L'étoile du nord

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For the movie, see L'étoile du nord (movie).

L'étoile du nord (The North Star) is an opéra comique in three acts by Giacomo Meyerbeer. The French-language libretto was by Eugène Scribe.

Much of the material, including some plot similarities (with the flautist Frederick the Great substituted by the flautist Peter the Great), derived from Meyerbeer's earlier Singspiel Ein Feldlager in Schlesien. However, there also are some significant differences, perhaps the most important of which is that it was permissible to actually have Peter the Great take part in the action, which was not the case for Frederick, who had to play his flute off-stage.

[edit] Performance history

L'étoile du nord was first performed at the Salle Favart by the company of the Opéra-Comique, Paris on 16 February 1854. It was a big success, and soon was given in all the major theatres of Europe, North Africa, and the Americas. It stayed in the repertory throughout most of the 19th century, but virtually disappeared by the early 20th century. However, the two big coloratura showpieces: the prayer and barcarolle in Act I and the air with two flutes in Act III were still occasionally recorded by famous prima donnas such as Amelita Galli-Curci and Luisa Tetrazzini.

The work has had two "revivals" in recent years--one by Opera Rara in 1975, and the other at Wexford in 1996.

[edit] Recordings

Both of the recent revivals are available, the first (Opera Rara) on a privately issued CD ROM, and the second second (Wexford) on a commercial CD. The first is rather significantly cut, while the second has been described as being "note complete". Unfortunately, that is not the case. What can be considered as one of the most striking pieces of music in the Opera Rara version, the triple march in the finale to the second act, has been torn to shreds at Wexford, and limited to only one of the three marches. In the version composed by Meyerbeer, there is a rebellion against the Tsar, which he deflects as the "sacred march" is heard. The troops are then joined by a regiment of grenadiers from Tobolsk, to the music of a different march, followed by a regiment of Tatar cavalry to the music of a third march. The effect is stupendous. But the omission of the last two marches at Wexford turn this finale into a routine affair. While it is true that Wexford reinstated quite a few other numbers, this can not be regarded as making up for the truncated march.

The rest of the music of L'étoile du nord is strikingly charming. The best two numbers of the score are generally regarded as the air and barcarolle for Catherine in Act I, and the air with two flutes for her at the end. But the other characters also have a considerable amount of fine music. Typically of French opéra comique, this also holds for many of the secondary roles.