Le financier et le savetier
Encyclopedia
Le financier et le savetier (The financier and the cobbler) is a one-act opérette bouffe of 1856 with words by Hector Crémieux and Edmond About and music by Jacques Offenbach
. In 1842 Offenbach had set the poem 'Le Savetier et le Financier' among a set of six fables of La Fontaine.
A page waits at the entrance, Belazor paces up and down. Larfaillou can be heard singing off-stage.
Larfaillou, the cobbler who works downstairs comes in, uninvited, and is asked to leave by Belazor (who is fed up with his constant singing). Larfaillou says he has come to ask for the hand of Belazor’s daughter Aubépine.
Belazor asks how he has come to know the girl, and the cobbler replies that he does the repairs for the pensionnat where she stays. The cobbler also admits that the girl’s potential dowry and inheritance are no barriers to his proposal.
Belazor stalls his first guests as he gets rid of Larfaillou.
After the guests have gushed their admiration for him, Belazor (with Larfaillou singing off-stage again) outlines his hopes to get rid of his neighbour through statistical analysis of the death rate of cobblers: he will achieve it by forcing the merger of all the cobbler businesses in Paris so that Larfaillou is the only one left, and that given at least one cobbler dies each year in the city he will then get rid of him.
Aubépine, released from the pension for the celebration, enters and sings some couplets after which she presents a gift to her father. She then sings a 'fable', based on that by La Fontaine (‘Le Savetier et le Financier’), but arranged by her school mistresses. A waltz is heard in preparation for dancing.
Belazor has a brainwave: invite the cobbler back up and bribe him with 300 écus. Larfaillou comes in and reluctantly accepts the money. Alone with Aubépine – who has fallen in love with him – he admits he is no Prince of Gerolstein, but – in a duo with Aubépine – declares his love for her. They wonder how to get round the problem of his lack of money. Aubépine says that she has learnt from her father how to play the stock exchange
but as it is nearly midnight and it is closed, Larfaillou challenges one of the guests to a game of lansquenet
.
Chance is on his side; in the 'trio' he continually beats the guest. Then Belazor plays against him, but loses 8, 16, then 32 million, then his house, his spectacles and finally the financier has to strip out of his evening dress to hand over to Larfaillou. The cobbler, donning these fine clothes loses his common accent – while Belazor, in the cobbler’s old clothes begins to speak in slang. As a final attempt to annoy his neighbour the financier tries a song of his own, but Larfaillou merely asks another verse. However, as a millionaire now, Larfaillou can again demand the hand of Aubépine.
The end of the trio ('Le jeu, fièvre brûlante') refers to the duo of Blondel and Richard 'Une fièvre brûlante' from Act II of Richard Cœur de Lion. In the scene of ‘jeu d’oie’ in Act II of La belle Hélène
Offenbach referred back to Le financier et le savetier.
Jacques Offenbach
Jacques Offenbach was a Prussian-born French composer, cellist and impresario. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s–1870s and his uncompleted opera The Tales of Hoffmann. He was a powerful influence on later composers of the operetta genre, particularly Johann Strauss, Jr....
. In 1842 Offenbach had set the poem 'Le Savetier et le Financier' among a set of six fables of La Fontaine.
Performance history
Le financier et le savetier was first performed in Paris, at the refurbished Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens, on 23 September 1856, and ran into 1857. In 1858 it was performed by the company at Bad Ems. At the Carltheater in Vienna it was staged as Schuhflicker und Millionär in January 1859. A complete recording of Keck’s critical edition was made in 2007.Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, 23 September 1856 (Conductor: - ) |
|---|---|---|
| Belazor, a financier | 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... |
Étienne Pradeau |
| Larfaillou | tenor | Gustave Gerpré |
| Aubépine | 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... |
Marie Dalmont |
| First guest | 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... |
Davoust |
| A page, guests, servants | ||
Synopsis
- The drawing-room of rich financier Belazor on his name-day; it is 1856 and nine o’clock in the evening
A page waits at the entrance, Belazor paces up and down. Larfaillou can be heard singing off-stage.
Larfaillou, the cobbler who works downstairs comes in, uninvited, and is asked to leave by Belazor (who is fed up with his constant singing). Larfaillou says he has come to ask for the hand of Belazor’s daughter Aubépine.
Belazor asks how he has come to know the girl, and the cobbler replies that he does the repairs for the pensionnat where she stays. The cobbler also admits that the girl’s potential dowry and inheritance are no barriers to his proposal.
Belazor stalls his first guests as he gets rid of Larfaillou.
After the guests have gushed their admiration for him, Belazor (with Larfaillou singing off-stage again) outlines his hopes to get rid of his neighbour through statistical analysis of the death rate of cobblers: he will achieve it by forcing the merger of all the cobbler businesses in Paris so that Larfaillou is the only one left, and that given at least one cobbler dies each year in the city he will then get rid of him.
Aubépine, released from the pension for the celebration, enters and sings some couplets after which she presents a gift to her father. She then sings a 'fable', based on that by La Fontaine (‘Le Savetier et le Financier’), but arranged by her school mistresses. A waltz is heard in preparation for dancing.
Belazor has a brainwave: invite the cobbler back up and bribe him with 300 écus. Larfaillou comes in and reluctantly accepts the money. Alone with Aubépine – who has fallen in love with him – he admits he is no Prince of Gerolstein, but – in a duo with Aubépine – declares his love for her. They wonder how to get round the problem of his lack of money. Aubépine says that she has learnt from her father how to play the stock exchange
La Bourse
La Bourse is a short story by the French novelist Honoré de Balzac. It was published in 1832 by Mame-Delaunay as one of the Scènes de la vie privée in La Comédie humaine...
but as it is nearly midnight and it is closed, Larfaillou challenges one of the guests to a game of lansquenet
Lansquenet
Lansquenet is a card game. Lansquenet also refers to 15th and 16th century German foot soldiers; the lansquenet drum is a type of field drum used by these soldiers.-Game play:The dealer or banker stakes a certain sum, and this must be met by the nearest to the dealer first, and so...
.
Chance is on his side; in the 'trio' he continually beats the guest. Then Belazor plays against him, but loses 8, 16, then 32 million, then his house, his spectacles and finally the financier has to strip out of his evening dress to hand over to Larfaillou. The cobbler, donning these fine clothes loses his common accent – while Belazor, in the cobbler’s old clothes begins to speak in slang. As a final attempt to annoy his neighbour the financier tries a song of his own, but Larfaillou merely asks another verse. However, as a millionaire now, Larfaillou can again demand the hand of Aubépine.
The end of the trio ('Le jeu, fièvre brûlante') refers to the duo of Blondel and Richard 'Une fièvre brûlante' from Act II of Richard Cœur de Lion. In the scene of ‘jeu d’oie’ in Act II of La belle Hélène
La belle Hélène
La belle Hélène , opéra bouffe in three acts, is an operetta by Jacques Offenbach to an original French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy...
Offenbach referred back to Le financier et le savetier.