Le postillon de Lonjumeau

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Work data
Title: The Lonjumeau postillon
Original title: Le postillon de Lonjumeau
Zoë Prévost and Jean-Baptiste Chollet as Madeleine and Chapelou, around 1836

Zoë Prévost and Jean-Baptiste Chollet as Madeleine and Chapelou, around 1836

Shape: Opéra-comique
Original language: French
Music: Adolphe Adam
Libretto : Adolphe de Leuven and Léon-Lévy Brunswick
Premiere: October 13, 1836
Place of premiere: Paris
Playing time: approx. 2 ½ hours
Place and time of the action: France around 1760
people
  • Chapelou, Postillon, later under the name of St. Phar opera singer ( tenor )
  • Madeleine, landlady, later wife of Latour ( soprano )
  • Bijou, blacksmith, later as Alcindor chorister at the opera ( bass )
  • Marquis de Corcy, Royal Chamberlain ( baritone )
  • Bourdon, choir singer (bass)
  • Rose, maid of the wife of Latour ( speaking role )

Le postillon de Lonjumeau (pronunciation:…  [ lɔ̃.ʒy.mo ] , German: The postillon of Lonjumeau ) is an opéra-comique in three acts by Adolphe Adam . The premiere was on October 13, 1836 in the Opéra-Comique ( Salle de la Bourse ) in Paris , the German premiere on June 3, 1837 in Berlin. Please click to listen!Play

action

The artistic director of the Royal Opera, Marquis of Corcy, accidentally discovers the brilliant tenor voice of the Chapelou postilion. The stage director's offer is so delightful that Chapelou can't resist it, even though it's his wedding day . He secretly leaves his bride Madeleine before the wedding night. Ten years later, meanwhile he has become famous under the name of St. Phar, he meets Madeleine again, who has become the lord of the castle of Latour through a favorable inheritance . He does not recognize his former wife, falls in love with her and is married to her. Madeleine plays a double game with her husband by appearing to him alternately as the wife of Latour and Madeleine. The confusion climaxes when the Marquis de Corcy, who in turn has fallen in love with the wife of Latour, accuses St. Phar of the crime of bigamy , which is punishable by death . As the guard rushes to escort St. Phar to the execution, Ms. von Latour explains that it cannot be a crime to marry the same woman twice.

music

The music of this opera is a significant example of the lively esprit of French conversation opera . Already in the overture , which is determined by the sound of the horns, there is a reference to the tenor hero's profession, which is then used in the well-known postillon song “Friends, hear the story” (in the original: “Ah mes amis, qu'il était beau, le postillon de Lonjumeau! ” ) can shine with virtuosity and vocal height (the aria rises to high d). The climax of the second act is the aria by Alcindor “For truth, the choir's finest blossom” , which with its vocal scale exercises is at the same time an allusion to the vanity of the singers. The highlight of the third act is the trio “Gehang” , which is regarded as a masterpiece of compositional comedy. The filigree part of Frau von Latour is a brilliant piece for a coloratura soprano .

Movie

Lonjumeau's Postillon, also partly listed as The Postillon in Wedding Tailcoat, is also a post-opera title of an Austrian feature film from 1936. In the comedy first shown on January 14, 1936, directed by Carl Lamac and written by Karl Peter Gillmann, play Alfred Neugebauer , Thekla Ahrens , Leo Slezak , Rose Stradner and Willy Eichberger , among others .

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