I was, indeed, able to do something beside work for the stage, and it was just that which closed the stage to me.  I was a writer of symphonies, an organist and a pianist, so how could I be capable of writing an opera!  The qualities which go to make a pianist were in a particularly bad light in the greenroom.  Bizet played the piano admirably, but he never dared to play in public for fear of making his position worse.

I suggested to Carvalho that I write a Macbeth for Madame Viardot.  Naturally enough he preferred to put on Verdi’s Macbeth.  It was an utter failure and cost him thirty thousand francs.

They tried to interest a certain princess, a patron of the arts, in my behalf.  “What,” she replied, “isn’t he satisfied with his position?  He plays the organ at the Madeleine and the piano at my house.  Isn’t that enough for him?”

But that wasn’t enough for me, and to overcome the obstacles, I caused a scandal.  At the age of twenty-eight I competed for the Prix de Rome!  They did not give it to me on the ground that I didn’t need it, but the day after the award, Auber, who was very fond of me, asked Carvalho for a libretto for me.  Carvalho gave me Le Timbre d’Argent, which he didn’t know what to do with as several musicians had refused to touch it.  There were good reasons for this, for, despite an excellent foundation for the music, the libretto had serious faults.  I demanded that Barbier and Carre, the authors, should make important changes, which they did at once.  Then, I retired to the heights of Louveciennes and in two months wrote the score of the five acts which the work had at first.

I had to wait two years before Carvalho would consent to hear the music.  Finally, worn out by my importunities, they decided to get rid of me, so Carvalho invited me to dine with him and to bring my score.  After dinner I went to the piano.  Carvalho was on one side and Madame Carvalho on the other.  Both were very pleasant and charming, but the real meaning of this friendliness did not escape me.

They had no doubts about what awaited them.  Both really loved music and little by little they fell under the spell.  Serious attention succeeded the false friendliness.  At the end they were enthusiastic.  Carvalho declared that he would have the study of the work begun as soon as possible; it was a masterpiece; it would have a great success, but to assure this success, Madame Carvalho must sing the principal part.

Now the principal part in Le Timbre d’Argent is that of a dancer and the singer’s part is greatly subordinate.  To remedy this they decided to develop the part.  Barbier invented a pretty situation to bring in the passage Bonheur est chose legere, but that wasn’t enough.  Barbier and Carre racked their brains without finding any solution of the difficulty, for on the stage as elsewhere there are problems that can’t be solved.