| Une folie | |
|---|---|
| Opéra-comiquebyÉtienne Méhul | |
Dozainville as Francisque, sketch by Jean Duplessi-Bertaux, 1807
| |
| Librettist | Jean-Nicolas Bouilly |
| Language | French |
| Premiere | |
Une folie is an opera by the French composer Étienne Méhul. It takes the form of a comédie en vers mêlée de musique (anopéra-comique) in two acts. It premiered at the Opéra-Comique in Paris on 5 April 1802. The libretto is by Jean-Nicolas Bouilly.[1] The work was a popular success and enjoyed several revivals, despite some hostile reviews.[2] It was around this time, claimed Bouilly, that Méhul fought a duel with and wounded a journalist who had harshly criticised him.[3]
| Role | Voice type[4] | Premiere Cast[5] |
|---|---|---|
| Cerberti, a famous painter, guardian of Armantine | baritone[6] | Jean-Pierre Solié |
| Armantine, a young orphan | soprano | Mlle Philis ainée |
| Florival, an aide-de-camp, captain of hussars | taille (baritenor) | Jean Elleviou |
| Carlin, Florival's valet | baritone[6] | Jean-Blaise Martin |
| Francisque, an old pigment grinder, in Cerberti's service | taille | Baptiste-Pierre Dardel, called Dozainville |
| Jacquinet-la-Treille, a young Picard villager, nephew and godson of Francisque | haute-contre | Mr. Le Sage |
| A hussar | spoken | Mr. Allair |
Florival is in love with Armantine, the ward of the Italian painter Cerberti. At first he tries to deceive Cerberti by disguising himself as a Flemish art merchant but he is discovered. In the second act, Florival's valet pretends to be the nephew of an old servant of Cerberti's from Picardy. He persuades Cerberti to use Florival as a model for a painting of Bayard alongside Armantine. Florival's identity is betrayed but he is defiant, as is Armantine, who claims she is free to choose who she marries. Cerberti has no choice but to consent.
Louis Spohr wrote his Variations on "Je suis encore dans mon printemps" for harp (Op. 36) based on the aria in Act 1, Scene 2.
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