' (; plural: ') is a French genre of

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

opéra-ballet Opéra-ballet (; plural: ''opéras-ballets'') is a genre of French Baroque lyric theatre that was most popular during the 18th century, combining elements of opera and ballet, "that grew out of the '' ballets à entrées'' of the early seventeen ...

where the plot is based on

fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, household tale, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful bei ...

s, often with elements of magic in their stories. Popular in the 18th century, from the time of

Jean-Philippe Rameau Jean-Philippe Rameau (; ; – ) was a French composer and music theory, music theorist. Regarded as one of the most important French composers and music theorists of the 18th century, he replaced Jean-Baptiste Lully as the dominant composer of ...

onwards, the form reached its culmination with works such as '' La Belle au bois dormant'' by Michele Carafa and '' Cendrillon'' by Nicolas Isouard at the beginning of the 19th century. Examples of the genre include: *'' Zémire et Azor'' (1771), music by André Grétry *'' Cendrillon'' (1810) and ''Aladin ou la Lampe merveilleuse'' (1822), music by Nicolas Isouard, libretti by Charles-Guillaume Étienne *''Zirphile et fleur de myrte ou cent ans en un jour'' (1818), music by Charles-Simon Catel, libretto by Victor-Joseph Étienne de Jouy and Nicolas Lefebvre *'' Le cheval de bronze'' (1835), music by

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 whe ...

*''La fée aux roses'' (1849), libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and

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 ...

, music by Fromental Halévy, Paris, Théâtre de l'Opéra-Comique *''La chatte blanche'' (1852) by the Frères Cogniard *''Les amours du diable'' (1853), by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges, music by Albert Grisar, Paris,

Théâtre Lyrique The Théâtre Lyrique () was one of four opera companies performing in Paris during the middle of the 19th century (the other three being the Paris Opera, Opéra, the Opéra-Comique, and the Théâtre-Italien (1801–1878), Théâtre-Italien). ...

*'' Le roi Carotte'' (1872) and ''

Le voyage dans la lune ''A Trip to the Moon'' ( , ) is a 1902 French science-fiction adventure trick film written, directed, and produced by Georges Méliès. Inspired by the Jules Verne novel ''From the Earth to the Moon'' (1865) and its sequel '' Around the Moon' ...

'' (1875), music by

Jacques Offenbach Jacques Offenbach (; 20 June 18195 October 1880) was a German-born French composer, cellist and impresario. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s to the 1870s, and his uncompleted opera ''The Tales of Hoffmann''. He was a p ...

(the first in collaboration with

Victorien Sardou Victorien Sardou ( , ; 5 September 1831 – 8 November 1908) was a French dramatist. He is best remembered today for his development, along with Eugène Scribe, of the well-made play. He also wrote several plays that were made into popular 19th-c ...

) *'' L'eau qui danse, le pomme qui chante et l'oiseau qui dit la vérité'' (2009), by Canadian composer Gilles Tremblay and Pierre Morency

References

{{Authority control Opera genres

See also

References