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 ...
in four acts with a prologue and an epilogue. The last opera composed by
Ambroise Thomas
Charles Louis Ambroise Thomas (; 5 August 1811 – 12 February 1896) was a French composer and teacher, best known for his operas '' Mignon'' (1866) and ''Hamlet'' (1868).
Born into a musical family, Thomas was a student at the Conservatoire de ...
Michel Carré
Michel Carré (20 October 1821, Besançon – 27 June 1872, Argenteuil) was a prolific French librettist.
He went to Paris in 1840 intending to become a painter but took up writing instead. He wrote verse and plays before turning to writing lib ...
and
Jules Barbier
Paul Jules Barbier (8 March 182516 January 1901) was a French poet, writer and opera librettist who often wrote in collaboration with Michel Carré. He was a noted Parisian bon vivant and man of letters.Divine Comedy
The ''Divine Comedy'' ( it, Divina Commedia ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun 1308 and completed in around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature ...
''. The opera was first performed by the Paris Opera on 14 April 1882 but fell into relative obscurity until its revival in 2011.
Background and performance history
''Françoise de Rimini'' was the last opera by Ambroise Thomas. Its French libretto was written by
Michel Carré
Michel Carré (20 October 1821, Besançon – 27 June 1872, Argenteuil) was a prolific French librettist.
He went to Paris in 1840 intending to become a painter but took up writing instead. He wrote verse and plays before turning to writing lib ...
and
Jules Barbier
Paul Jules Barbier (8 March 182516 January 1901) was a French poet, writer and opera librettist who often wrote in collaboration with Michel Carré. He was a noted Parisian bon vivant and man of letters.Divina commedia'', where Francesca da Rimini is mentioned in the section ''Inferno''.
The opera's world premiere at the Paris Opera was originally planned for 1880. It was to be a highlight of the first season of Auguste Vaucorbeil as director, who also planned to produce Gounod's ''
Le tribut de Zamora
is a grand opera in four acts by Charles Gounod, his last work for the stage. The libretto by Adolphe d'Ennery was offered to Gounod after negotiations with Giuseppe Verdi stalled.
The premiere at the Paris Opera's Palais Garnier on 1 April 1881 ...
''. The first performance was finally staged by the Paris Opera on 14 April 1882 at the Palais Garnier. Some of the most notable singers of the time participated in a lavish stage setting by
Jean-Baptiste Lavastre
Jean-Baptiste Lavastre (24 August 1839 – 24 April 1891) was a French landscape painter and scenic designer.
Biography
A student of Édouard Desplechin as soon as 1854 when he was only fifteen (and then his associate from 1864 to 1870), J ...
to honour the prestigious composer. It received a mixed reception, and despite the efforts of supporters it mostly disappeared from the repertory.
The opera was revived in Metz in 2011 at the
Opéra-Théâtre de Metz Métropole
The Opéra-Théâtre de Metz Métropole (), also known as the Metz Opera, is a 750-seat opera house and theatre located on the Petit-Saulcy island in Metz, capital of the Lorraine region, France. It is the oldest opera house working in France and ...
to mark the bicentenary of the composer's birth. sang the title role and the was conducted by Jacques Mercier.
Roles
Synopsis
The action takes place in Hell (prologue and epilogue) and in
Rimini
Rimini ( , ; rgn, Rémin; la, Ariminum) is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy and capital city of the Province of Rimini. It sprawls along the Adriatic Sea, on the coast between the rivers Marecchia (the ancient ''Ariminu ...
at the end of the 13th century.
In the prologue,
Dante
Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian people, Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', origin ...
and
Virgil
Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: th ...
meet the lovers Paolo and Françoise in Hell, and Virgil suggest that Dante tell their story. During the four acts, their passionate love unfolds against the background of the battles between the Guelphs and Ghibellines. In the epilogue, the lovers still sing their passionate duet in the presence of the poets. Finally a heavenly choir pardons them.
Music
The work is partly still in the style French
grand opera
Grand opera is a genre of 19th-century opera generally in four or five acts, characterized by large-scale casts and orchestras, and (in their original productions) lavish and spectacular design and stage effects, normally with plots based on o ...
, namely the conclusions of the first and third act. The vocal writing shows influence from the Italian opera, while some audacious harmonies and dissonances are part of a more modern style. The duet of the lovers in the fourth act is similar to the duet in Wagner's ''
Tristan und Isolde
''Tristan und Isolde'' (''Tristan and Isolde''), WWV 90, is an opera in three acts by Richard Wagner to a German libretto by the composer, based largely on the 12th-century romance Tristan and Iseult by Gottfried von Strassburg. It was comp ...
Le Ménestrel
''Le Ménestrel'' (The Minstrel) was an influential French music journal published weekly from 1833 until 1940. It was founded by Joseph-Hippolyte l'Henry and originally printed by Poussièlgue. In 1840 it was acquired by the music publishers Heug ...
'', pp. 153–157 (detailed review and analysis of the premiere, in French)
piano–vocal score
A vocal score or piano–vocal score is a music score of an opera, or a vocal or choral composition written for orchestral accompaniment, such as an oratorio
An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and solo ...
),
Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...