''Les Troyens'' (; in English: ''The Trojans'') is a French

grand opera Grand opera is a genre of 19th-century opera generally in four or five acts, characterized by large-scale casts and Orchestra, orchestras. The original productions consisted of spectacular design and stage effects with plots normally based on o ...

in five acts, running for about five hours, by

Hector Berlioz Louis-Hector Berlioz (11 December 1803 – 8 March 1869) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer and conductor. His output includes orchestral works such as the ''Symphonie fantastique'' and ''Harold en Italie, Harold in Italy'' ...

. 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 written by Berlioz himself from

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; 15 October 70 BC21 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Rome, ancient Roman poet of the Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Augustan period. He composed three of the most fa ...

's epic poem the ''

Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; or ) is a Latin Epic poetry, epic poem that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy, Trojan who fled the Trojan War#Sack of Troy, fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Ancient Rome ...

''; the score was composed between 1856 and 1858. ''Les Troyens'' is Berlioz's most ambitious work, the summation of his entire artistic career, but he did not live to see it performed in its entirety. Under the title ''Les Troyens à Carthage'', the last three acts were premièred with many cuts by

Léon Carvalho Léon Carvalho (18 January 1825 – 29 December 1897) was a French impresario and stage director. Biography Born Léon Carvaille in Port Louis, British Mauritius, he came to France at an early age. He studied at the Paris Conservatory an ...

's company, the

Théâtre Lyrique The Théâtre Lyrique () was one of four opera companies performing in Paris during the middle of the 19th century (the other three being the Paris Opera, Opéra, the Opéra-Comique, and the Théâtre-Italien (1801–1878), Théâtre-Italien). ...

, at their theatre (now the

Théâtre de la Ville (; "City Theatre") is one of the two theatres built in the 19th century by Baron Haussmann at Place du Châtelet, Paris, the other being the Théâtre du Châtelet. It is located at 2, place du Châtelet in the 4th arrondissement. Included a ...

) on the

Place du Châtelet The Place du Châtelet () is a public square in Paris, on the right bank of the river Seine, on the borderline between the 1st and 4th arrondissements. It lies at the north end of the Pont au Change, a bridge that connects the Île de la Cit� ...

in Paris on 4 November 1863, with 21 repeat performances. The reduced versions run for about three hours. After decades of neglect, today the opera is considered by some music critics as one of the finest ever written.

Composition history

Berlioz began the libretto on 5 May 1856 and completed it toward the end of June 1856. He finished the full score on 12 April 1858. Berlioz had a keen affection for literature, and he had admired

since his childhood. The Princess

Carolyne zu Sayn-Wittgenstein Princess Carolyne zu Sayn-Wittgenstein (née Iwanowska, ; 8 February 18199 March 1887) was a Polish noblewoman who is best known for her 40-year relationship with musician Franz Liszt. She was also an amateur journalist and essayist. It is conj ...

was a prime motivator to Berlioz to compose this opera. On 3 May 1861, Berlioz wrote in a letter: "I am sure that I have written a great work, greater and nobler than anything done hitherto." Elsewhere he wrote: "The principal merit of the work is, in my view, the truthfulness of the expression." For Berlioz, truthful representation of passion was the highest goal of a dramatic composer, and in this respect he felt he had equalled the achievements of

Gluck Christoph Willibald ( Ritter von) Gluck (; ; 2 July 1714 – 15 November 1787) was a composer of Italian and French opera in the early classical period. Born in the Upper Palatinate and raised in Bohemia, both part of the Holy Roman Empire at ...

and

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

Early performance history

Premiere of the second part

In his memoirs, Berlioz described in excruciating detail the intense frustrations he experienced in seeing the work performed. For five years (from 1858 to 1863), 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 kn ...

– the only suitable stage in Paris – vacillated. Finally, tired of waiting, he agreed to let

, director of the smaller

, mount a production of the second half of the opera with the title ''Les Troyens à Carthage''. It consisted of Acts 3 to 5, redivided by Berlioz into five acts, to which he added an orchestral introduction (''Lamento'') and a prologue. As Berlioz noted bitterly, he agreed to let Carvalho do it "despite the manifest impossibility of his doing it properly. He had just obtained an annual subsidy of a hundred thousand francs from the government. Nonetheless the enterprise was beyond him. His theater was not large enough, his singers were not good enough, his chorus and orchestra were small and weak." Even with this truncated version of the opera, many compromises and cuts were made, some during rehearsals, and some during the run. The new second act was the ''Chasse Royale et Orage'' ("Royal Hunt and Storm") o. 29 an elaborate pantomime ballet with

nymphs A nymph (; ; sometimes spelled nymphe) is a minor female nature deity in ancient Greek folklore. Distinct from other Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature; they are typically tied to a specific place, land ...

, sylvans and

fauns The faun (, ; , ) is a half-human and half-goat mythological creature appearing in Greek and Roman mythology. Originally fauns of Roman mythology were ghosts ( genii) of rustic places, lesser versions of their chief, the god Faunus. Before the ...

, along with a chorus. Since the set change for this scene took nearly an hour, it was cut, despite the fact its staging had been greatly simplified with a painted waterfall backdrop rather than one with real water. Carvalho had originally planned to divert water from the nearby

Seine The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plat ...

, but during the rehearsals, a faulty switch nearly caused a disaster. The entries of the builders, sailors, and farm-workers , were omitted because Carvalho found them dull; likewise, the scene for Anna and Narbal and the second ballet o. 33b The sentries' duet o. 40was omitted, because Carvalho had found its "homely style... out of place in an epic work".Berlioz & Cairns 2002, p. 540.

Iopas In Virgil's ''Aeneid'', Iopas is a bard at the court of Dido. He is featured at the end of Book 1, where he performs the "Song of Iopas", a creation narrative, during a banquet hosted for Aeneas and his Trojans. Text, context The passage in Virgil ...

's stanzas o. 25disappeared with Berlioz's approval, the singer De Quercy "charged with the part being incapable of singing them well." The duet between

Dido Dido ( ; , ), also known as Elissa ( , ), was the legendary founder and first queen of the Phoenician city-state of Carthage (located in Tunisia), in 814 BC. In most accounts, she was the queen of the Phoenician city-state of Tyre (located ...

n and Énée o. 44was cut because, as Berlioz himself realized, "Madame Charton's voice was unequal to the vehemence of this scene, which took so much out of her that she would not have had the strength left to deliver the tremendous recitative Dieux immortels! il part! o. 46 the final aria ''Adieu, fière cité, no. 48 and the scene on the pyre ." The "Song of

Hylas In classical mythology, Hylas () was a youth who served Heracles (Roman Hercules) as companion and servant. His abduction by water nymphs was a theme of ancient art, and has been an enduring subject for Western art in the classical tradition. G ...

" o. 38 which was "greatly liked at the early performances and was well sung", was cut while Berlioz was at home sick with

bronchitis Bronchitis is inflammation of the bronchi (large and medium-sized airways) in the lungs that causes coughing. Bronchitis usually begins as an infection in the nose, ears, throat, or sinuses. The infection then makes its way down to the bronchi. ...

. The singer of the part,

Edmond Cabel Edmond Cabel (18 November 1832 – December 1888) was a French operatic tenor. He was born Edmond-Antoine-Auguste Dreulette in Namur. He was the brother of the famous coloratura soprano Marie Cabel and adopted her married name Cabu (and later, t ...

, was also performing in a revival of

Félicien David Félicien-César David (13 April 1810 – 29 August 1876) was a French composer. Biography Félicien David was born in Cadenet, and began to study music at the age of five under his father, whose death when the boy was six left him an impoverish ...

's ''

La perle du Brésil ''La Perle du Brésil'' (''The Pearl of Brazil'') is an 1851 in 3 acts by composer Félicien David to a French-language libretto by J. Gabriel and . Performance history The opera was premiered on 22 November 1851 by the Opéra-National under Ed ...

'', and since his contract only required him to sing fifteen times per month, he would have to be paid an extra two hundred

francs The franc is any of various units of currency. One franc is typically divided into 100 centimes. The name is said to derive from the Latin inscription ''francorum rex'' ( King of the Franks) used on early French coins and until the 18th centur ...

for each additional performance. Berlioz lamented: "If I am able to put on an adequate performance of a work of this scale and character I must be in absolute control of the theatre, as I am of the orchestra when I rehearse a symphony." Even in its less than ideal form, the work made a profound impression. For example,

Giacomo Meyerbeer Giacomo Meyerbeer (born Jakob Liebmann Meyer Beer; 5 September 1791 – 2 May 1864) was a German opera composer, "the most frequently performed opera composer during the nineteenth century, linking Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Mozart and Richard Wa ...

attended 12 performances. Berlioz's son Louis attended every performance. A friend tried to console Berlioz for having endured so much in the mutilation of his

magnum opus A masterpiece, , or ; ; ) is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, skill, profundity, or workmanship. Historically, ...

and pointed out that after the first night audiences were increasing. "See," he said encouragingly to Berlioz, "they are coming." "Yes," replied Berlioz, feeling old and worn out, "they are coming, but I am going." Berlioz never saw the first two acts, later given the name ''La prise de Troie'' ("The Capture of Troy").

Early concert performances of portions of the opera

After the premiere of the second part at the Théâtre Lyrique, portions of the opera were next presented in concert form. Two performances of ''La prise de Troie'' were given in Paris on the same day, 7 December 1879: one by the Concerts Pasdeloup at the

Cirque d'Hiver The Cirque d'Hiver ("Winter Circus"), located at 110 rue Amelot (at the juncture of the rue des Filles du Calvaire and rue Amelot, Paris 11th arrondissement of Paris, 11ème), has been a prominent venue for circuses, exhibitions of dressage, musica ...

with Anne Charton-Demeur as Cassandre, Stéphani as Énée, conducted by

Ernest Reyer Louis Étienne Ernest Reyer (1 December 1823 – 15 January 1909) was a French opera composer and music critic. Biography Ernest Reyer was born in Marseille. His father, a notary, did not want his son to take up a career in music. However, he d ...

; and another by the

Concerts Colonne The Colonne Orchestra is a French symphony orchestra, founded in 1873 by the violinist and conductor Édouard Colonne. History While leader of the Opéra de Paris orchestra, Édouard Colonne was engaged by the publisher Georges Hartmann to lead ...

at the

Théâtre du Châtelet The Théâtre du Châtelet () is a theatre and opera house, located in the place du Châtelet in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France. One of two theatres (the other being the Théâtre de la Ville) built on the site of a ''châtelet'', a ...

with Leslino as Cassandre, Piroia as Énée, conducted by Edouard Colonne. These were followed by two concerts in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

: the first, Act 2 of ''La prise de Troie'', was performed in English on 6 May 1882 by Thomas's May Festival at the

7th Regiment Armory The Park Avenue Armory, also known as the 7th Regiment Armory, is a historic armory for the U.S. Army National Guard at 643 Park Avenue on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States. Designed in the Gothic Revival style ...

with

Amalie Materna Amalie Materna () born Amalia, later Amalie Friedrich-Materna) (10 July 1844 St. Georgen in der Steiermark – 18 January 1918 Vienna) was an Austrian operatic dramatic soprano. While possessing a famously powerful voice, Materna also maintaine ...

as Cassandre,

Italo Campanini Italo Campanini (30 June 1845 – 14 November 1896) was a leading Italian operatic tenor, whose career reached its height in London in the 1870s and in New York City in the 1880s and 1890s. He had a repertoire of 80 operas and was the brother of ...

as Énée, conducted by Theodore Thomas; the second, ''Les Troyens à Carthage'' (with cuts), was given in English on 26 February 1887 at Chickering Hall with Marie Gramm as Didon,

Max Alvary Max Alvary (3 May 1856 – 7 November 1898), born as Maximilian Achenbach, was a German operatic tenor. Born in Düsseldorf, Germany, he was the son of the painter Andreas Achenbach, over whose initial objections he pursued his singing career. H ...

as Énée, and possibly conducted by

Frank Van der Stucken Frank Valentine Van der Stucken (October 15, 1858 – August 16, 1929) was a Belgian-American composer, conductor, and founding conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in 1895. Biography Van der Stucken was born in Fredericksburg, Texas ...

First performance of both parts

The first staged performance of the whole opera took place only in 1890, 21 years after Berlioz's death. The first and second parts, in Berlioz's revised versions of three and five acts, were sung on two successive evenings, 6 and 7 December, in German at Großherzoglichen Hoftheater in

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( ; ; ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, after its capital Stuttgart a ...

(see

Roles A role (also rôle or social role) is a set of connected behaviors, rights, obligations, beliefs, and norms as conceptualized by people in a social situation. It is an expected or free or continuously changing behavior and may have a given indi ...

). This production was frequently revived over the succeeding eleven years and was sometimes given on a single day. The conductor,

Felix Mottl right Felix Josef von Mottl (between 29 July/29 August 1856 – 2 July 1911) was an Austrian conductor and composer. He was regarded as one of the most brilliant conductors of his day. He composed three operas, of which ''Agnes Bernauer'' (Weima ...

, took his production to

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (), is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, second-largest city in Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, the States of Ger ...

in 1899 and conducted another production in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

in 1908, which was revived in 1909. He rearranged some of the music for the Munich production, placing the "Royal Hunt and Storm" after the love duet, a change that "was to prove sadly influential." A production of both parts, with substantial cuts in the second part, was mounted in

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one millionDavid Cairns, the work was thought of as "a noble

white elephant A white elephant is a possession that its owner cannot dispose of without extreme difficulty, and whose cost, particularly that of maintenance, is out of proportion to its usefulness. In modern usage, it is a metaphor used to describe an object, ...

– something with beautiful things in it, but too long and supposedly full of dead wood. The kind of maltreatment it received in Paris as recently as last winter in a new production will, I'm sure, be a thing of the past."

Publication of the score

At the time of the 1863 production of ''Les Troyens à Carthage'', Berlioz permitted the Parisian music editors Choudens et C^ie to publish the vocal score as two separate operas. Only 15 copies of the first edition were printed, at the composer's expense.Holomon 1992, p. 828. In this published score, he introduced a number of optional cuts which have often been adopted in subsequent productions. Berlioz complained bitterly of the cuts that he was more or less forced to allow at the 1863 Théâtre Lyrique premiere production, and his letters and memoirs are filled with the indignation that it caused him to "mutilate" his score. In his July 1867 will Berlioz lamented that Choudens had failed to meet their contractual obligation to engrave the full score and asked his executors to ensure the opera "be published without cuts, without modifications, without the least suppression of the text in sum exactly as it stands." In the late 1880s, after a lawsuit, the firm printed the full scores of ''La prise de Troie'' and ''Les Troyens à Carthage'', orchestral parts, and an improved vocal score, but only the vocal score was sold. The remaining material was only made available for short-term hire. In the early 20th century, the lack of accurate parts led musicologists W. J. Turner and Cecil Gray to plan a raid on the publisher's Paris office, even approaching the Parisian

underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld. ...

for help. In 1969,

Bärenreiter Verlag Bärenreiter (Bärenreiter-Verlag) is a German classical music publishing house based in Kassel. The firm was founded by Karl Vötterle (1903–1975) in Augsburg in 1923, and moved to Kassel in 1927, where it still has its headquarters; it al ...

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in North Hesse, northern Hesse, in Central Germany (geography), central Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel (region), Kassel and the d ...

, Germany, first published the full score of ''Les Troyens'' in a

critical edition Textual criticism is a branch of textual scholarship, philology, and literary criticism that is concerned with the identification of textual variants, or different versions, of either manuscripts (mss) or of printed books. Such texts may range i ...

containing all the compositional material left by Berlioz. The preparation of this critical edition was the work of Hugh Macdonald, whose

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

doctoral dissertation this was. With its publication, as well as the release in 1970 of the first complete recording (based on

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist sit ...

performances conducted by

Colin Davis Sir Colin Rex Davis (25 September 1927 – 14 April 2013) was an English conductor, known for his association with the London Symphony Orchestra, having first conducted it in 1959. His repertoire was broad, but among the composers with whom ...

), "it was finally possible to study and produce the whole work, and to judge it on its own merits." In early 2016 the

Bibliothèque nationale de France The (; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites, ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national repository of all that is published in France. Some of its extensive collections, including bo ...

bought the 1859 autograph vocal score, which included scenes cut for the orchestral autograph score; the manuscript also includes annotations by

Pauline Viardot Pauline Viardot (; 18 July 1821 – 18 May 1910) was a French dramatic mezzo-soprano, composer and pedagogue of Spanish descent. Born Michelle Ferdinande Pauline García,FitzLyon, p. 15, referring to the baptismal name. Thbirth recorddigitized a ...

Later performance history

On 9 June 1892 the Paris

Opéra-Comique The Opéra-Comique () is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular Théâtre de la foire, theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief riva ...

staged ''Les Troyens à Carthage'' (in the same theatre as its premiere) and witnessed a triumphant debut for the 17-year-old

Marie Delna Marie Delna (Paris, 3 April 1875 - Paris, 24 July 1932) was a French contralto. A major singer in Paris, particularly at the Opéra-Comique, she enjoyed an international career in the 1890s through to the 1910s and left several recordings. Lif ...

as Didon, with Stéphane Lafarge as Énée, conducted by

Jules Danbé Jules Danbé (16 November 1840 – 30 October 1905) was a French violinist, composer and conductor, mainly of opera. Biography Danbé was born in Caen, Calvados. Trained as a violinist, he was a pupil of Narcisse Girard and Marie Gabriel Aug ...

; these staged performances of Part 2 continued into the next year. In December 1906 the

Théâtre de la Monnaie The Royal Theatre of La Monnaie (, ; , ; both translating as the "Royal Theatre of the Mint") is an opera house in central Brussels, Belgium. The National Opera of Belgium, a federal institution, takes the name of this theatre in which it is ho ...

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

commenced a run of performances with the two halves on successive nights. On 6 February 1920, the Théâtre des Arts in

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...

staged what was probably the first French performance of ''Les Troyens'' on one night, with only a few cuts, which had been sanctioned by the author. The Opéra in Paris had presented a production of ''La prise de Troie'' in 1899, and in 1919 mounted a production of ''Les Troyens à Carthage'' in

Nîmes Nîmes ( , ; ; Latin: ''Nemausus'') is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Gard Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region of Southern France. Located between the Med ...

. Both parts were staged at the Opéra in one evening on 10 June 1921, with mise-en-scène by Merle-Forest, sets by René Piot and costumes by Dethomas.Wolff 1962, p. 218. The cast included Marguerite Gonzategui (Didon), Lucy Isnardon (Cassandre), Jeanne Laval (Anna), Paul Franz (Énée), Édouard Rouard (Chorèbe), and Armand Narçon (Narbal), with

Philippe Gaubert Philippe Gaubert (5 July 1879 – 8 July 1941) was a French musician who was a distinguished performer on the flute. He was a respected conducting, conductor and a composer, primarily for the flute.Edward Blakeman. 'Gaubert, Philippe' in ''Grov ...

conducting. Marisa Ferrer (who later sang the part under Sir

Thomas Beecham Sir Thomas Beecham, 2nd Baronet, (29 April 18798 March 1961) was an English conductor and impresario best known for his association with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Philharmonic and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Philh ...

in London) sang Didon in the 1929 revival, with

Germaine Lubin Germaine Léontine Angélique Lubin (1 February 1890 – 27 October 1979) was a French dramatic soprano, best known for her association with the music of Richard Wagner. She possessed a brilliant voice but her later career was tainted with accusat ...

as Cassandre and Franz again as Énée.

Georges Thill Georges Thill (14 December 1897 – 17 October 1984) was a French opera singer, often considered to be his country's greatest lyric-dramatic tenor. Born in Paris, his career lasted from 1924 to 1953, peaking during the 1930s. Career A pupil ...

sang Énée in 1930. Lucienne Anduran was Didon in 1939, with Ferrer as Cassandre this time, José de Trévi as Énée, and

Martial Singher Martial Singher (August 14, 1904 – March 9, 1990) was a French baritone opera singer born in Oloron-Sainte-Marie, Pyrénées-Atlantiques. Initially singing only as a hobby, he was encouraged by then French education minister Édouard Herriot to ...

as Chorèbe. Gaubert conducted all performances in Paris before the Second World War. In the UK, concert performances of ''Les Troyens à Carthage'' took place in 1897 and 1928, then in 1935 a complete ''Les Troyens'' was performed by

Glasgow Grand Opera Society The Glasgow Grand Opera Society, known by its members and audiences alike as simply 'The Grand', was an opera company based in Glasgow, Scotland. It was founded in 1906 and was wound up in 2000. Charles Manners used profits from a successful s ...

, directed by Scottish composer

Erik Chisholm Erik William Chisholm (4 January 1904 – 8 June 1965) was a Scottish composer, pianist, organist and conductor sometimes known as "Scotland's forgotten composer". According to his biographer, Chisholm "was the first composer to absorb Celtic ...

. ''Les Troyens'' was performed for the first time in London in a concert performance conducted by Sir

and broadcast at the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

in 1947. His cast included Ferrer as both Didon and Cassandre,

Jean Giraudeau Jean Giraudeau (1 July 1916, in Toulon – 7 February 1995), was an artist and French tenor,Obituary: Jean Giraudeau. ''Opera'', June 1995, Vol.46, No.6, p671. and later theatre director, particularly associated with the Opéra-Comique in Paris, ...

as Énée and Charles Cambon as both Chorèbe (a role he had sung in Paris in 1929) and Narbal. An aircheck of this performance has been issued on CD. However, the 1957 production at the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...

conducted by

Rafael Kubelík Rafael Jeroným Kubelík, KBE (29 June 1914 – 11 August 1996) was a Czech conductor and composer. The son of a distinguished violinist, Jan Kubelík, he was trained in Prague and made his debut with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra at the a ...

and directed by

John Gielgud Sir Arthur John Gielgud ( ; 14 April 1904 – 21 May 2000) was an English actor and theatre director whose career spanned eight decades. With Ralph Richardson and Laurence Olivier, he was one of the trinity of actors who dominated the Britis ...

, has been described as "the first full staging in a single evening that even approximated the composer's original intentions". It was sung in English.

1960s

The Paris Opéra gave a new production of a condensed version of ''Les Troyens'' on March 17, 1961, directed by Margherita Wallmann, with sets and costumes by Piero Zuffi.

Pierre Dervaux Pierre Dervaux (born 3 January 1917 in Juvisy-sur-Orge, France; died 20 February 1992 in Marseilles, France) was a French operatic conductor (music), conductor, composer, and pedagogue. At the Conservatoire de Paris, he studied counterpoint and ha ...

was the conductor, with

Régine Crespin Régine Crespin (23 February 1927 – 5 July 2007) was a French soprano who had a major international career in opera and on the concert stage between 1950 and 1989. She started her career singing roles in the dramatic soprano and spinto sopran ...

as Didon, Geneviève Serrès as Cassandre, Jacqueline Broudeur as Anna, Guy Chauvet as Énée, Robert Massard as Chorèbe and Georges Vaillant as Narbal; performances by this cast were broadcast on French radio. Several of these artists, in particular Crespin and Chauvet, participated in a set of extended highlights commercially recorded by

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

in 1965,

Georges Prêtre Georges Prêtre (; 14 August 1924 – 4 January 2017) was a French orchestral and opera conductor. Biography Prêtre was born in Waziers ( Nord), and attended the Douai Conservatory and then studied harmony under Maurice Duruflé and conduct ...

conducting. The performance of ''Les Troyens'' used at various productions at the Paris Opéra and by Beecham and by Kubelík in London were the orchestral and choral parts from Choudens et C^ie of Paris, the only edition then available. The first American stage performance of ''Les Troyens'' (an abbreviated version, sung in English) was given by

Boris Goldovsky Boris Goldovsky (Борис Анисимович Голдовский; June 7, 1908 - February 15, 2001) was a Russian-born conductor and broadcast commentator, active in the United States. He has been called an important "popularizer" of opera in ...

with the

New England Opera Theater The New England Opera Theatre (later known as the Goldovsky Opera Theater) was an American opera company that was active from 1945 to 1985. Founded by Boris Goldovsky in January 1945, the company was originally based in Boston, Massachusetts. It ...

on 27 March 1955, in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. The

San Francisco Opera The San Francisco Opera (SFO) is an American opera company founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola (1881–1953) based in San Francisco, California. History Gaetano Merola (1923–1953) Merola's road to prominence in the Bay Area began in 1906 wh ...

staged a heavily cut version of the opera (reducing it to about three hours), billed as the "American professional stage premiere", in 1966, with Crespin as both Cassandre and Didon and Canadian tenor

Jon Vickers Jonathan Stewart Vickers, (October 29, 1926 – July 10, 2015), known professionally as Jon Vickers, was a Canadian heldentenor. Born in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, he was the sixth in a family of eight children. In 1950, he was awarded a s ...

as Énée, and again in 1968 with Crespin and Chauvet; Jean Périsson conducted all performances. On 5 May 1964 at the

Teatro Colón The Teatro Colón () is a historic opera house in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is considered one of the ten best opera houses in the world by National Geographic. According to a survey carried out by the acoustics expert Leo Beranek among leadin ...

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

, Crespin (as Cassandre and Didon) and Chauvet were the leads for the South American premiere, conducted by

Georges Sébastian Georges Sébastian (August 17, 1903 – April 12, 1989) was a French conductor (music), conductor of Hungarian birth, particularly associated with Wagner and the post-romantic repertory (Bruckner, Mahler, Richard Strauss). He was born in Budapest a ...

Performances using the critical edition

The

score from Bärenreiter published in 1969 was first used in May that year by the

Scottish Opera Scottish Opera is the national opera company of Scotland, and one of the five national performing arts companies of Scotland. Founded in 1962 and based in Glasgow, it is the largest performing arts organisation in Scotland. History Scottish Op ...

under Alexander Gibson, in performances sung in English.

conducted a Covent Garden production sung in French in September and a parallel

Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), simply branded Philips, is a Dutch multinational health technology company that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, its world headquarters have been situated in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarter ...

recording was made. Tim Ashley of the ''

Gramophone A phonograph, later called a gramophone, and since the 1940s a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogue reproduction of sound. The sound vibration waveforms are recorded as corresponding physic ...

'' writes, the Philips recording "brought an entire generation of listeners to the work, and as erlioz's biographer DavidCairns puts it, it finally 'blew to smithereens the idea that the opera was a dead duck the fruit of an old, worn-out composer.'""Les Troyens: Rising from the Ruins", pp. 21–23
in Tim Ashley, "Berlioz the radical", ''Gramophone'' (February 2019), pp. 16–23. Ashley also asserts: "Understanding of erlioz'sachievement s a composerwas also notably incomplete owing to the absence from the repertory of ''Les Troyens'' in any form in which we now recognise it. Its discovery

n 1969 N, or n, is the fourteenth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages, and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...

was to bring in its wake a reappraisal of Berlioz's entire output which would decisively re-establish his position, even in France." The first complete American production of ''Les Troyens'' (with Crespin as Didon) was given in February 1972 by

Sarah Caldwell Sarah Caldwell (March 6, 1924March 23, 2006) was an American opera conductor, impresario, and stage director. Early life Caldwell was born in Maryville, Missouri, and grew up in Fayetteville, Arkansas Fayetteville ( ) is the List of cit ...

with her

Opera Company of Boston The Opera Company of Boston was an American opera company located in Boston, Massachusetts, that was active from the late 1950s through the 1980s. The company was founded by American conducting, conductor Sarah Caldwell in 1958 under the name Bo ...

, at the Aquarius Theater. On 17 March 1972, John Nelson conducted New Jersey's Pro Arte Chorale and Festival Orchestra in a concert performance of the complete opera at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

in New York. In 1973,

conducted the first

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred ...

performances of ''Les Troyens'', in the opera's first staging in New York City and the third staging in the United States. The performances included cuts (Nos. 20-22 and Nos. 45–46, half of Dido's final scene).Goldberg 1988, p. 188.

Shirley Verrett Shirley Verrett (May 31, 1931 – November 5, 2010) was an American operatic mezzo-soprano who successfully transitioned into soprano roles making her a Soprano sfogato. Verrett enjoyed great fame from the late 1960s through the 1990s; she was ...

was both Cassandre and Didon at the Metropolitan Opera House premiere, with Jon Vickers as Énée.

Christa Ludwig Christa Ludwig (16 March 1928 – 24 April 2021) was a German mezzo-soprano and sometime dramatic soprano, distinguished for her performances of opera, lieder, oratorio, and other major religious works like masses, passions, and solos in symph ...

had been cast as Didon but was ill at the time of the premiere; she sang the role in the ten subsequent performances. ''Les Troyens'', with all the music restored, opened the Metropolitan's centenary season in 1983 under

James Levine James Lawrence Levine ( ; June 23, 1943 – March 9, 2021) was an American conductor and pianist. He was music director of the Metropolitan Opera from 1976 to 2016. He was terminated from all his positions and affiliations with the Met on March ...

with

Plácido Domingo José Plácido Domingo Embil (born 21 January 1941) is a Spanish opera singer, conductor, and arts administrator. He has recorded over a hundred complete operas and is well known for his versatility, regularly performing in Italian, French, ...

Jessye Norman Jessye Mae Norman (September 15, 1945 – September 30, 2019) was an American opera singer and recitalist. She was able to perform dramatic soprano roles, but did not limit herself to that voice type. A commanding presence on operatic, concert ...

as Cassandre and

Tatiana Troyanos Tatiana Troyanos (September 12, 1938 – August 21, 1993) was an American mezzo-soprano remembered as "one of the defining singers of her generation". Her voice, "a paradoxical voice — larger than life yet intensely human, brilliant yet wa ...

as Didon. Six complete performances were given at Zurich Opera, all 5 acts on one night as Berlioz had intended in September 1990, directed by

Tony Palmer Anthony or Tony Palmer may refer to: * Anthony Palmer (VC), English recipient of the Victoria Cross * Anthony Palmer (British Army officer) (born 1949), deputy chief of the Defence Staff * Tony Palmer (director) (born 1941), British film director ...

. ''Les Troyens'' was staged again in 1990 for the opening of the new

Opéra Bastille The Opéra Bastille (, "Bastille Opera House") is a modern opera house in the 12th arrondissement of Paris, France. Inaugurated in 1989 as part of President François Mitterrand's '' Grands Travaux'', it became the main facility of the Paris N ...

in Paris. It was a partial success, because the new theatre was not quite ready on opening night, which caused much trouble during rehearsals. The performance had several cuts, authorised by Berlioz, including some dances in the third act. A full staged version conducted by Charles Dutoit and produced by Francesca Zambello took place at the

Los Angeles Opera The Los Angeles Opera, originally called the Los Angeles Music Center Opera, is an American opera company in Los Angeles, California. It is the fourth-largest opera company in the United States. The company's home base is the Dorothy Chandler P ...

on September 14, 1991 with Carol Neblett, Nadine Secunde and Gary Lakes. In 1993, Charles Dutoit conducted the Canadian premiere of ''Les Troyens'' in a full concert version with the

Montreal Symphony The Montreal Symphony Orchestra () is a Canadian symphony orchestra based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The orchestra’s home is the Montreal Symphony House at Place des Arts. History Several orchestras were precursor ensembles to the current ...

and Deborah Voigt, Françoise Pollet and Gary Lakes which was subsequently recorded by

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, record label * Decca Gold, classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, musical theater record label * Decca Studios, recording facility in West ...

. To mark the 200th anniversary of Berlioz's birth in 2003, ''Les Troyens'' was revived in productions at the

in Paris (conducted by

John Eliot Gardiner Sir John Eliot Gardiner (born 20 April 1943) is an English conductor, particularly known for his performances of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach, especially the Bach Cantata Pilgrimage of 2000, performing Church cantata (Bach), Bach's church ...

De Nederlandse Opera The Dutch National Opera (DNO; formerly De Nederlandse Opera, now De Nationale Opera in Dutch) is a Dutch opera company based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Its present home base is the Dutch National Opera & Ballet housed in the Stopera building, a m ...

in Amsterdam (conducted by

Edo de Waart Edo de Waart (born 1 June 1941, Amsterdam) is a Dutch retired conductor. He is Music Director Laureate of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. De Waart is the former music director of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (2016-2019), chief conductor ...

), and at the Metropolitan in New York (with

Lorraine Hunt Lieberson Lorraine Hunt Lieberson (March 1, 1954 – July 3, 2006) was an American mezzo-soprano. She was noted for her performances of both Baroque era and contemporary works. Her career path to becoming a singer was unconventional – formerly a pro ...

as Didon, conducted by Levine). The Met's production, by

Francesca Zambello Francesca Zambello (born August 24, 1956) is an American opera and theatre director. She is the artistic director of Washington National Opera. Early life and education Born in New York City, Zambello lived in Europe when she was a child, learn ...

, was revived in the 2012–13 season with

Susan Graham Susan Graham (born July 23, 1960) is an American mezzo-soprano. Life and career Susan Graham was born in Roswell, New Mexico on July 23, 1960. Raised in Midland, Texas, Graham is a graduate of Texas Tech University and the Manhattan School of ...

as Didon,

Deborah Voigt Deborah Joy Voigt (born August 4, 1960) is an American dramatic soprano who has sung roles in operas by Wagner and Richard Strauss. Biography and career Early life and education Deborah Joy Voigt was born into a religious Southern Baptist f ...

as Cassandre, and

Marcello Giordani Marcello Giordani (born Marcello Guagliardo; 25 January 1963 – 5 October 2019) was an Italian operatic tenor who sang leading roles of the Italian and French repertoire in opera houses throughout Europe and the United States. He had a distinguis ...

and

Bryan Hymel Bryan Hymel (born August 8, 1979) is an American operatic tenor who was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana and graduated from Jesuit High School and Loyola University New Orleans. Early years Bryan Hymel came to the attention of opera h ...

as Énée, conducted by

Fabio Luisi Fabio Luisi (born 17 January 1959) is an Italian conductor. He is currently principal conductor of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, music director of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and chief conductor of the NHK Symphony Orchestra. Biog ...

. During June and July 2015 the

presented the opera in a new production directed by Sir David McVicar that originated at the

in London. It featured

as Didon,

Anna Caterina Antonacci Anna Caterina Antonacci (born 5 April 1961) is an Italian soprano known for roles in the bel canto and Baroque repertories. She performed as a mezzo-soprano for several years, particularly performing the Rossini canon. Life and career Anna Cater ...

as Cassandre, and

as Énée, conducted by

Donald Runnicles Sir Donald Cameron Runnicles (born 16 November 1954) is a Scottish conductor, known for his Romantic symphonic and operatic repertoire, especially Richard Wagner, Gustav Mahler, Richard Strauss and Anton Bruckner. With a career that has spanned ...

Critical evaluation

Knowing the work only from a

piano reduction In music, a reduction is an arrangement or transcription of an existing score or composition in which complexity is lessened to make analysis, performance, or practice easier or clearer; the number of parts may be reduced or rhythm may be ...

, the British critic W. J. Turner declared in his 1934 book on Berlioz that ''Les Troyens'' was "the greatest opera ever written." American critic B. H. Haggin heard in the work Berlioz's "arrestingly individual musical mind operating in, and commanding attention with, the use of the erliozidiom with assured mastery and complete adequacy to the text's every demand." David Cairns described the work as "an opera of visionary beauty and splendor, compelling in its epic sweep, fascinating in the variety of its musical invention... it recaptures the tragic spirit and climate of the ancient world." Hugh Macdonald said of it:

Roles

Instrumentation

Berlioz specified the following instruments: * In the

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

: **

Woodwinds Woodwind instruments are a family of musical instruments within the greater category of wind instruments. Common examples include flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, and saxophone. There are two main types of woodwind instruments: flutes and re ...

piccolo The piccolo ( ; ) is a smaller version of the western concert flute and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. Sometimes referred to as a "baby flute" or piccolo flute, the modern piccolo has the same type of fingerings as the ...

, 2

flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

s (2nd doubling piccolo), 2

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double-reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common type of oboe, the soprano oboe pitched in C, ...

s (2nd doubling

English horn The cor anglais (, or original ; plural: ''cors anglais''), or English horn (mainly North America), is a double-reed woodwind instrument in the oboe family. It is approximately one and a half times the length of an oboe, making it essentially ...

), 2

clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...

s (2nd doubling

bass clarinet The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common Soprano clarinet, soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B (meaning it is a transposing instrument on which a written C sounds as B), but it plays no ...

), 4

bassoon The bassoon is a musical instrument in the woodwind family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuosity ...

s **

Brass Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, in proportions which can be varied to achieve different colours and mechanical, electrical, acoustic and chemical properties, but copper typically has the larger proportion, generally copper and zinc. I ...

: 4

horns Horns or The Horns may refer to: * Plural of Horn (anatomy) * Plural of Horn (instrument), a group of musical instruments all with a horn-shaped bells * The Horns (Colorado), a summit on Cheyenne Mountain * Horns (novel), ''Horns'' (novel), a dar ...

, 2

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...

s, 2 valve cornets, 3

trombone The trombone (, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's lips vibrate inside a mouthpiece, causing the Standing wave, air c ...

ophicleide The ophicleide ( ) is a family of conical-bore keyed brass instruments invented in early 19th-century France to extend the keyed bugle into the lower range. Of these, the bass ophicleide in eight-foot (8′) C or 9′ B took root over the cour ...

tuba The tuba (; ) is the largest and lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece (brass), mouthpiece. It first appeared in th ...

Percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...

timpani Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion instrument, percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a Membranophone, membrane called a drumhead, ...

triangles A triangle is a polygon with three corners and three sides, one of the basic shapes in geometry. The corners, also called ''vertices'', are zero-dimensional points while the sides connecting them, also called ''edges'', are one-dimensiona ...

bass drum The bass drum is a large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. The instrument is typically cylindrical, with the drum's diameter usually greater than its depth, with a struck head at both ends of the cylinder. The head ...

cymbals A cymbal is a common percussion instrument. Often used in pairs, cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys. The majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sou ...

tenor drum A tenor drum is a membranophone without a snare. There are several types of tenor drums. Early music Early music tenor drums, or long drums, are cylindrical membranophone without snare used in Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque music. They cons ...

(''caisse roulante''),

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a ...

without snares (''tambour sans timbre''),

(''tambourin''),

tam-tam A gongFrom Indonesian and ; ; zh, c=鑼, p=luó; ; ; ; ; is a percussion instrument originating from Southeast Asia, and used widely in Southeast Asian and East Asian musical traditions. Gongs are made of metal and are circular and fl ...

, 2 pairs of small antique cymbals in E and F, 6 or 8

harps The High Accuracy Radial Velocity Planet Searcher (HARPS) is a high-precision Echelle grating, echelle planet-finding spectrograph installed in 2002 on the ESO 3.6 m Telescope, ESO's 3.6m telescope at La Silla Observatory in Chile. The First l ...

Strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

* Offstage: ** 3 oboes ** 3 trombones ** Saxhorns: sopranino in B (''petit saxhorn suraigu en si''), sopranos in E (or valve

s in E), altos in B (or valve trumpets in B), tenors in E (or horns in E), contrabasses in E (or

s in E) ** Percussion: pairs of

, several pairs of

cymbal A cymbal is a common percussion instrument. Often used in pairs, cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys. The majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sou ...

s, thunder machine (''roulement de tonnerre''), antique

sistrum A sistrum (plural: sistra or (in Latin) sīstra; from the Greek ''seistron'' of the same meaning; literally "that which is being shaken", from ''seiein'', "to shake") is a musical instrument of the percussion family, a form of rattle, used mo ...

tarbuka The goblet drum (also chalice drum, tarabuka, tarabaki, darbuka, darabuka, derbake, debuka, doumbek, dumbec, dumbeg, dumbelek, toumperleki, tumbak, or zerbaghali; / Romanized: ) is a single-head membranophone with a goblet-shaped body. It is ...

Synopsis

Act 1

:''At the abandoned Greek camp outside the walls of Troy'' The

Trojans Trojan or Trojans may refer to: * Of or from the ancient city of Troy * Trojan language, the language of the historical Trojans Arts and entertainment Music * ''Les Troyens'' ('The Trojans'), an opera by Berlioz, premiered part 1863, part 1890 ...

are celebrating apparent deliverance from ten years of siege by the Greeks (also named the Achaeans in the opera). They see the large wooden horse left by the Greeks, which they presume to be an offering to

Pallas Athene Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress o ...

. Unlike all the other Trojans, however,

Cassandre Cassandre, pseudonym of Adolphe Jean-Marie MouronNotice d'autorité personne ...

is mistrustful of the situation. She foresees that she will not live to marry her fiancé, Chorèbe. Chorèbe appears and urges Cassandre to forget her misgivings. But her prophetic vision clarifies, and she foresees the utter destruction of Troy. When

Andromaque ''Andromaque'' is a tragedy in five acts by the France, French playwright Jean Racine written in French alexandrine, alexandrine verse. It was first performed on 17 November 1667 before the court of Louis XIV in the Louvre Palace, Louvre in the pr ...

silently walks in holding her son

Astyanax In Greek mythology, Astyanax (; ''Astyánax'', "lord of the city") was the son of Hector, the crown prince of Troy, and of his wife, Princess Andromache of Cilician Thebe."Astyanax". ''Oxford Classical Dictionary''. Oxford, 1949, p. 101 (''s.v. ...

by the hand, the celebration halts. A captive,

Sinon In Greek mythology, Sinon (Ancient Greek: Σίνων, from the verb "σίνομαι"—''sinomai'', "to harm, to hurt") or Sinopos was a Greek warrior during the Trojan War. He is not mentioned by Homer, but his story is given in the ''Aene ...

, is brought in. He lies to King

Priam In Greek mythology, Priam (; , ) was the legendary and last king of Troy during the Trojan War. He was the son of Laomedon. His many children included notable characters such as Hector, Paris, and Cassandra. Etymology Most scholars take the e ...

and the crowd that he has deserted the Greeks, and that the giant wooden horse they have left behind was intended as a gift to the gods to ensure their safe voyage home. He says the horse was made so big that the Trojans would not be able to move it into their city, because if they did they would be invincible. This only makes the Trojans want the horse inside their city all the more. Énée then rushes on to tell of the devouring of the priest

Laocoön Laocoön (; , , gen.: ) is a figure in Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology and the Epic Cycle. Laocoön is a Troy, Trojan priest. He and his two young sons are attacked by giant serpents sent by the gods when Laocoön argued against bri ...

by a sea serpent, after Laocoön had warned the Trojans to burn the horse. Énée interprets this as a sign of the goddess Athene's anger at the sacrilege. Against Cassandre's futile protests, Priam orders the horse to be brought within the city of Troy and placed next to the temple of Pallas Athene. There is suddenly a sound of what seems to be the clashing of arms from within the horse, and for a brief moment the procession and celebrations stop, but then the Trojans, in their delusion, interpret it as a happy omen and continue pulling the horse into the city. Cassandre has watched the procession in despair, and as the act ends, resigns herself to death beneath the walls of Troy.

Act 2

Before the act proper has started, the Greek soldiers hidden in the wooden horse have come out and begun to destroy Troy and its citizens. :''Scene 1: Palace of Énée'' With fighting going on in the background, the ghost of

Hector In Greek mythology, Hector (; , ) was a Trojan prince, a hero and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. He is a major character in Homer's ''Iliad'', where he leads the Trojans and their allies in the defense of Troy, killing c ...

visits Énée and warns him to flee Troy for Italy, where he will build a new Troy. After Hector fades, the priest Panthée conveys the news about the Greeks hidden in the horse. Ascagne appears with news of further destruction. At the head of a band of soldiers, Chorèbe urges Énée to take up arms for battle. All resolve to defend Troy to the death. :''Scene 2: Palace of Priam'' Several of the Trojan women are praying at the altar of Vesta/

Cybele Cybele ( ; Phrygian: ''Matar Kubileya, Kubeleya'' "Kubeleya Mother", perhaps "Mountain Mother"; Lydian: ''Kuvava''; ''Kybélē'', ''Kybēbē'', ''Kybelis'') is an Anatolian mother goddess; she may have a possible forerunner in the earliest ...

for their soldiers to receive divine aid. Cassandre reports that Énée and other Trojan warriors have rescued Priam's palace treasure and relieved people at the citadel. She prophesies that Énée and the survivors will found a new Troy in Italy. But she also says that Chorèbe is dead, and resolves to die herself. The other women acknowledge the accuracy of Cassandre's prophecies and their own error in dismissing her. Cassandre then calls upon the Trojan women to join her in death, to prevent being defiled by the invading Greeks. One group of women admits to fear of death, and Cassandre dismisses them from her sight. The remaining women unite with Cassandre in their determination to die. A Greek captain observes the women during this scene with admiration for their courage. Greek soldiers then come on the scene, demanding the Trojan treasure from the women. Cassandre defiantly mocks the soldiers, then suddenly stabs herself. Polyxène takes the same dagger and does likewise. The remaining women scorn the Greeks as being too late to find the treasure, and commit mass suicide, to the soldiers' horror. Cassandre summons one last cry of "''Italie!''" before collapsing, dead.

Act 3

:''Didon's throne-room at Carthage'' The

Carthaginians The Punic people, usually known as the Carthaginians (and sometimes as Western Phoenicians), were a Semitic people, Semitic people who Phoenician settlement of North Africa, migrated from Phoenicia to the Western Mediterranean during the Iron ...

and their queen,

n, are celebrating the prosperity that they have achieved in the past seven years since fleeing from Tyre to found a new city. Didon, however, is concerned about Iarbas, the

Numidia Numidia was the ancient kingdom of the Numidians in northwest Africa, initially comprising the territory that now makes up Algeria, but later expanding across what is today known as Tunisia and Libya. The polity was originally divided between ...

n king, not least because he has proposed a political marriage with her. The Carthaginians swear their defence of Didon, and the builders, sailors and farmers offer tribute to Didon. In private after these ceremonies, Didon and her sister Anna then discuss love. Anna urges Didon to remarry, but Didon insists on honoring the memory of her late husband Sichée. The bard

then enters to tell of an unknown fleet that has arrived in port. Recalling her own wanderings on the seas, Didon bids that these strangers be made welcome. Ascagne enters, presents the saved treasure of Troy, and relates the Trojans' story. Didon acknowledges that she knows of this situation. Panthée then tells of the ultimate destiny of the Trojans to found a new city in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. During this scene, Énée is disguised as an ordinary sailor. Didon's minister Narbal then comes to tell her that Iarbas and his Numidian army are attacking the fields surrounding Carthage and are marching on the city. But Carthage does not have enough weapons to defend itself. Énée then reveals his true identity and offers the services of his people to help Carthage. Didon accepts the offer, and Énée entrusts his son Ascagne to Didon's care, but he suddenly dries his tears and joins the Carthaginians and Trojans in preparing for battle against the Numidians.

Act 4

:''Scene 1: Royal Hunt and Storm'' (mainly instrumental) This scene is a pantomime with primarily instrumental accompaniment, set in a forest with a cave in the background. A small stream flows from a crag and merges with a natural basin bordered with rushes and reeds. Two

naiads In Greek mythology, the naiads (; ), sometimes also hydriads, are a type of female spirit, or nymph, presiding over fountains, wells, springs, streams, brooks and other bodies of fresh water. They are distinct from river gods, who embodied ...

appear and disappear, but return to bathe in the basin. Hunting horns are heard in the distance, and huntsmen with dogs pass by as the naiads hide in the reeds. Ascagne gallops across the stage on horseback. Didon and Énée have been separated from the rest of the hunting party. As a storm breaks, the two take shelter in the cave. At the climax of the storm,

nymph A nymph (; ; sometimes spelled nymphe) is a minor female nature deity in ancient Greek folklore. Distinct from other Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature; they are typically tied to a specific place, land ...

s with dishevelled hair run to-and-fro over the rocks, gesticulating wildly. They break out in wild cries of "a-o" (sopranos and contraltos) and are joined by

faun The faun (, ; , ) is a half-human and half-goat mythological creature appearing in Greek and Roman mythology. Originally fauns of Roman mythology were ghosts ( genii) of rustic places, lesser versions of their chief, the god Faunus. Before t ...

sylvan Sylvan or Sylvans (from the Latin ''silva'': "forest, woods") can have one of the following meanings: A countryside scene The term "A Sylvan Scene" is used to describe a beautiful and idealised scene in the countryside. Historical reference: J ...

s, and

satyr In Greek mythology, a satyr (, ), also known as a silenus or ''silenos'' ( ), and sileni (plural), is a male List of nature deities, nature spirit with ears and a tail resembling those of a horse, as well as a permanent, exaggerated erection. ...

s. The stream becomes a torrent, and waterfalls pour forth from the boulders, as the chorus intones "''Italie! Italie! Italie!''". A tree is hit by lightning, explodes and catches fire, as it falls to the ground. The satyrs, fauns, and sylvans pick up the flaming branches and dance with them in their hands, then disappear with the nymphs into the depths of the forest. The scene is slowly obscured by thick clouds, but as the storm subsides, the clouds lift and dissipate. :''Scene 2: The gardens of Didon by the shore'' The Numidians have been beaten back, and both Narbal and Anna are relieved at this. However, Narbal worries that Didon has been neglecting the management of the state, distracted by her love for Énée. Anna dismisses such concerns and says that this indicates that Énée would be an excellent king for Carthage. Narbal reminds Anna, however, that the gods have called Énée's final destiny to be in Italy. Anna replies that there is no stronger god than love. After Didon's entry, and dances from the

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

ian dancing girls, the slaves, and the

Nubia Nubia (, Nobiin language, Nobiin: , ) is a region along the Nile river encompassing the area between the confluence of the Blue Nile, Blue and White Nile, White Niles (in Khartoum in central Sudan), and the Cataracts of the Nile, first cataract ...

n slave girls, Iopas sings his song of the fields, at the queen's request. She then asks Énée for more tales of Troy. Énée reveals that after some persuading, Andromaque eventually married Pyrrhus, the son of

Achille Achille (, ) is a French and Italian masculine given name, derived from the Greek mythological hero Achilles. It may refer to: People Artists * Achille Beltrame (1871–1945), Italian painter * Achille Calici (c. 1565–?), Italian painter * ...

, who killed

, Andromaque's earlier husband. Hearing about Andromaque remarrying, Didon then feels resolved regarding her lingering feelings of faithfulness to her late husband. Alone, Didon and Énée then sing a love duet. At the end of the act, as Didon and Énée slowly walk together towards the back of the stage in an embrace, the god Mercury appears and strikes Énée's shield, which the hero has cast away, calling out three times, "''Italie!''"

Act 5

:''Scene 1: The harbor of Carthage'' A young

Phrygia In classical antiquity, Phrygia ( ; , ''Phrygía'') was a kingdom in the west-central part of Anatolia, in what is now Asian Turkey, centered on the Sangarios River. Stories of the heroic age of Greek mythology tell of several legendary Ph ...

n sailor, Hylas, sings his song of longing for home, alone. Two sentries mockingly comment that he will never see his homeland again. Panthée and the Trojan chieftains discuss the gods' angry signs at their delay in sailing for Italy. Ghostly voices are heard calling "''Italie! Italie! Italie!''". The sentries, however, remark that they have good lives in Carthage and do not want to leave. Énée then comes on stage, singing of his despair at the gods' portents and warnings to set sail for Italy, and also of unhappiness at his betrayal of Didon with this news. The ghosts of Priam, Chorèbe, Hector and Cassandre appear and relentlessly urge Énée to proceed on to Italy. Énée gives in and realizes that he must obey the gods' commands, but also realizes his cruelty and ingratitude to Didon as a result. He then orders his comrades to prepare to sail that very morning, before sunrise. Didon then appears, appalled at Énée's attempt to leave in secret, but still in love with him. Énée pleads the messages from the gods to move on, but Didon will have none of this. She pronounces a curse on him as she leaves. The Trojans shout "''Italie!''". :''Scene 2: Didon's apartment at dawn'' Didon asks Anna to plead with Énée one last time to stay. Anna acknowledges blame for encouraging the love between her sister and Énée. Didon angrily counters that if Énée truly loved her, he would defy the gods, but then asks her to plead with him for a few days' additional stay. The crowd has seen the Trojans set sail. Iopas conveys the news to Didon. In a rage, she demands that the Carthaginians give chase and destroy the Trojans' fleet, and wishes that she had destroyed the Trojans upon their arrival. She then decides to offer sacrifice, including destroying the Trojans' gifts to her and hers to them. Narbal is worried about Didon and tells Anna to stay with her sister, but the queen orders Anna to leave. Alone, she resolves to die, and after expressing her love for Énée one final time, prepares to bid her city and her people farewell. :''Scene 3: The palace gardens'' A sacrificial pyre with Énée's relics has been built. Priests enter in a procession. Narbal and Anna expound curses on Énée to suffer a humiliating death in battle. Didon says it is time to finish the sacrifice and that she feels peace enter her heart (this happens in a ghostly descending chromatic line recalling the appearance of Hector's ghost in Act II). She then ascends the pyre. She removes her veil and throws it on Énée's toga. She has a vision of a future African warrior,

Hannibal Hannibal (; ; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Punic people, Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Ancient Carthage, Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Punic War. Hannibal's fat ...

, who will rise and attack

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

to avenge her. Didon then stabs herself with Énée's sword, to the horror of her people. But at the moment of her death, she has one last vision: Carthage will be destroyed, and Rome will be "immortal". The Carthaginians then utter one final curse on Énée and his people to the music of the Trojan march, vowing vengeance for his abandonment of Didon, as the opera ends.

Musical numbers

The list of musical numbers is from the Urtext vocal score.Berlioz 2003, pp. X–XII.

Act 1

Act 2

First Tableau: Second Tableau:

Act 3

Act 4

First Tableau: Second Tableau:

Act 5

First Tableau: Second Tableau: Third Tableau:

Supplement

* La scène de Sinon * The original finale of Act 5

Recordings

References

Notes

Sources

* Berlioz, Hector (1864). ''Les Troyens à Carthage'', libretto in French. Paris: Michel Lévy Frères
Copy
at Gallica. * Berlioz, Hector; Cairns, David, translator and editor (2002). ''The Memoirs of Hector Berlioz''. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. . * Berlioz, Hector (2003). ''Les Troyens. Grand Opéra en cinq actes'', vocal score based on the Urtext of the New Berlioz Edition by Eike Wernhard. Kassel: Bärenreiter
Listings
at

WorldCat WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the O ...

. * Cairns, David (1999). ''Berlioz. Volume Two. Servitude and Greatness 1832–1869''. London: Allen Lane. The Penguin Press. . * Goldberg, Louise (1988a). "Performance history and critical opinion" in Kemp 1988, pp. 181–195. * Goldberg, Louise (1988b). "Select list of performances (Staged and concert)" in Kemp 1988, pp. 216–227. * Holoman, D. Kern (1989). ''Berlioz''. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. . * Holomon, D. Kern (1992)
"''Troyens, Les'' (‘The Trojans’)"
vol. 4, pp. 828–832, 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 ...

'', four volumes, edited by

Stanley Sadie Stanley John Sadie (; 30 October 1930 – 21 March 2005) was a British musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the '' Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (1980), which was published as the first edition ...

. London: Macmillan. * Kemp, Ian, editor (1988). ''Hector Berlioz: Les Troyens''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. . * Kessler, Daniel (2008). ''Sarah Caldwell; The First Woman of Opera''. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. . * Kutsch, K. J. and

Riemens, Leo Leonardus Antony Marinus Riemens (3 December 1910 – 3 April 1985) was a Dutch musicologist and cultural journalist. He wrote a book about Maria Callas, and together with Karl-Josef Kutsch began a reference book about opera singers in 1962, which ...

(2003). ''

Großes Sängerlexikon ''Großes Sängerlexikon'' (''Biographical Dictionary of Singers'', literally: Large singers' lexicon) is a single-field dictionary of singers in classical music, edited by Karl-Josef Kutsch and Leo Riemens and first published in 1987. The fi ...

'' (fourth edition, in German). Munich: K. G. Saur. . * Macdonald, Hugh (1982). ''Berlioz'', The Master Musicians Series. London: J. M. Dent. . * Loewenberg, Alfred (1978). ''Annals of Opera 1597–1940'', third edition. Totowa, New Jersey: Rowman and Littlefield.
Copy
at

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

. * Walsh, T. J. (1981). ''Second Empire Opera: The Théâtre Lyrique Paris 1851–1870''. New York: Riverrun Press. . * Wolff, Stéphane (1962). ''L'Opéra au Palais Garnier, 1875–1962. Les oeuvres. Les Interprètes.'' Paris: L'Entracte. (1983 reprint: Geneva: Slatkine. .)

External links

*
''Les Troyens'' in Extracts from the ''Memoirs'' of Hector Berlioz

For the New Berlioz Complete Edition of Bärenreiter
which has been the musical basis for subsequent productions

Guy Dumazert, French-language commentary on ''Les Troyens'', 12 August 2001
{{DEFAULTSORT:Troyens, Les Operas by Hector Berlioz French-language operas Grand operas Operas based on the Aeneid Music based on poems Operas Operas set in Africa Opera world premieres at the Théâtre Lyrique Works about the Trojan War Cultural depictions of Dido Cultural depictions of Hannibal 1863 operas Fauns in popular culture Libretti by Hector Berlioz