''La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein'' (''The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein'') is an
opéra bouffe
Opéra bouffe (, plural: ''opéras bouffes'') is a genre of late 19th-century French operetta, closely associated with Jacques Offenbach, who produced many of them at the Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens, inspiring the genre's name.
Opéras bouf ...
(a form of
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 ...
), in three acts and four tableaux by
Jacques Offenbach
Jacques Offenbach (, also , , ; 20 June 18195 October 1880) was a German-born French composer, cellist and impresario of the Romantic period. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s to the 1870s, and his uncompleted opera '' ...
to an original French
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
Henri Meilhac
Henri Meilhac (23 February 1830 – 6 July 1897) was a French dramatist and opera librettist, best known for his collaborations with Ludovic Halévy on Georges Bizet's ''Carmen'' and on the works of Jacques Offenbach, as well as Jules Massenet's ...
and
Ludovic Halévy
Ludovic Halévy (1 January 1834 – 7 May 1908) was a French author and playwright, best known for his collaborations with Henri Meilhac on Georges Bizet's ''Carmen'' and on the works of Jacques Offenbach.
Biography
Ludovic Halévy was born in P ...
. The story is a satirical critique of unthinking
militarism
Militarism is the belief or the desire of a government or a people that a state should maintain a strong military capability and to use it aggressively to expand national interests and/or values. It may also imply the glorification of the mili ...
and concerns a spoiled and tyrannical young Grand Duchess who learns that she cannot always get her way.
The opera premiered in Paris in 1867 and starred
Hortense Schneider
Hortense Catherine Schneider, ''La Snédèr'', (30 April 1833 in Bordeaux, France – 5 May 1920, in Paris, France) was a French soprano, one of the greatest operetta stars of the 19th century, particularly associated with the works of composer J ...
in the title role. Thereafter, it was heard in New York, London and elsewhere, and it is still performed and recorded.
Background
Offenbach's career was at its height in the 1860s with the premieres of some of his most popular and enduring works, such as ''
La Belle Hélène
''La belle Hélène'' (, ''The Beautiful Helen'') is an opéra bouffe in three acts, with music by Jacques Offenbach and words by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy. The piece parodies the story of Helen of Troy, Helen's elopement with Paris (myt ...
'' (1864) and ''
La Vie parisienne'' (1866). With the original production of the latter still running, Offenbach and his librettists hurried to prepare a new opera, ''La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein'', to play during the Paris Exposition (''
Exposition universelle'') of 1867. Offenbach assisted Meilhac and Halévy in shaping the libretto. They were eager to ensure a hit, and so they engaged the immensely popular
Hortense Schneider
Hortense Catherine Schneider, ''La Snédèr'', (30 April 1833 in Bordeaux, France – 5 May 1920, in Paris, France) was a French soprano, one of the greatest operetta stars of the 19th century, particularly associated with the works of composer J ...
, who had created the title role in ''La Belle Hélène'', among other Offenbach roles, paying her the extraordinarily rich monthly sum of 4,500 francs. Schneider, in addition to her vocal gifts, was well able to portray the commanding and saucy character of the Grand Duchess, which parodied
Catherine the Great
, en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes
, house =
, father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst
, mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp
, birth_date =
, birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anhal ...
.
[Corleonis, Adrian]
"''La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein'', operetta in 3 acts: Description
Allmusic.com, accessed 21 June 2011
The April 1867 premiere was an immediate hit, and a parade of European royalty, drawn to Paris by the Exposition, attended performances of the operetta. Among those attending were French emperor
Napoleon III
Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...
; the future King
Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910.
The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria an ...
; Tsar
Alexander II of Russia
Alexander II ( rus, Алекса́ндр II Никола́евич, Aleksándr II Nikoláyevich, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ftɐˈroj nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ; 29 April 181813 March 1881) was Emperor of Russia, Congress Poland, King of Poland and Gra ...
and his son
Grand Duke Vladimir;
Franz-Joseph, Emperor of
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
;
Otto von Bismarck
Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (, ; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898), born Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck, was a conservative German statesman and diplomat. From his origins in the upper class of J ...
, the
Prime Minister of Prussia
The office of Minister-President (german: Ministerpräsident), or Prime Minister, of Prussia existed from 1848, when it was formed by King Frederick William IV during the 1848–49 Revolution, until the abolition of Prussia in 1947 by the Alli ...
; and other crowned heads, generals, and ministers.
[Grovlez, Gabriel]
"Jacques Offenbach: A Centennial Sketch"
''The Musical Quarterly'', Vol. 5, No. 3 (July 1919), pp. 329–337 Of the military satire in the piece, Bismarck remarked, "''C'est tout-à-fait ça!''" (That's exactly how it is!)
[
Three years later the Franco-Prussian War broke out, and the operetta was later banned in France, because of its ]antimilitarism
Antimilitarism (also spelt anti-militarism) is a doctrine that opposes war, relying heavily on a critical theory of imperialism and was an explicit goal of the First and Second International. Whereas pacifism is the doctrine that disputes (especia ...
, after the French defeat.
Performance history
19th century
The opera was first performed at the Théâtre des Variétés
The Théâtre des Variétés is a theatre and "salle de spectacles" at 7–8, boulevard Montmartre, 2nd arrondissement, in Paris. It was declared a monument historique in 1974.
History
It owes its creation to the theatre director Mademoiselle ...
in Paris on 12 April 1867 and starred Hortense Schneider as the Duchess, who was highly successful in the title role.[ The work was given at the ]Theater an der Wien
The is a historic theatre in Vienna located on the Left Wienzeile in the Mariahilf district. Completed in 1801, the theatre has hosted the premieres of many celebrated works of theatre, opera, and symphonic music. Since 2006, it has served prima ...
, Vienna, in a German version by Julius Hopp Julius Hopp (18 May 1819 – 28 August 1885) was an Austrian composer, conductor, arranger and translator.
Life and career
Born in Graz, Empire of Austria, the son of the actor and poet Friedrich Hopp, Lucius became known in the 1860s and 1870s ...
on 13 May 1867, starring Marie Geistinger
Marie Charlotte Cäcilie Geistinger (1836–1903) was a celebrated Austrian actress and operatic soprano, known as the "Queen of Operetta". She frequently appeared in works by Jacques Offenbach, Johann Strauss II and Franz von Suppé. She achiev ...
, and at the Friedrich-Wilhelmstädtisches Theater, Berlin on 10 January 1868.
The piece was first heard in New York City, in French, in September 1867 at the Théâtre Français, where it ran for six months.[''The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein'']
The Guide to Musical Theatre, accessed 19 June 2011 In November 1867 the opera appeared at Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...
, in an English translation by Charles Lamb Kenney
Charles Lamb Kenney (29 April 1821 – 25 August 1881) was a journalist, dramatist and miscellaneous writer.
He was the second son of the dramatist James Kenney.
After working as a clerk in the General Post Office in London, he joined the ...
,[ starring ]Julia Matthews
Julia Matthews (14 December 1842 – 19 May 1876) was an English-born actress and singer who was popular on the stage, particularly in Melbourne. Matthews was born in London in 1842. She received a marriage proposal from Robert O'Hara Burke short ...
in the title role; subsequent tours of that production starred Mrs Howard Paul
Isabella Hill (1 April 1833 – 6 June 1879), better known as Mrs Howard Paul, was an English actress, operatic singer and actress-manager of the Victorian era, best remembered for creating the role of Lady Sangazure in the Gilbert and Sullivan ...
and later Emily Soldene
Emily Soldene (30 September 1838 – 8 April 1912) was an English singer, actress, director, theatre manager, novelist and journalist of the late Victorian era and the Edwardian period. She was one of the most famous singers of comic opera in t ...
. The following year, making her London debut, Schneider triumphed in the role, in the first of several visits to the British capital.[ Lamb, Andrew. "Offenbach's conquest of London", ''About the House'', Vol. 5, No. 12, Summer 1980, pp. 35–39. The article was originally published by the Offenbach 1980 Centenary Committee, London.]
The opera was produced in English in New York City at the New York Theatre in 1868, at Wood's Museum and Metropolitan beginning on 14 November 1870, and at the Union Square Theatre from 3 July 1872. In 1869 the work was revived in Paris, with Zulma Bouffar
Zulma Madeleine Boufflar, known as Zulma Bouffar, (24 May 1841 – 20 January 1909), was a French actress and soprano singer, associated with the opéra-bouffe of Paris in the second half of the 19th century who enjoyed a successful career a ...
in the lead. The opera was seen in Australia in 1873, starring Alice May
Alice May (1847 – 16 August 1887) was an English singer and actress best remembered as the creator of the soprano role of Aline in Gilbert and Sullivan's ''The Sorcerer'' (1877).
After musical studies as a child, May studied voice in London ...
, who also took the title role at the Gaiety Theatre, London
The Gaiety Theatre was a West End theatre in London, located on Aldwych at the eastern end of the Strand. The theatre was first established as the Strand Musick Hall in 1864 on the former site of the Lyceum Theatre. In 1868, it became known a ...
in 1876. Several productions were staged in New York in the early 1890s, the first one at the Casino Theatre. Another English adaptation was presented at the Savoy Theatre
The Savoy Theatre is a West End theatre in the Strand in the City of Westminster, London, England. The theatre was designed by C. J. Phipps for Richard D'Oyly Carte and opened on 10 October 1881 on a site previously occupied by the Savoy Pala ...
in London by the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company is a professional British light opera company that, from the 1870s until 1982, staged Gilbert and Sullivan's Savoy operas nearly year-round in the UK and sometimes toured in Europe, North America and elsewhere. Th ...
in 1897–98 with a new translation by Charles Brookfield
Charles Hallam Elton Brookfield (19 May 1857 – 20 October 1913) was a British actor, author, playwright and journalist, including for '' The Saturday Review''. His most famous work for the theatre was '' The Belle of Mayfair'' (1906).
Brookfie ...
and lyrics by Adrian Ross
Arthur Reed Ropes (23 December 1859 – 11 September 1933), better known under the pseudonym Adrian Ross, was a prolific writer of lyrics, contributing songs to more than sixty British musical comedies in the late 19th and early 20th centuries ...
, starring Florence St. John
Margaret Florence Greig (8 March 1855 – 30 January 1912), known by her stage name Florence St. John, was an English singer and actress of the late Victorian and Edwardian eras famous for her roles in operetta, musical burlesque, music hall ...
, Florence Perry
Florence Perry (13 July 1869 – 19 December 1949) was an English opera singer and actress best known for her performances with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company.
Biography
Florence Julia Perry was born in London in 1869. Her first professional ...
, Walter Passmore
Walter Henry Passmore (10 May 1867 – 29 August 1946) was an English singer and actor best known as the first successor to George Grossmith in the comic baritone roles in Gilbert and Sullivan operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company.
Passmo ...
and Henry Lytton
Sir Henry Lytton (born Henry Alfred Jones; 3 January 1865 – 15 August 1936) was an English actor and singer who was the leading exponent of the starring comic patter-baritone roles in Gilbert and Sullivan operas from 1909 to 1934. He also sta ...
. The production ran for 104 performances, and was reviewed as vivacious, but sanitised and "prudish".
There were revivals in Paris at the Variétés in the 1880s and 1890s, with stars including Jeanne Granier
Jeanne Granier (31 March 1852 – 18 or 19 December 1939) was a French soprano, born and died in Paris, whose career was centred on the French capital.Gänzl K. Jeanne Granier. In: ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera.'' Macmillan, London and ...
.
20th century and beyond
Productions during the 20th century included one at Daly's Theatre
Daly's Theatre was a theatre in the City of Westminster. It was located at 2 Cranbourn Street, just off Leicester Square. It opened on 27 June 1893, and was demolished in 1937.
The theatre was built for and named after the American impresar ...
in London in 1937. In the U.S., there were several presentations by the Santa Fe Opera
Santa Fe Opera (SFO) is an American opera company, located north of Santa Fe, New Mexico. After creating the ''Opera Association of New Mexico'' in 1956, its founding director, John Crosby (conductor), John Crosby, oversaw the building of the fir ...
in 1971, which were repeated in 1972, 1974, 1979 and 2013. The singers for Santa Fe included Huguette Tourangeau in the title role in 1972, and Donald Gramm
Donald John Gramm (February 26, 1927 – June 2, 1983) was an American bass-baritone whose career was divided between opera and concert performances. His appearances were primarily limited to the United States, which at the time was unusual for an ...
and Richard Stilwell in both 1971 and 1972. Emmanuel Villaume
Emmanuel Villaume (born 1964 in Strasbourg, France) is a French orchestra conductor. He is currently music director of the Dallas Opera and chief conductor of the Prague Philharmonia.
Biography
Villaume began his musical education at the Strasbou ...
conducted in 2013, with Susan Graham
Susan Graham (born July 23, 1960) is an American mezzo-soprano.
Life and career
Susan Graham was born in Roswell, New Mexico on July 23, 1960. Raised in Midland, Texas, Graham is a graduate of Texas Tech University and the Manhattan School o ...
in the title role. A 1978 production was given at the Collegiate Theatre
Collegiate may refer to:
* College
* Webster's Dictionary, a dictionary with editions referred to as a "Collegiate"
* ''Collegiate'' (1926 film), 1926 American silent film directed by Del Andrews
* ''Collegiate'' (1936 film), 1936 American musi ...
in London, produced by Park Lane Opera, starring Patricia Routledge
Dame Katherine Patricia Routledge, (; born 17 February 1929) is an English actress, singer and broadcaster. For her role as Hyacinth Bucket in the BBC sitcom ''Keeping Up Appearances'' (1990–1995), she was nominated for the BAFTA TV Award f ...
and David Hillman, and conducted by Vilém Tauský Vilém Tauský CBE (20 July 1910, Přerov, Moravia – 16 March 2004, London) was a Czech conductor and composer who, from the advent of the Second World War, lived and worked in the UK, one of a significant group of émigré composers and musici ...
. A French production starring Régine Crespin
Régine Crespin (23 February 1927 – 5 July 2007) was a French singer who had a major international career in opera and on the concert stage between 1950 and 1989. She started her career singing roles in the dramatic soprano and spinto soprano ...
was televised in 1980, and New York City Opera
The New York City Opera (NYCO) is an American opera company located in Manhattan in New York City. The company has been active from 1943 through 2013 (when it filed for bankruptcy), and again since 2016 when it was revived.
The opera company, du ...
mounted the piece in 1982.
The first performance of the Keck critical edition, which restored Offenbach's orchestration and opened the many cuts which had occurred in the score over the years, in particular to the long Act II finale, was given by Opéra du Rhin
This is a glossary list of opera genres, giving alternative names.
"Opera" is an Italian word (short for "opera in musica"); it was not at first ''commonly'' used in Italy (or in other countries) to refer to the genre of particular works. Most ...
at the Strasbourg Théâtre Municipal in December 2003, conducted by Jérôme Pillemont.
A production was designed and staged by Laurent Pelly
Laurent Pelly (born 14 January 1962 in Paris) is a French opera and theatre director. He enjoys a career as one of France's most sought after directors of both theatre and opera, working regularly in the world's most prestigious houses.
Biograp ...
in 2004 at the Théâtre du Châtelet
The Théâtre du Châtelet () is a theatre and opera house, located in the place du Châtelet in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France.
One of two theatres (the other being the Théâtre de la Ville) built on the site of a ''châtelet'', a s ...
in Paris. It was conducted by Marc Minkowski
Marc Minkowski (born 4 October 1962) is a French conductor of classical music, especially known for his interpretations of French Baroque works, and is the current general director of Opéra national de Bordeaux. His mother, Mary Anne (Wade), i ...
and starred Felicity Lott
Dame Felicity Ann Emwhyla Lott, (born 8 May 1947) is an English soprano.
Education
Lott was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. From her earliest years she was musical, having started studying piano at age 5. She also played violin and bega ...
, Sandrine Piau
Sandrine Piau (born 5 June 1965) is a French soprano. She is particularly renowned in Baroque music although also excels in Romantic and modernist art songs. She has the versatility to perform works from Vivaldi, Handel, Mozart to Schumann, Debus ...
and Yann Beuron. Minkowski restored several numbers cut after the first production. A CD and a DVD of the production were made, and it was televised in France in 2004. Opera Philadelphia
Opera Philadelphia (prior to 2013 Opera Company of Philadelphia (OCP)) is an American opera company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and is the city's only company producing grand opera. The organization produces one festival in September (Festival O ...
also mounted a production in 2004, starring Stephanie Blythe
Stephanie Blythe (born 1970) is an American mezzo-soprano who has had an active international career in operas and concerts since the early 1990s. She is particularly associated with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, with whom she has perfo ...
.[Recordings of ''La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein'']
on operadis-opera-discography.org.uk, accessed 20 June 2011 Los Angeles Opera
The Los Angeles Opera is an American opera company in Los Angeles, California. It is the fourth-largest opera company in the United States. The company's home base is the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, part of the Los Angeles Music Center.
Leadersh ...
produced the piece in 2005, conducted by Emmanuel Villaume
Emmanuel Villaume (born 1964 in Strasbourg, France) is a French orchestra conductor. He is currently music director of the Dallas Opera and chief conductor of the Prague Philharmonia.
Biography
Villaume began his musical education at the Strasbou ...
and starring Frederica von Stade
Frederica von Stade OAL (born June 1, 1945) is a semi-retired American opera singer. Since her Metropolitan Opera debut in 1970, she has performed in operas, musicals, concerts and recitals in venues throughout the world, including La Scala, th ...
, in a new version adapted and directed by Garry Marshall
Garry Kent Marshall (November 13, 1934 – July 19, 2016) was an American filmmaker and actor. He started his career in the 1960s writing for ''The Lucy Show'' and ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' before he developed Neil Simon's 1965 play ''The Odd Co ...
. Theater Basel
Theater Basel is the municipal theatre of the city of Basel, Switzerland, which is home to the city's opera and ballet companies. The theatre also presents plays and musicals in addition to operas and operettas.
Because the theatre does not ha ...
had a production under Hervé Niquet
Hervé Niquet (born 28 October 1957) is a French conductor, harpsichordist, tenor, and the director of Le Concert Spirituel, specializing in French Baroque music.
Biography
Born on 28 October 1957, Hervé Niquet was raised at Abbeville in the ...
with Anne Sofie von Otter
Anne Sofie von Otter (born 9 May 1955) is a Swedish mezzo-soprano. Her repertoire encompasses lieder, operas, oratorios and also rock and pop songs.
Early life
Von Otter was born in Stockholm, Sweden. Her father was Göran von Otter, a Swe ...
in the title role in 2009. In 2011, both Opera Boston
Opera Boston was an opera company in Boston, Massachusetts. It specialized in less-frequently heard repertoire as well as modern works or opera premieres, along with opera education and outreach programs designed to bring opera education to childr ...
(starring Stephanie Blythe) and the Comic Opera Guild, near Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
, Michigan presented the work.
Roles
Synopsis
:Place: The fictional duchy of Gérolstein
:Time: 1720
Act 1
The 20-year-old Grand Duchess, who has been brought up by her tutor and court chamberlain Baron Puck to have her own way, is charming, though a veritable tyrant. She has been betrothed to the foppish Prince Paul but does not find him to her liking and, owing to her being in an unhappy state of mind over the affair, the Baron generates a war to amuse her. She decides to review her troops. There is a roll of drums, and the cry is started that the enemy is advancing, but it turns out to be her Highness.
This visit proves fateful, for she falls desperately in love with the manly, handsome soldier Fritz, whose main passions in life are his love for the pretty Wanda and his hatred of General Boum. The Duchess immediately makes Fritz a corporal, and as she grows more and more delighted with him, he is promoted rapidly to sergeant, lieutenant and captain. Finally, to spite the General, she makes him commander-in-chief and sends him to conquer the enemy.
Act 2
Fritz wins the battle easily by making the whole opposing army drunk, his artillery consisting of 300,000 well-filled bottles. When he returns, crowned with victory, the delighted Duchess finds herself more enamored of him than ever, and hints at the possibility of his receiving other honors. However, she finds him a great blockhead in the matter, for he shows that he prefers his Wanda to such distinctions, and he incurs the Duchess's great displeasure by asking permission to marry Wanda at once. This proves the death-blow to the Duchess' devotion, and she conspires to assassinate Fritz upon his return from the wedding ceremony.
Act 3
When everything is ready for the bloody deed, however, the Duchess changes her mind, which is now busied with a new affair with the Baron Grog. Her love life seems to be forever ill-starred, however, for this latest romance is blighted by the news that her beloved has a wife and four children. The Duchess becomes philosophic and decides to marry her original betrothed, Prince Paul, after all. To quote her own words, "What can one do? If you can't have those you could love, you must try to love those you can have."
Instead of assassinating Fritz, the Duchess devises the lesser punishment of noisy serenades during his wedding night, and then hurries him off on a false alarm to fight the enemy. The enemy proves to be a jealous husband who mistakes him for another man and gives him a caning. Fritz is stripped of his military ranks, but he can now leave the army, return to Wanda, and become a village schoolmaster, albeit a rather illiterate one. General Boum is made happy by the restoration of his command; Baron Puck is reinstated to the royal favor from which he had meanwhile fallen; Baron Grog is sent home safe to his wife and four children; and Prince Paul is happily restored as the Duchess's bridegroom.
Musical numbers
Act 1
Act 2
Act 3
Recordings
Among the recordings of the work, critics have praised a 1977 CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
issue conducted by Michel Plasson
Michel Plasson (born 2 October 1933, Paris, France) is a French conductor.
Plasson was a student of Lazare Lévy at the Conservatoire de Paris. In 1962, he was a prize-winner at the International Besançon Competition for Young Conductors. ...
with Régine Crespin
Régine Crespin (23 February 1927 – 5 July 2007) was a French singer who had a major international career in opera and on the concert stage between 1950 and 1989. She started her career singing roles in the dramatic soprano and spinto soprano ...
as the Grand Duchess. An older mono recording under René Leibowitz
René Leibowitz (; 17 February 1913 – 29 August 1972) was a Polish, later naturalised French, composer, conductor, music theorist and teacher. He was historically significant in promoting the music of the Second Viennese School in Paris after ...
with Eugenia Zareska, though heavily cut, was well received when reissued on compact disc in 1982. A 2006 release from Virgin Classics
Virgin Classics was a record label founded in 1988 as part of Richard Branson's Virgin Records.
The unit, along with EMI Classics, was acquired by Universal Music in 2012 as part of the takeover of the EMI Group, however the terms of the European ...
conducted by Marc Minkowski with Felicity Lott
Dame Felicity Ann Emwhyla Lott, (born 8 May 1947) is an English soprano.
Education
Lott was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. From her earliest years she was musical, having started studying piano at age 5. She also played violin and bega ...
contains much music cut after the first night and restored in Jean-Christophe Keck
Jean-Christophe Keck is a French musicologist and conductor, born in Briançon, in 1964. He is particularly noted as a specialist in the works of Jacques Offenbach, and is the director of the complete critical edition in progress, named after both ...
's critical edition, including what the critic Andrew Lamb describes as "a substantial (and glorious) Act 2 finale".[Lamb, Andrew]
Review
''Gramophone'', April 2006, p. 73, and Clements, Andrew
"Offenbach: La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein"
''The Guardian'', 14 October 2005
References
;Notes
;Sources
*
*Gammond, Peter (1986). ''Offenbach''. London: Omnibus Press, 1986.
*
*Holden, Amanda (ed.) (2000). ''The New Penguin Opera Guide'', New York: Penguin Putnam, 2001.
*Lamb, Andrew "''La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein''" 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 ...
'', ed. Stanley Sadie (London, 1992)
*
External links
Libretto in WikiSource
Libretto
as originally submitted for censorship.
Vocal score of the 1897 English version
* ttps://www.gsarchive.net/museum/other_savoy/gr_duch/gr_duch.html Programme from the 1897 London productionbr>Video from the 2004 Philadelphia Opera production
with Stephanie Blythe
Stephanie Blythe (born 1970) is an American mezzo-soprano who has had an active international career in operas and concerts since the early 1990s. She is particularly associated with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, with whom she has perfo ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grande-Duchesse de Gerolstein
Operas by Jacques Offenbach
French-language operas
Opéras bouffes
1867 operas
Operas
Fiction set in the 1720s
Operas set in the 18th century
Operas set in fictional, mythological and folkloric settings