''Guillaume Tell'' (''William Tell'') is an

opéra comique ''Opéra comique'' (; plural: ''opéras comiques'') is a genre of French opera that contains spoken dialogue and arias. It emerged from the popular '' opéras comiques en vaudevilles'' of the Fair Theatres of St Germain and St Laurent (and to a l ...

, described as a ''drame mise en musique'', in three acts by

André Grétry André Ernest Modeste Grétry (; baptised 11 February 1741; died 24 September 1813) was a composer from the Prince-Bishopric of Liège (present-day Belgium), who worked from 1767 onwards in France and took French nationality. He is most famous ...

, The French text was by

Michel-Jean Sedaine Michel-Jean Sedaine (2 June 1719 – 17 May 1797) was a French dramatist and librettist, especially noted for his librettos for '' opéras comiques'', in which he took an important and influential role in the advancement of the genre from th ...

based on a play of the same name by

Antoine-Marin Lemierre Antoine-Marin Lemierre (12 January 17334 July 1793) was a French dramatist and poet. Life He was born in Paris, into a poor family, but found a patron in the collector-general of taxes, Dupin, whose secretary he became. Lemierre gained his firs ...

Performance history

It was first performed by the

Comédie-Italienne Comédie-Italienne or Théâtre-Italien are French names which have been used to refer to Italian-language theatre and opera when performed in France. The earliest recorded visits by Italian players were commedia dell'arte companies employed b ...

at the first Salle Favart in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

on 9 April 1791 and was revived on 24 May 1828 at the

Salle Feydeau Salle is the French word for 'hall', 'room' or 'auditorium', as in: * Salle des Concerts Herz, a former Paris concert hall *Salle Favart, theatre of the Paris Opéra-Comique *Salle Le Peletier, former home of the Paris Opéra *Salle Pleyel, a Par ...

in a version much revised by

Henri Montan Berton Henri-Montan Berton (17 September 1767 – 22 April 1844) was a French composer, teacher, and writer, mostly known as a composer of operas for the Opéra-Comique. Career Henri-Montan Berton was born the son of Pierre Montan Berton.Charlton ...

with music borrowed from other works of Grétry, including ''Amphitryon'', ''Céphale et Procris'', ''

Aucassin et Nicolette ''Aucassin et Nicolette'' (12th or 13th century) is an anonymous medieval French fictional story. It is the unique example of a ''chantefable'', literally, a "sung story", a combination of prose and verse (similar to a ''prosimetrum''). History ...

'', ''Callias'', and ''Élisca'', and a new libretto by Jean-Baptiste Pélissier. Grétry's ''Guillaume Tell'' disappeared from the repertoire as Rossini's 1829 opera on the same subject gained preference. An

Opéra royal de Wallonie The Opéra royal de Wallonie is a Belgian Opera house located on the Place de l'Opéra, in Liège, Belgium. Together with La Monnaie and the Vlaamse Opera, the ''Opéra royal'', as it is colloquially known, is one of the three major opera house ...

production at the Theatre Royal in Liege in July 2013 featured

Marc Laho Marc Laho (born 15 January 1965) is a Belgian lyric tenor opera singer. Biography Laho was born in Seraing, Belgium. He studied at the Royal Conservatory of Liège in Belgium and later with Luigi Alva, Alain Vanzo, and Gabriel Bacquier. He ma ...

in the title role and was conducted by

Claudio Scimone Claudio Scimone (23 December 1934 – 6 September 2018) was an Italian conductor. He was born in Padua, Italy and studied conducting with Dmitri Mitropoulos and Franco Ferrara. He established an international reputation as a conductor, as well a ...

.Grétry à l’Opéra royal de Wallonie : l’autre Guillaume Tell
Retrieved 20 July 2013.

Roles

Synopsis

The opera is set in 13th-century

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. Like

Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards f ...

's later work of the same name it portrays the heroic struggle of the liberty-aspiring Swiss patriots led by Tell against the evil and oppressive Austrians under Guesler, the local governor.

Recording

*''Guillaume Tell'', Marco Laho (Guillaume Tell), Anne-Catherine Gillet (Madame Tell), Lionel Lhote (Gessler), Orchestre et Chœurs de l'Opéra royal de Wallonie, conducted by

(Musique en Wallonie, 1 CD, 2013)

References

Sources

* * Charlton, David (1992). ''Guillaume Tell'' in ''

The New Grove Dictionary of Opera ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' is an encyclopedia of opera, considered to be one of the best general reference sources on the subject. It is the largest work on opera in English, and in its printed form, amounts to 5,448 pages in four volu ...

'', edited by

Stanley Sadie Stanley John Sadie (; 30 October 1930 – 21 March 2005) was an influential and prolific British musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the '' Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (1980), which was publ ...

. London: Macmillan. *

Karl-Josef Kutsch Karl-Josef Kutsch, also known as K. J. Kutsch, (born 11 May 1924) is a German physician and co-author with Leo Riemens of the ''Großes Sängerlexikon'', the standard reference for opera singers. Life and work Born in Gangelt, Kutsch studied me ...

and

Leo Riemens Leonardus Antony Marinus Riemens (3 December 1910 – 3 April 1985) was a Dutch musicologist and cultural journalist. He wrote a book about Maria Callas, and together with Karl-Josef Kutsch began a reference book about opera singers in 1962, which ...

(2003). ''

Großes Sängerlexikon ''Großes Sängerlexikon'' (''Biographical Dictionary of Singers'', literally: Large singers' lexicon) is a single-field dictionary of singers in classical music, edited by Karl-Josef Kutsch and Leo Riemens and first published in 1987. The first ...

'' (fourth edition, in German). Munich: K. G. Saur. . * Wild, Nicole; Charlton, David (2005). ''Théâtre de l'Opéra-Comique Paris: répertoire 1762-1972''. Sprimont, Belgium: Editions Mardaga. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Guillaume Tell (Gretry) Opéras comiques French-language operas Operas by André Grétry Operas set in the 13th century Operas set in Switzerland 1791 operas Operas Cultural depictions of William Tell Music based on European myths and legends