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| Geneviève de Brabant | |
|---|---|
| Opéra bouffe by Jacques Offenbach | |
 Geneviève de Brabant characters as drawn by Yves Marevéry | |
| Librettist | |
| Language | French |
| Based on | Legend of Genevieve of Brabant. |
| Premiere | 19 November 1859 |
Geneviève de Brabant is an opéra bouffe, or operetta, by Jacques Offenbach, first performed in Paris in 1859. The plot is based on the medieval legend of Genevieve of Brabant.
For the 1867 version two additional characters, men-at-arms, were added to Act 2 and given a comic duet, in English-speaking countries widely known as the "Gendarmes' Duet" or the "bold gendarmes", from H. B. Farnie's English adaptation. As well as being a popular performance piece, it formed the basis for the U.S. "Marines' Hymn".
Performance history
The two-act French libretto was written by Louis-Adolphe Jaime and Étienne Tréfeu, and the opera was first staged at the Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens, Paris, on 19 November 1859. A new three-act version (in which the "Gendarmes' Duet" first appeared), revised by Hector-Jonathan Crémieux, was first given at the Théâtre des Menus-Plaisirs, Paris, on 26 December 1867. An expanded five-act version was devised for a production at the Théâtre de la Gaîté on 25 February 1875. A Paris revival in 1908 at the Théâtre des Variétés with Geneviève Vix in the title role ran for 58 nights.[1]
Geneviève de Brabant was first performed in Vienna (Die schöne Magellone) and Berlin in 1861 and Brussels and Madrid in 1869.[2]
The New York premiere was on 22 October 1868, and Farnie's version was first seen in London at the Philharmonic Theatre in Islington, produced by and starring Emily Soldene as Drogan, with Selina Dolaro in the title role, on 11 November 1871. The production ran for a year and a half,[3] and revivals took place over the following decade with Soldene repeating her Drogan.[1]
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere cast, 19 November 1859, (Conductor: Jacques Offenbach)[4][5] |
Revised version in three acts Premiere cast 26 December 1867 (Conductor: Jacques Offenbach)[4][6] |
Revised version in five acts Premiere cast 25 February 1875 (Conductor: Jacques Offenbach)[7][8] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sifroid (1859) / Sifroy (1867, 1875) Duke of Curaçao, husband of Geneviève | tenor | Léonce | Gourdon | Habay |
| Golo | baritone | Désiré | Daniel Bac | Christian |
| Vanderprout, bourgmeister | tenor | – | Le Riche | Grivot |
| Charles Martel, King of France | bass | Guyot | Le Sage | Legrenay |
| Almanzor | Duvernoy | – | – | |
| Le jeune Arthur | Bonnet | – | – | |
| Pitou, Private gendarme | bass | – | Émile Gabel | Émile Gabel |
| Grabuge, Sergeant gendarme | bass | – | Paul Ginet | Scipion |
| Narcisse, poet | tenor | Desmonts | Lignel | Montaubry |
| Premier savant | Jean-Paul | – | – | |
| Deuxième savant | Tautin | – | – | |
| Péterpip | – | Leroy | Jean-Paul | |
| Saladin | – | Destroges | – | |
| Don Quichotte | – | Perron | – | |
| Renaud de Montauban | – | Gustave | – | |
| L'ermite du Ravin | – | Deschamps | Thérésa | |
| Stockfish | – | – | Colleuille | |
| Raoul | – | – | Meyronnet | |
| Don Juan | – | – | Gaspard | |
| Almaviva | – | – | Henry | |
| Hercule | – | – | Chevalier | |
| Othello | – | – | Gally | |
| Barbe-Bleue | – | – | Victor | |
| Roméo | – | – | Mallet | |
| Hector | – | – | Alexandre fils | |
| Hogier | – | – | Paulin | |
| Arnold | – | – | Barsagol | |
| Mathieu Laensberg | soprano | Lise Tautin | – | – |
| Gratioso (1859) /
Drogan (1867, 1875) |
soprano | Zulma Bouffar | Denise Matz-Ferrare | |
| Le chevalier noir | – | – | ||
| Isoline (1859, 1867) /
Biscotte (1875) |
soprano | Vallière | Thérésa | |
| La bohémienne | soprano | – | – | |
| Geneviève | soprano | Mareshal | Baudier | Berthe Perret |
| Églantine (1859) / Brigitte (1867, 1875) Geneviève's confidant | Chabert | De Brigny-Varney | Angèle | |
| Ugolin | – | – | ||
| Lahire | Marie Cico | – | (M.) Henry | |
| Clé de sol | – | – | ||
| Blondette | Rose-Deschamps | – | – | |
| Lancelot | Léone | – | Jules Vizentini | |
| Irma | Naldy | – | – | |
| Silvia | Lasserre | – | – | |
| Edwige | Taffanel | – | – | |
| Premier page | Kid | – | – | |
| Deuxième page | Jeanne | – | – | |
| Gilda | Fassio | – | – | |
| Marthe | Lécuyer | – | – | |
| Christine | – | Collas | E. Gilbert | |
| Barberine | – | – | ||
| Gudule | – | Gourdon | Maury | |
| Grudelinde | – | – | ||
| Faroline | – | Colombe | Julia H. | |
| Irénée | – | – | ||
| Houblonne | – | Rose Bruyère | Durieu | |
| Griselis | – | – | ||
| Dorothée | – | Louisa | Baudu | |
| Yolande | – | Yriart | ||
| Gretchen, Rodogune | – | A. Rolland | – | |
| Rosemonde | – | Guyas | – | |
| Madame Armide | – | Jacobus | Thérésa | |
| Bradamante | – | Antoinette | – | |
| Dulcinée | – | Lalouvière | – | |
| Bibiane | – | – | Castello | |
| Fideline | – | – | Davenay | |
| Margotte | – | – | Godin | |
| Charlotte | – | – | Albouy | |
| Maguelonne | – | – | Gobert | |
| Ursule | – | – | Vernet | |
| Régine | – | – | Moralès | |
| Nanny | – | – | Capet | |