''Adrien'' (''Hadrian'') is an opera by the French composer

Étienne Méhul Étienne Nicolas Méhul (; 16 November 1765 ~ 24 December 1817) was a French composer of the Classical period (music), classical period. He was known as "the most important opera composer in France during the French Revolution, Revolution". He wa ...

. The

libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...

, by

François-Benoît Hoffman François-Benoît Hoffman (11 July 1760 – 25 April 1828) was a French playwright and critic, best known today for his operatic librettos, including those set to music by Étienne Méhul and Luigi Cherubini (most notably Cherubini's ''Médée'', ...

, is closely based on

Metastasio Pietro Antonio Domenico Trapassi (3 January 1698 – 12 April 1782), better known by his pseudonym of Pietro Metastasio (), was an Italian poet and librettist, considered the most important writer of ''opera seria'' libretti. Early life Me ...

's ''

Adriano in Siria ''Adriano in Siria'' (''Hadrian in Syria'') is a libretto by Italian poet Metastasio first performed, with music by Antonio Caldara, in Vienna in 1732, and turned into an opera by at least 60 other composers during the next century. Metastasio ...

''. Written in 1791 and intended for performance at the

Paris Opéra The Paris Opera (, ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be k ...

in 1792, the work was caught up in the turbulent political climate of the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

and banned until 1799.

Performance history

The opera was originally entitled ''Adrien, empereur de Rome'' and the premiere was scheduled for 13 March 1792. Hoffman had no political message in mind but the first act contained a scene in which the Emperor

Hadrian Hadrian (; la, Caesar Trâiānus Hadriānus ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. He was born in Italica (close to modern Santiponce in Spain), a Roman ''municipium'' founded by Italic settlers in Hispania B ...

celebrates a triumph. At the time, France felt under threat from Austria, whose Emperor Leopold II had just died. Rumours also spread that the horses to be used in the triumph were from the stables of

Marie-Antoinette Marie Antoinette Josèphe Jeanne (; ; née Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last queen of France before the French Revolution. She was born an archduchess of Austria, and was the penultimate child and ...

, the deeply unpopular French queen and Leopold's sister. Many Parisians began to express their displeasure at the forthcoming opera and on 12 March - in spite of the protests of the Opéra, which had invested large sums of money in the production - the political authorities intervened and banned the performance of ''Adrien'' to prevent a possible riot. A storm of controversy broke out in the Press as Hoffman refused to change his libretto, appealing to the law of 1791 which had freed French theatres from censorship as well as the

Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (french: Déclaration des droits de l'homme et du citoyen de 1789, links=no), set by France's National Constituent Assembly in 1789, is a human civil rights document from the French Revolu ...

. Nevertheless, the premiere was replaced by a revival of Piccinni's '' Atys''. In October 1798, the Opéra decided to try again and asked Méhul to revise the work for a performance scheduled for the following year. The revision and rehearsals took place under the supervision of the Minister of the Police, Jean-Pierre Duval, who advised Méhul to drop the word "emperor" from the title. Hadrian was demoted from an emperor to a general and his triumphal march was cut. When the premiere finally took place on 4 June 1799, the critics acclaimed ''Adrien'' as a masterpiece. However, the opera's political woes were not yet at an end. Members of the

Council of Five Hundred The Council of Five Hundred (''Conseil des Cinq-Cents''), or simply the Five Hundred, was the lower house of the legislature of France under the Constitution of the Year III. It existed during the period commonly known (from the name of the e ...

thought the work was an allusion to

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

and the current state of France. On 16 June, the Minister of the Interior,

Lucien Bonaparte Lucien Bonaparte, 1st Prince of Canino and Musignano (born Luciano Buonaparte; 21 May 1775 – 29 June 1840), was French politician and diplomat of the French Revolution and the Consulate. He served as Minister of the Interior from 1799 to 1800 ...

, withdrew ''Adrien'' from the stage after only four performances. It only reappeared in February 1800. Berlioz, an admirer of the composer, referred to ''Adrien'' as "a fine unpublished score." A concert performance of the 1799 version of ''Adrien'', conducted by

György Vashegyi György Vashegyi (born 1970) is a Hungarian harpsichordist and conductor. He founded the Purcell Choir in 1990 for a performance of ''Dido and Aeneas''. From November 2017 he was elected President of the Hungarian Academy of Arts (MMA, Magyar Műv� ...

, was given in Budapest in June 2012. The performance was recorded and subsequently released by Ediciones Singulares in 2014.

Music

The revised 1799 version borrowed its overture from an earlier Méhul opera, ''

Horatius Coclès ''Horatius Coclès'' is an opera in one act and nine scenes (styled an ''acte lyrique'') by the French composer Étienne Nicolas Méhul with a libretto by Antoine-Vincent Arnault. It was first performed at the Paris Opéra on 18 February 1794. It i ...

'' (1794). Dry

recitative Recitative (, also known by its Italian name "''recitativo''" ()) is a style of delivery (much used in operas, oratorios, and cantatas) in which a singer is allowed to adopt the rhythms and delivery of ordinary speech. Recitative does not repea ...

, with only the simplest of orchestral accompaniment, predominates in the early part of the opera, possibly as a way of allowing the singers more freedom in their declamation. Musical numbers become more frequent as the score progresses. The score shows the influence of the ''

Sturm und Drang ''Sturm und Drang'' (, ; usually translated as "storm and stress") was a proto- Romantic movement in German literature and music that occurred between the late 1760s and early 1780s. Within the movement, individual subjectivity and, in particul ...

'' style popular during the French Revolutionary era - and already present in operas such as Johann Christoph Vogel's '' La toison d'or'' (1786). Alexandre Dratwicki in the booklet to the recording, pp. 16-17

Roles

Synopsis

Act One

''Scene: Part of the city of Antioch''
Adrien has just defeated the Parthians and captured the princess Émirène. Her father, King Cosroès, and fiancé, Prince Pharnaspe, attempt to free her. They offer Adrien a ransom but he refuses; the emperor is in love with Émirène himself and wants to marry her. The Parthians attack Antioch, but the Romans defeat them again and capture Pharnaspe.

Act Two

''Scene: A mountain with a cave and a temple to the goddess

Derceto Atargatis (; grc, Ἀτάργατις, translit=Atárgatis or arc, , translit=ʿtrʿth; syc, ܬܪܥܬܐ, translit=Tarʿaṯā) was the chief goddess of northern Syria in Classical antiquity. Ctesias also used the name Derketo ( grc-koi, Δε� ...

''
Émirène successfully pleads with Adrien to save Pharnaspe's life. However, Adrien still intends to marry her and banishes Pharnaspe from Antioch. At this point, news comes that Adrien's own fiancée, Sabine, is about to arrive in the city. Sabine learns of Adrien's new love and plots for Émirène and Pharnaspe to escape together. Cosroès and a band of his followers try to enter Antioch secretly in a bid to assassinate Adrien but they are prevented. Adrien blames Pharnaspe for the conspiracy against his life.

Act Three

''Scene: Adrien's palace in Antioch''
Sabine scornfully prepares to leave Adrien and return to Rome by sea. Adrien tells Cosroès he will spare his life if he will give Adrien his daughter's hand in marriage. Cosroès pretends to agree. Pharnaspe begs Émirène to marry Adrien to save her father. News comes that Adrien has been crowned new emperor of Rome. Adrien shows his magnanimity by freeing Cosroès and allowing Pharnaspe and Émirène to marry. He asks Sabine to become his empress and declares peace between the Romans and Parthians.

Recording

*''Adrien'' (1799 version) Philippe Do (Adrien), Gabrielle Philiponet (Émirène), Jennifer Borghi (Sabine), Philippe Talbot (Pharnaspe), Purcell Choir, Orfeo Orchestra, conducted by György Vashegyi (Ediciones Singulares, 2014)

References

Sources

*Booklet notes to the Vashegyi recording by Alexandre Dratwicki *Adélaïde de Place ''Étienne Nicolas Méhul'' (Bleu Nuit Éditeur, 2005) *Hector Berlioz, ''Evenings with the Orchestra'', translated by

Jacques Barzun Jacques Martin Barzun (; November 30, 1907 – October 25, 2012) was a French-American historian known for his studies of the history of ideas and cultural history. He wrote about a wide range of subjects, including baseball, mystery novels, and ...

(University of Chicago Press, 1973; 1999 reprint)

External links

Manuscript score at Gallica - B.N.F.

1799 edition of the libretto at Google Books
{{Étienne Méhul, state=collapsed Operas by Étienne Méhul 1799 operas French-language operas Operas