Panurge, like Colinette à la cour, features recitative, rather than spoken dialogue. In his memoirs, Grétry recognized Panurge for being the first comic opera to enjoy a successful run at the Opéra, and he saw it as a turning point for this theater, which traditionally presented serious plots (Grétry, Memoires; ou, Essais sur la musique, 377). The overture to Panurge was featured on concerts in the nineteenth century, and although the opera eventually disappeared from the repertoire, its long stint was noted as late as 1866, by which time it was no longer being performed (Crozet, Revue de la musique dramatique en France, 275-76).

As with many French operas, Rousseau’s Le devin du village was first staged for the court, appearing at Fountainebleau on 18 October 1752. The work was then performed at the Paris Opéra on 1 March 1753. The historical importance of this short intermè is closely tied to its role in the famous Querelle de bouffons, a debate about the merits of French serious opera in comparison to Italian comic opera (especially Pergolesi’s La serva padrona).

Map shows known geography and major cities located in North America, South America, Southern Europe, and Western Africa. Inset: [Supplement to the north-west of America, after the discoveries of Captain Cook]. Includes text. Boundaries outlined in color. Relief shown pictorially. Scale [ca. 1:32,000,000].

Map shows extent of North America west and south to the Rio Grande and the Gulf of Mexico, east to the Atlantic coast, and north to the Great Lakes; French Louisiana extends to the Red River [or by coloration to the Rio Grande] in the southwest and to the western boundaries of the American colonies [United States]; major roads, cities and settlements, areas of Native American habitation. Relief shown pictorially. Scale not given.