''Pierrette et Jacquot'' is a one-act

opérette This is a glossary list of opera genres, giving alternative names. "Opera" is an Italian word (short for "opera in musica"); it was not at first ''commonly'' used in Italy (or in other countries) to refer to the genre of particular works. Most c ...

of 1876 by

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

with a French libretto by

Jules Noriac Jules Noriac, real name Claude, Antoine, Jules Cairon, (24 April 1827 – 1 October 1882), was a French journalist, playwright, writer, librettist and theatre director. Biography Cairon was first a journalist and columnist in many newspapers. ...

and

Philippe Gille Philippe Emile François Gille (10 December 1831 – 19 March 1901) was a French dramatist and opera librettist, who was born and died in Paris. He wrote over twenty librettos between 1857 and 1893, the most famous of which are Massenet's '' Mano ...

Performance history

The première of Pierrette et Jacquot was on 13 October 1876 at the Bouffes-Parisiens, Salle Choiseul,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, on the same bill as a revival of Duprato’s ''M’sieu Landry''. It was intended originally as a vehicle for the Grégoire sisters, whom Offenbach had discovered in Vienna. Although it was given 53 times that season, it was not considered a major work of the composerNoel E & Stoullig E. ''

Les Annales du Théâtre et de la Musique ''Les Annales du Théâtre et de la Musique'' ("The Annals of Theatre and Music") was an annual French periodical which covered French dramatic and lyric theatre for 42 years, from 1875 to 1916. The volumes also covered concert series and ne ...

, 2eme année, 1876.'' G Charpentier, Paris, 1877. and did not enter the repertoire. However, the letter song and the Ronde savoyarde became popular.Yon, Jean-Claude. ''Jacques Offenbach.'' Éditions Gallimard, Paris, 2000.

Roles

Synopsis

''The house of Cyrille Durand'' Durand, a rich bachelor and button merchant, dreams of being a hero, and saving someone's life. He has moved near the river and even hangs around the most dangerous road junctions for a chance. While awaiting an opportunity for such a feat, five years before he had taken in an abandoned Savoyard boy, Jacquot. Then two years ago at the Gare de Lyon Durand found a girl in rags, Pierrette, whom he has helped and found a job. She comes to his house every Sunday. In fact this was no hazard, Jacquot had written to his sweetheart Pierrette to tell her to come to Paris and be found by Durand. Jacquot wants now to confess to Durand and gain consent for them to wed. It is the day of Saint Cyrille and as a surprise the two young people dress up as natives of Savoy (where Durand comes from) to dance and play the

vielle The vielle is a European bowed stringed instrument used in the medieval period, similar to a modern violin but with a somewhat longer and deeper body, three to five gut strings, and a leaf-shaped pegbox with frontal tuning pegs, sometimes with a ...

. They hope by this to get Durand's consent for them to marry, but he himself has designs on Pierrette. Durand confides in Madame Patacha that indeed he is thinking of marrying; she thinks he means her. Just as Durand announces his intentions and the others react with surprise and horror, news comes of someone drowning in the Seine; the solid bourgeois dashes out. When Durand is gone Pierrette and Jacquot decide instead to leave him a letter to reveal all. Then Madame Patacha helps Durand back, soaking wet – it was only a dog in the river which ended by saving Durand. On the way back Madame Patacha has talked things over. So Durand relents and allows the two sweet hearts to marry, being content to tie the knot with his neighbour Madame Patacha, and the curtain falls with a reprise of the Ronde savoyard.

Musical numbers

*Introduction *Couplets « Nous avons la femme à vingt ans » (Patacha, Durand) *Couplets et duo « Peux-tu parler d’attendre » (Jacquot, Pierrette) *Mélodrame *Quatuor et Ronde savoyarde « Allons les gars et les filles » (Pierrette, Jacquot, Patacha, Durand) *Mélodrame *Duetto de la Lettre « Mon cher parrain notr’bienfaiteur » (Pierrette, Jacquot) *Final « Nous venons monsieur et madame »

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pierrette et Jacquot Operas by Jacques Offenbach French-language operas Operas One-act operas 1876 operas Opérettes