2-Le Pré aux clercs 1415 Pierre Grosbois

''Le pré aux clercs'' (''The Clerks' Meadow'') 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

Ferdinand Hérold Louis Joseph Ferdinand Herold (28 January 1791 – 19 January 1833), better known as Ferdinand Hérold (), was a French composer. He was celebrated in his lifetime for his operas, of which he composed more than twenty, but he also wrote ballet mus ...

with a

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 François-Antoine-Eugène de Planard based on

Prosper Mérimée Prosper Mérimée (; 28 September 1803 – 23 September 1870) was a French writer in the movement of Romanticism, and one of the pioneers of the novella, a short novel or long short story. He was also a noted archaeologist and historian, and a ...

's ''Chronique du temps de Charles IX'' of 1829.Pougin A.
Hérold, biographie critique illustrée
', Henri Laurens, Paris, 1906, p. 122

Performance history

''Le pré aux clercs'' was premiered in Paris 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 ...

company at the

Salle de la Bourse The Salle de la Bourse was a Parisian theatre located on the rue Vivienne in the 2nd arrondissement, across from the Paris Bourse, hence the name. It was successively the home of the Théâtre des Nouveautés (1827–1832), the Opéra-Comique (1 ...

on 15 December 1832. After the first performance the leading lady, Madame Casimir, refused – after unsuccessfully demanding more money – to sing in the subsequent performances, and Mlle Dorus of the Opéra was coached by Hérold over five days to take over the role of Isabelle. According to Hérold's biographer

Arthur Pougin Arthur Pougin ( 6 August 1834 – 8 August 1921) was a French musical and dramatic critic and writer. He was born at Châteauroux ( Indre) and studied music at the Conservatoire de Paris under Alard (violin) and Reber (harmony). In 1855 he beca ...

, this incident exacerbated the composer's ill-health, leading to his death five weeks after the premiere. The opera, Hérold's last completed one, was very successful, inaugurating the new

Salle Favart The Salle Favart, officially the Théâtre de l'Opéra-Comique, is a Paris opera house and theatre, the current home of the Opéra-Comique. It was built from 1893 to 1898 in a neo-Baroque style to the designs of the French architect Louis Bernie ...

in 1840, and enjoying some 1,000 performances up to 1871, and reaching its 1,600th at the Opéra-Comique by 1949. Though rarely performed in recent years, a studio production conducted by

José Serebrier José Serebrier (born 3 December 1938) is a Uruguayan conductor and composer. He is one of the most recorded conductors of his generation. Early life Serebrier was born in Montevideo to Russian and Polish parents of Jewish extraction. He fi ...

was broadcast by

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...

in 1987, with Carole Farley and

John Aler John Aler (October 4, 1949 – December 10, 2022) was an American lyric tenor who performed in concerts, recitals, and operas. He was particularly known for his interpretations of the works of Mozart, Rossini, Donizetti, Bellini, and Handel. B ...

among the cast. The opera was performed at the Paris

in March 2015, directed by Éric Ruf, with the

Gulbenkian Orchestra The Gulbenkian Orchestra ( pt, Orquestra Gulbenkian) is a Portuguese symphony orchestra based in Lisbon. The orchestra primarily gives concerts at the ''Grande Auditório'' (Grand Auditorium) of the Gulbenkian Foundation. The orchestra, which was f ...

conducted by

Paul McCreesh Paul McCreesh (born 24 May 1960) is an English conductor. Paul McCreesh is the founder and artistic director of the Gabrieli Consort & Players. With them he has performed in major concert halls and festivals across the world. He has been the ...

, in a co-production with the

Wexford Festival Opera Wexford Festival Opera () is an opera festival that takes place in the town of Wexford in south-eastern Ireland during the months of October and November. The festival began in 1951 under Tom Walsh and a group of opera lovers who quickly gener ...

, where it was conducted by Jean-Luc Tingaud as part of the 2015 festival, and subsequently broadcast on BBC Radio 3.

Roles

Synopsis

The action takes place in

Étampes Étampes () is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southwest from the center of Paris (as the crow flies). Étampes is a sub-prefecture of the Essonne department. Étampes, together with the neighboring c ...

, then in Paris at the

Palais du Louvre The Louvre Palace (french: link=no, Palais du Louvre, ), often referred to simply as the Louvre, is an iconic French palace located on the Right Bank of the Seine in Paris, occupying a vast expanse of land between the Tuileries Gardens and the ...

and the grounds of the 'Pré aux clercs', in 1582.

Act 1

The opera opens at Nicette’s country inn where festivities anticipate the wedding of Nicette (the god-daughter of Marguerite) and Girot, the host of the famous Pré-aux-Clercs in Paris – known both for lovers’ rendez-vous and for duels. Marguerite, wife of Henry IV, king of Navarre, and sister to Henry III, king of France, while detained at the Louvre as a hostage of peace between the two sovereigns, has been accompanied by Isabelle de Montal, a Béarnaise countess. The King of Navarre sends as envoy the Baron de Mergy, a young Béarnaise gentleman, to recall his Queen and her lady-in-waiting Isabelle. Resting after his arrival at Étampes, near Paris, Mergy meets Cantarelli, an Italian, the director of the court festivities and deportment tutor to Isabelle, who informs Mergy of the news from the court concerning Isabelle. The rough swordsman Comminge, a colonel and royal favourite also arrives, angry at having been kept away from the royal hunt by a challenge to a duel from a young man, whom he had killed. Next Marguerite and Isabelle, having been with the royal hunting party in the forest, come to visit Nicette. The Queen expresses her concerns for Isabelle's unhappiness and rejection of suitors at court. Isabelle responds that she wishes to return home; Marguerite however informs her of the plans to marry Isabelle to Comminge. When Isabelle reacts to this news, Mergy comes to her and the lovers embrace; their emotion causes suspicion in Comminge, to whom Mergy is introduced as Henri III's messenger. Marguerite invites Nicette to the Louvre to claim her dowry.

Act 2

Isabelle sings of her love for Mergy ("Jours de mon enfance"). Marguerite meanwhile is plotting with Nicette and Cantarelli to marry Isabelle to Mergy in secret and secure their flight to Navarre. The marriage is fixed to take place at the chapel of the Pré-aux-Clercs, simultaneously with that of Nicette and Girot. Cantarelli is blackmailed into assisting them by means of an incriminating letter. During the masked ball Cantarelli will bring Mergy to Marguerite’s chambers whence they will flee to a country church. However Comminge’s suspicions bring him to confront Cantarelli whom he threatens if he discovers a conspiracy to rob him of Isabelle. Comminge is misled by Cantarelli into believing the love intrigue is between Mergy and Marguerite. Now a message arrives refusing Isabelle’s departure with Marguerite – the countess must marry Comminge, and Mergy is ordered to return. Mergy, slighted by an offer from Comminge to assist him in meeting the Queen, challenges the colonel to a duel at dawn at the Pré-aux-Clercs. Nonetheless the curtain falls with some hope for the young lovers as Nicette informs Mergy that Marguerite is resolute in her plans for them to wed after Nicette and Girot.

Act 3

The wedding festivities for Nicette and Girot are under way and at the chapel Mergy and Isabelle are secretly wed. Cantarelli arrives with passports for the pair’s escape then leaves to act as second for Comminge’s duel with Mergy. During the duel Comminge learns that it is Isabelle whom Mergy loves, not Marguerite, and the discovery that they are in fact wed makes the colonel even more furious. Comminge falls and his body is put on a boat to be taken to Chaillot to be received by the monks. Cantarelli comes to announce the result of the duel, as the boat passes, and all believe Mergy to be dead. However, the joy of his victory joins with that of the wedding celebration and Isabelle and Mergy flee to Navarre with Cantarelli as their guide.

Recordings

A 2015 studio recording based on the Opéra-Comique production was released in 2016 on the Bru Zane label, with Marie Lenormand (Marguerite de Valois), Marie-Eve Munger (Isabelle Montal), Jeanne Crousaud (Nicette),

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 ...

(Baron de Mergy), Emiliano Gonzalez Toro (Comte de Comminges), Éric Huchet (Cantarelli), Christian Helmer (Girot) and the

and Chorus, conducted by

. A historic (1959) French studio recording was released on CD in 2017, with Denise Boursin (Isabella), Joseph Peyron (de Mergy), Berthe Monmart (Marguerite), Lucien Lovano (Girot), Claudine Collart (Nicette) and Gaston Rey (Contarelli) in the main roles, with the Chorus and Orchestra of RTF Paris, conducted by Robert Benedetti.Notes to Cantus Classicus CD set CACD 5.01956 F

Notes

Bibliography

* ''The Complete Dictionary of Opera and Operetta'', James Anderson, (Wings Books, 1993) * *

Chouquet, Gustave Gustave Chouquet (16 April 1819 – 30 January 1886)Grove & Charlton 2001. was a French music historian, music critic, and teacher of French. Early life and career Born Adolphe-Gustave Chouquet in Le Havre, he spent six years in Paris studying ...

(1889)
"Valentino, Henri Justin Armand Joseph", vol. 4, p. 214
in ''

A Dictionary of Music and Musicians ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and theo ...

'', 4 volumes. London: Macmillan. *

Pougin, Arthur Arthur Pougin ( 6 August 1834 – 8 August 1921) was a French musical and dramatic critic and writer. He was born at Châteauroux (Indre) and studied music at the Conservatoire de Paris under Jean Delphin Alard, Alard (violin) and Napoléon Henri ...

(1880)
"Valentino (Henri-Justin-Joseph)", pp. 597–598
in ''Biographie universelle des musiciens et Bibliographie générale de la musique par F.-J. Fétis. Supplément et complément'', vol. 2. Paris: Firmin-Didot
View
at Google Books. {{DEFAULTSORT:Pre aux clercs, Le French-language operas Operas by Ferdinand Hérold 1832 operas Operas Opera world premieres at the Opéra-Comique Operas based on works by Prosper Mérimée