"Mes amis, écoutez l'histoire", is a

tenor A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is wide ...

aria In music, an aria ( Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompa ...

Adolphe Adam Adolphe Charles Adam (; 24 July 1803 – 3 May 1856) was a French composer, teacher and music critic. A prolific composer for the theatre, he is best known today for his ballets ''Giselle'' (1841) and '' Le corsaire'' (1856), his operas '' Le po ...

's 1836

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 libr ...

Le postillon de Lonjumeau ''Le postillon de Lonjumeau'' (''The Postillion of Lonjumeau'') is an opéra-comique in three acts by Adolphe Adam to a French libretto by Adolphe de Leuven and Léon Lévy Brunswick. The opera has become the most successful of Adam's works, ...

''. The D₅ in the final verse is the highest commonly sung note for tenors in opera. Donizetti wrote an E₅ for Edgardo in the first act of his opera ''

Lucia di Lammermoor ''Lucia di Lammermoor'' () is a (tragic opera) in three acts by Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian-language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's 1819 historical novel '' The Bride of Lammermoo ...

'', though it is very seldom sung. Higher notes are occasionally sung in interpolations and

ornaments An ornament is something used for decoration. Ornament may also refer to: Decoration * Ornament (art), any purely decorative element in architecture and the decorative arts *Biological ornament, a characteristic of animals that appear to serve o ...

in other

bel canto Bel canto (Italian for "beautiful singing" or "beautiful song", )—with several similar constructions (''bellezze del canto'', ''bell'arte del canto'')—is a term with several meanings that relate to Italian singing. The phrase was not associat ...

operas, and exceptionally the written F₅ at the end of "Credeasi, misera" in Bellini's ''

I puritani ' (''The Puritans'') is an 1835 opera by Vincenzo Bellini. It was originally written in two acts and later changed to three acts on the advice of Gioachino Rossini, with whom the young composer had become friends. The music was set to a libretto ...

''. Famous performers of this aria are Nicolai Gedda,

Helge Rosvaenge Helge Rosvaenge (born Helge Anton Rosenvinge Hansen, August 29, 1897June 17, 1972) was a Danish-born operatic tenor whose career was centred on Germany and Austria, before, during and after World War II. His last name is sometimes spelled Roswaen ...

and

Joseph Schmidt Joseph Schmidt (4 March 1904 – 16 November 1942) was an Austro-Hungarian and Romanian Jewish tenor and actor. Life and career Schmidt was born in Davideny (Ukrainian: '' Davydivka'') village in the Storozhynets district of the Bukovina pr ...

, often performing the German version, "Freunde, vernehmet die Geschichte".

Lyrics

References

External links

* * *, third verse * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mes Amis, Ecoutez L'histoire Tenor arias Arias in French 1836 compositions Compositions by Adolphe Adam