Le chevalier d’Harmental is an opéra comique

Opéra comique

Opéra comique is a genre of French opera that contains spoken dialogue and arias. It emerged out of the popular opéra comiques en vaudevilles of the Fair Theatres of St Germain and St Laurent , which combined existing popular tunes with spoken sections...

 in five acts of 1896, with music by André Messager

André Messager

André Charles Prosper Messager , was a French composer, organist, pianist, conductor and administrator. His stage compositions included ballets and 30 opéra comiques and operettas, among which Véronique, had lasting success, with Les p'tites Michu and Monsieur Beaucaire also enjoying international...

 and a French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

 libretto by Paul Ferrier

Paul Ferrier

Paul Ferrier , French dramatist, was born at Montpellier.He had already produced several comedies when in 1873 he secured real success with two short pieces, Chez l'avocat and Les Incendies de Massoulard. Others of his numerous plays are Les Compensations ; L'Art de tramper les femmes , with M...

, after Dumas père

Alexandre Dumas, père

Alexandre Dumas, , born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie was a French writer, best known for his historical novels of high adventure which have made him one of the most widely read French authors in the world...

 and Auguste Maquet

Auguste Maquet

Auguste Maquet was a French author, best known as the chief collaborator of French novelist Alexandre Dumas, père, co-writing such works as The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers....

. The play of the novel – in five acts, a prologue and ten tableaux – was first performed on 16 July 1849 at the Théâtre-Historique in Paris. The opera was first performed at the Opéra Comique

Opera Comique

The Opera Comique was a 19th-century theatre constructed in Westminster, London, between Wych Street and Holywell Street with entrances on the East Strand. It opened in 1870 and was demolished in 1902, to make way for the construction of the Aldwych and Kingsway...

 (Théâtre Sarah Bernhardt

Théâtre de la Ville

The Théâtre de la Ville 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...

) in Paris on 5 May 1896, but ran for only six performances. It was seen at the Vienna Hofoper during the 1896-97 season.

The story concerns the conspiracy of the Prince of Cellamare

Cellamare Conspiracy

The Cellamare Conspiracy of 1718 was a conspiracy against the then Regent of France, Philippe d'Orléans . "Created" in Spain, it was the brainchild of Antonio del Giudice, Prince of Cellamare.-Background and Plot:...

, the Spanish ambassador, an envoy of Alberoni

Giulio Alberoni

Giulio Alberoni was an Italian cardinal andstatesman in the service of Philip V of Spain.-Early years:He was born near Piacenza, probably at the village of Fiorenzuola d'Arda in the Duchy of Parma....

, who is at the heart of a plot involving the Duke

Louis-Auguste de Bourbon, duc du Maine

Louis Auguste de Bourbon, Legitimé de France was the eldest legitimised son of the Louis XIV of France and his maîtresse-en-titre, Madame de Montespan...

 and Duchess of Maine, which aims to capture the royal regent at a party, then gather together the Etats-Généraux

French States-General

In France under the Old Regime, the States-General or Estates-General , was a legislative assembly of the different classes of French subjects. It had a separate assembly for each of the three estates, which were called and dismissed by the king...

 and confer the regency on the King of Spain, Philippe V

Philip V of Spain

Philip V was King of Spain from 15 November 1700 to 15 January 1724, when he abdicated in favor of his son Louis, and from 6 September 1724, when he assumed the throne again upon his son's death, to his death.Before his reign, Philip occupied an exalted place in the royal family of France as a...

.

The Annales author commends the attractive music, "as one might expect of the composer of Isoline and La Basoche

La Basoche

La Basoche is an opéra comique in three acts of 1890, with music by André Messager and a French libretto by Albert Carré.-History:Messager's 1889 opérette Le mari de la reine at Bouffes-Parisiens was a disappointment, and the composer and his wife were struggling to afford even basic necessities...

", of which highlights cited included couplets for Fugère and the air of the queen of the night in the first act; a drinking song in the second, and several moments in the third act.

Roles

Role	Voice type	Premiere Cast, 5 May 1896 (Conductor: Jules Danbé Jules Danbé Jules Danbé was a French conductor, mainly of opera, born in Caen on 16 November 1840, and died 30 October 1905. Trained as a violinist, he was a pupil of Girard and Savard, in 1859 winning a first prize for violin... )
Buvat	baritone Baritone Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...	Lucien Fugère Lucien Fugère Lucien Fugère was a French baritone, particularly associated with the French repertory and Mozart roles, he enjoyed an exceptionally long career, singing into his 80s.- Life and career :...
d'Harmenthal	tenor Tenor The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...	Leprestre
L'abbé Brigault	tenor	Ernest Carbonne Ernest Carbonne Raymond Jean-Baptiste Ernest Carbonne was a French tenor and stage director who had a long association with the Opéra-Comique in Paris.-Life and Career:...
Capitaine Roquefinette	bass	Jacques Isnardon Jacques Isnardon Jacques Isnardon was a French bass-baritone, writer and voice teacher.After winning a competition at the Paris Conservatory, he made his debut as Baxter in Émile Paladilhe's Diane at the Opéra-Comique in 1885 , before moving to Brussels and the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, whose history he...
Le régent	baritone	Marc Nohel
Maillefer	bass	Troy
Pompadour	baritone	Bernaert
Ravane		Tony Thomas
Gargouille		Carrell
La Fare		Jacquet
Cellamare		Karloni
Richelieu		Berriel
Un exempt		Dufour
Daval	tenor	Rivière
Bathilde	soprano Soprano A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...	Mlle A Marignan
La duchesse de Maine	mezzo-soprano Mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...	Esther Chevalier Esther Chevalier Esther Chevalier was a French mezzo-soprano, active in Paris almost exclusively at the Opéra-Comique, appearing in several operatic premieres there....
Mme Denis	soprano	Mlle Jane Evel