La permission de dix heures
La permission de dix heures is a one-act opéra comique by Jacques Offenbach, written in 1867. The French libretto is by Mélesville and Pierre Carmouche, arranged by Nuitter with Carmouche’s approval, based on their earlier comédie-vaudeville from 1841. Offenbach’s version premiered in Bad Ems, Germany, and later had a Paris production that did not stay in the repertoire. Its French premiere occurred in 1873 at the Théâtre de la Renaissance, where it ran for 39 performances. The work was also staged in Vienna in 1868 under the title Urlaub nach Zapfenstreich (Leave after Curfew) and in Budapest in 1871 as Takarodó után (After Curfew).
Plot in simple terms:
Soldier Larose Pompon is engaged to Nicole, whose aunt, the rich Madame Jobin, won't let Nicole marry until she remarries. Larose and his sergeant Lanternick devise a plan: Nicole will appear to be the admirer of Madame Jobin, and Lanternick will be the suitable suitor to win the aunt’s blessing. Although Lanternick can’t press his suit, they manage to get a ten-hour leave so the lovers can meet that evening. A letter is written to help the scheme, and as the retirement call sounds, both soldiers arrange to meet their loves. In the dark, Larose, with an Alsatian accent, asks Madame Jobin to take a walk. When the patrolman Broussaille arrives, confusion ensues: each soldier ends up wooing the wrong woman, and a four-way kiss occurs. In the end Lanternick kneels before Madame Jobin and agrees to marry her, ensuring the happiness of Nicole and Larose.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 00:29 (CET).