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Djamileh is an opéra comique in one act by Georges Bizet to a libretto by Louis Gallet, based on an...

Djamileh is an opéra comique in one act by Georges Bizet to a libretto by Louis Gallet, based on an oriental tale, Namouna, by Alfred de Musset. De Musset wrote Namouna in 1832, consisting of 147 verses in three 'chants' (only the last dozen or so deal with the tale of Namouna). In 1871 when Bizet was stalled on other projects for the stage, Camille du Locle, director of the Opéra-Comique suggested to him a piece written some years earlier by Louis Gallet based on Namouna. After some hesitation, Bizet composed the work during the late summer of 1871 but the premiere production was delayed due to trouble in finding suitable singers. Djamileh received its first performance on 22 May 1872 at the Opéra-Comique, Paris. Although du Locle had lavished great care on the costumes and sets, after ten performances in 1872 it was not revived in Paris until 27 October 1938. Outside France productions were mounted in Stockholm (1889), Rome (1890), and Dublin, Prague, Manchester and Berlin (1892). The original production formed part of a trio of new short works at the Opéra-Comique that spring: Paladilhe's Le Passant in April, then Djamileh, and La princesse jaune (also an orientalist work) by