Les cadeaux de Noël

Les cadeaux de Noël
Opera by Xavier Leroux
Cover of the piano/vocal score published by Éditions Choudens in 1915
Librettist	Émile Fabre
Premiere	25 December 1915 (1915-12-25) Salle Favart, Paris

Les cadeaux de Noël (The Christmas Gifts) is an opera in one act composed by Xavier Leroux to a French-language libretto by Émile Fabre. Described as a conte héroïque (heroic tale), it was premiered by the Opéra-Comique at the Salle Favart Theatre in Paris on Christmas Day 1915. Its story of four children, whose parents had been killed by German soldiers but who nevertheless found hope in a seemingly bleak Christmas, had a particular resonance with French audiences in the midst of World War I. The opera was a great success in Paris, and subsequently performed in Italy, Monte Carlo and Latin America.

The Opéra-Comique, one of France's most prosperous opera companies, was hard hit by the outbreak of World War I in the summer of 1914. By October, 127 of its musicians, singers, and staff had been mobilized to the Western Front. The threat to Paris by the advancing German army had also led to the closure of the city's theatres until December 1914, when the theatres were allowed to re-open for matinee performances. In the meantime, the company's conductor-in-chief, Paul Vidal, and the other directors had managed to reorganize and stabilize the company. In 1915, in addition to revivals of past successes, several new works were presented (often with a military or patriotic theme), including Les cadeaux de Noël. Its composer, Xavier Leroux, was well-known on the Paris stages for his operas and theatre music. Three of his operas, La reine Fiammette (1903), Le chemineau (1907) and Le carillonneur (1913) had premiered at the Opéra-Comique. The libretto of Les cadeaux de Noël was written by the playwright Émile Fabre. In 1915 he became the general administrator of the Comédie-Française and founder of the Théâtre Aux Armées, a theatrical troupe which entertained French soldiers during the war.