Béatrice et Bénédict

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Work data
Title: Beatrice and Benedict
Original title: Béatrice et Bénédict
Shape: Opéra-comique
Original language: French
Music: Hector Berlioz
Libretto : Hector Berlioz
Premiere: August 9, 1862
Place of premiere: Baden-Baden Theater
Place and time of the action: Messina, between noon and midnight, 17th century
people
  • Don Pedro ( bass )
  • Leonato (bass)
  • Hero, his daughter ( soprano )
  • Beatrice, his niece (soprano)
  • Claudio, an officer ( baritone )
  • Benedict, an officer ( tenor )
  • Ursula, Heros partner ( old )
  • Somarona, Kapellmeister (bass)

Béatrice et Bénédict (Beatrice and Benedict) is an opéra-comique in two acts by the composer Hector Berlioz ; it was written as Opus 27 between 1860 and 1862. The libretto , loosely based on William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing , was written by the composer himself.

action

Act One - In the Park

Don Pedro returns from the battle victorious and is greeted with cheers by Leonato, Hero and Beatrice. Hero, in love with Claudio, greets him just as enthusiastically. As the highlight of the welcome party for Don Pedro, Hero and Claudio are supposed to say yes.

Benedict is also supposed to marry, but rejects this request. Don Pedro, together with Leonato and Claudio, now has the fun of convincing Benedict that Beatrice secretly loves him. At Don Pedro's request, Hero and Ursula also let Beatrice believe that Benedict is in love with them. Suddenly the attitude of the two changes and they rave about the marriage just as much as they rejected it before.

Second act - ballroom

Hero is adorned as a bride and taken to church. When everyone present has rushed to the wedding, Beatrice and Benedict are left alone in the ballroom. They take courage and speak out. After the church ceremony, everyone, led by Hero and Claudio, comes back into the hall. The bride and groom stand in front of Don Pedro and sign the marriage contract.

Beatrice and Benedict also step up to Don Pedro, explain themselves and also sign their marriage contract. The curtain falls to the general cheering of all those present.

Work history

From 1853, Hector Berlioz stayed several times in Baden-Baden to conduct the summer festivals there. The casino leaseholder Edouard Bénazet commissioned him in 1858 to compose a work for the opening of the new theater . The premiere on August 9, 1862 (in French) was conducted by Berlioz himself. The title roles were sung by the Parisian opera stars Anne Charton-Demeur and Achille-Félix Montaubry . The performance was a great success. The premiere guests included Georges Bizet , Charles Gounod and Ernest Reyer .

The writer Richard Pohl translated the play and so the following year, on April 8th, a German version was performed at the Weimar Court Theater .

In 1912 Josef Stránský and Wilhelm Kleefeld created a new version, which could then be performed in 1913 at the New Theater in Leipzig .

literature

  • Leo Melitz: Guide through the operas . Globus-Verlag, Berlin 1914, pp. 43–44.
  • Horst Seeger : Opera Lexicon . Wilhelmshofens-Verlag, Wilhelmshaven 1979, ISBN 3-7959-0271-1 , p. 66.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Heike Kronenwett (ed.): Baden in applause. 150 years of theater in Baden-Baden. Rendezvous, Baden-Baden 2012, ISBN 978-3-936881-18-9 , p. 25 f.