''Dinorah'', originally ''Le pardon de Ploërmel'' (''The

Pardon A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the ju ...

of Ploërmel''), is an 1859 French

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 ...

in three acts with music by

Giacomo Meyerbeer Giacomo Meyerbeer (born Jakob Liebmann Beer; 5 September 1791 – 2 May 1864) was a German opera composer, "the most frequently performed opera composer during the nineteenth century, linking Mozart and Wagner". With his 1831 opera ''Robert le di ...

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 ...

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.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 libre ...

. The story takes place near the rural town of

Ploërmel Church Saint-Armel Ploërmel (; ; Gallo language: ''Pieurmè'') is a commune in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France. On 1 January 2019, the former commune Monterrein was merged into Ploërmel. Character of the town The to ...

and is based on two

Breton Breton most often refers to: *anything associated with Brittany, and generally ** Breton people ** Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany ** Breton (horse), a breed **Ga ...

tales by

Émile Souvestre Émile Souvestre (April 15, 1806July 5, 1854) was a Breton novelist who was a native of Morlaix, Brittany. Initially unsuccessful as a writer of drama, he fared better as a novelist (he wrote a sci-fi novel, ''Le Monde Tel Qu'il Sera'') and as a ...

, "La Chasse aux trésors" and "Le Kacouss de l'Armor", both published separately in 1850 in the ''

Revue des deux mondes The ''Revue des deux Mondes'' (, ''Review of the Two Worlds'') is a monthly French-language literary, cultural and current affairs magazine that has been published in Paris since 1829. According to its website, "it is today the place for debates a ...

''.

Roles

Synopsis

:Time:

Nineteenth century The 19th (nineteenth) century began on 1 January 1801 ( MDCCCI), and ended on 31 December 1900 ( MCM). The 19th century was the ninth century of the 2nd millennium. The 19th century was characterized by vast social upheaval. Slavery was abolish ...

:Place:

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...

Act 1

''In the Breton village of

, a rugged and wild site illuminated by the last rays of the setting sun with, in the foreground, Corentin's cottage'' During the annual pilgrimage to the chapel of the Virgin, Dinorah has gone mad because her bridegroom Hoël disappeared following a storm that interrupted their wedding on the same day the previous year. Dinorah has lost her pet goat Bellah but, believing she has found it, she sings a lullaby to the goat and then walks away (''

Berceuse A berceuse is "a musical composition usually in time that resembles a lullaby". Otherwise it is typically in triple meter. Tonally most berceuses are simple, often merely alternating tonic and dominant harmonies; since the intended effect is ...

: Bellah, ma chèvre chérie''). Hoël returns to the village, having discovered the whereabouts of a treasure. He enlists Corentin to help him recover the riches, but not without sinister intent, since according to the legend, the first to touch them will perish. Meyerbeer dinorah act2 scene1

Act 2

Scene 1

''A birch wood lit by the moon'' Dinorah imagined she heard Hoël's voice and followed it into the wood, but once there, she weeps to find herself alone (''Romance: Me voici, Hoël doit m’attendre ici''). A moonbeam falls on her and casts its shadow on her feet. Imagining that it is the day before her wedding, she sings and dances with her shadow (''Air: Ombre légère'').

Scene 2

''A mysterious valley'' Hoël and Corentin descend upon the cache where Dinorah also happens to be. From her, Corentin learns about the legend, and later he and Hoël invite each other first to inspect the treasure. During that time, Dinorah, in pursuit of her pet goat, steps on a tree trunk by a river as it is hit by lightning, and falls in the water and is swept away by the current. Hoël having witnessed the scene leaps to her rescue.

Act 3

Hoël admits his love and regrets to Dinorah as she regains consciousness ''(Romance: Ah ! mon remords te venge)''. She recognizes him and regains her sanity. The villagers arrive and sing a hymn of forgiveness and lead the two lovers to the chapel where they will be married.

Performance history

The opera was premiered on 4 April 1859 by the

Opéra-Comique The Opéra-Comique is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief rival, the Comédie-Italienne ...

at the second

Salle Favart The Salle Favart, officially the Théâtre de l'Opéra-Comique, is a Paris opera house and theatre, the current home of the Opéra-Comique. It was built from 1893 to 1898 in a neo-Baroque style to the designs of the French architect Louis Bernie ...

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 ...

. The stage designs for acts 1 and 3 were by Edouard-Désiré-Joseph Despléchin and Jean-Louis Chéret. Those for the more technically demanding act 2, which included onstage running water, were by Joseph and Karl Wilhelm Mühldorfer. The principal singers were highly acclaimed: "Marie Cabel for her vertiginous-virtuoso interpretation of Dinorah; Sainte-Foy for his overwhelmingly convincing characterization of Corentin, lyrically as well as dramatically; Jean-Baptiste Faure for his fascinating stage presence as Hoël, Meyerbeer's first big baritone role." The supporting singers were also greatly admired, in particular, Barreille as the huntsman and Warot as the harvester. Meyerbeer's music was praised for its originality, but the libretto was found incomprehensible and even met with derision. In the initial run of performances up to the end of 1859, changes were made, the most significant being the casting of the contralto Palmyre Wertheimber in the role of Hoël. The opera remained very successful in Paris up to 1912. Under its original title it was revived at the

on 27 August 1874, 23 May 1881, 6 June 1896, and 16 March 1912, by which time it had been performed over 200 times by the company. It was revived in Brussels as late as 11 January 1939. Meyerbeer composed

recitatives Recitative (, also known by its Italian name "''recitativo''" ()) is a style of delivery (much used in operas, oratorios, and cantatas) in which a singer is allowed to adopt the rhythms and delivery of ordinary speech. Recitative does not repeat ...

to replace the spoken dialog for performances abroad. The opera was translated into Italian for the premiere in London on 26 July 1859 (with Miolan-Carvalho) and became known internationally as ''Dinorah'', but it was first performed in America on 4 March 1861 at the

French Opera House The French Opera House, or ''Théâtre de l'Opéra'', was an opera house in New Orleans. It was one of the city's landmarks from its opening in 1859 until it was destroyed by fire in 1919. It stood in the French Quarter at the uptown lake corner o ...

in New Orleans in French. ''Dinorah'' was performed in New York (at the Academy of Music) in Italian on 24 November 1862. As a novelty, it attracted a great deal of attention and (starring the now nearly forgotten Angelina Cordier) was very popular. One of its attractions was to be the appearance of an actual, live goat on stage, which "inspired a vast dissemination of facetious goat-lore in all the papers." Unfortunately, the opera followed close on the heels of a highly successful production of Bellini's ''

Norma Norma may refer to: * Norma (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) Astronomy *Norma (constellation) * 555 Norma, a minor asteroid *Cygnus Arm or Norma Arm, a spiral arm in the Milky Way galaxy Geography *Norma, Lazi ...

'', and Meyerbeer's work suffered by comparison. The reviewer in ''Dwight's Music'' (6 December 1862) was highly critical, writing: "Beside such music as this (the heaviest of light operas), Bellini's melodies are golden and Rossini's operas classic." Nevertheless, ''Dinorah'' was initially performed quite often outside France and became a great favorite of

Adelina Patti Adelina Patti (19 February 184327 September 1919) was an Italian 19th-century opera singer, earning huge fees at the height of her career in the music capitals of Europe and America. She first sang in public as a child in 1851, and gave her la ...

, but was rarely performed during the latter half of the 20th century except for the famous virtuoso aria for soprano "Ombre légère", also known as "The Shadow Song", in which Dinorah sings to and then dances with her

shadow A shadow is a dark area where light from a light source is blocked by an opaque object. It occupies all of the three-dimensional volume behind an object with light in front of it. The cross section of a shadow is a two-dimensional silhouette, o ...

. Other sopranos who have enjoyed considerable success in the role of Dinorah include

Amelita Galli-Curci Amelita Galli-Curci (18 November 1882 – 26 November 1963) was an Italian coloratura soprano. She was one of the most popular operatic singers of the 20th century, with her recordings selling in large numbers. Early life She was born as A ...

, Ilma di Murska,

Luisa Tetrazzini Luisa Tetrazzini (June 29, 1871 in Florence – April 28, 1940 in Milan) was an Italian dramatic coloratura soprano of great international fame. Tetrazzini "had a scintillating voice with a brilliant timbre and a range and agility well b ...

Maria Barrientos María Alejandra Barrientos Llopis (4 March 1884 - 8 August 1946) was a Spanish opera singer, a light coloratura soprano. Biography Barrientos was born in Barcelona on 4 March 1884. She received a thorough musical education (piano and violin ...

, and

Lily Pons Alice Joséphine Pons (April 12, 1898 – February 13, 1976), known professionally as Lily Pons, was a French-American operatic soprano and actress who had an active career from the late 1920s through the early 1970s. As an opera singer, she s ...

. File:Tetrazzini as Dinorah - Victrola Book of Opera 1919 p78.jpg,

Tetrazzini Tetrazzini is an American dish made with diced poultry or seafood and mushroom in a butter/cream and cheese sauce flavored with wine or sherry. It is served hot over linguine, spaghetti, egg noodles, or some other types of pasta, garnished wi ...

as Dinorah File:The Shadow Dance from 'Dinorah' in the Victrola Book of Opera 1919 p77.jpg, "The Shadow Song" File:Galli-Curci as Dinorah in the Victrola Book of Opera 1919 p77.jpg, Galli-Curci as Dinorah Although the opera has been largely neglected during the latter half of the last century, a rare broadcast performance of the overture by

Arturo Toscanini Arturo Toscanini (; ; March 25, 1867January 16, 1957) was an Italian conductor. He was one of the most acclaimed and influential musicians of the late 19th and early 20th century, renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orch ...

and the

NBC Symphony Orchestra The NBC Symphony Orchestra was a radio orchestra conceived by David Sarnoff, the president of the Radio Corporation of America, especially for the conductor Arturo Toscanini. The NBC Symphony performed weekly radio concert broadcasts with Tosca ...

from 12 November 1938, has been preserved. This unusual overture has several sections with chorus, ample percussion, and has been compared favorably with those of

Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards f ...

and

Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...

. Meyerbeer's operas have become performed more often in Europe in the 21st century. ''Dinorah'' received stagings in

Dortmund Dortmund (; Westphalian nds, Düörpm ; la, Tremonia) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the eighth-largest city of Germany, with a population of 588,250 inhabitants as of 2021. It is the la ...

and

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...

in 2000 and in

Compiègne Compiègne (; pcd, Compiène) is a commune in the Oise department in northern France. It is located on the river Oise. Its inhabitants are called ''Compiégnois''. Administration Compiègne is the seat of two cantons: * Compiègne-1 (with 19 c ...

in 2002. A concert performance of the opera was given by the

Deutsche Oper Berlin The Deutsche Oper Berlin is a German opera company located in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin. The resident building is the country's second largest opera house (after Munich's) and also home to the Berlin State Ballet. Since 2004, the De ...

, in 2014, which was recorded. ''Dinorah'' was presented in full production by New York City's Amore Opera from March 19 to 23, 2019, at the Riverside Theatre.

Recordings

Audio * ''Dinorah'' – Deborah Cook (Dinorah),

Christian du Plessis Christian du Plessis (born 2 July 1944) is a South African baritone, largely based in England, and particularly associated with the bel canto repertory. Born in Vryheid, South Africa, he studied in Johannesburg with Teasdale Griffiths and Esme We ...

(Hoël), Alexander Oliver (Corentin) –

Geoffrey Mitchell Choir Geoffrey Mitchell is a countertenor-voiced chorister and choral conductor. Mitchell joined Exeter Cathedral choir at the age of eight. Ten years later, he joined the Renaissance Singers, while undertaking National Service in the Royal Navy. ...

, Philarmonia Orchestra –

James Judd James Judd (born 30 October 1949, Hertford) is a British conductor. James Judd grew up in Hertford, learning the piano, flute and organ as a child and discovering his talent for conducting at high school. He studied at the Trinity College of Mu ...

(conductor) –

Opera Rara Opera Rara is a London-based opera company and recording label which specialises in recording and performing forgotten operatic repertoire from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Founded in 1970 by bel canto enthusiasts Patric Schmid and Don Whi ...

(1979) * ''Dinorah'' –

Patrizia Ciofi Patrizia Ciofi (born 7 June 1967) is an Italian operatic coloratura soprano. Career Born in Casole d'Elsa, Ciofi studied at the Istituto Musicale Pietro Mascagni in Livorno. She subsequently took part in master classes at the Accademia Musicale ...

(Dinorah), Étienne Dupuis (Hoël), Phiippe Talbot (Corentin) – Chorus and Orchestra of

–

Enrique Mazzola Enrique Mazzola is a Spanish-born Italian conductor. He studied at the Giuseppe Verdi Milan Conservatory. Renowned as an expert interpreter and champion of bel canto opera and a specialist in French repertoire, Mazzola is in demand worldwide as b ...

(conductor) –

cpo CPO may refer to: Occupations * Certified Professional Organizer * Certified Protection Officer, a professional certification for security officers from the International Foundation for Protection Officers * Chief people officer, a corporate of ...

(2014) * The aria "Ombre légère" has been recorded by many

coloratura sopranos A coloratura soprano is a type of operatic soprano voice that specializes in music that is distinguished by agile runs, leaps and trills. The term '' coloratura'' refers to the elaborate ornamentation of a melody, which is a typical component o ...

, including

Maria Callas Maria Callas . (born Sophie Cecilia Kalos; December 2, 1923 – September 16, 1977) was an American-born Greek soprano who was one of the most renowned and influential opera singers of the 20th century. Many critics praised her ''bel cant ...

Joan Sutherland Dame Joan Alston Sutherland, (7 November 1926 – 10 October 2010) was an Australian dramatic coloratura soprano known for her contribution to the renaissance of the bel canto repertoire from the late 1950s through to the 1980s. She possessed ...

Anna Moffo Anna Moffo (June 27, 1932 – March 9, 2006) was an American opera singer, television personality, and actress. One of the leading lyric- coloratura sopranos of her generation, she possessed a warm and radiant voice of considerable range and agil ...

June Anderson June Anderson (born December 30, 1952) is a Grammy Award-winning American coloratura soprano. She is known for ''bel canto'' performances of Rossini, Donizetti, and Vincenzo Bellini. Subsequently, she has extended her repertoire to include a wid ...

and

Natalie Dessay Natalie Dessay (; born 19 April 1965) is a French singer, known for her former career as an operatic soprano. She gained wide recognition after her portrayal of Olympia in ''The Tales of Hoffmann'' in 1992, and then performing at leading stages, ...

. Video * Isabelle Philippe (Dinorah), Armand Arapian (Hoël), Frédéric Mazzotta (Corentin) – Théâtre français de la musique, Cori Spezzatti, Orchestre de L’Opéra d’Etat Hongrais Failoni, Olivier Opdebeeck (conductor),

Pierre Jourdan Pierre Jourdan (21 September 1932 – 16 August 2007) born Pierre Gendre in Cannes, was an actor and director. Honours * CableACE Awards, 1987 Filmography As director * 1968: ''Phèdre'' * 1972: '' Le Trouvère'' * 1972: '' Un danseur: Rudolph ...

(adaptation and production) – Recorded in performance in October 2002 at the

Théâtre impérial de Compiègne The Théâtre Impérial de Compiègne is a theater in Compiègne, France. Origins The Emperor Napoleon III decided to construct a theater in Compiègne to entertain his court in 1866. He chose the location and the architect of the building, Gabr ...

. Cascavelle DVDELD7000 (

PAL Phase Alternating Line (PAL) is a colour encoding system for analogue television. It was one of three major analogue colour television standards, the others being NTSC and SECAM. In most countries it was broadcast at 625 lines, 50 fields (25 ...

Region 0 DVD region codes are a digital rights management technique introduced in 1997. It is designed to allow rights holders to control the international distribution of a DVD-Video, DVD release, including its content, release date, and price, all acc ...

). . Kultur D4013 (

NTSC The first American standard for analog television broadcast was developed by National Television System Committee (NTSC)National Television System Committee (1951–1953), Report and Reports of Panel No. 11, 11-A, 12–19, with Some supplement ...

, Region 1) .

Libretto and scores

Meyerbeer's manuscripts have not been found, and most published libretti reflect cuts to the score made in almost all productions. A complete libretto has recently been published by

Cambridge Scholars Publishing Cambridge Scholars Publishing (CSP) is an academic book publisher based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is not affiliated with the University of Cambridge or Cambridge University Press. The company publishes in health science, life scienc ...

as part of the series ''Giacomo Meyerbeer: The Complete Libretti in Eleven Volumes''. The following are the early printed sources which were used in the preparation of that libretto: * ''Le Pardon de Ploërmel; opéra-comique en trois actes''. Paris: Brandus & Dufour, 1859. (First edition of the full orchestral score with spoken dialogue.) * ''Le Pardon de Ploërmel; opéra en trois actes. "Edition contenant les récitatifs et les morceaux ajoutés par l’auteur."'' Paris: Benoit, 1885. (Score with sung recitatives in place of spoken dialog.) * ''Le Pardon de Ploërmel; opéra-comique en trois actes.'' Paris: Michel Lévy Frères, 1859. (Second edition of the libretto used for additional stage directions and scenic descriptions.)

References

Notes Sources * * in * * * * in * in * * * * * (hardcover), (eBook), and

Grove Music Online ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and theo ...

. * *

External links

* (Includes vocal scores in French and Italian.) * , Amore Opera, New York City, 2019 {{DEFAULTSORT:Dinorah, Ou Le Pardon De Ploermel French-language operas Operas by Giacomo Meyerbeer Operas 1859 operas Opéras comiques Opera world premieres at the Opéra-Comique Libretti by Jules Barbier Libretti by Michel Carré Operas set in France