Performance history
The first performance was at the Opéra-Comique in Paris on 17 November 1866. The piece proved popular: more than 100 performances took place by the following July, the 1,000th was given there on 13 May 1894, and the 1,500th on 25 May 1919. The opera was also adapted and translated into German for performance in Berlin with Pauline Lucca, Madame Lucca as Mignon. Lucca was well received, but the German critics were unhappy with the opera's alterations to the Goethe original, so Thomas composed a shorter finale with a tragic ending, in which Mignon falls dead in the arms of Wilhelm. This ending was an attempt to make the story of the opera somewhat more similar in tone to the tragic outcome of Goethe's. (The original version of ''Mignon'' for the Opéra-Comique had to have a happy ending, since at that time in Paris tragic operas in French were exclusively reserved for the Paris Opera, Opéra.) Unsurprisingly, this "Version allemande" still failed to satisfy the German critics and proved to be a futile endeavour. As Henry Edward Krehbiel describes it, the "''Mignon'' of Carré and Barbier bears little more than an external resemblance to the ''Mignon'' of Goethe, and to kill her is wanton cruelty." Despite his success in Paris with the French version, Thomas was asked to revise the work for the first performance at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, Drury Lane Theatre in London on 5 July 1870. This version was given in Italian with recitatives (instead of spoken dialogue). The role of Mignon, originally for mezzo-soprano, was sung by a soprano (Christina Nilsson), and the role of Frédéric, originally a tenor, was sung by a contralto (Zelia Trebelli-Bettini). A second verse was added to Lothario's aria in the first act ("Fugitif et tremblant" in the French version), and in the second act, a rondo-gavotte for Frédéric ("Me voici dans son boudoir") was devised using the music of the ''entr'acte'' preceding that act, to satisfy Mme Trebelli-Bettini, who was discomfited by having to take on a role originally written for buffo tenor. Apparently, the coloratura soprano Elisa Volpini, who was to sing Philine, felt that her aria at the end of the second act ("Je suis Titania") was insufficient, and another florid aria ("Alerte, alerte, Philine!") was inserted after the second act ''entr'acte'' and before Laerte's 6/8 Allegretto ("Rien ne vaut"). The finale was also much shortened.Scherer, p. 8; Thomas (1901), pp. IX, 340–354Roles
Synopsis
:Time: End of the 18th century. :Place: Germany and Italy.Act 1
In the courtyard of an inn in a small German town, the wandering minstrel Lothario sings and the Gypsies dance while the townspeople watch and drink. Jarno threatens Mignon with a stick when she refuses to dance, but Lothario and Wilhelm Meister come to her aid. She thanks them and divides her bouquet of wildflowers between them. Wilhelm and Laerte have a drink together. Philine and Laerte leave, after he gives her his flowers from Mignon. Mignon tells Wilhelm she was captured by Gypsies as a child. Wilhelm decides to purchase Mignon’s freedom. Lothario comes to say goodbye to Mignon. Lothario wants Mignon to travel with him, but she stays with Wilhelm. Frédéric lovingly follows Philine in, but she also wants Wilhelm. The acting troupe is about to set off for a baron's castle after receiving an invitation to perform there. Mignon is deeply in love with Wilhelm, but upset to see the flowers that she gave him in the hands of Philine.Act 2
In Philine’s room in the baron's castle, Philine is elated, living in the luxury and charming the baron. Laerte is heard outside, praising Philine. Wilhelm and Mignon enter. She pretends to sleep while Wilhelm and Philine sing. When the couple leave, Mignon tries on Philine’s costumes and make-up. She is jealous and exits. Frédéric enters. When Wilhelm returns for Mignon he is confronted by Frédéric. Mignon rushes in to break up their impending fight. Wilhelm decides that he cannot stay with Mignon and says goodbye to her. He leaves arm-in-arm with a jubilant Philine. Later, in the courtyard of the castle, Mignon is consumed by a jealous rage, when she hears Lothario playing the harp. He comforts the girl. Philine's portrayal of Titania in ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is applauded in the conservatory. Mignon, in jealousy, shouts that she wishes the building would catch fire and runs out. Lothario hears her and moves toward the conservatory. After Mignon returns, Wilhelm receives her so warmly that Philine, now jealous, sends her to fetch the wildflowers in the conservatory. Wilhelm rushes to save Mignon from the fire that Lothario had set to please her, carrying her unconscious body out of the conservatory with the singed flowers still in her hand.Act 3
Wilhelm has brought Mignon and Lothario to a castle in Italy which he considers buying. There an old man watches over Mignon and prays for her recovery. Antonio relates how the castle’s previous owner had gone mad after his wife had died of grief over the loss of their young daughter. Wilhelm decides to buy the castle for Mignon because it has so speeded her recovery. Mignon awakens and confesses to Wilhelm of her love for this strangely familiar place. He finally realizes that he loves her deeply and resists Philine’s attempts to win him back. Lothario re-enters and informs the couple that he is the owner of the castle and that returning here has restored his sanity. After reading a prayer found in a book in the house, Mignon realizes that she is his daughter Sperata. The three embrace happily.Noted arias
*"Oui, je veux par le monde (Yes, I want the world)" (Wilhelm, a tenor) *"Connais-tu le pays (Do you know the country)" (Mignon, a mezzo-soprano or a soprano) *"Adieu, Mignon! (Farewell, Mignon!)" (Wilhelm, a tenor) *"Je suis Titania (I am Titania)" (Philine, a coloratura soprano) *"Elle ne croyait pas (She did not believe)" (Wilhelm, a tenor) *"Me voici dans son boudoir (Here I am in her boudoir)" (Frédéric, a tenor or a contralto)Recordings
* 1945 - Risë Stevens (Mignon), Mimi Benzell (Philine), James Melton (Wilhelm Meister), Ezio Pinza (Lothario), Donald Dame (Laerte), Lucielle Browning (Frédéric) - Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra, Wilfred Pelletier - Broadcast January 27, 1945 - (Sony) * 1953 - Geneviève Moizan (Mignon), Janine Micheau (Philine), Libero de Luca (Wilhelm Meister), René Bianco (Lothario), Robert Destaing (Laerte), François Louis Deschamps (Frédéric), Noël Pierotte (Jarno) - Choeur et Orchestre du Théâtre National de Belgique, Georges Sébastian - (Preiser) * 1977 - Huguette Tourangeau (Mignon), Noelle Rogers (Philine), Henri Wilden (Wilhelm Meister), Pierre Charbonneau (Lothario), Antonio de Almeida Santos (Laerte), Michael Philip Davis (Frédéric), Edgar Hanson (Jarno) - Vancouver Opera Chorus and Orchestra, Richard Bonynge - CBC Broadcast January 29, 1977 - (BJR Enterprises Inc. - Bella Voce Records) * Mignon (Antonio de Almeida recording), 1977 - Marilyn Horne (Mignon), Ruth Welting (Philine), Alain Vanzo (Wilhelm Meister), Nicola Zaccaria (Lothario), André Battedou (Laerte), Frederica von Stade (Frédéric), Claude Méloni (Jarno) - Ambrosian Opera Chorus, Philharmonia Orchestra, Antonio de Almeida (conductor), Antonio de Almeida - (CBS) For details, see Mignon (Antonio de Almeida recording), hereReferences
Notes Sources * , accessed 24 August 2008. * , accessed 27 November 2008. * ''The Athenaeum'' (9 July 1870). "Mignon" (review of the 1870 Drury Lane premiere), pp. 57–58