Il viaggio a Reims
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Il viaggio a Reims, ossia L'albergo del giglio d'oro (The Journey to Reims, or The Hotel of the Golden Fleur-de-lis) is an operatic dramma giocoso in one act by Gioacchino Rossini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Balocchi, based in part on Corinne, ou L'Italie by Mme de Staël.
Written in connection with the celebration of the coronation of the French King Charles X in 1825, the work has been critically acclaimed as one of Rossini's finest compositions. It is nevertheless a demanding work, requiring 14 soloists (three sopranos, a contralto, two tenors, four baritones, and four basses), that is not frequently performed.
The composer later re-used about half of the music in Le comte Ory.
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[edit] Performance history
It was first performed at the Théâtre Italien, Paris, on 19 June 1825 with Giuditta Pasta as Corinna. There were only four original performances. The different parts of the manuscript, assumed lost, were re-found and re-assembled in the 1970s. A performance of the reconstruction by the musicologist Janet Johnson was given at the Pesaro Festival in 1984.
[edit] Roles (with the 1825 cast)
- Barone di Trombonok, German major and music lover (bass) Vincenzo Graziani
- Belfiore, handsome young French officer and spare-time painter (tenor) Domenico Donzelli
- Conte di Libenskof, Russian general in love with Marchesa Melibea (tenor) Marco Bordogni
- Contessa di Folleville, a fashionable young widow (soprano) Laure Cinti-Damoreau
- Corinna, a famous Roman poetess (soprano) Giuditta Pasta
- Don Alvaro, Spanish admiral in love with Marchesa Melibea (bass) Nicholas-Prosper Levasseur
- Don Profondo, scholar and lover of antiquities, friend of Corinna (bass) Felice Pellegrini
- Don Prudenzio, doctor at the spa (bass) Luigi Profeti
- Lord Sidney, English colonel secretly in love with Corinna (bass) Carlo Zuchelli
- Madame Cortese, Tyrolean hostess of the spa hotel (soprano) Ester Mombelli
- Marchesa Melibea, the Polish widow of an Italian general killed on their wedding night (mezzo-soprano) Adelaide Schiasetti
- Antonio, maîitre d'hotel (baritone)
- Maddalena, hotel housekeeper from Normandy (mezzo-soprano)
- Delia, young Greek girl who is Corinna's travelling companion (soprano)
- Don Luigino, cousin of the Contessa di Folleville (baritone)
- Modestina, the Contessa di Folleville's chamber maid (mezzo-soprano)
- Gelsomino, valet (tenor)
- Zefirino, courier (tenor)
Four strolling players, chorus of countrymen and women, gardeners, hotel staff, dancers, servants
[edit] Recordings
There is an audio recording of a live performance at the 1984 Pesaro Festival conducted by Claudio Abbado with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. The singers were Cecilia Gasdia (soprano), Katia Ricciarelli (soprano), Lella Cuberli (soprano), Lucia Valentini Terrani (mezzo soprano), Edoardo Gimenez (tenor), Francisco Araiza (tenor), Samuel Ramey (bass), Ruggero Raimondi (bass), Enzo Dara (bass), Leo Nucci (baritone), Giorgio Surjan (baritone), Oslavio di Credico (tenor), Raquel Pierotti (mezzo soprano), Antonella Bandelli (mezzo soprano), Bernadette Manca di Nissa (contralto), Luigi de Corato (baritone), Ernesto Gavazzi (tenor), William Matteuzzi (tenor). It was published by DGG (415498).
Claudio Abbado recorded it again, this time with the Berlin Philharmonic in 1993. The singers were Sylvia McNair, Lucia Valentini Terrani, Luciana Serra, Cheryl Studer, Raul Gimenez, William Matteuzzi, Samuel Ramey, Ruggero Raimondi, Enzo Dara, Lucio Gallo, Giorgio Surian, Guglielma Mattei, Nicoletta Curiel, Barbara Frittoli, Claudio Otelli and Bojidar Nikolov. (CD: Sony).
There is also a video recording from the Liceu, Barcelona, made in 2003 conducted by Jesús López-Cobos and directed by Sergi Belbel. The singers were Elena de la Merced, Maria Bayo, Kenneth Tarver, Nicola Ulivieri, etc. (DVD released: TDK DVUSOPVAR),BR> IMDb
[edit] Sources
- Osborne, Richard: Viaggio a Reims, Il in 'The New Grove Dictionary of Opera', ed. Stanley Sadie (London, 1992) ISBN 0-333-73432-7
