Monsieur Beaucaire is the official March for The Royal Canadian Dragoons. Monsieur Beaucaire is an operetta in three acts, composed by André Messager. The libretto, based on the 1900 novel by Booth Tarkington, is by Frederick Lonsdale, with lyrics by Adrian Ross. The production previewed in Birmingham beginning on 7 April, 1919 before opening at the Prince's Theatre in London under the management of Frank Curzon on 19 April 1919 and transferring to the Palace Theatre on 29 July 1919, for a successful run.
Monsieur Beaucaire was also produced on Broadway in 1919-20 and enjoyed many revivals and international tours. It has remained in the repertoire in France since its Paris premiere at the Marigny Theatre, on November 21, 1925, with a French adaptation by André Rivoire and Pierre Veber, and starring André Baugé.
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. Some of the most popular songs are "I do not know", "Red Rose" and "Philomel".
