Le marchand de Venise
Le Marchand de Venise (The Merchant of Venice) is a French opera in three acts by Reynaldo Hahn. The libretto was by Miguel Zamacoïs, after Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice. Hahn first started working on the opera during the First World War, imagining it as a 'Mozartian' work, with the role of Portia written specifically with the soprano Mary Garden in mind.
The opera was first performed at the
Theater Bielefeld in a production by Klaus Hemmerle conducted by Pawel Poplawski.[2]
Principal roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere cast, 25 March 1935 (Conductor: Philippe Gaubert) |
|---|---|---|
| Graziano | tenor | Henri Le Clézio |
| Lorenzo | tenor | Edmond Chastenet |
| Jessica | soprano | Odette Renaudin |
| Shylock | bass
|
André Pernet |
| Bassanio | baritone | Martial Singher |
| Antonio | bass | Paul Cabanel |
| Portia | soprano | Fanny Heldy |
| Nérissa | mezzo-soprano | Renée Mahé |
| Prince of Morocco | bass | Henri-Bertrand Etcheverry |
| Prince of Aragon | tenor | Edmond Rambaud |
| Doge | bass | Armand Narçon |
| Tubal | bass | Louis Morot |
| Governess | mezzo-soprano | Andrée Marilliet |
| Salarino | tenor | Jean DeLeu |
| Servant | soprano | E. Vial |
| Servant | bass | Jules Forest |
| Chorus: Maskers, Venetians, Jews etc. | ||
Synopsis
The story follows Shakespeare's play, The Merchant of Venice, but with some transpositions of the text. The comic figures of Lancelot Gobbo and Old Gobbo are absent.
Recordings
Some of the original role creators have left recordings of arias: (Hahn: Recordings 1908-35 with Martial Singher, Andre Pernet, Fanny Heldy, on Pearl CD 1165392).
References
- Casaglia, Gherardo (2005). "Le marchand de Venise". L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia (in Italian).
- O'Connor, Patrick (1992), 'Marchand de Venise, Le' in The ISBN 0-333-73432-7
External links
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