Mistral had become well known in Paris with the publication of the French prose translation of Mireio in 1859, and Gounod probably knew the work by 1861. He was charmed by its originality, the story being much less contrived than many of those on the operatic stage at the time. The action of the opera is quite faithful to Mistral, although the sequence of events of the Val d’Enfer (Act 3, Scene 1) and Mireille's avowal of her love of Vincent to her father (Act 2 finale) are reversed in the opera. Gounod's biographer James Harding has argued that "what matters in this extended lyric poem is not the story but the rich tapestry or Provençal traditions, beliefs and customs that Mistral unfolds."

Librettist Michel Carré (after Frédéric Mistral's poem Mireio)
Date of composition 1864
Premiered 1864, March 19th (Théâtre Lyrique) in Paris, France
Dedicated to George V of Hanover
Type Opera
Instruments Orchestra
Chorus/Choir - Mulberry gatherers, townspeople, friends of Ourrias, spirits of the Rhône, farmhands, pilgrims
Voice (Soprano) - Mireille
Voice (Tenor) - Vincent, her lover
Voice (Baritone) - Ourrias, a bull-tender
Voice (Bass) - Maître Ramon, father of Mireille
Voice (Mezzo-Soprano) - Taven, an old woman
Voice (Soprano) - Vincenette, Vincent's sister
Voice (Mezzo-Soprano) - Andreloun, a shepherd
Voice (Bass) - Maître Ambroise, father of Vincent
Voice (Soprano) - Clémence, a friend of Mireille
Voice (Baritone) - A ferryman
Autotranslations beta Charles Gounod: Mireille
Charles Gounod: Mireille
Charles Gounod: Mireille