Fontainbleau; a Comic Opera. In Three Acts

Race crowds fill Mrs. Casey's inn at Fontainbleau, where Lackland demands fine service despite his empty pockets. John O'Keeffe's comic opera brings English visitors into a French setting of courtly manners, expensive appearances and competitive courtship. Henry arrives carrying a troubled account of a duel and hoping to meet a young woman he encountered at the Paris opera. Around these more serious concerns, the Bulls and their acquaintances turn travel abroad into a contest of social pretensions.

Written in 1784, the piece combines dialogue, songs and stage directions across three acts. Sir John Bull's fall from a horse and his family's enthusiasm for French fashion give the comedy a physical, conversational energy. Mrs. Inchbald's introductory remarks discuss its portraits and explain how its comic incidents approach farce. Readers interested in early popular theater can follow both the bustle of the inn and the changing ways these characters try to impress one another.