Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy wrote the French-language libretto based on the 1829 one act play Le carrosse du Saint-Sacrement by Prosper Mérimée, which was revived on 13 March 1850 at the Théâtre-Français.
Fisk extended the repertory to include more operetta— Offenbach's La Périchole had already received its American premiere there, 4 January 1869— and plays, like Sardou's La Patrie, expressly translated for the theater.