Si j'étais roi is an opéra-comique

Opéra-Comique

The Opéra-Comique is a Parisian opera company, which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with, and for a time took the name of its chief rival the Comédie-Italienne at the Hôtel de Bourgogne, and was also called the...

 in three acts by Adolphe Adam

Adolphe Adam

Adolphe Charles Adam was a French composer and music critic. A prolific composer of operas and ballets, he is best known today for his ballets Giselle and Le corsaire , his operas Le postillon de Lonjumeau , Le toréador and Si j'étais roi , and his Christmas...

. The libretto was written by Adolphe d'Ennery

Adolphe d'Ennery

Adolphe Philippe d'Ennery or Dennery was a French Jewish dramatist and novelist.Born in Paris, his real surname was Philippe...

 and Jules-Henri Brésil

Jules Brésil

Jules-Henri Brésil was a French writer who collaborated with Adolphe d'Ennery on the librettos of at least two operas, namely the following:*Si j'étais roi, music by Adolphe Adam...

. It was first performed in Paris at the Théâtre Lyrique

Théâtre Lyrique

The Théâtre Lyrique was one of four opera companies performing in Paris during the middle of the 19th century . The company was founded in 1847 as the Opéra-National by the French composer Adolphe Adam and renamed Théâtre Lyrique in 1852...

 (Théâtre-Historique, Boulevard du Temple) on 4 September 1852, opening with a dual cast to allow performance on successive evenings (it made up half of all performances at the Théâtre Lyrique in the last four months of the year and reached over 170 performances in its first ten years). The production was considered lavish, with expensive costumes and jewels being worn by the cast.

It was then staged in Brussels

Brussels

Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...

 (1853), New Orleans (1856), Turin

Turin

Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...

 (1858) and Soerabaya (1864).

Though less popular than Le postillon de Lonjumeau

Le postillon de Lonjumeau

Le postillon de Lonjumeau is an opéra-comique in three acts by Adolphe Adam to a French libretto by 'Adolphe de Leuven' and 'Brunswick' ....

, it is often regarded as Adam's finest work. The well-developed overture was quite popular, particularly on recordings. Vocal highlights include the soprano air "De vos nobles aïeux" and the couplets for baritone "Dans le sommeil, l'amour".

Roles

Role	Voice type Voice type A voice type is a particular kind of human singing voice perceived as having certain identifying qualities or characteristics. Voice classification is the process by which human voices are evaluated and are thereby designated into voice types...	Premiere Cast, 4 September 1852 (Conductor: — )
Néméa, Princess of Goa, daughter of the King of Noa	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...	Pauline-Désirée Dejon
Zélide, Zéphoris's sister	soprano	Louise Rouvroy
Zéphoris, a fisherman	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...	Tallon
Moussol, King of Goa, father of Néméa	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...	Pierre-Marie Laurent
Prince Kadoor, minister of the king	bass Bass (voice type) A bass is a type of male singing voice and possesses the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, a bass is typically classified as having a range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C...	François-Marcel Junca
Piféar, a fisherman	tenor	Horace Menjaud, fils
Zizel, beach policeman	bass	Ernest Leroy
Atar, a minister	bass	Lemaire
Fishermen, fishermen’s wives, the court, servants, citizens, counsellors, priests

Act I

At dawn on the beach; Zizel has to be bribed to stop him arresting some of the fishermen. A few months before the action starts, Zéphoris, a young fisherman in Goa, had rescued a young woman from drowning, recovering the ring which she lost. Zéphoris recounts the story to his sister Zélide and his friend Piféar; when King Moussol and his court pass, Zéphoris recognises the beautiful woman as a princess in the retinue : Néméa.
Prince Kadoor notices Zéphoris and forces him not to reveal to Néméa the secret of the her ring and saviour. After Kadoor has convinced the king that he saved the princess (as she has sworn to wed the man who saved her - although she dislikes Kadoor), he demands that Zéphoris leave the village.
Zéphoris is heartbroken, and lies down and dreams that he may become a king - rather than a poor fisherman - so that he could be worthy of marrying Néméa. The king, hearing this and seeing him asleep, decides to play a game, and has him carried off to the palace.

Act II

Zéphoris awakens the next day in the throne room of the palace of Moussol in royal garments, and everyone treats him like a king. He enjoys the situation, convenes his court and passes laws to assist the fishermen. However, announcing his marriage to the princess Néméa goes too far, and the king gives a sleeping draught to Zéphoris and has him returned to his hut.

Act III

In Tableau 1, Zéphoris, back in his poor fishing-hut, believes he must have dreamt everything. His sister Zélide tries to console him, but Néméa arrives to tell him that it was not a dream, and when Kadoor enters with assassins to rid himself of his rival she declares that she is in love with Zéphoris. The king and his court arrive on the scene and discover Kadoor’s treachery to conspire with the Portuguese warships off the coast.

Tableau 2 is set in a square in the town of Goa; after victory over the Portuguese, the king agrees to the union of Néméa and Zéphoris.

Selected Recording

Si j'étais roi. Liliane Berton

Liliane Berton

Liliane Berton was a French soprano, known principally on the opera stage, but also active in radio recordings and as a teacher.-Career:...

(Néméa), André Mallabrera (Zéphoris), René Bianco (Moussol), Henri Medus (Kadoor), Pierre Heral (Zizel), Bernard Alvi (Piféar), Andrée Gabriel (Zélide). Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire, conducted by Richard Blareau (1960). Universal Classics, France.