L'Éclair
Music by Fromental Halévy · libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges · premiered 1835 · at Opéra-Comique
L'Éclair (The Lightning Flash) is an opéra comique in 3 acts by Fromental Halévy to a libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges. L'Éclair was premiered by the Paris Opéra-Comique at the Salle de la Bourse on 16 December 1835; Jacques Offenbach was a cellist in the orchestra. The opera was well received which placed Halévy in the unusual position of having two simultaneous successes on the Paris stage (the other being his grand opera masterpiece, La Juive). It was first performed in the United States on 16 February 1837 at the Théâtre d'Orléans in New Orleans. It remained popular in the 19th century (Emma Calvé sang in it in 1885) and has been revived in modern times. Some of its arias (including the tenor aria 'Quand de la nuit') have been recorded.
Text from the Wikipedia article "L", licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
About the Composer
Jacques-François-Fromental-Élie Halévy, usually known as Fromental Halévy (French: [fʁɔmɑ̃tal alevi]; 27 May 1799 – 17 March 1862), was a French opera composer, widely regarded in his lifetime as one of the central figures of 19th-century French music. A student of Luigi Cherubini, he achieved his first major triumph with La Juive (1835), a cornerstone of the grand opéra repertoire, and which Gustav Mahler considered one of the greatest operas ever written. The 368th performance of La Juive inaugurated the new Paris opera house, the Palais Garnier, in 1875. Halévy's bust stands on the façade, with the inscription "Poésie lyrique" above it. During the following two decades, Halévy became a…
Text from the Wikipedia article "Fromental Halévy", licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Other Operas by Fromental Halévy
- L'artisan (1827)
- Clari (1828)
- La Juive (1835)
- Guido et Ginevra (1838)
- La reine de Chypre (1841)
- Charles VI (1843)
- La magicienne (1858)
- Jaguarita l'Indienne (1863)