Les vêpres siciliennes [SEP] based on
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Les vêpres siciliennes


Les vêpres siciliennes ("The Sicilian Vespers") is a grand opera in five acts by the Italian romantic composer Giuseppe Verdi set to a French libretto by Eugène Scribe and Charles Duveyrier from their work "Le duc d'Albe", which was written in 1838. "Les vêpres" followed immediately after Verdi's three great mid-career masterpieces, "Rigoletto", "Il trovatore" and "La traviata" of 1850 to 1853 and was first performed at the Paris Opéra on 13 June 1855. Today the opera is
13713736
The Lady and the Fool


Capricciosa enters, soon followed by Moondog ("Les vêpres siciliennes") who makes passionate advances to her. She eventually allows her love to overwhelm her and they dance a pas de deux ("Aroldo", "I masnadieri"). After an ensemble in which Bootface tries to attracts the debutantes ("Ernani", "I Lombardi alla prima crociata", "Les vêpres siciliennes"), La Capricciosa enters. Despite the pleas of her three suitors, she points out Moondog, and they embrace to the
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Les vêpres siciliennes


at the Paris Opéra on 13 June 1855 was received to great acclaim. "La Presse" noted: "Verdi's music has conformed to the procedure invented by French genius without losing anything of its Italian ardour. Hector Berlioz wrote: "In "Les vêpres" the penetrating intensity of the melodic expressiveness, the sumptuous, wise variety of the instrumentation, the vastness and poetic sonority of the concerted pieces, the hot colour that shines throughout ... communicate to this opera an imprint of grandeur, a species of sovereign majesty more
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Les vêpres siciliennes


distinguishable than in this composer's earlier products. Budden notes that "the critics found much to admire in the new opera. ... Adolphe Adam declared that "Les vêpres" had converted him to Verdi's music", but Verdi himself, in a letter of late June, notes that three Italian writers were the most critical". However, its success was not long-lasting. Because the original version never entered the established repertory, performances "limped along" until Verdi attempted to aid its revival at the Paris Opéra
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Les vêpres siciliennes


(since 1992 this situation has changed, see performance history section above). Parker states "with very few exceptions, its main lyrical numbers lack the melodic immediacy of the trio of Italian operas ("Rigoletto", "Il trovatore" and " La traviata") that immediately preceded it." However, he does go on to say that "Les Vêpres" "marks a decisive turn away from the language of the middle-period Italian operas and the emergence of many stylistic features we associate with the later Verdi
13713766
Siciliana


") from Verdi's opera "Les vêpres siciliennes" is another example of a siciliana, suited to its setting, and is referred to as such in the score, even though it is popularly called a bolero. The opening aria of Mascagni's masterpiece "Cavalleria rusticana" is the Siciliana "O Lola". Ernest Chausson composed a sicilienne as the second movement of his Concerto for Piano, Violin, and String Quartet, Op. 21 (1892). The orchestral suite from "Pelléas et Mélisande" by Gabriel
13589351
Eugène Caron


) and Enguerrand in Joncières's "La reine Berthe" (1878). His other roles with the company included: Ashton in "Lucie de Lammermoor", Guy de Montfort in "Les vêpres siciliennes", Raimbaud in "Le comte Ory", Masetto in "Don Giovanni", Nélusko in "L'Africaine", Kilian in "Der Freischütz", Alphonse in "La favorite", Le Comte de Nevers in "Les Huguenots", Hadjar in "Le tribut de Zamora", and Valentin in "Faust
22023028
John Dexter


, with "Benvenuto Cellini", with Nicolai Gedda, and, in 1983, he staged a double-bill of "Le rossignol" (with Natalia Makarova) and "L'enfant et les sortilèges" for the company. At the Hamburg State Opera, he staged "Les vêpres siciliennes" (1969), "From the House of the Dead" (1972), "Billy Budd" (with Richard Stilwell, 1972), "Boris Godunov" (in the Shostakovich edition, 1972) and "Un ballo
10727318
John Dexter


und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny" (1979) and the triple-bills (both designed by David Hockney) of "Parade" ("Parade"/"Les mamelles de Tirésias"/"L'enfant et les sortilèges", 1981) and "Stravinsky" ("Le sacre du printemps"/"Le rossignol"/"Œdipus rex", 1981). For the Paris Opéra, he staged "Les vêpres siciliennes" (1974) and "La forza del destino" (1975). In Zurich, he produced "Nabucco" in 1986. John Dexter died in London, during heart
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Les vêpres siciliennes


An Italian libretto was quickly prepared under Verdi's supervision by the poet Ettore Caimi. The composer was aware that in Italy at that time, it would have been impossible to place the story in Sicily, as he notes to his publisher Giulio Ricordi in April 1855: "I shall ... (change) the subject so as to render it acceptable for Italian theatres". Based on Scribe's suggestions for changing the location - "I suggested that the Duke of Alba should just pack his bags once more and move to Lisbon
13713748
Simon Boccanegra


at that time, it was an ultimate goal and, in aiming to achieve it, his partner of the previous four years, Giuseppina Strepponi greatly encouraged it when she wrote to him at the time of his frustrations two years earlier when working in Paris on "Les vêpres siciliennes. The only project for which there was forward motion was towards accomplishing his long-planned "Re Lear", an opera to be based on "King Lear", for which his new librettist (following Salvadore Cammarano's death) was Antonio
9419782
Bernardine Hamaekers


in the world premiere of Gounod's "La reine de Saba". During the course of her 15 years at the Opéra she appeared in a variety of other operas, including "Robert le diable", "La Juive", "Le Prophète", "Le comte Ory", and "Les Vêpres siciliennes". She was the intimate of the composers Rossini, Meyerbeer and especially Auber, whose pet name for her was "Didine". She attracted a string of lovers who provided her with considerable wealth,
21446864
Eugène Scribe


Giuseppe Verdi ("Les vêpres siciliennes"), Vincenzo Bellini, Daniel Auber ("La muette de Portici", "Gustave III" and others), Fromental Halévy (including "La Juive, Guido et Ginevra", and "Le Juif errant"), François-Adrien Boieldieu, Gaetano Donizetti ("Dom Sébastien") and Gioachino Rossini ("Le comte Ory"). At the time of his death, he was working on a revision of the libretto for Meyerbeer's "L'Africaine", which
4288832
Mécène Marié de l'Isle


in "Les Huguenots", Alphonse in "La favorite", and Raimbaud in "Le comte Ory". In 1851 he portrayed the role of Alcée in the premiere of Gounod's "Sapho". In 1855 he performed the role of Robert in the premiere of Verdi's "Les vêpres siciliennes". In 1862 he sang Phanor in the premiere of Gounod's "La reine de Saba". Around 1860 he was the conductor of the orchestra at the Café Charles in Paris. Marié semi-retired from the
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Les vêpres siciliennes


no beer halls in Sicily, for example), plus a demand for a "standard" fifth act to make it equivalent to Meyerbeer's "Les Huguenots" or "Le Prophète". However, this "meant that Verdi was writing his first (original) opéra at a point at which the genre was in a state of flux". Musicologist Julian Budden adds: "In opting for the grandest possible scale, Verdi was running against the current of fashion" (which he notes had significantly shifted in the months
13713741
Louis Guéymard


including Philippe d'Autriche in Louis Clapisson's "Jeanne la folle" (1848), Jonas in Giacomo Meyerbeer's "Le prophète" (1849), Phaon in Charles Gounod's "Sapho" (1851), Rodolphe in Armand Limnander's "Le maître chanteur" (1853), Rodolphe in Gounod's "La nonne sanglante" (1854), Henri in Giuseppe Verdi's "Les vêpres siciliennes" (1855), Fromental Halévy's "La magicienne" (1858), Julien de Médicis in Józef Michał Poniatowski
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Les vêpres siciliennes


performed both in the original French and (rather more frequently) in its post-1861 Italian version as I vespri siciliani. The story is based on a historical event, the Sicilian Vespers of 1282, using material drawn from the medieval Sicilian tract "Lu rebellamentu di Sichilia". After Verdi's first grand opera for the Paris Opéra—that being his adaptation of "I Lombardi" in 1847 given under the title of "Jérusalem" - the composer had wanted to write a completely new grand opera for the company, the appeal
13713737
Victor Warot


"Les vêpres siciliennes", and Masaniello in "La muette de Portici". Warot was committed to La Monnaie from 1868–1876 where he portrayed such parts as Riccardo in "Un ballo in maschera", Manrico in "Il trovatore", Erik in "The Flying Dutchman", the title role in "Tannhäuser", Raoul in "Les Huguenots", Eléazar in "La Juive", and John of Leyden in "Le prophète". From 1876 until his retirement from the stage in 1888 he remained active as
10877339
John Dexter


in maschera" (with Luciano Pavarotti and Sherrill Milnes, 1973). For Sadler's Wells, he produced "The Devils of Loudon" in 1973. At the Metropolitan Opera (where he was Director of Production from 1974 to 1981, then Production Advisor from 1981 to 1984), Dexter mounted new productions of "Les vêpres siciliennes" (with Montserrat Caballé, 1974), "Aïda" (with Leontyne Price, 1976), "Le prophète" (with Marilyn Horne, 1977), "Dialogues des Carmélites
10727319
Marc Bonnehée


1853 as Alphonse in Donizetti's "La Favorite". Amongst the roles Bonnehée created there were Guy de Montfort in Verdi's "Les vêpres siciliennes" (1855), Duc de Palma in Emanuele Biletta's "La rose de Florence" (1856), Stello in Halévy's "La magicienne" (1858), and Julien in Poniatowski's "Pierre de Médicis" (1860). He also sang the Count in the Paris Opera premiere of Verdi's "Le trouvère" (12 January 1857). Other
21528205
Bryan Hymel


scheduled to perform in Les Vêpres Siciliennes at the Bavarian State Opera but withdrew partway through the season due to a coughing fit during the first performance. He cancelled his scheduled appearances in the leading role of Raoul in Meyerbeer's "Les Huguenots" at the Paris Opera less than two weeks before opening, also in 2018. Hymel cancelled his performances in the Paris Opera's Les Troyens in January 2019.He is scheduled to perform in Barrie Kosky’s production of Bizet’s Carmen at the Royal Opera later in the year. Additional performances include
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Les vêpres siciliennes


on 6 July 1863 by revising some of the roles for selected singers. However, after a few performances, the opera disappeared and was replaced by the French version of "Il trovatore", "Le trouvère". Except for this one revival in Paris in 1863, "it vanished from the Parisian stage altogether" 20th century and beyond After a long period of relative neglect, the opera in its original French version has begun to appear onstage more regularly in the 21st century. A production was mounted at the Bastille Opera
13713746
Le duc d'Albe


and Duveyrier's libretto was transferred to Verdi's opera "Les vêpres siciliennes", with the setting changed from the Spanish occupation of Flanders in 1573 to the French occupation of Sicily in 1282. In 1881 Matteo Salvi, a former pupil of Donizetti's, completed the opera from Donizetti's notes with the help of Amilcare Ponchielli, Antonio Bazzini and Cesare Domeniceti. Angelo Zanardini translated Scribe's libretto from the original French into Italian. The names of the two lovers 'Henri' and 'Hélène' (which by that time
9147403
Jihoon Kim


Prudenzio (Il viaggio a Reims, JPYAP 10th anniversary summer performance), Monterone (Rigoletto, Operalia Gala), Fourth Chevalier/Monk (Robert le diable), Colline, Zaretsky (Eugene Onegin), Sciarrone (Tosca), Second Man in Armour (Die Zauberflöte), Flemish Deputy (Don Carlo), Pietro (Simon Boccanegra), Servant (Capriccio), Robert (Les Vêpres siciliennes), Nightwatchman (Die Frau ohne Schatten), Wagner (Faust), Doctor Grenvil, Sergeant (Manon Lescaut)
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Les vêpres siciliennes


revised version of the libretto for "Le duc d'Albe", one which had been written about 20 years before at the height of the French grand opera tradition and which had previously been offered to Halévy (who refused it) and to Donizetti (who partly set it to music in 1839 under the original title). Verdi raised many objections, many of these being outlined in a letter from Scribe to Duveyrier of December 1853. They included a change of location, of characters' names, certain specific situations (there being
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Les vêpres siciliennes


to bring Hélène and Henri to him ("Dans l'ombre et le silence" – "In darkness and in silence"). The three make plans for an uprising during the impending festivities leading to the marriages of a group of young people. After Procida leaves, Hélène asks Henri what reward he seeks. Swearing that he will avenge her brother's death, he asks for nothing but her love. Béthune arrives with an invitation from Montfort to attend a ball. Henri refuses and is arrested and dragged off. Led by
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I vespri siciliani


I vespri siciliani (; "The Sicilian Vespers") is a five-act Italian opera originally written in French for the Paris Opéra by the Italian romantic composer Giuseppe Verdi and translated into Italian shortly after its premiere in June 1855. Under its original title, "Les vêpres siciliennes", the libretto was prepared by Eugène Scribe and Charles Duveyrier from their work "Le duc d'Albe", which was written in 1838 and offered to Halévy and Donizetti before Verdi agreed to set it to music in 1854. The story is loosely
6898598
Sophie Cruvelli


autumn, rehearsals were under way for a new Verdi opera written specially for her, "Les vêpres Siciliennes". Her performance of "Les Huguenots ", scheduled for the beginning of October 1854, was eagerly awaited. Achille Fould, a senior political minister, increasingly involved himself in her public and private affairs. Wertheimber's première of "La nonne sanglante", with Louis Guéymard, was set for 18 October 1854. The Opéra administration under Nestor Roqueplan was fragile, despite having had direct State funding; a recent series
6972183
Le duc d'Albe


had been used in "Les vêpres siciliennes") were changed to 'Marcello' and 'Amelia'. When Donizetti abandoned the opera, he re-cycled the famous tenor aria, 'Ange si pur' ( 'Spirto gentil' in the Italian version) for his 1840 opera "La favorite". For the premiere, Salvi composed a replacement aria, 'Angelo casto e bel'. He also added recitatives and combined acts 3 and 4 into a single final act. Original French version In May 2012 Vlaamse
9147404
Giuseppe Verdi


Legnano" (1849), and a 'personal' style began with the next opera "Luisa Miller." These two operas are generally agreed today by critics to mark the division between Verdi's 'early' and 'middle' periods. The 'middle' period is felt to end with "La traviata" (1853) and "Les vêpres siciliennes" (1855), with a 'late' period commencing with "Simon Boccanegra" (1857) running through to "Aida" (1871). The
12655022
Maralin Niska


", "La fanciulla del West", "Die Fledermaus" (as Rosalinde), and "Maria Stuarda" (as Elisabetta). In all she sang 29 leading roles with the company, the most of any singer in its history. Niska debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 1970, in "La traviata", and went on to appear in "La bohème" (as Musetta, with Montserrat Caballé, Franco Corelli, and Matteo Manuguerra), "Tosca", "Les vêpres siciliennes" (in
5815379
Erhard Fischer


, "Aida", "Tannhäuser" and "Nabucco". In 1965 he changed as head director, from 1969 as "chief director" to the Staatsoper Unter den Linden Berlin. Here he was also director of rarities like "The Golden Cockerel", "The Nose", "Katerina Ismaelova" (Stalinist version of the "Lady Macbeth von Mzensk"), "The Devils of Loudun", "Les vêpres siciliennes" and Hans Pfitzner's "Palestrina" (with Peter Schreier in the title role)
9931820
Eugene Conley


Teatro alla Scala in Milan ("I puritani", 1950; and "Les vêpres siciliennes" opposite Maria Callas, 1951), and Covent Garden in London. The tenor made his Metropolitan Opera debut in 1950, in the title role of "Faust", and appeared with the Met many times until 1956. On television, he appeared on "The Voice of Firestone" (1950–53) and "Cavalcade of Stars" (1951-52). Conley was artist-in-residence at the University of North
12033298
Nicolas Joel


"Andrea Chénier", again with Pavarotti. In 1998, he directed "Aida" for the reopening of the Teatro Massimo of Palermo, and he staged "Lucia di Lammermoor" at the Metropolitan Opera. In 1999, he directed a new production of Massenet's "Manon" at La Scala. In France, he directed Puccini's "Turandot" and Massenet's "Thaïs" in Nancy, Ponchielli's "La Gioconda" and Verdi's "Les Vêpres siciliennes" at the Opéra national de Montpellier, Debussy's
16380510
Chelsea Opera Group


2013. The Group continues to perform operas and other works in London and in Salisbury. Since "Falstaff" in 1956, a considerable number of operas by Giuseppe Verdi have appeared on the roster, including many of the lesser-known earlier works such as the 1847 version of "Macbeth" (in 2008); the original French version of "I Vespri Sicilianni", the 1855 "Les vêpres siciliennes" (1977 and 1999); and several others such as "Aroldo" (1993); and "Jérusalem
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Les vêpres siciliennes


begin. In the crowd, but disguised, are Hélène, Henri, and Procida. Henri is surprised when the two reveal themselves and they declare that their purpose is to save the young man. However, he is disturbed to hear that they intend to kill Montfort and when the father approaches the son, there is a hint of warning given. As approaching assassins close in, Henri leaps in front of his father just as Hélène approaches. The Sicilians are horrified to see that Henri is being spared as the ensemble contemplates
13713758
Les vêpres siciliennes


the situation. Hélène, Procida, Daniéli and the Sicilians curse Henri as they are dragged away, while he wants to follow, but is restrained by Montfort. "A prison" Henri arrives at the prison gate and, on Montfort's orders, waits to be admitted. He contemplates the situation that his friends are in ("O jour de peine" – Day of weeping, of fierce sorrow!"). Hélène is brought out and confronts him. Finally, he admits that Montfort is his father and she
13713759
Les vêpres siciliennes


Mio padre”" – "Say to me only, say “My father” ...". Henri says nothing as the executioner appears and the couple are led away, followed by Henri. Montfort steps in to prevent him from joining them. As Hélène is led towards the executioner, Montfort steps in and announces a pardon for the Sicilians. Furthermore, he agrees to the marriage of Hélène and Henri and announces to the crowd: "I find a son again!". There is general rejoicing. "The gardens
13713761
Herbert Graf


1968 and was shown each year until 1973). Graf staged Maria Callas in "Les vêpres siciliennes" (at the Florence May Festival and La Scala, 1951), "Mefistofele" (at the Verona Arena, in which Callas alternated with Magda Olivero, 1954), and "Poliuto" (at La Scala, 1960, also with Franco Corelli and Ettore Bastianini). For the Arena di Verona Festival, Graf directed several productions of "Aida" (1954, revival in 1955; 1958; and 1966)
17054133
The Lady and the Fool


dance for her ("Alzira"). The clowns dance a grotesque divertissement; La Capricciosa is delighted by their dance and sweeps them both along with her to the ball. In a splendid reception room at the palace of Signor Midas guests arrive (music from "Il finto Stanislao" and "Giovanna d'Arco"). Signor Midas greets everyone, welcomes the entrance of the dashing Capitano Adoncino ("Il finto Stanislao", "Aroldo", "Les vêpres siciliennes") and the romantic Prince of Arroganza. The
22045531
Željko Lučić


Attila", Germont, Guy de Montfort in "Les vêpres siciliennes", and Renato in "Un ballo in maschera". Other roles which he has sung with that opera company are Count Almaviva in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro", Eugene Onegin, Lescaut in Giacomo Puccini's "Manon Lescaut", Marcello in Puccini's "La bohème", Michonnet in Francesco Cilea's "Adriana Lecouvreur", Prince Ivan-Korolevich in Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's "Kashchey the Deathless", Sharpless in
1133047
Giuseppe Verdi


orchestration, counterpointing of serious and comic scenes, and greater spectacle. The opportunities of transforming Italian opera by utilising such resources appealed to him. For a commission from the Paris Opéra he expressly demanded a libretto from Eugène Scribe, the favorite librettist of Meyerbeer, telling him: "I want—in fact, I must have—a grandiose, impassioned and original subject." The result was "Les vêpres siciliennes", and the scenarios of "Simon Boccanegra" (1857), "Un ballo in maschera" (
12655038
Les vêpres siciliennes


being the same as that which influenced all Italian composers of the day: the challenges of a form different from that of their homeland and the ability to appeal to an audience which welcomed novelty. Verdi began discussions with the Opéra but negotiations were stalled by the 1848 revolutions and the composer broke them off for a period of time. It was not until February 1852 (while "Il trovatore" was still being prepared) that he returned to Paris and entered into a contract to write an opera, the libretto to be prepared
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Les vêpres siciliennes


and hurl themselves upon Montfort and the French. In summing the effect of the libretto as "a competent framework for an opera of effects, of spectacle and theatrical surprise, and Verdi ended by accepting it as such", musicologist Julian Budden then notes two of its aspects which appear distinctive and which are visible in the music. Firstly, "he used it as a basis for a new, more ample, more rhythmically complex style of melody. Here the model of Meyerbeer was important ... Secondly, he seized the opportunity
13713764
Angela Meade


in Verdi's "Les vêpres siciliennes" (2013) and as Imogene in Bellini's "Il pirata" (2017) and performances of the title role in Mercadante's "Virginia" at the Wexford Festival Opera in 2010 For Meade's 2019-2020 season, she will make a house and role debut as Aïda with Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona; a role debut as Elisabetta in Don Carlo in a return to the Palacio de la Opera in Coruña, Spain; a house debut with Teatro di San Carlo in
158715
Edward Downes


regno" or, especially, "Les vêpres siciliennes". The conductor said: "I seemed to understand Verdi as a person. He was a peasant. He had one foot in heaven and one on the earth. And this is why he appeals to all classes of people, from those who know everything about music to those who are hearing it for the first time." At the BBC Proms he shared the platform with Pierre Boulez for the Proms premiere of Karlheinz Stockhausen's "Gruppen" in 1967, and
16219564
Ashley Lawrence (musician)


music in the pioneering BBC recording of Verdi's "Les vêpres siciliennes" in 1969. Radio recordings of Tchaikovsky, Bridge, Delius and Grainger, Milhaud, have been issued on CD, along with "The Wedding on the Eiffel Tower" by Auric, Milhaud, Poulenc, Tailleferre, and Honegger. In association with the BBC television series, he conducted ballet music for the LP 'The Magic of Dance' in 1979. In 1988 he conducted "Patience" for a broadcast on BBC Radio 2 on 22 October 1989
20412769
Casimir Delavigne


of the French people. Twenty-five thousand copies were sold; Delavigne was famous. He was appointed to an honorary librarianship, with no duties to discharge. In 1819 his play "Les Vêpres Siciliennes" was performed at the Odéon, then just rebuilt; it had previously been refused for the Théâtre Français. On the night of the first representation, which was warmly received, Picard, the manager, is said to have exclaimed, "You have saved us! You are the founder of the second French Theatre.
20995252
Grand opera


the most vulnerable as new repertoire developed. Hence they lost pride of place at the Paris Opéra (especially when many of the original stage sets were lost in fire in the late 19th century). However, as late as 1917, the Gaité Lyrique devoted an entire season to the genre, including Halévy's "La reine de Chypre". Some of these works - "Guillaume Tell", "La favorite", "Les vêpres siciliennes" and "Don Carlos", for instance, continue to have a place
2132988
The Royal Opera


and the UK stage premiere of Gerald Barry's "The Importance of Being Earnest", directed by Ramin Gray. New productions in the 2013–14 season included "Les vêpres siciliennes", directed by Stefan Herheim, "Parsifal", directed by Stephen Langridge, "Don Giovanni", directed by Holten, "Die Frau ohne Schatten", directed by Claus Guth, and "Manon Lescaut", directed by Jonathan Kent, and in the Studio Programme the world premiere of Luke Bedford's "Through His Teeth", and
26139
Lodovico Graziani


Graziani was more successful. Graziani returned to the Théâtre-Italien for the 1854–1855 season to sing Manrico in Verdi's "Il trovatore", with the contralto Adelaide Borghi-Mamo as Azucena. Verdi, who was in Paris at the time working on the Opéra's production of "Les vêpres siciliennes", was somehow persuaded by the Italien's director Calzado to not only sanction the production, but to help supervise, without a fee. The performances, which introduced the opera to Paris beginning on 23 December 1854, were
3063796
Marie Sasse


Jósef Poniatowski's "Pierre de Médicis" in 1862, and Rachel in Halévy's "La juive" in 1863. In September 1863 Verdi decided to make a valiant attempt to resuscitate the sagging fortunes of "Les vêpres siciliennes". After the precipitous retirement of the soprano Sophie Cruvelli at the end of the first run of performances in the fall of 1855, the opera had done poorly. He pinned his hopes on casting the new stars at the Opéra: Sasse as Helène, and the tenor Villaret as Henri. The
4509635
Sondra Radvanovsky


Radvanovsky performed all three queens in Donizetti's "Tudor" operas, "Anna Bolena", "Maria Stuarda", and Queen Elizabeth I in "Roberto Devereux", which no one had done before in the company's history. At the Paris Opera in 2016 Radvanovsky sang the title role of "Aida" and won praise for her "superlative technique". Other roles at the Paris Opera have included Marguerite in "Faust", Hélène in "Les vêpres siciliennes" and Élisabeth in "Don Carlos". She
8257619
History of music in Paris


Gounod and Verdi (for whom he wrote "Les vêpres siciliennes')'. Scribe left behind the grand mythological themes of earlier French opera, and wrote stories from a variety of historical periods which, with a mixture of strong emotion, humor and romanticism, exactly suited the taste of Parisian audiences. The Théâtre-Italien completed the grand trio of Paris opera houses. After the fire at the Salle Favart, it moved briefly to the Odéon Theater and then permanently to the Salle Ventadour. In their repertoire, the ballet
10536840
History of music in Paris


though the Emperor was unharmed. Giuseppe Verdi played an important part in the glory of the Paris opera. He had first performed "Nabucco" in Paris in 1845 at the Théâtre-Italien, followed by "Luisa Miller" and "Il trovatore" He signed a new contract with the Paris Opera in 1852, and wanted absolute perfection for his next Parisian project, "Les Vêpres siciliennes" He complained that the Paris orchestra and chorus were unruly and undisciplined, and rehearsed them an unheard-of one hundred an sixty-
10536859
Roger Soyer


Don Giovanni", a role he became closely associated with, singing it at Aix-en-Provence, Munich, Vienna, Florence, Chicago, New York. Other notable roles include; Ferrando in "Il trovatore", Procida in "Les vêpres siciliennes", Titurel in "Parsifal", Rangoni in "Boris Godunov", Pope Clement in "Benvenuto Cellini", etc. Soyer has a beautiful and smoothly produced voice. His numerous recordings (operatic and otherwise) include performances of the following four French operas
10740950
Giuseppe Verdi


described the pre-1849 works as "the cavatina operas", as further indication that "Verdi became increasingly dissatisfied with the older, familiar conventions of his predecessors that he had adopted at the outset of his career," Parker sees a physical differentiation of the operas from "Les vêpres siciliennes" (1855) to "Aida" (1871) is that they are significantly longer, and with larger cast-lists, than previous works. They also reflect a shift towards the French genre of grand opera, notable in more colorful
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Les vêpres siciliennes


by Scribe, who was given a deadline for a "treatment" to be delivered on 30 June 1853 with rehearsals to begin in mid-1854 and the opera staged in November/December of that year. Verdi was guaranteed the choice of suitable artists as well as forty performances in the ten months following the premiere. In July 1852, Verdi had written to Scribe outlining his hopes: When Scribe missed his July 1853 deadline, Verdi went to Paris to negotiate directly and it was then that the librettist proposed a solution, using a
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Les vêpres siciliennes


and years following the 1848 uprising, so that the country was now firmly in the epoch of Napoleon III, meaning "that the social foundation on which [grand opera] rested was now withdrawn"). Verdi spent 1854 forcing Scribe to make revisions while writing the music, "complaining about the sheer length demanded by audiences at the Opéra". Overall, it was a frustrating time for the composer, especially in dealing with Scribe's 5th act. The librettist was unresponsive to Verdi's pleas for revisions, until finally
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Les vêpres siciliennes


, he was forced in late 1854 (with no premiere in sight and the mysterious disappearance from rehearsals of Sophie Cruvelli, who sang Hélène) to write to the Opera's director, Louis Crosnier: "To avoid the catastrophe that menaces us ... I see but one means and I do not hesitate to propose it: dissolution of the contract". However, Verdi persevered and was present at the June 1855 premiere, by then having spent close to two years in Paris working on the opera. 19th century The first performance
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Les vêpres siciliennes


Governor's palace. As they offer a toast to their homeland, they are observed by the local Sicilians, unhappy with the occupation. Hélène, who is being held hostage by the French governor, Montfort, enters dressed in mourning for her brother, Duke Frédéric of Austria, who had been executed by the French exactly a year before and whose death remains unavenged. Somewhat drunk, Robert, a French soldier of low rank, demands that she sing and she agrees. Her song about the prayers of seamen ("Viens
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Les vêpres siciliennes


à nous, Dieu tutélaire" – "Pray, O mighty God, calm with thy smile both sky and sea") and God's reply of "let dangers be scorned" ends with a rallying-cry ("Courage!… du courage!") to the Sicilians to rebel against the occupiers. When the governor enters, the crowd calms down. Henri, just released from prison, assures Hélène how deeply he despises the governor. Overhearing this, Montfort orders Hélène to leave and then, alone with Henri
13713752
Les vêpres siciliennes


entrance to the ball and seek their revenge. "Scene 1: Montfort's palace" Montfort reads a paper from the woman whom he abducted, which reveals that Henri is his son ("Si, m'abboriva ed a ragion!" – "Yes, she despised me, and rightly!"). Béthune tells him that Henri has been brought by force, but Montfort exalts in the fact that his son is close by ("Au sein de la puissance" – "Given over to riches, surrounded by honors
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Les vêpres siciliennes


, an immense, horrid void…"). The two men confront one another and Henri is somewhat puzzled by the way he is being treated. Finally, Montfort reveals the letter written by Henri's mother. Taken aback but still defiant, Henri insults his father who reacts in anger as the younger man rushes out: "Fatal word!, Mortal insult! The joy has vanished ...". "Scene 2: A ball at Montfort's palace" When Montfort enters, he gives the signal for the ballet to
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Les vêpres siciliennes


begins to be willing to sympathise ("Henri! Ah, parli a un core…" – "Henri! Ah, you speak to a heart already prepared to forgive") Not seeing Henri, Procida approaches Hélène and reveals a letter telling him of awaiting freedom. But Montfort arrives and orders a priest and the execution of the prisoners while Procida is amazed to discover the truth of Henri's situation. Henri begs for mercy for his friends and Montfort confronts him with one thing: "Dimmi sol, di’ “
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Les vêpres siciliennes


of Montfort's palace" As knights and maidens gather, Hélène gives thanks to all ("Merci, jeunes amies" – "Thank you, beloved friends"). Henri arrives, exclaiming his joy ("La brise souffle au loin" – "The breeze hovers about…"). He leaves to find his father, but Procida arrives, announcing a plan to outwit his enemies with their massacre to take place at the foot of the altar after the vows have been said. She is torn, the more
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Les vêpres siciliennes


so following Henri's return, between her love and her duty ("Sorte fatal! Oh, fier cimento!" – "Fatal destiny! Oh, fierce conflict!"). Finally, she can go no further and she tells Henri that they cannot be married. Both men are furious with her for her seeming betrayal. Then Montfort arrives, takes the couple's hands, joins them together, and pronounces them married as the bells begin to ring. This is the signal for the Sicilians to rush in
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Les vêpres siciliennes


." Given the frustrations which Verdi encountered in the two-year-long preparation of the opera and the several expressions of these frustrations in letters to Giuseppina Strepponi (with whom he was having a relationship which began about 1847), writer Irving Kolodin in his essay for the RCA recording, hits on a solution which Strepponi herself had provided: Kolodin comments: "It was, of course, the principle by which Verdi's later career was guided when he had the land and the position he craved and the security that
13713767
Friedrich Meyer-Oertel


1968 to 1972. He was active in the same position at the Nationaltheater Mannheim from 1974 to 1979. From 1979 to 1996 he was director of the Opernhaus Wuppertal, where he worked intensively with stage designer and others, and from 1996 to 2004 director at the Staatstheater Darmstadt. His most famous productions include "Don Giovanni" and "Boris Godunov" at the Finnish National Opera, Giuseppe Verdi's "Don Carlo" at the Royal Swedish Opera in Stockholm, "Othello" and "Les vêpres siciliennes" in Darmstadt.
14338354
Jacqueline Brumaire


performance of "Les vêpres siciliennes" which was made available as a commercial recording. From her other versatile stage repertoire, she sang Konstanze in "Die Entführung aus dem Serail", the Marschallin in the "Der Rosenkavalier", Renata in "The Fiery Angel" by Prokofiev (Opéra-Comique, 1967), and Béatrice in "Un sguardo sul ponte" by Renzo Rossellini (Bordeaux 1965, possibly the first French performance of that opera). In 1981 she started to teach at the Conservatoire in Nancy, preparing
18953967
Caroline Barbot


Upon their return to Paris, her husband created the role of Faust in Gounod's opera of the same name at the Théâtre Lyrique while Caroline appeared in leading roles in operas by Bellini, Meyerbeer and Verdi at the Paris Opera. Verdi saw her in his opera "Les vêpres siciliennes" in Paris and chose her to create the leading role of Leonora in his opera "La Forza del Destino" in St.Petersburg. The premiere was scheduled for 1861, but when Verdi arrived in Russia to supervise the rehearsals, Barbot
20722474
Giórgios Kokoliós-Bardi


Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, in Rome. During the period of 1950-1952, he used the stage name Giulio Bardi in Italy. He also appeared, in recital, in the Soviet Union. In 1951, Kokoliós-Bardi sang his most famous performance (recorded "live"), a rare production of Verdi's "Les vêpres siciliennes" (in Italian translation) at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, opposite Callas, Enzo Mascherini, and Boris Christoff, conducted by Erich Kleiber and directed by Herbert Graf. In
21669798
Pierre-Louis Dietsch


as Wagner had been closely involved in the opera's 164 rehearsals), and in 1863 Dietsch resigned over a dispute with Verdi in the midst of rehearsals for Verdi's "Les vêpres siciliennes". He died in Paris in 1865, aged 56. The most well known work of Dietsch may be the "Ave Maria" he presented in 1842 and attributed to Franco-Flemish Renaissance composer Jacques Arcadelt. Dietsch presented the work as a discovery of a four-voice "Ave Maria" by Arcadelt, when in fact it
22096357
Thérèse Tietjens


1857 as Fernando in "La Favorita". In July 1859, Tietjens created the first London Elena in "Les vêpres siciliennes" of Verdi (four years after the original Paris production) at Drury Lane, opposite Giuglini's Arrigo. At this time the soprano Giulia Grisi was still singing in London: Tietjens was to inherit parts of Grisi's London repertoire and of that of Giuditta Pasta. In 1860, E.T. Smith, manager of Her Majesty's, attempted to seize the market in both English and Italian opera by having
22107034
Thérèse Tietjens


unconscious and lay motionless. The operation went ahead as planned but it was to no avail: she died in London on 3 October 1877. She was buried in Kensal Green Cemetery 'in the presence of a vast crowd, amid tokens of public grief such as no foreign artist before her had ever been vouchsafed on English soil.' Among her achievements, she had introduced London to Gounod's "Faust" and "Mireille", Verdi's "Un ballo in maschera", "Les vêpres siciliennes" and "La
22107057
Lodovico Graziani


"Les vêpres siciliennes"). He sang the title role in Donizetti's "Dom Sébastien" at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples in 1856, and the role of Vasco da Gama in the first Italian performance of Meyerbeer's "L'Africaine" in Bologna in 1865. He also performed in Vienna (1860). Graziani died in Fermo. Lodovico Graziani's three brothers who became professional singers were: Giuseppe (1819–1905), a bass; Francesco (1828–1901), a baritone; and Vincenzo (1836–1906), also
3063798
Gaetano Fraschini


him singing Henri in "Les vêpres siciliennes" in Rome, and in 1858 he was Gabriele Adorno in "Simon Boccanegra" for Naples. In 1846 he made his international debut at the Kaertnerthortheater in Vienna, where he sang Chalais in Donizetti's "Maria di Rohan", followed by Verdi's "Ernani" and Donizetti's "Lucia di Lammermoor" and "Don Pasquale". Internationally, too, he sang a good deal of Verdi: at Her Majesty's Theatre in 1847 where he took part in the first
5647183
Antonio Giuglini


Pappataci' from "L'italiana in Algeri" with Scheggi (buffo) and Ignazio Marini (bass), so popular it had to be repeated throughout the season. On 26 December 1855 he appeared at Teatro Regio di Parma in the first performance of "Giovanna de Guzman", the first Italian version of Verdi's "Les vêpres siciliennes". Giuglini made his debut in London for Benjamin Lumley on 14 April 1857, at Her Majesty's Theatre, as Fernando in "La favorita", with Mlle Spezia and Sig.
6350804
Antonio Giuglini


Fernando for the debut of Carolina Guarducci, who made a sensational debut despite never having studied the part which she sang (i.e. Leonora), and was afterwards coached by Mme Tietjens. At Drury Lane in July 1859 Giuglini created the role of Arrigo in the first London production of Verdi's "Les vêpres siciliennes", opposite Tietjens. With Edward Tyrrel Smith the "Her Majesty's" project was resumed, and in 1860 Tietjens and Giuglini were available to Smith and Mapleson as part of a £16,000 deal with Lumley.
6350810
Sophie Cruvelli


. The delayed première of "Les vêpres Siciliennes", in which she sang Hélène, took place on 13 June 1855 at the Opéra, with Marc Bonnehée and Louis Guéymard. This was her last great triumph on the public stage. Performances continued through the year: Charles Santley, "en route" to Italy to commence his own studies with Lamperti or Nava, delayed in Paris for a day to hear Cruvelli in the "Sicilian Vespers" on 31 October 1855. On first hearing her, he had thought her a
6972188
Italo Campanini


This then went on tour to New York (under Arditi, as usual), where Campanini led the cast for the American premiere at the Academy of Music with Annie Louise Cary, Alwina Valleria and Franco Novara. The same venue saw Mapleson's production of a revised form of "Les vêpres siciliennes" headed by Campanini and Cary with del Puente and Galassi in support. Campanini performed, too, in "La favorita". Mapleson had by now recruited Luigi Ravelli to relieve the burden on Campanini, who had become his
7007109
Rosalind Plowright


Verdi's "Les vêpres siciliennes", Elisabeth de Valois in "Don Carlos", and "Tosca". Her recording of Elizabeth I in Donizetti's "Maria Stuarda", with Janet Baker as Mary, Queen of Scots, brought her wider recognition. In 1980, Plowright sang Manon Lescaut at Torre del Lago, Aida and Ariadne in Frankfurt, Ariadne in Berne and Ortlinde at the Royal Opera House. Her American operatic début was in San Diego as Medora in the United States premiere of Verdi's "Il corsaro
9500954
History of music in Paris


Another force promoting musical education in Paris was the Orpheonic movement, which led to the creation of many new amateur orchestras and choral societies. Gounod directed the "Orphéon" of Paris between 1852 and 1856. The Paris Universal Expositions of 1855 and 1867, highlighting technological progress, also had an important musical component. New musical instruments, such as the saxophone and the Steinway piano, were put on display, and several new compositions were commissioned especially for performance during the expositions, including Verdi's "Les Vêpres siciliennes" and "
10536876
Louis-Henri Obin


his career there, playing leading bass roles in many operas, until he retired from the stage in 1869. Among the many roles he created were some of the most important bass parts in French grand opera, including Procida in Verdi's "Les vêpres siciliennes", 1855, the King in the same composer's "Don Carlos" in 1867 and the High Priest of Brahma in Meyerbeer's "L'Africaine", 1865. After his retirement from the stage, Obin taught singing at the Conservatoire de Paris. He was awarded
11309126
Fabio Mastrangelo


Figaro". In 2017, while he was on a conducting tour at the Competizione dell' Opera in Moscow, he heard the voice of American soprano Shelley Jackson and invited her to perform at the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra which at that time he was conducting at the FirstOntario Concert Hall. Currently he serves as a principal conductor at the Mariinsky Theatre where he performs "Les vêpres siciliennes", and as a guest conductor at both Moscow City Symphony Orchestra and Novaya Opera Theatre. He is also a jury member on Russia-K
12530651
Susan Dunn


Verdi's "Aida" with the Peoria Civic Opera. After winning several major awards and competitions, Dunn's career began to take off. In 1985 she sang Sieglinde in "Die Walküre" at Carnegie Hall. In 1986, Dunn made her debut at Avery Fisher Hall with Zubin Mehta and the New York Philharmonic as the soprano soloist in a production of Verdi's "Requiem". That same year she made her European debut as Hélène in "Les vêpres siciliennes" at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna and her debut at
12590896
Giuseppe Verdi


related to her death. In the winter of 1851–52 Verdi decided to go to Paris with Strepponi, where he concluded an agreement with the Opéra to write what became "Les vêpres siciliennes", his first original work in the style of grand opera. In February 1852, the couple attended a performance of Alexander Dumas "fils"'s play, "The Lady of the Camellias"; Verdi immediately began to compose music for what would later become "La traviata". After his visit to Rome for "Il trovatore"
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Les vêpres siciliennes


in 2003 and a 2010 production by the Netherlands Opera. In May 2011 French versions were presented at the Grand Théâtre de Genève and at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples and, in February 2013, the ABAO company in Bilbao presented the opera. Other presentations have included stagings by Frankfurt Opera in 2013 and Bavarian State Opera in 2018. The Royal Opera House Covent Garden's staging of the full version for the first time in its history (minus the ballet) in October/November 2013 drew a variety of critical responses.
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Les vêpres siciliennes


" - it became Portugal in 1640 while under Spanish control. Therefore, the title was changed to Giovanna de Guzman. Overall, Verdi was not happy with the translation, which Budden regards as "one of the worst ever perpetrated. However, some improvements were made when the opera reverted to its translated Italian title after 1861. After 1861, in the post-unification era, the opera reverted to its translated Italian title, I vespri siciliani and it is sometimes performed under that title and in that version today. Prior
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Les vêpres siciliennes


to the events of the opera, Procida, a leading Sicilian patriot, was wounded by French troops during their invasion of Sicily, and was forced into exile. Montfort, leader of the French troops, raped a Sicilian woman who later gave birth to a son, Henri. Montfort became governor of Sicily, while the Sicilian woman brought up her son to hate him, without revealing to Henri that Montfort was his father. "Palermo's main square" Thibault, Robert and other French soldiers have gathered in front of the
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Les vêpres siciliennes


, offers him a powerful position with his men as long as he stays away from Hélène. He refuses, and immediately follows Hélène into the palace. "Beside the sea" Procida lands on the shore from a small fishing boat. It is clear that he is returning from exile and he expresses his joy at returning to his native land and city ("Et toi, Palerme" – "O thou Palermo, adored land…"). He is surrounded by Mainfroid and other companions and he quickly orders his men
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Les vêpres siciliennes


Robert, a group of French soldiers arrive and Procida returns and sees that it is too late to save Henri, since the young people have come into the square and have begun to dance. As the dance becomes more lively, Robert signals to his men, who seize many of the young women, dragging them off in spite of the protests of the young Sicilian men. The dejected young men witness a passing boat filled with French nobles and Sicilian women, all bound for the ball. Procida and others determine to gain
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Les vêpres siciliennes


of solving a problem which had eluded him in a somewhat similar work, "La battaglia di Legnano"; namely that of reconciling the private and public emotions of the main characters. ... .the problem being overcome by means of a more varied musical language." Musicologist Roger Parker, writing in "Grove" in 1992, offers a somewhat different point of view in explaining that the sheer length and scale of this opera (as well as others in the grand opera tradition) find themselves being rarely staged by modern opera houses
13713765
Il trovatore


specifically in January 1853. By November Verdi and Strepponi left Italy to spend the winter of 1851/52 in Paris, where he concluded an agreement with the Paris Opéra to write what became "Les vêpres siciliennes", his first grand opera, although he had adapted his earlier "I Lombardi" into "Jerusalem" for the stage. Including work on "Trovatore", other projects consumed him, but a significant event occurred in February, when the couple attended a performance of Alexander Dumas "fils"'s "The Lady of
17110497
Rachel Willis-Sørensen


, and reprised the role of Hélène in "Les Vêpres Siciliennes" at the Bayerische Staatsoper. In 2019, she sang Donna Anna in Mozart's "Don Giovanni" at the Metropolitan Opera. She was a winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in 2010. In 2014, she won first prize, the Birgit Nilsson Prize, and the Zarzuela Prize of the Operalia competition. Other awards include first place in the 2009 Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers in Houston and the 2010 Sara Tucker Grant from the Richard Tucker Music
19992019
Grand opera


withdrawn after three performances, partly because the ballet was in act 1. The most significant development—indeed transformation—of grand opera after the 1850s was its handling by Giuseppe Verdi, whose "Les vêpres siciliennes" (1855), proved to be more widely given in Italy and other Italian language opera houses than in France. The taste for luxury and extravagance at the French theatre declined after the 1848 revolution, and new productions on the previous scale were not so commercially viable. The popular "Faust" (1859)
2132982
Louis Philippe style


great success, largely due to the talents of the scenarist Eugène Scribe, who wrote ninety works for the theater, put to music by forty different composers, including Daniel Auber, Giacomo Meyerbeer, Fromental Halévy (La Juive (1835)), Cherubini, Donizetti, Gounod and Verdi (for whom he wrote "Les vêpres siciliennes"). Scribe left behind the grand mythological themes of earlier French opera, and wrote stories from a variety of historical periods which, with a mixture of strong emotion, humor and romanticism,
3369572
Napoleon III style


collaboration with Eugène Scribe. The result was "Les vêpres siciliennes". Verdi complained that the Paris orchestra and chorus were unruly and undisciplined, and rehearsed them an unheard-of one hundred and sixty-one times before he felt they were ready. His work was rewarded; the opera was a critical and popular success, performed 150 times, rather than the originally proposed forty performances. He was unhappy, however, that his operas were less successful in Paris than those of his chief rival, Meyerbeer; he returned to
16802281
Sicilienne (Fauré)


In 1892 the manager of the Grand Théâtre, Paris, asked the composer Camille Saint-Saëns to write incidental music for a production of Molière's "Le Bourgeois gentilhomme". Saint-Saëns was too busy to accept the commission, and successfully recommended his friend and former pupil Fauré. The music, which included the first version of the Sicilienne, was nearly complete when the theatre went bankrupt in 1893. The production was abandoned and the music remained unperformed. Five years later, Fauré arranged the work for cello and piano
4423064
Jill Feldman


Tirsi e Fileno", and the oratorio "Susanna" (Harmonia Mundi USA). Later, she joined the Mala Punica medieval ensemble, with which she recorded five projects for Arcana and Erato. Feldman was then invited by several conductors of the baroque repertoire. She performed under the direction of Frans Brüggen (Haydn's "Die Schöpfung"), Andrew Parrott ("Les Vêpres des Carmélites" by Handel at EMI), Jordi Savall (Motets by Delalande), René Jacobs (Cesti's "Orontea" and Cavalli
19585973