Les Huguenots

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Work data
Title: The Huguenots
Original title: Les Huguenots
Les Huguenots, fifth act, scene 2

Les Huguenots, fifth act, scene 2

Shape: Grand opéra (composed through)
Original language: French
Music: Giacomo Meyerbeer
Libretto : Eugène Scribe and Émile Deschamps
Premiere: February 29, 1836
Place of premiere: Paris
Playing time: about four hours
Place and time of the action: France 1572
people
  • Raoul de Nangis, Protestant nobleman (dramatic tenor )
  • Marcel, his servant ( bass )
  • Marguerite de Valois , Queen of Navarre ( soprano )
  • Urbain, Page of the Queen (Soubrette)
  • Count de Saint-Bris, a Catholic nobleman ( baritone )
  • Valentine, his daughter (soprano)
  • Count Nevers (baritone)
  • Bois Rosé, Protestant soldier (tenor)
  • Maurevert, Catholic nobleman (bass)
  • Noblemen, soldiers, people ( choir )

Les Huguenots (Eng .: The Huguenots ) is a grand opera in five acts by Giacomo Meyerbeer . The libretto was written by Eugène Scribe and Émile Deschamps . The premiere took place on February 29, 1836 in the Paris Grand Opéra .

action

Historical background

The background to the plot are the clashes between Catholics and the French Protestants known as Huguenots , which culminated in the Huguenot Wars and in the slaughter of St. Bartholomew's Night from August 23rd to 24th, 1572. This was preceded by the marriage of the Protestant King Henri of Navarre to the French king's daughter Marguerite on August 18, 1572, when many Huguenots were in Paris. Beginning with the assassination attempt on the Huguenot leader Coligny on August 22nd, the unrest that followed in Paris and the fear of a Protestant retaliation, the massacre on Bartholomew Night followed, in which the Catholic faction headed by the Duke of Guise was the Huguenot leaders and around 3,000 Murdered people.

With the exception of Marguerite, the characters in the opera are fictional characters.

first act

Ballroom in the castle of Count Nevers in Touraine .

After a prelude of about five minutes, in which the Protestant chorale A firm castle is our god is varied and becomes a battle song, the actual plot of the opera begins. It is the King's wish that the conflicting parties bury their old feud. He has chosen the Catholic Count Nevers to mediate between the two parties. That is why Nevers invited the Huguenot leader Raoul de Nangis to a banquet at his castle. Each of the noble gentlemen is asked to tell an episode about the lady of his heart. Raoul tells of a beautiful woman whom he stood by in an emergency. He was instantly in love with her. He would like to see her, but he doesn't know her name or where she lives. Marcel, Raoul's servant, enters the scene and is horrified to see his master with the " Philistines " over wine. One of the Catholic nobles recognizes him as an old war opponent, but offers him wine, which Marcel harshly refuses. When asked to sing, he strikes up “Pif, paf, pouf”, a Huguenot battle song from the war before La Rochelle . In the song he shows his hatred of papists and seductive women, whom he compares to the biblical Dalila . He wants to slaughter both of them without mercy and send them to hell. The nobles laugh at him.

Raoul's unknown beauty is Valentine, the daughter of the Catholic Count Saint-Bris, a Huguenot hater. She is engaged to Nevers, which Raoul doesn't know. When her arrival is announced by a servant, he recognizes her, but suspects along with those present that she is Count Nevers' lover. In fact, Valentine has come to break her engagement to Nevers, especially since this only came about on the orders of her father.

A page enters the scene and hands Raoul an invitation. It says that he should follow the page blindfolded. The Catholic nobles recognize from the seal that Marguerite , the sister of the French king, wrote the invitation.

Second act

Stage design for the second act at the premiere in 1836

Chenonceaux Castle and Park .

Marguerite is engaged to the Protestant King Henry of Navarre . She, too, has a desire to bring about peace between the warring camps. Her big aria Oh beau pays de la Touraine represents the alternative to the world of conflicting religious parties. The beauty of nature, and in it noble love, should rule in their kingdom alone. Her court sings with her in praise of love. Marguerite's plan is to marry Raoul to Valentine, the daughter of the leader of the French Catholics, in order to bring about a lasting peace among the followers of both denominations. At first her plan seems to be working; for since Valentine was saved by Raoul, she can no longer forget him. She therefore happily agrees.

When Raoul arrives and is initiated into the project, he initially declares his agreement. But when he recognizes Valentine in the bride he was supposed to be, he regards this as a disgrace and insult because he considers her to be Count Nevers' lover. His refusal to marry her was taken by the present Catholic nobles as an affront and were extremely indignant; however, Marguerite initially succeeds in preventing an open fight.

Third act

Square on the banks of the Seine in Paris (Pré-aux-Clercs) with inns and a chapel in the background.

In a folk scene, with Sunday strollers, Catholic women praying, students, and Huguenot soldiers who initiate the warring council plan , the warring parties clash. The appearance of two fortune-telling “gypsies” (Bohémiennes) is the transition to the obligatory ballet .

Nevers tells Saint-Bris that he married Valentine that day. Marcel hands Saint-Bris, Valentine's father, Raoul's claim to the duel. This should be played on the square at midnight. Secretly, Saint-Bris and his ally Maurevert plan to ambush and kill Raoul on the occasion. Valentine, who overheard the conversation, turns veiled to the Huguenot soldier Marcel, Raoul's servant, and lets him in on the plan. Marcel leaves immediately to get help.

Suddenly heavily armed soldiers rushed onto the square, both Catholics and Huguenots. A blood bath seems inevitable. At that moment the queen and her entourage approaches. She asks Marcel what the casserole meant. This truthfully describes the incident. Saint-Bris recognizes his daughter in the veiled woman. Raoul only now understands why Valentine went to Nevers that night.

The bride and groom make their way to the castle with the wedding guests. Raoul and Marcel stay behind. Raoul laments his mistake, through which he lost his beloved Valentine, while Marcel seeks revenge.

Fourth act

Room in the city palace of Count Nevers.

While Valentine mourns the lost connection with Raoul in the opening scene Je suis seule chez moi , he secretly seeks out Valentine to see her again and to say goodbye. When she hears her father coming with his followers, she hides Raoul in a side room.

The meeting begins. Saint-Bris incites his followers against the Huguenots and proclaims that it is the will of God and Queen Catherine de Medici to destroy the heretics. Nevers is the only one who recommends open combat rather than ambush. He is imprisoned to prevent him from possibly warning the Huguenots. Saint-Bris announces the date of the slaughter: as soon as the bells of Saint Germain ring for the second time, the vengeance of heaven is to begin. Monks, led by Saint-Bris, enter the scene and bless the swords. With consecrated swords and the identification mark, a white sash with a cross, the conspirators leave the room to make preparations for the massacre.

Raoul heard everything in his hiding place. He wants to leave immediately to warn his fellow believers. However, Valentine thinks this is too late. She begs him to stay with her. Raoul then realizes that she truly loves him. Both confess their love to each other, and at first Raoul forgets the danger the Huguenots are in.

Startled by the ringing of bells, which from afar heralds the beginning of the blood bath, Raoul tears himself away from Valentine and looks for his fellow believers.

Fifth act

Stage design fifth act, scene 1, for the premiere in 1836
Stage design fifth act, scene 1, at the premiere in 1836

Scene 1: Ballroom in the Hôtel de Nesle in Paris.

The marriage of Marguerite to Henry of Navarre is the occasion for a festival at which the royal court and many leaders of the Protestants are gathered. Suddenly the door to the ballroom is thrown open and everyone stared at Raoul, who rushed in wounded. He informs them that the Huguenot leader Coligny was murdered in his house and that their brothers and sisters in faith are being massacred in the streets. They take up arms and rush out.

2nd scene Cemetery with Protestant chapel.

On Bartholomew's Night, Valentine is desperately looking for Raoul and finally finds him in the cemetery. She begs him to put himself under the protection of the Louvre with a white sash and convert to the Catholic faith, because this is the only way to hope that he will be saved. After Raoul denied, Marcel reports that Nevers, who wanted to help him in the fight against the assassins, was killed by them. Now it is Valentine who decides to change her faith in order to marry Raoul. Marcel blesses them in front of the chapel, to which numerous Huguenot women and children have fled. In the meantime, the Catholic fighters have discovered the hiding place and demand that the Huguenots renounce their faith. Marcel sees in a vision the heavenly hosts who will receive them as martyrs .

3rd scene: On the bank of the Seine.

A male choir, consisting of fanatical Catholic fighters, led by Count Saint-Bris, demands that all Huguenots be exterminated with fire and sword without mercy. When they discover the hiding place of Valentine, Raoul and Marcel, Saint-Bris calls out: “Qui vive? (Who is still alive?) "Valentine tries to keep Raoul silent, but Raoul answers:" Huguenot! "Valentine and Marcel bravely join in:" Nous aussi! (We too!) “Only after the three have been stabbed on Saint-Bris's orders does he recognize his daughter. This forgives him dying. The Page Urbain announces the arrival of the Queen of Navarre, who wants to put an end to the bloodbath. While the mob rushes on, the opera ends.

Costumes of the soloists of the world premiere in 1836

music

Meyerbeer's strength is particularly evident in how he musically builds up the crowd scenes in the opera. The prelude, an intonation of the Luther chorale, A strong castle is our God , is characteristic of the course of the opera. The simple chorale melody gradually turns into a martial battle song. At the same time Meyerbeer uses this chorale melody as a leitmotif for the radical Protestant servant Marcel.

The libretto also gave Meyerbeer the opportunity to pull out all the stops of the great romantic opera , from the most lyrical love scene to the rawest scene of the bloodbath of Bartholomew's Night . For example, the third act begins with a folk scene from different groups: choirs of strollers, soldiers, Catholic girls and women, followed by a ballet. Ballet hardly contributes to the actual plot, but is part of the French grand opéra .

The end of the opera is shocking. In contrast to the German romantic opera, especially that of Wagner's, the death of the two lovers is short and unadorned. Valentine and Raoul almost die without "singing". Unlike in Wagner's operas, where the heroines' death is almost always a noble sacrificial death, an apotheosis as it were , this scene almost casually depicts the death of Valentine and Raoul as “collateral damage”. Some authors have described this ending as a downright “ understood modern “representation of a senseless death on the opera stage; However, it should not be overlooked that it is ultimately Raoul who - implored by Valentine to be silent - attracts the attention of the Catholic soldiers with his “heroic” cry “Huguenot!”. By placing his personal faithfulness above his own life and that of his friends, he fits seamlessly into the series of contemporary, “idealistic” opera heroes.

With regard to discussions of the connection between religion and violence, some extensive changes to the text were made in later performances in Roman Catholic regions. Charlotte Birch-Pfeiffer moved the action to London with the replacement of Catholics and Huguenots by Anglicans and Puritans , so that the opera entitled The Anglicans and Puritans was first performed in Munich in 1838. In Vienna it came on stage with the title Die Welfen und Ghibellinen and in Kassel and Prague with the title Die Ghibellinen in Pisa . The confrontation with religiously motivated violence is also a theme in Meyerbeer's next opera Le Prophète .

Orchestral line-up

After the critical edition by Milan Pospísil and Marta Ottlová, the following orchestral line-up is planned for the opera:

Piccolo flute , 2 flutes , 2 oboes (2nd also English horn ), 2 clarinets , bass clarinet , 4 bassoons , 4 horns , 4 trumpets , 2 pump valve trumpets, 3 trombones , ophicleide , timpani; Percussion (with bass drum , cymbal , triangle , military drum , tambourine , tam-tam ); 2 harps , strings (with obbligato viola d'amore )

Stage music : piccolo, 2 oboes, small clarinet in F, 6 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 4 trumpets, pump valve trumpet, 2 trombones, ophicleide, bass drum, cymbals, triangle, drum, military drum, 3 bells in F, C. and A

Highlights

In the first act:

  • Raoul's recitative and romance accompanied by a viola d'amore: Ah! Quel spectade enchanteur… Plus blanche que la blanche hermine
  • Huguenot song by Marcel with choir: Pif, paf, pif, paf! Pour les couvents, c'est fini!
  • Recitative and Aria des Nevers: En ce château que cherchez-vous, beau page?
  • Recitative and Aria des Urbain: Nobles seigneurs, salut! Une dame noble et sage

In the second act:

  • Queen's aria: O beau pays de la Touraine and the immediately following scene with Urbain, the ladies of honor and the choir
  • Recitative and aria by Raoul: D'un humble chevalier acceptez le servage
  • Duet Marguerite / Raoul: Ah! Si j'étais coquette

In the third act:

  • Septet Raoul, Marcel, Saint-Bris, Cossé, Tavannes, de Retz, Méru: En mon bon droit j'ai confiance

In the fourth act:

  • Scene Saint-Bris, Valentine, three monks: Qu'en ce riche quartier with the oath and the famous sword consecration

In the fifth act:

  • Love duet Valentine / Raoul: Tu l'as dit: oui, tu m'aimes
  • Final scene with the quintet Saint-Bris, Valentine, Raoul, Marcel, Urbain and choir: Par le fer et par l'incendie

Famous performers

Well-known interpreters in the German-speaking area included the later married couple Ludwig Schnorr von Carolsfeld (1836–1865) and Malvina Garrigues (1825–1904), who appeared in performances of this opera at the Grand Ducal Court Theater in Karlsruhe . The singer herself was of Huguenot origin.

Work history

In 1832 Meyerbeer signed a contract with the Paris Opera for an opera based on a libretto Scribes; the score was to be handed over in December 1833. Meyerbeer forced several changes to the libretto, Émile Deschamps was brought in and the contract with the opera was adjusted several times due to the delays. While rehearsing in January 1836, Meyerbeer made deletions in the music. The premiere was a great success, the work was performed over a thousand times in Paris alone by 1914. The German premiere in Leipzig took place in 1837 in a translation by Ignaz Franz Castelli under the title The Huguenots or the Bartholomew Night . In the Munich premiere in 1838 under the title The Anglicans and Puritans , the action was moved to London . In Vienna in 1839 the play was also relocated to a supposedly neutral location as The Ghibellines in Pisa . The success at the Berlin Court Opera in 1842 led to Meyerbeer's appointment to Berlin.

Julius Kapp and Gustaf Gründgens performed the opera in 1932 (with extensive strokes, but with the rarely performed fifth act) in Berlin. This version was performed again in Hamburg in 1956 after Meyerbeer was not played in Germany during the Nazi era for racist reasons.

Sound carrier (selection)

CD

DVD

Web links

Commons : Les Huguenots  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Rudolf Kloiber : Handbook of the Opera, Volume 1 . 8th edition. Bärenreiter-Verlag , dtv , 1973, p. 303 .
  2. ↑ Information on the critical edition at Ricordi
  3. ↑ Ernst Krause : Opera A-Z . Leipzig: VEB German publishing house for music: Leipzig, 1979, p. 261f.