''Les cloches de Corneville'' (''The Bells of Corneville'', sometimes known in English as ''The Chimes of Normandy'') is an

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 ...

in three acts, composed by Robert Planquette to a libretto by Louis Clairville and

Charles Gabet Émile Étienne ''Charles'' Gabet (16 May 1821 in Paris – 15 January 1903) was a 19th-century French playwright and librettist. Biography Gabet was the son of the painter Charles Gabet and his wife Françoise Ursine Eugénie Viquesnel. He le ...

. The story, set at the turn of the 18th century, depicts the return of an exiled aristocrat to his ancestral castle, the machinations of the miserly steward to secure the family's fortune for himself, and the changing amorous pairings of the four juvenile leads. Aspects of the plot were criticised by contemporary critics as derivative of earlier operas. The opera was Planquette's first full-length stage work, and although he later wrote twelve more, including '' Rip Van Winkle'', which was a hit in London, he never equalled the international success of this first venture. It broke box-office records in Paris and London, where it set a new long-run record for musical theatre worldwide, and was continually revived in Europe and the US during the rest of the 19th century. Since then it has remained in the repertoire for occasional productions in France.

Background

There are conflicting accounts of the genesis of the piece. According to the Académie Nationale de l'Opérette, Gabet and Clairville had Planquette set their libretto, which they then offered, unsuccessfully, to various managements; it was initially rejected because of its similarity to Boieldieu's ''

La dame blanche ''La dame blanche'' (English: ''The White Lady'') is an opéra comique in three acts by the French composer François-Adrien Boieldieu. The libretto was written by Eugène Scribe and is based on episodes from no fewer than five works of the Scott ...

'' and Flotow's '' Martha''. Excerpts from the score were published and sold well, with the result that Charles Cantin, manager of the Théâtre des Folies-Dramatiques, became interested in staging the piece."Les cloches de Corneville"
''Opérette – Théâtre Musical'', Académie Nationale de l'Opérette. Retrieved 6 November 2018 The alternative account, in the ''Encyclopédie de l'art lyrique français'', is that Cantin accepted the libretto and commissioned

Hervé Hervé is a French language, French masculine given name of Breton language, Breton origin, from the name of the 6th-century Breton Saint Hervé. The common latinization of the name is Herveus (also ''Haerveus''), an early (8th-century) latinizati ...

to set it. The authors were unwilling to introduce additional broad comedy effects called for by Hervé, and Cantin, who liked to encourage rising talent, turned to Planquette to set the piece."Cloches de Corneville, Les"
''Encyclopédie de l'art lyrique français'', Association l’Art Lyrique Français (in French). Retrieved 6 November 2018 Since 1867 the Folies-Dramatiques had presented a series of opéras bouffes and comiques; the principal composers were Hervé and

Charles Lecocq Alexandre Charles Lecocq (3 June 183224 October 1918) was a French composer, known for his opérettes and opéra comique, opéras comiques. He became the most prominent successor to Jacques Offenbach in this sphere, and enjoyed considerable succ ...

. For the new opera Cantin assembled a strong cast. The leading lady of his company,

Conchita Gélabert Maria Conchita Gélabert (1857–1922)Maria Gelabert Dead.

Juliette Girard, an alumna of the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...

, who took the other soprano lead. The two tenor roles were taken by the popular

Simon-Max Nicolas-Marie Simon (1852, in Reims, France – 1923), known as Simon-Max, was a French tenor who was mainly active in Paris in the field of opera-bouffe. After musical studies in Reims he made his debut in 1875 at the Théâtre de la Renaissa ...

and Ernest Vois. Although he wrote twelve more full-length operas, Planquette never equalled the success of this, his first stage work.

First production

The opera was first presented at the Fantaisies-Parisiennes on 19 April 1877, and ran for 596 performances, taking in more than 1.6 million francs at the box office, equal to about 6,700,000 euros in 2015 terms. It was clear well before the final curtain that the piece was a success. Several numbers were repeatedly encored, and the cast were widely praised for their acting and, on the whole, their singing.

Original cast

Synopsis

Act 1 – Scene 1 – ''A wooded trail near Castle Corneville, in the time of Louis XIV'' The miserly old Gaspard is steward to the exiled Marquises of Corneville. He maintains possession of the castle and the family's money by convincing the locals that it is haunted. He wants to force his niece, Germaine, to marry the old bailiff, because the latter has become suspicious of Gaspard and threatens to investigate his conduct of the Marquis's affairs. But Germaine feels under an obligation to Jean Grenicheux, an aristocratic young fisherman, who claims that he once rescued her from drowning. Gaspard has a maid named Serpolette, whom he found as a child abandoned in a field. She has grown into a pert beauty and is the object of gossip by the local women, who call her good-for-nothing. She too is enamoured of Grenicheux. A stranger dressed as a sea captain arrives, whom Germaine attempts to turn away from the castle, saying it is haunted and telling him that the castle's bells will only ring again when the rightful master returns. The stranger is actually Henri, Marquis de Corneville, returning from exile. He has come to retake his castle and fields. He recalls his youth and particularly a young girl who fell into the sea. He pulled her out and never saw her again. Act 1 – Scene 2 – ''The market of Corneville ''
At the market, twice a year, people can hire domestic servants or coachmen. Germaine, Serpolette and Grenicheux all engage themselves to the mysterious Henri, hoping to escape old Gaspard. Act 2 – ''A large hall in Castle Corneville ''
Marquis Henri brings his new employees to the castle at night and reveals his true identity. He tries to reassure them about the ghosts. He has resolved to restore his immense castle, which has been badly neglected in his absence. He discovers a letter in the castle stating that the infant Vicomtesse de Lucenay was at one time in danger and so was entrusted to Gaspard to be brought up under a false name. Everyone thinks this must refer to Serpolette. Henri also finds himself becoming attracted to Germaine. She tells him the story about how Grenicheux saved her, and how she feels obliged to marry him. Henri realises that Germaine is the girl that he himself had rescued and that Grenicheux's claims to have done so are false. Meanwhile, old Gaspard arrives at night in a boat to visit his gold, thinking the castle is empty. Henry and the others, clad in suits of armour, jump out, ring the bells of the castle and capture the old trickster. The shock drives the old man mad. Act 3 – ''The grounds of Castle Corneville''
After the renovation of the castle and the ringing of the bells, Henri is recognised as the rightful master of the Castle of Corneville. He gives a feast for the whole village, and his guests rejoice. Gaspard, who has lost his reason, wanders from group to group, singing. Serpolette is assumed to be the Vicomtesse of Lucenay, because the page from the birth register of the village, noting the births of Serpolette and Germaine, has disappeared (Gaspard had stolen it). Grenicheux has become factotum to the Vicomtesse Serpolette and is now courting her. Henri has fallen in love with Germaine, although she is only a servant in his household. He orders Grenicheux to confess his deception, but not to reveal the name of the actual rescuer. Germaine overhears their conversation. Henri asks Germaine to be his wife, but she demurs, believing that a servant cannot marry a Marquis. Gaspard, recovering his senses, remorsefully declares that his pretended niece is the rightful Vicomtesse de Lucenay (and Serpolette simply a gypsy orphan), and so the Marquis may wed Germaine. Henri forgives Gaspard, Serpolette takes Grenicheux, and all ends happily, as the bells of Corneville are set ringing.

Musical numbers

*Overture *Act 1, Scene 1: ''A forest near the village of Corneville'' **1. Chorus – "C’est le marché de Corneville" – "On dit, sans contredit" (This is Corneville market – They say, without a doubt) **2. Rondo – "Dans ma mystérieuse histoire" (In my mysterious history) – Serpolette **3. Chanson du mousse – "Va, petit mousse" (Go, little cabin boy) – Grenicheux **4. Duet – "Même sans consulter mon coeur" (Even without asking my heart) – Germaine, Grenicheux **5. Légende des cloches – "Nous avons hélas! perdu d'excellents maîtres" (Legend of the bells – We have, alas, lost excellent masters) – Germaine, chorus **6. Rondo-waltz – "J'ai fait trois fois le tour du monde" (I've been round the world three times) – Henri **7. Chorus – "C’est affreux, odieux" (It's awful, odious!) *Act 1, Scene 2: ''The Fair of Corneville'' **Entr'acte **8. Couplets – "Je ne sais comment faire" (I don't know how) – Grenicheux **9a. Chorus "Sur le marche de Corneville (On Corneville market) **9b. Chorus "Vous qui voulez des servantes" (You who want servants) **9c. Finale – "Jeune fille, dis-moi ton nom" (Tell me your name, young woman) *Act 2 – ''A Hall in the Chateau of Corneville'' **10. Chorus – "À la lueur de ces flambeaux" (By the light of these torches) **10b. Air – "Ne parlez pas de mon courage" (Do not speak of my courage) – Germaine **10c. Trio – "Fermons les yeux" (Close your eyes – Serpolette, Grenicheux, Bailiff) **10d. Song – "Pristi, sapristi" (Serpolette) **11. Song – "J'avais perdu la tête et ma perruque" (I have lost my head and my wig) – Bailiff **12. Song – "Sous des armures à leur taille" (Wearing armour that fits them) – Henri, chorus **13. Ensemble and couplets – "Vicomtesse et marquise" (Viscountess and marquis) – Serpolette, Henri, chorus **14. Duet – "C'est elle et son destin le guide" (It is she, and her destiny guides her) – Germaine, Henri **15. Chorus and quintet – Gloire au valeureux Grenicheux" (Glory to the brave) – Grenicheux **16. Finale and couplets –"C'est là, c’est là qu'est la richesse" (This is where the money is) – Gaspard, Grenicheux, chorus *Act 3 – ''A Park, with a statue and shrubbery'' **Entr'acte and dance **17. Chanson des gueux – "Enfin, nous voilà transportés" (Song of the beggars – At last we are transported) – Gaspard **18. Chorus – "Regardez donc quel équipage" (Look what a crew) **18b. Song – "oui, c'est moi, c'est Serpolette" (Yes, it's me, it's Serpolette) – Serpolette **19. Chanson du cidre – "La pomme est un fruit plein de sève" (Cider song – The apple is a fruit full of juice) – Serpolette and chorus **20. Rondo-waltz – "Je regardais en l'air" (I have looked in the air) – Grenicheux **21. Romance and duet – "Une servante, que m'importe" (A maid – what do I care!) – Germaine, Henri **22. Final de l'acte III – "Pour le tresor que tu nous abandonnes" (For the treasure you leave us)

Revivals and adaptations

Productions outside France soon followed the premiere. Brussels first saw the piece in October 1877, at the Théâtre des Fantaisies Parisiennes. In the same month, it was given in English as ''The Chimes of Normandy'' at the

Fifth Avenue Theatre Fifth Avenue Theatre was a Broadway theatre in New York City in the United States located at 31 West 28th Street and Broadway (1185 Broadway). It was demolished in 1939. Built in 1868, it was managed by Augustin Daly in the mid-1870s. In 1877, ...

in New York. There was also another New York run in 1878. Later productions included one as ''The Bells of Corneville'' at the Victoria Theatre in New York, beginning on 21 April 1902.Gänzl and Lamb, p. 356 Oscar Hammerstein I mounted a production at the Manhattan Opera House as part of a season of opéra comique in 1909. In 1878 productions opened in London, Berlin and Vienna. The London production opened at the Folly Theatre, on 28 February under the original French title but with an English libretto by

H. B. Farnie Henry Brougham Farnie (8 April 1836 – 21 September 1889), often called H. B. Farnie, was a British librettist and adapter of French operettas and an author. Some of his English-language versions of operettas became record-setting hits on the ...

and Robert Reece that closely followed the original. The production transferred to the larger

Globe Theatre The Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, on land owned by Thomas Brend and inherited by his son, Nicholas Brend, and gra ...

in August as ''The Chimes of Normandy''. Edward Solomon conducted; Violet Cameron and Shiel Barry starred as Germaine and Gaspard. It played for a total of 705 performances, setting a new world record for a musical theatre run, which was not overtaken until ''

Dorothy Dorothy may refer to: *Dorothy (given name), a list of people with that name. Arts and entertainment Characters *Dorothy Gale, protagonist of ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' by L. Frank Baum * Ace (''Doctor Who'') or Dorothy, a character playe ...

'', ten years later. The first Berlin production opened in March 1878 at the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Städtisches Theater and the first in Vienna was in September at the

Theater an der Wien The is a historic theatre in Vienna located on the Left Wienzeile in the Mariahilf district. Completed in 1801, the theatre has hosted the premieres of many celebrated works of theatre, opera, and symphonic music. Since 2006, it has served prima ...

. In Paris there were frequent new productions during the rest of the century. Within ten years of the premiere it had passed its 1,000th performance in Parisian theatres. The opera remained in the repertoire into the 1940s in Britain and the 1960s in France, and it still receives some productions today.

Critical reception

The contemporary reviews were mixed. ''Les Annales du théâtre et de la musique'' commented, "M. Planquette probably thinks he has written music … but 'musiqette' would be an appropriate term. His score is a collection of derivative polkas, waltzes and rondos." The same critic praised the performers, who, he said were good enough to stop him collecting his hat and cane and leaving. The critic Alfred Mortier suggested that the piece might be called "The Elderly Dame Blanche" or the "Gioconda of Quillebeuf". Félix Clément, in his ''Dictionnaire des opéras'' (1880), called the piece a plagiarism of ''Martha'' and ''La dame blanche'' adapted for the benefit of lovers of the suggestive. He thought the popularity of the work worrying and "harmful to the interests of real composers". The Paris correspondent of '' The Era'' found the score "agreeable, not very original, but melodious" and commended the excellent taste of the orchestrations."The Drama in Paris", ''The Era'' 29 April 1877 Reviewing the London production, ''The Theatre'' thought the composer gifted, although stronger in writing melodies than in harmony or orchestration; he found "his sparkling music has the effervescence of champagne". When the piece opened in Vienna a reviewer commented on the resemblance of the plot to ''La dame blanche'' and ''Martha'', and found the music unoriginal but natural and pleasing. In ''Operetta: A Theatrical History'' (2016),

Richard Traubner Richard Traubner (November 24, 1946 – February 25, 2013) was an American journalist, author, operetta scholar and historian, and lecturer on theatre and (mostly musical) film. His best-known book, ''Operetta: A Theatrical History'', was first pu ...

considers Planquette had a gift for "rhythmic variety and the pulsations that keep songs alive" but was less outstanding as a melodist, and deficient in the areas of harmony and orchestration. Reviewing a CD release of a recording of the work, Raymond Walker wrote, "The score just flowed with sparkling melodies, variety of rhythm, novel orchestral texture and bright colour. Throughout lovely motifs like the one representing the Bells weave in and out of the music."Walker, Raymond
"Robert Planquette (1848–1903), Les Cloches de Corneville"
Music Web International. Retrieved 7 November 2018

Recordings and films

There have been two recordings of the complete score. The first, a

mono Mono may refer to: Common meanings * Infectious mononucleosis, "the kissing disease" * Monaural, monophonic sound reproduction, often shortened to mono * Mono-, a numerical prefix representing anything single Music Performers * Mono (Japanese b ...

set in 1955, featured Huguette Boulangeot (Germaine),

Ernest Blanc Ernest Blanc (November 1, 1923 – December 22, 2010) was a French opera singer, one of the leading baritones of his era in France. Born in Sanary-sur-Mer, Ernest Blanc studied at the Music Conservatory of Toulon with Sabran, from 1946 to 1949. He ...

(Henri); Jean Giraudeau (Grenicheux); Colette Riedinger (Serpolette),

André Balbon André Balbon was a French bass opera singer, born in Paris, on 4 June 1902 and dead in Alicante (Spain), on 30 March 1984. He was principally active in France in character roles. Life and career In 1924 he appeared in ''Les Burgraves'' by Lé ...

(bailiff) and

Louis Musy Louis Musy (22 October 1902, Algeria – 19 October 1981) was a French operatic baritone and stage director principally active at the Paris Opéra-Comique. His teacher was Léon David.Kutsch KJ, Riemens L. ''Großes Sängerlexikon''. Francke, Bern ...

(Gaspard), with an unnamed chorus and orchestra conducted by Pierre Dervaux. A

stereo Stereophonic sound, or more commonly stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configuration ...

set from 1973 featured

Mady Mesplé Mady Mesplé (7 March 1931 – 30 May 2020) was a French opera singer, considered the leading coloratura soprano of her generation in France, and sometimes heralded as the successor to Mado Robin, with ''Lakmé'' by Delibes becoming her signatur ...

(Germaine), Bernard Sinclair (Henri),

Charles Burles Charles Burles (21 June 1936 – 22 August 2021Décès de Charles Burles
) was a French ly ...

(Grenicheux), Christiane Stutzmann (Serpolette),

Jean Giraudeau Jean Giraudeau (1 July 1916, in Toulon – 7 February 1995), was an artist and French tenor,Obituary: Jean Giraudeau. ''Opera (British magazine), Opera'', June 1995, Vol.46, No.6, p671. and later theatre director, particularly associated with th ...

(bailiff), and

Jean-Christophe Benoît Jean-Christophe Benoît (18 March 1925 – 21 February 2019) was a French baritone, who enjoyed a long career in France and francophone countries on the stage, the concert platform and radio and television. He was born in Paris into a professional ...

(Gaspard), with the chorus and orchestra of the Théâtre national de l'opéra de Paris, conducted by Jean Doussard. The first experiment in synchronising sound and motion pictures in 1894 featured one of the songs from ''Les cloches de Corneville''. In what is now called

The Dickson Experimental Sound Film ''The Dickson Experimental Sound Film'' is a film made by William Dickson in late 1894 or early 1895. It is the first known film with live-recorded sound and appears to be the first motion picture made for the Kinetophone, the proto- sound-film sy ...

, William Kennedy Dickson was filmed and recorded playing the "Chanson du mousse" on the violin, while two of his colleagues danced to it. In 1917

Thomas Bentley Thomas Bentley (23 February 1884 – 23 December 1966) was a British film director. He directed 68 films between 1912 and 1941. He directed three films in the early DeForest Phonofilm sound-on-film process, ''The Man in the Street'' (1926), '' ...

directed

a silent film A Silent Film are an English alternative rock band from Oxford. The band consists of Robert Stevenson (vocals/piano/guitar) and Spencer Walker (drums). Their first album, ''The City That Sleeps'', was released on 6 October 2008, with one reviewe ...

of the opera."Les Cloches de Corneville (1917)"
British Film Institute. Retrieved 8 November 2018.

Notes, references and sources

Notes

References

Sources

* * *

External links

English Vocal Score (Boston: Oliver Ditson, 1879)
From Sibley Music Library Digital Scores Collection
English Libretto (New York: Tretbar, 1870)
From Sibley Music Library Digital Scores Collection {{DEFAULTSORT:Cloches de Corneville, Les French-language operas Operas set in France Operas Opéras bouffes 1877 operas Operas by Robert Planquette Operas adapted into films