Offenbach - Keck
Le Violoneux (OEK critical edition) (1855)
Breton legend in one act
Libretto by Eugène Mestépès and Emile Chevalet; German version by A. Bahn (F,G)
Scoring
M,lyrBar,lyrT;
2(II=picc).1.2.1-2.2.1.0-timp.perc-strings.
Abbreviations (PDF).
Territory
This work is available from Boosey & Hawkes for the world.
World Premiere
8/31/1855
Salle Marigny, Paris
Company: Bouffes-Parisiens
Roles
| FATHER MARTIN, the village fiddler | Lyric Baritone |
| ROSE, his ward | Mezzo Soprano |
| PETER, a farmer | Lyric Tenor |
Time and Place
A village in Southern Germany in former times
Synopsis
Rose asks Martin for help: Peter is about to be recruited, and his uncle refuses to pay the 2,000 Francs needed to release him. Peter is uneasy with the idea of drawing Martin into it, for he believes the violinist to be a magician. Martin inherited the 'magic violin' from his father, combined with the mysterious instruction to break it to pieces in an emergency, which Martin, despite several occasions, has refrained from doing. When Peter smashes the instrument in a quarrel with Rose, it indeed reveals its mystery: a letter, informing Martin that he is the legal inheritor of the old owner of the castle. Thus Rose's and Peter's future has been provided for.
Moods
Comic
Subjects
Relationships
