Colinette à la cour

La double épreuve, ou Colinette à la cour, is a comédie lyrique (comic opera) in three acts written by André Grétry in 1782 to a French libretto by Jean-Baptiste Lourdet de Santerre, based on Charles Simon Favart's Ninette à la cour.[1]

Performance history

It was first performed on 1 January 1782 by the Académie Royale de Musique (Paris Opera) at the Théâtre de la Porte-Saint-Martin, and included choreography by Maximilien Gardel.[2]

Roles

Role	Voice type	Premiere Cast, 1 January 1782[3] (Conductor: - )
Prince Alphonse, Duke of Milan	tenor	Étienne Lainez
Countess Amelie	soprano	Marie-Josephine Laguerre
Julien, in love with Colinette	basse-taille (bass-baritone)	Auguste-Athanase (Augustin) Chéron
Colinette	soprano	Josèphe-Eulalie Audinot
Bastien, in love with Justine	baritone	François Lays (also spelled Lay or Laïs)
Justine	soprano	Anne-Marie Jeanne Gavaudan "aînée"
Mathurine, Justine's mother	soprano	Mlle Joinville
The bailiff	haute-contre[4]	M Tirot (also spelled Thirot)
A shepherd	?	?
A shepherdess	soprano	Mlle Rosalie
A gipsy	baritone	François Lays
A gipsy woman	soprano	Anne-Marie Jeanne Gavaudan "aînée"
A child, representing Cupid	soprano	Mlle Nanine
A boy of the village	?	M Touvois
Fabrice, a confidant of the Prince	basse-taille (bass-baritone)	M. Moreau
A lady-in-waiting	soprano	Gertrude Girardin
An old man	haute-contre[5]	M Jalaguier

References

Notes

1. Bartlet 1992.
2. Pitou, vol. 1 (1983), p. 30 (theatre); vol. 2 (1985), pp. 169–170, 568 (choreographer).
3. According to the original libretto and Pitou 1985, vol. 2, p. 170.
4. Les spectacles de Paris, ou calendrier historique & chronologique des Théatres ..., 27th volume, Paris, Duchesne, 1777, p. 13.
5. Les spectacles de Paris, ou calendrier historique & chronologique des Théatres ..., 27th volume, Paris, Duchesne, 1777, p. 15.

Sources

• Original libretto: La Double Épreuve, ou Colinette à la cour, comédie lyrique en trois actes, Paris, De Lormel, 1782 (accessible online in books google)
• Bartlet, M Elizabeth C (1992), 'Grétry, André-Ernest-Modeste' (work-list) in The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, ed. Stanley Sadie (London) ISBN 0-333-73432-7
• Bibliographic summary
• André E. M. Grétry Opera Score Collection
• Pitou, Spire (1983–1990). The Paris Opéra: An Encyclopedia of Operas, Ballets, Composers, and Performers (3 volumes). Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. ISBN 978-0-686-46036-7.