Sergei Prokofiev, L'amour des trois oranges (1921)

Yup, the libretto is in French (wikipedia claims "because Russian would have been unacceptable to American audiences"--da fuq?), and yes, it's called "The love for three oranges." It's based on a faerie tale, but I gather it has its own weirdness to it, and it's a little difficult to describe the plot without sounding like you're having a stroke: first, there's an audience arguing over whether they want to see a tragedy or comedy or what. Then the action starts, and there's a hypochondriac prince, the son of the King of Clubs. He has to be made to laugh or he'll die, but there are schemers trying to stop this from happening, at least in part by reciting bad poetry to him, so they can take the throne, supported by a sorceress, Fata Morgana. The king decides to have a carnival to make the prince laugh, with the help of a clown, Truffaldino. It seems like it's not going well, but then Fata Morgana has a pratfall and the prince laughs at her, so she curses him by making him obsessed with a love for three oranges. This works immediately, and he drags Truffaldino off with him to look for the oranges, which are in a witch's lair. So they outwit the witch's cook (a woman played by a baritone--a reverse trouser role?) and get the oranges and escape. The oranges keep getting bigger until they hatch one by one into faerie princesses, the first two of which die of thirst, it being a desert (surprisingly morbid). But the audience gives the prince water to save the third one, and in spite of some scheming, the day is saved. The conspirators are going to be executed, but Fata Morgana spirits them away. That is all.

Wikipedia quotes some baffled initial reviews: "The work is intended, one learns, to poke fun. As far as I am able to discern, it pokes fun chiefly at those who paid money for it." I wouldn't say that, but I have to admit...I didn't love this. That same wikipedia article calls it "satirical," but I would be hard-pressed to say what it's satirizing, exactly. I still like Prokofiev's music a lot; let there be no doubt about that. And yet, somehow, this was not my all-time favorite thing. Maybe it should be; I liked The Nose well enough, so obviously I don't need an opera to have a plot that makes sense or is emotionally involving. But...I don't know. This production is a reasonable thing, minimalistic in a way that suits the absurd story, but do I have anything much to say about it? I feel like I really just wanted to register that I did in fact see it.

Also, there's a bit where the villains replace the princess with the conspirators' servant, who it looks like he's going to have to marry. "A negress!" he shouts in despair. Which...hum.