''Le faucon'' ( en, The Falcon, Russian: ) 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 ...

'' in three acts by the Ukrainian composer

Dmitry Bortniansky Dmitry Stepanovich Bortniansky ; ; alternative transcriptions of names are ''Dmitri Bortnianskii'', and ''Bortnyansky'', group=n (28 October 1751 – ) was a Russian Imperial composer of Ukrainian Cossack origin. He was a composer, harpsichord ...

with a French language

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 . It was first performed on 11 October 1786 at the

Gatchina Palace The Great Gatchina Palace (russian: Большой Гатчинский дворец) is a palace in Gatchina, Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It was built from 1766 to 1781 by Antonio Rinaldi (architect), Antonio Rinaldi for Count Grigori Grigoryevi ...

in Russia by aristocratic amateur singers. The plot is borrowed from

Boccaccio Giovanni Boccaccio (, , ; 16 June 1313 – 21 December 1375) was an Italian people, Italian writer, poet, correspondent of Petrarch, and an important Renaissance humanism, Renaissance humanist. Born in the town of Certaldo, he became so we ...

's ''

The Decameron ''The Decameron'' (; it, label=Italian, Decameron or ''Decamerone'' ), subtitled ''Prince Galehaut'' (Old it, Prencipe Galeotto, links=no ) and sometimes nicknamed ''l'Umana commedia'' ("the Human comedy", as it was Boccaccio that dubbed Dan ...

'' ( Fifth Day, 9th tale) which also served as the basis for

Pierre-Alexandre Monsigny Pierre-Alexandre Monsigny ( – ) was a French composer and a member of the French Académie des Beaux-Arts (1813). He is considered alongside André Grétry and François-André Danican Philidor to have been the founder of a new musical genre ...

's 1771 comic opera ''Le faucon'' (libretto 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 ...

) (and later for Gounod's '' La colombe''). Gatchina palace

Two arias from the opera, "Le beau Tirsis" and "Adieu, Adieu", were published in a 1793 collection of songs by Bortniansky (''Recueil de romances et chansons'', St. Petersburg: Breitkopf). Although rarely performed in its entirety in modern times, ''Le faucon'' was revived as a

chamber opera Chamber opera is a designation for operas written to be performed with a chamber ensemble rather than a full orchestra. Early 20th-century operas of this type include Paul Hindemith's ''Cardillac'' (1926). Earlier small-scale operas such as Pergoles ...

by Boris Pokrovsky at the

Moscow Chamber Musical Theatre The Moscow State Academic Chamber Musical Theatre (Московский государственный академический Камерный музыкальный театр имени Б. А. Покровского) is a Moscow theatre and ...

in 1979. Excerpts from the work were also performed at New York City's

Avery Fisher Hall David Geffen Hall is a concert hall in New York City's Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts complex on Manhattan's Upper West Side. The 2,200-seat auditorium opened in 1962, and is the home of the New York Philharmonic. The facility, designe ...

by the Choral Guild of Atlanta and the orchestra of the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is operat ...

in 1988. Maxim Strikha translated the libretto into Ukrainian in 1990. In this version the opera was premièred in

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

on 15 October 1995.Конрад Уилл, «Сокол приземлился». «Зеркало недели», onrad Will, "The Falcon has landed." ''Mirror of the Week''1 June 1996

Synopsis

;Act 1: Nobleman Federigo is in love with the lady Elvira. Elvira is a wealthy widow, concerned about the health of her son. To attract her attention, he spends almost all his funds, but does not succeed. In despair, he returns to his farm with faithful servant Pedrillo, who is in love with Elvira's servant, Marina. A comic scene with two doctors regarding Marina as ill instead of Elvira's son ends the first act. ;Act 2: In his farm, Federigo is entertained by Pedrillo and the old soldier's daughter, Jeanette Gregoire. But they can not dispel his sadness. Suddenly, Elvira appears with Marina. ;Act 3: They are entertained with songs by Jeanette Gregoire. Finally the real cause of Elvira's visit is clarified. She wanted to ask Federigo's falcon to amuse her son. But Federigo confesses that he cooked it for the lunch having nothing else to prepare. Finally she is in love with Federigo, and they sing a love duet. The servants, Marina and Pedrillo, are also in love.

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Synopsis

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