A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Richard Cœur de Lion

RICHARD CŒUR DE LION. An opéra-comique in 3 acts; words by Sedaine, music by Grétry. Produced at the Opéra Comique Oct. 21, 1784. The piece has a certain historical value. One of the airs, 'Une fièvre brulante,' was for long a favourite subject for variations. Beethoven wrote a set of 8 upon it (in C major), published in Nov. 1798, having probably heard the air at a concert of Weigl's in the preceding March. Another set of 7 (also in C) were for long attributed to Mozart, but are now decided not to be by him. The air 'Richard, o mon roi, l'univers t'abbandonne' was played on a memorable occasion in the early stage of the French Revolution at the banquet at Versailles on Oct. 1, 1789.

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