About the work
Le maçon is an opéra comique in three acts by Daniel-François-Esprit Auber to a libretto by Eugène Scribe and Germain Delavigne, first performed on 3 May 1825 at the Paris Opéra-Comique (Salle Feydeau).
Plot
The mason Roger saves the life of the nobleman Léon and, with the reward, is able to marry his fiancée Henriette. Shortly afterwards, Roger and the locksmith Baptiste are abducted at night and forced, blindfolded, to wall up a chamber and fit chains — without knowing that they are helping a Turkish envoy keep his abducted Greek lover Irma imprisoned. Roger frees Irma and rescues Léon at the same time, so that two weddings can be celebrated in the end.
Cultural significance
Le maçon was Auber's first work to pass 500 performances at the Opéra-Comique and established his international reputation; it remained in the repertoire for a long time, especially in German-speaking countries.