Le voyage dans la lune (opera-féerie)

Genesis The idea for the work was presented to Offenbach while he was head (director) of the Théâtre de la Gaîté, but due to the need to raise the necessary money he did not take up the project. Eventually Albert Vizentini, the new directeur of the Gaîté, took up the idea, and Offenbach's contribution was limited to that of composer. Albert Vanloo and Eugène Leterrier, in association with Arnold Mortier (columnist at Le Figaro), wrote the libretto. They were hoping for a repeat of the success of the novels of Jules Verne (another, the 1872 novel Le Tour du monde en quatre-vingt jours, had been adapted for the stage at the Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin by Verne himself in 1874) and the public taste for grand spectacles. A few days after the premiere of Voyage dans la lune, Jules Verne complained about its similarities to his work: "Two days after the first production of Voyage à la lune the loans to the authors from From the Earth to the Moon as the point of departure and from "Centre of the Earth" as the dénouement seem to me incontestable.". This dispute does not seem to have continued, or may have been settled amicably, for by 1877, Offenbach based his Le docteur Ox on another Jules Verne novel, with his agreement. Siegfried Kracauer views Voyage dans la lune as a demonstration of Offenbach's flair for topicality, and here "mixing science and fairy-tales, and building modern Utopias into the traditional framework of the pantomime". This included a huge gun to send the characters to the Moon in the first act, a fantastic evocation of life on the Moon, and a volcanic eruption in the fourth act. Production (Vlan) and Zulma Bouffar (Prince Caprice) in Le voyage dans la Lune, in the charlatans scene. The première of the opéra-féerie Le voyage dans la lune occurred on 26 November 1875 at Théâtre de la Gaîté in Paris. The French correspondent for The Times wrote "The piece is, I think, a success, less great, probably, than that of [the 1874 play] Le Tour de monde en quatre-vingt jours but which will be marked." No expense had been spared on the scenery – the 24 majestic sets by Cornil, Fromont and Chéret replicated places (such as the Observatory of Paris, a high-furnace, a lunar passage or a volcano) and created original architectural conceits (such as a glass palace or mother-of-pearl galleries). The use of "trucs", trap-doors and artifices accentuated the surprise-effects on the spectators. The producers even borrowed a dromedary from the Jardin d'Acclimatation. The 673 costumes were designed by Alfred Grévin, and the two ballets choreographed by M. Justament. The principal roles were taken by Zulma Bouffar (in the principal boy role of Prince Caprice – reviews stated she "sang with esprit and acted with intelligence and finesse"), Christian (Vlan), Pierre Grivot (Microscope), Tissier (Cosmos) et Mlle Marcus (Fantasia). At the première, the Ronde des Charlatans, interpreted by Zulma Bouffar and Christian, won an encore. The front of the theatre had a large model of the Moon to advertise the new opera. The success of the show, whose première raised 3,898 francs, led to the theatre's receipts passing 10,018 francs with its seventh performance. Le Voyage dans la Lune left its mark on the year in which it first appeared: seven Parisian winter revues in 1875–1876 made reference to it (Voyage de la Lune à Paris, Mme Angot dans la Lune, Le Voyage du Soleil, Les Voyageurs pour Belleville, Les Voyageurs pour la Lune, Allons voir la Lune, mon gars!, La Lune à Paris). The rôle of Caprice was portrayed by Mme Peschard from 16 December 1875 until 16 February 1876, since Zulma Bouffar had to honour a two-month engagement at Saint Petersburg. From 28 February 1876, the rôle of Popotte returned to Thérésa. For her, Offenbach added four airs to the score. Le Figaro noted: "Thérésa and her songs produced a great effect. There were two especially, in the third act, that she detailed with an exquisite finesse and art." Le Voyage dans la Lune was also put on in London at the Alhambra Theatre on 15 April 1876, and Vienna at the Theater an der Wien on 16 April 1876. The last performance at the Théâtre de la Gaîté occurred on 25 April 1876 after 185 performances and 965,000 francs in ticket receipts. The work was revived within the year at the Théâtre du Châtelet from 31 March 1877 with many of the original cast. After two months, with ticket receipts of 226,457 francs, its 247th and last performance night was on 31 May 1877. Later performance history In 1980 Jérôme Savary made a production for the Komische Oper Berlin which was also seen in Cologne. In December 1985 the Grand Theatre in Geneva staged another production by Savary, described as "non-stop pantomime peppered with deliberate bad taste", with Marc Soustrot conducting the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Joseph Evans as Caprice, Marie McLaughlin as Fantasia, Michel Trempont as Vlan, Richard Cassinelli as Quipassparla and Jules Bastin as Cosmos. In 2014 a co-production between Fribourg Opera, the Opéra de Lausanne and Opéra Éclaté was seen at the 34th Festival de Saint-Céré. There were performances at Opéra de Reims in 2016 directed by Olivier Desbordes and conducted by Dominique Trottein. In January 2023 a new production with adapted dialogue was seen at the Opéra-Comique in Paris using members of the house's youth programme, conducted by Alexandra Cravero and staged by Laurent Pelly where a "mad world of the moon is a reflection of mayhem on earth". This production was later mounted at the Volksoper in Vienna in November 2023, again using studio, youth and children groups. ==Roles==