Le roi Carotte
Encyclopedia
Le roi Carotte is a 4-act opéra-bouffe-féerie with music by Jacques Offenbach
and libretto by Victorien Sardou
, after E. T. A. Hoffmann. It premiered at the Théâtre de la Gaîté
on 15 January 1872. The first run lasted 149 performances, making a daily profit of 3,000 francs, and introducing Anna Judic to a principal operetta role.
The piece required much grand spectacle and elaborate costumes, with a wide range of locations and scene changes. Although lampooning Bonapartists, monarchists and republicans
, the libretto was written before the disaster of the Franco-Prussian War
. The work was seen in London in 1872 and Vienna in 1876.
In the garret of the witch Coloquinte, Rosée du soir, daughter of the palatin of Moravia, has been held captive for ten years. In love with Fridolin, she manages to escape with the help of Robin-Luron. Livid, Coloquinte calls on the kingdom of vegetables to depose Fridolin. On the way back to his castle Fridolin arranges a reception in honour of Cunégonde; they recognise each other. All is going well until the arrival of King Carotte. Through the spells of Coloquinte Carotte receives all the compliments intended for Fridolin while he is blamed for all the rudeness of Carotte.
Everyone begins to admire King Carotte; the armour demand vengeance on Fridolin who wants to sell it off. Fridolin is removed from the throne and sent into exile.
Accompanied by his faithful followers, Truck, Pipertrunck, Rosée du soir and Robin-Luron, Fridolin, reaches the place of the old magician Kiribibi to ask for his assistance and break the spell. The magician sends them off to Pompeii to find the enchanted ring which will allow them to defeat Carotte.
First he asks them to kill him to release a curse. Once returned as a young man, they leave for Pompeii. But by mistake they arrive just after the eruption of Vesuvius.
After a quartet about the ruins of all civilisations, they go off again, thanks to a magic lamp, and arrive at the living Pompeii. Thanks to a depiction of railway trains, they trick gladiators and senators and depart with the magic ring.
King Carotte is met by pedlars (Robin, Pipertrunck and Rosée in disguise) looking for Fridolin, who has disappeared, but cannot find him in the palace.
Cunégonde meets Fridolin and steals the magic ring so that he may not destroy Carotte. The witch next sends Fridolin to the land of insects, but after a swift triumph finds himself alone again.
Finally the royal band find themselves in an uprising against King Carotte, rising prices, injustice... The crowd recognises Fridolin and puts him back on the throne. Carotte is carried off by the witch.
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....
and libretto by Victorien Sardou
Victorien Sardou
Victorien Sardou was a French dramatist. He is best remembered today for his development, along with Eugène Scribe, of the well-made play...
, after E. T. A. Hoffmann. It premiered at the Théâtre de la Gaîté
Théâtre de la Gaîté (rue Papin)
In 1862 during Haussmann's modernization of Paris the Théâtre de la Gaîté of the boulevard du Temple was relocated to the rue Papin across from the Square des Arts et Métiers....
on 15 January 1872. The first run lasted 149 performances, making a daily profit of 3,000 francs, and introducing Anna Judic to a principal operetta role.
The piece required much grand spectacle and elaborate costumes, with a wide range of locations and scene changes. Although lampooning Bonapartists, monarchists and republicans
French Second Republic
The French Second Republic was the republican government of France between the 1848 Revolution and the coup by Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte which initiated the Second Empire. It officially adopted the motto Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité...
, the libretto was written before the disaster of the Franco-Prussian War
Franco-Prussian War
The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and...
. The work was seen in London in 1872 and Vienna in 1876.
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, 15 January 1872 (Conductor:) |
|---|---|---|
| Prince Fridolin XXIV | 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... |
Charles Masset |
| Princess Cunégonde | 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... |
Anna Judic Anna Judic Anne Marie-Louise Damiens, stage name Anna Judic was a French comic actress. Her ménage à trois proved the inspiration for that in the 1880 Émile Zola novel Nana.-Life:... |
| Robin-Luron | 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... |
Zulma Bouffar Zulma Bouffar Zulma Madeleine Boufflar, known as Zulma Bouffar, born Nérac 24 May 1841, died Couilly-Pont-aux-Dames 20 January 1909, was a French actress and soprano singer, associated with the opéra-bouffe of Paris in the second half of the 19th century who enjoyed a successful career around Europe.-Life and... |
| Rosée du soir | soprano | Sevestre |
| Roi Carotte | tenor | Vicini |
| The sorceress Coloquinte | mezzo-soprano | Mariani |
| Pipertrunck, chief of police | bass | Soto |
| Quiribibi, an enchanter | Aurèle | |
| Truck, grand necromancer | bass | Alexandre |
| Baron Koffre, grand paymaster | Pierre Grivot Pierre Grivot Pierre-Antonin-François Grivot, born Paris in 1834 , died 1912, was a French singer and actor who enjoyed a long career in Paris, in both operetta and opéra comique. His wife was the actress and singer Laurence Grivot.-Life and career:... |
|
| Comte Schopp, a councillor | Colleuille | |
| Comtesse Schopp, his wife | Stéphane | |
| Fieldmarshal Trac, a minister | Delorme | |
Synopsis
To save his kingdom's finances, Fridolin XXIV must wed a rich widow, Cunégonde. He awaits her with his ministers hoping to find out about her without revealing who he is.In the garret of the witch Coloquinte, Rosée du soir, daughter of the palatin of Moravia, has been held captive for ten years. In love with Fridolin, she manages to escape with the help of Robin-Luron. Livid, Coloquinte calls on the kingdom of vegetables to depose Fridolin. On the way back to his castle Fridolin arranges a reception in honour of Cunégonde; they recognise each other. All is going well until the arrival of King Carotte. Through the spells of Coloquinte Carotte receives all the compliments intended for Fridolin while he is blamed for all the rudeness of Carotte.
Everyone begins to admire King Carotte; the armour demand vengeance on Fridolin who wants to sell it off. Fridolin is removed from the throne and sent into exile.
Accompanied by his faithful followers, Truck, Pipertrunck, Rosée du soir and Robin-Luron, Fridolin, reaches the place of the old magician Kiribibi to ask for his assistance and break the spell. The magician sends them off to Pompeii to find the enchanted ring which will allow them to defeat Carotte.
First he asks them to kill him to release a curse. Once returned as a young man, they leave for Pompeii. But by mistake they arrive just after the eruption of Vesuvius.
After a quartet about the ruins of all civilisations, they go off again, thanks to a magic lamp, and arrive at the living Pompeii. Thanks to a depiction of railway trains, they trick gladiators and senators and depart with the magic ring.
King Carotte is met by pedlars (Robin, Pipertrunck and Rosée in disguise) looking for Fridolin, who has disappeared, but cannot find him in the palace.
Cunégonde meets Fridolin and steals the magic ring so that he may not destroy Carotte. The witch next sends Fridolin to the land of insects, but after a swift triumph finds himself alone again.
Finally the royal band find themselves in an uprising against King Carotte, rising prices, injustice... The crowd recognises Fridolin and puts him back on the throne. Carotte is carried off by the witch.
External links
- Le roi Carotte, L'Académie Nationale de l'Opérette.