Francis Chassaigne

Dedicated to Brasseur, Chassaigne's three-act Le droit d'aînesse with a libretto by Eugène Leterrier and Albert Vanloo premiered at the Nouveautés on 27 January 1883.

It was only a partial success, but its English version Falka, with a libretto translated and adapted by Henry Farnie, was popular in English-speaking countries for many years.

The English version, Nadgy (or Nadjy), with a libretto translated and adapted by Alfred Murray premiered at the Casino Theatre in New York on May 14, 1888, and again proved very popular.

On the strength of these successes the theatrical producer, Rudolph Aronson, commissioned another opera directly from Chassaigne with the libretto to be written by Henry Farnie.

[3] Chassaigne was married to the Swiss-born operetta and vaudeville singer Louise Roland who appeared frequently at the Théâtre des Variétés.

Francis Chassaigne circa 1890
Chassaigne's wife, Louise Roland
Cover of the piano/vocal score for Le droit d'aînesse , Chassaigne's first full-length operetta