''Fisch-Ton-Kan'' is an

opéra bouffe ''Opéra bouffe'' (, plural: ''opéras bouffes'') is a genre of mid- to late 19th-century French operetta, closely associated with Jacques Offenbach, who produced many of them at the Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens, inspiring the genre's name. It ...

in one act by

Emmanuel Chabrier Alexis-Emmanuel Chabrier (; 18 January 184113 September 1894) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer and pianist. His Bourgeoisie, bourgeois family did not approve of a musical career for him, and he studied law in Paris and then worked ...

of which only some numbers survive. The French libretto was by

Paul Verlaine Paul-Marie Verlaine ( ; ; 30 March 1844 – 8 January 1896) was a French poet associated with the Symbolism (movement), Symbolist movement and the Decadent movement. He is considered one of the greatest representatives of the ''fin de siècle'' ...

, and probably Lucien Viotti, after the 'parade chinoise' ''Fich-Tong-Khan ou L'orphelin de le Tartarie'' of 1835 by

Thomas Sauvage Thomas-Marie-François Sauvage (; 1794 - May 1877) was a French dramatist, theatre director and critic. He collaborated with Adolphe Adam (an ''opéra comique'' in two acts '' Le Toréador'', 1849), Albert Grisar (''Gilles ravisseur'', 1838; ''L ...

(1794-1877) and

Gabriel de Lurieu Gabriel de Lurieu (real name Gabriel-Zéphirin Gonyn de Lurieu; Paris, 28 October 1799 (7 brumaire year VIII) – Paris, 5 February 1889 ) was a French author and playwright. His brother Jules-Joseph-Gabriel de Lurieu (1792–1869), with whom he ...

(1792-1869). The title is tongue-in-cheek, as ''Fisch-Ton-Kan'' is a phonetic rendition of French ''fiche ton camp'', which may be translated as "clear off!".

Background

Composed around 1864, when Verlaine and Chabrier, working as a civil servant, had become good friends, only five complete numbers survive from this early comic work. Many of the situations recur in Chabrier's opéra bouffe of 1877, '' L'étoile'': Goulgouly becomes Laoula, Fisch-Ton-Kan turns into Lazuli and Kakao is a precursor of Ouf Ier. The 'Air de Poussah' was re-used by Chabrier in his ''Ronde Champêtre'', a piano work of 1880. Manuscripts of ''Fisch-Ton-Kan'' in the

Bibliothèque Nationale A library is a collection of books, and possibly other materials and media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or digital (soft copies) materials, and may be a p ...

include an early version of the 'Couplets du Pal' from ''L'étoile''. ''Le Sire de Fisch-Ton-Kan'' was a satirical 'chanson' (music by Antonin Louis, words by Paul Burani) which became very popular in Paris after the fall of

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...

and mocked the ex-emperor, his family and court.

Performance history

''Fisch-Ton-Kan'' (with the title ''Peh-Li-Khan''According to Roger Delage, this was to avoid confusion with the satirical song mentioned above.) was first performed with Chabrier at the piano on 31 March 1875 at the 'Cercle de l'Union artistique' in Paris, where an earlier operétte bouffe to which Chabrier contributed, ''Le service obligatoire'' (now lost), had been mounted in December 1872. The next performance was on 22 April 1941 at the Salle du

Conservatoire A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger in ...

, Paris with

Francis Poulenc Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (; 7 January 189930 January 1963) was a French composer and pianist. His compositions include mélodie, songs, solo piano works, chamber music, choral pieces, operas, ballets, and orchestral concert music. Among th ...

accompanying at the piano. An orchestration for strings and wind quartet (1974) was made by Roger Delage, and broadcast that year on French radio.

Roles

Synopsis

''from the original play''
From a balcony of the palace, Goulgouly takes a fancy to a young man below: Fisch-Ton-Kan. When each declares their love, he reveals to her that he is a Tartar prince exiled when he was 17 months old for having insulted Kakao, his father's enemy. Kakao orders all foreigners to cut off their right ear and leave it at the customs. When Kakao arrives on his palanquin he asks that boiling water be poured into a giant tea-pot in which Fisch-Ton-Kan is hiding, but Goulgouly manages to stop him. Kakao wants Goulgouly for himself. When Fisch-Ton-Kan intervenes, Kakao condemns him to be impaled but the young man escapes this fate by proving capable of removing the beetle Kakao is convinced he has on his nose. Offering Fisch-Ton-Kan anything to do this, he naturally chooses the hand of Goulgouly.

Recordings

* Christian Mehn (tenor), Francis Dudziak (baritone), Jean-Louis Georgel (baritone), Mireille Delunsch (soprano). Strasbourg Collegium Musicum Orchestra conducted by Roger Delage. Arion. Two numbers from Fisch-Ton-Kan were recorded in 2015 by counter-tenor Philippe Jaroussky as part of an extended recital of "Mélodies françaises sur des poèmes de Verlaine".

References