Renaud (opera)
Encyclopedia
Renaud is an opera by Antonio Sacchini
, first performed at the Académie Royale de Musique
, Paris on 23 February 1783. It takes the form of a tragédie lyrique in three acts. The French libretto, by Jean-Joseph Lebœuf , is based on Cantos XVII and XX of Torquato Tasso
's epic poem Gerusalemme liberata
and, more directly, on the five-act tragedy by Simon-Joseph Pellegrin
, Renaud, ou La suite d'Armide, which had been set to music by Henri Desmarets
in 1722 and was intended as a sequel to Lully
's famous opera Armide
. According to Théodore de Lajarte, Lebœuf was helped by Nicolas-Étienne Framery, the regular translator of Sacchini's libretti.
and the cast contained some of the stars of the Académie, including the haute-contre
Joseph Legros
and the soprano Rosalie Levasseur as Renaud and Armide. These would be the last roles they would play.
Renaud marked Sacchini's debut at the Académie Royale. His friend Framery, a great admirer of Italian music, had persuaded him to move from London to Paris. Sacchini had also accumulated a lot of debts in London which made life difficult for him there. It was not the first time Sacchini had written an opera on a story taken from Tasso: he had set Jacopo Durandi's libretto Armida
to music in Milan in 1772 and had reworked the opera, under the new title Rinaldo, for London in 1780. But the events in these operas merely serve as the background to the action of Renaud.
The opera was a success, "thanks above all to Sacchini's score, which contains some superb passages" and was performed 51 times over the next two years. It was played another 76 times between 1789 and 1795 and finally enjoyed a brief revival in 1815. The opera had 130 performances all told before it left the repertoire for good.
on the album Tragédiennes 2, accompanied by the orchestra Les Talens Lyriques conducted by Christophe Rousset
(Virgin Classics, 2009).
This page contains material translated from the equivalent article in the Italian Wikipedia
Antonio Sacchini
Antonio Maria Gasparo Sacchini was an Italian opera composer.Sacchini was born in Florence, but was raised in Naples, where he received his musical education at the San Onofrio conservatory. He wrote his first operas in Naples, thereafter moving to Venice, then London and eventually Paris, where...
, first performed at the Académie Royale de Musique
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...
, Paris on 23 February 1783. It takes the form of a tragédie lyrique in three acts. The French libretto, by Jean-Joseph Lebœuf , is based on Cantos XVII and XX of Torquato Tasso
Torquato Tasso
Torquato Tasso was an Italian poet of the 16th century, best known for his poem La Gerusalemme liberata , in which he depicts a highly imaginative version of the combats between Christians and Muslims at the end of the First Crusade, during the siege of Jerusalem...
's epic poem Gerusalemme liberata
Jerusalem Delivered
Jerusalem Delivered is an epic poem by the Italian poet Torquato Tasso first published in 1581, which tells a largely mythified version of the First Crusade in which Catholic knights, led by Godfrey of Bouillon, battle Muslims in order to take Jerusalem...
and, more directly, on the five-act tragedy by Simon-Joseph Pellegrin
Simon-Joseph Pellegrin
The abbé Simon-Joseph Pellegrin was a French poet and playwright, a librettist who collaborated with Jean-Philippe Rameau and other composers.-Biography:...
, Renaud, ou La suite d'Armide, which had been set to music by Henri Desmarets
Henri Desmarets
Henri Desmarets was a French composer of the Baroque period primarily known for his stage works, although he also composed sacred music as well as secular cantatas, songs and instrumental works....
in 1722 and was intended as a sequel to Lully
Jean-Baptiste Lully
Jean-Baptiste de Lully was an Italian-born French composer who spent most of his life working in the court of Louis XIV of France. He is considered the chief master of the French Baroque style. Lully disavowed any Italian influence in French music of the period. He became a French subject in...
's famous opera Armide
Armide (Lully)
Armide is an opera by Jean-Baptiste Lully. The libretto was written by Philippe Quinault, based on Torquato Tasso's La Gerusalemme liberata .Critics in the 18th century regarded Armide as Lully's masterpiece...
. According to Théodore de Lajarte, Lebœuf was helped by Nicolas-Étienne Framery, the regular translator of Sacchini's libretti.
Performance history
The premiere took place on 28 February 1783 at the Académie Royale de Musique (Salle du Théâtre de la Porte-Saint-Martin) in Paris, with Sacchini's patron Queen Marie-Antoinette among the audience. The choreography was by Maximilien GardelMaximilien Gardel
Maximilien Gardel was a French ballet dancer and choreographer of German descent .He débuted at the Académie royale de Musique in Paris in 1759 and...
and the cast contained some of the stars of the Académie, including the haute-contre
Haute-contre
The haute-contre is a rare type of high tenor voice, predominant in French Baroque and Classical opera until the latter part of the eighteenth century.-History:...
Joseph Legros
Joseph Legros
Joseph Legros was a French singer and composer of the 18th century. He is best remembered for his association with the composer Christoph Willibald Gluck...
and the soprano Rosalie Levasseur as Renaud and Armide. These would be the last roles they would play.
Renaud marked Sacchini's debut at the Académie Royale. His friend Framery, a great admirer of Italian music, had persuaded him to move from London to Paris. Sacchini had also accumulated a lot of debts in London which made life difficult for him there. It was not the first time Sacchini had written an opera on a story taken from Tasso: he had set Jacopo Durandi's libretto Armida
Armida (Sacchini)
Armida is an opera seria by Antonio Sacchini set to a libretto by Jacopo Durandi , originally based on the epic poem Gersulamme liberata by Torquato Tasso...
to music in Milan in 1772 and had reworked the opera, under the new title Rinaldo, for London in 1780. But the events in these operas merely serve as the background to the action of Renaud.
The opera was a success, "thanks above all to Sacchini's score, which contains some superb passages" and was performed 51 times over the next two years. It was played another 76 times between 1789 and 1795 and finally enjoyed a brief revival in 1815. The opera had 130 performances all told before it left the repertoire for good.
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere cast |
|---|---|---|
| Renaud (Rinaldo), a leading Crusader, in love with Armide | haute-contre Haute-contre The haute-contre is a rare type of high tenor voice, predominant in French Baroque and Classical opera until the latter part of the eighteenth century.-History:... |
Joseph Legros Joseph Legros Joseph Legros was a French singer and composer of the 18th century. He is best remembered for his association with the composer Christoph Willibald Gluck... |
| Armide (Armida), Princess of Damascus, in love with Renaud | 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... |
Rosalie Levasseur Rosalie Levasseur Rosalie Levasseur or Le Vasseur was a French soprano. Known as 'Mlle Rosalie', she is best remembered for her work with the composer Christoph Willibald Gluck.... |
| Hidraot (Idraote), King of Damascus and father of Armide | taille Baritenor Baritenor is a musical term formed by a blend of the words "baritone" and "tenor". It is used to describe both baritone and tenor voices. In Webster's Third New International Dictionary it is defined as "a baritone singing voice with virtually a tenor range"... /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... |
François Lays |
| Adraste (Adrasto), King of India, in love with Armide | bass | Augustin-Athanase Chéron |
| Tissapherne (Tissaferne), ruler of Cilicia, in love with Armide | bass | Jean-Pierre Moreau (?) |
| Mélisse (Melissa), confidante of Armide | soprano | Mlle Joinville |
| Doris, confidante of Armide | soprano | Chateauvieux or Gavaudan cadette |
| Iphise (Ifisa), confidante of Armide | soprano | Gavaudan cadette or Chateauvieux |
| Antiope, commander of the Amazons | soprano | Marie-Thérèse Maillard |
| Arcas, commander of Hidraot's guards | basso | |
| A nymph, a coryphée | soprano | Mlle Le Boeuf |
| Alecton (Alecto) (en travesti En travesti Travesti is a theatrical term referring to the portrayal of a character in an opera, play, or ballet by a performer of the opposite sex. Some sources regard 'travesti' as an Italian term, some as French. Depending on sources, the term may be given as travesty, travesti, or en travesti... ) |
taille | Dufrenaye (or Dufresnay) |
| Mégère (Megaera) (en travesti) | bass | |
| Tisiphone (Tisiphone) (en travesti) | haute-contre | J. Rousseau |
| Chorus | ||
| Ballet - ballerinas: Marie-Madeleine Guimard, Gervais, Anne-Marguerite Dorival, Peslin, Dupré; male dancers: Auguste Vestris Auguste Vestris Marie-Jean-Augustin Vestris, known as Auguste Vestris was a French dancer.Born in Paris as the illegitimate son of Gaëtan Vestris and of Marie Allard, he was dubbed "le dieu de la danse", , a popular title bestowed on the leading male dancer of each generation... , Maximilien Gardel, Nivelon |
||
Background
Armide, Princess of Damascus and a sorceress, has fallen in love with the crusader Renaud. Armide uses her magic to make Renaud fall in love with her too. However, two of Renaud's fellow knights manage to find him and free him from the spell, allowing Renaud to take his place among the crusaders once again. The abandoned Armide is consumed with fury and desperation.Act I
Renaud arrives at the camp of the Saracen King of Damascus, Armide's father, Hidraot, to offer peace to the Muslims if they will cede Jerusalem. Hidraot and his allies are ready to accept when the furious Armide bursts in on her chariot, accusing them of cowardice and promising her hand in marriage to whoever kills the treacherous Renaud. Once Renaud has left, Armide's followers vow to kill him (Chorus: "Arbitre et souverain du sort!") and the act ends with the arrival of the warlike Amazons, in a ballet according to French operatic convention.Act 2
Armide, having calmed down, reveals that she is still in love with Renaud. But Antiope, Queen of the Amazons, announces that Armide's followers have laid an ambush for the crusader. Armide rushes to his aid. Although she fails to persuade him to love her again (Duet: "Généreux inconnu ..."), she succeeds in warning him of the trap the Saracen chiefs are planning. Hidraot arrives and rebukes Armide for giving in to her love for Renaud; the crusader has been causing carnage in the Muslim camp. Armide uses her magic to conjure up the Furies, but they are held back by a mysterious higher power. Hidraot disowns his daughter and returns to the camp, intending either to kill Renaud, or "to perish by his blows".Act 3
The battle is over and Armide searches for her father in vain, but finds Adraste, King of India, still breathing. Adraste blames Armide's double-dealing for his death and Hidraot's impending slaughter at the hands of Renaud. Armide prays to heaven to strike her down and save her father and, when she hears that Hidraot has been bound in chains to the chariot of the victorious Renaud, she decides to kill herself. Renaud enters and tries to stop her. She is only reassured when her father arrives and tells her that he owes his life to the crusader. Armide and Renaud are reconciled and free at last to declare their love for one another. The scene magically changes to a magnificent palace and the opera ends with a ballet général.Recordings
Armide's Act 2 aria (Hélas vous le dirais-je....Ah! Que dis-tu?) was recorded by Véronique GensVéronique Gens
Véronique Gens is a French soprano. She has spent much of her career recording and performing Baroque music....
on the album Tragédiennes 2, accompanied by the orchestra Les Talens Lyriques conducted by Christophe Rousset
Christophe Rousset
Christophe Rousset is a French harpsichordist and conductor, specializing in the performance of baroque music on period instruments.-Biography:...
(Virgin Classics, 2009).
On-line sources
External links
- Libretto (a 1791 edition digitized by books.google)
This page contains material translated from the equivalent article in the Italian Wikipedia