''Le maître de chapelle, ou Le souper imprévu'' (''The Chapelmaster, or The Unexpected Supper'') 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 two acts by the Italian composer
Ferdinando Paer
Ferdinando Paer (1 July 1771 – 3 May 1839) was an Italian composer known for his operas. He was of Austrian descent and used the German spelling Pär in application for printing in Venice, and later in France the spelling Paër.
Life and career ...
. The 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
Sophie Gay
Marie Françoise Sophie Gay (born Nichault de la Valette; 1 July 1776 – 2 March 1852) was a French author who was born in Paris.
Biography
Marie Françoise Sophie Nichault de la Vallette was the child of Francesca Peretti, an Italian woman and ...
, is based on ''Le souper imprévu, ou Le chanoine de Milan'' by
Alexandre Duval
Alexandre-Vincent Pineux Duval (6 April 1767, in Rennes – 1 September 1842, in Paris) was a French dramatist, sailor, architect, actor, theatre manager. He was the eighth member elected to occupy seat 4 of the Académie française in 1812.
Du ...
(1796).
''Le maître de chapelle'' was premiered by 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 ...
at the
Théâtre Feydeau in Paris on 29 March 1821 with the famous
baritone
A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...
Jean-Blaise Martin
Jean-Blaise Martin, full name Nicolas Jean-Blaise Martin (February 24, 1768 in Paris – October 28, 1837 in Tourzel-Ronzières) was a French opera singer whose tessitura lay between tenor and baritone, which became later known as " baryton ...
as Barnabé. By 1900 the work had been performed by the Opéra-Comique over 430 times.
[Wolff S. ''Un demi-siècle d'Opéra-Comique (1900-1950).'' André Bonne, Paris, 1953.] It was given at the
Royal Opera in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
on 13 June 1845, and at the
Théâtre d'Orléans,
on 21 November 1848.
It became Paer's most popular work, albeit usually performed in an abridged version of only the first act.
Roles
Synopsis
1797, near
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
. The chapelmaster Barnabé has composed an opera entitled ''Cléopâtre'' which he hopes will be staged in Milan, however he is worried that someone in the invading French army will take it away from him.
Recordings
Paer: ''Le maître de chapelle '' - ORTF Chamber Orchestra
*Conductor: Jean-Paul Kreder
*Principal singers:
Jean-Christophe Benoît
Jean-Christophe Benoît (18 March 1925 – 21 February 2019) was a French baritone, who enjoyed a long career in France and francophone countries on the stage, the concert platform and radio and television. He was born in Paris into a professional ...
(Barnabé),
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 ...
(Coelénie), Isabel Garcisanz (Gertrude),
Michel Sénéchal
Michel Sénéchal (11 February 1927 – 1 April 2018) was a French tenor, particularly associated with French and Italian character roles in a repertory ranging from Baroque to contemporary works.
Life and career
Michel Sénéchal was born in P ...
(Benetto), Pierre Pégaud (Firmin), Yves Bisson (Sans Quartier)
*Recording date: 1970
*Label: Black Disc - Inedits ORTF - 995 004 (LP)
See also
*
List of operas by Ferdinando Paer
References
Sources
*
*Balthazar, Scott L (1992), 'Maître de chapelle, Le' 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)
*Warrack, John and West, Ewan (1992), ''The Oxford Dictionary of Opera'', 782 pages,
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maitre De Chapelle, Le
Operas by Ferdinando Paer
Opéras comiques
French-language operas
1821 operas
Operas
Opera world premieres at the Opéra-Comique
Operas set in Italy