''Les p'tites Michu'' (The Little Michus) is an

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 ...

in three acts, with music by

André Messager André Charles Prosper Messager (; 30 December 1853 – 24 February 1929) was a French composer, organist, pianist and conductor. His compositions include eight ballets and thirty opéras comiques, opérettes and other stage works, among whi ...

and words by

Albert Vanloo Albert Vanloo (; Brussels, 10 September 1846 – 1920, Paris) was a Belgian librettist and playwright. Vanloo lived in Paris as a child and was attracted to the theatre. As a young student he began writing plays and opéra comique libretti, notab ...

and

Georges Duval Georges-Louis-Jacques Labiche (26 October 1772 – 21 May 1853), better known as Georges Duval, was an early 19th-century French playwright. Biography Duval was originally expected to become a priest, but the French Revolution occurred when ...

. The piece is set in Paris in the years following the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

and depicts the complications ensuing after the identities of two girls become confused in their infancy. The opera opened at the

Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens The Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens () is a Parisian theatre founded in 1855 by the composer Jacques Offenbach for the performance of opéra bouffe and operetta. The current theatre is located in the 2nd arrondissement at 4 rue Monsigny with ...

, Paris, on 16 November 1897 and ran for more than 150 performances. It became an international success, with productions in four continents, including an unusually long run of 400 performances in London, and had subsequent revivals in Paris.

Background and first production

After a considerable success in 1890 with his

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 Fair Theatres of St Germain and St Laurent (and to a l ...

La Basoche ''La Basoche'' is an opéra comique in three acts, with music by André Messager and words by Albert Carré. The opera is set in Paris in 1514 and depicts the complications that arise when the elected "king" of the student guild, the Basoche, is ...

'' Messager had a series of failures later in the decade. Among these, '' Madame Chrysanthème'' (1893) played for 16 performances in Paris, '' Mirette'' (1894), written for London, had a disappointing run, and '' Le chevalier d'Harmental'' (1896) ran for only six performances at the

Opéra-Comique The Opéra-Comique is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief rival, the Comédie-Italienn ...

. An opérette, ''La fiancée en loterie'' (1896), managed 71 showings, and a "pièce fantastique", ''La montagne enchantée'' (1897), closed after 35 performances. Discouraged by these failures, Messager resolved to compose no more, and retreated a cottage in the English countryside with his wife, the Irish songwriter

Hope Temple Hope Temple, born as Alice Maude Davis (27 December 1859 – 10 May 1938) was an Irish songwriter and composer. She was also known as Mrs André Messager. Life Alice Davis was born in Dublin, Ireland, and was known professionally as Hope Templ ...

.Fevrier, Chapter XIV In 1897 he received an unsolicited libretto. He did not know at the time that three other composers had already turned it down, and it appealed to him greatly. He began composing and completed the score in three months. The first performance was at the

on 16 November 1897, starring

Odette Dulac Odette Dulac (14 July 1865 – 3 November 1939) was a French actress, singer and ''diseuse'' in the manner of Yvette Guilbert. Background Dulac was born in Aire-sur-Adour. She became a militant feminist and novelist. ''La houille rouge: les enf ...

in one of the title roles, with the production running for over 150 performances.''Les p'tites Michu''
''Opérette – théâtre musical, Académie nationale de l'opérette'', August 2016 (in French). Retrieved 26 December 2018.

Roles

Synopsis

In 1793, the wife of the Marquis des Ifs dies in childbirth. The Marquis, before disappearing to evade arrest by revolutionary forces, entrusts the infant girl to the Michus, paying the family a sum of money that allows them to open a prosperous shop. The Michus have a daughter of their own. While bathing the two babies, M. Michu mixes them up and cannot tell which is which. Act 1 By 1810, the girls, Blanche-Marie and Marie-Blanche, have grown up together, believing themselves to be twins, and have gone to school under the military Mlle. Herpin. Aristide, the Michus' clerk, is in love with one of the girls but is not sure which. The Marquis des Ifs, now a general, sends Bagnolet to find his daughter, whose hand he has promised to lieutenant Gaston Rigaud, an officer who saved his life. It turns out that Gaston is Mlle. Herpin's nephew, and while visiting his aunt, the girls meet the handsome lieutenant, and both are enchanted. Bagnolet finds the Michus. They are embarrassed at being unable to say which of the girls is the general's daughter. Act 2 The general and his guests await the arrival of his daughter. When the Michus arrive, the general is impatient with their explanation: he wants to know which girl is his daughter and will marry the lieutenant. Knowing that her sister is enamoured of Gaston, Blanche-Marie decides to make a sacrifice and identifies her sister as the general's daughter. Act 3 With a sad heart, Blanche-Marie resigns herself to marry Aristide, whom she finds exceedingly uninteresting. On the other hand, and to the astonishment of her fiancé and the Marquis, Marie-Blanche goes to help at the shop at every opportunity. She realizes that she has made a mistake: her sister loves Gaston, and she herself would prefer the common life of the shop and marriage to Aristide. The day of the double wedding, Marie-Blanche looks for a portrait of the Marquis' wife. Her idea is to dress Blanche-Marie as the late Marchionesse. The resemblance is astonishing. The Marquis believes that he sees his wife: Blanche-Marie must be his daughter. The two couples are sorted out and all ends happily. Madame Michu forbids her husband to hand the two young women to their respective bridgrooms: "Don't you touch them, or you'll mix them up again!" :Source: Gänzl and Lamb

Musical numbers

Mariette Sully in Messager's Les P'tites Michu

Act 1 *Overture *Chorus and couplets "Le tambour résonne" ("The drum resounds") – Pensionnaires *Duet "Blanche-Marie et Marie-Blanche" ("Blanche-Marie and Marie-Blanche") – The two sisters *Madrigal "Quoi, vous tremblez ma belle enfant" ("What, you tremble my beautiful child") – Gaston *Trio "Michu! Michu! Michu!" – Blanche-Marie, Marie-Blanche, Gaston *Couplets "Sapristi! le beau militaire" ("Sapristi! The handsome soldier") – Marie-Blanche *Trio "Nous v'là! Nous v'là!" et couplets "A l'ouvrage le matin" ("We're here! We're here!" and couplets "At work in the morning") – Mme Michu, Michu, Aristide *Ensemble "Voici papa, maman Gâteau" ("Look, father and mother: cake!") – Blanche-Marie et Marie-Blanche *Couplets "Blanche Marie, si douce" ("Blanche Marie, so sweet") – Aristide *Finale "Je viens d'entendre un roulement" ("I have just heard a drumroll") – All Act 2 *Introduction and chorus "A la santé du général" ("To the General's health!") *Rondo "Non, je n'ai jamais vu ça" ("No, I never saw that") – The General *Quartet "Entre là" ("Between them") – Blanche-Marie, Marie-Blanche, the Michus *Duet "Ah! Quel malheur, quel malheur" ("Ah what a disaster") – Blanche-Marie, Marie-Blanche" *Couplets "Me prenez-vous pour un conscrit" ("Do you take me for a conscript?") – The General *Prayer "St-Nicolas" – Blanche-Marie, Marie-Blanche *Trio "C'est la fille du général" ("It's the General's daughter") – Blanche-Marie, Marie-Blanche, Gaston *Finale: "Capitaine, approchez" et Couplets "Mesdames, grand merci" ("Captain, approach … Thank you very much, ladies") – Marie-Blanche Act 3 *Chorus and ensemble "A la boutique" ("At the shop") *Couplets "Comme une girouette mon coeur tourmait" ("My heart was turning like a weather-vane") – Aristide *Romance "Vois-tu, je m'en veux" ("See: I blame myself") – Blanche-Marie *Chorus "Bonjour, mesdam's les mariées" et ronde des Halles "On peux chercher en tous pays" ("Hello, ladies, brides" and Rondo of Les Halles "We can search in all lands") – Marie-Blanche *Duet "Rassurez-vous Monsieur Gaston" ("Do not worry, Monsieur Gaston") – Blanche-Marie, Gaston *Sextet " Assieds-toi là" ("Sit here") – Blanche-Marie, Marie-Blanche, the Michus, Aristide, Gaston *Finale "Blanche-Marie et Marie-Blanche" – All

Revivals and adaptations

A revival at the

Théâtre des Folies-Dramatiques The Théâtre des Folies-Dramatiques was a theatre in Paris in the 19th and 20th centuries. Opened first in 1832 in the site of the old Théâtre de l'Ambigu-Comique on the Boulevard du Temple, under Frédérick Lemaître it became a noted venue ...

in 1899 starred

Mariette Sully Mariette Sully (1878–1950)
biography at the ''Association l'Art Lyrique Français'' website (in French) ...

and

Jean Périer Jean (Alexis) Périer (2 February 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French operatic baryton-martin and actor. Although he sang principally within the operetta repertoire, Périer did portray a number of opera roles; mostly within operas by Wolfgang ...

.Gänzl and Lamb, p. 427 The work was given in German in Berlin in December 1898. The same adaptation was presented in Vienna in September 1899 at the

Carltheater The Carltheater was a theatre in Vienna. It was in the suburbs in Leopoldstadt at Praterstraße 31 (at that time called Jägerzeile). It was the successor to the Leopoldstädter Theater. After a series of financial difficulties, that theater had b ...

. The German version was also seen in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

. The opera was given in the original French in Brussels in January 1899."Les p'tites Michu"
''Encyclopédie de l'art lyrique français'', Association l'Art Lyrique Français (in French). Retrieved 26 December 2018 An Italian production opened at the Teatro Constanzi in Rome in January 1900. The work played in Lisbon in 1901 and Algiers in 1904. The piece enjoyed a long run in London under the title ''The Little Michus''. The English adaptation was by Henry Hamilton, with lyrics by

Percy Greenbank Percy Greenbank (24 January 1878 – 9 December 1968) was an English lyricist and librettist, best known for his contribution of lyrics to a number of successful Edwardian musical comedies in the early years of the 20th century. His older broth ...

, and was produced by

George Edwardes George Joseph Edwardes (né Edwards; 8 October 1855 – 4 October 1915) was an English theatre manager and producer of Irish ancestry who brought a new era in musical theatre to the British stage and beyond. Edwardes started out in theatre ma ...

Daly's Theatre Daly's Theatre was a theatre in the City of Westminster. It was located at 2 Cranbourn Street, just off Leicester Square. It opened on 27 June 1893, and was demolished in 1937. The theatre was built for and named after the American impresar ...

. The composer conducted the first night, on 29 April 1905, and the piece ran for 400 performances. It starred

Adrienne Augarde Adrienne Adele Augarde (12 May 1882 – 17 March 1913) was an English actress and singer popular for nearly a decade on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, primarily for her roles in Edwardian musical comedy. She began her career in 1898 in pa ...

and Mabel Green, with

Robert Evett Robert Evett (16 October 1874 – 15 January 1949) was an English singer, actor, theatre manager and producer. He was best known as a leading man in Edwardian musical comedies and later managed the George Edwardes theatrical empire. In 1892, a ...

Willie Edouin Willie Edouin (1 January 1846Edouin's ''New York Times'' obituary says 1841 – 14 April 1908) was an English comedian, actor, dancer, singer, writer, director and theatre manager. After performing as a child in England, Australia and elsewher ...

Huntley Wright Huntley Wright (7 August 1868 – 10 July 1941) was an English stage and film actor, comedian, dancer and singer, best known for creating roles in many important Edwardian musical comedies. His career spanned more than half a century, beginnin ...

Amy Augarde Amy Florence Augarde (7 July 1868 – 1 April 1959) was an English actress and singer in musical theatre and operetta. Born at Westminster, Augarde was a member of a musical family. Among her siblings, Louise Adele Augarde (later King, 1863–19 ...

Willie Warde Willie Warde (1857 – 18 August 1943) was an English actor, dancer, singer and choreographer. The son of a dancer, his first theatre work was with a dance company. He was engaged to arrange dances for London productions and was later cast as a ...

, Ambrose Manning, Louis Bradfield.Wearing, p. 230 A role was added during the run for the dancer

Adeline Genée Dame Adeline Genée DBE (born Anina Kirstina Margarete Petra Jensen; 6 January 1878 – 23 April 1970) was a Danish-British ballet dancer. Early years Anina Kirstina Margarete Petra Jensen was born in Hinnerup north of Aarhus, Denmark. H ...

. A piece of comic business introduced during the run involved a fictional animal called the

Gazeka Monckton's Gazeka, also called the Papuan Devil-Pig is an animal said to have been seen on Papua New Guinea in the early 20th century. It is said to resemble a tapir or a giant sloth, having a long, proboscis-like snout, and some theories suggest ...

, which became a London fad. The Australian premiere of ''The Little Michus'' was in June 1906 at

Her Majesty's Theatre, Sydney Her Majesty's Theatre, Sydney, Australia, refers to three theatres of the same name. One was a theatre which opened on 10 September 1887 and closed on 10 June 1933. It was located on the corner of Pitt and Market Street, Sydney, where Westfi ...

. In the US the work had a

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

run in 1907, with George Graves, Ruth Julian and Alice Judson in the leading roles. and was first given in New Zealand in 1908.

Recordings

A recording of the complete opera was made in May 2018 by the Compagnie Les Brigands, the Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire, and the Choeur d'

Angers-Nantes Opéra The Angers-Nantes Opéra was created in January 2003 through the fusion of the opera companies of Angers and of Nantes, in order to give fresh impetus to the provision of opera throughout western France. The company uses a variety of performance ...

, conducted by Pierre Dumoussaud. A DVD was issued in 2005 of a complete performance of the opera given at the Théâtre municipal de Clermont-Ferrand, in April of that year.''Les p'tites Michu'' : une opérette d'André Messager, DVD

Notes, references and sources

Notes

References

Sources

* * * * * * * *

External links

* ''

The Play Pictorial ''The Play Pictorial'' was an English theatrical magazine that was published in London between 1902 and 1939. ''The Play Pictorial'' provided pictorial records of West End theatrical productions. Each issue described a single show, with descrip ...

'', Vol. 6 No. 35, London, June 1905, pp. 29–56. Includes illustrations of the London production, the cast and sets. Two musical numbers are printe
Description online here.
*
Information about ''The Little Michus'' and other shows opening in London in 1905
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ptites Michu, Les Operas by André Messager 1897 operas French-language operas Opérettes Operas