Le médecin malgré lui (opera)

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Opera dates
Title: The doctor against his will
Original title: Le médecin malgré lui
Title page of the libretto, Paris 1858

Title page of the libretto, Paris 1858

Shape: Opéra-comique in three acts
Original language: French
Music: Charles Gounod
Libretto : Charles Gounod, Jules Barbier and Michel Carré
Literary source: Molière : The doctor against his will
Premiere: January 15, 1858
Place of premiere: Théâtre-Lyrique , Paris
Playing time: approx. 2 ¼ hours
Place and time of the action: Rural area in France, 17th century
people
  • Sganarelle ( baritone )
  • Martine, his wife ( mezzo-soprano )
  • Géronte ( bass )
  • Lucinde, his daughter ( soprano )
  • Léandre, her lover ( tenor )
  • Valère, servant of Gérontes (bass)
  • Jacqueline, nurse with Géronte (mezzo-soprano)
  • Lucas, her husband (tenor)
  • Monsieur Robert ( Tenorbuffo , "Trial")
  • Wood bundle makers, wood bundle makers, farmers ( choir )

Le médecin malgré lui (German: The doctor against his will ) is an opéra-comique in three acts by Charles Gounod (music) with a libretto by Gounod, Jules Barbier and Michel Carré based on Molière's comedy The doctor against his will . The premiere took place on January 15, 1858 in the Théâtre-Lyrique in Paris.

action

first act

A forest; at Sganarelle's house

Scene 1. The bundle maker Sganarelle argues violently with his wife Martine about which of them has the say in their marriage (duet Sganarelle / Martine: “Non, je te dis que je n'en veux rien faire”). Sganarelle finally picks up a broom to beat her up with.

Scene 2. Monsieur Robert steps between the arguing because he finds it impossible to hit a woman. When Martine explains that she likes the beating, Robert apologizes and suggests that Sganarelle be helped. He chases him away with blows.

Scene 3. Martine reluctantly reconciles with Sganarelle.

Scene 4. After her husband leaves, Martine vows to take revenge on him (Couplets Martine: “Toute femme tient sous sa patte”).

Scene 5. Valère and Lucas are on behalf of old Géronte looking for a good doctor for his daughter Lucinde, who has suddenly lost the ability to speak. Martine sees this as an opportunity for her revenge. She claims that Sganarelle is an excellent doctor who has already worked miracles and raised the dead. However, he is extremely eccentric, dresses strangely and spends his time chopping wood in the forest. He would admit that he was a doctor only after being beaten.

Scene 6. When Valère and Lucas find Sganarelle, he is getting drunk (Couplets Sganarelle: “Qu'ils sont doux”). Since he swears not to be a doctor, the two resort to the remedy suggested by Martine and beat him until he admits everything and follows them (Terzett Valère / Lucas / Sganarelle: "Monsieur, Monsieur n'est-ce pas vous") .

Scene 7. Wood bundle makers are happy about their simple life in which they only do what they can (Finale: "Nous faisons tous ce que nous savons faire")

Second act

A room in the Gérontes house

Scene 1. Léandre serenades his lover, Lucinde, in which he sings about the joys of love (Serenade Léandre: “Est-on sage dans le bel âge”).

Scene 2. Valère and Lucas prepare Géronte for the quirks of the doctor they found.

Scene 3. Lucas' wife, Géronte's nurse Jacqueline, believes that the best cure for Lucinde's dumbness is a good husband. She is very fond of this Léandre and would certainly take him. In response to Gérontes objection that he would like a better husband for his daughter, she replies that Léandre has a wealthy ancestor. In addition, happiness in marriage is more important than wealth (Couplets Jacqueline: “D'un bout du monte à l'autre bout”).

Scene 4. Sganarelle, dressed in a doctor's coat and a pointed hat, is led in. After greeting, he hits Géronte with a stick and claims that he is now a doctor too. He himself never received any other training than this. Valère and Lucas point out the strange nature of Sganarelle to their astonished master. When Géronte explains his job to him, Sganarelle thinks the name Lucinde is very nice, but shows more interest in Jacqueline.

Scene 5. In the presence of her husband Lucas, Sganarelle flirts openly with Jacqueline and steals several kisses from Jacqueline under the pretext of congratulating Lucas on his beautiful and clever wife.

Scene 6. When Géronte brings in mute Lucinde, Sganarelle claims he must try some milk from her wet nurse for the examination. As a precaution, Jacqueline tells her jealous husband to leave the room.

Scene 7. Sganarelle begins the examination and finally announces his diagnosis: Lucinde is mute (sextet: “Eh bien! Charming demoiselle”). When Géronte asks him about the cause of her suffering, he answers with Latin gibberish. Everyone is impressed. For healing, Sganarelle suggests giving Lucinde bread soaked in wine, as this is how parrots can also talk.

Scene 8. Sganarelle turns back to Jacqueline, claiming he must drain her despite her apparent health. She leaves the room indignant.

Scene 9. Géronte gives Sganarelle a bag of money as a reward for his services.

Scene 10. Léandre asks Sganarelle to help him recruit Lucinde. He also gives him a bag of money as an incentive and reveals to him that Lucinde is only pretending to be silent in order to prevent her father from marrying another man.

Scene 11. Sganarelle persuades Géronte to bring musicians and dancers to cheer up the sick.

Scene 12. The musicians dressed as doctors praise their art (finale: “Sans nous tous les hommes deviendraient malsains”). In between, Léandre sings a song in which he compares feelings of love with the captivity of two nightingales (Ariette Léandre: “Je portais dans une cage”).

Third act

At Gérontes house

Scene 1. Sganarelle is excited about his success as a doctor. He now feels like a god - and in contrast to other professions without any laborious training (Arie Sganarelle: “Vive la médecine”).

Scene 2. Sganarelle has Léandre disguised as a pharmacist. Even he is surprised that five or six medical words are enough to be considered wise.

Scene 3. When the farmers in the area ask Sganarelle for cures for the various illnesses of their relatives, he prescribes them cheese, which supposedly contains corals, pearls and gold (chorus farmers: “Serviteur, Monsieur le docteur”).

Scene 4. Sganarelle approaches Jacqueline again. Both recognize that they are suffering from the whims of their current spouses (duet Jacqueline / Sganarelle: "Ah! Que j'en sais, belle nourrice"). Lucas overhears her for a while and intervenes when Sganarelle wants to kiss his wife. The two withdraw.

Scene 5. Géronte asks Lucas if he has seen the doctor and his daughter.

Scene 6. Géronte tells Sganarelle that Lucinde's condition has worsened. For the doctor, this is a sign that the remedy is working. He introduces his pharmacist Léandre to Géronte and claims that Lucinde needs him.

Scene 7. Jacqueline and Lucinde join in, and Sganarelle gives Léandre some clues as to how to examine Lucinde. To Géronte's astonishment, Lucinde immediately begins to speak. She proclaims that she will never marry a man other than Léandre (quintet: “Rien n'est capable, mon pére”). Sganarelle, Léandre and Jacqueline ask Géronte to give in. Now he would prefer if Sganarelle would mute Lucinde again. However, Sganarelle explains that this is not possible for him. All he could do was make him, Géronte, deaf if he so wished. Since Géronte does not give in, Sganarelle helps the couple escape by distracting Géronte.

Scene 8. Géronte is still determined to cut off his daughter's relationship with Léandre.

Scene 9. Lucas informs Géronte that Lucinde fled with Sganarelle's help. Géronte runs to the police. He wants to see Sganarelle hanging.

Scene 10. After a long search, Martine also finds Gérontes' house. She asks Lucas how her revenge turned out to be. He tells her that Sganarelle will probably be hung for what he did. Martine wants to see that for herself.

Scene 11. Géronte tells the others that the superintendent will be coming soon.

Scene 12. Léandre and Lucinde return. Léandre learned through a letter that his uncle had died and that he had bequeathed all of his fortune. Now Géronte happily agrees to give him his daughter.

layout

orchestra

The orchestral line-up for the opera includes the following instruments:

Music numbers

The opera contains the following musical numbers:

first act

  • overture
  • No. 1. Duet (Sganarelle, Martine): "Non, je te dis que je n'en veux rien faire" (scene 1)
  • No. 2. Couplets (Martine): "Toute femme tient sous sa patte" (scene 4)
  • No. 3. Couplets (Sganarelle): "Qu'ils sont doux" (scene 6)
  • No. 4. Terzett (Valère, Lucas, Sganarelle): "Monsieur, Monsieur n'est-ce pas vous" (scene 6)
  • No. 5. Finale (choir of the besenbinder): "Nous faisons tous ce que nous savons faire" (scene 7)

Second act

  • No. 6. Between act music and serenade (Léandre): "Est-on sage dans le bel âge" (scene 1)
  • No. 7. Couplets (Jacqueline): "D'un bout du monde à l'autre bout" (scene 3)
  • No. 8. Sextet (Lucinde, Géronte, Sganarelle, Valère, Lucas, Jacqueline): “Eh! bien charming demoiselle "(scene 7)
  • No. 9. Finale (choir of doctors): "Sans nous tous les hommes deviendraient malsains" (scene 12)
  • No. 9a. Ariette (Léandre): "Je portais dans une cage" (scene 12)

Third act

  • Between act music
  • No. 10. Aria (Sganarelle): "Vive la médecine" (scene 1)
  • No. 11. Scene and choir (farmers): "Serviteur, Monsieur le docteur" (scene 3)
  • No. 11a. Change of scene
  • No. 12. Duet (Jacqueline, Sganarelle): “Ah! que j'en sais belle nourrice "(scene 4)
  • No. 13. Couplets and quintet (Géronte, Sganarelle, Léandre, Lucinde, Jaqueline): "Rien n'est capable mon père" (scene 7)
  • No. 14. Finale: "Nous faisons tous ce que nous savons faire" (scene 12)

music

Since the original consists of two story sections that are narrated one after the other and are independent of one another (the marital dispute between Sganarelle and Martine and Sganarelle's appearance as a doctor in the Gérontes house), processing as an opera is fundamentally problematic. The only character present in the entire piece is Sganarelle. The tenor Léandre does not appear until the end of the second act, and his lover Lucinde does not appear as a singer until the third act. In order to alleviate this problem, the authors assigned Léandre, who had not yet been presented at the time, to the serenade "Est-on sage dans le bel âge" (No. 6) at the beginning of the second act - in a departure from the original and not motivated by the operatic plot. to. So they were able to accommodate him in the first half of the plant. The lack of a multi-part ensemble movement at the end of the second act is also atypical for an opéra comique. The most suitable sextet (No. 8) is instead in the middle of the act, and the act ends with a divertissement (No. 9) that is insignificant for the dramatic plot . The plot of the opera is largely carried by the dialogues and the ensemble movements, while the solo movements and choral pieces seem more like interludes.

The only pieces of the opera that should be soulful according to the plot are the two Soli Léandres. However, these depersonalize his emotions. His serenade is a minuet based on a moralizing text, modeled on Lully . The ariette “Je portais dans une cage” (No. 9a) is a parable. Allusions to the music of the 18th century can also be found in the doctors' choir (No. 9, "Sans nous tous les hommes deviendraient malsains"), which is reminiscent of Lully, and in the grandiose appearance of Sganarelle in the sextet, whose music is reminiscent of Mozart's Haffner Symphony reminded. Gérontes anxious questions refer musically to the preludes of the Baroque.

Gounod's music adds greatly to the comedy of the work. In the scene in which Lucinde finds her language again, she sings a series of couplets, which are interrupted by an ensemble chorus. In the second stanza she interrupts the flow of her singing with a declaration that extends over a pitch of a duodecime that she will go to the monastery if she does not get her will. Gounod's opera also surpasses most contemporary works of this genre because of its highly developed harmonic language. Gounod also handles the instrumentation in a differentiated manner. It is worth mentioning, for example, the use of the woodwind to the text "glou-gloux" in Sganarelle's drinking song (No. 3).

Work history

Emergence

In early 1857 Gounod was working on his opera Faust , which was to be performed at the Théâtre-Lyrique in Paris . However, its director Léon Carvalho informed him on February 27th that the premiere had to be postponed indefinitely because the Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin had announced an opulent production of Goethe's Faust . Gounod protested by pointing out that the two works were so different from each other that there was no competition to fear. Presumably, however, Carvalho feared less the competition for the audience than a comparison of his still young house with the renowned and lavishly equipped boulevard theater. Perhaps he wanted to avoid the impression that he wanted to benefit from the success of the other house. Gounod's subsequent attempt to accommodate his Faust at the Paris Opera was rejected on these grounds.

As compensation for this setback, Carvalho suggested editing Molière's comedy The Reluctant Doctor for the opera stage instead . Gounod and his librettists Jules Barbier and Michel Carré put together the libretto within a short period of time by copying all dialogues verbatim from the original. The parts of the text that are set to music are also closely based on Molière. Gounod created the composition within about five months. In early October 1857, before the rehearsal phase began, he suffered a severe nervous breakdown. On November 19, he wrote a correspondent that he would not be able to resume work until early December.

There were further problems when the Comédie-Française , which had a legally guaranteed monopoly on Molière's drama, wanted to ban the performance of Gounod's opera. To save the project, Gounod turned to Achille Fould . In a letter dated December 1, 1857, he stated that he had long been looking for an artistically sophisticated subject for his thoroughly French opéra-comique . It seemed perfectly natural to him to resort to a work by France's comic genius. After Princess Mathilde , to whom Gounod had dedicated the work, spoke out in favor of him, the request was finally granted reluctantly. Camille Doucet , director of theater administration at the ministry, said there was little precedent for this. Since the Théâtre-Lyrique does not receive any state support, one should be generous in this case.

premiere

The premiere took place on January 15, 1858 at the Théâtre-Lyrique under the direction of Léon Carvalho and the musical direction of Alphonse Deloffre. The singers were Auguste-Alphonse Meillet (Sganarelle), Amélie Faivre (Martine), Lesage (Géronte), Esther Caye (Lucinde), Fromant (Léandre), Louis-Émile Wartel (Valère), Caroline Girard (Jacqueline), Adolphe Girardot ( Lucas) and Ernest Leroy (Monsieur Robert). The libretto, considered a national treasure, could of course not be criticized, but Gounod's music was also well received by the critics. It was found that he had cleverly adapted the gestures of the 18th century (the names Jean-Baptiste Lully and André-Ernest-Modeste Grétry were mentioned ) to a modern harmonious palette. Even Hector Berlioz expressed his praise. The production was financially problematic, however, and in March the audience collapsed. Still, the work was not abandoned and reached 142 performances by 1870.

reception

Title page of the German libretto, Munich 1875

Le médecin malgré lui developed into Gounod's first great success. The opera was re-produced several times in Paris. The first performance at the Opéra-Comique was on May 22, 1872 (Salle Favart II). It was resumed on November 15, 1902 (Salle Favart III, costumes by Charles Bianchini), on March 24, 1938 (Salle Favart III, staging: Jean Mercier, choreography: Constantin Tcherkas, set and costumes: Serge Magnin) and on March 7, 1938. May 1966 (Salle Favart III, production: Jean-Laurent Cochet , set and costumes: François Ganeau). The hundredth performance took place there at the end of 1978.

There were also many performances in other cities, such as:

At the suggestion of Rolf Liebermann , Jean Louis Martin Barbaz created a prologue in 1978 from texts of various unknown works by Molière with music by Lully. He was played at the Opéra-Comique in 1978.

Recordings

  • Mar. 25, 1962 - Nino Sanzogno (conductor), orchestra and choir of the RAI Rome.
    Scipio Colombo (Sganarelle), Luisella Ciaffi Ricagno (Martine), Italo Tajo (Géronte), Andrée Aubéry Lucchini (Lucinde), Eric Tappy (Léandre), Paolo Montarsolo (Valère), Miti Truccato Pace (Jacqueline), Antonio Pietrini (Lucas) ; Roberta Bertea (narrator).
    Live, in concert from Rome.
    EJ Smith The Golden Age of Opera EJS 388 (1 LP).
  • 1972 - Jean-Claude Hartemann (conductor), Orchester Lyrique de l' ORTF Paris.
    Jean-Christophe Benoît (Sganarelle), Janine Capderou (Martine), Jean-Louis Soumagnas (Géronte), Monique Stiot (Lucinde), Michel Hamel (Léandre), Jean Martin (Valère), Lina Dachary (Jacqueline), Joseph Peyron (Lucas ).
    Studio shot; shortened.
    Musidisc CD: 202322.
  • April 14, 2016 - Sébastien Rouland (conductor), Laurent Pelly (staging), Chantal Thomas (set design), Joël Adam (lighting), Orchester de la Suisse Romande , Choir of the Grand Théâtre de Genève , Compagnie Laurent Pelly et Jean-Jacques Delmotte .
    Boris Grappe (Sganarelle), Ahlima Mhamdi (Martine), Franck Leguérinel (Géronte), Clémence Tilquin (Lucinde), Stanislas de Barbeyrac (Léandre), Nicolas Carré (Valère), Doris Lamprecht (Jacqueline), José Pazos (Lucas), Romaric Brown (Monsieur Robert).
    Video; live from the Grand Théâtre de Genève.
    TV broadcast on France 3 ; Video stream on Culturebox.

Digital copies

Web links

Commons : Le Médecin malgré lui (Gounod)  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Remarks

  1. ↑ The voice register "Trial" given in the piano reduction of 1858 describes a tenor who specializes in comic roles. It is named after the singer and actor Antoine Trial .
  2. ↑ The original French word is "fagotier" (after " fagot " = 'bundle of wood', cf. Alfred Schlomann : Technologisches Wörterbuch, p. 308, limited preview in Google book search). In German-language literature and the German opera versions there are also translations such as "Holzhacker" (Heinz Wagner: Das große Handbuch der Oper ; score by Emil Nikolaus von Reznicek , 1910), "Besenbinder" ( Piper's Encyclopedia of Music Theater ) or "Brushwood Collector" ( Libretto, Munich 1875).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Josef Heinzelmann : Le Médecin malgré lui. In: Piper's Encyclopedia of Musical Theater . Volume 2: Works. Donizetti - Henze. Piper, Munich / Zurich 1987, ISBN 3-492-02412-2 , pp. 518-520.
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h Steven Huebner: The Operas of Charles Gounod. Clarendon Press, Oxford 1990, ISBN 0-19-816348-7 .
  3. ↑ January 15, 1858: "Charles Gounod". In: L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia ..
  4. ↑ Le médecin malgré lui. In: Reclams Opernlexikon (= digital library . Volume 52). Philipp Reclam jun. at Directmedia, Berlin 2001, p. 1666.
  5. ^ Nicole Wild, David Charlton: Théâtre de l'Opéra-Comique Paris. Repertoire 1762-1927. Margada, Sprimont 2005, ISBN 2-87009-898-7 , p. 328.
  6. ↑ a b c d e f g Horst Seeger : The great lexicon of the opera. VEB Deutscher Verlag für Musik, Leipzig 1978. Special edition for Pawlak, Herrsching 1985, p. 360.
  7. ↑ a b Le médecin malgré lui. In: Amanda Holden (Ed.): The Viking Opera Guide. Viking, London / New York 1993, ISBN 0-670-81292-7 , pp. 394-395.
  8. ^ Yale Opera Performs Rare Gounod Opera. Yale 2004 performance announcement on yale.edu, April 15, 2004, accessed July 16, 2019.
  9. ↑ Le Médecin malgré lui presented by Utopia Opera. Information on the performances of the Utopia Opera 2013/2014 on nyu.edu, accessed on July 16, 2019.
  10. ↑ a b Le Médecin malgré lui de Gounod au Grand Théâtre de Genève on Culturebox. Video no longer available, accessed July 13, 2019.
  11. ^ Tania Bracq: Molière, Gounod: Au tableau! Review of the performance in Rennes 2017 on forumopera.com , November 26, 2017, accessed on July 16, 2019.
  12. ↑ a b Charles Gounod. In: Andreas Ommer: Directory of all complete opera recordings (= Zeno.org . Volume 20). Directmedia, Berlin 2005.