A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Robin des Bois

by George Grove

ROBIN DES BOIS. The title of the French version of 'Der Freischütz' at its first appearance in Paris (Odéon, Dec. 7, 1824; Opéra Comique, Jan. 15, 1835; Lyrique, Jan. 24, 1855) The libretto was made by Sauvage; the name of the characters were changed, the action and the story were altered, portions of 'Preciosa' and 'Oberon' were introduced, and the piece was made to end happily. The alterations were due to Castil Blaze, who to save expense scored the music himself from a PF. copy. Nevertheless, with all these drawbacks, so great was the popularity of the music that Castil Blaze made a large sum of money by it. For the translation by Pacini and Berlioz see Freischütz, vol. i. p. 562.

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