L'oiseau bleu is an opera

Opera

Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...

 in four acts (eight tableaux) by the French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 composer and conductor Albert Wolff. The libretto

Libretto

A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...

 by Maurice Maeterlinck

Maurice Maeterlinck

Maurice Polydore Marie Bernard Maeterlinck, also called Comte Maeterlinck from 1932, was a Belgian playwright, poet, and essayist who wrote in French. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1911. The main themes in his work are death and the meaning of life...

 is based on his 1908 play of the same name.

Performance history

It was first performed at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 on 27 December 1919.

The first Belgian performance was on 21 April 1920, and it was revived at the Théâtre de la Monnaie on 14 February 1956, conducted by the composer.

The playwright was present at the premiere, which was a benefit for four charities: the Queen of the Belgians Fund, the Millerand Fund for French Orphans, the Three Big Sister Organizations (Catholic, Protestant, Jewish), and the Milk for the Children of America Fund.

Roles

Role	Voice type	Premiere cast, 27 December 1919 Conductor: Albert Wolff
Tyltyl	mezzo-soprano Mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...	Raymonde Delaunois Raymonde Delaunois Raymonde Delaunois was a Belgian mezzo-soprano opera singer.- Biography:She was born near the City of Brussels on 12 October 1885 to a single mother. Raymonde was raised in Frameries near Mons in Belgium. One day she sang on a school event and was encouraged to follow further training...
Mytyl	soprano Soprano A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...	Mary Ellis Mary Ellis Mary Ellis was a long-lived star of the British stage best known for her roles in the genre of musical theatre. After appearing with the Metropolitan Opera beginning in 1918, later appearing opposite Enrico Caruso, she acted on Broadway, creating the title role in Rose Marie...
Mother Tyl	soprano	Florence Easton Florence Easton Florence Easton was a popular English dramatic soprano in the early 20th century. She was one of the most versatile singers of all time. She sang more than 100 parts, covering a wide range of styles and periods, from Mozart, Meyerbeer, Gounod, Verdi, Wagner, Puccini, Strauss, Schreker and Krenek...
Father Tyl	baritone Baritone Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...	Paolo Ananian
Grandmother Tyl	mezzo-soprano	Louise Berat
Grandfather Tyl	bass	Leon Rothier Léon Rothier Léon Rothier was a French musician, predominantly an opera singer in the bass range, who reached the peak of his powers in the early 20th century at New York's Metropolitan Opera....
Maternal Love	soprano	Florence Easton
Joy of Understanding	soprano	Gladys Axman
Light	mezzo-soprano	Flora Perini Flora Perini Flora Perini was an Italian operatic mezzo-soprano who had a prominent opera career in Europe, South America, and the United States during the first half of the twentieth century...
Father Time	bass	Leon Rothier
Bread	baritone	Mario Laurenti
Milk	sorpano	Marie Tiffany Marie Tiffany Marie Tiffany was an American operatic soprano. She was a member of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City from 1916-1928; making a total of 208 appearances at the Met during her career...
The little girl	soprano	Edna Kellogg
Two little lovers	mezzo-soprano, contralto Contralto Contralto is the deepest female classical singing voice, with the lowest tessitura, falling between tenor and mezzo-soprano. It typically ranges between the F below middle C to the second G above middle C , although at the extremes some voices can reach the E below middle C or the second B above...	Minnie Egener Minnie Egener Minnie Egener was an American operatic mezzo-soprano. She made her professional opera debut in 1904 at the Metropolitan Opera as one of the flower maidens in Richard Wagner's Parsifal. In 1906 she moved to Italy and spent the next several years performing in operas with various theaters throughout... , Helena Marsh
Joy of Being Just	-	Margaret Farnham
Joy of Seeing What is Beautiful	mezzo-soprano	Cecil Arden
The fairy	contralto	Jeanne Gordon Ruby (Jeanne) Gordon Ruby "Jeanne" Gordon was a Canadian opera singer active during the early 1900s.Gordon was born in Wallaceburg, Ontario, Canada in 1884 and died in Macon, Missouri on 22 February 1952. Ruby got her big break in July 1919. She was called to New York and offered a three year Metropolitan Opera...
Night	mezzo-soprano	Frances Ingram Frances Ingram Elizabeth Frances Ingram was an American operatic contralto of English birth who had an active career in North America during the 1910s and 1920s.-Life and career:...
The cat	soprano	Margaret Romaine
The dog	-	Robert Cousinou
Mme Berlingot	contralto	Jeanne Gordon
Happiness	soprano	Mary Mellish
The child	-	Ada Vosari
Sugar	tenor Tenor The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...	Octave Dua Octave Dua Octave Dua was a Belgian operatic tenor. He made his professional debut at La Monnaie in 1907 as Jeník in The Bartered Bride. From 1915-1922 he sang for the Chicago Opera Association and from 1919-1921 he performed at the Metropolitan Opera. He was committed to the Royal Opera, London from 1924 to...
Fire	tenor	Angelo Badà Angelo Badà Angelo Badà was an Italian operatic tenor. He had a lengthy association with the Metropolitan Opera of New York City where he gave a total of 2,170 performance in 94 different operas in over 100 different roles from 1908 through 1938. Only two singers in the Met's history have made more...
Another child	-	Miss Kennedy
First child	-	Miss Belleri
Second child	-	Miss Florence
Third child	-	Miss Borniggia
Fourth child	soprano	Phyllis White
Fifth child	-	Miss Manetti

Synopsis

Tyltyl and Mytyl are the children of a poor wood-chopper. At Christmas there is no tree or Christmas stocking for them. When the parents believe them safely tucked up in bed, the children creep out and watch through the window the preparations being made for the holiday in a wealthy neighbour’s home across the way.

While they are absorbed in this, Fairy Berylune enters. She is a witch who demands from the children that they bring her the grass that sings, and the bird that is blue so that her own little child who is sick may be restored to health and happiness. Upon agreeing to find the bird, the fairy crowns Tyltyl with a magic cap set with a wonderful diamond, which has power to disclose the past and future, and to turn inanimate objects and animals into speaking creatures. Everything around the children begins to take life and voice: milk, sugar, light, bread, the fire, cat and dog.

Suddenly the window opens and the children set off on their quest. They go first to the Land of Memory, then the Palace of the Night, Garden of Happiness, the Cemetery and then the Kingdom of the Future, but cannot capture the blue bird. They return home to bed.

When morning comes, a neighbour who looks like the Fairy enters to beg for a blue bird so that her sick child may be cured by the sight of it. Looking around, the children are amazed to see that their own turtle dove has turned blue. They gladly offer it for the sick child, and with the gift the invalid’s spirits return. When Tyltyl asks for its return and the child shows reluctance to give it back, the blue bird escapes from both and flies off.