''Roland'' is an opera with music by

Jean-Baptiste Lully Jean-Baptiste Lully ( , , ; born Giovanni Battista Lulli, ; – 22 March 1687) was an Italian-born French composer, guitarist, violinist, and dancer who is considered a master of the French Baroque music style. Best known for his operas, he ...

and 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 ...

Philippe Quinault Philippe Quinault (; 3 June 1635 – 26 November 1688), French dramatist and librettist, was born in Paris. Biography Quinault was educated by the liberality of François Tristan l'Hermite, the author of ''Marianne''. Quinault's first play w ...

. It was first performed on January 8, 1685, at the

Palace of Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 19 ...

by the Académie Royale de Musique (

Paris Opera The Paris Opera (, ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be ...

) and later, beginning on March 8, 1685, at the company's public theatre in Paris, the

Théâtre du Palais-Royal The Théâtre du Palais-Royal () is a 750-seat Parisian theatre at 38 rue de Montpensier, located at the northwest corner of the Palais-Royal in the Galerie de Montpensier at its intersection with the Galerie de Beaujolais. Brief history ...

. The story is derived from Ariosto's epic poem ''

Orlando Furioso ''Orlando furioso'' (; ''The Frenzy of Orlando'', more loosely ''Raging Roland'') is an Italian epic poem by Ludovico Ariosto which has exerted a wide influence on later culture. The earliest version appeared in 1516, although the poem was no ...

''. The opera takes the form of a

tragédie en musique Tragédie en musique (, ''musical tragedy''), also known as tragédie lyrique (, ''lyric tragedy''), is a genre of French opera introduced by Jean-Baptiste Lully and used by his followers until the second half of the eighteenth century. Operas in t ...

with an allegorical prologue and five acts.

Roles

There is also a chorus of Fairies, Islanders, Shepherds and Shepherdesses, Heroes and followers of Glory.

Synopsis

The opera opens with an allegorical prologue in which Démogorgon, King of the Fairies, sings the praises of Louis XIV and asks to see the story of the famous

paladin The Paladins, also called the Twelve Peers, are twelve legendary knights, the foremost members of Charlemagne's court in the 8th century. They first appear in the medieval (12th century) ''chanson de geste'' cycle of the Matter of France, where ...

Roland. Roland, the nephew of

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Holy ...

loves Angélique, the daughter of the King of Cathay, but, unbeknown to him, she is in love with Médor, a soldier in the army of Africa. In Act One, Roland gives Angélique a magic bracelet as a token of his love. In Act Two, Angélique approaches the Fountain of Love in a forest. When she catches sight of Roland, she uses a magic ring to make herself invisible and Roland wanders off in despair. Médor then arrives and in a soliloquy reveals he too is desperately in love with Angélique, so much so he is planning to kill himself. At that moment Angélique reveals herself and confesses her love for him. But she worries that Roland will be provoked to fury if he finds out. In Act Three, Angélique and Médor plan to flee from the clutches of Roland after a hasty wedding. The following act finds Roland in despair when Angélique is nowhere to be found. He comes across the names of Angélique and Médor carved on the walls of a cave. He hears the sound of a village wedding nearby. The villagers tell him of Médor and Angélique's escape and show him Roland's bracelet which the couple gave them in gratitude for letting them stay in the village. Roland plunges into madness. In the final act, under the influence of the fairy Logistille the sleeping Roland is visited by dreams of ancient heroes who urge him to give up his futile love for Angélique and return to the Christian army. Roland awakes, having recovered his reason and his desire for glory and rides off to battle amid a general triumph.

Background and performance history

Unlike the majority of Lully's ''tragédies'', ''Roland'' is not based on Classical mythology but on tales of medieval chivalry. This is also the case for the operas which preceded and followed it: '' Amadis'' (1684) and '' Armide'' (1686). Lully and Quinault's operas generally reflected the thinking of their patron,

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Vers ...

. The king had recently come under the influence of the pious

Madame de Maintenon Madame may refer to: * Madam, civility title or form of address for women, derived from the French * Madam (prostitution), a term for a woman who is engaged in the business of procuring prostitutes, usually the manager of a brothel * ''Madame'' ( ...

and had reaffirmed his religious faith and his desire to impose Catholic orthodoxy on France. He was even referred to as the "new Charlemagne" in a sermon preached by

Bossuet Bossuet is a French surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet (1627–1704), French bishop and theologian, uncle of Louis * Louis Bossuet Louis Bossuet (22 February 1663 – 15 January 1742) was a French parle ...

in the same month as the opera's premiere. Thus the Christian knight Roland's rediscovery of his sacred mission was an ideal subject for the times. There was a patriotic motive too: although the story was derived from an Italian poem, Roland had been born in France and was the hero of the epic ''

La Chanson de Roland ''The Song of Roland'' (french: La Chanson de Roland) is an 11th-century ''chanson de geste'' based on the Frankish military leader Roland at the Battle of Roncevaux Pass in 778 AD, during the reign of the Carolingian king Charlemagne. It is ...

'', one of the earliest works of French literature. The opera premiered in the stables at Versailles, which had been specially adapted for the occasion. In March of the same year, it was given at the theatre of the Palais Royal, Paris, and enjoyed great success. Revivals would continue well into the 18th century. In 1778, Marmontel adapted the libretto for a new setting by Piccinni (

Gluck Christoph Willibald (Ritter von) Gluck (; 2 July 1714 – 15 November 1787) was a composer of Italian and French opera in the early classical period. Born in the Upper Palatinate and raised in Bohemia, both part of the Holy Roman Empire, he g ...

and

Rameau Jean-Philippe Rameau (; – ) was a French composer and music theorist. Regarded as one of the most important French composers and music theorists of the 18th century, he replaced Jean-Baptiste Lully as the dominant composer of French opera an ...

had also considered producing a new version). The theme of the "madness of Roland" proved attractive to later composers too. Notable examples include ''

Orlando finto pazzo ''Orlando finto pazzo'' (; ''Orlando, the Fake Madman'') is an opera (''dramma per musica'') in three acts composed by Antonio Vivaldi to a libretto by Grazio Braccioli. The plot is based on an episode in Matteo Boiardo's unfinished epic poem ...

'' (1714) and ''

Orlando furioso ''Orlando furioso'' (; ''The Frenzy of Orlando'', more loosely ''Raging Roland'') is an Italian epic poem by Ludovico Ariosto which has exerted a wide influence on later culture. The earliest version appeared in 1516, although the poem was no ...

'' (1727) by

Vivaldi Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist and impresario of Baroque music. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lifetime was widespread a ...

, ''

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...

'' (1732) by

Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...

, and ''

Orlando paladino ''Orlando paladino'' (English: ''The Paladin Orlando''), Hob. 28/11, is an opera in three acts by Joseph Haydn which was first performed at Eszterháza on 6 December 1782. The libretto by is based on another libretto, ''Le pazzie d'Orlando'', ...

'' (1782) by

Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have led ...

Recordings

*''Roland'' (complete): Nicolas Testé (Roland), Anna Maria Panzarella (Angélique), Olivier Dumait (Médor), Logistille ( Salomé Haller);

Les Talens Lyriques The French musical ensemble Les Talens Lyriques was created in 1991 in Paris, France, by the harpsichordist and orchestral conductor Christophe Rousset. This instrumental and vocal formation derives its name from the subtitle of '' Les fêtes d'H� ...

Christophe Rousset Christophe Rousset (; born 12 April 1961) is a French harpsichordist and conductor, who specializes in the performance of Baroque music on period instruments. He is also a musicologist, particularly of opera and European music of the 17th and 1 ...

(Ambroisie, 2004) *Roland's monologue in Act Four was recorded by the bass Olivier Lallouette on ''Les Plaisirs de Versailles'', a CD of Lully's music by Les Arts Florissants conducted by William Christie (Erato, 2002).

References

*Booklet notes by Christophe Rousset and Jean Duron to the complete recording mentioned above.

External links

Le magazine de l'opéra baroque by Jean-Claude Brenac (in French)
* {{italic title French-language operas Works based on The Song of Roland Operas by Jean-Baptiste Lully Tragédies en musique 1685 operas Operas Operas based on works by Ludovico Ariosto