Doctor Ox's Experiment
In the sedate Flemish town of Quiquendone, scientist Doctor Ox introduces a gas that speeds up the inhabitants’ lives and thoughts. The town’s cautious leaders approve his project, and the experiment turns a performance of Les Huguenots into chaos, stirring duels and rivalries. In the second act, political agitation becomes a plan to attack a neighboring town; after Ygène protests and an explosion wrecks the town, the residents return to their normal selves and Frantz and Suzel reunite.