Le roi Arthus

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Opera dates
Title: King Arthur
Original title: Le roi Arthus
Henri Albers in the title role at the premiere in 1903

Henri Albers in the title role at the premiere in 1903

Shape: Drame-lyrique in three acts
Original language: French
Music: Ernest Chausson
Libretto : Ernest Chausson
Premiere: November 30, 1903
Place of premiere: Théâtre de la Monnaie , Brussels
Playing time: approx. 2 ¾ hours
Place and time of the action: King Arthur's Castle in Carduel (England) and the surrounding forests and plains, fabulous Middle Ages
people

Le roi Arthus is an opera ("Drame-lyrique") in three acts by Ernest Chausson ( music ) on its own libretto . The premiere took place posthumously on November 30, 1903 at the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels.

action

first act

First picture

Great hall in King Arthur's palace in Carduel. The brick walls are covered with tapestries and the floor is covered with reeds. The throne is on the left on an elevation. As the curtain is lifted, Arthus is just about to finish his speech. Genièvre sits near him. The hall is full of knights, squires and pages. Mordred and Lancelot are in the front row. The women have gathered before the throne at Genièvre. The bards, clad in white robes, are on the opposite side.

After defeating the Saxons, King Arthur praised the courage of his knights. His only regret is that Merlin is not there to attend the celebration. Peace can finally return to the country. Arthur asks the bards to sing songs of praise to the heroes and especially to Lancelot. Although everyone fought hard, it was he who led them in the final decisive battle. While Lancelot modestly rejects the praise, Arthus' nephew Mordred and several other knights react with jealousy. Arthur notices this and rebukes Mordred. Queen Genièvre presents Lancelot with a goblet as a reward. After her official eulogy, she whispers to him that she wants to see him that night. Mordred has been watching this carefully. He swears revenge because she herself had rejected him earlier. Genièvre leaves the room and the party begins.

Second picture

A terrace within the castle walls. There is a covered gallery on the right and the garden on the left. In the foreground a vestibule leads to the queen's apartments. In the distance, tree tops and towers can be seen behind a balustrade. The sky is cloudy. When the curtain is lifted, Lyonnel sits alone on the porch steps. In the distance the calls of the night watchman can be heard.

While Lancelot spends the night with Genièvre, his squire Lyonnel keeps watch. He is appalled at the goings-on of his master, who until now had been an example of loyalty and honor. He is also concerned about Mordred's jealousy. Lyonnel decides to watch through the night as a precaution.

When Lancelot and Genièvre step out onto the terrace, Lyonnel withdraws and is only seen occasionally in the background of the scene. The two enjoy their love and the beauties of nature. At daybreak they are interrupted by Lyonnel. The night watchman can also be heard again. Lyonnel brings his weapons to Lancelot. Mordred approaches behind the trees. He notices the lovers and calls for the guards. Lancelot draws his sword and stabs Mordred after a short fight. Since they think Mordred is dead, Genièvre urges her lover to flee. They say goodbye in despair. Lancelot realizes that he has drawn the sword against a comrade in arms to cover up his own lies. Lyonnel leads him into the nearby forest. Before Genièvre can retreat into the castle, Mordred wakes up and calls for help. The knights appear and surround him as the curtain falls.

Second act

First picture

At the edge of a seemingly endless pine forest. On the right there is a large moss-covered rock that can serve as a seat. Fields expand in the background. It is bright day. The sun shines through the branches and creates light sections on the ground. While the curtain rises, a farmer moves slowly across the stage in the background to sow corn.

The plowman sings a morality on Arthur's victory over a giant and his gang of pirates. Meanwhile, Lancelot comes forward and puts his sword and cloak in front of a tree. Concerned about Genièvre's well-being, he eagerly awaits her arrival. He also fears that Mordred survived and betrayed his breach of loyalty to the king. His remorse intensifies. He has broken his king and all his oaths, but still cannot leave Genièvre. Finally she comes with Lyonnel, who then withdraws. Genièvre reports that Mordred actually survived and accused him of treason. Although the knights have already united against him, Arthur does not believe the allegations. She urges Lancelot to go to him and plead his innocence. Lancelot, however, is too ashamed of his actions. He would rather die than lie straight to his master's face. Genièvre accuses him of cowardice: Lancelot, "the greatest liar of all", suddenly has scruples about saving her. Exhausted, she sinks onto a grass bank. Overwhelmed by love for her, Lancelot finally decides to obey her wish. But Genièvre too is now ready to give in and asks for forgiveness. Even if Arthus believed him, there would still be Mordred's jealousy and vigilance from which they could not escape. Eventually, they decide to flee to spend the rest of their lives together.

Second picture

Vaults in Arthus' Castle near Carlisle. Through the pillars of the galleries you can see a garden in the middle and the roofs of the castle in the background. The garden is overgrown with trees, bushes and vines. At the right end of the gallery, a few steps lead to the door of the royal apartment. While the curtain rises, some knights have a silent conversation. Arthur appears from the left and speaks to one of them.

Since the knight has no news about Lancelot, Arthur sends him away and ponders Genièvre and Lancelot. He still cannot believe in her infidelity. After all the successes, his life's work now seems to be collapsing again. The knights are at odds with one another, his nephew Mordred is striving for the throne, and there is intrigue everywhere. He longs for his old friend and advisor Merlin, who still has not reappeared.

At this moment Merlin emerges from between the branches of an apple tree. He wears a long white robe. His white beard reaches down to his stomach. He remains completely motionless throughout the entire scene. While Arthur walks towards him, Merlin ponders sadly the prophecies he received from the apple trees. He explains to Arthus that there is no longer any hope. All their successes will be destroyed, and the Round Table will be doomed to dissolve. Because of an "unnamed crime," false pride, and envy, his previous prophecies have been proven false. He only left his secret retreat to tell him (Arthus) that he had to accept fate and that his days on earth were numbered. But then there will be a great awakening: the mighty oaks will bloom again, the knights will rise from their graves and the rays of the sun will surround his head with flames of glory. Arthur agrees to accept his fate. He just wants to know whether the allegations of Genièvres and Lancelot's betrayal are true and whether they are the authors of the "unnamed crime". Merlin no longer answers this question. The vision fades. With a call to Genièvre, Arthus leaves the stage through a back door.

The knights have heard Arthur's cry and run across the stage, alarmed and confused. A knight reports that the queen fled with Lancelot and was on the way to the coast. The knights quarrel until Arthur himself appears and calls for a fight against Lancelot.

Third act

First picture

A rocky ridge overlooking the battlefield. There are some pine trees on the right. The sea can be seen on the horizon. When the curtain rises, Genièvre rushes onto the stage, followed by her old squire Allan.

Allan warns Genièvre not to approach the battlefield. However, she has no fear and is confident that Lancelot will triumph. Allan points out that Mordred has since declared himself king and that some of the Knights of the Round Table are following him. While Allan retreats into the background to watch the battle continue, Genièvre sits on a rock and ponders her love for Lancelot. She doesn't regret anything, but she also realizes how much he's changed. Allan returns and reports that Lancelot and his people are on the run. Shortly afterwards he appears himself - without his weapons. When he saw King Arthur with his sword Excalibur between his knights in the field , he was again aware of his shame. He could no longer fight, threw off his weapons and abandoned his people. Despite his love for Genièvre, his king is more important to him. He says goodbye to her to return to the battlefield and submit. Genièvre would rather die than beg for mercy. When he rejects her plea, she pushes him away. Lancelot leaves the scene with Lyonnel as trumpets sound in the distance. Genièvre instructs her squires to prepare the ship for their escape. She herself stays behind and ponders Lancelot, whom she still loves more than life. She notices that the noise of the battle has stopped and sits down on a rock. Now that all hope is lost, she decides to leave the world in its last remaining dignity. Since her long dark hair charmed Lancelot, but could not hold him, they should end their lives now. She loosens her braids, winds her hair around her neck and strangles herself with it. The curtain goes down slowly.

Second picture

The battlefield on the coast. In the foreground on the left are some small trees, low rocks, gorse, daffodils and other flowers. In the background the cliffs form a bay. It is evening. Lancelot lies unconscious in the center of the stage, surrounded by a group of soldiers. Others take care of the dead and wounded.

Due to the severity of Lancelot's injuries, the soldiers fear for his life. They carry him to a sunlit rock, remembering his exploits and betrayal. Arthus and Lyonnel join them. Lyonnel tells Arthus that Lancelot recently tried unsuccessfully to dissuade his followers from the fight. Arthus mourns him and Genièvre. Lancelot regains consciousness and begs Arthus to kill him and take revenge. Arthur, however, does not seek revenge. He has already come to terms with fate and has lost interest in earthly things. He's just sorry for what could have happened. In his last words, Lancelot prophesies that Arthus' ideals and the memory of him will live on until the end of time. For other people, on the other hand, as well as for himself, death is synonymous with forgetting. He dies. At a sign from Arthur, the soldiers carry away Lancelot's body. Lyonnel follows them.

Arthur was left alone. He has lost all hope and asks God to end his sufferings. A chorus of invisible spirits rings out, asking him to follow them to a better place. He will now find peace - not through death, but through deep, endless sleep. The background of the stage suddenly shines in pink and gold light and a boat led by women appears on the horizon. One of them opens her wings like a sail. The choir once again confirms its fame. He believed in the ideals of humanity, but those he trusted were not worth his devotion. His dreams of a better future were doomed from the start. One day, however, he would return glorious and continue his work. Arthur goes to the edge of the cliff. He throws his guns into the sea and gets into the boat. This drives away while the sun sinks behind the sea. The sky is darkening and the curtain is slowly falling.

layout

As in his tone poem Viviane from 1882, Chausson used a Celtic theme in Le roi Arthus . He orientated himself particularly on the novel Lancelot by Chrétien de Troyes . The plot is clearly reminiscent of Richard Wagner's Tristan und Isolde with personal equivalents of Lancelot = Tristan, Genièvre = Isolde, Arthus = Marke, Mordred = Melot and Lyonnel = Brangäne / Kurwenal. However, he shifted the focus. The main theme is not that of forbidden love, as with Wagner, but the transience of human endeavors. The real hero of the opera is therefore King Arthur and not the lovers Lancelot / Genièvre.

Like Wagner, Chausson also attached great importance to sophisticated poetic language. The text is composed of prose and eight-syllable rhyming verses.

Musically, Chausson moved more away from Wagner. Leitmotifs are used less systematically. The orchestration and the harmony are closer to impressionism and the language of César Franck . Particularly noteworthy are the prelude, the Ackermann's song in the first picture of the second act, the prophecy of Merlin in the second picture of the second act and Arthur's transfiguration at the end of the opera.

Instrumentation

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

Work history

According to a notebook found in 1965, Ernest Chausson had far-reaching plans for a total of ten operas on themes from world literature. Nevertheless - due to his death in 1899 - Le roi Arthus remained his only opera. He worked on the work for almost ten years. The libretto was written in 1885/86. He then immediately started composing, a large part of which was completed in 1888. In the following years he continuously revised the work. During this time he gave the completed parts to his friend Henri Duparc for inspection. Chausson largely ignored his detailed critical response. On September 30, 1894, he notified a friend of the completion of the opera. For the ensuing instrumentation, however, he still needed until 1895. According to his own statement, Chausson had great difficulties getting past the seemingly overpowering figure of Richard Wagner and finding his own way:

“Above all, it is this terrible Wagner that blocks my path. I am like the ant facing a huge slippery stone. It takes countless detours to find the way past this stone. This is my situation. I am looking for. I have patience and am not without hope. "

- Quoted from the 2015 Paris performance program

Once completed, none of the Parisian theaters were ready to perform the work. Chausson therefore also looked for a performance location in Germany and Belgium. However, a performance in Karlsruhe in 1900 failed. It was first performed four years after Chausson's death on November 30, 1903 at the Théâtre Royal de La Monnaie in Brussels under the direction of Sylvain Dupuis . Charles De Beer directed it. The stage design was by Albert Dubosq, the costumes by Fernand Khnopff . The singers were Henri Albers (Arthus), Jeanne Paquot d'Assy (Genièvre), Charles Dalmorès (Lancelot), E. Forgeur (Lyonnel), François (Mordred), Édouard Cotreuil (Merlin) and Jean Vallier (Allan). The first performance was a great success and the opera stayed on the repertoire for several years.

Subsequently, however, the interest lost again and there were only a few performances of Le roi Arthus . In 1916 the third act was played in the Palais Garnier under the direction of Vincent d'Indy . There were concert performances in Paris in 1949 and 1981. The German premiere took place in Dortmund in 1996 with a production by John Dew . In the same year there were performances in Bregenz (production: Günter Krämer ), 2000 in Edinburgh (concert version), 2003 in Brussels (production: Matthew Jocelyn ), 2014 in Strasbourg (production: Keith Warner ) and 2015 for the first time in Paris at the Opéra .

Discography

  • May 14, 1981 live, in concert from Paris. Lionel Friend (conductor), Orchester Lyrique de l' ORTF Paris, Chœurs du Radio France , Siegmund Nimsgern (Arthus), Nicole Lorange (Genièvre), Peter Jeffes (Lancelot), Gerard Friedmann (Lyonnel), Niklaus Tüller (Mordred), Bruno Laplante (Merlin), László Polgár (Allan). MRF 179 (4 CP).
  • 1985 complete recording. Armin Jordan (conductor), Nouvel Orchester Philharmonique de Radio France , Chœurs du Radio France, Gino Quilico (Arthus), Teresa Zylis-Gara (Genièvre), Gösta Winbergh (Lancelot), Gérard Friedman (Lyonnel), René Massis (Mordred), Gilles Cachemaille (Merlin), François Loup (Allan). Erato CD: ECD 88213 (3 CD), Erato libretto CD: 45407 2.
  • 1996, live from Bregenz, shortened. Marcello Viotti (conductor), Wiener Symphoniker , Sofia Chamber Chorus, Philippe Rouillon (Arthus), Susan Anthony (Genièvre), Douglas Nasrawi (Lancelot), Octavio Arévalo (Lyonnel), Evgeny Demerdjiev (Mordred), Gilles Cachemaille (Merlin), Danilo Rigosa (Allan). Koch CD: 365422.
  • May 5th, 1996, live from Dortmund, heavily shortened (German premiere). Anton Marik (conductor), Philharmonic Orchestra Dortmund , Chor des Theater Dortmund , Hannu Niemelä (Arthus), Jayne Casselman (Genièvre), Kor-Jan Dusseljee (Lancelot), Norbert Schmittberg (Lyonnel), Andreas Becker (Mordred), Gregor Frenkel Frank (Merlin), Gerhard Singer (Allan).
  • 22nd August 2000, live from Edinburgh. Frédéric Chaslin (conductor), Orchestra of the Scottish National Opera, Chorus of the Scottish National Opera, Simon Keenlyside (Arthus), Françoise Pollet (Genièvre), Hubert Delamboye (Lancelot), Marc Laho (Lyonnel), Christopher Maltman (Merlin), Neal Davies (Allan).
  • October 2003, live from Brussels. Daniele Callegari (conductor), Orchester du Théâtre de la Monnaie , Choeur du Théâtre de la Monnaie, Andrew Schröder (Arthus), Hélène Bernardy (Genièvre), Klaus Florian Vogt (Lancelot), Yves Saelens (Lyonnel), Philippe Georges (Mordred) , Oliver Lallouette (Merlin), Jacques Does (Allan).
  • 2004, complete recording. Leon Botstein (conductor), BBC Symphony Orchestra , Apollo Voices, Andrew Schroeder (Arthus), Susan Bullock (Genièvre), Simon O'Neill (Lancelot), Garret Sorenson (Lyonnel), Daniel Okulitch (Mordred), François Le Roux (Merlin ), Donald McIntyre (Allan). Telarc CD 80645 (3 CD)

literature

  • Marie-Hélène Benoit-Otis: Le Roi Arthus d'Ernest Chausson, ou les sources d'influence d'un triangle amoureux. In: @nalyses revue de critique et de théorie littéraire of the University of Ottawa . Vol. 8 No. 1, Winter 2013 ( Online )
  • Marie-Hélène Benoit-Otis: Ernest Chausson, "Le Roi Arthus" et l'opéra wagnérien en France. Peter Lang, Bern / Frankfurt / New York 2012, ISBN 978-3-631-61513-3 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h Bradford Robinson: Foreword to the score edition , 2008 ( online at musikmph.de ).
  2. ↑ a b c d program booklet of the Paris performance from 2015 ( online, PDF at francetvinfo.fr ).
  3. ^ Piper's Encyclopedia of Musical Theater. Vol. 1. Works. Abbatini - Donizetti. Piper, Munich and Zurich 1986, ISBN 3-492-02411-4 , p. 552.
  4. ↑ November 30, 1903 in the Almanacco by Gherardo Casaglia . Retrieved August 22, 2015.
  5. ↑ Le Roi Arthus (King Arthur). Review of the Dortmund performance from 1996 in Online Musik Magazin. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
  6. ↑ Le roi Arthus. In: Reclam's Opernlexikon. Digital library volume 52. Philipp Reclam jun., 2001, p. 2187.
  7. ↑ Le Roi Arthus, Edinburgh 2000 on the website of Simon Keenylside. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  8. ↑ a b c d e f g h Ernest Chausson. In: Andreas Ommer: Directory of all opera complete recordings. Zeno.org , volume 20.
  9. ↑ This opera is more of a moth box than a treasure chest. Review of the 2014 Strasbourg performance in the world . Retrieved August 22, 2015.
  10. ↑ King Mark's Redemption. Review of the 2015 Paris performance in the Neue Zürcher Zeitung . Retrieved August 22, 2015.