About the work
Opéra-comique (comédie mêlée d'ariettes) in one act and in verse by André-Ernest-Modeste Grétry to a libretto by Jean-François Marmontel, whose characters derive from his moral tale "L'école des pères". It premiered on 5 January 1769 at the Comédie-Italienne in Paris.
Plot
On the wedding day of Lucile and the young Dorval, a farmer reveals that Lucile was swapped as an infant with the now-deceased biological child of a wealthy family. Despite the shock, Lucile's father Timante persuades the elder Dorval to still consent to the marriage, and the wedding goes ahead.
Cultural significance
Lucile became Grétry's most successful opera of the 1770s, reaching 241 performances by 1793 and a further 49 by 1814. The work is considered a landmark in the development of the sentimental, tear-jerking strand of opéra-comique.