L'Aiglon (opera)
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Operas
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L'Aiglon is an operetta (drame musical) in five acts composed by Arthur Honegger and Jacques Ibert. (Honegger composed Acts II, III, and IV, with Ibert composing Acts I and V). The libretto by Henri Cain was based on Edmond Rostand's 1900 play L'Aiglon ("The Eaglet") about the life of Napoleon II of France.
It premiered at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo on 11 March 1937. The principal roles were sung by Fanny Heldy and Vanni Marcoux.
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere cast, 11 March 1937 (Conductor: F. Wolfes) |
|---|---|---|
| L'Aiglon/The Duke of Reichstadt, son of Napoleon | soprano | Fanny Heldy |
| Séraphin Flambeau, his footman | bass | Vanni Marcoux |
| The French attaché | tenor | Victor Pujol |
| Countess Camerata | contralto | Germaine Chellet |
| Le Chevalier de Prokesch-Osten | bass | Luigi Cérésole |
| Maréchal Marmont | baritone | Robert Marvini |
| Prince Metternich | bass-baritone | Arthur Endréze |
| Marie-Louise | mezzo-soprano | Mlle. Gadsden |
| Comte de Sedlinsky | tenor | Barone |
| Frédéric de Gentz | tenor | Fraikin |
| Thérèse de Lorget | soprano | Marie Branèze |
| Fanny Elssler | mezzo-soprano | Schirman |
Synopsis
At the première in Monte Carlo in 1937: Fanny Heldy (seated), Arthur Honegger (3rd from left), Jacques Ibert (2nd from right), Vanni Marcoux (1st from right)
The Duke of Reichstadt (Napoleon II), with his faithful footman Séraphin Flambeau, escapes from Austrian imprisonment, and visits the old site of the Battle of Wagram, before eventually dying of tuberculosis.
Sources
- Casaglia, Gherardo (2005). "L'Aiglon". Amadeus Almanac Retrieved 14 June 2014 (Italian).
- Kennedy, Michael (2006), The Oxford Dictionary of Music, 985 pages, ISBN 0-19-861459-4
- Spratt, Geoffrey K., The music of Arthur Honegger, Cork University Press, 1987, p. 544. ISBN 0-902561-34-0
- Warrack, John and West, Ewan (1992), The Oxford Dictionary of Opera, 782 pages, ISBN 0-19-869164-5