Cyrano de Bergerac (Alfano)
| Opera dates | |
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| Title: | Cyrano de Bergerac |
Cyrano de Bergerac |
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| Shape: | Commedia eroica in four acts |
| Original language: | French |
| Music: | Franco Alfano |
| Libretto : | Henri Cain |
| Literary source: |
Edmond Rostand : Cyrano de Bergerac |
| Premiere: | 1) January 22, 1936 (Italian) 2) May 29, 1936 (French) |
| Place of premiere: | 1) Teatro Reale dell'Opera, Rome 2) Third Salle Favart of the Opéra-Comique , Paris |
| Playing time: | approx. 2 ¼ hours |
| Place and time of the action: | Paris and Arras, 1640 and 1655 |
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Cyrano de Bergerac is an opera (original name: "Commedia eroica") in four acts and five pictures by Franco Alfano (music) with a libretto by Henri Cain based on Edmond Rostand's verse drama Cyrano de Bergerac . The original language is French. However, the opera was first performed in an Italian translation on January 22, 1936 at the Teatro Reale dell'Opera in Rome. The first performance of the original version took place on May 29 of the same year in the third Salle Favart of the Opéra-Comique in Paris.
action
first act
“Une représentation a l'Hotel De Bourgogne” - theater hall in the Hôtel de Bourgogne, 1640
Nobles and people, including Le Bret, Ragueneau, Christian and Lignière, gathered for a theatrical performance. The actors also include Roxane, whose beauty is admired by everyone. The performance begins with Montfleury's appearance, which is interrupted by an interjection after just a few words. Cyrano de Bergerac had banned Montfleury from appearing for a month and is now driving him off the stage with threats. The excited audience is divided. Some take Cyrano's side, others Montfleury's. The Viscount De Valvert takes the floor against Cyrano, mentioning his big nose. Cyrano immediately pulls his sword and attacks Valvert. During the duel, he entertains the audience with an improvised ballad in which he describes his movements. The audience celebrates his victory. Cyrano explains to Le Bret the reason for his ban: Montfleury had an unseemly look at Roxane, whom he admired. However, because of his misshapen nose, he himself has no hope that she will be able to return his love. The governess tells him that Roxane is expecting him the next morning for a confidential chat in Ragueneau's shop. Cyrano is so excited with anticipation that he wants to cool off in the fight. He therefore welcomes a request for help from Lignière, who is threatened by Count de Guiche's men because of a mocking poem. He invites those present to watch the expected fight at the Porte de Nesle .
Second act
1st image: "La Rôtisserie des poètes" - In the Rôtisserie Ragueneaus
The next morning Ragueneau is waiting for his friend Cyrano and Roxane in his roast kitchen and pastry shop. Confectioners present him with the food they have prepared. One after the other, Ragueneau's wife Lise, the impatient Cyrano, some musketeers and poets arrive. The latter tell of an amazing battle at the Porte de Nesle, in which a single man defeated an entire gang. Cyrano humbly hides the fact that he himself was this hero. Roxane finally appears and the others withdraw. Roxane thanks Cyrano first for his intervention the evening before - de Guiche, who fell in love with her, tried to force Valvert on her as a “sham meal”. But Cyrano's hope of a declaration of love for Roxanes is quickly disappointed when she tells him about her love for the young cadet Christian. So far he has been too shy to reveal himself to her, but she is sure of his love because of his glowing looks. She asks Cyrano, who serves in the same regiment, to take care of him and to protect him from duels. With the hint that Christian should write her a letter, she moves away.
Ragueneau and the poets return, and the cadets from Cyrano's regiment also come to the pub to celebrate Cyrano's victory. Everyone sings a happy song ("Ce sont les cadets de Gascogne"). De Guiche tries to poach Cyrano, but has to pull away without having achieved anything. Among the cadets is Christian, who Cyrano meets for the first time. As a precaution, Captain Carbon warns him of allusions to his nose. When Cyrano talks about his fight at the Porte de Nesle, the cocky Christian still can't help interrupting him again and again. Cyrano ignores this for a while, but then sends his comrades out who are already afraid for Christian. But when Cyrano is alone with Christian, he hugs him, introduces himself as Roxane's cousin and tells him about their love. It turns out that Christian does not trust himself to write the letter Roxane expected. Cyrano, however, would be easy to do. The two make a pact: They want to campaign for Roxane together. Christian has outward beauty and Cyrano lends him his eloquence.
2nd image: “Le baiser de Roxane” - square in front of Roxane's house, dusk
Roxane is talking to her governess. The two want to go to a lecture about love. De Guiche appears to say goodbye to Roxane. He had to go to war that same evening, because the city of Arras was being besieged. He was appointed Colonel of the Guard Regiment, in which Cyrano and Christian also serve. For him it is a perfect opportunity to get revenge on Cyrano. Roxane pretends to de Guiche that she is on his side. She claims that if he is not allowed to participate in the fight, it will be a much greater penalty for Cyrano. With this ruse she succeeds in persuading de Guiche to exempt the cadet company (and Christian) from the war.
After de Guiche leaves, Cyrano arrives. He learns from Roxane that she wants to ask Christian at the rendezvous to improvise about love. Roxane and her governess withdraw into the house. Cyrano calls Christian, who is already waiting, to prepare him for his task. But Christian is determined to speak to Roxane without Cyrano's assistance. She comes out of the house with the governess. The latter says goodbye, regretting that they missed the lecture in the meantime. Roxane asks Christian to come and talk to him about love. Her unimaginative answers disappoint her so much that she dumps him. Christian has no choice but to ask Cyrano for help. The two stand under their balcony and call for her. Cyrano is hiding in the shadows. At the beginning, Cyrano Christian prompts the poetic vows of love. Since that proves to be too laborious, he continues himself in a disguised voice. Roxane is so excited that she lets Christian climb onto the balcony to hug and kiss him.
Third act
"Les Cadets de Gascogne" - Siege of Arras, camp of the cadets
Despite de Guiche's assurance, the cadets were transferred to the French besieged town of Arras , where they hold an outpost. In the meantime Spanish troops have arrived, which in turn cut off the besiegers from supplies. While the soldiers sleep, Cyrano sneaks through enemy lines every morning to bring Roxane alleged letters from Christian. To distract his comrades from hunger, he asks an old shepherd to play local melodies for them on the flute. A signal announces the arrival of de Guiche. When the latter brags about his bravery in the opposing musket fire, Cyrano points out that he has lost his white sash. De Guiche explains that he deliberately dropped these to deceive the enemy. Cyrano pulls out the sash. He brought them back from his last outing himself. De Guiche informs his people that an attack by the Spaniards is imminent. While everyone is preparing, Christian asks Cyrano to write a farewell letter to Roxane as a precaution. Cyrano has already done this. Christian discovers the remains of a tear on the letter. Cyrano also admits that he wrote her two letters every day. A carriage arrives. Roxane herself has penetrated through the lines of the besiegers, whom she was able to persuade me to let through with the words "I am visiting my loved one". As she could not be persuaded to leave the camp despite the impending danger, Carbon asked her for her scarf, which he wanted to use as a flag during the fight. Ragueneau also gets out of the carriage. He has brought plenty of groceries and everyone celebrates one last time before the battle. Roxane explains to Christian that he was so impressed by his letters that she absolutely had to see him again. She is no longer interested in external beauty, but only in his soul. Christian sends her to the cadets so that they can get one last smile before their possible death. He now knows Cyrano's true feelings for Roxane and asks him to admit them so that she can choose between the two. When Roxane returns, she swears to Cyrano that she would love Christian even if his appearance was repulsive and grotesque. Just as Cyrano finds hope for himself, the battle begins. Christian falls right at the beginning. Roxane throws himself sobbing over his corpse and finds the suicide note. The battle rages in the distance.
Fourth act
“La Gazette De Cyrano” - 15 years later, in 1655, in the park of the Convent of the Sisters of the Cross in Paris
In mourning over Christian's death, Roxane has retired to a monastery. De Guiche visits Roxane, who has since forgiven him. She tells him that Cyrano comes often too. Le Bret joins them and reports that Cyrano is getting more and more bitter and that his biting writings are constantly making new enemies. While Roxane de Guiche is escorting out, Ragueneau appears and whispers to Le Bret about something. The two hurry away. Looking a little late and exhausted, Cyrano also comes to the agreed visit and begins telling Roxane the news of the past week. He explains a brief fainting spell with his old wound in Arras. Then he asks her to see Christian's last letter again. He reads it aloud and so soulfully that Roxane realizes the truth: They are Cyrano's own words and he has always loved them. Le Bret and Ragueneau return - appalled to find Cyrano here. Then he ends his chronicle: “And on Saturday the 26th, an hour before dinner, Herr von Bergerac died at the hands of a murderer.” Ragueneau explains that he was attacked from behind with a log. Roxane finally realizes her love for Cyrano. But it is too late. He collapses dying. In his last words, he insists that although he has been denied fame and love, he still has his guts.
layout
The librettist Cain tightened Rostand's original significantly. He removed some of the supporting characters and focused the plot. However, the essential components were retained.
Alfano composed his opera Cyrano de Bergerac in the neoclassical style of his later years. The music is diatonic and often uses dissonances in parallel. The vocal parts are reminiscent of Claude Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande . In his contribution to Piper's Encyclopedia of Music Theater , Jürgen Maehder pointed out that the Cyrano represented “a step backwards in musical structural will” compared with Alfano's earlier works. Alfano endeavored to dilute the orchestral composition to "a few motorized voices", whereby "the harmonic implasticity peculiar to his works in general emerges more clearly". This simplification of the musical structure, partly prescribed by the fascist authorities, was partly adopted voluntarily by the composers of the time. The tone of the declamation seems "unconvincing" in the Italian version. Alfano himself found his score “more flexible and lighter” than that of his previous works.
orchestra
The orchestral line-up for the opera includes the following instruments:
- Woodwinds : three flutes (2nd and 3rd also Piccolo ), two oboes , English horn , two clarinets , bass clarinet , two bassoons
- Brass : four horns , three trumpets , three trombones , bass tuba
- Timpani , percussion : cymbals , triangles , hanging cymbals , bass drum , military drum , snare drum , tambourine , tam-tam , cannon strike, bell in H.
- xylophone
- Celesta , keyboard glockenspiel, piano
- harp
- Strings
- Incidental music: trumpet in C, drums, clock bell
Work history
The opera's libretto was written by Henri Cain . It is based on Edmond Rostand's 1897 verse drama Cyrano de Bergerac. Alfano had been interested in the subject for a long time, and Cain had also written libretti on Cyrano and La princesse lointaine, another Rostand play. On the occasion of performances of his opera Risurrezione in Monte Carlo in 1925, Alfano talked to Mary Garden , the singer in the lead role, about the project. This offered him to take over the high costs for the rights to the text. Alfano declined with thanks. Negotiations with Edmond Rostand's widow Rosemonde Gérard continued for a few years. Alfano did not want to accept their conditions until he found a publisher and had the necessary financial support. After Cain had assured him in 1933 that the current offer of 30,000 francs would not decrease any further, he signed the contract in mid-August. He was assured that he would initially only have to pay part of it. The entire sum is only due after the five years in which he has to complete the work. Alfano then wrote to the Viennese publisher Kalmus that he would complete the work within two years. He offered the German rights to Universal Edition .
Alfano originally intended to keep the five-act structure of the original. However, he later decided to pull the second and third acts together. He composed the first act between October 1933 and the spring of 1934. He completed the second act at the end of 1934, the third in May 1935. In July 1935, most of the fourth act was also completed.
Although Alfano had initially offered his work to the Paris Opéra-Comique , it was premiered on January 22, 1936 in an Italian version by Cesare Meano and Filippo Brusa under the title Cyrano di Bergerac at the Teatro Reale dell'Opera in Rome. The conductor was Tullio Serafin . Directed by Carlo Piccinato. The choreography was by Boris Romanov , and the stage by Cipriano Efisio Oppo and Filippo Brusa. It sang Maria Caniglia (Rossana), Agnese Dubbini (governess), Matilde Arbuffo (Lisa), Edmea Limberti (Marta), Anna Maria Mariani (nun), José Luccioni (Cyrano de Bergerac), Giuseppe Manacchini (De Guiche), Giacomo Vaghi (Carbon), Alessio De Paolis (Cristiano), Emilio Ghirardini (Ragueneau), Ernesto Dominici (Le Bret), Mario Bianchi (De Valvert), Millo Marucci (Spanish officer and musketeer), Adolfo Pacini (cook), Saturno Meletti (Lignière ). For the title role, Alfano chose the tenor José Luccioni after hearing him in a performance of Bizet's Carmen . Since Luccioni could sing in both French and Italian, he took over the role in Rome as well as in the subsequent French premiere.
The French original version was first played on May 29, 1936 in the third Salle Favart of the Opéra-Comique. Albert Wolff conducted here , the director was Joseph Ancelin, the choreographer Constantin Tcherkas and the set designer Raymond Deshays. The actors were Madeleine "Lillie" Grandval (Roxane), Jeanne Mattio (governess), Madeleine Drouot (Lise), Marinette Fenoyer (Marthe), Christiane Gaudel (nun), José Luccioni (Cyrano de Bergerac), André Gaudin (De Guiche) , Louis Jean Musy (Carbon), Louis Arnoult (Christian), Jean Vieuille (Ragueneau), Georges Ravoux (Le Bret), Georges Bouvier (De Valvert), Gabriel Marc Jullia (Spanish officer), Louis Dufont (cook and 2nd guard ), Paul Payen (Lignière), Victor Poujol (Musketeer), Constantin Tcherkas (Montfleury, dancer) and Paul Durel (1st guard).
In 1942, during the Second World War, the opera was performed in Leipzig and Erfurt in Germany. The premiere at La Scala in Milan took place in 1954, shortly before the composer's death, under the direction of Antonino Votto with Ramón Vinay in the title role.
Recordings
- May 16, 1954 - Antonino Votto (conductor), Fernand Ledoux (staging), orchestra and choir of the Teatro alla Scala Milan.
Anna de Cavalieri (Roxane), Anna Maria Canali (governess), Angela Vercelli (Lise), Cinzia della Porta (nun), Ramón Vinay (Cyrano de Bergerac), Rolando Panerai (De Guiche), Silvio Maionica (Carbon), Augusto Vicentini (Christian), Carlo Badioli (Ragueneau), Enzo Sordello (Le Bret), Enrico Cocampi (De Valvert), Dario Caselli (cook), Attilio Barbesi (Lignière), Eraldo Coda (musketeer), Aldo Santambrogio (Montfleury).
Live from Milan. - Sep. 20, 1975 - Maurizio Arena (conductor), orchestra and choir of the RAI Turin.
Olivia Stapp (Roxane), Miti Truccato Pace (governess), Agata Palmi (Lise and Nun), William Johns (Cyrano de Bergerac), Antonio Blancas (De Guiche), Alfredo Giacomotti (Carbon), Ezio di Cesare (Christian), Claudio Strudthoff (Ragueneau), Giovanni Savoiardo (Le Bret), Dino Mantovani (De Valvert), Giuseppe Scalce (Spanish officer and cook), Angelo Nosotti (lignière and musketeer).
Live, in concert from Turin.
MRF LP, Gala GL 100.794 (2 CDs). - 12./30. May 2002 - Markus L. Frank (conductor), Alexander von Pfeil (production), Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir of the stages of the state capital Kiel .
Manuela Uhl (Roxane), Susanne Bernhard (Lise and Nonne), Roman Sadnik (Cyrano de Bergerac), Wolfgang Newerla (De Guiche), Simon Pauly (Carbon and De Valvert), Paul McNamara (Christian), Matthias Klein (Ragueneau), Bernd Gebhardt (Le Bret), Alexander Stoyanow (cook), Konstantin Heintel (Lignière), Chan Il Seok (musketeer), Franz Meyer Brockmann (solo).
French version, live from Kiel.
CPO 999 909-2 (2 CDs). - May 12, 2002 - cast like 12./30. May 2002.
French version, live from Kiel. - June 7, 2002 - cast like 12./30. May 2002.
French version, live from Kiel. - July 29th / 1st August 2003 - Marco Guidarini (conductor), David Alagna and Frederico Alagna (staging), Orchester Philharmonique de Montpellier Languedoc-Roussillon, Chœur de l ' Opéra de Montpellier .
Nathalie Manfrino (Roxane), Hanna Schaer (Governess), Jael Azzaretti (Lise and Nonne), Roberto Alagna (Cyrano de Bergerac), Nicolas Rivenq (De Guiche), Franck Ferrari (Carbon), Richard Troxell (Christian), Marc Barrard ( Ragueneau), Richard Rittelmann (Le Bret), Marcin Habela (De Valvert, Spanish officer and cook), Thomas Dolié (lignière and musketeer).
Video, French version, live from Montpellier.
DGG DVD-Video 476 739-6 (1 DVD). - July 2003 - occupation as July 29th / 1st August 2003.
French version, live from Montpellier.
DGG 476 979 8 (2 CDs). - May 20, 2005 - Marco Armiliato (conductor), Francesca Zambello (production), orchestra and choir of the Metropolitan Opera .
Sondra Radvanovsky (Roxane), Sheila Nadler (governess), Jennifer Check (Lise and Nun), Diane Elias (Marthe), Plácido Domingo (Cyrano de Bergerac), Anthony Michaels-Moore (De Guiche), Louis Otey (Carbon), Raymond Very (Christian), Roberto de Candia (Ragueneau), Julien Robbins (Le Bret), Brian Davies (De Valvert and Spanish officer), Roger Andrews (cook), Andrew Gangestad (Lignière), Richard Pearson (Musketeer), Bernard Fitch ( Montfleury), Gregory Cross and David Frye (sentry).
Live from New York. - February 4, 2006 - Casting as May 20, 2005, but with Antonio Barasorda in the title role.
Live from New York. - 8/11/18 February 2007 - Patrick Fournillier (conductor), Michal Znaniecki (direction and stage set), Isabelle Comte (costumes), Valencian Community Orchestra, Valencia Regional Government Choir.
Sondra Radvanovsky (Roxane), Itxaro Mentxaka (Gouvernante and Marthe), Silvia Vázquez (Lise and Nun), Plácido Domingo (Cyrano de Bergerac), Rod Gilfry (De Guiche), Javier Franco (Carbon), Arturo Chacón Cruz (Christian), Corrado Carmelo Caruso (Ragueneau), Nahuel di Pierro (Le Bret), Roberto Accurso (De Valvert), Rubén Belmonte (Spanish officer), Juan Felipe Durá (cook), Miguel Sola (Lignière), Juan José Navarro (musketeer), Amadis de Murga (Montfleury), Antonio Lozano Mora (1st guard), Antonio Gómez Cano (2nd guard).
Video, live from the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía in Valencia.
Naxos 2.110270 (DVD), Naxos NBD0005 (Blu-ray). - May 2, 2017 - Marco Armiliato (conductor), Francesca Zambello (director), Peter J. Davison (stage), Anita Yavich (costumes).
Jennifer Rowley (Roxane), Jennifer Roderer (Governess), Holli Harrison (Lise and Nun), Edyta Kulczak (Marthe), Roberto Alagna (Cyrano de Bergerac), Juan Jesús Rodríguez (De Guiche), Michael Todd Simpson (Carbon), Atalla Ayan (Christian), Roberto de Candia (Ragueneau), David Pittsinger (Le Bret), Hyung Yun (De Valvert and Spanish officer), Edward Albert (Koch), Paul Corona (Lignière), Edward Hanlon (Musketeer), Tony Stevenson ( Montfleury), Gregory Warren and Juhwan Lee (sentry).
Live from the Metropolitan Opera New York, coproduction with the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London.
Live broadcast on Metropolitan Opera Radio on SiriusXM channel 74 and as a stream on the Internet.
literature
- Konrad Dryden: Franco Alfano: Transcending Turandot. Scarecrow Press, Lanham / Toronto / Plymouth 2010, ISBN 978-0-8108-6977-6 . Here: Chapter 12: “Cyrano de Bergerac (1932–1933)”, pp. 118–130 and 178–180 ( limited preview in Google Book Search).
Web links
- Libretto (Italian), Milan 1935. Digitized in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna
- Libreto (French, PDF) at the music label Naxos (PDF)
- Libretto (Italian / French, PDF) on dicoseunpo.it
- Libretto (French / Spanish) on karol.es
- Cyrano de Bergerac (Franco Alfano) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna
- Program for Cyrano de Bergerac. Metropolitan Opera 2016/2017 (English, PDF)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f David Patmore: About this Recording. Work information on the Blu-ray Cyrano de Bergerac on the music label Naxos , accessed on March 8, 2018.
- ^ A b c Julian Budden: Cyrano de Bergerac. In: Grove Music Online (English; subscription required).
- ↑ a b Jürgen Maehder : Cyrano de Bergerac. In: Piper's Encyclopedia of Musical Theater . Volume 1: Works. Abbatini - Donizetti. Piper, Munich / Zurich 1986, ISBN 3-492-02411-4 , pp. 34-35.
- ^ Ulrich Schreiber : Opera guide for advanced learners. The 20th Century I. From Verdi and Wagner to Fascism. Bärenreiter, Kassel 2000, ISBN 3-7618-1436-4 , p. 638.
- ↑ a b Konrad Dryden: Franco Alfano: Transcending Turandot. Scarecrow Press, Lanham / Toronto / Plymouth 2010, ISBN 978-0-8108-6977-6 .
- ↑ January 22, 1936: "Cyrano di Bergerac". In: L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia ..
- ↑ May 29, 1936: "Cyrano de Bergerac". In: L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia ..
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i Franco Alfano. In: Andreas Ommer: Directory of all complete opera recordings (= Zeno.org . Volume 20). Directmedia, Berlin 2005.
- ↑ Blu-ray information from Naxos , accessed March 8, 2018.
- ↑ Program of the Metropolitan Opera, 2017.