Le Voyage dans la lune

The libretto of this ‘opéra-féerie’ is inspired by the works of Jules Verne, especially De la Terre à la Lune and Voyage au centre de la Terre. The novelist actually complained to his publisher about the numerous similarities between the storyline of Le Voyage dans la Lune and his own works. The librettists Vanloo, Leterrier and Mortier wanted to capitalise on the popularity of Verne’s novels, which had given rise to some very well-received adaptations, and on the Parisian liking for the féerie (extravaganza) genre, which hinged in particular on impressive stage effects. The highlight of Le Voyage dans la lune in this respect was probably the appearance on stage of a mehari camel, borrowed from the Jardin d’Acclimatation. However, spectators also found the sets by the painters Cornil, Fromont and Cheret very impressive, with their realistic replicas of the Paris Observatory, a blast furnace and an erupting volcano, and their representations of imaginary places such as a lunar landscape, a glass palace and mother-of-pearl tunnels. Last but not least, the presence of substantial choral forces and ballets lent this work the full range of spectacle available to an operatic production of the Second Empire.