Le roi d'Ys

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Le roi d'Ys
Opera by Édouard Lalo
Poster for the opera's premiere
LibrettistÉdouard Blau
LanguageFrench
Premiere
7 May 1888
Théâtre Lyrique, Paris

Le roi d'Ys (The King of Ys) is an opera in three acts and five tableaux by the French composer Édouard Lalo, to a libretto by Édouard Blau, based on the old Breton legend of the drowned city of Ys. That city was, according to the legend, the capital of the kingdom of Cornouaille.

The opera was premiered on 7 May 1888 by the

Opéra Comique at the Théâtre Lyrique on the Place du Châtelet in Paris. Apart from the overture, the most famous piece in the opera is the tenor's aubade
in act 3, "Vainement, ma bien-aimée" ("In vain, my beloved").

Lalo was known outside France primarily for other work, but within France he was recognized almost solely for this opera. His first version of the opera was widely rejected during the 1870s, but the revised work met with great success the following decade, becoming his most successful work for the stage.

Performance history

Lalo composed Le roi d'Ys between 1875 and 1878 (drafting the entire opera, in its first version, in 1875). His interest in the folklore of Brittany was prompted by his wife, the contralto Julie de Maligny, who was of Breton origin. The role of Margared was originally written for her.

Getting the opera staged proved difficult, however. It was turned down by the

Opéra de Paris in 1879, although extracts were heard in a concert with Julie as Margared.[1] Lalo undertook a revision of the work in 1886, and it was finally premiered by the Opéra-Comique in the Salle du Châtelet, Paris, on 7 May 1888 to great success.[2]
Within a year of its premiere, Le roi d'Ys had reached its 100th performance there.

Blanche Deschamps-Jéhin who sang Margared in the world premiere of Le roi d'Ys

It was transferred to the Paris Opéra in January 1941 after 490 performances over the half-century. The opera also enjoyed considerable success in Europe, with first performances in Geneva in November 1888, Amsterdam in December 1888, Antwerp and Brussels in February 1889, and Rome in March 1890.[3] Soon after its 1888 premiere, the libretto was translated into Dutch, German, Italian, Czech, Russian, and Romanian.[4] The first performance in England took place at London's Royal Opera House on 17 July 1901.

The work received its American premiere at the

Massenet or Reyer suffered, the opera received tepid reviews[5] and ran for just six performances.[6]

Le roi d'Ys has only been sporadically revived in the last 60 years. There was a concert performance of the work in 1985 by the

title role of The King of Ys.[8] Lalo was known outside France primarily for his Symphonie espagnole (1874), but within France he was recognized almost solely for this subsequent opera.[9]

Roles

Banner of St Corentin in the parish church of Locronan.
Role Voice type Premiere Cast, 7 May 1888
(Conductor: Jules Danbé)
The King of Ys bass-baritone Cobalet
Margared, the King's daughter mezzo-soprano Blanche Deschamps-Jéhin
Rozenn, the King's daughter soprano Cécile Simonnet
Prince Karnac baritone Max Bouvet
Mylio, a knight tenor Jean-Alexandre Talazac
Jahel, the King's herald and master of the palace baritone Boussac
St. Corentin bass René Fournets
People, soldiers, gentlemen, priests, horsemen, ladies and followers

Synopsis

Time: The Middle Ages
Place: The city of Ys on the coast of Brittany

Act 1

Flight of King Gradlon (the King of Ys), by Évariste Vital Luminais, 1884.

As part of a peace agreement, Margared, the daughter of the King of Ys, is betrothed to Prince Karnac, a former enemy of the city. During the celebrations she confesses to her sister Rozenn that she really loves someone who sailed away years ago "on the same ship that carried away Mylio", Rozenn's childhood friend and her beloved. But Margared is actually riddlingly referring to Mylio, himself, and she is convinced that Mylio returns her love. During her wedding ceremony she learns that Mylio has unexpectedly returned and refuses to go ahead with the marriage. Karnac curses Ys and threatens vengeance.

Act 2

Margared discovers that Mylio actually loves Rozenn and overhears the King promising Rozenn’s hand to Mylio when he returns victorious from combat with Karnac. She is overcome with jealousy. Mylio indeed returns victorious, attributing his success to the support of the city’s patron saint, St Corentin. On seeing the defeated Karnac, Margared offers to join him in seeking revenge. The statue of St Corentin warns her to repent, but she ignores him and plans to give Karnac the keys to the sluice gates that protect the city from the sea.

Act 3

During the wedding ceremony of Mylio and Rozenn, Margared’s resolve begins to waver. However, Karnac re-ignites her jealousy and desire for revenge, and they head for the sluices. The King notices Maragred's absence from the ceremony and is troubled. Margared returns and announces to all that Ys is doomed—Karnac has opened the sluices. Mylio kills Karnac but too late to save the city which is now being engulfed by waves. Half of its citizens are drowned and the remainder are terrified. Margared, stricken with remorse, tells them that the ocean demands a sacrifice and hurls herself into the sea from a high rock. Upon her death, St Corentin appears and calms the waves thereby saving the city.

Recordings

The overture was recorded a number of times in the 1920s and 30s by French conductors, including

BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, which was included on a Chandos CD with Lalo's Violin Concerto, was also given high praise by the 2008 Gramophone Classical Music Guide as "certainly the finest account since Paray's old Mercury version."[11]

Influence

The character Rozenn is included in the graphic novel adaptation of the Legend of Ys, The Daughters of Ys (2020), by M. T. Anderson and Jo Rioux.[12] The novel follows the perspectives of Rozenn and her sister, Dahut, leading to the events of the destruction of the city.

References

Notes
  1. ^ Giroud (2008)
  2. ^ Wild & Charlton 2005, pp. 95, 392.
  3. ^ Loewenberg A. Annals of Opera. London, John Calder, 1978.
  4. ^ Eduoard Lalo: Le roi d'Ys Archived 2006-09-23 at the Wayback Machine, Musikproduktion Jürgen Höflich
  5. ^ Aldrich (January 6, 1922)
  6. ^ The Metropolitan Opera Archives (MetOpera Database)
  7. ^ Stoecklin (October 10, 2007); Chen (January 4, 2008)
  8. ^ NPR schedule on Lamar University website Archived 2009-01-04 at the Wayback Machine. Accessed September 1, 2009.
  9. ^ Palmer, John. "Le Roi d'Ys (1875–1888)" in All Music Guide to Classical Music: The Definitive Guide to Classical Music, p. 716 (Hal Leonard Corporation, 2005).
  10. ^ Review of the Paul Paray recording of the overture. Gramophone, April 1998.
  11. ISBN 978-0-86024-962-7
    .
  12. ISBN 9781626728783
    .
Sources

External links

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