Kosiki

Kosiki is an opéra comique in three acts, with music by Charles Lecocq and words by William Busnach and Armand Liorat.

It was first produced at the Théâtre de la Renaissance, Paris, on 18 October 1876, with a cast headed by Zulma Bouffar and Jean-François Berthelier.

The opera is set in Japan at an unspecified historical period, and depicts the attempt of a member of the imperial family to seize the throne by abducting the true heir and substituting a female baby.

[1][n 1] Following the literary success of the Comte de Beauvoir's account of his travels in the Far East,[n 2] there was a fashion for Japanese themes in Paris (Japonisme).

Amid the general rejoicing, two characters are in the gravest difficulties: Fitzo, a poor street juggler and Soto-Siro, his father, are under sentence of death.

Unfortunately for him, he has changed clothes with a senior official who has just absconded with a large sum of the emperor's money, and Xicoco, taking him for the fugitive, has him thrown into the river.

It emerges that the infant boy abducted on Namitou's orders was not killed, as he had instructed: his henchmen recoiled from such a deed and instead handed the child to a poor countrywoman to raise.

The star of La Marjolaine, Jeanne Granier, had been unwell and was recuperating in Switzerland; Kosiki was chosen instead, and was well received on its second outing,[5] and ran for a further 31 performances.

[8][n 5] The reviewer for the London paper The Daily Telegraph was much more impressed, commenting that no praise was too high for the music, which was worthy to be presented at the Opéra-Comique – "M. Lecocq's true place is in the home of Hérold and Auber".

[10] The Era thought the music Lecocq's best score since La fille de Madame Angot, and predicted great success for the piece.