''Ernelinde, princesse de Norvège'' (''Ernelinde, Princess of Norway'') is a three-act

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

tic

tragédie lyrique 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 co ...

, by the French composer

François-André Danican Philidor François-André Danican Philidor (7 September 1726 – 31 August 1795), often referred to as André Danican Philidor during his lifetime, was a French composer and chess player. He contributed to the early development of the ''opéra comique''. ...

. The

libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) 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 th ...

was by

Antoine-Alexandre-Henri Poinsinet Antoine-Alexandre-Henri Poinsinet, nicknamed "le jeune", (17 November 1735 in Fontainebleau – 7 June 1769, drowned in the Guadalquivir, in Córdoba) was an 18th-century French playwright and librettist. Born in a family long attached to the s ...

, after opera libretto ''La fede tradita, e vendicata''.

Performance history

The work was first performed on 24 November 1767 by the

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 kn ...

at the

Salle des Machines Salle is the French word for 'hall', 'room' or 'auditorium', as in: *Salle des Concerts Herz, a former Paris concert hall *Salle Favart, theatre of the Paris Opéra-Comique *Salle Le Peletier, former home of the Paris Opéra *Salle Pleyel, a Paris ...

in the

Palais des Tuileries The Tuileries Palace (, ) was a palace in Paris which stood on the right bank of the Seine, directly in the west-front of the Louvre Palace. It was the Parisian residence of most French monarchs, from Henri IV to Napoleon III, until it was ...

in Paris. The first version was given about eighteen times, with the final performance on 10 January 1768. Revised as ''Sandomir, prince de Dannemarck'', it was given in the same theatre on 24 January 1769. This version was also performed in Brussels in 1772. The libretto was further revised in five acts by

Michel-Jean Sedaine Michel-Jean Sedaine (2 June 1719 – 17 May 1797) was a French dramatist and librettist, especially noted for his librettos for ''opéras comiques'', in which he took an important and influential role in the advancement of the genre from the ...

, this time as ''Ernelinde'' with fully orchestrated recitatives by Philidor, and given at the Théâtre Gabriel at the

Palace of Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...

on 11 December 1773 and in Brussels in 1774. Philidor and Sedaine revised the five-act version for another set of performances given by the Paris Opera at the second

Salle du Palais-Royal Salle is the French word for 'hall', 'room' or 'auditorium', as in: *Salle des Concerts Herz The Salle des Concerts Herz, usually referred to simply as the Salle Herz, was a concert hall in Paris, located at 48, rue de la Victoire. It was built ...

beginning on 8 July 1777. It was last revived in June 1778. The 1777 performances, with their exotic Viking setting, excited enough interest to provoke parodies. One by

Jean-Étienne Despréaux Jean-Étienne Despréaux (; 31 August 1748 – 26 March 1820) was a French ballet dancer, choreographer, composer, singer and playwright. Biography The son of an oboist of the orchestra of the Académie royale de musique, he made here his débu ...

, entitled ''Berlingue'', was performed at the Théâtre Royal de la Cour at the

Château de Choisy The Château de Choisy was a royal French residence in the commune of Choisy-le-Roi in the Val-de-Marne department, not far from Paris. The commune was given its present name by Louis XV, when he purchased the manor of Choisy and its château in ...

on 13 September, another anonymous work called ''Sans dormir'' was given by the Comédie Italienne at the Hôtel de Bourgogne on 12 October.

Roles

Synopsis

A Viking-era saga about the struggle for control of Norway, Sweden and Denmark – and for the hand of the Norwegian princess Ernelinde.

References

Notes Sources *

Rushton, Julian Julian Gordon Rushton (born 22 May 1941) is an English musicologist, born in Cambridge. He has contributed the entry on Mozart in ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' and several other articles in ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians' ...

(1992), 'Ernelinde, princesse de Norvège' in ''The

New Grove Dictionary of Opera ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' is an encyclopedia of opera. It is the largest work on opera in English, and in its printed form, amounts to 5,448 pages in four volumes. The dictionary was first published in 1992 by Macmillan Reference, L ...

'', ed. Stanley Sadie (London) *Rushton Julian (1994): ''Ernelinde : Tragédie Lyrique (1767).'' (French Opera in the 17th & 18th Centuries‚ No. 8) Pendragon Press,

External links

*
1767 libretto
(as ''Ernelinde, princesse de Norvege'') at Gallica
1769 libretto
(as ''Sandomir, prince de Dannemarck'') at Gallica {{DEFAULTSORT:Ernelinde Princesse De Norvege Operas by François-André Danican Philidor Tragédies en musique French-language operas 1767 operas Operas