Mam'zelle Nitouche is a vaudeville-opérette by Hervé

Hervé (composer)

Hervé , real name Louis Auguste Florimond Ronger, was a French singer, composer, librettist, conductor and scene painter, whom Ernest Newman, following Reynaldo Hahn, credited with inventing the genre of operetta in Paris.-Life:Hervé was born in Houdain near Arras...

. The libretto

Libretto

A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...

 was by Henri Meilhac

Henri Meilhac

Henri Meilhac , was a French dramatist and opera librettist.-Biography:Meilhac was born in Paris in 1831. As a young man, he began writing fanciful articles for Parisian newspapers and vaudevilles, in a vivacious boulevardier spirit which brought him to the forefront...

 and Albert Millaud.

Performance history

It was first performed at the Théâtre des Variétés

Théâtre des Variétés

The Théâtre des Variétés is a theatre and "salle de spectacles" at 7, boulevard Montmartre, 2nd arrondissement, in Paris. It was declared a monument historique in 1975.-History:...

, Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 on 26 January 1883.

Roles

Role	Voice type	Premiere Cast, 26 January 1883 (Conductor:)
Denise de Flavigny, called "Mam'zelle Nitouche"	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:...
Major, comte de Château-Gibus	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...	Christian Perrin
The director	bass	Édouard Georges
Célestin, an organist	baritone	Baron Louis Baron Louis Baron, , stage name Baron, was a French actor and singer , born in September 1838 at Alençon, died in 1920....
Fernand de Champlatreux, lieutenant	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...	Henri Venderjench 'Cooper'
Loriot, a brigadier	tenor	Léonce Léonce Édouard-Théodore Nicole , known as Léonce, was a French actor and singer.-Biography:Léonce was born in Paris. After studying law, he made his stage debut at the Théâtre de Belleville....
Mother Superior	contralto Contralto Contralto is the deepest female classical singing voice, with the lowest tessitura, falling between tenor and mezzo-soprano. It typically ranges between the F below middle C to the second G above middle C , although at the extremes some voices can reach the E below middle C or the second B above...	Rosine Maurel
Corinne, an actress	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...	Baumaine
Gustave, an officer		Duminil
Robert, an officer		Hérissier
The steward		Thierry
'La tourière'		Meyriani
Gimblette, an actress		Marguerite
Lydie, an actress		Caro
Sylvia, an actress		Dutaillis

Synopsis

The story is set provincial France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 sometime in the 19th century. The major character is Denise de Flavigny, a young nun. She discovers a double-life of an organist

Organist

An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists...

 Célestin, who teaches her music at the convent. He secretly composes popular operettas for his mistress Corinne.

When Célestin sneaks off to the city to witness the premiere

Premiere

A premiere is generally "a first performance". This can refer to plays, films, television programs, operas, symphonies, ballets and so on. Premieres for theatrical, musical and other cultural presentations can become extravagant affairs, attracting large numbers of socialites and much media...

 of his latest effort, Denise escapes as well. Following a quarrel of Célestin and Corinne, Denise appears on the stage

Stage (theatre)

In theatre or performance arts, the stage is a designated space for the performance productions. The stage serves as a space for actors or performers and a focal point for the members of the audience...

. She nicknames herself Mam'zelle Nitouche. Denise falls in love with Fernand, a handsome young soldier. Both Denise and Celestin are accidentally shipped off to an army camp. A series of coincidences brings happiness to all concerned.

Films

Mam'zelle Nitouche was made into films in 1931, directed by Marc Allégret

Marc Allégret

Marc Allégret was a French screenwriter and film director.Born in Basel, Basel-Stadt, Switzerland, he was the elder brother of Yves Allégret. Marc was educated to be a lawyer. Allégret became André Gide's lover when he was fifteen and Gide was forty-seven...

, and in 1954, directed by Yves Allégret

Yves Allégret

Yves Allégret was a French film director in the film noir genre.He is noted as having been the husband of actress Simone Signoret between the years 1944–1949.-Selected filmography:...

 with Fernandel

Fernandel

Fernand Joseph Désiré Contandin , better known as Fernandel, was a French actor and singer. Born in Marseille, France, he was a comedy star who first gained popularity in French vaudeville, operettas, and music-hall revues...

 (Mam'zelle Nitouche (1954 film)

Mam'zelle Nitouche (1954 film)

Mam'zelle Nitouche , is a French comedy film from 1954, directed by Yves Allégret, written by Marcel Achard, starring Fernandel and Louis de Funès.- Cast :* Fernandel : Célestin, the organist and Floridor the compositor...

).

The Danish film Frøken Nitouche

Frøken Nitouche

Frøken Nitouche is a 1963 Danish comedy film directed by Annelise Reenberg and starring Lone Hertz. Based on Mam'zelle Nitouche-Cast:* Lone Hertz - Frk...

from 1963 is based on this work.

Nebesnye lastochki (aka Swallows in the Sky or Heavenly Swallows), Soviet movie, 1976, directed by Leonid Kvinikhidze, scenarplay by Leonid Kvinikhidze, with Andrei Mironov.http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9D%D0%B5%D0%B1%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%BD%D1%8B%D0%B5_%D0%BB%D0%B0%D1%81%D1%82%D0%BE%D1%87%D0%BA%D0%B8_%28%D1%84%D0%B8%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%BC%29