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.[1]
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.[2] The Strasbourg production was seen at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées on 17 November 1949 and at the Theater des Westens in Berlin on 22 September 1951.[3] The Paris Conservatoire Orchestra conducted by André Cluytens played a suite from Puck at their concert on 21 May 1956.[4]
There was much media coverage of the premiere and a generally positive welcome for the work.[2] The story is loosely based on the play by Shakespeare and mixes traditional opéra comique elements with dance (the title role) and actors.[3] Grove talks of the opera’s "mobile declamation oscillating between speech and song".[1]
| Role | Voice type | Cast of premiere[2], 29 January 1949. Conductor: Ernest Bour |
|---|---|---|
| Puck | dancer | Roland April |
| Titania | soprano | Mona Million |
| Obéron | bass | Georges Jongejeans |
| A fairy | soprano | Nany Arnaud |
| Thésée | tenor | Roger Barnier |
| Démétrius | tenor | Paul Derenne |
| Hélène | mezzo-soprano | Marika Stephanidès |
| Lysandre | bariton-martin | Georges Verguet |
| Hermia | soprano | Jacqueline Drozin |
| Quince | tenor | Kedroff |
| Bottom | tenor | René Hérent |
| Snug | baritone | Akiaroff |
| Flute | bass | Borissoff |
| Égée | spoken | Paul Parmentier |
| Hippolyte | silent | Eveline Mischke |