''Puck'' is an opéra-féerique in three acts with music by Marcel Delannoy, premiered in 1949. The French libretto was adapted by André Boll from Shakespeare’s ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a Comedy (drama), comedy play written by William Shakespeare in about 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One s ...

''. Hoérée, Arthur. Marcel Delannoy. In: ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera.'' Macmillan, London and New York, 1997.

Background

It was first performed at the Opéra Municipal in Strasbourg on 29 January 1949 directed by Roger Lalande with scenery and costumes designed by Boll.Feschotte J. Création à Strasbourg: Puck. In: ''Almanach de la Musique 1950.'' Éditions de Flore, Paris, 128-129. The Strasbourg production was seen at the

Théâtre des Champs-Élysées The Théâtre des Champs-Élysées () is an entertainment venue standing at 15 avenue Montaigne in Paris. It is situated near Avenue des Champs-Élysées, from which it takes its name. Its eponymous main hall may seat up to 1,905 people, while th ...

on 17 November 1949 and at the Theater des Westens in Berlin on 22 September 1951. The Paris Conservatoire Orchestra conducted by

André Cluytens Augustin Zulma Alphonse "André" Cluytens (, ; 26 March 19053 June 1967)Baeck E. ''André Cluytens: Itinéraire d’un chef d’orchestre.'' Editions Mardaga, Wavre, 2009. was a Belgian-born French conducting, conductor who was active in the conce ...

played a suite from ''Puck'' at their concert on 21 May 1956.Baeck E. ''André Cluytens: Itinéraire d’un chef d’orchestre.'' Editions Mardaga, Wavre, 2009. There was much media coverage of the premiere and a generally positive welcome for the work. The story is loosely based on the play by Shakespeare and mixes traditional

opéra comique ''Opéra comique'' (; plural: ''opéras comiques'') is a genre of French opera that contains spoken dialogue and arias. It emerged from the popular ''opéras comiques en vaudevilles'' of the Théâtre de la foire, Fair Theatres of St Germain and S ...

elements with dance (the title role) and actors. Grove talks of the opera’s "mobile declamation oscillating between speech and song".

Roles and role creators

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Puck French-language operas Operas 1949 operas Operas based on A Midsummer Night's Dream