Click here to download the Libretto- André-Ernest-Modeste Grétry. Comédie mise en musique in four acts. 1779.
- Libretto by Michel-Jean Sedaine, after the fable Les Amours du bon vieux temps (Loves of the Good Old Days) by Jean-Baptiste de la Curne de Sainte-Palaye.
- First performance at Versailles on 30th December 1779.
Aucassin et Nicolette deals with the seemingly ill-fated love of the lovers of the title, eventually resolved when parental approval is secured with the revelation of Nicolette’s true parentage. The opera is set in the Middle Ages and Grétry from time to time makes use of musical elements that suggest the period.
![GRÉTRY, A.-E.-M.: Épreuve villageoise (L') (The Village Trial) [Opéra bouffon] (Opera Lafayette Chorus and Orchestra, R. Brown)](https://cdn.naxos.com/sharedfiles/images/cds/hires/8.660377.jpg "GRÉTRY, A.-E.-M.: Épreuve villageoise (L') (The Village Trial) [Opéra bouffon] (Opera Lafayette Chorus and Orchestra, R. Brown)")
![GRETRY, A.-E.-M.: Magnifique (Le) [Opera] (Gonzalez Toro, Calleo, Krull, Thompson, Sulayman, Williams, Scarlata, Opera Lafayette Orchestra, Brown)](https://cdn.naxos.com/sharedfiles/images/cds/hires/8.660305.jpg "GRETRY, A.-E.-M.: Magnifique (Le) [Opera] (Gonzalez Toro, Calleo, Krull, Thompson, Sulayman, Williams, Scarlata, Opera Lafayette Orchestra, Brown)")