La poupée explained

La poupée (The Doll) is an opéra comique in a prelude and three acts composed by Edmond Audran with a libretto by Maurice Ordonneau. The libretto was based on E.T.A. Hoffmann's Der Sandmann, about a friar who falsely promises to marry his rich uncle's daughter to fool his uncle into giving money to the monastery; the scheme involves creating a doll that looks like the daughter. Then, the uncle's daughter fools the friar into marrying her by substituting herself for the doll.[1]

Productions

The opera opened at the Théâtre de la Gaîté, Paris, on 21 October 1896.[2] It then played at the Prince of Wales Theatre in London, opening on 24 February 1897, with an English libretto in two acts by Arthur Sturgess. It ran for 576 performances in London, starring Courtice Pounds and Willie Edouin; Edna May later played in the piece.[2] On 11 September 1897, a single matinée performance of La Poupée at the Prince of Wales Theatre launched a British provincial tour with a new company.[3] The opera also had a Broadway production in 1897.[2]

Along with Miss Helyett (1890), La poupée was one of Audran's last successes.[4]

Roles

RoleVoice typePremiere cast(conductor)
Father Maxime baritoneLucien Noel
Lancelot, a monk tenorPaul Fugère
ChanterelletenorPaul Bert
Lorèmois, Chanterelle's friend tenorBienfait
Balthazar, a monk tenorJaltier
Agnelet, a monktenorBernard
Benoit, a monk bassGeoffroy
Basilique, a monkbassFumat
HilariustenorDacheux
Madame Hilarius sopranoGilles-Rainbault
Alesia, Hilarius's daughtersopranoMariette Sully
Guduline Brandon
Henri
Pierre, Hilarius's assistant
Jacques
Marie

Synopsis

Maxime and his fellow monks are penniless and starving. A new member of the monastery, Lancelot, asks his rich uncle for aid. The uncle will assist the friars, but only if Lancelot gets married. The monks scheme to trick the uncle by using one of puppet master Hilarius's dolls, pretending that it is Lancelot's wife. Hilarius's newest puppet was made to look similar to Alesia, his daughter. At the wedding, however, Alesia masquerades as the doll, because she loves Lancelot. Lancelot does not discover that he has married the real Alesia until the wedding is over. Now he must leave the monastery with his wife, but the friars receive the generous sum of money from his uncle.

Musical numbers (from English-language adaptation)

Act I – Scene 1 – The Monastery
Act I – Scene 2 – Hilarius's Workshop
Act II – Scene 1 – Chanterelle's Country House
Act II – Scene 2 – Another part of the Monastery
Supplementary numbers

Adaptations

Ernst Lubitsch filmed an adaptation of the story under the title Die Puppe (; 1919).[5]

References

External links

Notes and References

  1. http://www.grovemusic.com Grove Online
  2. Book: Traubner. Richard. Operetta: A Theatrical History. limited. 2003. Routledge. New York. 0-415-96641-8. 95. Revised.
  3. [J. P. Wearing|Wearing, J. P.]
  4. [Andrew Lamb (writer)|Lamb, Andrew]
  5. Wosk, Julie. My Fair Ladies: Female Robots, Androids, and Other Artificial Eves. Rutgers University Press (2015). p. 64. Retrieved on 23 December 2016. .