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French composer (1818-1893) best remembered for his composition of 'Ave Maria.' Unsigned handwritten musical manuscript by Charles Gounod, four pages on two adjoining sheets, 12.25 x 9.75, being an excerpt of music and lyrics from his four-act opera Cinq-Mars, which debuted at the Opéra-Comique in Paris on April 5, 1877. The excerpt (complete in itself) corresponds to the aria of Father Joseph, the famous "éminence grise" of Richelieu. In fine condition.
In May 1876, Léon Carvalho, the new director of the Opéra-Comique, commissioned an opera from Charles Gounod. Freely adapted from Alfred de Vigny's novel, Cinq-Mars, a lyric drama in four acts, with a libretto by Paul Poirson and Louis Gallet, was composed between the summer and autumn of 1876. The opera depicts the tragedy of a young conspirator during Richelieu's government. Its premiere on April 5, 1877, was a failure. The main reason for this failure stemmed from the work's hybrid nature, a kind of grand opera in miniature. It was surprising that such a dark historical subject would find its place at the Opéra-Comique. Despite the changes made by Gounod, the opera ran for just 56 performances and was withdrawn from the program on January 30, 1878.
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