''L'amant jaloux, ou Les fausses apparences'' (''The Jealous Lover, or False Appearances'') is a French
comédie mêlée d'ariettes
The French term ''comédie mêlée d'ariettes'' ('comedy mixed with little songs') was frequently used during the late ''ancien régime'' for certain types of '' opéra comique'' (French opera with spoken dialogue).
The term became popular in th ...
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 ...
first performed at
Versailles
The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...
on 20 November 1778. 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 ...
is by the Irish playwright
Thomas Hales (also known by the French name Thomas d'Hèle) with the verse passages provided by F. Levasseur. It was based on the play ''The Wonder: A Woman Keeps a Secret'' (1714) by
Susannah Centlivre
Susanna Centlivre (c. 1669 (baptised) – 1 December 1723), born Susanna Freeman and also known professionally as Susanna Carroll, was an English poet, actress, and "the most successful female playwright of the eighteenth century". Centlivre's " ...
.
The most famous
aria
In music, an aria (Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompanime ...
s in the opera include ''O douce nuit'', the tenor
serenade
In music, a serenade (; also sometimes called a serenata, from the Italian) is a musical composition or performance delivered in honor of someone or something. Serenades are typically calm, light pieces of music. The term comes from the Italian w ...
''Tandis que tout sommeille'' (''While all are sleeping'') (recorded by
Roberto Alagna
Roberto Alagna (; born 7 June 1963) is a French operatic tenor. He obtained French citizenship in 1981, while also retaining his previous Italian citizenship.
Early years
Alagna was born in Clichy-sous-Bois, outside the city of Paris, in 1963 to ...
, amongst others) and the
coloratura
Coloratura is an elaborate melody with runs, trills, wide leaps, or similar virtuoso-like material,''Oxford American Dictionaries''.Apel (1969), p. 184. or a passage of such music. Operatic roles in which such music plays a prominent part, an ...
display piece ''Je romps la chaîne qui m'engage''. The composer admitted the last named aria had no dramatic function, but he wanted to give his soprano star Marie-Jeanne Trial ("the finest voice ever formed by nature") "a chance to shine". The musicologist David Charlton claims
Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...
and his librettist
Lorenzo da Ponte
Lorenzo Da Ponte (; 10 March 174917 August 1838) was an Italian, later American, opera librettist, poet and Roman Catholic priest. He wrote the libretti for 28 operas by 11 composers, including three of Mozart's most celebrated operas: ''The Marr ...
knew Grétry's opera and were influenced by its ensembles when they wrote ''
The Marriage of Figaro
''The Marriage of Figaro'' ( it, Le nozze di Figaro, links=no, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premie ...
''.
Grétry's score for ''L'amant jaloux'' includes mandolins.
Philip J. Bone, historian of the mandolin, speculated that Grétry was exposed to the instrument while in Italy, and said "he makes use of it upon various occasions, in this instance with a telling and marked impression." ''This instance'' was the seranade ''Tandis que tout sommeille'' (''While all are sleeping'') in ''L'amant jaloux''. Bone called the serenade "a delicate accompaniment for two mandolins".
[Philip J. Bone, ''The guitar and mandolin, Biographies of celebrated players and composers for these instruments'', Schott and Company, London, 1914]
/ref>
Bampton Classical Opera
Bampton Classical Opera is an opera company based in Bampton, Oxfordshire and founded in 1993. It specialises in the production of lesser known opera from the Classical period. Performances are always sung in English. ''Opera today'' called the c ...
performed the opera in English in 2012. The role of Isabelle was sung by the Australian soprano Martene Grimson.
The opera was performed by The Pinchgut Opera
Pinchgut Opera is a chamber opera company in Sydney, Australia, presenting opera from the 17th and 18th centuries performed on period instruments. Founded in 2002, Pinchgut stages two operas each year in Sydney's City Recital Hall. It also perfor ...
in December 2015, in the City Recital Hall
City Recital Hall in Sydney, Australia, is a purpose-built concert venue with the capacity for an audience of 1,238 people seated over three tiers of sloped seating. It is situated in the city centre in Angel Place, just off Martin Place.
City ...
, Sydney, Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
.
Roles
Synopsis
:Place: Cadiz, Spain
The rich merchant Don Lopez does not want his young, widowed daughter Léonore to remarry. However, she is in love with the insanely jealous Don Alonze. Alonze's sister and Léonore's friend, Isabelle, is being pursued by her tutor who wants to marry her. The tutor is driven off by the French officer Florival and Isabelle takes refuge with Léonore. The jealous Alonze mistakes Isabelle her for a secret lover of Léonore (Isabelle is wearing a veil). Léonore is annoyed at the jealous Don Alonze. Florival arrives at the house in search of the mysterious stranger he has saved, with whom he is now in love. The housekeeper Jacinte tells him the house belongs to Léonore and he mistakenly assumes she is the woman he is after. Alonze overhears Florival singing a serenade (''Tandis que tout sommeille'') to "Léonore" and storms off in another jealous rage. Florival and Alonze confront each other in the garden at night. They are both relieved to find they are not rivals when Alonze finally recognises his sister. Alonze has just come into an inheritance which allows him to marry Léonore, and Florival marries Isabelle.
Recordings
Audio
*''L'amant jaloux'' Mady Mesplé
Mady Mesplé (7 March 1931 – 30 May 2020) was a French opera singer, considered the leading coloratura soprano of her generation in France, and sometimes heralded as the successor to Mado Robin, with ''Lakmé'' by Delibes becoming her signatur ...
, Bruce Brewer, Jules Bastin
Jules Bastin (18 August 1933 – 2 December 1996, in Waterloo) was a Belgian operatic bass. Born in , he made his debut in 1960 at La Monnaie, singing Charon in ''L'Orfeo''. He appeared at major opera houses throughout Europe, including the Royal ...
, Danièle Perriers, , Orchestre Philharmonique de la RTB, conducted by Edgard Doneux
Edgard Doneux (Liège, 25 March 1920 – 31 January 1984, Anderlecht) was a Belgian conductor.
Doneux received his entire musical formation at the conservatoire of his native city, and made his conducting debut at the Opéra Royal de Liège, i ...
(EMI, 1978; reissued on CD 7243 5 75263 2 6, 2002)
Video
*''L'amant jaloux'' Magali Léger
Magali Léger is a contemporary French light soprano.
Biography
Originally from Guadeloupe, Léger was a student of Christiane Eda-Pierre. In 1999, she won a First prize at the Conservatoire de Paris.
In 2003 she was nominated in the "Ré ...
, Claire Debono, Maryline Fallot, Frédéic Antoun, Brad Cooper, Vincent Billier, Le Cercle de l'Harmonie, conducted by Jérémie Rhorer (Wahoo 1 DVD, 2010)
References
Sources
* Article by David Charlton in ''The Viking Opera Guide'' ed. Holden (1993)
* Booklet notes to the above recording
{{DEFAULTSORT:Amant jaloux
Operas by André Grétry
French-language operas
Comédies mêlées d'ariettes
Operas