L’épreuve villageoise is an opéra bouffon

Opéra bouffon

Opéra bouffon is the French term for the Italian genre of opera called opera buffa performed in 18th-century France, either in the original language or in French translation...

 in two acts by André Grétry to a French libretto by Pierre Desforges

Pierre Jean Baptiste Choudard Desforges

Pierre-Jean-Baptiste Choudard-Desforges was a French dramatist and man of letters.He was born in Paris, the natural son of Dr. Antoine Petit. He was educated at the College Mazarin and the College de Beauvais and, in accordance with his father's wishes, began the study of medicine. Dr...

.

It is a revision of a work called Théodore et Paulin, which was performed once at Versailles

Versailles

Versailles , a city renowned for its château, the Palace of Versailles, was the de facto capital of the kingdom of France for over a century, from 1682 to 1789. It is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and remains an important administrative and judicial centre...

 on 5 March 1784 but never published.

Performance history

L’épreuve villageoise was first performed at the Comédie-Italienne

Comédie-Italienne

Over time, there have been several buildings and several theatrical companies named the "Théâtre-Italien" or the "Comédie-Italienne" in Paris. Following the times, the theatre has shown both plays and operas...

, Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 on 24 June 1784. It became one of the Grétry's most popular opéra-comiques during the 19th century.

Roles

• Mme Hubert, a widow (soprano)
• Denise, her daughter (soprano)
• André, Denise's fiancé (tenor)
• La France (baritone)