On the day of his marriage with a young innkeeper from Lonjumeau, coachman Chapelou is spotted by the director of the Opéra – who hires him as a soloist and takes him to Paris. But Madeleine wants to recover her husband. Is this a story about social advancement under the Ancien Régime? Or a cheerful tribute by the industrial 19th century to the gallant 18th?

Or the adventure of a seducer caught out at his own game? It’s all that and much more. It’s the triumph of singing: Chapelou and his aria with its decisive high D, Madeleine with her stunning vocal metamorphoses. Adolphe Adam’s mythical work is back at the Opéra Comique, where it was first performed in 1836. It enduringly enthused opera lovers all over Europe but has not been shown on this stage since 1894. Sébastien Rouland’s drive displays the score written by the master of Romantic ballet, Michael Spyres’s talent and humour make an ideal portrait of the conceited and attractive hero, and Michel Fau’s subtlety does justice to all the facets of this dazzling comedy.

With the collaboration of Naxos