In 1925 the composer stated that he began work on "Monsieur Beaucaire" following a meeting with impresario Gilbert Miller in 1916. Messager's son said that most of it was composed during the summer of 1917 in Étretat. Messager's career in London, which included a six-year stint as music director at Covent Garden, concluded with "Monsieur Beaucaire", his second and last opera in English. As well as considerable use of the waltz-time, there are several neo-classical touches in the score. Some of the most popular songs are "I do not know", "Red Rose", and "Philomel".