Une folie

Une folie is an opera by the French composer Étienne Méhul. It takes the form of a comédie en vers mêlée de musique (an opéra-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]

Une folie
Opéra-comique by Étienne Méhul
Dozainville as Francisque, sketch by Jean Duplessi-Bertaux, 1807
LibrettistJean-Nicolas Bouilly
LanguageFrench
Premiere
5 April 1802 (1802-04-05)
Opéra-Comique, Paris

Roles
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

Synopsis
Méhul in 1799; portrait by Antoine Gros

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.

Arrangements

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.

References
  1. Bartlet, p.xiii
  2. Pougin, pp.216-217
  3. Adélaïde de Place, p.117
  4. According to the score clefs.
  5. According to the original libretto.
  6. Both Solié and Martin were high baritones: the former had begun his career as a tenor, the latter gave rise to a new type of French light baritone, called 'baryton-Martin' after him. However, having the baritone clef fallen into disuse at the beginning of the Eighteenth Century, both Cerberti and Carlin parts are notated, as usual, in the bass clef.

Sources
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