''Le shérif'' (The
Sheriff
A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...
) 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 Théâtre de la foire, Fair Theatres of St Germain and S ...
in three acts composed by
Fromental Halévy
Jacques-François-Fromental-Élie Halévy, usually known as Fromental Halévy (; 27 May 179917 March 1862), was a French composer. He is known today largely for his opera ''La Juive''.
Early career
Halévy was born in Paris, son of the cantor ...
to a libretto by
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 ...
. It was premiered 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
Salle de la Bourse in Paris on 2 September 1839. Based on a short story by
Balzac, the opera is set in the
London Docklands
London Docklands is an area of London encompassing the city’s former docks. It is located in inner east and southeast London, in the boroughs of London Borough of Southwark, Southwark, London Borough of Tower Hamlets, Tower Hamlets, London ...
during the late 18th century.
[Letellier, Robert Ignatius (2010)]
''Opéra-Comique: A Sourcebook''
pp. 410–411. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. [Blanchard, Henri (5 September 1839)]
"Le Shérif"
pp. 353–355. ''Revue et gazette musicale de Paris
The ' () was a weekly musical review founded in 1827 by the Belgian musicologist, teacher and composer François-Joseph Fétis, then working as professor of counterpoint and fugue at the Conservatoire de Paris. It was the first French-languag ...
'', Vol. 6, No. 45
Background and performance history
Scribe frequently borrowed from Balzac's collection of interlinked novels and stories, ''
La Comédie humaine
(; English: ''The Human Comedy'') is Honoré de Balzac's 1829–48 multi-volume collection of interlinked novels and stories depicting French society in the period of the Restoration (1815–30) and the July Monarchy (1830–48).
''La Comà ...
'', for his plays and libretti. The basic plot of his libretto for ''Le shérif'' was taken from the ''Comédie humaine'' novella ''
Maître Cornélius
''Maître Cornélius'' ( English "Master Cornelius") is a short story by Honoré de Balzac. It was published in 1831 and is one of the ''Études philosophiques'' of ''La Comédie humaine''.
Plot summary
The story is set in Tours in 1479. It star ...
'' (''Master Cornelius''). Balzac's Master Cornelius is
Louis XI
Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called "Louis the Prudent" (), was King of France from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father, Charles VII. Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revolt known as the ...
's money-lender who lives in an old mansion where his gold keeps mysteriously disappearing. Scribe transferred the setting to late 18th-century London and provided a happy ending. Cornelius became Sir James Turner, the High-Sheriff of London. Like Cornelius, he is discovered as the thief of his own property which occurs while he is sleepwalking. However, unlike Cornelius who commits suicide on learning the truth, Sheriff Turner lives to tell the tale.
[Lawton, Frederick (1910). ''Balzac'', pp. 357–358 XVI. G. Richards, Ltd.]
According to cultural historian Robert Letellier, Halévy's score for ''Le shérif'' revealed a "powerful originality", as had the scores for two of his previous opéras comiques, ''
L'éclair'' and ''Les treize''. However, the score's eclecticism proved unpopular with the Parisian public. Following its premiere on 2 September 1839 with
François-Louis Henry
François-Louis(-Ferdinand) Henry (12 May 1786 – 22 February 1855) was a French baritone, who sang for about 35 years with the Opéra-Comique in Paris, where he created numerous leading roles. His stage name was Henri (or Henry).Kutsch & Riem ...
in the title role, the opera ran for thirteen more performances at the Théâtre de l'Opéra-Comique-Bourse but was not revived there.
A brief article in ''The Foreign Quarterly Review'' reported that ''Le shérif'' was given in Prague in early 1841 with a Czech libretto adapted by Alois Svoboda, but it was not a success "owing to the inefficient manner" in which the role of Sir James Turner was sung.
The opera's orchestral score was published by
Maurice Schlesinger in 1839. The following year
Stephen Heller
Stephen Heller (15 May 181314 January 1888) was a Hungarian pianist, teacher, and composer whose career spanned the period from Schumann to Bizet. Heller was an influence for later Romantic composers. He outlived his reputation, and was a nea ...
composed his Op. 17, six ''
caprices'' for piano based on an aria from ''Le shérif''.
[Schütz, Rudolf (1911). ''Stephen Heller: ein Künstlerleben'', p. 133. Breitkopf & Härtel] Various ''
fantasies
Fantasy is a genre of fiction.
Fantasy, Fantasie, or Fantasies may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music
* Fantasia (music), a free-form musical composition
* ''Fantasie'' (Widmann), a 1993 composition for solo clarinet by Jörg Widmann
* ...
'' based on the opera and arrangements for solo piano or violin were also published by minor composers such as Edouard Wolff,
, and
Auguste Panseron
Auguste Mathieu Panseron (26 April 1796 – 29 July 1859) was a French composer and voice teacher.
Life
Born in Paris, Panseron studied in Vienna with Antonio Salieri, having been accepted by the master thanks to a recommendation by Luigi Cherub ...
.
Roles
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:sherif, Le
Operas by Fromental Halévy
French-language operas
1839 operas
Opéras comiques
Operas
Opera world premieres at the Opéra-Comique
Operas set in London
Operas based on works by Honoré de Balzac
Libretti by Eugène Scribe