Le toréador, ou L'accord parfait (
The Toreador, or The Perfect Agreement) is an
opéra comique in two acts by the
French composer
Adolphe Adam with a
libretto by Thomas-Marie-François Sauvage. It was first performed at the
Opéra-Comique,
Paris on May 18, 1849. It was a huge success and the work regularly appeared in the repertoire of the Opéra-Comique until 1869. Adam made use of several familiar pieces of music in the score. The most famous number is a series of variations on
Ah! vous dirai-je, maman (better known as the melody of
Twinkle, twinkle, little star in the English-speaking world). The opera also quotes the aria
Tandis que tout sommeille from
Grétry's
L'amant jaloux and
Je brûlerai d'une flamme éternelle from the same composer's
Le tableau parlant as well as popular folk tunes, including the Spanish
fandango, cachucha and
follia. In spite of this, there is little attempt to give the score local colour. The opera was originally intended to be a single act but was split in two to allow the soprano time to recover her breath in a taxing role.