''La nonne sanglante'' (''The Bloody Nun''), is a five-act opera by

Charles Gounod Charles-François Gounod (; ; 17 June 181818 October 1893), usually known as Charles Gounod, was a French composer. He wrote twelve operas, of which the most popular has always been ''Faust (opera), Faust'' (1859); his ''Roméo et Juliette'' (18 ...

to a libretto by

Eugène Scribe Augustin Eugène Scribe (; 24 December 179120 February 1861) was a French dramatist and librettist. He is known for writing "well-made plays" ("pièces bien faites"), a mainstay of popular theatre for over 100 years, and as the librettist of ma ...

and

Germain Delavigne Louis Marie Germain Delavigne (1 February 1790 – 3 November 1868) was a French playwright and librettist. Delavigne was born in Giverny to Louis-Augustin-Anselme Delavigne, a surveyor of the French royal forests, and his wife. He was the broth ...

. Written between 1852 and 1854, it was first produced on 18 October 1854 at the

Salle Le Peletier The Salle Le Peletier or Lepeletier (sometimes referred to as the Salle de la rue Le Peletier or the Opéra Le Peletier) was the home of the Paris Opera from 1821 until the building was destroyed by fire in 1873. The theatre was designed and con ...

by 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 ...

. It received 11 performances between October and November 1854. Its poor reception, in the midst of various crises, contributed to the overthrow of the Opéra director

Nestor Roqueplan Louis-Victor-Nestor Roqueplan lso sometimes spelled Rocoplan(16 September 1805 – 24 April 1870) was a French writer, journalist, and theatre director. Early life and career Nestor Roqueplan was born near Montréal, Aude, and was the ...

, who was replaced by his adversary François Crosnier. Crosnier immediately cancelled the run, saying that 'such filth' (''pareilles ordures'') would no longer be tolerated.

Performance history

Although the first run sold well, Gounod's opera disappeared completely for a very long time. After the unfortunate beginning, no other opera manager took the risk. One year later, British composer

Edward James Loder Edward James Loder (10 July 1809 – 5 April 1865) was an English composer and conductor. His best remembered work is perhaps the 1855 opera ''Raymond and Agnes'', though his most successful opera during his lifetime was ''The Night Dancers''. ...

presented his version of the subject, ''

Raymond and Agnes ''Raymond and Agnes'' is an opera in 3 (originally 4) acts by the composer Edward Loder to an English libretto by Edward Fitzball. It is very loosely based on elements from Matthew Lewis's classic Gothic novel, ''The Monk'' (1796) and also inc ...

''. This opera was first shown in Manchester and was brought to London in 1859. Loder's version was not very successful either. It was revived only once, 1866 in Cambridge. In 2008,

Theater Osnabrück Theater Osnabrück is a German theatre in Osnabrück, Germany. It operates under the auspices of the ''Städtische Bühnen Osnabrück gGmbH''. The primary performance venues are the ''Theater am Domhof'' (seating capacity 642) and the ''emma-theat ...

and its music director Hermann Bäumer presented ''La nonne sanglante'' for the first time on a German stage. On 2 June 2018 the opera had a rare Paris revival at the

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 ...

with

Michael Spyres Michael Spyres is an American operatic baritenor. He is particularly associated with the bel canto repertoire, especially the works of Rossini, and heroic roles in French grand opera. Biography Michael Spyres was born in 1979 in Missouri, US, and ...

as Rodolphe, Jodie Devos as Arthur, Jean Teitgen as Pierre and Marion Lebègue as the nun, conducted by

Laurence Equilbey Laurence Equilbey (born 6 March 1962) is a French conductor, known for her work in the choral repertoire, and more recently as the founder and music director of the Insula Orchestra. Equilbey studied piano and flute in her early life. She under ...

, and directed by David Bobée.Coughlan, Alexandra. Report from Paris. ''

Opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

'', Vol 69 No.9, September 2018, pp. 1085–87.

Roles

Synopsis

:Place:

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

:Time: 11th century

Prologue

Agnès is in love with Rodolphe, although the two families are perpetually at war with each other. Moldaw's castle is said to be haunted by the bloody figure of a nun.

Act 1

Pierre, the hermit, breaks up a row between the family vassals and abjures them to join his crusade. He proposes that Agnès should marry Rodoplhe's brother Théobald to cement relations between the families. The lovers agree that to escape, Agnès should disguise herself as the ghost of the ''nonne sanglante'' and elope with him at midnight.

Act 2

Arthur sings of the legend of ''la nonne saglante''. At Rodolphe's rendez-vous, he walks off with the ghost of the nun, believing it to be Agnès. The ghosts of Rodolphe's ancestors materialise in the magically-restored family castle to witness the marriage of Rodolphe and the nun.

Act 3

Théobald has been killed in battle, so Rodolphe is in theory free to marry Agnès. However, Rodolphe reveals to Arthur that he is nightly haunted by the nun who reminds him of his vows. She eventually reveals that Rodolphe can only be released by killing the (unidentified) man who murdered her.

Act 4

At the marriage feast of Rodophe and Agnès, the nun's ghost appears at midnight and indicates to Rodolphe that his father, Ludorf, was her murderer. Rodolphe abandons the ceremonies in horror, reigniting the ancient mutual hatred of the families.

Act 5

Ludorf is consumed by guilt for his crime and will accept punishment if he can meet with Rodolphe for one last time. He overhears Moldaw's retainers planning to kidnap Rodolphe. Rodolphe then appears with Agnès and confesses to her the story of the ghost. To save his son, Ludorf presents himself to Moldaw's men as his son, and is murdered by them, dying in his son's arms at the tomb of the murdered nun. This act of expiation is clearly acceptable to the ghost who ascends to heaven praying for Ludorf. Note: The story was very loosely adapted by Scribe from an episode in ''

The Monk ''The Monk: A Romance'' is a Gothic novel by Matthew Gregory Lewis, published in 1796. A quickly written book from early in Lewis's career (in one letter he claimed to have written it in ten weeks, but other correspondence suggests that he ha ...

'', a

gothic novel Gothic fiction, sometimes called Gothic horror in the 20th century, is a loose literary aesthetic of fear and haunting. The name is a reference to Gothic architecture of the European Middle Ages, which was characteristic of the settings of ea ...

by Matthew Lewis. The libretto was originally considered by "eight other composers, including

Giuseppe Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...

and

Hector Berlioz In Greek mythology, Hector (; grc, Ἕκτωρ, Hektōr, label=none, ) is a character in Homer's Iliad. He was a Trojan prince and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. Hector led the Trojans and their allies in the defense o ...

", who wrote a few fragments before abandoning it.See http://www.hberlioz.com/Libretti/Nonne.htm

Recording

* Hermann Bäumer, Conductor, Osnabruck Symphony Orchestra, Chorus of

; Yoonki Baek (Rodolphe), Eva Schneidereit (La nonne sanglante), Natalia Atmanchuk (Agnes). CPO777 388-2 *

, Conductor, Insula Orchestra, Choeur Accentus,

(Rodolphe), Marion Lebègue (La nonne sanglante), Vannina Santoni (Agnès), Jérôme Boutillier (Le Comte), Jodie Devos (Arthur), Jean Teitgen (Pierre L'Ermite), Luc Bertin-Hugault (Le baron), Enquerrand De Hys (Fritz), stage Director David Bobée. DVD or Blu-ray Naxos 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nonne Sanglante Operas 1854 operas French-language operas Operas by Charles Gounod Opera world premieres at the Paris Opera Operas based on novels Libretti by Germain Delavigne Libretti by Eugène Scribe