L'Aiglon is an opera (drame musical) in five acts composed by Arthur Honegger and Jacques Ibert. Honegger composed Acts II, III, and IV, with Ibert composing Acts I and V. A 2016 reviewer described it as "a singular piece of work" with its "blend of operetta, divertissement, conversation piece, historical pageant and, in the disturbingly powerful fourth act set on the Napoleonic battlefield at Wagram, phantasmagoria peopled with living figures onstage and dead voices off".
| Librettist | Henri Cain (Based on Edmond Rostand's 1900 play, L'Aiglon ("The Eaglet"), about the life of Napoleon II, who was the son of Emperor Napoleon I and his second wife, Empress Marie Louise.) |
| Date of composition | 1937 |
| Premiered | 1937, March 10th in Monte Carlo, Monaco-Ville, Monaco |
| Type | Operetta |
| Catalogue | H 108 |
| Spoken language | French |
| Instruments |
Orchestra
Voice (Bass) - Séraphin Flambeau, Aiglon's footman Voice (Soprano) - L'Aiglon/The Duke of Reichstadt, son of Napoleon Voice (Tenor) - The French attaché Voice (Contralto) - Countess Camerata Voice (Bass) - Le Chevalier de Prokesch-Osten Voice (Bass-Baritone) - Prince Metternich Voice (Mezzo-Soprano) - Marie-Louise Voice (Mezzo-Soprano) - Fanny Elssler Voice (Tenor) - Comte de Sedlinsky Voice (Tenor) - Frédéric de Gentz Voice (Baritone) - Maréchal Marmont Voice (Soprano) - Thérèse de Lorget |
| Autotranslations beta |
Arthur Honegger: L'Aiglon, H 108 Arthur Honegger: L'Aiglon, H 108 Arthur Honegger: L'Aiglon, H 108 |