La Fille du Tambour-Major
 

 

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Title   La Fille du Tambour-Major (The Drum-Major's Daughter)
Composer   Jacques Offenbach (1819 - 1880)
Librettists   Alfred Duru and Henri Chivot
Genre   Opéra-bouffe, comic opera (three acts).
First performance   Théâtre des Folies-Dramatiques, Paris, 13 December, 1879.
Time of action   Italy around 1800.
Place of action  
  1. A convent-garden at Biella.
  2. The palace of duke Della Volta at Novara
  3. a. The Golden Lion, an inn in Milan
    b. A square in Milan.
Main parts   Monthabor, drum-major baritone
    Robert, lieutenant high baritone
    Duke Della Volta comic tenor
    Griolet, tailor lyric tenor
    Stella soprano
    Duchess Della Volta mezzo-soprano
    Claudine, sutler mezzo-soprano
Prominence of chorus   Very large.
Orchestra   2 flutes, 1 oboe, 2 clarinets, 1 bassoon, 2 French horns,                2 trumpets, 3 trombones, kettle-drums, percussion, strings.
Special demands   A sizeable men's chorus is indispensable. A stage-band is needed in the final act.
Full score and orchestral parts   Available.
Level   Not difficult
Length   3 acts, about 2½ hours.
Music   In this work Offenbach has expressed his loyalty to his adopted country: in manner and subject-matter it is a song of praise to France, a patriotic testament, full of typically French music. There are many ensembles, large choruses, an exhilarating ball-room scene, a fencing scene, a tarantella (danced and sung), a patriotic hymn (Le Chant du Départ), etc.
Story   The story is amusing but complicated. A student at a convent school, Stella, falls in love with Robert, a young lieutenant, but her father, the duke Della Volta, has promised her hand to a feeble-minded old marquis. Stella, however, turns out to be a  French drum-major's daughter, not the duke's. Eventually Stella and Robert are happily united. This is the main plot, but there are a number of sub-plots, involving the duchess Della Volta, a sutler named Claudine, her uncle Clampas, a tailor named Griolet, etc.
Costumes   Schoolgirls and nuns, soldiers and officers, ball-room guests. Italian towns'- and country-folk.