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''Fantasio'' is an 1872 opéra comique in 3 acts, 4 tableaux with music by Jacques Offenbach. The French libretto was by Paul de Musset closely based on the play of the same name by his brother Alfred de Musset.〔Lamb A. Jacques Offenbach (work list). In: ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera.'' Macmillan, London and New York, 1997.〕 The opera found little success in Offenbach's lifetime, was revived in the 1930s and performed in a critical edition in the 2000s. == Background == The Musset play was published in the Revue des deux Mondes in 1834 and first performed at the Comédie-Française, Paris in 1866 where it was seen 30 times.〔Yon, Jean-Claude. ''Jacques Offenbach.'' Éditions Gallimard, Paris, 2000.〕 Two "new" works were scheduled for the Salle Favart (Opéra-Comique) in 1872 as it regained momentum after the Franco-Prussian War and the Commune; ''Fantasio'' by Offenbach and ''les Noces de Figaro'', Mozart's opera after Beaumarchais, which entered the Opéra Comique repertoire that February.〔Soubies A, Malherbe C. ''Histoire de l'opéra comique — La seconde salle Favart 1840–1887.'' Flammarion, Paris, 1893.〕 The choice of ''Fantasio'' as an operatic subject was considered a bold one, as Alfred de Musset's comedy had not seen great success at the Comédie-Française as a play. Rehearsals for the opera had begun in early 1870, but the Franco-Prussian War and the aftermath of defeat had delayed production for two years. At first the distribution was intended to be Capoul as a tenor Fantasio, Couderc as the Prince, Potel as Marinoni, Gailhard as Spark, Mlle Dalti as Elsbeth and Moisset as the page. However, at the premiere, two years on, only Moisset and Potel remained in their roles; Galli-Marié took over the title role, now a mezzo-soprano, Ismaël took over as the Prince, Melchissédec Marinoni, and Marguérite Priola Elsbeth.〔 Since his early successes in Paris, Offenbach had been the target of many vicious attacks in the press, and these had intensified during the Franco-Prussian War. Even Bizet was reduced to attacking the "infernal Offenbach", who had ''Boule de neige'' and ''Le roi Carotte'' premiered in the weeks prior to ''Fantasio''.〔Curtiss M. ''Bizet and his world''. Vienna House, New York, 1958.〕 With ''Fantasio'' the criticism of wanting to conquer the Opéra-Comique was added to previous attacks. Yon argues that Offenbach's sensitivity to criticism was also due to his identification with the title character of Fantasio – the bitter clown.〔 Offenbach was heartbroken when the opera was taken off and wrote a letter of complaint to the director of the Opéra-Comique, Camille du Locle. He later re-used the chorus of students from the first act of ''Fantasio'' in ''The Tales of Hoffmann'', where it becomes the student chorus at the end of that opera's first act, and the voice of Antonia's mother in act 3 of ''Hoffmann'' enters with a theme from the overture of ''Fantasio''.〔Keck J.-C. Guide d'Écoute. In: ''Avant-Scène Opéra 235, Les Contes d'Hoffmann.'' Paris, 2006.〕 The work is dedicated to Eduard Hanslick.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Fantasio (opera)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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