Tancrède

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For other uses, see Tancrède (disambiguation).
Operas by André Campra
Tancrède is a tragédie en musique (a French opera in the lyric tragedy tradition) in a prologue and five acts by composer André Campra and librettist Antoine Danchet, based on Gerusalemme liberata by Torquato Tasso.

The opera contains 23 dances in addition to the singing, but is famous for the first contralto role in French opera (though in modern terms more of a mezzo-soprano range) written for Julie d'Aubigny, known as 'La Maupin', the most colorful singer of this era, or any other. It's also notable for the unusual choice of three low-lying voices for the main male parts.

Performance history

Tancrède was first performed on 7 November 1702 by the Académie Royale de Musique at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal in Paris under the direction of Marin Marais. It was successful and remained in the repertoire until the 1760s.

Roles

Role Voice type Premiere Cast, 7 November 1702[1]
(Conductor: Marin Marais)
A sage enchanter/A warrior haute-contre Jacques Cochereau
Peace soprano Mlle Clément L.
Followers of Peace sopranos Mlles Clément P. and Loignon
Tancrède, a crusader bass-baritone Gabriel-Vincent Thévenard
Argante, Saracen leader bass-baritone Charles Hardouin
Clorinde, Saracen princess contralto Julie d'Aubigny (La Maupin)
Herminie, daughter of the king of Antioch soprano Marie-Louise Desmatins
Ismenor, Saracen magician bass-baritone Jean Dun "père"
Female warriors sopranos Mlles Dupeyré, Lallemand and Loignon
A sylvan haute-contre Antoine Boutelou
Two dryads sopranos Mlles Loignon and Bataille
A nymph soprano Mlle Dupeyré
Vengeance tenor (travesti) Claude Desvoyes

References

Notes
  1. ↑ According to Le magazine de l'opéra baroque.
Sources

External links

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