Le devin du village refused the honor. However, the opera became one of the most popular of its day and brought him both wealth and fame. The opera was also performed at the wedding of the future Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. An English translation by Charles Burney, "The Cunning Man", was performed in London in 1762. Rousseau's work was the object of a parody in the Singspiel "Bastien und Bastienne" by the twelve-year-old Mozart. Colin and Colette love one another, yet they suspect each other of being unfaithful — in Colin's case, with the lady of the manor, and in Colette's with a
The Cobbler and the Financier composer Henri-Joseph Rigel made a two-act comic opera of the fable in 1778. He was followed by Jacques Offenbach who, having set the fable for soloist and small orchestra as part of his "6 fables de la Fontaine" in 1842, later adapted the story to a one-act comic opera in 1856 in which the heroine sings a parody of his own setting. In that light-hearted entertainment, the cobbler turns the tables on his opponent by using the 300 crowns he is given to beat the financier at cards, taking over all his assets and winning the hand of his daughter.