Sigurd (opera)
Encyclopedia
Sigurd is an opera
in four acts and nine scenes by the French composer Ernest Reyer
on a libretto by Camille du Locle
and Alfred Blau
. Like Wagner
's Ring of the Nibelung, the story is based on the Niebelungenlied and the Eddas, with some crucial differences from the better known Wagnerian version (the role of the supernatural is limited and replaced in large part by fate; the initial version of the libretto with a prologue set in heaven was later cut out). The whole opera can best be described as an epic with techniques of the grand opera
.
Initially sketched out in 1862 (and virtually completed in draft by 1867), the work waited many years before it was performed in full. Orchestration
of various fragments progressed much more slowly, and as they were completed, they were sometimes performed at various concerts. Initial attempts at staging the work at the Paris Opéra
failed, therefore the opera had its world premiere in the Théatre de la Monnaie
in Brussels
on January 7, 1884 (directed by Alexandre Lapissida
). Within a year it was also performed with great success in Covent Garden
, Lyon
, Monte Carlo
and, finally, at the Paris Opéra
on June 12, 1885, (directed there by Raoul Lapissida).
In America, the opera was first performed on December 24, 1891 at the French Opera House
in New Orleans, and the Teatro alla Scala (Milan
) performed it in 1894. Since then it has had periodic revivals (but only in France
or Monaco
); then, after World War II
, it was staged in 1963 and 1995 at the Opéra de Marseille
(the last one with Alberto Cupido in the title role). The opera was also performed in 1973 in concert at studio 104 of the Office de Radiodiffusion Télévision Française
(ORTF) in Paris
(Manuel Rosenthal
was conducting; performance was recorded) and in 1993 at Festival de Radio France et Montpellier
.
In the ballets:
Hilda, the younger sister of Gunther, king of the Burgundians, loves the hero Sigurd, despite that she was expected to be given to Attila himself as a bride. At the instigation of her nurse (Uta) she gives Sigurd a magic potion which brings him to her feet. Sigurd, Gunther and Hagen then swear fealty to each other and set off to Iceland, where Brunehild lies asleep upon a lofty rock, surrounded by a circle of fire and some supernatural beings. There, Sigurd, to earn the hand of Hilda, must overcome those monsters and passes through the flames and wins Brunehild for Gunther. His face is closely hidden by his visor, and Brunehild in all innocence accepts Gunther as her saviour, and gives herself to him. The secret is afterwards disclosed by Hilda in a fit of jealous rage, whereupon Brunehild releases Sigurd from the enchantment of the potion. He recognises her as the bride ordained for him by the gods, and they sing together a passionate love duet, but before he can taste his new-found happiness he is treacherously slain by Gunther during hunting. His body is brought back to the palace and Brunehild mounts the funeral pyre. Powerful apotheosis ends the opera when spirits of Sigurd and Brunehild ascend to paradise, and soldiers of Attila are seen walking over corpses of Burgundians.
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 four acts and nine scenes by the French composer Ernest Reyer
Ernest Reyer
Ernest Reyer, the adopted name of Louis Étienne Ernest Rey, was a French opera composer and music critic .- Biography :...
on a libretto by Camille du Locle
Camille du Locle
Camille du Locle was a French theatre director and a librettist. He was born in Orange, France. From 1862 he served as assistant to his father-in-law, Émile Perrin at the Paris Opéra, moving in 1870 to the Opéra-Comique....
and Alfred Blau
Alfred Blau
Alfred Blau was a French dramatist and opera librettist. He was a cousin of Édouard Blau, another French librettist of the same period.In late 1887 he was in negotiations with Emmanuel Chabrier for a libretto on the subject of The Tempest by Shakespeare, but the project came to nothing.-Operas to...
. Like Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
's Ring of the Nibelung, the story is based on the Niebelungenlied and the Eddas, with some crucial differences from the better known Wagnerian version (the role of the supernatural is limited and replaced in large part by fate; the initial version of the libretto with a prologue set in heaven was later cut out). The whole opera can best be described as an epic with techniques of the grand opera
Grand Opera
Grand opera is a genre of 19th-century opera generally in four or five acts, characterised by large-scale casts and orchestras, and lavish and spectacular design and stage effects, normally with plots based on or around dramatic historic events...
.
Initially sketched out in 1862 (and virtually completed in draft by 1867), the work waited many years before it was performed in full. Orchestration
Orchestration
Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra or of adapting for orchestra music composed for another medium...
of various fragments progressed much more slowly, and as they were completed, they were sometimes performed at various concerts. Initial attempts at staging the work at the Paris Opéra
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...
failed, therefore the opera had its world premiere in the Théatre de la Monnaie
La Monnaie
Le Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie , or the Koninklijke Muntschouwburg is a theatre in Brussels, Belgium....
in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
on January 7, 1884 (directed by Alexandre Lapissida
Alexandre Lapissida
Alexandre Lapissida was a French operatic tenor, producer, director and theatre manager.-Life:...
). Within a year it was also performed with great success in Covent Garden
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 site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...
, Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
, Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo is an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco....
and, finally, at the Paris Opéra
Palais Garnier
The Palais Garnier, , is an elegant 1,979-seat opera house, which was built from 1861 to 1875 for the Paris Opera. It was originally called the Salle des Capucines because of its location on the Boulevard des Capucines in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, but soon became known as the Palais Garnier...
on June 12, 1885, (directed there by Raoul Lapissida).
In America, the opera was first performed on December 24, 1891 at the French Opera House
French Opera House
The French Opera House was an opera house in New Orleans. It was one of the city's landmarks from its opening in 1859 until it was destroyed by fire in 1919...
in New Orleans, and the Teatro alla Scala (Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
) performed it in 1894. Since then it has had periodic revivals (but only in France
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...
or Monaco
Monaco
Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...
); then, after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, it was staged in 1963 and 1995 at the Opéra de Marseille
Opéra de Marseille
L’Opéra de Marseille, known today as the Opéra Municipal, is an opera company located in Marseille, France. In 1685, the city was the second in France after Bordeaux to have an opera house which was erected on a tennis court....
(the last one with Alberto Cupido in the title role). The opera was also performed in 1973 in concert at studio 104 of the Office de Radiodiffusion Télévision Française
Office de Radiodiffusion Télévision Française
The Office de Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française was the national agency charged, between 1964 and 1974, with providing public radio and television in France.-Post World War II:...
(ORTF) 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...
(Manuel Rosenthal
Manuel Rosenthal
Manuel Rosenthal was a French composer and conductor who held leading positions with musical organizations in France and America...
was conducting; performance was recorded) and in 1993 at Festival de Radio France et Montpellier
Festival de Radio France et Montpellier
The Festival de Radio France et Montpellier is a summer festival of opera and music held in Montpellier, France created in 1985. The music festival concentrates on classical music and jazz with about 100 events, including opera, concerts, films, and talks, most of which are free and located in the...
.
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, 7 January 1884 (Conductor: Joseph Dupont Joseph Dupont (violinist) Henri-Joseph Dupont was a Belgian violinist, leader, theatre director and conductor.-Life:Dupont was born in Ensival, Verviers. He studied the violin at the Liège and Brussels conservatoires and won a Belgian Prix de Rome for composition in 1863... ) |
|---|---|---|
| Sigurd, Frankish Franks The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a... hero |
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... |
Julien Jourdain |
| Gunther, king of the Burgundians Burgundians The Burgundians were an East Germanic tribe which may have emigrated from mainland Scandinavia to the island of Bornholm, whose old form in Old Norse still was Burgundarholmr , and from there to mainland Europe... |
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... |
Maurice Devriès |
| Hagen, warrior, companion of Gunther | bass Bass (voice type) A bass is a type of male singing voice and possesses the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, a bass is typically classified as having a range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C... |
Léon-Pierre Gresse |
| Brunehild, Valkyrie Valkyrie In Norse mythology, a valkyrie is one of a host of female figures who decides who dies in battle. Selecting among half of those who die in battle , the valkyries bring their chosen to the afterlife hall of the slain, Valhalla, ruled over by the god Odin... expelled from Heaven |
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... |
Rose Caron Rose Caron Rose Caron was a French operatic soprano.Rose Caron was born at Monnerville . She studied at the Paris Conservatoire but was not taken on at the Paris Opera; her husband, an accompanist, encouraged her to take lessons from Marie Sasse who helped her to get engagements at the opera in Brussels... |
| Hilda, Gunther's sister | 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... |
Rosa Bosman |
| Uta, Hilda's nurse | mezzo-soprano | Blanche Deschamps-Jéhin Blanche Deschamps-Jéhin Blanche Deschamps-Jéhin was a French operatic contralto who had a prolific career in France from 1879-1905. She possessed a rich-toned and flexible voice that had a wide vocal range... |
| The high priest of Odin | baritone | Maurice Renaud Maurice Renaud Maurice Renaud , was a cultured French operatic baritone. He enjoyed an international reputation for the superlative quality of his singing and the brilliance of his acting.-Early years:... |
| Rudiger | baritone | M. Boussa |
| Irnfrid | tenor | Jean Goffoël |
| Hawart | baritone | Mansuède |
| Ramunc | bass | Stalport |
| The bard | tenor | |
| Burgundian warriors, Burgundian people, Iceland Iceland Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population... ic people, Priests, Wives of Burgundian warriors, Maids to Hilda and the Queen, Valets, envoys of Attila, etc. |
||
In the ballets:
- Act 1: The three Norns, Valkyries, Nixes, Elves, Cobbolds
- Act 3: Warriors and Wives
- Act 4 (Apotheosis): Enter to Odin's Paradise
Synopsis
- Place: WormsWorms, GermanyWorms is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Rhine River. At the end of 2004, it had 85,829 inhabitants.Established by the Celts, who called it Borbetomagus, Worms today remains embattled with the cities Trier and Cologne over the title of "Oldest City in Germany." Worms is the only...
and IcelandIcelandIceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population... - Time: 5th century, time of Attila
Hilda, the younger sister of Gunther, king of the Burgundians, loves the hero Sigurd, despite that she was expected to be given to Attila himself as a bride. At the instigation of her nurse (Uta) she gives Sigurd a magic potion which brings him to her feet. Sigurd, Gunther and Hagen then swear fealty to each other and set off to Iceland, where Brunehild lies asleep upon a lofty rock, surrounded by a circle of fire and some supernatural beings. There, Sigurd, to earn the hand of Hilda, must overcome those monsters and passes through the flames and wins Brunehild for Gunther. His face is closely hidden by his visor, and Brunehild in all innocence accepts Gunther as her saviour, and gives herself to him. The secret is afterwards disclosed by Hilda in a fit of jealous rage, whereupon Brunehild releases Sigurd from the enchantment of the potion. He recognises her as the bride ordained for him by the gods, and they sing together a passionate love duet, but before he can taste his new-found happiness he is treacherously slain by Gunther during hunting. His body is brought back to the palace and Brunehild mounts the funeral pyre. Powerful apotheosis ends the opera when spirits of Sigurd and Brunehild ascend to paradise, and soldiers of Attila are seen walking over corpses of Burgundians.
Available recordings
- Malibran Music, Dom Disques: Compilation of various fragments of the opera, made between 1910 and 1934, with Cesar VezzaniCésar VezzaniCésar Vezzani was a French/Corsican operatic tenor who became a leading exponent of French grand opera through several decades. -Career:...
, Marcel JournetMarcel JournetMarcel Journet , was a French, bass, operatic singer. He enjoyed a prominent career in England, France and Italy, and appeared at the foremost American opera houses in New York City and Chicago....
, Marjorie LawrenceMarjorie LawrenceMarjorie Florence Lawrence CBE was an Australian soprano, particularly noted as an interpreter of Richard Wagner's operas. She was the first soprano to perform the immolation scene in Götterdämmerung by riding her horse into the flames as Wagner had intended. She was afflicted by polio from 1941...
, Germaine LubinGermaine LubinGermaine Lubin was a French dramatic soprano best known for her association with the music of Richard Wagner...
, and others (1 CD, 74 min.) - Le Chant du Monde, Harmonia Mundi LDC 27891719: concert ORTF, commercial recording of Sigurd, 1973, in studio, 3 CD, total 191 min), Rosenthal conducting, with the following cast: Guy Chauvet(tenor), 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...
(baritone), Jules BastinJules BastinJules Bastin was a Belgian operatic bass. Born in Brussels, he made his debut in 1960 at La Monnaie, singing Charon in L'Orfeo. He appeared at major opera houses throughout Europe, including the Royal Opera House, La Scala, and the Palais Garnier; he also sang at opera houses in North and South...
(bass), Ernest BlancErnest BlancErnest Blanc was a French opera singer, one of the leading baritones of his era in France.Born in Sanary-sur-Mer, Ernest Blanc studied at the Music Conservatory of Toulon with Sabran, from 1946 to 1949. He made his debut in Marseille, as Tonio, in 1950...
(baritone), Nicolas Christou (bass-baritone), Bernard Demigny (baritone), Jean Dupouy (tenor), Claude Méloni (baritone), Jean Louis Soumagnas, Andréa Guiot (soprano), Andrée EspositoAndrée EspositoAndrée Esposito is a French opera singer, a lyric soprano particularly associated with the French repertory and contemporary works.- Biography :...
(soprano), Denise ScharleyDenise ScharleyDenise Scharley was a French contralto who made her debut in 1942, singing Pelléas et Mélisande at the Opéra-Comique....
(mezzo-soprano). - Radio broadcast of live performance at Montpellier Festival on August 6, 1993, total 176 min, with following cast: Chris Merritt (Sigurd), Michèle Lagrange (Hilda), Valérie Millot (Brunehild), Monte PedersonMonte PedersonMonte Pederson was an American operatic bass-baritone. He sang in leading roles with important opera houses internationally, including La Scala, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Metropolitan Opera, the San Francisco Opera, and the Vienna State Opera...
(Gunther), Hélène Jossoud (Uta), Marcel Vanaud (High Priest), Alain Vernhes (Hagen), Wojtek Smilek (Barde), conducted by Günter Neuhold (the performance was taped, however never released commercially). - DVD of live performance in Marseilles on June 22, 1995 (182 min): Alberto Cupido (Sigurd), Françoise Pollet (Brunehild), Cécilie Perrin (Hilda), Jean-Philippe Lafont (Gunther), Viorica CortezViorica CortezViorica Cortez is a noted Romanian-born mezzo-soprano, later French by naturalisation. Starting her operatic and concert career in the mid-1960s, she went on to become one of the most prominent female performers of the '70s and '80s...
(Uta), Jean-Marc Ivaldi (High Priest), Antoine Garcin (Hagen), Dietfried Bernet conducting (never released commercially).