' (''The Trickster Tricked'') is a one-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 ...

Pierre Gaveaux Pierre Gaveaux (9 October 1761 – 5 February 1825) was a French operatic tenor and composer, notable for creating the role of Jason in Cherubini's ''Médée'' and for composing '' Léonore, ou L’amour conjugal'', the first operatic version of t ...

, 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 ...

by François Bernard-Valville.Libretto, p. 1 It premiered at the

Théâtre Feydeau The Théâtre Feydeau (), a former Parisian theatre company, was founded in 1789 with the patronage of Monsieur, Comte de Provence (later to become Louis XVIII), and was therefore initially named the Théâtre de Monsieur. It began performing in t ...

on 2 August 1800 (The first-edition libretto gives the date as 14

Thermidor Thermidor () was the eleventh month in the French Republican Calendar. The month was named after the French word ''thermal'', derived from the Greek word "thermos" (''heat''). Thermidor was the second month of the summer quarter (''mois d'ét ...

VIII, using the French Republican Calendar created during the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

Roles

Synopsis

The play opens in the study of Jocard, a

prosecuting attorney A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the case in a criminal tria ...

. Duval, his

clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keeping, filing, staffing service ...

, is working at his desk, musing over the circumstances that brought him to this role: He is really a

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afr ...

, but has taken on the role of clerk due to his love for Agathe, Jocard's pupil. ("") Jocard's wife has recently died, and Jocard is now taking an interest in Agathe himself. She cannot be forced to marry him, but should Jocard find out about Duval's scheme, trouble would arise. Agathe thinks she should leave, but she and Duval promise to be faithful to each other. ("") Jocard is heard approaching as they finish their farewells, and Agathe fails to escape in time. He asks why she was there, she tells him she was looking for him – which gives Jocard quite the wrong idea. Quickly refocusing, she says she came to tell him about some business with a proprietor of a hotel. Jocard knows of it, and she quickly loses his interest. However, all is not well: Jocard, pleased with Duval's work hitherto, sends him off to handle a case... for his uncle, who is not aware of Duval's impersonation. The scene ends with Duval, shaken, asking Agathe if it is necessary for him to return, only for Jocard to overhear him, and, misconstruing him, cheerily tell him that yes, he will be needed afterwards. ..

List of arias

# (A most innocent lie) – Duval # (It is necessary that I leave) – Agathe and Duval # (These beautiful gallants, these young people) – Jocard # (You who suffer the evil of love) – Agathe # (Let us drink, drink with our beloved ones) – Jocard and Beaupré # (God of happiness, God full of charm) – Agathe # (I wait, impatiently) – Agathe # (Come into my arms, Oh! Come, my beloved!) – Simonin, Agathe and Jocard #Finale: (Come, Mr. Make-believe) – Simonin, Jocard, the notary, Beaupré, Agathe and DuvalLibretto, passim

References

Notes Sources * François Bernard-Valville and Pierre Gaveaux, ( An VIII)
' – libretto
Huet et Charon, Paris. Accessed 11 September 2008.

External links

Full score
at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trompeur Trompe, Le Operas by Pierre Gaveaux French-language operas Operas Opéras comiques 1800 operas One-act operas