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.Loewenberg 1978, column 774. 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.
Roles RoleVoice typePremiere Cast, 16 December 1835Cast from Wolff 1953, p. 227; full names and spelling from Jowers and Cavanagh 2000, pp. 471–473, 493.(Conductor: Henri ValentinoPougin 1880; Chouquet 1889.)GeorgetenorJoseph-Antoine-Charles CoudercHenriettesopranoAmélie Miro-CamoinLyoneltenorJean-Baptiste CholletMadame DarbelsopranoFélicité Pradher, née More
Synopsis Place: Contemporary Boston Time:
It recounts the amours of the Englishman George and the American Lyonel for two sisters, Henriette and the widow Mme. Darbel. These are complicated by everyone being a bit indecisive and variable in their choice of preferred partner, and then further complicated by the temporary blindness suffered by Lyonel when he is struck by lightning in a thunderstorm.
References Notes
Sources Chouquet, Gustave (1889). "Valentino, Henri Justin Armand Joseph", vol. 4, p. 214, in A Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 4 volumes. London: Macmillan. Jordan, Ruth (1996), Fromental Halévy: His Life and Music, 1799–1862, pp. 76–78. London: Kahn & Averill. . Jowers, Sidney Jackson; Cavanagh, John (2000), Theatrical Costume, Masks, Make-up and Wigs: A Bibliography and Iconography. London: Routledge. . Loewenberg, Alfred (1978). Annals of Opera 1597–1940 (third edition, revised). Totowa, New Jersey: Rowman and Littlefield. . Pougin, Arthur (1880). "Valentino (Henri-Justin-Joseph)", pp. 597–598, in Biographie universelle des musiciens et Bibliographie générale de la musique par F.-J. Fétis. Supplément et complément, vol. 2. Paris: Firmin-Didot. View at Google Books. Wolff, Stéphane (1953), Un demi-siècle d'Opéra-Comique (1900-1950). Paris: André Bonne.
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