was premiered by 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 ...

at the

Salle de la Bourse The Salle de la Bourse was a Parisian theatre located on the rue Vivienne in the 2nd arrondissement, across from the Paris Bourse, hence the name. It was successively the home of the Théâtre des Nouveautés (1827–1832), the Opéra-Comique (1 ...

in Paris on 2 September 1839. Based on a short story by Balzac, the opera is set in the

London Docklands London Docklands is the riverfront and former docks in London. It is located in inner east and southeast London, in the boroughs of London Borough of Southwark, Southwark, London Borough of Tower Hamlets, Tower Hamlets, London Borough of ...

during the late 18th century.Letellier, Robert Ignatius (2010)
''Opéra-Comique: A Sourcebook''
pp. 410–411. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. Blanchard, Henri (5 September 1839)
"Le Shérif"
pp. 353–355. ''

Revue et gazette musicale de Paris The ' was a weekly musical review founded in 1827 by the Belgian musicologist, teacher and composer François-Joseph Fétis, then working as professor of counterpoint and fugue at the Conservatoire de Paris. It was the first French-language ...

'', Vol. 6, No. 45

Background and performance history

Scribe frequently borrowed from Balzac's collection of interlinked novels and stories, ''

La Comédie humaine LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...

'', for his plays and libretti. The basic plot of his libretto for ''Le shérif'' was taken from the ''Comédie humaine'' novella ''

Maître Cornélius ''Maître Cornélius'' (English "Master Cornelius") is a short story by Honoré de Balzac. It was published in 1831 and is one of the ''Études philosophiques'' of ''La Comédie humaine''. Plot summary The story is set in Tours in 1479. It star ...

'' (''Master Cornelius''). Balzac's Master Cornelius is Louis XI's money-lender who lives in an old mansion where his gold keeps mysteriously disappearing. Scribe transferred the setting to late 18th-century London and provided a happy ending. Cornelius became Sir James Turner, the High-Sheriff of London. Like Cornelius, he is discovered as the thief of his own property which occurs while he is sleepwalking. However, unlike Cornelius who commits suicide on learning the truth, Sheriff Turner lives to tell the tale.Lawton, Frederick (1910). ''Balzac'', pp. 357–358 XVI. G. Richards, Ltd. According to cultural historian Robert Letellier, Halévy's score for ''Le shérif'' revealed a "powerful originality", as had the scores for two of his previous opéras comiques, '' L'éclair'' and ''Les treize''. However, the score's eclecticism proved unpopular with the Parisian public. Following its premiere on 2 September 1839 with

François-Louis Henry François-Louis(-Ferdinand) Henry (12 May 1786 – 22 February 1855) was a French baritone, who sang for about 35 years with the Opéra-Comique in Paris, where he created numerous leading roles. His stage name was Henri (or Henry).Kutsch & Riem ...

in the title role, the opera ran for thirteen more performances at the Théâtre de l'Opéra-Comique-Bourse but was not revived there. A brief article in ''The Foreign Quarterly Review'' reported that ''Le shérif'' was given in Prague in early 1841 with a Czech libretto adapted by Alois Svoboda, but it was not a success "owing to the inefficient manner" in which the role of Sir James Turner was sung. The opera's orchestral score was published by

Maurice Schlesinger Moritz Adolf Schlesinger (30 October 1798 in Berlin – 25 February 1871 in Baden-Baden), generally known during his French career as Maurice Schlesinger, was a German music editor. He is perhaps best remembered for inspiring the character of M. Ar ...

in 1839. The following year

Stephen Heller Stephen Heller (15 May 1813 – 14 January 1888) was a Hungarian pianist, teacher, and composer whose career spanned the period from Schumann to Bizet. Heller was an influence for later Romantic composers. He outlived his reputation, and was a ...

composed his Op. 17, six '' caprices'' for piano based on an aria from ''Le shérif''.Schütz, Rudolf (1911). ''Stephen Heller: ein Künstlerleben'', p. 133. Breitkopf & Härtel Various ''

fantasies Fantasy is a genre of fiction. Fantasy, Fantasie, or Fantasies may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Fantasia (music), a free-form musical composition * ''Fantasie'' (Widmann), a 1993 composition for solo clarinet by Jörg Widmann * ...

'' based on the opera and arrangements for solo piano or violin were also published by minor composers such as Edouard Wolff, Henri Panofka, and

Auguste Panseron Auguste Mathieu Panseron (26 April 1796 – 29 July 1859) was a French composer and voice teacher. Life Born in Paris, Panseron studied in Vienna with Antonio Salieri, having been accepted by the master thanks to a recommendation by Luigi Cher ...

Roles

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:sherif, Le Operas by Fromental Halévy French-language operas 1839 operas Opéras comiques Operas Opera world premieres at the Opéra-Comique Operas set in London Adaptations of works by Honoré de Balzac Libretti by Eugène Scribe