Le Pré aux clercs, a popular and sophisticated comedy

Premiered on 15 December 1832 at the Théâtre des Nouveautés, then the headquarters of the Opéra-Comique, Le Pré aux clercs belongs to a period particularly rich in masterpieces. The decade had begun with Auber’s Fra Diavolo (1830) and Hérold’s Zampa (1831); it was to continue with Adam’s Le Chalet (1834) and Le Postillon de Longjumeau (1835), then Auber’s Le Domino noir (1837). The success of these works was as massive as it was lasting: several of them – including Le Pré aux clercs – reached their thousandth performance. In comparison with the opera buffa of the same period, in which only Donizetti and the Ricci brothers were still active, it must be acknowledged that French opéra-comique showed remarkable vitality in the 1830s.