''Les diamants de la couronne'' (''The Crown Diamonds'') 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 ...

'' by the French composer

Daniel Auber Daniel-François-Esprit Auber (; 29 January 178212 May 1871) was a French composer and director of the Paris Conservatoire. Born into an artistic family, Auber was at first an amateur composer before he took up writing operas professionally when ...

, first performed 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 second Salle Favart in Paris on 6 March 1841. 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 ...

(in three acts) is by Auber's regular collaborator,

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 ...

with the help of

Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges (7 November 1799 – 23 December 1875) was a French playwright, who was born and died in Paris. He was one of the most prolific librettists of the 19th century, often working in collaboration with others. Sa ...

Performance history

The opera was performed at the Opéra-Comique 379 times up to 1889, under the title ''Les diamants de la reine'', and was revived in Marseilles on 20 March 1896. Outside France it was first performed in Brussels on 25 November 1841, New Orleans on 31 March 1842, Munich on 15 July 1842 (in a German translation by V. A. Swoboda), Prague on 13 August 1842 (in German),

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

on 29 October 1842 (in German), Riga in 1843 (in German), Amsterdam in 1843 (in French), Berlin at the Hofoper on 11 February 1843 (in German), Copenhagen on 17 February 1843 (in a Danish translation by T. H. Reynoldson), New York City on 14 July 1843 (in French at Niblo's ''Opéra français'' with Julie Calvé), London at

Princess's Theatre The Princess's Theatre or Princess Theatre was a theatre in Oxford Street, London. The building opened in 1828 as the "Queen's Bazaar" and housed a diorama by Clarkson Stanfield and David Roberts. It was converted into a theatre and opened in 1 ...

on 2 May 1844 (in an English translation by T. H. Reynoldson) and later at

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...

on 11 June 1845 (in French) and

Drury Lane Drury Lane is a street on the eastern boundary of the Covent Garden area of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. The northern part is in the borough of Camden and the southern part in the City of Westminster. Notable landmarks ...

on 16 April 1846 (in a new English translation by E. Fitzball, with additional music by H. B. Richards and J. H. Tully). It was first performed in Stockholm on 17 September 1845 (in a Swedish translation by N. E. W. af Wetterstedt), Rio de Janeiro in September 1846 (in French),

Lemberg Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in Western Ukraine, western Ukraine, and the List of cities in Ukraine, seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is o ...

in 1848 (in German), Vienna on 25 January 1849 (in German), Buenos Aires on 11 April 1852 (in French), Boston in 1854 (in the English version by Fitzball), San Francisco in 1854 (in the English version by Fitzball), Turin on 3 April 1858 (in French), Sydney in August 1863 (in the English version from the Drury Lane Theatre), Barcelona on 20 October 1866 (in French), Saint Petersburg on 15 January 1876 (in Italian), Lisbon on 26 April 1878 (in French), at the

Teatro Bellini, Naples Teatro Bellini is a private theatre and opera located in the centre of Naples, across the street from the Academy of Fine Arts of Naples on Via Conte di Ruvo. The house is named after the Sicilian-born composer Vincenzo Bellini, who is best know ...

, on 30 April 1879 (in an Italian translation by M. M. Marcello, with recitatives by E. Gelli), in Mexico on 8 May 1879 (in French), Budapest in 1880 (in a Hungarian translation by K. Abrányi), and Malta in 1890 (in Italian). A version of the same story was composed as a

zarzuela () is a Spanish lyric-dramatic genre that alternates between spoken and sung scenes, the latter incorporating operatic and popular songs, as well as dance. The etymology of the name is uncertain, but some propose it may derive from the name of ...

in three acts by

Francisco Asenjo Barbieri Francisco Asenjo Barbieri (3 August 1823 – 19 February 1894) was a well-known composer of the popular Spanish opera form, ''zarzuela.'' His works include: '' El barberillo de Lavapiés'', '' Jugar con fuego'', ''Pan y toros'', ''Don Quijote'', ' ...

with its libretto by Francisco Camprodón taken from the original by Scribe and Saint-Georges, and first performed in 1854.Salter, Lionel. Barbieri, Francisco Asenjo. In: ''

The New Grove Dictionary of Opera ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' is an encyclopedia of opera, considered to be one of the best general reference sources on the subject. It is the largest work on opera in English, and in its printed form, amounts to 5,448 pages in four volu ...

.'' Macmillan, London and New York, 1997.

Roles

Paula Lizell in Kronjuvelerna at Kungliga Operan 1905 - SMV - GL120 - Restoration

Synopsis

The plot concerns a Portuguese princess, Catarina, who intrigues with bandits after she is forced to sell the crown diamonds of the title.

Recordings

*''Les diamants de la couronne'' Ghyslaine Raphanel, Mylène Mornet, Christophe Einhorn, Orchestre de Picardie; Cori Spezzati, conducted by Edmon Colomer (Mandala, 2001)

References

Notes Sources * * * * *

External links