''Rodrigue et Chimène'' (English: ''Rodrigo and Ximena'') is an unfinished

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 three acts by Claude Debussy. The French libretto, by Catulle Mendès,Langham Smith, Richard. Rodrigue et Chimène. In: ''New Grove Dictionary of Opera''. Macmillan, London and New York, 1997. is based on the plays ''Las Mocedades del Cid'' by Guillén de Castro y Bellvís and

Corneille Pierre Corneille (; 6 June 1606 – 1 October 1684) was a French tragedian. He is generally considered one of the three great seventeenth-century French dramatists, along with Molière and Racine. As a young man, he earned the valuable patronag ...

's ''

Le Cid ''Le Cid'' is a five-act French tragicomedy written by Pierre Corneille, first performed in December 1636 at the Théâtre du Marais in Paris and published the same year. It is based on Guillén de Castro's play ''Las Mocedades del Cid''. Castro ...

'' which deal with the legend of El Cid (Rodrigue in the opera). It was first staged in a version completed by

Edison Denisov Edison Vasilievich Denisov (russian: Эдисо́н Васи́льевич Дени́сов, 6 April 1929 – 24 November 1996) was a Russian composer in the so-called " Underground", "alternative" or "nonconformist" division of Soviet music. ...

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...

on 14 May 1993.

Composition

Mendès had begun work on his libretto in 1878, hoping to offer it to "one of the leading lights of the French school f opera.

Massenet Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet (; 12 May 1842 – 13 August 1912) was a French composer of the Romantic music, Romantic era best known for his operas, of which he wrote more than thirty. The two most frequently staged are ''Manon'' (1884) ...

's ''

'' (1885, Paris Opera) may have put Mendès off in his search for a composer. It was only in April, 1890 that Mendès handed it to the young Debussy. Mendès had predicted that Debussy would become "one of the great composers of the future" and had helped to promote his music. Although he was unimpressed by the literary quality of the drama he had to set, Debussy was encouraged by the prospect that his work would be performed at the

Paris Opéra 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 k ...

and earn him some money. Over the next two years Debussy's musical style developed in a radically new direction and his enthusiasm for the old-fashioned ''Rodrigue et Chimène'' began to flag. In a letter of January, 1892, he admitted, "My life is hardship and misery thanks to this opera. Everything about it is wrong for me." On 17 May 1893 Debussy attended a performance of Maeterlinck's Symbolist play '' Pelléas et Mélisande'' and realised that this was exactly the type of drama he had been looking for. When he played excerpts from the score of ''Rodrigue et Chimène'' to

Paul Dukas Paul Abraham Dukas ( or ; 1 October 1865 – 17 May 1935) was a French composer, critic, scholar and teacher. A studious man of retiring personality, he was intensely self-critical, having abandoned and destroyed many of his compositions. His b ...

in August of the same year, he confessed that Mendès' libretto was "totally at odds with all that I dream about, demanding a type of music that is alien to me". Debussy abandoned any idea of bringing ''Rodrigue et Chimène'' to the stage and later claimed he had accidentally burned it.

Completion and staging

The score did, however, survive and the various manuscripts, after being owned by Alfred Cortot were eventually assembled by the American collector Robert Owen Lehman. Excerpts from a vocal score prepared by the musicologist

Richard Langham Smith Richard Langham Smith (born 10 September 1947, Barnes, London) is an English musicologist who has written on Debussy and contemporary French music in general. For his contribution to the latter he was admitted to rank of Chevalier of the Ordre d ...

were performed at the

Bibliothèque nationale A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vi ...

in Paris in June 1987. Debussy had completed all but the orchestration of ''Rodrigue et Chimène'' (although two scenes of the vocal score have been lost). The Russian composer

was asked to provide the orchestration for a stage performance to mark the opening of

Opéra de Lyon This is a glossary list of opera genres, giving alternative names. "Opera" is an Italian word (short for "opera in musica"); it was not at first ''commonly'' used in Italy (or in other countries) to refer to the genre of particular works. Most c ...

's new auditorium, "Opéra Nouvel". Thus ''Rodrigue et Chimène'' finally received its premiere in Lyon on 14 May 1993.

Roles

Synopsis

:Time: 11th century :Place: Spain

Act 1

Rodrigue, son of Don Diègue of Bivar, is engaged to marry Chimène, daughter of Don Gomez of Gormaz. They meet for a tryst just before dawn outside Don Gomez's house. They are interrupted by the arrival of the men of Gomez, singing a drinking song. The young women of Bivar also appear and the men of Gomez try to carry them off. They are stopped by an outraged Don Diègue. A quarrel breaks out between Don Diègue and Don Gomez, who objects to Diègue striking his servants. The two draw their swords but Don Diègue proves too old and weak to fight.

Act 2

Rodrigue and his brothers are playing chess when they see an old beggar on the highway and offer him help. The "beggar" is Don Diègue and he demands, not alms, but the head of Don Gomez. He asks Rodrigue to avenge the slight on his honour by killing Chimène's father. Rodrigue reluctantly accepts the commission. Rodrigue challenges Don Gomez to a duel and fatally wounds him. Don Gomez dies in Chimène's arms, having told her the killer was her beloved.

Act 3

King Ferdinand assembles his army for a campaign against the Moors. He notices that Don Gomez is missing from the ranks of his warriors. Chimène steps forward and begs for justice for her dead father, but Don Diègue pleads equally passionately for the life of the son who has restored his honour. The king sends for Rodrigue. Chimène confesses to her maidservant Iňez that she still loves him, but family honour demands he should die. The grief-stricken Rodrigue tells Chimène she should kill him with the selfsame sword that slew her father. She is unable to strike him, but unable to forgive him. He asks one of the king's soldiers to kill him instead. Don Diègue tells Rodrigue he must live so he can fight and defeat the Moors. Rodrigue reluctantly agrees, hoping to be killed in battle.

Recording

*''Rodrigue et Chimène'' (Denisov completion) Donna Brown, Laurence Dale,

José van Dam Joseph, Baron Van Damme (born 27 August 1940 in Brussels), known as José van Dam, is a Belgian bass-baritone. At the age of 17, he entered the Brussels Royal Conservatory and studied with Frederic Anspach. A year later, he graduated with diplo ...

, Choeur et Orchestre de l'Opéra de Lyon, conducted by

Kent Nagano Kent George Nagano GOQ, MSM (born November 22, 1951) is an American conductor and opera administrator. Since 2015, he has been Music Director of the Hamburg State Opera and was Music Director of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra from 2006 to 202 ...

(Erato, 1995)

References

;Sources *Booklet notes by Claude Samuel to the Nagano Erato recording (1995). * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rodrigue et Chimene Unfinished operas Operas by Claude Debussy French-language operas Operas Operas completed by others