Editing Daniel Auber (section)

===Operatic success===
In 1822 Auber began a collaboration with the [[libretto|librettist]] [[Eugène Scribe]] that lasted for 41 years and produced 39 operas.<ref>Hueffer ''et al'', pp. 253–254; and Schneider in ''Grove''</ref> Auber's biographer [[Robert Letellier]] writes that the names of Scribe and Auber became as linked in French minds as those of [[Gilbert and Sullivan]] later were in British ones.<ref>Letellier, p. 5</ref> The partners' first collaboration was ''Leicester, ou Le château de Kenilworth'', a three-act [[opéra comique]], with a plot derived by Scribe, in collaboration with [[Mélesville]], from [[Walter Scott]]'s [[historical romance]] ''[[Kenilworth (novel)|Kenilworth]]''.{{refn|Scribe frequently wrote his librettos in collaboration with other writers. For Auber he worked with, among others, [[X. B. Saintine]], [[Édouard-Joseph-Ennemond Mazères|E.-J.-E. Mazères]] and [[Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges]] as well as [[Mélesville]] and [[Germain Delavigne]].<ref>Malherbe, pp. 42, 47 and 51</ref>|group=n}} It was given by the [[Opéra-Comique]] company at the [[Théâtre Feydeau|Salle Feydeau]] in January 1823 with [[Antoine Ponchard]] and [[Antoinette Lemonnier]] in the leading roles, and received 60 performances over the next five seasons.<ref>Malherbe, p. 36</ref> Schneider writes of the collaboration:
[[File:Eugène-Scribe-anonymous-c1820.png|thumb|left|upright=.6|[[Eugène Scribe]], Auber's principal librettist from 1822 to 1860|alt=dark-haired, clean-shaven young white man in early 19th-century costume]]
{{blockindent|Scribe and Auber became the leading exponents of opéra comique in France, enjoying success in the German-speaking states, Denmark and England as well – reflected in the numbers of vocal scores, piano arrangements and translations of the librettos.<ref name=grove/>|}}

During the rest of the 1820s Auber's collaborations with Scribe were mostly successful, with long runs by the standards of the day.<ref>Malherbe, pp. 36–40</ref> By contrast, his only opera without Scribe from this period ran for seven performances.{{refn|''Vendôme en Espagne'', with words by [[Adolphe-Simonis Empis]] and Edouard Mennechet and music co-written with [[Ferdinand Hérold]], was given at the [[Paris Opéra]] at the [[Salle Le Peletier]] in 1823.<ref>Malherbe, p. 37</ref>|group=n}} By 1825 Auber was eminent enough in his profession to be made a chevalier of the [[Legion of Honour]] by the government of [[Charles X of France|Charles X]].{{refn|He was promoted successively within the order to officier (1835), commandeur (1847) and grand officier (1861).<ref name=m70/>|group=n}}

Although most of Auber's operas from this period were in the established genre of [[opéra comique]] – works with spoken dialogue, usually in three acts – in 1825 he wrote the first French [[grand opera]], ''[[La muette de Portici|La Muette de Portici]]'', a five-act piece, with extensive ballet numbers, and [[recitative]] instead of spoken dialogue. The original libretto was by [[Germain Delavigne]], adapted and revised by Scribe. After the premiere at the [[Paris Opéra]] in February 1828, productions opened in London in May 1829 and New York in November of the same year.<ref name=m7/> By 1882 the piece had been given more than 500 times in Paris, and was performed in translated versions throughout Europe.<ref>Malherbe, p. 40; and Schneider in ''Grove''</ref> A spectacular ballet, ''Masaniello'', with the same story, using Auber's music, was popular in London in the later 1820s.<ref>"King's Theatre", ''The Morning Post'', 8 June 1829, p. 2</ref> Schneider writes that Auber consolidated his international reputation with ''La Fiancée'' (1829) and ''[[Fra Diavolo (opera)|Fra Diavolo]]'' (1830), both with Scribe.<ref name=grove/>