L'œil crevé

[1] Hervé had written one act operettas for many years, which due to the licensing system in Paris until 1858 was all that was allowed for the theatres where his works were presented.

These works, along with the same composer's Chilpéric of 1868 and Le petit Faust of 1869, represent burlesque - comic treatment of serious subjects, full of deliberate anachronisms and zany situations - at its most extreme.

An archery contest is arranged in which her hand in marriage is to be the prize awarded to the victor, so Fleur sets to work "fixing" the targets so that Ernest will win.

When the contest takes place, it does appear that Ernest has hit the bulls-eye but Alexandrivoire, a roving forester who like Robin Hood robs from the rich and gives to the poor, turns up and challenges the result.

[3] Among the hit tunes of the lively and witty score were the duet the "Légende de la langouste atmospherique" (the story of the atmospheric lobster); a number for the gendarme imitating drum sounds; and a yodeling song for Alexandrivoire.