Roland (Lully)
| Opera dates | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Roland |
.png)
Title page of the score, Paris 1685 |
|
| Shape: | Tragédie lyrique in a prologue and five acts |
| Original language: | French |
| Music: | Jean-Baptiste Lully |
| Libretto : | Philippe Quinault |
| Literary source: | Ludovico Ariosto : Orlando furioso |
| Premiere: | January 18, 1685 |
| Place of premiere: | Versailles |
| Playing time: | about 3 hours |
| Place and time of the action: | Cathay and the surrounding area in the 8th century, saga world |
| people | |
|
prolog
tragedy
|
|
Roland is an opera (original name: "Tragédie en musique", LWV 65) in a prologue and five acts by Jean-Baptiste Lully (music) with a libretto by Philippe Quinault based on the verse epic Orlando furioso by Ludovico Ariosto . It was premiered on January 18, 1685 in Versailles.
action
The opera is about the love of the paladin Roland for Queen Angélique, who fell in love with the common soldier Médor. The first three acts mainly focus on Angélique's inner conflict between the possible honorable relationship with Roland and her improper love for Médor. After deciding on Médor, she resorted to a ruse to avoid the expected wrath of Roland and secretly leave the country with Médor. The following two acts show Roland's reaction to this. After learning of Angélique's betrayal at a shepherd's wedding, he goes mad with pain. The fairy Logistille (a dea ex machina ) magically heals him from his frenzy in the last act, so that he can return to his duties in the defense of the fatherland.
prolog
The Demogorgons Palace
The fairy king Demogorgon has gathered the fairies and genii around his throne to inform them of the current situation. After the terrible war, peace would finally return, because the greatest of all heroes ( Louis XIV ) was about to repel the enemy. The fairies and geniuses show their joy through dancing and singing. When the main fairy suggests to identify himself to the hero, Demogorgon agrees - they want to tell him the story of the famous Roland, who neglected fame and was led astray by love.
first act
A village
Scene 1. Angélique, Queen of Cathay, has to choose between fame and love in the shape of two men. The famous paladin Roland adores her ardently, but she herself loves the pagan soldier Médor, whom she nursed to health after being wounded on the battlefield.
Scene 2. On the advice of her confidante Télique, Angélique decides to give up her love for Médor, for which she feels ashamed. The two withdraw when they see Médor approaching.
Scene 3. Médor suffers deeply because of his improper and therefore hopeless love for Angélique (“Ah! Quel tourment”).
Scene 4. Médor envies Roland his success. Angélique comforts him with the fact that Roland is absent most of the time and she doesn't even miss him. Nevertheless, she tells Médor that she has to part with him and that he should leave as soon as possible. Médor is heartbroken. He cannot imagine life without her.
Scene 5. As soon as Médor has left, Angélique already regrets her decision and wants to send Témire behind to bring him back.
Scene 6. Ziliante, a prince of the eastern islands, appears with his entourage and, on behalf of Roland, presents Angélique with a valuable bracelet as a symbol of his love. The islanders' choir accompanies the handover with a dance and a hymn of praise to Angélique (divertissement).
Second act
An enchanted fountain of love in the middle of a forest
Scene 1. In order to forget her love for Médor, Angélique searches with Témire and her entourage for the well of hatred enchanted by Merlin . However, since they can only find the fountain of love, Angélique realizes that she would rather die than turn her love for Médor into hate. When Roland shows up, she puts a magic ring in her mouth that makes her invisible.
Scene 2. Observed by the invisible Angélique, Roland complains to Témire about her ingratitude and cruelty (“Angélique, ingrate, inhumaine”). Because of her, he gave up everything and even abandoned King Charles in the defense of Paris against the pagans.
Scene 3. After Roland has sadly withdrawn, Angélique becomes visible again. She tells Témire that Roland cannot win her heart. All your thoughts are with Médor.
Scene 4. Médor arrives too - deeply desperate after being rejected by Angélique, he wants to end his life in the loneliness. But when he draws his sword to stab himself, Angélique intervenes. She now knows that no one can prevent love from uniting two hearts that are destined for one another.
Scene 5. Cupids, cupids, sirens, water gods, nymphs, forest spirits and enchanted lovers appear and conclude the act with a praise to love (divertissement).
Third act
Sea port
Scene 1. Témire explains to Médor that he has no choice but to leave the country if he wants to escape the wrath of Roland. Médor cannot imagine life without Angélique. The two step aside when Angélique and Roland appear.
Scene 2. Roland has now noticed that Angélique does not return his love. She appeases him, claims that she has since convinced him to remain firm, and makes an appearance to arrange another meeting. Then she sends him away.
Scene 3. Angélique asks Témire to make sure that Roland is really gone.
Scene 4. Finally Angélique and Médor are alone. But Médor still turns out to be jealous of Roland. Angélique assures him that she will do everything possible to ensure his safety. She herself is not in danger because of her magic ring. She promises to follow him shortly. Both ensure their love for each other (“Vivons, l'amour nous y convie”).
Scene 5. Angélique introduces her subjects to Médor as the future ruler. She moves away to lure Roland further away from the harbor. Then she wants to return to leave with Médor.
Scene 6. Cathay residents pay their respects to Médor. They lead him to a throne and celebrate their new ruler with dancing and singing (Divertissement, Chaconne ).
Fourth act
Grotto in a bocage
Scene 1. Roland has lost sight of Angélique and laments his suffering to his friend Astolfe. At first everything seemed to be going well. But when they met the King of Circassien and the haughty Farragus (both of whom were also interested in Angélique), she made herself invisible with her ring. She did not appear at the agreed meeting at the Well of Love. Astolfe reminds Roland that the king urgently needs his help in defending the country. But Roland cannot turn his mind away from Angélique. Astolfe moves away and Roland starts looking again.
Scene 2. While Roland is singing about his love ("Ô nuit"), he discovers a love poem on the wall of the grotto that Angélique and Médor scratched there. Since he has never heard the name Médor, he initially believes that she herself gave him this nickname. But then he reads more verses in a different handwriting, which arouse doubts. At this moment, rural music can be heard in the distance: shepherds celebrate the upcoming wedding of Coridon and Belise. Roland withdraws.
Scene 3. Coridon, Belise and the other shepherds celebrate. Another shepherd couple wish them everlasting love, peace, and loyalty.
Scene 4. Roland returns to ask the shepherds about Angélique. Coridon and Belise compare their own love to that of Angélique and Médor. Roland now learns that the two have left the country, but the whole area, the trees, rocks and the cave, still testify to their love.
Scene 5. Belise's father Tersandre tells of the further fate of Angélique and Médor, who are now enjoying their love in a distant land. Angélique has left Tersandre with a bracelet as a souvenir, which Roland immediately recognizes as his gift. It's too much for him. When the shepherds cheer the love of Angélique and Médor, he angrily jumps up. The shepherds flee frightened.
Scene 7. Unable to process this news, Roland goes mad. He rages, destroys the writing on the grotto wall and tears up trees and rocks. After all, he thinks he is seeing a fury to whom he must show “a terrible example of love torment”.
Fifth act
The palace of the wise fairies Logistille
Scene 1. Astolfe asks Logistille to help his friend Roland. But she was already informed and put Roland into a deep sleep while her fairies take care of him. It can interrupt wars, make hell tremble and calm oceans, but it is much more difficult to heal a heart plagued by love torments. She asks Astolfe to withdraw so as not to disturb the work of the fairies.
Scene 2. The fairies sing and dance around Roland and perform mysterious ceremonies to bring him back to his senses.
Scene 3. To remind Roland of his glorious past, Logistille conjures up the spirits of dead heroes who call him to battle. Roland wakes up and regains his senses. Ashamed of his behavior, he is ready to take up arms to gain new fame.
Scene 4. The allegories of fame (with entourage), fame, and horror are added and join the cries of arms. Roland is supposed to save his war-torn country. He takes up the weapons given by the fairies and heroes. The horror flees from him. Logistille and the others remind him that fame calls him and that he should never forget the evils that love brought him.
layout
The dramatic climax of the opera is the fourth act. Here, at a happy shepherd's wedding, Roland learns of Angélique's deception, who for him is so terrible that he loses his mind. The dance movements of the divertissement are directly integrated into the plot. The keys of the fourth scene correspond to the dramaturgy of the plot: the cheerful divertissement at the beginning is in C major, the mention of Angélique and Médors in G minor, and the revelation of the truth in B major.
Work history
The dedication in the printed score of the opera suggests that King Louis XIV personally selected the subject. The libretto is by Philippe Quinault and is based on Ludovico Ariosto's Versepos Orlando furioso from 1516.
At the premiere on January 8, 1685 in Versailles, in the presence of Louis XIV. Le Sage (Demogorgon), Dupeyré (Fee principale and Logistille), Marthe Le Rochois (Angélique), Armand (Témire), Louis Gaulard Dumesnil (Médor), Jean Dun “père” (Ziliante), François Beaumavielle (Roland), Antoine Boutelou (Astolfe), Jacques Cochereau (Coridon), Marie-Catherine Poussin (Belise), Claude Desvoyes (Tersandre) and Françoise Dujardin (La Gloire).
Roland was played weekly for two months in the theater of the riding school in Versailles until the Paris Opera (the Académie royale) took over the production on March 8th or 9th. The series of performances there lasted until November. There were regular resumptions at court and at the Académie royale until 1755, the latter with additions by L. Aubert. There were also performances during this period in Brussels (including 1721), Marseilles, Lyons, Rouen, Metz, Lille (1720) and Amsterdam (1686). The fourth act with the shepherd's wedding was particularly praised in contemporary reviews.
Parodies of the opera emerged a. a. 1717 by L. Fuzelier, 1727 by Dominique and Romagnesi, 1744 by Panard and Sticotti and 1755 by Bailly. A total of eight parodies appeared. This makes Roland, along with Phaëton and Atys, one of Lully's most frequently parodied operas.
Recordings
- December 13, 2003 (live, in concert from Brussels): Christophe Rousset (conductor), Les Talens Lyriques , Choeur de l'Operá de Lausanne. Evgeny Alexejev (Demogorgon and Ziliante), Salomé Haller (Fee principale and Logistille), Anna Maria Panzarella (Angélique), Monique Zanetti (Témire), Olivier Dumait (Médor), Nicolas Testé (Roland), Robert Getchell (Astolfe), Anders J. Dahlin (Coridon), Marie-Hélène Essade (Belise), Emilio Gonzales-Toro (Tersandre), Delphine Gillot (La Gloire).
- December 19, 2003 (live from Lausanne): Stephan Grögler (production), cast as on December 13, 2003.
- January 2004 (studio recording): Instrumentation as on December 13, 2003. Ambroise / Note 1 AMB 9949 (3 CD).
literature
- Philippe Beaussant : Lully ou Le musicien du Soleil. Gallimart, 1992, ISBN 978-2070724789 , pp. 667-677.
Web links
- Roland, LWV 65 : Sheet music and audio files in the International Music Score Library Project
- Libretto (French), Paris 1685. Digitized from Google Books
- Libretto (French) as full text on the Lully site
- Work data on Roland based on MGG with discography at Operone
- Rebecca Harris-Warrick: Reading Roland. In: Journal of Seventeenth-Century Music. Vol. 16 (2010) No. 1 (english)
Remarks
- ↑ Scene 6 of the fourth act is missing from the libretto.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Lois Rosow: Roland (i). In: Grove Music Online (English; subscription required).
- ^ Ulrich Schreiber : Opera guide for advanced learners. From the beginning to the French Revolution. 2nd Edition. Bärenreiter, Kassel 2000, ISBN 3-7618-0899-2 , pp. 88-90.
- ↑ January 8, 1685: "Roland". In: L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia ..
- ^ A b Herbert Schneider : The reception of Lully's operas in the France of the ancien régime (= Mainz studies on musicology. Volume 16). Hans Schneider, Tutzing 1982, ISBN 3-7952-0335-X .
- ^ A b Horst Seeger : The great lexicon of the opera. VEB Deutscher Verlag für Musik, Leipzig 1978. Special edition for Pawlak, Herrsching 1985, p. 472.
- ↑ a b c Jean-Baptiste Lully. In: Andreas Ommer: Directory of all opera complete recordings. Zeno.org , volume 20.
Cadmus et Hermione (1673) | Alceste ou Le triomphe d'Alcide (1674) | Thésée (1675) | Atys (1676) | Isis (1677) | Psyché (1678) | Bellérophon (1679) | Proserpine (1680) | Persée (1682) | Phaëton (1683) | Amadis (1684) | Roland (1685) | Armide (1686) | Achille et Polyxène (1687, completed by Pascal Collasse )