La jacquerie
La jacquerie is a four-act opera commenced by Édouard Lalo in 1889 to a libretto by Édouard Blau and Simone Arnaud, based on the 1828 play of the same name by Prosper Mérimée.[1] The opera was unfinished when Lalo died in 1892, and it was completed by Arthur Coquard. The first performance was at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo on 9 March 1895.
| La jacquerie | |
|---|---|
| Opera by Édouard Lalo | |
 Scene from Act 4 of the premiere production | |
| Librettist |
|
| Language | French |
| Based on | the play La Jaquerie by Prosper Mérimée |
| Premiere | 9 March 1895 Opéra de Monte-Carlo, Monaco |
Creation
La jacquerie would have been Lalo's third opera (following Fiesque (1868) and Le roi d'Ys (1888)). Lalo died after having completed only the first act. Coquard, a pupil of César Franck, was requested by the director of the Monte-Carlo Opera, Raoul Gunsbourg, to compose the rest. Alexandre Dratwicki notes that the opera bears traces both of Richard Wagner and of Giacomo Meyerbeer (in particular the latter's Les Huguenots.)[2]
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere cast, 9 March 1895 Conductor: Léon Jehin[3] |
|---|---|---|
| Blanche de Sainte-Croix | soprano | Amélie Loventz |
| Jeanne | mezzo-soprano | Blanche Deschamps-Jéhin |
| Robert | tenor | M. Jérôme |
| Guillaume | baritone | M. Bouvet |
| Le Comte de Sainte-Croix | baritone | M. Ucchetto |
| Le Sénéchal | bass | M. Lafon |
| Le Baron de Savigny | tenor | M. Declozens |
| Chorus (nobles, peasants, nuns) | ||
Synopsis
There are four acts, each of about 20 minutes. The opera is set in 1358, during the Jacquerie uprisings, in the village of Saint-Len de Cérent.[4] Robert is in love with the aristocratic Blanche. Seeking to protect her from the mob he is wounded by them and dies in Blanche's arms.[5]
Performances
After its premiere in Monaco the opera was performed at Aix-les-bains in September and at the Opéra-Comique in Paris in December 1895.[6] A critic wrote of it that the music was "small, but noisy".[7] After this, the opera appears to have been ignored for over a century, but was given some performances in France in 2015.[8]
Recording
With Véronique Gens (Blanche de Sainte-Croix), Nora Gubisch (Jeanne), Charles Castronovo (Robert), Boris Pinkhasovich (Guillaume), Jean-Sébastien Bou (Le Comte de Sainte-Croix), Patrick Bolleire (Le Sénéchal), Enguerrand de Hys (Le Baron de Savigny). Choeur de Radio France, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, conducted by Patrick Davin. Released 2016. CD Ediciones Singulares Cat:ES1023.[9]
References
- Notes
- Locke, Ralph (2017-05-10). "LALO and COQUARD: La Jacquerie". Opera Today. Retrieved 2017-07-01.
- Dratwicki (2015)
- Philipp (1895), 83
- Lalo (1895), 1
- Anon (2015).
- Lalo (1895), (i)
- L. K. (1895)
- Anon (2015).
- "Eduard Lalo & Arthur Coquard: La Jacquerie". Presto Classical. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
- Sources
- Anon (2015). "Edouard Lalo (1823-1892) between folklore and Wagnerism", website of the Bru-Zane Foundation, accessed 3 October 2015.
- Dratwicki, Alexandre (2015). "Conaissez-vous la jacquerie?", on Radio France website, accessed 3 October 2015
- Lalo, Édouard and Arthur Coquard (1894). La jacquarie - vocal score, Paris: Choudens. Accessed on IMSLP website, 3 October 2015.
- L. K. (1895). "Coquard's 'La Jacquerie' ", New York Times, accessed 3 October 2015
- Philipp, Isidor (1895). "La Jacquerie" (review) in Le Ménestrel, Year 61 no.11 (17 March 1895), pp. 82–3, accessed 3 October 2015.
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