Silvain. Comédie en un acte et en vers - Grétry, André-Ernest-Modeste 1741-1813; Marmontel, Jean-François 1723-1799 (Paris Grétry Lyon Castaud Serrières, 1770)
Silvain, a one-act opéra-comique, was one of Grétry's biggest early successes. The plot concerns Silvain, who works as a poor farmer after being disinherited by his rich father for marrying a lower-class woman. The pastoral theme and its celebration of rural life was common in opéra-comique of the time but Marmontel's libretto goes much further in advocating social equality and defending the rights of peasants against the encroachment of landowners.
contains spoken texts as well
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silvain_(opera)
Premiered at the Comédie-italienne, Paris, 19 February 1770
Dédié A son Alltesse Royale Monseigneur Le Prince Charles de Pologne Duc de Saxe de Courlande et de Semigalle
Keywords: Opéra-Comique (Paris, France); 18th Century (1701-1800); Opera; Comedy; Paris (France)