Panurge (opera)
Encyclopedia
Panurge is an opera in three acts by Jules Massenet
to a French libretto
by Georges Spitzmuller and Maurice Boukay, after Pantagruel by Rabelais. It was first performed at the Théâtre de la Gaîté
in Paris
on April 25, 1913, nearly a year after Massenet's death, one of three operas by the composer to have premiered posthumously, the others being Cléopâtre
(1914) and Amadis
(1922).
in St. Etienne in 1994 under conductor Patrick Fournillier. Harding quotes a reaction of Alfred Bruneau
who declared that the libretto was not suited to Massenet's temperament and demanded music not of a Massenet, but of a Chabrier.
on Mardi Gras. Pantagruel and his squires order wine. Panurge has entered and Pantagruel beckons the hungry newcomer to join his party. Panurge addresses his host in Italian, German, and finally French. Panurge claims that he has lost his wife, Colombe, that very morning and can’t decide whether to laugh or cry. The others encourage him to drown his sorrows in wine.
Once everyone has entered the tavern, Colombe herself comes along and hears the voice of her husband; she explains that she feigned death to escape his drunken behaviour. She calls on him to come out and presents herself to him but he says that he does not recognize her. Enraged, Colombe is held by Pantagruel’s squires, while Parnuge escapes with Pantagruel to a monastery where he can hide from his wife.
Colombe also now enters, having followed her husband to the abbey, and meets Ribaude who lets her know that Panurge was courting her only just before.
A large meal is prepared in the courtyard by the servants; instead of saying grace, Pantagruel only praises the vine. Panurge wonders whether he should remarry as he can’t recall his former wife, and asks for counsel from the philosopher Brid'oye, the poet Raminagrobis and the physician Rondibilis.
When Ribaude re-enters Panurge tries to flirt with her again, but is spurned by Ribaude who knows that he is married. Colombe sits at Pantagruel’s table and makes confession to Panurge disguised as a monk, of all her transgressions. Panurge cannot contain his jealousy and tells her that he knows the husband, who has fled to the Ile des Lanternes. Colombe says that she will pursue him and leaves, while in a fury Panurge breaks everything at the tables.
The Sibyl now enters and answers Panurge's enquiries, saying that he will find his wife when he drinks less and stops beating her. Jean, Pantagruel and the followers next arrive by boat. Colombe, having taken off the disguise, joins her husband and calls for wine; the Queen reminds Panurge of his oath. All raise their cups in rejoicing as the curtain falls.
Jules Massenet
Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet was a French composer best known for his operas. His compositions were very popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and he ranks as one of the greatest melodists of his era. Soon after his death, Massenet's style went out of fashion, and many of his operas...
to a French libretto
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
by Georges Spitzmuller and Maurice Boukay, after Pantagruel by Rabelais. It was 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....
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
on April 25, 1913, nearly a year after Massenet's death, one of three operas by the composer to have premiered posthumously, the others being Cléopâtre
Cléopâtre
Cléopâtre is an opera in four acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Louis Payen. It was first performed in at the Opéra Monte-Carlo on February 23, 1914, nearly two years after Massenet's death....
(1914) and Amadis
Amadis (Massenet)
Amadis is an opera in three acts with prologue by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Jules Claretie based on the Spanish knight-errantry romance Amadis de Gaula, originally of Portuguese origin, by Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo....
(1922).
Performance history
It is one of Massenet's least known operas, but was revived at the Massenet FestivalMassenet Festival
Massenet Festival is a biennale festival of music by French composer, Jules Massenet held at Saint-Étienne, France, close to the area where the composer was born....
in St. Etienne in 1994 under conductor Patrick Fournillier. Harding quotes a reaction of Alfred Bruneau
Alfred Bruneau
Louis-Charles-Bonaventure-Alfred Bruneau was a French composer who played a key role in the introduction of realism in French opera....
who declared that the libretto was not suited to Massenet's temperament and demanded music not of a Massenet, but of a Chabrier.
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, 25 April 1913 (Conductor: A. Amalou) |
|---|---|---|
| Pantagruel | tenor Tenor The 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... |
Giovanni Martinelli Giovanni Martinelli Giovanni Martinelli was a celebrated Italian operatic tenor. He was particularly associated with the Italian lyric-dramatic repertory, although he performed French operatic roles to great acclaim as well... |
| Panurge | baritone Baritone Baritone 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... |
Vanni Marcoux Vanni Marcoux Jean-Émile Diogène Marcoux was a French operatic bass-baritone, known professionally as Vanni Marcoux . He was particularly associated with the French and Italian repertories... |
| Ribaude, Thélémite | soprano Soprano A 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... |
Zina Brozia |
| Brother Jean des Entommeurs, abbot of Thélème | baritone | Dinh Gilly Dinh Gilly Dinh Gilly was a French-Algerian operatic baritone and teacher.-Biography:He studied in Toulouse, Rome and at the Paris Conservatoire, where he won a premier prix in 1902. That same year he made his debut at the Paris Opera as Silvio in Leoncavallo's Pagliacci... |
| Colombe, wife of Panurge | contralto Contralto Contralto is the deepest female classical singing voice, with the lowest tessitura, falling between tenor and mezzo-soprano. It typically ranges between the F below middle C to the second G above middle C , although at the extremes some voices can reach the E below middle C or the second B above... |
Lucy Arbell Lucy Arbell Lucy Arbell , was a French mezzo-soprano whose operatic career was mainly centred in Paris, and who was particularly associated with the composer Jules Massenet.-Life and career:... |
| Queen Baguenaude of the Lanternois | soprano | Maïna Doria |
| Angoulevent, "prince des sotz" | baritone | Éric Audoin |
| Alcofibras, inn-keeper | baritone | Walter Alberti |
| Gringoire "mère sotte" | tenor | Raveau |
| Brid'oye, jurist | tenor | Delgal |
| Rondilibis, doctor | tenor | Godet |
| Trouillogan, philosopher | baritone | Lacombe |
| Raminagrobis, poet | baritone | Royer |
| Gymnaste, squire of Pantagruel | baritone | Henri Marchand |
| Malcorne, squire of Pantagruel | baritone | Garrus |
| Carpalin, squire of Pantagruel | baritone | Desrais |
| Épistémon, squire of Pantagruel | baritone | Lokner |
| A herald | baritone | Bréfel |
| A bourgeois | baritone | Guillot |
| Dindenault, sheep merchant | spoken | L. Muratet |
| Chorus: People of Paris, bourgeois, Thelemites, merchants, soldiers, Lanternois. | ||
Act 1
A crowd of townspeople have gathered outside the tavern of Alcofibras, the 'Hostellerie du Coq à l’Asne' in Les HallesLes Halles
Les Halles is an area of Paris, France, located in the 1er arrondissement, just south of the fashionable rue Montorgueil. It is named for the large central wholesale marketplace, which was demolished in 1971, to be replaced with an underground modern shopping precinct, the Forum des Halles...
on Mardi Gras. Pantagruel and his squires order wine. Panurge has entered and Pantagruel beckons the hungry newcomer to join his party. Panurge addresses his host in Italian, German, and finally French. Panurge claims that he has lost his wife, Colombe, that very morning and can’t decide whether to laugh or cry. The others encourage him to drown his sorrows in wine.
Once everyone has entered the tavern, Colombe herself comes along and hears the voice of her husband; she explains that she feigned death to escape his drunken behaviour. She calls on him to come out and presents herself to him but he says that he does not recognize her. Enraged, Colombe is held by Pantagruel’s squires, while Parnuge escapes with Pantagruel to a monastery where he can hide from his wife.
Act 2
At daybreak in the main courtyard of the Abbaye de Thélème, Thelemites and Ribaude greet the morning. When the crowd has left, Panurge enters, pleased with such a congenial refuge and makes advances to Ribaude. Pantagruel arrives with his followers and Jean welcomes as an old friend, describing the customs of the monastery, where there is no Lent and monks pray to Bacchus and nuns to Venus.Colombe also now enters, having followed her husband to the abbey, and meets Ribaude who lets her know that Panurge was courting her only just before.
A large meal is prepared in the courtyard by the servants; instead of saying grace, Pantagruel only praises the vine. Panurge wonders whether he should remarry as he can’t recall his former wife, and asks for counsel from the philosopher Brid'oye, the poet Raminagrobis and the physician Rondibilis.
When Ribaude re-enters Panurge tries to flirt with her again, but is spurned by Ribaude who knows that he is married. Colombe sits at Pantagruel’s table and makes confession to Panurge disguised as a monk, of all her transgressions. Panurge cannot contain his jealousy and tells her that he knows the husband, who has fled to the Ile des Lanternes. Colombe says that she will pursue him and leaves, while in a fury Panurge breaks everything at the tables.
Act 3
Colombe, dressed as a priestess and oracle of Bacchus, tells the Queen of the Lanternois how she misses her husband. Panurge arrives, looking for his wife; Queen Baguenaude invites him to rest awhile and consult the oracle of Bacchus. Colombe prepares to assume the part of Sibyl, while Panurge offers to make a sacrifice of a lamb. He rejects the price demanded and tosses the lamb into the sea, after which the shepherd and locals dive in to rescue it.The Sibyl now enters and answers Panurge's enquiries, saying that he will find his wife when he drinks less and stops beating her. Jean, Pantagruel and the followers next arrive by boat. Colombe, having taken off the disguise, joins her husband and calls for wine; the Queen reminds Panurge of his oath. All raise their cups in rejoicing as the curtain falls.