La caravane du Caire
Music by André Grétry · libretto by Étienne Morel de Chédeville · premiered 1783 · at Palace of Fontainebleau
La Caravane du Caire is an opera or opéra-ballet in three acts by André Grétry, set to a libretto by Étienne Morel de Chédeville. Tradition has it that either the libretto was partially written or the idea of it was allegedly suggested by the Count of Provence, who would go down in history as Louis XVIII. The opera was first performed at the Palace of Fontainebleau on 30 October 1783 and had its public premiere at the Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin, the period venue of the Paris Opera, on 15 January 1784. It was the most successful of Grétry's large-scale works that are lighter in tone: it received over 500 performances at the Paris Opera up to 1829, being billed every year between 1785 and 1791, and, except for 1818, between 1806 and 1828, besides enjoying further irregular stagings during the Revolutionary period.
Text from the Wikipedia article "La caravane du Caire", licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
About the Composer
André Ernest Modeste Grétry (French: [gʁɛtʁi]; baptised 11 February 1741; died 24 September 1813) was a composer from the Prince-Bishopric of Liège (present-day Belgium), who worked from 1767 onwards in France and took French nationality. He is most famous for his opéras comiques. His music influenced Mozart and Beethoven both of whom wrote variations on his works.
Text from the Wikipedia article "André Grétry", licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Other Operas by André Grétry
- Guillaume Tell
- Le tableau parlant
- Les mariages samnites
- Andromaque (1735)
- Lucile (1769)
- Céphale et Procris (1773)
- Le magnifique (1773)
- L'amant jaloux (1778)