“ His opera of that name was produced with success at the Paris Opéra in 1868, where it enjoyed a long vogue. If the music is scarcely adequate to the subject, it nevertheless contains some of the composer’s best work. The scene of the esplanade is genuinely dramatic, the part of Ophelia is poetically conceived, and the ballet music is very brilliant. Ambroise Thomas’s last opera, Françoise de Rimini, was given at the Opera in 1882, but has not maintained itself in the répertoire. ”

“ Mme Galli Marié, the original interpreter of the title-rôle, had modelled her conception of the part upon the well-known picture by Ary Scheffer, and Mignon at once took the fancy of the public, its success being repeated all over the continent. It has since remained one of the most popular operas belonging to the second half of the 19th century. ”