Le Médecin malgré lui

In 1857, a version of the Bourgeois gentilhomme was performed at the Comédie-Française, with music revised by Charles Gounod. The following year, the director of the Théâtre-Lyrique, Léon Carvalho, suggested that the composer should adapt a play by Molière while waiting for a performance of his Faust, which was at the time coming under competition from a play of the same name at the Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin. Gounod decided to attempt a new version of the Médecin malgré lui with the collaboration of Jules Barbier and Michel Carré. This opera was premiered on 15 January 1858, the anniversary of Molière’s birthday. Based on a balanced use of spoken dialogue and sung arias, the work’s comic style is underpinned by lively writing throughout the three acts. These are preceded by a well-developed overture, based on six themes from the opera, followed by a vivacious duet between Martine and Sganarelle which plunges the audience into the midst of the dramatic action. In this opéra comique, Gounod takes liberties with the genre, particularly with regard to the distribution of the choruses. It was only due to the intervention by Princess Mathilde, cousin of Napoleon III, which allowed the composer to put on his opéra comique, after the director of the Comédie-Française had opposed a performance which he thought contravened his theatre’s privilege. Princess Mathilde’s intervention explains the work’s dedication to this patroness of the arts with whom Gounod was to form a lasting friendship. The opera was enthusiastically received on the evening of its premiere and was acclaimed by numerous critics. Berlioz, among others, praised its wit, raciness and consummate mastery in the Journal des débats of 22 January 1858. Léon Carvalho regularly included it in the programme of his opera house. In 1872, the work entered the repertory of the Opéra-Comique, where it was regularly staged.