''Pierre le Grand'' (''Peter the Great'') 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 ...

'' by

André Grétry André Ernest Modeste Grétry (; baptised 11 February 1741; died 24 September 1813) was a composer from the Prince-Bishopric of Liège (present-day Belgium), who worked from 1767 onwards in France and took French nationality. He is most famous ...

. The libretto, by

Jean-Nicolas Bouilly Jean-Nicolas Bouilly (24 January 1763 – 14 April 1842) was a French playwright, librettist, children's writer, and politician of the French Revolution. He is best known for writing a libretto, supposedly based on a true story, about a woman who ...

, is based on the early life of the Russian tsar

Peter the Great Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from t ...

. It was first performed in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

on January 13, 1790, with

Louise-Rosalie Lefebvre Louise-Rosalie Lefebvre (18 June 1755 – 22 September 1821), also known as Madame Dugazon, was a French operatic mezzo-soprano, actress and dancer. Born in Berlin as the daughter of a dancing master at the court of Frederick II of Prussia, s ...

, known as Madame Dugazon, as Catherine.

Roles

Synopsis

The plot tells how the young Tsar Peter disguised himself as a carpenter to work in a Russian shipyard where he fell in love with and married a peasant girl, Catherine (later the Empress Catherine I). Bouilly was working on his play at the time 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 November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

was breaking out in 1789 and the work reflects the political events of the day. Tsar Peter is intended to symbolise

King Louis XVI Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was e ...

, Catherine is

Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette Josèphe Jeanne (; ; née Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last queen of France before the French Revolution. She was born an archduchess of Austria, and was the penultimate child a ...

and the Swiss Le Fort alludes to the

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

n financier

Jacques Necker Jacques Necker (; 30 September 1732 – 9 April 1804) was a Genevan banker and statesman who served as finance minister for Louis XVI. He was a reformer, but his innovations sometimes caused great discontent. Necker was a constitutional monarchi ...

, who had attempted to reform the French economy. Peter and Catherine are depicted as ideal figures, deeply concerned for the welfare of the common people, and the liberal Bouilly clearly hoped the French king and queen would follow their example.

Recordings

*''(La jeunesse de) Pierre le Grand'' — Christophe Einhorn, Anne-Sophie Schmidt, Philippe Le Chevalier, Namur Chamber Choir, Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Olivier Opdebeeck (CD on Cascavelle or DVD on Disques DOM, 2001, live in Compiègne) *''Pierre le Grand'' —

Maxim Mironov Maxim Vyacheslavovich Mironov (russian: Макси́м Вячесла́вович Миро́нов; born 30 September 1981 in Tula), is a Russian tenor, best known for his interpretation of the bel canto repertoire. In 2001, he joined the H ...

, Elena Voznessenskaya, Nikolai Galin, Chorus and Orchestra of

Helikon Opera Helikon Opera is a Russian opera company based in Moscow, specializing in unconventional productions. Their main performing base is the 250 seat Mayakovsky Theater, the former ballroom in the palace of the Shakhovskoi-Glebov-Streshneva family who we ...

, conducted by Sergey Stadler (DVD on Arthaus, 101 097, shot in Moscow in 2002)

References

;Notes ;Sources * Campardon, Émile (ed), ''Les Comédiens du roi de la troupe italienne pendant les deux derniers siècles: documents inédits recueillis aux Archives Nationales'', Paris, Berger-Levrault, 1880 (accessible for free online at ''Internet Archive''
Volume I (A-L)Volume II (M-Z)
* Original libretto: ''Pierre le Grand, Comédie en Quatre Actes, Et en Prose, melée de Chants'', Tours, Legier, 1790 (accessible online as
Google ebook-gratis
. * * Kehrmann, Boris: Booklet notes to the DVD recording. {{authority control Opéras comiques French-language operas Operas by André Grétry Operas Operas set in the 18th century Operas set in Russia Cultural depictions of Peter the Great