Les saltimbanques
Encyclopedia
Les saltimbanques is an opéra-comique
in three acts, libretto by Maurice Ordonneau, music by Louis Ganne
, first performed at the Théâtre de la Gaîté
, Paris, on December 30, 1899. In the third act a ballet entitled Les Bohemiennes was danced by Julia Duval, Briant, the women of the corps de ballet and a troupe of acrobats, Les Manzoni.
Suzanne and her friends have form a little troup called "Les Gigoletti". They are invited to perform at the Castle of the Count des Étiquettes, who is André's uncle. However, Malicorne happens to be there as well, recognises them and want them arrested on the pretext they own him money. The Count pays the sum just as André arrives.
Suzanne sings a song she has learned in childhood, which is in fact a song the Count has composed and that nobody knows. From this song, it is discovered that she is his long lost daughter. Being of high birth, she and André can be married, but she also feels sorrow that she will be leaving her friends.
Opéra-Comique
The Opéra-Comique is a Parisian 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 Hôtel de Bourgogne, and was also called the...
in three acts, libretto by Maurice Ordonneau, music by Louis Ganne
Louis Ganne
Louis-Gaston Ganne was a conductor and composer of French operas, operettas, ballets, and marches.-Biography:...
, first performed at the Théâtre de la Gaîté
Théâtre de la Gaîté (rue Papin)
In 1862 during Haussmann's modernization of Paris the Théâtre de la Gaîté of the boulevard du Temple was relocated to the rue Papin across from the Square des Arts et Métiers....
, Paris, on December 30, 1899. In the third act a ballet entitled Les Bohemiennes was danced by Julia Duval, Briant, the women of the corps de ballet and a troupe of acrobats, Les Manzoni.
Roles
- Suzanne - sopranoSopranoA soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
- Marion - soprano
- Paillasse - tenorTenorThe tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
- Grand Pingouin - baritoneBaritoneBaritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
- André - baritone
- Malicorne - baritone
Synopsis
Suzanne was abandoned as a child and taken in by Malicorne, director of a circus. She is friend with Paillasse (who loves her), Grand-Pingouin (who is also attracted to her), and Marion (who is Grand-Pingouin's lover). Suzanne is pursued by soldiers but rescued by a young officer, André, and the attraction between them is immediate. The brutal Malicorne abuses Suzanne one time too many, and she escapes with Paillasse, Grand-Pingouin, and Marion.Suzanne and her friends have form a little troup called "Les Gigoletti". They are invited to perform at the Castle of the Count des Étiquettes, who is André's uncle. However, Malicorne happens to be there as well, recognises them and want them arrested on the pretext they own him money. The Count pays the sum just as André arrives.
Suzanne sings a song she has learned in childhood, which is in fact a song the Count has composed and that nobody knows. From this song, it is discovered that she is his long lost daughter. Being of high birth, she and André can be married, but she also feels sorrow that she will be leaving her friends.
Discography
- Les saltimbanques - Mady MespléMady MespléMady Mesplé is a French opera singer, the leading high coloratura soprano of her generation in France, sometimes heralded as the successor to Mado Robin.-Biography:...
, Éliane Lublin, Raymond Amade, Dominique Tirmont, Claude Calès, Jean-Christophe Benoit - Choeurs René Duclos, Orchestre de l'Association des Concerts Lamoureux, Jean-Pierre MartyJean-Pierre MartyJean-Pierre Marty is a French pianist and conductor.Jean-Pierre Marty was first a pupil of Alfred Cortot, then of Julius Katchen. He started a piano career at the age of 13, first as accompanist to the great cellist Pierre Fournier a few months before appearing in Paris as soloist in three piano...
- EMI ClassicsEMI ClassicsEMI Classics is a record label of EMI, formed in 1990 in order to reduce the need to create country-specific packaging and catalogs for internationally distributed classical music releases....
, 1968.
- Les saltimbanques - Janine MicheauJanine MicheauJanine Micheau was a French singer, one of the leading lyric sopranos of her era in France.Janine Micheau was born in Toulouse, and studied voice at the Paris Conservatoire...
, Michel RouxMichel RouxMichel Roux is a French-born chef and restaurateur working in Britain.Born in Charolles, Saône-et-Loire, Roux moved to Paris with his family after the war, where they set up a charcuterie...
, Robert MassardRobert MassardRobert Massard is a French baritone, primarily associated with the French repertory, one of the few outstanding French opera singers of the postwar era.- Career :Massard was born in Pau, France, and was mainly self-taught...
, Genevieve Moizan, Pierre DervauxPierre DervauxPierre Dervaux was a French operatic conductor, composer, and pedagogue. At the Conservatoire de Paris, he studied counterpoint and harmony with Marcel Samuel-Rousseau and Jean and Noël Gallon, as well as piano with Isidor Philipp, Armand Ferté, and Yves Nat...
- Accord 465868-2