First edition of one of the most popular operas of the Revolution, depicting the down-trodden villagers of the Moon after the arrival of the glamorous aviator Nicodème, bringing news of events in France via Montgolfier balloon. This was an era of tremendous advances in stagecraft, as the theatres of Paris and London vied with each other for the most stupendous effects, which makes it surprising that Beffroy's lunar setting and the use of space travel by hot-air balloon is actually highly unusual.

First edition of one of the most popular operas of the Revolution, depicting the down-trodden villagers of the Moon after the arrival of the glamorous aviator Nicodème, bringing news of events in France via Montgolfier balloon. This was an era of tremendous advances in stagecraft, as the theatres of Paris and London vied with each other for the most stupendous effects, which makes it surprising that Beffroy's lunar setting and the use of space travel by hot-air balloon is actually highly unusual.

Beffroy de Reigny (1757-1811) was a successful journalist and dramatist, usually writing under the nom-de-plume of "Cousin Jacques." His most important works were written in the period immediately succeeding the French revolution, and he was fond of using lunar society to satirise the French, as can be seen in his burlesque journal Les Lunes and its successor the Courrier des planètes.

This is one of several Paris editions of the same year (another appeared in Avignon, and a 'third' edition of 1797 is also recorded, the last with subtle but pessimistic changes to the text). As the title confirms, the opera was first performed in November 1790, running for over four hundred performances.