Le comte Ory
Le comte Ory is an opéra written by Gioachino Rossini in 1828. Some of the music originates from his opera Il viaggio a Reims written three years earlier for the coronation of Charles X.[1] The French libretto was by Eugène Scribe and Charles-Gaspard Delestre-Poirson adapted from a comedy they had first written in 1817.
The work is ostensibly a comic opera in that the story is humorous, even farcical. However, it was devised for the Opéra rather than for the Théâtre de l'Opéra-Comique and there are structural inconsistencies with the contemporary opéra comique genre: whereas the latter consists of relatively short lyrical numbers and spoken dialogue, Le Comte Ory consists of "highly developed, even massive musical forms linked by accompanied recitative.[2] Although the opera contains some of Rossini's most colorful orchestral writing, the quaint, brief overture is oddly restrained and unassuming, ending with a whisper of pizzicato strings.
Performance history
It was first performed on 20 August 1828 at the Salle Le Peletier by the Paris Opera. It was given in London at the King's Theatre in Italian on 28 February 1829, in New Orleans at the Théâtre d'Orléans on 16 December 1830 and in New York on 22 August 1831.[2]
The opera is performed infrequently and, between 2008 and 2013, it stands at number 165 with 19 performance runs as listed on Operabase.com.[3] That number was increased in April 2011 when the opera received its premiere performances at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. The cast included Juan Diego Flórez, Diana Damrau and Joyce DiDonato, singing in a new production directed by Bartlett Sher. In 2013, that production was revived with Diego Flórez repeating his role, but with a different supporting cast.[4]
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, 20 August 1828 (Conductor: François Habeneck)[5] |
|---|---|---|
| Count Ory | tenor | Adolphe Nourrit |
| Tutor | bass | Nicolas Levasseur |
| Isolier | mezzo-soprano (en travesti) | Constance Jawureck |
| Raimbaud | baritone | Henri-Bernard Dabadie |
| La Comtesse Adèle | coloratura soprano | Laure Cinti-Damoreau |
| Ragonde | mezzo-soprano | Augusta Mori |
| Alice | soprano | |
| 1st Knight | tenor | Alexis Dupont |
| 2nd Knight | tenor | Jean-Étienne-Auguste Massol |
| 3rd Knight | baritone | Henri-Bernard Dabadie the younger |
| 4th Knight | baritone | Ferdinand Prévôt |
| Chorus of Ory's men, ladies, crusaders, peasants | ||
Synopsis
- Time: Circa 1200, during the Crusades
- Place: Touraine
Act 1
The countryside before the castle of Formoutiers
The lords and men of Formoutiers have been away on a crusade. Count Ory, who is in love with the countess Adèle, takes advantage of the situation. Hoping to win her hand, he disguises himself as a hermit aided by Raimbaud, his friend. Raimbaud announces that a wise hermit will visit the village to offer advice on matters of the heart. The castle is filled with women waiting for their husbands to return from the crusades. Ory's page Isolier is in love with the countess. Isolier confides his love to the "hermit" (Count Ory in disguise) and explains his plan to sneak into the castle disguised as a female pilgrim.
The countess consults the hermit about a cure for her melancholia. He proposes that she fall in love, which she promptly does, with Isolier. The "hermit" warns her not to trust the page. Everyone is shocked when the Tutor reveals Ory's identity. The countess receives a letter announcing her brother's return.
Act 2
A large room in the castle
The countess and her attendants admit a group of female pilgrims awaiting their husbands' return from the crusade. This time the pilgrims are actually Ory and his men in disguise. Ory's new disguise is as "Sister Colette." Missing something to drink with dinner, Raimbaud breaks into the castle wine cellar and returns with enough for everyone. They toast the countess's absent brother. Isolier recognizes Ory and reveals his identity to Adèle. Isolier also tells the waiting women that their husbands will be back by midnight.
After everyone is in bed, Ory enters countess Adèle's room. He woos her, not realizing in the dark that it is Isolier's hand he is holding. The men return from the crusade. Isolier reveals himself and helps Count Ory escape from the castle.
Recordings
| Year | Cast: Le Comte Ory La Comtesse Adèle Isolier Ragonde Raimbaud Le Gouverneur |
Conductor, Opera House and Orchestra |
Label [6] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | Juan Oncina Sari Barabas Cora Canne-Meijer Monica Sinclair Michel Roux Ian Wallace |
Vittorio Gui Glyndebourne Festival Orchestra and Chorus |
Audio CD: Urania Cat: WS 121109; EMI (2 LPs) Cat: RLS 744 (mono) |
| 1959 | Michel Sénéchal Sari Barabas Cora Canne-Meijer Monica Sinclair Robert Massard |
Vittorio Gui Orchestra and Chorus of RAI Torino |
Audio CD: Arkadia Cat: MP 458.2; Living Stage Cat: LS 4035130 |
| 1979 | Rockwell Blake Ashley Putnam Faith Esham Jane Shaulis David Holloway |
Imre Palló New York City Opera Orchestra and Chorus (Live Recording of a performance at the New York City Opera, September) |
Audio CD: Celestial Audio Cat: CA 368 |
| 1988 | John Aler Sumi Jo Diana Montague Raquel Pierotti Gino Quilico Gilles Cachemaille |
John Eliot Gardiner Orchestre et choeur de l'Opéra de Lyon |
Audio CD: Philips Classics Cat: 422 406-2 |
| 1995 | William Matteuzzi Sumi Jo Marie-Ange Todorovitch, Nadine Chery, Jean-Luc Chaignaud, Gregory Reinhart |
Evelino Pidò Orchestre Européen du Festival Choeur du Festival, Aix-en-Provence (TV recording from Festival d'Aix-en-Provence, July 1995) Stage directed by Marcel Maréchal |
TV live broadcast (France 2) |
| 1997 | Marc Laho, Annick Massis, Diana Montague, Jane Shaulis, Ludovic Tézier, Julien Robbins |
Andrew Davis London Philharmonic Orchestra and the Glyndebourne Festival Chorus (Video recording of a performance at the Glyndebourne Festival, July) stage directed by Jérôme Savary |
DVD: NVC Arts Cat: 0630 18646-2; Kultur Cat: D 2983 |
| 2002 | Huw Rhys-Evans Linda Gerrard Luisa Islam-Ali-Zade Luca Salsi Gloria Montanari Wojtek Gierlach |
Brad Cohen Czech Chamber Soloits, Brno Czech Philharmonic Choir, Brno (Live recording from Rossini in Wildbad, July) |
Audio CD: Naxos Cat: ? (2007) |
| 2003 | Juan Diego Flórez Stefania Bonfadelli Marie-Ange Todorovitch Bruno Praticò Marina De Liso Alastair Miles |
Jesús López Cobos Orchestra of Teatro Comunale di Bologna Coro da Camera di Praga (chorus master: Lubomír Mátl (Live recording at Teatro Rossini, from Rossini Opera Festival, Pesaro, 10,13,16,19, 22 August,) Stage directed, designed by Lluís Pasqual |
CD: Deutsche Grammophon Cat: ? |
| 2011 | Juan Diego Flórez Diana Damrau Joyce DiDonato Stéphane Degout Susanne Resmark Michele Pertusi |
Maurizio Benini Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus Stage directed by Bartlett Sher (HD Live from The Metropolitan Opera, 9 April 2011) HD Theatrical release Met Opera website of past Met-in-HD performances |
DVD: Virgin Classics, Cat: ? |
References
Notes
- ↑ Osborne, Charles 1994, p.18.
- 1 2 Gossett 2001, p. 793
- ↑ Operabase.com list of top operas ranked by number of performances given during the 2008/09 to 2012/13 seasons. Retrieved 9 April 2011
- ↑ Met Opera website
- ↑ Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia, 20 Agosto, 1828, retrieved 18 November 2012
- ↑ Recordings of Le Comte Ory on operadis-opera-discography.org.uk
Cited sources
- Gossett, Philip; Brauner, Patricia (2001), " Le comte Ory " in Holden, Amanda (ed.), The New Penguin Opera Guide, New York: Penguin Putnam. ISBN 0-14-029312-4
- Osborne, Charles (1994), The Bel Canto Operas of Rossini, Donizetti, and Bellini, London: Methuen; Portland, Oregon: Amadeus Press. ISBN 0931340713
Sources
- Osborne, Richard (1990), Rossini, Ithaca, New York: Northeastern University Press. ISBN 1-55553-088-5
- Osborne, Richard (1998), "Le comte Ory", in Stanley Sadie, (Ed.), The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, Vol. One, p. 913. London: MacMillan Publishers, Inc. ISBN 0-333-73432-7 ISBN 1-56159-228-5
- Osborne, Richard (2004), "Rossini's Life", in Emanuele Senici, (Ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Rossini, Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-00195-1.
- Toye, Francis, Rossini: The Man and His Music, Dover Publications, 1987. ISBN 0-486-25396-1 ISBN 0-486-25396-1,
External links
- [http://operabase.com/oplist.cgi?from=01+01+2001&is=Le+comte+Ory&sort=D List of performances of Le comte Ory] on Operabase.
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