La poupée de Nuremberg
La poupée de Nuremberg (English: The Nuremberg Doll) is a one-act opéra comique by Adolphe Adam to a libretto by Adolphe de Leuven and Arthur de Beauplan. The story is based on E. T. A. Hoffmann’s short story Der Sandmann. The work predates other stage adaptations of Hoffmann's tale, Coppélia and The Tales of Hoffmann.
It was first performed in Paris at the Théâtre Lyrique on 21 February 1852. Berlioz described it as "a whole emporium of waltzes, galops, potpourris… worthy of the Nuremberg fair." It was performed nearly one hundred times at the Théâtre Lyrique over the following 18 years.
The scene takes place in a toy-shop at Nuremberg
Cornelius the owner, has an only son, Donathan, whom he loves despite the boy’s stupidity, while being unjust to his orphan nephew, Miller, whom he keeps like a servant, after having misappropriated the latter's inheritance. The old miser wants to obtain a wife for his son, a wife endowed with beauty and every virtue, and as he believes that such a paragon does not exist, has created a doll, which he hopes to endow with life by help of doctor Faust's magic book.
He awaits a stormy night to carry this out. Meanwhile he enjoys life and is prepares to go with Donathan to a masked ball, having sent his nephew supperless to bed. When they have left Miller reappears in the garb of Mephistopheles and clapping his hands, his fiancée Bertha, a poor seamstress soon enters. Sadly she tells her lover that she is unable to go to the ball, having given all her money, which she had meant to spend on a dress, to a poor beggar-women in the street. Miller, touched by his love's tender heart, determines to lay aside his mask, in order to stay at home with Bertha, when suddenly an idea strikes him. Remembering the doll, which his uncle keeps hidden in his closet, he shows it to Bertha, who delightedly slips into the doll's beautiful clothes which fit her perfectly.
Unfortunately Cornelius and his son are heard returning, while Bertha is still absent dressing. The night has grown stormy, and the old man deems it favourable for the spell. So he proceeds to open Faust's book and to begin the charm. Miller, who just had time to hide himself in the chimney, is driven out by his cousin's attempts to light a fire. He leaps down into the room and Cornelius and Donathan take him for none other than the Devil, Miller wearing his mask and being besides blackened by soot. Perceiving his uncle's terror, he profits by it, and at once beginning a conjuration he summons the doll – that is, Bertha in the doll's dress.
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