Lecocq was one of the most famous of all operetta composers, considered in his time as Offenbach’s natural successor. A lifelong bachelor who lived with his mother, and physically handicapped from birth, he had a more serious side to his nature than the levity of his more famous works might suggest. He was a friend of Bizet and Saint-Saëns, and had a remarkably self-revealing correspondence with Chabrier. La fille de Madame Angot has remained in the opéra comique repertoire in France, and one sometimes hears Giroflé-Girofla. Lecocq wrote some hundred songs, most of which never reached print.

from notes by Graham Johnson © 2006
English: Richard Stokes