''Isoline'' is an opera, described as a (fairy story) in three acts and ten tableaux, on a text by

Catulle Mendès Catulle Mendès (22 May 1841 – 8 February 1909) was a French poet and man of letters. Early life and career Of Portuguese Jewish extraction, Mendès was born in Bordeaux. After childhood and adolescence in Toulouse, he arrived in Paris in 185 ...

, with music by

André Messager André Charles Prosper Messager (; 30 December 1853 – 24 February 1929) was a French composer, organist, pianist and conductor. His compositions include eight ballets and thirty opéra comique, opéras comiques, opérettes and other stage wo ...

Background

In mid-1888 Catulle Mendès had promised 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 ...

of ''Isoline'' to

Emmanuel Chabrier Alexis-Emmanuel Chabrier (; 18 January 184113 September 1894) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer and pianist. His Bourgeoisie, bourgeois family did not approve of a musical career for him, and he studied law in Paris and then worked ...

but according to the writer, the

Théâtre de la Renaissance The name Théâtre de la Renaissance has been used successively for three distinct Parisian theatre companies. The first two companies, which were short-lived enterprises in the 19th century, used the Salle Ventadour, now an office building on th ...

wanted Messager to write the music, as he was better known for writing

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, length of the work, and at face value, subject matter. Apart from its s ...

s and Chabrier had "too much talent, a talent too epic and grand". Messager had already composed incidental music for '' Le petit Poucet'', a staged at the Théâtre de la Gaîté in 1885. Messager probably wrote some of the score at Montivillers, near to

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very cl ...

; in order to complete the

orchestration Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra (or, more loosely, for any musical ensemble, such as a concert band) or of adapting music composed for another medium for an orchestra. Also called "instrumentation", orc ...

in time, he was assisted by

Paul Lacôme Paul-Jean-Jacques Lacôme d'Estalenx (4 March 1838 – 12 December 1920) was a French composer. Between 1870 and the turn of the century he produced a series of operettas and operas-bouffes that were popular both in France and abroad. Interest i ...

, a composer and friend of Chabrier. Just after the première, the theatre started heading towards bankruptcy, although nearly 60 performances took place up to mid February (with the conductor Paul Letombe).Duteurtre B., Notes for ''Isoline'', Ina mémoire vive, 2003.

Performance history

''Isoline'' was premiered at the

, Paris, on 26 December 1888. In the initial run, ''Isoline'' was staged for one matinée and 57 evenings, closing on 20 February 1889. In 1930,

Reynaldo Hahn Reynaldo Hahn (; 9 August 1874 – 28 January 1947) was a Venezuelan-born French composer, conductor, music critic, and singer. He is best known for his songs – ''mélodies'' – of which he wrote more than 100. Hahn was born in Caracas b ...

directed a single performance at the Casino in

Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions I ...

. The

Opéra-Comique The Opéra-Comique is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief rival, the Comédie-Italienne ...

gave a series of performances in 1958 directed by

Jean-Pierre Ponnelle Jean-Pierre Ponnelle (19 February 1932 – 11 August 1988) was a French opera director, set and costume designer. Biography Ponnelle was born in Paris. He studied philosophy, art, and history there and, in 1952, began his career in Germany as a ...

and conducted by

Georges Prêtre Georges Prêtre (; 14 August 1924 – 4 January 2017) was a French orchestral and opera conductor. Biography Prêtre was born in Waziers ( Nord), and attended the Douai Conservatory and then studied harmony under Maurice Duruflé and conducting ...

. Liliane Berton sang Isoline,

Gabriel Bacquier Gabriel Bacquier (; 17 May 1924 – 13 May 2020) was a French operatic baritone. One of the leading baritones of the 20th century and particularly associated with the French and Italian repertoires, he was considered a fine singing actor equ ...

Obéron, and Isolin was made into a tenor, sung by

Alain Vanzo Alain Vanzo (April 2, 1928 – January 27, 2002) was a French opera singer and composer, one of few French tenors of international standing in the postwar era. He, along with such singers as Henri Legay and the Canadian Léopold Simoneau, represen ...

.Blay P., "Du demi-caractère au chant nouveau – André Messager et l’Opéra-Comique." In: ''André Messager''. Ed. Duteutre B. Klincksieck, 2003. Three broadcast recordings have been made of the work: *21 September 1947 – on

Radio France Radio France is the French national public radio broadcaster. Stations Radio France offers seven national networks: *France Inter — Radio France's "generalist" station, featuring entertaining and informative talk mixed with a wide variety of ...

with

Janine Micheau Janine Micheau (17 April 1914 – 18 October 1976) was a French operatic soprano, one of the leading sopranos of her era in France, particularly associated with lyric soprano and coloratura soprano repertory. Biography Janine (or Jeanine) Miche ...

(Isoline), Jane Rolland (Isolin) and

Willy Clément Willy Clément (born in Cairo on 19 July 1918, died in Paris on 7 March 1965) was a French baritone who was noted in light baritone roles and operetta.Caubert A. Portrait - notes for INA memoire vive CD 064, Paris, 2006. Life and career Clément c ...

(Obéron), conducted by

Louis Beydts Louis Beydts was a French composer, music critic and theatre director, born 29 June 1895 in Bordeaux and died on 15 August 1953 at Caudéran in Gironde. Life and career His father was a wine-merchant who played the flute, while his mother played ...

(re-issued by

Institut national de l'audiovisuel The (abbrev. INA), () is a repository of all French radio and television audiovisual archives. Additionally it provides free access to archives of countries such as Afghanistan and Cambodia. It has its headquarters in Bry-sur-Marne. Since 200 ...

); *8 July 1955, with Liliane Berton, Christiane Jacquin and

Camille Maurane Camille Maurane (November 29, 1911 – January 21, 2010), born Camille Moreau, was a French baryton-martin singer. His father was a music teacher and he started singing as a child in the Maîtrise Saint-Evode in Rouen. The sudden death of his moth ...

, conducted by Jules Gressier; and *18 October 1969, with

Lina Dachary Lina Dachary was a French soprano born in 1922 and died in 1999. She was particularly noted for her prolific radio appearances in operetta.

, Janine Capderou and Bernard Demigny, conducted by

Marcel Cariven Marcel Auguste Antoine Cariven, (18 April 1894, Toulouse – 5 November 1979, Crosne near Paris)Oberon Oberon () is a king of the fairies in medieval and Renaissance literature. He is best known as a character in William Shakespeare's play ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', in which he is King of the Fairies and spouse of Titania, Queen of the Fair ...

, king of the elves, in disguise as

Eros In Greek mythology, Eros (, ; grc, Ἔρως, Érōs, Love, Desire) is the Greek god of love and sex. His Roman counterpart was Cupid ("desire").''Larousse Desk Reference Encyclopedia'', The Book People, Haydock, 1995, p. 215. In the earli ...

, en route to Cythère, with happy loving couples as passengers. Princess Isoline sees all this... Oberon then conjures a vision of the handsome young Prince Isolin, son of the Emperor of Credizon, richly dressed, who falls at Isoline's feet. But this was all just a dream... Sur la tour
Captive in her dark castle room, Isoline recalls her dream. Titania, the godmother of Isoline promises to protect the princess against the plans of Oberon. Oberon's magic brings Isolin to her side and each declares their love. La vérité sur le mariage
Oberon next makes the walls of the turret room collapse, and Isoline and Isolin fly off on a golden dragon – despite the despairing cries of her surveillants. However, Titania brings the lovers down – to a sad land where the queen is so ugly that all mirrors are banned, rivers and lakes are drained and all the local maidens weep. Le pays sans miroirs
Oberon appears as a holy man, and proposes that Isolin should marry his fiancée Isoline. Delighted by this, Isolin goes off with the disguised Oberon to arrange the ceremony. Titania, herself disguised as an old beggar, makes Isoline believe that she has become ugly, which drives her to despair. When Isolin returns, Isoline, thinking he wants to marry her through pity, repulses him. La Chimère d'or et de neige
Despairing, the young man draws his dagger to stab himself, but Isoline sees her true reflection in the dagger's blade, and responds once more to his ardour. Le joyeux pays
However, the marriage ceremony is interrupted when the army of Queen Amalasonthe appears, to prevent the union of Isoline and Isolin. Au bord de l'étang
So the stage is set for battle: Isolin and his 1,000 soldiers against Amalasonthe's army; Oberon is convinced that Isolin's side will triumph. Oberon then finds Titania asleep and reflects on his feelings for her, but their duet fails to heal their rift. La forêt de Brocéliande
A few hours later in the forest of Brocéliande Titania gets the fairies (in a choral ballet) to use their charms to hold captive the prince Isolin. But in battle the forces of Isolin are victorious and Queen Amalasonthe surrenders – Isoline may become his wife. Le soir des noces
The marriage ceremony goes ahead, but Titania has ensured that while Isoline is transformed into a boy on her first kiss from Isolin, the groom is transformed into a girl. L'embarquement pour Cythère
So 'Isolin' and 'Isoline' can set sail for Cythère. Oberon and Titania are reconciled and Titania is persuaded to join everyone for the voyage to Cythère.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Isoline 1888 operas French-language operas Operas Operas by André Messager Opéras féeries