La Fille de Madame Angot (; Madame Angot's Daughter) is an opéra comique in three acts by Charles Lecocq with words by Clairville, Paul Siraudin and Victor Koning. It was premiered in Brussels in December 1872 and soon became a success in Paris, London, New York and across continental Europe. Along with Robert Planquette's Les Cloches de Corneville, La Fille de Madame Angot was the most successful work of the French-language musical theatre in the last three decades of the 19th century, and outperformed other noted international hits such as H.M.S. Pinafore and Die Fledermaus.
The opera depicts the romantic exploits of Clairette, a young Parisian florist, engaged to one man but in love with another, and up against a richer and more powerful rival for the latter's attentions. Unlike some more risqué French comic operas of the era, the plot of La Fille de Madame Angot proved exportable to more strait-laced countries without the need for extensive rewriting, and Lecocq's score was received with enthusiasm wherever it was played.
Although few other works by Lecocq have remained in the general operatic repertory, La Fille de Madame Angot is still revived from time to time.
Background During the Second Empire, Jacques Offenbach had dominated the sphere of comic opera in France, and Lecocq had struggled for recognition.Andrew Lamb. "Lecocq, (Alexandre) Charles", Grove Music Online, Oxford University Press. Retrieved 20 September 2018 Defeat in the Franco-Prussian War in 1870 brought the Empire down, and Offenbach, who was inextricably associated in the public mind with it, became unpopular and went briefly into exile.Faris, p. 164; and Yon, p. 396 Lecocq's rise coincided with Offenbach's temporary eclipse. Before the war his only substantial success had been Fleur-de-Thé (Tea-flower) a three-act opéra-bouffe in 1868. After moving to Brussels at the start of the war, Lecocq had two substantial successes there in a row. The first, the opérette Les Cent Vierges (The Hundred Virgins), ran for months at the Théâtre des Fantaisies-Parisiennes;Kenrick, John "Stage Musical Chronology, 1870 to 1874", Musicals101. Retrieved 28 October 2018 productions quickly followed in Paris, London, New York, Vienna and Berlin.Gänzl and Lamb, pp. 330–331 The success of this piece led Eugène Humbert, the director of the Brussels theatre, to commission another from Lecocq.
Possibly at Humbert's suggestion, Lecocq's librettists set the piece in Directory Paris in the later years of the French Revolution, an unfamiliar setting for a comic opera. Their characters, though essentially fictional, incorporate elements of real people from the Revolutionary period. The régime was headed by Paul Barras, who does not appear in the opera but is an offstage presence. Mademoiselle Lange was a prominent actress and anti-government activist, but there is no evidence that the historical figure was Barras's mistress as she is in the opera.Pourvoyeur, Robert. "La fille de Madame Angot", Opérette – Théâtre Musical, Académie Nationale de l'Opérette. Retrieved 28 October 2018 There was a real activist called Ange Pitou (fictionalised in a novel by Dumas), but he had no known connection with Mlle. Lange. The black collars, used as a badge by the conspirators in the opera, are a reference to a song by the historical Pitou, "Les collets noirs".Amann, p. 122 The heroine's mother, Madame Angot – the formidable market woman with aspirations – is fictional, but was not the invention of the librettists, being a stock character in stage comedy of the Revolutionary period.Lyons, p. 136
First performances The opera was first presented at the Fantaisies-Parisiennes on 4 December 1872, and ran for more than 500 performances. In Paris, where it opened on 21 February 1873 at the Théâtre des Folies-Dramatiques, it enjoyed a run of 411 performances,"Le succès au théâtre", Le Figaro, 23 August 1891, p. 2 and set box-office records for the receipts. Productions quickly followed in theatres throughout France: within a year of the opening of the Paris production, the work was given in 103 French cities and towns.
Original cast
RoleVoice typePremiere Cast, 4 December 1872 (Conductor: Warnotz)Mademoiselle Lange, actress and favourite of Barrasmezzo-sopranoMarie DesclauzasClairette Angot, betrothed to PomponnetsopranoPauline LuiginiLarivaudière, friend of Barras, conspiring against the RepublicbaritoneCharlieu/ChambéryPomponnet, barber of the market and hairdresser of Mlle Lange tenorAlfred JollyAnge Pitou, a poet in love with ClairettetenorMario WidmerLouchard, police officer at the orders of LarivaudièrebassJacques ErnotteAmarante, market womanmezzo-sopranoJane DelormeJavotte, market womanmezzo-sopranoGiulietta Borghese (Juliette Euphrosine Bourgeois)Hersillie, a servant of Mlle. LangesopranoCamilleTrenitz, dandy of the period, officer of the HussarstenorTouzéBabet, Clairette's servantsopranoPaulineCadetbaritoneNoéGuillaume, market mantenor OmetzButeaux, market manbassDurieux
Synopsis Act 1 The scene of the opera is Directoire Paris, 1794; the Reign of Terror is over, but Paris is still a dangerous place for opponents of the government. The heroine is a charming young florist called Clairette. She is the daughter of Madame Angot, a former market woman of Les Halles, who was famous for her beauty, her amorous adventures and her sharp tongue. She died when Clairette was three, and the child was brought up by multiple adoptive parents from Les Halles, and given a fine education at a prestigious school.
A marriage with Pomponnet, a sweet and gentle hairdresser, has been arranged for her against her wishes, for she is in love with Ange Pitou, a dashing poet and political activist, who is continually in trouble with the authorities. His latest song lyric, "Jadis les rois", satirises the relations between Mlle. Lange – an actress and the mistress of Barras – and Barras's supposed friend Larivaudière. The latter has paid Pitou to suppress the song but Clairette gets hold it and, to avoid her marriage with Pomponnet, sings it publicly and is, as she expects, arrested so that her wedding is unavoidably postponed.
Act 2 Lange summons the girl to learn the reason for her attack and is surprised to recognise her as an old schoolfriend. Pomponnet loudly protests Clairette's innocence and says that Ange Pitou is the author of the verses. Lange already knows of Pitou and is not unmindful of his charms. He has been invited to her presence and arrives while Clairette is there and the interview is marked with more than cordiality. The jealous Larivaudière appears meanwhile and, to clear herself, Lange declares that Pitou and Clairette are lovers and have come to the house to join in a meeting of anti-government conspirators to be held at midnight. Clairette discovers that she does not enjoy a monopoly of Pitou's affections, and that he is dallying with Lange.
The conspirators arrive in due time, but in the middle of proceedings, the house is surrounded by Hussars; Lange hides the badges of the conspirators, "collars black and tawny wigs", and the affair takes on the appearance of nothing more dangerous than a ball. The Hussars join gaily in the dance.
Act 3 To avenge herself, Clairette invites all of Les Halles to a ball, to which she lures Lange and Pitou by writing each a forged letter, seemingly signed by the other. At the ball Pitou and Lange are unmasked, Larivaudière is enraged, but realises he must hush matters up to save Barras from scandal. After a lively duet in which the two young women quarrel vigorously there is a general mêlée, ended by Clairette who extends a hand to her friend and declares that she truly prefers the faithful Pomponnet to the fickle Pitou. Remembering Madame Angot's amorous flights, Pitou remains hopeful that Clairette will take after her mother and may one day be interested in him again. Source: Gänzl's Book of the Musical Theatre.Gänzl and Lamb, pp. 337–341
Numbers In The Encyclopedia of Musical Theatre (2001), Kurt Gänzl describes Lecocq's score as "a non-stop run of winning numbers". He singles out in Act 1 Clairette's "sweetly grateful romance 'Je vous dois tout'"; Amaranthe's "Légende de la mère Angot: 'Marchande de marée'"; Pitou's "Certainement, j'aimais Clairette"; and the politically dangerous "Jadis les rois, race proscrite". Act 2 highlights include Lange's virtuoso "Les Soldats d'Augereau sont des hommes"; Pomponnet's "Elle est tellement innocente"; the duet of the old schoolfriends "Jours fortunés de notre enfance"; the encounter of Lange and Pitou "Voyons, Monsieur, raisonnons politique"; the whispered "Conspirators' Chorus"; and the waltz "Tournez, Tournez" that concludes the Act. From Act 3 Gänzl makes particular mention of the "Duo des deux forts"; the "Letter duet 'Cher ennemi que je devrais haïr'"; and the "Quarrel Duet 'C'est donc toi, Madam' Barras'".
Act 1 Overture Chorus and Scène – "Bras dessus, bras dessous" – (Arm in arm) Couplets (Pomponnet) – "Aujourd'hui prenons bien garde" – (Today let's take good care) Entrée de la Mariée – "Beauté, grâce et décence" – (Beauty, grace and dignity) Romance (Clairette) – "Je vous dois tout" – (I owe you all) Légende de la Mère Angot – "Marchande de Marée" – (A sea trader) Rondeau (Ange Pitou) – "Très-jolie" – (Very pretty) Duo (Clairette and Pitou) – "Certainement j'aimais Clairette" – (Certainly I love Clairette) Duo bouffe (Pitou and Larivaudière) – "Pour être fort on se rassemble" – (To be strong, let's gather together) Finale – "Eh quoi! c'est Larivaudière" – (What! It's Larivaudière) Chorus – "Tu l'as promis" – (You have promised) Chanson Politique (Clairette) – "Jadis les rois" – (Before the kings) Strette – "Quoi, la laisserons nous prendre" – (What! Let our child be taken!)
Act 2 Entr'acte Chorus of Merveilleuses – "Non, personne ne voudra croire" – (No-one would believe it) Couplets (Lange and chorus) – "Les soldats d Augereau sont des hommes" – (Augereau's soldiers are men) Romance (Pomponnet) – "Elle est tellement innocente" – (She is so innocent) Duo (Clairette and Lange) – "Jours fortunés" – (Lucky days) Couplets (Lange and Pitou) – "La République à maints défauts" – (The republic has many faults) Quintette (Clairette, Larivaudière, Lange, Pitou, Louchardj) – "Hein, quoi!" – (Hah! What!) Chorus of conspirateurs – "Quand on conspire" – (When we conspire) Scène – "Ah! je te trouve" – (Ah, I have found you) Valse – "Tournez, tournez, qu'a la valse" – (Turn, turn, waltz!)
Act 3 Entr'acte Chorus – "Place, place." – (Places, places!) Couplets (Clairette) – "Vous aviez fait de la dépense" – (You paid the cost) Sortie – "De la mère Angot" – (Of Mother Angot) Duo des deux forts (Pomponnet and Larivaudière) – "Prenez donc garde !" – (Take care!) Trio (Clairette, Pitou and Larivaudière) – "Je trouve mon futur" – (I find my future) Duo des lettres (Lange and Pitou) – "Cher ennemi" – (Dear enemy) Couplets de la dispute (Clairette and Lange) and Ensemble – "Ah! c'est donc toi" – (Ah, so it's you)
Reception Gänzl writes that together with Robert Planquette's Les cloches de Corneville, La Fille de Madame Angot was "the most successful product of the French-language musical stage" in the last three decades of the 19th century. He adds, "Even such pieces as H.M.S. Pinafore and Die Fledermaus, vastly successful though they were in their original languages, did not have the enormous international careers of Lecocq's opéra-comique".