Ariodant
| Ariodant | |
|---|---|
| Opéra comique by Étienne Méhul | |
 Title page of the libretto | |
| Librettist | François-Benoît Hoffman |
| Language | French |
| Based on | Episode in Ariosto's Orlando Furioso |
| Premiere | 11 October 1799 Opéra-Comique, Paris |
Ariodant is an
Performance history
The premiere took place on 11 October 1799. There were fears that the success of the opera might be damaged by the plot's similarity to
Roles
| Role | Voice type[4] | Premiere cast, 11 October 1799[5][6] |
|---|---|---|
| Ariodant | haute-contre | Jean-Baptiste-Sauveur Gavaudan |
| Dalinde | soprano | Mlle Philis aînée |
| Edgard | taille (baritenor) | Jean-Pierre Solié |
| Ina | soprano | Anne-Aimée Armand |
| Lurcain | basse taille (bass-baritone) | Simon Chénard |
| Othon | haute-contre/taille[7] | Philippe Cauvy, called "Philippe" |
| A bard | haute-contre | Jean-Mathias Batiste |
| A guide | spoken | Citoyen Fleuriot |
| Another guide | spoken | Citoyen Saint-Aubin[8] |
| Four friends of Ariodant | members of the choir | |
| Chorus: Men and women of Edgard's court; judges; soldiers | ||
Synopsis
Act 1
- Scene: The court of King Edgard
Ina, daughter of King Edgard of Scotland, is in love with the knight Ariodant. Ina's rejected suitor, the villainous Othon, plots against her with Ina's maid Dalinde. Othon and Ariodant are about to fight when the feast is announced in the king's hall.
Act 2
- Scene: A garden at night, overlooked by Ina's balcony
A bard plays a song on his harp. Ariodant has arranged a midnight duel with Othon and Ina gives him a ribbon of her own hair. Lurcain, Ina's brother, and four other knights enter and hide. They are there to make sure Othon does not play any dirty tricks. However, when Othon arrives he does not fight but tells Ariodant he has been visiting Ina's bedroom every night. When Dalinde appears at the balcony dressed as Ina, it apparently proves Othon's point. Lurcain and Edgard arrest Ina for unchastity.
Act 3
- Scene: The hall of justice
Ina is about to be put on trial. Othon tries to make a deal with her: if she will agree to marry him, he will claim she has secretly been his wife all along. Ina refuses. Othon's henchmen tell him they have made away with Dalinde. The trial goes ahead, but the accused turns out to be Dalinde, veiled and in disguise. She reveals the details of Othon's plot and how Othon's men would have murdered her had she not been saved by Ariodant.
The work
Ariodant, with its sombre and dramatic character, is among the most highly regarded of Méhul's works.[2] Edward Dent wrote, "This is perhaps the best of all Méhul's operas, for it has consistency of style, and a plot which although wildly Romantic is not outrageously nonsensical and deals with very genuine human emotions. Moreover, it is not dependent, as some of these operas are, on scenic effects such as storms and avalanches."[9] Méhul scholar Elizabeth Bartlet describes it as "Mehul's best work of the decade and a highpoint of Revolutionary opera. It epitomises the major achievements of the genre: musical continuity and unification in spite of divisions caused by the spoken dialogue, the coordination of music and drama in the work as a whole, and inventiveness of form, orchestral treatment, and vocal writing to realise theatrical and musical aims."[10]
Ariodant had a profound influence on German Romantic opera, especially
Recordings
The overture appears on: Méhul Overtures, Orchestre de Bretagne, conducted by Stefan Sanderling (ASV, 2002) Catalogue number CD DCA 1140.
The soprano Véronique Gens sings Ina's act 2 recitative, melodrama and aria "Quelle fureur barbare!...Mais, que dis-je?...Ô des amants le plus fidèle" on the album Tragédiennes Volume 3 with Les Talens Lyriques conducted by Christophe Rousset (Virgin Classics, 2011).
References
- ^ Period French libretto: Ariodant, Drame en trois actes et en prose, mêlé de musique; Représenté pour la première fois le 19 Vendémiaire, an 7, sur le Théâtre Favart, Paris, Huet/Charon, 1802)
- ^ a b de Place 2005, p. 118.
- ^ Winton Dean has commented: "Othon [the villain of Ariodant] is probably Méhul's most memorable character as Medea is Cherubini's; both are the slaves of passion and each composer dedicated his work to the other." (Dean 1988, p. 61)
- ^ Méhul n.d.
- ^ Bartlet 1999, I, p. 419.
- ^ Casaglia, Gherardo (2005). "Ariodant, 11 October 1799". L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia (in Italian).
- tenor clef) in ensembles (Bartlet 1999, I, p. 419).
- ^ Possibly Augustin Alexandre d'Herbez (1754–1818), called Saint-Aubin.
- ^ Dent 1979, p. 87.
- ^ a b Bartlet 1997, p. x.
- ^ a b Warrack 2001, p. 199.
- ^ de Place 2005, p. 120.
- ^ Dean 1988, p. 56.
Sources
- ISBN 978-0-19-522186-2.
- — (1999). Etienne-Nicolas Méhul and Opera: Source and Archival Studies of Lyric Theatre During the French Revolution, Consulate and Empire. Heilbronn, Germany: Musik-Edition Galland. ISBN 3-925934-41-3.
- de Place, Adélaïde (2005). Étienne Nicolas Méhul. Bleu Nuit Éditeur.
- Dean, Winton (1988). "French Opera". In Gerald Abraham (ed.). The New Oxford History of Music Volume 8: The Age of Beethoven 1790–1830. Oxford University Press.
- Dent, Edward Joseph (1979). The Rise of Romantic Opera. Cambridge University Press.
- Méhul, Étienne (n.d.). Ariodant, Opéra en 3 actes. Paroles d'Hoffman. Musique de Méhul (Original printed score). Paris: Jmbault – via Gallica– B.N.F.
- Warrack, John (2001). German Opera from the Beginnings to Wagner. Cambridge University Press.
Further reading
- General introduction to Méhul's operas in the introduction to the edition of Stratonice by Mary Elizabeth Caroline Bartlet (Pendragon Press, 1997)
- The Viking Opera Guide, ed. Amanda Holden (Viking, 1993)
External links
- Ariodant (Méhul): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
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