Esclarmonde

Esclarmonde (French pronunciation: ​[ɛsklaʁmɔ̃d]) is an opéra (French: opéra romanesque) in four acts and eight tableaux, with prologue and epilogue, by Jules Massenet, to a French libretto by Alfred Blau and Louis Ferdinand de Gramont.

It was first performed on May 15, 1889 by the Opéra-Comique at the Théâtre Lyrique on the Place du Châtelet in Paris[1] with American soprano Sibyl Sanderson in the title role in her professional debut.[2][3] The original costumes were by Charles Bianchini, the sets by Antoine Lavastre and Eugène Carpezat, and Amable and Eugène Gardy.

Esclarmonde is perhaps Massenet's most ambitious work for the stage and is his most Wagnerian in style and scope.[4] In orchestral coloring and structure of melody, however, it is French to the core. The opera has been revived sporadically in the modern era, most notably during the 1970s with Joan Sutherland, conducted by Massenet champion Richard Bonynge. The role of Esclarmonde is notoriously difficult to sing,[5] with stratospheric coloratura passages that are possible for only the most gifted of performers.

Composition history

The story of the opera is based on the medieval chivalric tale Parthénopéus de Blois, which was written in the middle of the 12th century by Denis Pyramus. In the original tale, however, the protagonist sorceress is called "Melior"; Esclarmonde's name was borrowed from another chanson de geste of the 13th century: Huon de Bordeaux. Although the Esclarmonde who appears in Huon is completely different from her operatic counterpart, Huon clearly served as the basis of at least part of the opera's libretto. Alfred Blau discovered Parthénopéus in 1871 in the library of Blois, where he took refuge during the time of the Paris Commune. The libretto was originally called Pertinax; it was first drafted in prose and later versified by Blau's collaborator, Louis de Gramont. In that form – a romantic melodrama in five acts – it was offered in 1882 to the Belgian composer François-Auguste Gevaert, who, however, declined to set it. Soon the libretto found its way into Massenet's hands, though the precise circumstances in which this occurred remain a mystery.

On August 1, 1886, Massenet and his publisher Georges Hartmann attended a performance of Parsifal at the Bayreuth Festival, an event which deeply impressed the composer and had a significant influence on his music. He had already seen the entire Ring cycle when it was produced in Brussels in 1883.

In his Memoirs, which were compiled in 1911 near the end of his life,[6] Massenet ascribes the creation of the role of Esclarmonde to a chance meeting with Sybil Sanderson sometime in the spring of 1887. He recounts how he was astonished by the range and capacity of her voice, realizing at once that she was the perfect choice for the heroine of his new opera, which he had begun to compose at end of 1886. It is almost certain, however, that he had received the libretto to Esclarmonde much earlier than that,[7] and the meeting with Sybil Sanderson served rather as an additional catalyst – a stimulus to complete the opera. The work was commissioned as a spectacular event to open the Paris Exposition of 1889. During the most intensive period of creation in the summer of 1887, Massenet moved into the Grand Hotel in Vevey, where Miss Sanderson was also staying; there he rehearsed with her each evening the various sections of his new opera as he composed them. The opera was completed by the end of 1888, and stage rehearsals started at Opéra-Comique. Massenet dedicated the work to Sybil Sanderson in gratitude, allowing her signature to stand alongside his own in the manuscript of the score.

After a very successful initial run, however, the opera disappeared from the repertoire and fell into almost complete oblivion. Soon afterwards Sybil Sanderson fell ill. When she died around the start of the 20th century, it seems that Massenet himself lost interest in the opera he had written for her and he discouraged any further productions. The work was not revived until 1923, well after the composer's death. Some short-lived revivals then followed, either staged or in concert performance. It was only in the 1970s that the efforts of Richard Bonynge and Joan Sutherland brought Esclarmonde back to life. Since then the work has been performed more frequently, but it has failed to recapture its former glory.

Performance history

Original poster for Paris premiere

Listing below are partially based on (extracted from) Casaglia, Gherardo (2005).[http://www.amadeusonline.net/almanacco?r=&alm_testo=Esclarmonde "Esclarmonde"]. Almanacco Amadeus (Italian).

Within the next few years performances in France are staged also at Bordeaux (with Mme. Georgette Bréjean-Silver aka Bréjean-Graviére), and Lyons (with Mme. Verheyden aka Alice Verlet, and Mlle. Marie Vuillaume);[8]

Roles

Role Voice type Premiere Cast, May 15, 1889[22]
(Conductor: Jules Danbé)
Esclarmonde, daughter of the Emperor soprano Sibyl Sanderson
Parséїs, her sister mezzo-soprano[23] Jeanne Nardi
Roland, Count of Blois tenor Frédéric-Étienne Gibert
Énéas, Knight-Errant to Parséїs tenor Gustave Prosper Herbert
The Bishop of Blois baritone Max Bouvet
Phorcas, Emperor of Byzantium bass Émile-Alexandre Taskin
Cléomer, King of France baritone Marcel Boudouresque
Saracen envoy baritone Etienne Troy
Byzantine herold tenor Pierre Cornubert
Nobles, Knights, Guards, Monks, Priests and Penitents, Warriors, Virgins, Children, Spirits,
Courtiers, Populace; (Ballet) Spirits of forest, water, fire and air, Nymphs.

Synopsis

The story is based on a medieval legend and revolves around Esclarmonde, an empress and sorceress of Byzantium. Sequestered by her emperor father, Phorcas, who has recently abdicated the throne to her, she bemoans her love for Roland, a knight and Count of Blois, believing she will never be allowed to be with him. Following a suggestion from her sister, Parséïs, Esclarmonde uses her magic powers to transfer Roland to the magic island where she joins him and continues to do so on a nightly basis and, hiding behind a veil, never reveals her identity. She reveals to him also that his country is in danger, attacked and besieged by the Saracens, and grants him a magic sword with which he will be capable of defeating the enemy. It will serve him well as long as he will remain faithful to her.

Roland then goes to help the besieged Blois and wins the battle with the leader of the Saracens. In reward, he is granted by the king of France the hand of his royal daughter. But Roland refuses to accept that offer not disclosing the reason. When he finally confesses his nightly tryst to the Bishop of Blois, the bishop and a group of monks intervene on Esclarmonde's arrival, performing an exorcism and in a crucial moment manage to tear off her veil and thus reveal her identity. Feeling betrayed, Esclarmonde, in her bravura aria Ah Roland, tu m'as trahie, et me voilà... Regarde-les ces yeux, rebukes Roland for his faithlessness. The confrontation scene proceeds with Roland trying at the last moment to use his sword to defend her from the monks. Suddenly, the magic sword shatters to pieces, and Esclarmonde, surrounding herself with a ring of fire and demons, curses Roland and disappears.

The ex-emperor, Phorcas, upon hearing of Esclarmonde's disobedience, summons her to him and insists she renounce Roland. He threatens to remove her magic powers and to execute Roland. Reluctantly, she submits and when Roland is brought before her she implores him to forget her. A tournament takes place to award the victor with Esclarmonde's hand in marriage. When the winner, clad all in black, is asked his name, he replies "despair", and refuses the hand of Esclarmonde. Esclarmonde recognizes the voice immediately, however, as that of Roland, and when her veil is lifted he recognizes her as well and all hail the new empress and her valiant consort.

Recordings

Instrumentation

References

Notes

  1. ↑ Wild & Charlton 2005, pp. 95, 240.
  2. ↑ "SYBIL SANDERSON'S TRIUMPH.". nytimes.com. 16 May 1889.
  3. ↑ "Miss Sanderson in Massenet's opera", New York Times, June 1, 1889.
  4. ↑ To describe it as Wagnerian is a little overstatement. Leitmotivs are clear and distinct, "Wagner-like", but beyond some melodic or harmonic resemblance to ones used by Wagner (particularly in his Tristan und Isolde, Das Rheingold, or Götterdämmerung), they are nevertheless very original. Unlike in Wagner, and in so many other composers, there is no tragedy, death or self-sacrifice involved.
  5. ↑ Upton, George P.; Borowski, Felix (1928). The Standard Opera Guide. New York: Blue Ribbon Books. pp. 181–83. Upton describes one of Esclarmonde's arias in the third act as "extremely brilliant and difficult, making exacting demands upon the voice." And no wonder: in Act 3, for instance, are some numerous moments requiring voice range, as written, from the middle C up to top G (over top C)! Even though Massenet himself allowed some "scale down" on the highest note used (from G6 to "only" E♭6), still it is higher than average soprano can go. Moreover, long lasting legato, jumps from high register to the low (with full dynamic range), trills and staccato on high notes, make all that role unusually difficult and taxing for average soprano to sing.
  6. ↑ Massenet, Jules (1970). My Recollections. New York: Greenwood Reprinting. pp. 176–183. ISBN 0-404-04229-5.
  7. ↑ Ira, Siff. "Archival Instincts: Interview with Joan Sutherland and Richard Bonynge". Opera News, October 2005, vol. 70, no. 4.
  8. ↑ "Error 404 File Not Found". historicopera.com.
  9. ↑ O'Neills, Patrick B. "Sybil Sanderson was called before the curtain 40 times at St. Petersburg recently, where she sang Esclarmonde". Reference in Acadian Recorder, March 10, 1892. Halifax, NS, Newspapers.
  10. ↑ Although the Metropolitan Opera planned originally to show Esclarmonde already during the 1890–91 season, that plan never materialized. For reference see Amusements, New York Times, August 3, 1890
  11. ↑ Notes on Esclarmonde premiere in 1889 and 1944 at La Monnaie
  12. ↑ SFopera Archives – document on all performances of Esclarmonde
  13. ↑ The Met premiere of Esclarmonde with Review
  14. ↑ "Royal Opera House Collections Online". rohcollections.org.uk.
  15. ↑ "Opera '93. Annuario dell'opera lirica in Italia". google.com.
  16. ↑ "Opera '93. Annuario dell'opera lirica in Italia". google.com.
  17. ↑ "Chelsea Opera Group". chelseaoperagroup.org.uk.
  18. ↑ Celena Shafer Profile
  19. ↑ "Ionarts". ionarts.blogspot.com.
  20. ↑ "Ionarts". ionarts.blogspot.com.
  21. ↑ "Demanding 'Esclarmonde' Gets Vigorous, if Dubious, Workout". washingtonpost.com.
  22. ↑ Casaglia, Gherardo (2005).[http://www.amadeusonline.net/almanacco?r=&alm_giorno=15&alm_mese=05&alm_anno=1889&alm_testo=Esclarmonde "Esclarmonde, 15 May 1889"]. Almanacco Amadeus (Italian).
  23. ↑ Usually described as mezzo-soprano, that is lower than that of Esclarmonde, but both Esclarmonde and Parséїs never have to reach for anything lower than Middle C. Thus role of Parséїs can be sung by a soprano capable to reach note "B5 flat" (under top "C").
  24. ↑ See Stereophonic sound
  25. ↑ "Opera Today". operatoday.com.
  26. ↑ "Denia Mazzola Gavazzeni web-site". deniamazzola.com.
  27. ↑ Carter, Stewart (1999). Brass Scholarship in Review. Paris: Pendragon Press. p. 138. ISBN 978-1-57647-105-0.

Sources

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