Le Voyage Dans La Lune (operetta) - History - Genesis

Genesis

The idea for the work was presented to Jacques Offenbach since he was head (directeur) of the Théâtre de la Gaîté, but due to the importance of raising the necessary money he did not take up the project. It was Albert Vizentini, the new directeur of la Gaîté, who took up the offer, and so Offenbach only intervened in the work as a musician.

Albert Vanloo and Eugène Leterrier, in association with Arnold Mortier, columnist at Figaro, wrote the libretto. They were relying on the success of the novels of Jules Verne (another, the novel Le Tour du monde en quatre-vingt jours, had been adapted for the stage at the Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin by Verne himself in 1874) and the public taste for great spectacles.

A few days after the premiere of Voyage dans la Lune, Jules Verne complained to the editor of its similarities to his work : "Two days after the first production of Voyage à la lune the loans to the authors from "From the Earth to the Moon" as the point of departure and from "Centre of the Earth" as the dénouement seem to me incontestable.". This affair does not seem to have continued, or may have been settled amicably. In 1877, Jacques Offenbach based Le docteur Ox on another Jules Verne novel, with his agreement.

Read more about this topic:  Le Voyage Dans La Lune (operetta), History

Famous quotes containing the word genesis:

    If only he would not pity us so much,
    Weaken our fate, relieve us of woe both great
    And small, a constant fellow of destiny,
    A too, too human god, self-pity’s kin
    And uncourageous genesis . . .
    Wallace Stevens (1879–1955)

    Power is, in nature, the essential measure of right. Nature suffers nothing to remain in her kingdoms which cannot help itself. The genesis and maturation of a planet, its poise and orbit, the bended tree recovering itself from the strong wind, the vital resources of every animal and vegetable, are demonstrations of the self-sufficing and therefore self-relying soul.
    Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)

    Behold I have given you every herb bearing seed which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.
    —Bible: Hebrew Genesis 1:29.

    But in a later context, God told the disgraced Adam, “and thou shalt eat the herb of the field” (Genesis 3:18)