Le Bourgeois gentilhomme (Strauss)
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Le Bourgeois gentilhomme, op. 60, is an orchestral suite written by Richard Strauss between 1911 and 1917. The original idea of Strauss and Hugo von Hofmannsthal was to revive Molière's 1670 play Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme, interweave it with commedia del arte entertainment and conclude matters with a one-act opera. However, this project fell through and Strauss took the incidental music he had written and transformed it into an orchestral suite in 1917. The premiere of the orchestral suite took place in Vienna on January 31, 1920 under the baton of the composer.
The piece takes about a half hour to perform. There are 9 parts:
- 1. Ouverture
- 2. Menuett (Minuet)
- 3. Der Fechtmeister (The Fencing Master)
- 4. Auftritt und tanz der Schneider (Entry and Dance of the Tailors)
- 5. Das Menuett des Lully (Lully's Minuet)
- 6. Courante
- 7. Auftritt des Cléonte (Entry of Cléonte) (after Lully)
- 8. Vorspiel (Intermezzo)
- 9. Das Diner (The Dinner)
The piece is unusual among the works of Strauss in that it is neo-classical. Strauss gave it a distinct Baroque flavor. He based parts 5-7 on airs by Jean-Baptiste Lully who provided the music for Molière's original 17th-century play.
The one-act opera from the failed project of Strauss and Hofmannsthal became Ariadne auf Naxos.
[edit] Sources
- Article on Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme in the French Wikipedia
- Program notes by Stephen Rose to Christopher Hogwood's recording with the Kammerorchester Basel (Arte Nova Classics 82876 61103-2)
