Pénélope
Encyclopedia
Pénélope is an opera
in three acts by the French
composer Gabriel Fauré
. The libretto
, by René Fauchois, is based on Homer
's Odyssey
. It was first performed at the Salle Garnier, Monte Carlo
on 4 March 1913.
. Fauré completed the opera at Lugano
on August 31, 1912.
The premiere at Monte Carlo was not a great success, partly because the director of the theatre, Raoul Gunsbourg
, was more concerned with promoting his own opera, Vénise, which made its debut four days later. But Pénélope was rapturously received when it appeared at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées
in Paris on May 10, 1913. Unfortunately for Fauré, the theatre soon went bankrupt. Despite critics holding the music in high esteem, revivals of the opera have been rare.
The Opéra-Comique
took Pénélope into its repertoire on 20 January 1919, with a cast including Germaine Lubin
in the title role and Charles Rousselière as Ulysse and Félix Vieuille
as Eumée, conducted by François Ruhlmann
. Later revivals were conducted by Albert Wolff (1922), Inghelbrecht (1924, with Claire Croiza
in the title role), and Wolff again in 1927 and 1931, totalling 63 performances. On 14 March 1943 the Paris Opera
staged Pénélope, conducted by Ruhlmann, with Lubin in the title role.
. In the mean time she has been besieged by suitors for her hand in marriage. She promises she will choose between them once she has finishing weaving a shroud for her father-in-law Laertes, but every night she unpicks the day's work. Ulysses arrives at the palace disguised as a beggar and is recognised by his old nurse Euryclea.
king who has seen Ulysses alive at his court. After Penelope leaves, Ulysses reveals his true identity to the overjoyed shepherds.
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
in three acts by the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
composer Gabriel Fauré
Gabriel Fauré
Gabriel Urbain Fauré was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th century composers...
. The 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 René Fauchois, is based on Homer
Homer
In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...
's Odyssey
Odyssey
The Odyssey is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is, in part, a sequel to the Iliad, the other work ascribed to Homer. The poem is fundamental to the modern Western canon, and is the second—the Iliad being the first—extant work of Western literature...
. It was first performed at the Salle Garnier, Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo is an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco....
on 4 March 1913.
Background and performance history
Fauré was inspired to write the opera after a meeting with the soprano Lucienne Bréval in 1907. She also recommended Fauchois as a librettist. Work on the score was slow due to Fauré's teaching commitments at the Paris Conservatoire. For this reason, composer asked Fauchois to reduce the libretto from five to three acts and to cut the character of Ulysses's son TelemachusTelemachus
Telemachus is a figure in Greek mythology, the son of Odysseus and Penelope, and a central character in Homer's Odyssey. The first four books in particular focus on Telemachus' journeys in search of news about his father, who has been away at war...
. Fauré completed the opera at Lugano
Lugano
Lugano is a city of inhabitants in the city proper and a total of over 145,000 people in the agglomeration/city region, in the south of Switzerland, in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino, which borders Italy...
on August 31, 1912.
The premiere at Monte Carlo was not a great success, partly because the director of the theatre, Raoul Gunsbourg
Raoul Gunsbourg
Raoul Samuel Gunsbourg was a Jewish-Romania-born opera director, impresario, composer and writer...
, was more concerned with promoting his own opera, Vénise, which made its debut four days later. But Pénélope was rapturously received when it appeared at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées
Théâtre des Champs-Élysées
The Théâtre des Champs-Élysées is a theatre at 15 avenue Montaigne. Despite its name, the theatre is not on the Champs-Élysées but nearby in another part of the 8th arrondissement of Paris....
in Paris on May 10, 1913. Unfortunately for Fauré, the theatre soon went bankrupt. Despite critics holding the music in high esteem, revivals of the opera have been rare.
The Opéra-Comique
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...
took Pénélope into its repertoire on 20 January 1919, with a cast including Germaine Lubin
Germaine Lubin
Germaine Lubin was a French dramatic soprano best known for her association with the music of Richard Wagner...
in the title role and Charles Rousselière as Ulysse and Félix Vieuille
Félix Vieuille
Félix Vieuille was a French operatic bass who sang for more than four decades with the Opéra-Comique in Paris during the first half of the twentieth century...
as Eumée, conducted by François Ruhlmann
François Ruhlmann
-Life and career:Ruhlmann was a pupil of Joseph Dupont in Brussels. As a child he sang in the chorus at the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, and at 7 played the oboe in the orchestra.Ruhlmann's first conducting engagement was at the Théâtre des Arts in Rouen in 1892...
. Later revivals were conducted by Albert Wolff (1922), Inghelbrecht (1924, with Claire Croiza
Claire Croiza
Claire Croiza was a French mezzo-soprano and an influential teacher of singers.-Career:Claire Croiza was born in Paris, the daughter of an expatriate American father and an Italian mother, and as a child she excelled at piano and singing...
in the title role), and Wolff again in 1927 and 1931, totalling 63 performances. On 14 March 1943 the Paris Opera
Paris Opera
The Paris Opera is the primary opera company of Paris, France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the Académie d'Opéra and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and renamed the Académie Royale de Musique...
staged Pénélope, conducted by Ruhlmann, with Lubin in the title role.
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast Conductor: Léon Jehin Léon Jehin Léon Jehin, born Spa, Belgium 17 July 1853, died Monaco 14 February 1928, was a conductor and composer, especially associated with musical life and the opera house in Monte Carlo.-Life and career:... |
|---|---|---|
| Pénélope (Penelope Penelope In Homer's Odyssey, Penelope is the faithful wife of Odysseus, who keeps her suitors at bay in his long absence and is eventually reunited with him.... ) |
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... |
Lucienne Bréval Lucienne Bréval Lucienne Bréval was a Swiss dramatic soprano who had a major international opera career from 1892-1918... |
| Ulysse (Ulysses Odysseus Odysseus or Ulysses was a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poem the Odyssey. Odysseus also plays a key role in Homer's Iliad and other works in the Epic Cycle.... ) |
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... |
Charles Rousselière |
| Eumée (Eumaeus Eumaeus In Greek mythology, Eumaeus was Odysseus's swineherd and friend before he left for the Trojan War. His father, Ktesios son of Ormenos, was king of an island called Syria. When he was a young child a Phoenician sailor seduced his nurse, a slave, who agreed to bring the child among other treasures... ) |
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... |
Jean Bourbon |
| Euryclée (Euryclea Euryclea In Greek mythology, Eurycleia - Εὐρύκλεια, Eurýkleia, or Euryclea , is the daughter of Ops and granddaughter of Peisenor, as well as the wet-nurse of Odysseus. As a girl she was bought by Laertes, Odysseus' father... ) |
mezzo-soprano Mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above... |
Alice Raveau |
| Antinoüs | tenor | Charles Delmas |
| Alkandre | mezzo-soprano | Criticos |
| Mélantho | soprano | Cécile Malraison |
| Phylo | mezzo-soprano | Gabrielle Gilson |
| Ctésippe | tenor | Robert Couzinou |
| Pisandre | tenor | Bindo Gasparini |
| Eurymache | baritone | André Allard |
| Cléone | mezzo-soprano | Durand-Servière |
| Leodès | tenor | Sorret |
| Lydie | soprano | Florentz |
| Une suivante (a follower) | soprano | Nelly Courcelle |
Act One
Penelope has been waiting for ten years for the return of her husband, Ulysses, King of IthacaIthaca
Ithaca or Ithaka is an island located in the Ionian Sea, in Greece, with an area of and a little more than three thousand inhabitants. It is also a separate regional unit of the Ionian Islands region, and the only municipality of the regional unit. It lies off the northeast coast of Kefalonia and...
. In the mean time she has been besieged by suitors for her hand in marriage. She promises she will choose between them once she has finishing weaving a shroud for her father-in-law Laertes, but every night she unpicks the day's work. Ulysses arrives at the palace disguised as a beggar and is recognised by his old nurse Euryclea.
Act Two
That night, as ever, Penelope keeps watch for Ulysses's ship on a hill-top overlooking the sea. She talks nostalgically to the shepherd Eumaeus. The beggar offers to help Penelope defeat the suitors. He claims to be a fugitive CretanCrete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
king who has seen Ulysses alive at his court. After Penelope leaves, Ulysses reveals his true identity to the overjoyed shepherds.
Act Three
The suitors have arranged Penelope's wedding in the palace hall. She tells them that they must decide which one will win her hand by holding a competition to see who can draw Ulysses's bow. Not one of them succeeds. The beggar steps forward and draws the bow with ease, before turning to shoot the suitors. The shepherds join in the killing with their knives. Finally, Ulysses and Penelope are happily reunited.Recordings
- Pénélope Régine CrespinRégine CrespinRégine Crespin was a French singer 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 soprano repertoire, drawing particular acclaim singing Wagner and Strauss heroines...
, Raoul JobinRaoul JobinRaoul Jobin, was a French-Canadian operatic tenor, particularly associated with the French repertory.- Life and career :...
, 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...
, Christiane Gayraud, Choir and Orchestra of RTF, conducted by Désiré-Émile InghelbrechtDésiré-Emile InghelbrechtDésiré-Émile Inghelbrecht was a French composer, conductor and writer.- Life and career :Inghelbrecht was born in Paris, the son of a viola-player. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire and made his debut as a conductor in 1908 at the Théâtre des Arts.Inghelbrecht entered the Conservatoire aged 7...
(live recording from 1956, GOP, 2007) - Pénélope Jessye NormanJessye NormanJessye Norman is an American opera singer. Norman is a well-known contemporary opera singer and recitalist, and is one of the highest paid performers in classical music...
, Alain VanzoAlain VanzoAlain Vanzo was a French opera singer and composer, one of few French tenors of international standing in the postwar era...
, José van DamJosé van DamJoseph, Baron van Damme , known as José van Dam, is a Belgian bass-baritone.At the age of 17, he entered the Brussels Royal Conservatory and studied with Frederic Anspach. A year later, he graduated with diplomas and first prizes in voice and opera performance...
, Michèle Command, Ensemble Vocal Jean Laforge, Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte Carlo, conducted by Charles DutoitCharles DutoitCharles Édouard Dutoit, is a Swiss conductor, particularly noted for his interpretations of French and Russian 20th century music...
(Erato, 1982)
Sources
- The Viking Opera Guide ed. Holden (Viking, 1993)
- Del Teatro (in Italian)
- Amadeus Online
- Booklet notes to the above recording by Jean-Michel Nectoux.