' (''The Trickster Tricked'') is a one-act

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 ...

Pierre Gaveaux Pierre Gaveaux (6 October 1760 – 5 February 1825) was a French operatic tenor and composer, notable for creating the role of Jason in Cherubini's ''Médée'' and for composing ''Léonore, ou L'amour conjugal'', the first operatic version of the ...

, to a

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 ...

François Bernard-Valville François Marcellin Bernard-Valville (6 February 1767 – 15 October 1828) was a French playwright and librettist. Biography The son of a lawyer of Clermont, his studies led him to theater, where he played a few years under the name Bernard-Va ...

.Libretto, p. 1 It premiered at the

Théâtre Feydeau The Théâtre Feydeau (), a former Parisian theatre company, was founded in 1789 with the patronage of Monsieur, Comte de Provence (later to become Louis XVIII), and was therefore initially named the Théâtre de Monsieur. It began performing in ...

on 2 August 1800 (The first-edition libretto gives the date as 14

Thermidor Thermidor () was the eleventh month in the French Republican calendar. The month was named after the French word ''thermal'', derived from the Greek word ''thermos'' 'heat'. Thermidor was the second month of the summer quarter (''mois d'été ...

VIII, using the French Republican Calendar created during the French Revolution).

Roles

Synopsis

The play opens in the study of Jocard, a

prosecuting attorney A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in civil law. The prosecution is the legal party responsible ...

. Duval, his

clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts record keeping as well as general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include Records managem ...

, is working at his desk, musing over the circumstances that brought him to this role: He is really a

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest Military rank#Subordinate/student officer, rank in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Royal Cana ...

, but has taken on the role of clerk due to his love for Agathe, Jocard's pupil. ("") Jocard's wife has recently died, and Jocard is now taking an interest in Agathe himself. She cannot be forced to marry him, but should Jocard find out about Duval's scheme, trouble would arise. Agathe thinks she should leave, but she and Duval promise to be faithful to each other. ("") Jocard is heard approaching as they finish their farewells, and Agathe fails to escape in time. He asks why she was there, she tells him she was looking for him – which gives Jocard quite the wrong idea. Quickly refocusing, she says she came to tell him about some business with a proprietor of a hotel. Jocard knows of it, and she quickly loses his interest. However, all is not well: Jocard, pleased with Duval's work hitherto, sends him off to handle a case... for his uncle, who is not aware of Duval's impersonation. The scene ends with Duval, shaken, asking Agathe if it is necessary for him to return, only for Jocard to overhear him, and, misconstruing him, cheerily tell him that yes, he will be needed afterwards. ..

List of arias

# (A most innocent lie) – Duval # (It is necessary that I leave) – Agathe and Duval # (These beautiful gallants, these young people) – Jocard # (You who suffer the evil of love) – Agathe # (Let us drink, drink with our beloved ones) – Jocard and Beaupré # (God of happiness, God full of charm) – Agathe # (I wait, impatiently) – Agathe # (Come into my arms, Oh! Come, my beloved!) – Simonin, Agathe and Jocard #Finale: (Come, Mr. Make-believe) – Simonin, Jocard, the notary, Beaupré, Agathe and DuvalLibretto, passim

References

Notes Sources *

and Pierre Gaveaux, ( An VIII)
' – libretto
Huet et Charon, Paris. Accessed 11 September 2008.

External links

Full score
at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trompeur Trompe, Le Operas by Pierre Gaveaux French-language operas Operas Opéras comiques 1800 operas One-act operas