Hamlet (opera)
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Hamlet is an opera in five acts by the French composer Ambroise Thomas, with the libretto by Michel Carré and Jules Barbier based on Shakespeare's Hamlet and a French adaptation of the play by Alexandre Dumas and Paul Meurice. The work was premiered at the Paris Opéra on 9 March 1868. Among the noted singers in the original cast were Jean-Baptiste Faure as Hamlet and Christine Nilsson as Ophelia.[1] The opera was staged at the Royal Italian Opera, Covent Garden (later the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden) in 1870.[2] Hamlet was Thomas's greatest success, along with Mignon, and was further staged in Leipzig, Budapest, Brussels, Prague, New York City, Saint Petersburg, Berlin, and Vienna within five years of the Paris premiere.
The opera fell into neglect after Thomas' death and World War I. However, since 1980, interest in the opera has increased, and the work has enjoyed a notable number of revivals, including Vienna (1992-1994, 1996), Opera North (1995)[3], Geneva (1996), San Francisco Opera (1996), Copenhagen (1996 and 1999), Amsterdam (1997), Karlsruhe (1998), Washington Opera (1998), Tokyo (1999), Paris (2000), Toulouse (2000), Moscow (2001), Prague (2002), Opera Theatre of Saint Louis (2002), and London (2003).[4]
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[edit] Changes to original story
The opera's libretto contains considerable changes to the plot from the original play, which include:
- Elimination of several characters, such as Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
- Omitting mention of the invasion of Fortinbras
- Omitting Hamlet's murder of Polonius
- Making Polonius and Gertude co-conspirators alongside Claudius
- Cutting Hamlet's instructions to the traveling players before "The Murder of Gonzago"
Most notably, the original version did not end with the death of Hamlet after his duel with Laertes. Instead, the original version had provided a 'happy ending', where Hamlet did not die and was instead crowned king after the death of Claudius. For Covent Garden, Thomas provided an alternate ending which included the death of Hamlet. Overall, the changes to the original story led to criticism at the time of the opera such as an 1890 quote from the Pall Mall Gazette:
"No one but a barbarian or a Frenchman would have dared to make such a lamentable burlesque of so tragic a theme as Hamlet."[5]
[edit] Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere cast, 9 March 1868 (Conductor: - ) |
|---|---|---|
| Claudius, King of Denmark, brother of the late King Hamlet | ||
| Gertrude, Queen of Denmark, widow of the late King Hamlet and mother to Prince Hamlet | ||
| Hamlet, Prince of Denmark | baritone | Jean-Baptiste Faure |
| Polonius, court chancellor | ||
| Ophélie, daughter of Polonius | Christine Nilsson | |
| Laërte, son of Polonius | ||
| Horatio, friend of Hamlet | ||
| Marcellus, friend of Hamlet | ||
| Ghost of the late King Hamlet | ||
| First gravedigger | ||
| Second gravedigger | ||
[edit] Synopsis
The setting is Denmark at the castle of Elsinore.
The royal Danish court is celebrating the marriage of Claudius, brother of the late King Hamlet, to Gertrude, widow of the late King Hamlet, and Claudius' subsequent accession to the throne. Claudius then "offers" the crown to Gertrude, an action on which the court does not look favourably. Prince Hamlet, son of the late King and Gertrude, has deliberately not attended the festivities. Ophélie is worried about Hamlet's spells of melancholy. Her father, Polonius, disdains her relationship with Hamlet. Laërte is en route to battle against the Norwegians and gives his farewells.
Horatio and Marcellus tell Hamlet that they have seen the ghost of the late King, Hamlet's father, on three successive nights. The ghost then appears to the Prince himself, and tells his son that Claudius poisoned him. The ghost exacts from his son a promise of vengeance on Claudius, but Gertrude must be left out of that revenge. However, Hamlet is indecisive on the need to take action, and feigns madness to disguise this situation. This behaviour causes Ophelia to despair further. Claudius and Gertrude begin to wonder if Hamlet suspects the truth of his father's death.
A traveling group of actors visits Elsinore, and Hamlet welcomes them. He persuades them to present the story of "The Murder of Gonzago", which parallels the story of King Hamlet, Claudius and Gertrude, to see if Claudius reveals his guilt. This does happen during the enactment of the play.
Later, Claudius is at prayer, and Hamlet sees a chance to kill him and fulfill his vow to his late father. However, Hamlet does not take action then. Gertrude then tries to persuade Hamlet to marry Ophélie. Hamlet rejects the idea strongly, and then confronts Gertrude to extract from her an admission of guilt in the killing of King Hamlet. The Ghost appears, to Hamlet alone, and rebukes him for his tardiness in taking revenge, as well as reminding him not to take vengeance on Gertrude.
Ophélie has gone insane as a result of Hamlet's rejection, and has drowned herself in the river. Hamlet does not know this when he sees two gravediggers digging a new grave. Laërte has learned of his sister's death and the role of Hamlet's behaviour in leading to it. Urged by Claudius, Laërte challenges Hamlet to a duel. However, the funeral procession for Ophélie interrupts the duel.
- (This ending follows the original version.) The ghost appears one final time, and Hamlet finally attacks Claudius and kills him, fulfilling the vow of revenge. Hamlet is pardoned for the killing of Claudius, and is proclaimed King of Denmark, to cries of "Vive Hamlet! Notre roi!".[6]
- (This ending follows the Covent Garden version.) Claudius gives Laërte a signal, and Laërte stabs Hamlet. The ghost appears one final time, and Hamlet finally attacks Claudius and kills him. He then embraces Ophélie's body, and dies.
[edit] Selected recordings
- Decca 433 857-2: Sherrill Milnes, Joan Sutherland, James Morris, Gösta Winbergh, Barbara Conrad, John Tomlinson, Keith Lewis, Philip Gelling, Arwel Huw Morgan. Peyo Garazzi, Joseph Rouleau; Orchestra and Chorus of Welsh National Opera; Richard Bonynge, conductor[7]
- EMI Classics 7 54820 2: Thomas Hampson, June Anderson, Samuel Ramey, Gregory Kunde, Denyce Graves, Jean-Philippe Courtis, Gérard Garino, François Le Roux, Michel Trempont, Thierry Félix, Jean-Pierre Furlan; Ambrosian Opera Chorus; London Philharmonic Orchestra; Antonio de Almeida, conductor[8]
[edit] See also
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Hamlet Opera by Carson Kievman, Commissioned by Joseph Papp for the New York Shakespeare Festival http://silvertone.princeton.edu/~carson/hamlet.html
[edit] References
- ^ Obituary for Ambroise Thomas, The Musical Times and Singing Class Circular, 37(637), pp. 165-166, 1 March 1896.
- ^ Henry C. Lunn, "The London Musical Season". The Musical Times and Singing Class Circular, 14(331), pp. 583-586, 1 September 1970.
- ^ Julian Rushton, Reviews of Bizet, Thomas and Janáček. Musical Times, 136(1834), pp. 680-681, 683 (1995).
- ^ Joe Keith Law, "Three Hamlets". The Opera Quarterly, 19(3), 587-591 (2003).
- ^ Barbara Fischer-Williams, "Hamlet à la Française". Opera News, 43(4) 42 (1978).
- ^ Hugh MacDonald, "Mostly French" (record reviews). The Musical Times, 126(1703), 30 (1985).
- ^ C.P. Gerald Parker, "Hamlet. Ambroise Thomas" (recording review). The Opera Quarterly, 3(1), 143-145 (1985).
- ^ Roland Graeme, "Hamlet. Ambroise Thomas" (CD review). The Opera Quarterly, 11(3), 180-185 (1995).
[edit] Source
- Holden, (ed.),Viking Opera Guide, Viking, 1993
