''L'attaque du moulin'' (''The Attack on the Mill'') is a ''drame lyrique'' (

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 ...

) in four acts by the French composer

Alfred Bruneau Louis Charles Bonaventure Alfred Bruneau (3 March 1857 – 15 June 1934) was a French composer who played a key role in the introduction of realism in French opera. Life Born in Paris, Bruneau studied the cello as a youth at the Paris Conservato ...

. The

libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) 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 th ...

, by

Louis Gallet Louis Gallet (14 February 1835 in Valence, Drôme – 16 October 1898) was a French writer of operatic libretti, plays, romances, memoirs, pamphlets, and innumerable articles, who is remembered above all for his adaptations of fiction —and ...

with the collaboration of

Émile Zola Émile Édouard Charles Antoine Zola (, ; ; 2 April 184029 September 1902) was a French novelist, journalist, playwright, the best-known practitioner of the literary school of Naturalism (literature), naturalism, and an important contributor to ...

, is based on a short story by Zola (included in the collection '' Les soirées de Médan''). Zola's story is about the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

, but the setting of the opera was changed to the period of the French Revolution.

Performance history

''L'attaque du moulin'' was first performed on 23 November 1893 by the

Opéra-Comique The Opéra-Comique () is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular Théâtre de la foire, theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief riva ...

at the former Théâtre Lyrique (the present

Théâtre de la Ville (; "City Theatre") is one of the two theatres built in the 19th century by Baron Haussmann at Place du Châtelet, Paris, the other being the Théâtre du Châtelet. It is located at 2, place du Châtelet in the 4th arrondissement. Included a ...

) on the Place du Châtelet in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. The ''

mise-en-scène (; or "what is put into the scene") is the stage design and arrangement of actors in scenes for a theatre or film production, both in the visual arts through storyboarding, visual themes, and cinematography and in narrative-storytelling through ...

'' was by

Léon Carvalho Léon Carvalho (18 January 1825 – 29 December 1897) was a French impresario and stage director. Biography Born Léon Carvaille in Port Louis, British Mauritius, he came to France at an early age. He studied at the Paris Conservatory an ...

, the scenery by Marcel Jambon, and the costumes by Théophile Thomas. The original production was performed a total of 39 times. The Gaîté Lyrique revived the opera on 16 December 1907, and the Opéra-Comique, on 25 March 1922 (14 performances). By 1917 the opera had been presented outside France in eleven different cities, including Brussels (27 January 1894), London (4 July 1894, at the

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 sit ...

theatre), Breslau (5 November 1805, in German), Geneva (11 December 1896), Milan (8 January 1898, at the Teatro Lirico, in Italian),

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

(November 1903), Barcelona (7 January 1909), New York (8 February 1910), New Orleans (19 January 1911), Vienna (13 March 1914, at the

Volksoper The Vienna Volksoper (''Volksoper'' or ''Vienna People's Opera'') is an opera house in Vienna, Austria. It produces three hundred performances of twenty-five German language productions of opera, operetta, musicals, and ballet, during an annual s ...

, in German),

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

(15 October 1915, in English), and again London (18 May 1917, at the

Garrick Theatre The Garrick Theatre is a West End theatre, located in Charing Cross Road, in the City of Westminster, named after the stage actor David Garrick. It opened in 1889 with ''The Profligate'', a play by Arthur Wing Pinero, and another Pinero play, ...

, in English).

Roles

References

Notes Sources * * * * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Attaque du moulin, L' French-language operas 1893 operas Operas by Alfred Bruneau Operas based on literature Operas Opera world premieres at the Opéra-Comique Operas set in France Operas set in the French Revolution Operas based on works by Émile Zola Libretti by Louis Gallet