Le voyage dans la lune (opera-féerie)

Loosely based on the 1865 novel From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne, its French libretto was by Albert Vanloo, Eugène Leterrier and Arnold Mortier.

The idea for the work was presented to Offenbach while he was head (director) of the Théâtre de la Gaîté, but due to the need to raise the necessary money he did not take up the project.

[2] Albert Vanloo and Eugène Leterrier, in association with Arnold Mortier (columnist at Le Figaro), wrote the libretto.

A few days after the premiere of Voyage dans la lune, Jules Verne complained about its similarities to his work: "Two days after the first production of Voyage à la lune [sic] the loans to the authors from From the Earth to the Moon as the point of departure and from "Centre of the Earth" as the dénouement seem to me incontestable.".

[3] This dispute does not seem to have continued, or may have been settled amicably, for by 1877, Offenbach based his Le docteur Ox on another Jules Verne novel, with his agreement.

Siegfried Kracauer views Voyage dans la lune as a demonstration of Offenbach's flair for topicality, and here "mixing science and fairy-tales, and building modern Utopias into the traditional framework of the pantomime".

The French correspondent for The Times wrote "The piece is, I think, a success, less great, probably, than that of [the 1874 play] Le Tour de monde en quatre-vingt jours [sic] but which will be marked.

"[5] No expense had been spared on the scenery – the 24 majestic sets by Cornil, Fromont and Chéret replicated places (such as the Observatory of Paris, a high-furnace, a lunar passage or a volcano) and created original architectural conceits (such as a glass palace or mother-of-pearl galleries).

[10] The rôle of Caprice was portrayed by Mme Peschard from 16 December 1875 until 16 February 1876, since Zulma Bouffar had to honour a two-month engagement at Saint Petersburg.

[16] In December 1985 the Grand Theatre in Geneva staged another production by Savary, described as "non-stop pantomime peppered with deliberate bad taste", with Marc Soustrot conducting the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Joseph Evans as Caprice, Marie McLaughlin as Fantasia, Michel Trempont as Vlan, Richard Cassinelli as Quipassparla and Jules Bastin as Cosmos.

[19] In January 2023 a new production with adapted dialogue was seen at the Opéra-Comique in Paris using members of the house's youth programme, conducted by Alexandra Cravero and staged by Laurent Pelly where a "mad world of the moon is a reflection of mayhem on earth".

6th scene: The arrival The "sélénites" (Moon-dwellers) fearfully observe a black point in the sky, and one asks another if it may be something sent by the "terriens" (Earth-people) to exterminate them.

7th scene: The glass palace Cosmos and Cactus show Vlan, Caprice and Microscope the Moon's civil service.

8th scene: The mother-of-pearl galleries Caprice courts Fantasia, but she does not understand, not knowing what love is, since it does not exist on the Moon other than as a disease – when one wants to have a child, one asks oneself if there is an area of commerce in which it can prosper.

Calling it a "charming gift that she formerly ate on the Earth", she immediately falls in love with Caprice, sending the palace into an uproar.

10th scene: The roaming shadows As night falls, the scenery changes and phantom-like creatures appear through the creepers and suddenly lights shine in their heads, then everything disappears.

Due to her incurable sickness of love, Cosmos proposes to sell Fantasia, as is the habit on the Moon when a woman ceases to please.

Microscope is charged by Caprice with buying the princess and, visiting Quipasseparla ("Who Goes There", king of the stockmarket), he negotiates with him just in case the 'stock price' goes up.

Vlan, Caprice and Microscope are brought before a court and condemned "to pass five years inside an extinct volcano, where they will be wholly deprived of any kind of nourishment".

18th scene: The crater Arriving at the bottom, Popotte cuts the cord, reproaching her husband for want to cause Microscope to perish.

23rd scene: Le clair de terre (The earth-light – a pun on clair de lune (moonlight)) The earth rises and shines on the stage as a aurora borealis – people rush on and sing the final chorus, greeting earth whose light shines through space.

The singers are Violette Polchi, Sheva Tehoval, Matthieu Lécroart, Pierre Derhet, Raphaël Brémard, Marie Lenormand, Thibaut Desplantes, Ludivine Gombert and Christophe Poncet de Solages, with the Chœur et Orchestre national Montpellier Occitanie conducted by Pierre Dumoussau.