''Marie Victoire'' (1912–1914, première 2004) is a French-language opera in four acts by the composer
Ottorino Respighi to a
libretto by
Edmond Guiraud
Edmond Guiraud (22 March 1879 – 18 April 1961) was a 20th-century Theatre of France, French playwright, librettist, and actor from the Cévennes region in southern France.
Biographie
Edmond Guiraud lived many years in Roquedur in the Gard dep ...
(1879–1961) based on his French-language play of the same name, set in the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...
.
This opera was composed between 1912 and 1914
but, in spite of various plans, was not performed during the life of Respighi, due to the outbreak of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
but also to the hostility towards the work of the wife of the composer,
Elsa.
It was premiered on 27 January 2004 at the
Teatro dell'Opera in Rome.
[Musicwebinternational review]
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''Marie Victoire'' is an opera with a large number of characters, distinguished for the «frequent recourse to direct citations of revolutionary songs and court dances» and for a «vocal style that associates to the classical lyric singing the declamation and the arioso
In classical music, arioso (also aria parlante ) is a category of solo vocal piece, usually occurring in an opera or oratorio, falling somewhere between recitative and aria in style. Literally, arioso means ''airy''. The term arose in the 16th ...
without veristic excesses».
Roles
Instrumentation
''Marie Victoire'' is scored for the following instruments:
piccolo, 2 flutes
The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...
, 2 oboe
The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range.
...
s, English horn, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, bassoons, horns Horns or The Horns may refer to:
* Plural of Horn (instrument), a group of musical instruments all with a horn-shaped bells
* The Horns (Colorado), a summit on Cheyenne Mountain
* ''Horns'' (novel), a dark fantasy novel written in 2010 by Joe Hill ...
, trumpet
The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...
s, trombone
The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...
s, tam-tam
A gongFrom Indonesian and ms, gong; jv, ꦒꦺꦴꦁ ; zh, c=鑼, p=luó; ja, , dora; km, គង ; th, ฆ้อง ; vi, cồng chiêng; as, কাঁহ is a percussion instrument originating in East Asia and Southeast Asia. Gongs ...
, timpani
Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a membrane called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally ...
, harp, bell
A bell is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be made by an inte ...
, strings.
Synopsis
:Place: France
:Time: From 1793 to 1800
Act 1
It is the first year of the French First Republic.
Marie and Maurice de Lanjallay live in their castle in Louvenciennes. In France the Republic has been established and the aristocracy is constantly under threat. Clorivière tells Maurice that his father is in danger and that he has to leave for Brittany
Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...
. After Maurice's departure, Clorivière is captured by the revolutionaries.
Act 2
It is 9 Thermidor
Thermidor () was the eleventh month in the French Republican Calendar. The month was named after the French word ''thermal'', derived from the Greek word "thermos" (''heat'').
Thermidor was the second month of the summer quarter (''mois d'ét ...
, in the second year of the Republic (27 July 1794). The scene is the chapel of a convent transformed into a prison during the revolution.
Marie and Clorivière are among the many prisoners; the prison guard is Cloteau, former servant of Marie. The prisoners are told that they have been sentenced to death. Clorivière reminds Marie of the times when, a long time ago, he declared his love for her. Suddenly comes the news that Robespierre is dead: the life of the prisoners is unexpectedly spared.
Act 3
It is 3 Nivôse
Nivôse (; also ''Nivose'') was the fourth month in the French Republican Calendar. The month was named after the Latin word ''nivosus'', which means ''snowy''.
Nivôse was the first month of the winter quarter (''mois d'hiver''). It started b ...
, in the ninth year of the Republic (24 December 1800). The scene is the back room of a fashion shop.
Maurice, convinced that Marie was dead, has fled to America. Clorivière abused Marie, who has never stopped thinking of her husband and now lives in poverty with a five-year-old child, Georges. Marie, abandoned by Clorivière, lives with Cloteau, whom she has forgiven. Clorivière intends to leave France forever and comes to see his son for the last time. At the same time arrives Maurice who, back in France, finds Marie. He learns that she has a son from Clorivière, precisely at the moment when Clorivière breaks in, pursued by the police since he is accused of making an attempt on Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
's life. In the confusion Maurice is arrested and, convinced that Marie betrayed him, does not even try to escape.
Act 4
Night session in a room of the Criminal Court of the Seine.
Marie begs Maurice to defend himself and confesses to have been raped. Maurice, pressed by the audience which listened to the story, forgives Marie, but refuses to reveal who is the real assaulter. Clorivière accuses himself then seizes a pistol and takes his own life, singing the same song, disliked by the revolutionaries, that Marie sang at the beginning of the opera.
Recordings
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marie Victoire
French-language operas
1913 operas
Operas by Ottorino Respighi
Operas based on plays
Operas
Operas set in France
Operas set in the French Revolution