Hamlet is a grand opera in five acts of 1868 by the French composer Ambroise Thomas (1811 – 1896), with a libretto by Michel Carré and Jules Barbier based on a French adaptation by Alexandre Dumas of William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet.
Danish March: The entrance of the royal court is accompanied by a four-and-a-half minute march in alla breve time and A-B-A form which is introduced with a fanfare.
Chanson Bacchique: Seizing a goblet, Hamlet sings a song in praise of wine (Hamlet: Ô vin, dissipe la tristesse qui pése sur mon cœur! À moi les rêves de l’ivresse et le rire moqueur! – “O wine, dispel the sorrow which weighs on my heart! Give me dreams of euphoria and the mocking laugh!”).