Colinette à la cour

Portrait of Mme Granier in the role of Colinette à la cour (Act I, Scene VII), painting by Adèle Romany, 1814
The composer André Grétry

La double épreuve, ou Colinette à la cour, is a comédie lyrique (comic opera) in three acts written by André Grétry in 1782 to a French libretto by Jean-Baptiste Lourdet de Santerre, based on Charles Simon Favart's Ninette à la cour [fr].[1]

Performance history

It was first performed on 1 January 1782 by the Académie Royale de Musique (Paris Opera) at the Théâtre de la Porte-Saint-Martin, and included choreography by Maximilien Gardel.[2]

Roles

Role Voice type Premiere Cast, 1 January 1782[3]
(Conductor: - )
Prince Alphonse, Duke of Milan tenor Étienne Lainez
Countess Amelie soprano Marie-Josephine Laguerre
Julien, in love with Colinette basse-taille (bass-baritone) Auguste-Athanase (Augustin) Chéron
Colinette soprano Josèphe-Eulalie Audinot
Bastien, in love with Justine baritone François Lays (also spelled Lay or Laïs)
Justine soprano Anne-Marie-Jeanne Gavaudan [fr] "l'aînée"
Mathurine, Justine's mother soprano Suzanne Joinville
The bailiff haute-contre[4] M Tirot (also spelled Thirot)
A shepherd ? ?
A shepherdess soprano Mlle Rosalie
A gipsy baritone François Lays
A gipsy woman soprano Anne-Marie Jeanne Gavaudan "aînée"
A child, representing Cupid soprano Mlle Nanine
A boy of the village ? M Touvois
Fabrice, a confidant of the Prince basse-taille (bass-baritone) M. Moreau
A lady-in-waiting soprano Gertrude Girardin
An old man haute-contre[5] M Jalaguier

References

Notes
  1. ^ Bartlet 1992.
  2. ^ Pitou, vol. 1 (1983), p. 30 (theatre); vol. 2 (1985), pp. 169–170, 568 (choreographer).
  3. ^ According to the original libretto and Pitou 1985, vol. 2, p. 170.
  4. ^ Les spectacles de Paris, ou calendrier historique & chronologique des Théatres ..., 27th volume, Paris, Duchesne, 1777, p. 13.
  5. ^ Les spectacles de Paris, ou calendrier historique & chronologique des Théatres ..., 27th volume, Paris, Duchesne, 1777, p. 15.
Sources
  • Original libretto: La Double Épreuve, ou Colinette à la cour, comédie lyrique en trois actes, Paris, De Lormel, 1782 (accessible online in books google)
  • Bartlet, M Elizabeth C (1992), 'Grétry, André-Ernest-Modeste' (work-list) in The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, ed. Stanley Sadie (London) ISBN 0-333-73432-7
  • Bibliographic summary
  • André E. M. Grétry Opera Score Collection
  • Pitou, Spire (1983–1990). The Paris Opéra: An Encyclopedia of Operas, Ballets, Composers, and Performers (3 volumes). Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. ISBN 978-0-686-46036-7.