French Opera Bouffe: Girofl�-Girofla

Cast listing. 

“Giroflé and Girofla are twin sisters. As they never appear on the stage at the same time, both parts are assumed by one person. In the present instance this is the new prima donna whose accomplishments and beauty have been so widely, if not wildly, written about. Mlle. Coralie Geoffroy, of the Folies Dramatiques, also of Cairo and St. Petersburg, and many another city in which she has been a queen of opera bouffe.

There is no manner of doubt that she comes rightly by that title, and will reign here as absolutely and by as general consent as at the scenes of her former successes. For she is handsome, and is an excellent actress and an accomplished singer, far more so than most of her sister queens in this realm of musical art. She does not push her action beyond the bounds of good taste nor put more meaning into it than even the words call for. In fact, she will be found to be a very charming actress—one of the best that France has so far lent to us. As for the opera itself it is one in which Lecocq, its composer, has evidently tried to put his best music. It is melodious throughout, and quite ambitious in parts. Neither the music nor the play drag in the least, but, on the contrary, the one is full of vivacity and the other of incident.

Mlle. Minelli, M. de Quercy, M. Vallaire, and Mlle. Kid, who sustain the principal parts, combine with Mlle. Geoffroy to make the representation a deliciously interesting one. As for costume and scene, the managers have done all they promised to make them brilliant and handsome. Nothing is left to be desired so far as the setting of the piece is concerned. There seems no reason to doubt that here, as elsewhere, it will have a long career, if not of usefulness at least of prosperity. Aside from the moralities, of which the public has doubtless heard preaching enough in the matter of opera bouffe, there is nothing in the opera that may not be commended. And it is pretty well understood by this time that people don’t go to French opera prepared to find a prayer meeting. For those who are curious to know more of the adventures of the twin sisters we append a synopsis of the plot as we find it given in the official program…[synopsis follows].”

“Messrs. Grau and Chizzola introduced Lecocq’s ‘Girofle Girofla’ last night at the Park Theatre, and we [illegible] New-York will now be added to the long list of cities [illegible] this latest production of the muse of the Boulevard has carried by storm. It has a better claim to popularity than most of its predecessors. The music is all bright and pleasant, and if it has no great value as music, it is at least constructed with art, and it is quite good enough for the French opera comique, if not too good for the riotous folly of the opera bouffe. No composer of this school has approached Offenbach in the production of humorous and jingling melodies, but Lecocq has surpassed his rival in the careful and [illegible] construction of a score, and in this [illegible] ‘Giroflé-Girofla’ must be considered a model of its kind.  [Illegible], however, will be mainly attributable to other characteristics—to its abundance of comical situations, its rapid [illegible], its beautiful scenery and gay stage pictures, its preposterous plot, and its prevailing flavor of wickedness and moderately disguised impropriety. It is played in three Acts, and presents three very handsome scenes, the work respectively of Morgan, Marston, and Voegtlin. The double character of the twin sisters Giroflé and Girofla is performed by a new comer, Mlle. Coralie Geoffroy, a buxom blond with a good voice and considerable ability as [an actor?]. She was received with great favor and [acted?] in many of her songs. The best of the other characters were the Aurore of Mlle. Kid, The Bolero of M. Valaire, the Mourzouk of M. De Quercy, and the Marasquin of Mlle. Minelli. All the parts, however, were well filled, and that lovely boon, the [illegible] was provided with a liberality which left nothing to be desired."

“The success of ‘Giroflé-Girofla’ in Paris, in London, and, in fact, in all the European capitals, is readily explained. The music of the work is exceedingly vivacious; its story affords opportunities for a display of scenery and costumes of uncommon picturesqueness and beauty, while it is reasonably well supplied with comic incidents; and, lastly, it is by the composer à la mode, that is to say, by the author of ‘La Fille de Madame Angot,’ who, though a writer much less inventive than Offenbach and much less ingenious than Hervé, has quite displaced both musicians in the good opinion of opera bouffe audiences. ‘Giroflé-Girofla’ was last evening represented at the Park Theatre, and the indications that it would attract and please for many successive nights, were numerous and strong. As in the performances of the piece abroad, great regard had been paid to giving its features all possible prominence. Thus it happened that the distribution included, with the principal members of the New-York company controlled by Messrs. Grau and Chizzola, an artist especially engaged by them in Paris for the present series of recitals; and that the sets and dresses were new, appropriate, and gorgeous. ‘Girofle-Girofla,’ as performed at the Park, has exactly the same chances of a long career it enjoyed when produced across the Atlantic, and, judging from its longevity elsewhere, we have considerable confidence in its hardihood on American soil.

The cleverly contrived libretto deserves a brief summary [plot synopsis follows].

While we have no desire to disparage M. Lecocq’s latest achievement, we cannot help expressing the opinion that extreme liveliness is the principal merit of the score accompanying this story. It is certainly not devoid of melody, nor of the ear-catching tunes which are essential to the popularity of an opera; some of the vocal writing is delightfully fluent and very elegant, and there are many bits of instrumentation denoting the hand of a master of his art, and of a man of most delicate fancy into the bargain; we acknowledge, however, that, comparing Lecocq only with Lecocq, ‘Giroflé-Girofla’ is not on a plane with ‘Fleur de Thé’ in point of freshness, or with ‘La Fille de Madame Angot’ in respect of spontaneousness. Yet we repeat that there is not a dull number in the twenty and odd compositions it contains, and several of these make them appear almost too good for the unpretentious text from which they spring. Felicitous instrumental combinations, by means of which even commonplaces take on a pleasing color and something of newness, abound in ‘Giroflé-Girofla,’ from the opening verses, ‘Lorsque la journée est finie,’ in which a pizzicato accompaniment, accented by blasts of the trombone, heighten the description of the pirates as embodied in words, to the last rollicking finale. In the first act are noticeable a concerted piece, ‘A la chapelle,’ in which there is a dance progression, which will be heard in every ball-room before the Winter ends; a syllabic chorus of pirates, after the fashion of the conspirators’ chorus in ‘La Fille de Madame Angot;’ a prettily-harmonized duetto, ‘La mariage est fini,’ a lively chorus for the Moors, and at the close, a real gem in shape of a finale, commencing, ‘Comme elle resemble.’ The first phrase, which is full of piquancy, is taken up in canon form, and passes from voice to voice, while the harmonic tissue becomes closer and richer, the soprano tones rising against it, and glistening like diamonds on velvet. The only defect in this delicious passage is its slight development; Ambroise Thomas would have given it thrice its length, and with the best results. In the second act of ‘Giroflé-Girofla’ are to be mentioned the merry refrain of the song ‘Nos ancôtres;’ a nice quintet—‘Matamoros’—with a martial motive; and, in the merry finale, an andante in which the blending of the soprano and tenor voices prove as agreeable to the ear as usual; we did not find much to admire in the drinking song, which, however, was repeated, as were indeed several parts of the opera which we have not referred to. In the third act a trio for tenor and soprano, beginning, ‘En entrant;’ and the duet and trio, ‘Ma belle Girofla,’ claim attention by grateful phrases and neat touches in the orchestra.

M. Lecocq’s work was capitally interpreted last evening. Mlle. Coralie Geoffroy, who filled the dual title role, is a finished songstress and actress, and knows exactly when to subordinate vocal display to the exigencies of the situation, while quite equal to bravura work of a very creditable kind. Mlle. Minelly, who portrayed Marasquin, did complete justice to her music and to her lines, and Mlle. Kid presented a most laughable picture of Auroré. It was close upon midnight when the entertainment ended, else we should be glad to write in detail of the labors of MM. De Quercy and Valaire, who embodied respectively Mourzouek and Don Bolero; under the circumstances we must be content to say that both gentlemen did very well. The stage attire of ‘Giroflé-Girofla’ is magnificent; particulars under this head must also be deferred. Before concluding this notice, however, we ought to remark that the theatre was crowded, and that the applause gave evidence of lively gratification at the opera and its recital.”

“It was Mr. Croaker who so ably demonstrated in his words and actions that the man who is always on the alert for coming misfortune, and who spends much of his time in grumbling about possible calamities, is likely to meet them when they arrive with calmness and to bear them with fortitude. It is equally true that when a person looks forward with anticipations of pleasure to any event, he is the more or less certain to be disappointed with the result. Probably from this cause most of the persons who assembled at the Park Theatre last night to witness the first performance in America of a new opera bouffe by the author of ‘La Fille de Madame Angot’ were not quite so much pleased as they expected to be. ‘Giroflé-Girofla’ has been lauded in flowery language since its production in Paris, not only by persons financially interested in its production, but by others to whom the vulgar coin is supposed to be unattractive. English newspapers have praised it very highly, and their readers have been assured that it is much better than Lecocq’s earlier work. ‘Giroflé-Girofla’ is an opera bouffe cut after the well-known pattern, divided into three acts, each of which has no particular beginning and no particular ending; provided with a tolerably amusing book, interspersed with the inevitable couplets, one or two sentimental songs of considerable merit, and a number of extravagant pieces after the manner of the ‘Conspirators’ Chorus’ in ‘Madame Angot.’ The music is pretty, but weak, like the music of nine out of ten of the operas bouffes that have succeeded ‘The Grand Duchess.’ There is a noticeable effort on the part of the composer towards a more elevated style of composition. This of course is commendable. But Lecocq made his reputation as a writer of opera bouffe pure and simple. As the composer of such music he is second to none, but when he makes an effort on a higher plane he immediately puts himself in competition with men whose talents in this direction are undoubtedly superior to his. When we have said this, that the writer of ‘Girofflé-Girofla’ has aimed at a higher mark than formerly and has not quite hit it, and that the excessive praise bestowed on the work before its performance cause it to receive a reception that was a little colder than it otherwise would have been, and when we add that some of the situations in the piece are suggestive of indecency, nothing remains to be written but praise.

It is put upon the stage at the Park Theatre (which never looked brighter or cooler than it did last night) not only with lavishness in regard to the pictures and dresses, but with good taste. Three unapproachable artists—Morgan, Marston, and Voegtlin—made the scenes. The first contributes a view of the gardens of a Moorish palace in Spain, with a tranquil sea beyond, which is as tasteful and picturesque as anything he has yet done in New York; and the others furnish interiors of gorgeous coloring and unique design.

The piece is excellently acted and sung. Mlle. Coralie Geoffroy, who made her first appearance in America as the eccentric twins, daughters of Don Bolero D’Alcarana, was received with flowers and cheers. She is pretty, and sings well and is very lively. A drinking song in the second act, ‘Le punch scintilla,’ was vigorously redemanded, and Girofla’s part in a laughable duet with Bolero gave great satisfaction. Girofla, abducted by pirates, who are very funny fellows and sing a capital chorus, disappears in the first act, and does not appear again until the final tableau. But she is not missed as the characters call the remaining sister Girofli or Giroflé or Girofla, as the exigencies of the music demand or the vagaries of the players suggest, and the audience are kept in a delightful state of confusion. The pivot of the plot, if it has a pivot, is the wedding of Giroflé, who has already married Marasquin, to Mourzouk, a ferocious Moor, the suitor of Girofla, and the efforts of the parents to hide the bigamous young woman from both her husbands until the pirates are overtaken and the abducted girl brought back. Mlle. Minelli as Marasquin, and M. Du Quercy as Mourzouk, both sang and acted admirably well. A pretty duet between these two towards the close of the second act was one of the most satisfactory performances of the evening. Other capitally rendered numbers were a quintet, ‘Matamoras, grand capitaine,’ a chorus of Moors, and a chorus of half-tipsy, wholly frightened wedding guests—

‘Le canon!

Allons bon!

On lire le canon!

Pourquoi donc

Tire-t-on

Le canon?’

Mlle. Kid and M. Valaire, as Aurore and Bolero, presented very clever impersonations. The production of ‘Giroflé-Girofla” will undoubtedly be attended with success.”

“The French opéra bouffe season proper opened brilliantly last night with the production, for the first time in America, of the French version of Lecoq’s successful opera, ‘Girofle-Girofla,’ The fame of this work has preceded it, and a crowded audience assembled to witness the first performance. Every seat in the house was filled, and the passages were regularly jammed by those unable to obtain seats. The management more than fulfilled the promises made about the beauty and completeness of the scenery and costumes. Nothing, in fact, was left undone to interest the audience through the eye as well as the ear, and before the curtain went down on the first act the popular verdict was sufficiently pronounced to justify the belief that ‘Girofle-Girofla’ is destined to achieve a success in New York equal to what it had already secured in London and Paris.

The following is a hasty sketch of the plot [synopsis follows]. This story is set to charming music. The score runs on like a limpid stream and is absolutely gemmed with melodies. From the beginning to the end there is scarcely a dull bar and the general effect is excessively pleasing. The melodies succeed each other with great rapidity and the choruses are introduced with more than ordinary success. In the first act there is an effective and well managed pirate chorus, which passed last night without receiving the recognition which it merits, but there can be no doubt that it will make its way into popular favor. The music of the second act is remarkable for its well sustained merit, and the audience manifested their satisfaction by encoring all the morceaux, which had the effect of lengthening the performances beyond reasonable limits. The quintette ‘Matamoros Grand Capitaine,’ the ‘Chanson à Boire,’ sung by Giroflé, and the duet, ‘Fleur d’Innocence,’ obtained great success. In Mlle. Coralie Geoffroy, the new prima donna, from the Folies Dramatiques, of Paris, opéra bouffe in America has received a valuable reinforcement. The lady is prepossessing in her looks and sings and acts admirably. She made one of those thorough successes last night which establish a songstress permanently in the public favor. Each song and morceau was encored heartily and responded to good-naturedly, though it must have been somewhat trying on the lady. M. de Quercy as the Mourzouk was excessively amusing, and brought all the entertaining points of the rôle intrusted to him in a thoroughly artistic manner. Mlle. Minelli, as Marasquin, did not have so much opportunity as Mlle. Geoffroy, but she made the most of what she had to do, and looked dashing as the Spanish bridegroom. Her singing of the morceau, ‘O Ciel! Qu-ai-je ressenti la,’ was very effective. She was in excellent voice. The new prima donna sings with excellent method, and her flexible voice is admirably adapted to the exigencies of opéra bouffe. The important rôles of Don Bolero d’Alcarazas and Aurore were filled respectively by Mons. Valaire and Mlle. Kidd with artistic completeness. If we except one or two of the minor characters the cast leaves nothing to be desired. The performance last night was the most perfect ever witnessed in America, and, indeed, looking at the beauty of the stage settings, the excellence of the music and the even merit of the representation, it is not likely that opéra bouffe will ever be presented at this side of the water in a manner better deserving public support. The scenic artists—Morgan, Marston, and Voegtlin—deserve unstinted praise for the beauty and truly artistic quality of their work. They certainly have done their part in deserving public support. The success of ‘Girofle-Girofla’ was last night conceded on all hands, and, if merit can command success, this latest production of Lecoq’s fertile brain cannot fail to achieve lasting popularity.” 

“’Giroflé-Girofla’ seems to have produced a very decided impression by the vivacity of its music, the drollery of its story, and the picturesqueness and freshness of its stage attire, and the Park Theatre has been crowded nightly since the opera was brought out. It would be surprising if a work which has met with unvarying success the Old World over were not favorably received by American audiences when produced with all possible liberality and care, and we do not think we shall be astonished by such a result. ‘Giroflé-Girofla’ has every claim to attract and delight audiences desirous of whiling away, with an entertainment bright and merry to the eye and ear, the long Winter evenings. It will be repeated until further notice, and, we fancy, for several consecutive weeks.”

“’Girofle-Girofla,’ Lecocq’s melodious opera-bouffe was produced for the first time in this city at the Park Theatre on Thursday, Feb. 4. The opera, which is endowed with a musical construction of a more elevated tone than the ordinary opera-bouffe, approaches closely in style to the opera-comique, and is filled with refined and charming melodies and admirable musical effects, appealing more directly to the cultivated taste than to the popular ear, tingling with the musical vagaries of Offenbach or Herve. There are but few catching airs in it of a bright, taking nature, and although it will undoubtedly achieve success in the form in which it is presented at this house, it will depend chiefly on the exceedingly effective manner in which the management have produced it. The mise-en scene, properties and costumes are all of the richest description, and fully redeem the promises made, it being undoubtedly one of the best-dressed opera-bouffes that have been placed upon the stage in this city, whilst its musical interpretation is most creditable. Mlle. Coralie Geoffroy, who on this occasion made her debut before an American audience, filling the dual title-role, possesses a well-cultivated voice, equal to the most exacting demands of the opera, and is, besides, a most clever actress, presenting the character of Girofle-Girofla in so admirable a manner as to win a number of hearty encores from the enthusiastic audience, who crowded the house to overflowing. The lady is very prepossessing in appearance, and, being an excellent actress and songstress, there is but little doubt of her having established herself as a public favorite. Mlle. Minelli, always acceptable, cleverly interpreted her masculine role, and looked and acted charmingly in her dashing male attire. Mlle. Kid and M. Valaire did full justice to their laughable characters, and were thoroughly equal to all the demands of the various situations. M. de Quercey, one of the best tenors we have had among us in this school of music, proved an excellent representative of the fierce Mourzouk, and, no doubt, divided the honors of the evening for admirable vocalization and skillful acting, with Mlle. Geoffroy. A few of the minor characters were weak; but the opera as a whole is presented with so much care that a few repetitions will, no doubt, remedy these defects, and offer an interpretation which should assure an extended run for ‘Girofle-Girofla’ in this city as it obtained in the cities of the Old World. Following is the cast [see above].”