A nymph ( Ancient Greek : νύμφη , romanized : nýmphē ; Attic Greek : [nýmpʰɛː] ; sometimes spelled nymphe ) is a minor female nature deity in ancient Greek folklore . Distinct from other Greek goddesses , nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature; they are typically tied to a specific place, landform, or tree, and are usually depicted as maidens . Because of their association with springs, they were often seen as having healing properties; other divine powers of the nymphs included divination and shapeshifting . Nymphs, like other goddesses, were immortal except for the Hamadryads , whose lives were bound to a specific tree.
110-585: Les Troyens ( pronounced [le tʁwajɛ̃] ; in English: The Trojans ) is a French grand opera in five acts, running for about five hours, by Hector Berlioz . The libretto was written by Berlioz himself from Virgil 's epic poem the Aeneid ; the score was composed between 1856 and 1858. Les Troyens is Berlioz's most ambitious work, the summation of his entire artistic career, but he did not live to see it performed in its entirety. Under
220-476: A Roman sculpture of a nymph at a fountain above the River Danube . The report, and an accompanying poem supposedly on the fountain describing the sleeping nymph, are now generally concluded to be a fifteenth-century forgery , but the motif proved influential among artists and landscape gardeners for several centuries after, with copies seen at neoclassical gardens such as the grotto at Stourhead . All
330-617: A brief ballet and an elaborate march. The opera was eventually transformed by the composer to L'étoile du nord . In many German-language houses, especially in Vienna, where Eduard Hanslick and later Gustav Mahler championed Meyerbeer and Halévy respectively, the operas continued to be performed well into the 20th century. The growth of anti-Semitism in Germany, especially after the Nazi Party obtained political power in 1933, spelled
440-658: A complete Les Troyens was performed by Glasgow Grand Opera Society , directed by Scottish composer Erik Chisholm . Les Troyens was performed for the first time in London in a concert performance conducted by Sir Thomas Beecham and broadcast at the BBC in 1947. His cast included Ferrer as both Didon and Cassandre, Jean Giraudeau as Énée and Charles Cambon as both Chorèbe (a role he had sung in Paris in 1929) and Narbal. An aircheck of this performance has been issued on CD. However,
550-583: A concert performance of the complete opera at Carnegie Hall in New York. In 1973, Rafael Kubelík conducted the first Metropolitan Opera performances of Les Troyens , in the opera's first staging in New York City and the third staging in the United States. The performances included cuts (Nos. 20-22 and Nos. 45–46, half of Dido's final scene). Shirley Verrett was both Cassandre and Didon at
660-675: A consequence, as did Richard Wagner with his attempt to stage a revised Tannhäuser as a grand opera in Paris in 1861, which had to be withdrawn after three performances , partly because the ballet was in act 1 (when the dancers' admirers were still at dinner). The most significant development, or 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
770-474: A far wider range of musical theatre effects than traditional Italian opera. Moreover, Il crociato with its exotic historical setting, onstage bands, spectacular costumes and themes of culture clash, exhibited many of the features on which the popularity of grand opera would be based. What became the essential features of 'grand opéra' were foreseen by Étienne de Jouy , the librettist of Guillaume Tell , in an essay of 1826: Division into five acts seems to me
880-406: A great work, greater and nobler than anything done hitherto." Elsewhere he wrote: "The principal merit of the work is, in my view, the truthfulness of the expression." For Berlioz, truthful representation of passion was the highest goal of a dramatic composer, and in this respect he felt he had equalled the achievements of Gluck and Mozart . In his memoirs, Berlioz described in excruciating detail
990-404: A love duet. At the end of the act, as Didon and Énée slowly walk together towards the back of the stage in an embrace, the god Mercury appears and strikes Énée's shield, which the hero has cast away, calling out three times, " Italie! " A young Phrygian sailor, Hylas, sings his song of longing for home, alone. Two sentries mockingly comment that he will never see his homeland again. Panthée and
1100-496: A love motif, being the lovers of heroes and other deities. Desirable and promiscuous, nymphs can rarely be fully domesticated, being often aggressive to their mortal affairs. Since the Middle Ages , nymphs have been sometimes popularly associated or even confused with fairies . The Greek word nýmphē has the primary meaning of "young woman; bride, young wife" but is not usually associated with deities in particular. Yet
1210-548: A new Troy in Italy. But she also says that Chorèbe is dead, and resolves to die herself. The other women acknowledge the accuracy of Cassandre's prophecies and their own error in dismissing her. Cassandre then calls upon the Trojan women to join her in death, to prevent being defiled by the invading Greeks. One group of women admits to fear of death, and Cassandre dismisses them from her sight. The remaining women unite with Cassandre in their determination to die. A Greek captain observes
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#17327908661521320-459: A new city in Italy . During this scene, Énée is disguised as an ordinary sailor. Didon's minister Narbal then comes to tell her that Iarbas and his Numidian army are attacking the fields surrounding Carthage and are marching on the city. But Carthage does not have enough weapons to defend itself. Énée then reveals his true identity and offers the services of his people to help Carthage. Didon accepts
1430-449: A painted waterfall backdrop rather than one with real water. Carvalho had originally planned to divert water from the nearby Seine , but during the rehearsals, a faulty switch nearly caused a disaster. The entries of the builders, sailors, and farm-workers [nos. 20–22] , were omitted because Carvalho found them dull; likewise, the scene for Anna and Narbal [nos. 30–31] and the second ballet [no. 33b]. The sentries' duet [no. 40]
1540-438: A place in the operatic repertoire. Even the pieces that are rarely staged are increasingly being resuscitated for compact disc recordings, and many are revived at opera festivals and by companies such as Palazetto Bru Zane . After virtually disappearing from the operatic repertory worldwide in the 20th century, Meyerbeer's major grand operas are once again being staged by leading European opera houses. French grand opera
1650-417: A prologue. As Berlioz noted bitterly, he agreed to let Carvalho do it "despite the manifest impossibility of his doing it properly. He had just obtained an annual subsidy of a hundred thousand francs from the government. Nonetheless the enterprise was beyond him. His theater was not large enough, his singers were not good enough, his chorus and orchestra were small and weak." Even with this truncated version of
1760-502: A raid on the publisher's Paris office, even approaching the Parisian underworld for help. In 1969, Bärenreiter Verlag of Kassel , Germany, first published the full score of Les Troyens in a critical edition containing all the compositional material left by Berlioz. The preparation of this critical edition was the work of Hugh Macdonald , whose Cambridge University doctoral dissertation this was. With its publication, as well as
1870-408: A revival of Félicien David 's La perle du Brésil , and since his contract only required him to sing fifteen times per month, he would have to be paid an extra two hundred francs for each additional performance. Berlioz lamented: "If I am able to put on an adequate performance of a work of this scale and character I must be in absolute control of the theatre, as I am of the orchestra when I rehearse
1980-462: A sound of what seems to be the clashing of arms from within the horse, and for a brief moment the procession and celebrations stop, but then the Trojans, in their delusion, interpret it as a happy omen and continue pulling the horse into the city. Cassandre has watched the procession in despair, and as the act ends, resigns herself to death beneath the walls of Troy. Before the act proper has started,
2090-528: A symphony." Even in its less than ideal form, the work made a profound impression. For example, Giacomo Meyerbeer attended 12 performances. Berlioz's son Louis attended every performance. A friend tried to console Berlioz for having endured so much in the mutilation of his magnum opus and pointed out that after the first night audiences were increasing. "See," he said encouragingly to Berlioz, "they are coming." "Yes," replied Berlioz, feeling old and worn out, "they are coming, but I am going." Berlioz never saw
2200-399: A torrent, and waterfalls pour forth from the boulders, as the chorus intones " Italie! Italie! Italie! ". A tree is hit by lightning, explodes and catches fire, as it falls to the ground. The satyrs, fauns, and sylvans pick up the flaming branches and dance with them in their hands, then disappear with the nymphs into the depths of the forest. The scene is slowly obscured by thick clouds, but as
2310-469: Is brought in. He lies to King Priam and the crowd that he has deserted the Greeks, and that the giant wooden horse they have left behind was intended as a gift to the gods to ensure their safe voyage home. He says the horse was made so big that the Trojans would not be able to move it into their city, because if they did they would be invincible. This only makes the Trojans want the horse inside their city all
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#17327908661522420-672: Is no stronger god than love. After Didon's entry, and dances from the Egyptian dancing girls, the slaves, and the Nubian slave girls, Iopas sings his song of the fields, at the queen's request. She then asks Énée for more tales of Troy. Énée reveals that after some persuading, Andromaque eventually married Pyrrhus , the son of Achille , who killed Hector , Andromaque's earlier husband. Hearing about Andromaque remarrying, Didon then feels resolved regarding her lingering feelings of faithfulness to her late husband. Alone, Didon and Énée then sing
2530-726: Is particularly applied (sometimes specifically used in its French-language equivalent grand opéra , pronounced [ɡʁɑ̃t‿ɔpeʁa] ) to certain productions of the Paris Opéra from the late 1820s to around 1860; 'grand opéra' has sometimes been used to denote the Paris Opéra itself. The term 'grand opera' is also used in a broader application in respect of contemporary or later works of similar monumental proportions from France, Germany, Italy, and other countries. It may also be used colloquially in an imprecise sense to refer to 'serious opera without spoken dialogue'. Paris at
2640-520: Is still frequently produced today. Götterdämmerung , as noted by George Bernard Shaw , shows clear traces of some return by Wagner to the grand opera tradition, and a case could also be argued for Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg . Meyerbeer's only mature German opera, Ein Feldlager in Schlesien is in effect a Singspiel , although act 2 has some of the characteristics of grand opera, with
2750-636: The Concerts Colonne at the Théâtre du Châtelet with Leslino as Cassandre, Piroia as Énée, conducted by Edouard Colonne . These were followed by two concerts in New York : the first, Act 2 of La prise de Troie , was performed in English on 6 May 1882 by Thomas's May Festival at the 7th Regiment Armory with Amalie Materna as Cassandre, Italo Campanini as Énée, conducted by Theodore Thomas ;
2860-614: The Los Angeles Opera on September 14, 1991 with Carol Neblett, Nadine Secunde and Gary Lakes. In 1993, Charles Dutoit conducted the Canadian premiere of Les Troyens in a full concert version with the Montreal Symphony and Deborah Voigt, Françoise Pollet and Gary Lakes which was subsequently recorded by Decca . To mark the 200th anniversary of Berlioz's birth in 2003, Les Troyens was revived in productions at
2970-1149: The Meliae ( ash tree nymphs), the Dryads ( oak tree nymphs), the Alseids ( grove nymphs), the Naiads ( spring nymphs), the Nereids (sea nymphs), the Oceanids (ocean nymphs), the Oreads (mountain nymphs), and the Epimeliads (apple tree and flock nymphs). Other nymphs included the Hesperides (evening nymphs), the Hyades (rain nymphs), and the Pleiades (companions of Artemis ). Nymphs featured in classic works of art , literature , and mythology . They are often attendants of goddesses and frequently occur in myths with
3080-760: The Metropolitan Opera House premiere, with Jon Vickers as Énée. Christa Ludwig had been cast as Didon but was ill at the time of the premiere; she sang the role in the ten subsequent performances. Les Troyens , with all the music restored, opened the Metropolitan's centenary season in 1983 under James Levine with Plácido Domingo , Jessye Norman as Cassandre and Tatiana Troyanos as Didon. Six complete performances were given at Zurich Opera, all 5 acts on one night as Berlioz had intended in September 1990, directed by Tony Palmer . Les Troyens
3190-619: The San Francisco Opera presented the opera in a new production directed by Sir David McVicar that originated at the Royal Opera House in London. It featured Susan Graham as Didon, Anna Caterina Antonacci as Cassandre, and Bryan Hymel as Énée, conducted by Donald Runnicles . Knowing the work only from a piano reduction , the British critic W. J. Turner declared in his 1934 book on Berlioz that Les Troyens
3300-873: The Théâtre des Arts in Rouen staged what was probably the first French performance of Les Troyens on one night, with only a few cuts, which had been sanctioned by the author. The Opéra in Paris had presented a production of La prise de Troie in 1899, and in 1919 mounted a production of Les Troyens à Carthage in Nîmes . Both parts were staged at the Opéra in one evening on 10 June 1921, with mise-en-scène by Merle-Forest, sets by René Piot and costumes by Dethomas. The cast included Marguerite Gonzategui (Didon), Lucy Isnardon (Cassandre), Jeanne Laval (Anna), Paul Franz (Énée), Édouard Rouard (Chorèbe), and Armand Narçon (Narbal), with Philippe Gaubert conducting. Marisa Ferrer (who later sang
3410-542: The Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris (conducted by John Eliot Gardiner ), De Nederlandse Opera in Amsterdam (conducted by Edo de Waart ), and at the Metropolitan in New York (with Lorraine Hunt Lieberson as Didon, conducted by Levine). The Met's production, by Francesca Zambello , was revived in the 2012–13 season with Susan Graham as Didon, Deborah Voigt as Cassandre, and Marcello Giordani and Bryan Hymel as Énée, conducted by Fabio Luisi . During June and July 2015
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3520-406: The 1863 production of Les Troyens à Carthage , Berlioz permitted the Parisian music editors Choudens et C to publish the vocal score as two separate operas. Only 15 copies of the first edition were printed, at the composer's expense. In this published score, he introduced a number of optional cuts which have often been adopted in subsequent productions. Berlioz complained bitterly of the cuts that he
3630-470: The 1880s and even 1890s, but with less frequency; examples being Marchetti's Don Giovanni d'Austria (1880) and Ponchielli's Il figluol prodigo (also 1880). French grand operas were regularly staged by German opera houses; an early article by Richard Wagner depicts German opera managers hurrying to Paris to try to identify the next hit. The Dresden performances of Le prophète (in German) in 1850 were
3740-466: The 1957 production at the Royal Opera House , Covent Garden conducted by Rafael Kubelík and directed by John Gielgud , has been described as "the first full staging in a single evening that even approximated the composer's original intentions". It was sung in English. The Paris Opéra gave a new production of a condensed version of Les Troyens on March 17, 1961, directed by Margherita Wallmann , with sets and costumes by Piero Zuffi . Pierre Dervaux
3850-463: The 19th century. There are several recordings of the work, and it is performed with increasing frequency. Berlioz specified the following instruments: The Trojans are celebrating apparent deliverance from ten years of siege by the Greeks (also named the Achaeans in the opera). They see the large wooden horse left by the Greeks, which they presume to be an offering to Pallas Athene . Unlike all
3960-461: The Emperor. Other factors which led to Parisian supremacy at operatic spectacle were the ability of the large Paris Opéra to stage sizeable works and recruit leading stage-painters, designers and technicians, the long tradition of French ballet , and the art of stagecraft. The first theatre performance lit by gas, for example, was Aladin ou La lampe merveilleuse at the Opéra in 1823. The theatre had
4070-531: The French theatre declined after the 1848 revolution, and new productions on the previous scale were not so commercially viable. The popular Faust (1859) by Charles Gounod started life as an opéra comique and did not become a grand opera until rewritten in the 1860s. Les Troyens by Hector Berlioz (composed 1856–1858, later revised), was not given a full performance until nearly a century after Berlioz had died, although portions had been staged before, but
4180-452: The Greek soldiers hidden in the wooden horse have come out and begun to destroy Troy and its citizens. With fighting going on in the background, the ghost of Hector visits Énée and warns him to flee Troy for Italy, where he will build a new Troy. After Hector fades, the priest Panthée conveys the news about the Greeks hidden in the horse. Ascagne appears with news of further destruction. At
4290-517: The Opéra. He was to write or be associated with many of the libretti of the most successful grand operas which followed. La muette ' s reputation was enhanced by it being the touchpaper for a genuine revolution when it was produced in Brussels in 1830. In 1829, this was followed by Rossini's swansong Guillaume Tell . The resourceful Rossini, having largely created a style of Italian opera to which European theatre had been in thrall, recognized
4400-527: The Paris Opéra-Comique staged Les Troyens à Carthage (in the same theatre as its premiere) and witnessed a triumphant debut for the 17-year-old Marie Delna as Didon, with Stéphane Lafarge as Énée, conducted by Jules Danbé ; these staged performances of Part 2 continued into the next year. In December 1906 the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels commenced a run of performances with the two halves on successive nights. On 6 February 1920,
4510-594: The Paris Opéra and by Beecham and by Kubelík in London were the orchestral and choral parts from Choudens et C of Paris, the only edition then available. The first American stage performance of Les Troyens (an abbreviated version, sung in English) was given by Boris Goldovsky with the New England Opera Theater on 27 March 1955, in Boston . The San Francisco Opera staged a heavily cut version of
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4620-530: The Philips recording "brought an entire generation of listeners to the work, and as [Berlioz's biographer David] Cairns puts it, it finally 'blew to smithereens the idea that the opera was a dead duck — the fruit of an old, worn-out composer.'" Ashley also asserts: "Understanding of [Berlioz's] achievement [as a composer] was also notably incomplete owing to the absence from the repertory of Les Troyens in any form in which we now recognise it. Its discovery [in 1969]
4730-493: The Revolution, the new regime determined to privatize the previously state-run Opéra and the winner of the contract was a businessman who acknowledged that he knew nothing of music, Louis-Désiré Véron . However, he soon showed himself extremely shrewd at discerning public taste by investing heavily in the grand opera formula. His first new production was a work long contracted from Meyerbeer, whose premiere had been delayed by
4840-449: The Revolution. This was fortunate for both Véron and Meyerbeer. As Berlioz commented, Meyerbeer had "not only the luck to be talented, but the talent to be lucky." Meyerbeer's new opera Robert le diable chimed well with the liberal sentiments of 1830s France. Moreover, its potent mixture of melodrama, spectacle, titillation (including a ballet of the ghosts of debauched nuns), and dramatic arias and choruses went down extremely well with
4950-550: The Saint Artemidos. Nymphs are often depicted in classic works across art, literature, mythology, and fiction. They are often associated with the medieval romances or Renaissance literature of the elusive fairies or elves . A motif that entered European art during the Renaissance was the idea of a statue of a nymph sleeping in a grotto or spring. This motif supposedly came from an Italian report of
5060-693: The South American premiere, conducted by Georges Sébastian . The critical edition score from Bärenreiter published in 1969 was first used in May that year by the Scottish Opera under Alexander Gibson , in performances sung in English. Colin Davis conducted a Covent Garden production sung in French in September and a parallel Philips recording was made. Tim Ashley of the Gramophone writes,
5170-628: The Trojan chieftains discuss the gods' angry signs at their delay in sailing for Italy. Ghostly voices are heard calling " Italie! Italie! Italie! ". The sentries, however, remark that they have good lives in Carthage and do not want to leave. Énée then comes on stage, singing of his despair at the gods' portents and warnings to set sail for Italy, and also of unhappiness at his betrayal of Didon with this news. The ghosts of Priam, Chorèbe, Hector and Cassandre appear and relentlessly urge Énée to proceed on to Italy. Énée gives in and realizes that he must obey
5280-456: The Trojans' gifts to her and hers to them. Narbal is worried about Didon and tells Anna to stay with her sister, but the queen orders Anna to leave. Grand opera Grand opera is a genre of 19th-century opera generally in four or five acts, characterized by large-scale casts and orchestras . The original productions consisted of spectacular design and stage effects with plots normally based on or around dramatic historic events. The term
5390-533: The basin. Hunting horns are heard in the distance, and huntsmen with dogs pass by as the naiads hide in the reeds. Ascagne gallops across the stage on horseback. Didon and Énée have been separated from the rest of the hunting party. As a storm breaks, the two take shelter in the cave. At the climax of the storm, nymphs with dishevelled hair run to-and-fro over the rocks, gesticulating wildly. They break out in wild cries of "a-o" (sopranos and contraltos) and are joined by fauns , sylvans , and satyrs . The stream becomes
5500-506: The beginning of its second act. This was required, not for aesthetic reasons, but to satisfy the demands of the Opera's wealthy and aristocratic patrons, many of whom were more interested in the dancers themselves than the opera. These individuals also did not want their regular meal-times disturbed. The ballet therefore became an important element in the social prestige of the Opéra. Composers who did not comply with this tradition might suffer as
5610-585: The characteristics of size and spectacle that are normally associated with French grand opera. Another important forerunner was Il crociato in Egitto by Meyerbeer , who eventually became the acknowledged king of the grand opera genre. In Il crociato , which was produced by Rossini in Paris in 1825 after success in Venice , Florence and London. Meyerbeer succeeded in blending Italian singing-style with an orchestral style derived from his German training, introducing
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#17327908661525720-467: The composer's first success (produced Dresden , 1842) is totally Meyerbeerean in style. Wagner was at that time a sincere admirer of the older composer, who assisted him in arranging performances of Rienzi and Der fliegende Holländer in Dresden and Berlin. As described above, Wagner attempted in 1860/1861 to recast Tannhäuser as a grand opera, and this Paris version , as later adapted for Vienna,
5830-541: The description. They constituted an evolution of grand opera. Verdi's Aida , despite having only four acts, corresponds in many ways to the grand opera formula. It has a historical setting, deals with 'culture clash' and contains several ballets as well as its extremely well known Grand March. It was a huge success, both at its world premiere in Cairo in 1871 and its Italian premiere in Milan in 1872. It led to an increase in
5940-479: The end of the works of these composers on German stages until modern times when La Juive , Les Huguenots , Le prophète and L'Africaine have been revived. The first American grand opera, Leonora , was written by the American composer William Fry for Ann Childe Seguin to take the title role in the 1840s. Nymphs Nymphs are divided into various broad subgroups based on their habitat, such as
6050-508: The etymology of the noun nýmphē remains uncertain. The Doric and Aeolic ( Homeric ) form is nýmphā ( νύμφα ). Modern usage more often applies to young women, contrasting with parthenos ( παρθένος ) "a virgin (of any age)", and generically as kore ( κόρη < κόρϝα ) "maiden, girl". The term is sometimes used by women to address each other and remains the regular Modern Greek term for " bride ". Nymphs were sometimes beloved by many and dwelt in specific areas related to
6160-534: The finest ever written. Berlioz began the libretto on 5 May 1856 and completed it toward the end of June 1856. He finished the full score on 12 April 1858. Berlioz had a keen affection for literature, and he had admired Virgil since his childhood. The Princess Carolyne zu Sayn-Wittgenstein was a prime motivator to Berlioz to compose this opera. "At that time I had completed the dramatic work I mentioned earlier ... Four years earlier I happened to be in Weimar at
6270-647: The first two acts, later given the name La prise de Troie ("The Capture of Troy"). After the premiere of the second part at the Théâtre Lyrique, portions of the opera were next presented in concert form. Two performances of La prise de Troie were given in Paris on the same day, 7 December 1879: one by the Concerts Pasdeloup at the Cirque d'Hiver with Anne Charton-Demeur as Cassandre, Stéphani as Énée, conducted by Ernest Reyer ; and another by
6380-527: The gods' commands, but also realizes his cruelty and ingratitude to Didon as a result. He then orders his comrades to prepare to sail that very morning, before sunrise. Didon then appears, appalled at Énée's attempt to leave in secret, but still in love with him. Énée pleads the messages from the gods to move on, but Didon will have none of this. She pronounces a curse on him as she leaves. The Trojans shout " Italie! ". Didon asks Anna to plead with Énée one last time to stay. Anna acknowledges blame for encouraging
6490-417: The head of a band of soldiers, Chorèbe urges Énée to take up arms for battle. All resolve to defend Troy to the death. Several of the Trojan women are praying at the altar of Vesta / Cybele for their soldiers to receive divine aid. Cassandre reports that Énée and other Trojan warriors have rescued Priam's palace treasure and relieved people at the citadel. She prophesies that Énée and the survivors will found
6600-418: The heroine precipitates herself, embodied the musical and scenic sensationalism which were to be grand opera's hallmark. The libretto for La muette was by Eugène Scribe , a dominant force in French theatre of the time who specialized in melodramatic versions, often involving extremes of coincidence, of historical topics which were well-tailored for the public taste of the time. This was his first libretto for
6710-451: The home of Princess Wittgenstein – a devoted friend of Liszt , and a woman of character and intelligence who has often given me support in my darkest hours. I was led to talk of my admiration for Virgil and of the idea I had formed of a great opera, designed on Shakespearean lines, for which Books Two and Four of the Aeneid would provide the subject-matter. I added that I was all too aware of
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#17327908661526820-458: The innovative designers Duponchel , Cicéri and Daguerre on its staff as well. Several operas by Gaspare Spontini , Luigi Cherubini , and Gioachino Rossini can be regarded as precursors to French grand opera. These include Spontini's La vestale (1807) and Fernand Cortez (1809, revised 1817), Cherubini's Les Abencérages (1813), and Rossini's Le siège de Corinthe (1827) and Moïse et Pharaon (1828). All of these have some of
6930-495: The intense frustrations he experienced in seeing the work performed. For five years (from 1858 to 1863), the Paris Opéra – the only suitable stage in Paris – vacillated. Finally, tired of waiting, he agreed to let Léon Carvalho , director of the smaller Théâtre Lyrique , mount a production of the second half of the opera with the title Les Troyens à Carthage . It consisted of Acts 3 to 5, redivided by Berlioz into five acts, to which he added an orchestral introduction ( Lamento ) and
7040-546: The last successful French grand operas was by an unfamiliar composer, Émile Paladilhe : Patrie! (Paris, 1886). It ran up nearly 100 performances in Paris, and quite a few in Belgium, where the action takes place, but has since disappeared without a trace. The expensive artifacts of grand opera (which also demanded expensive singers)— Les Huguenots was known as 'the night of the seven stars' because of its requirement of seven top-grade artistes—meant that they were economically
7150-451: The least suppression of the text — in sum exactly as it stands." In the late 1880s, after a lawsuit, the firm printed the full scores of La prise de Troie and Les Troyens à Carthage , orchestral parts, and an improved vocal score, but only the vocal score was sold. The remaining material was only made available for short-term hire. In the early 20th century, the lack of accurate parts led musicologists W. J. Turner and Cecil Gray to plan
7260-535: The love between her sister and Énée. Didon angrily counters that if Énée truly loved her, he would defy the gods, but then asks her to plead with him for a few days' additional stay. The crowd has seen the Trojans set sail. Iopas conveys the news to Didon. In a rage, she demands that the Carthaginians give chase and destroy the Trojans' fleet, and wishes that she had destroyed the Trojans upon their arrival. She then decides to offer sacrifice, including destroying
7370-419: The memory of her late husband Sichée . The bard Iopas then enters to tell of an unknown fleet that has arrived in port. Recalling her own wanderings on the seas, Didon bids that these strangers be made welcome. Ascagne enters, presents the saved treasure of Troy, and relates the Trojans' story. Didon acknowledges that she knows of this situation. Panthée then tells of the ultimate destiny of the Trojans to found
7480-399: The more. Énée then rushes on to tell of the devouring of the priest Laocoön by a sea serpent, after Laocoön had warned the Trojans to burn the horse. Énée interprets this as a sign of the goddess Athene's anger at the sacrilege. Against Cassandre's futile protests, Priam orders the horse to be brought within the city of Troy and placed next to the temple of Pallas Athene. There is suddenly
7590-653: The most suitable for any opera that would reunite the elements of the genre: [...] where the dramatic focus was combined with the marvellous: where the nature and majesty of the subject [...] demanded the addition of attractive festivities and splendid civil and religious ceremonies to the natural flow of the action, and consequently needed frequent scene changes. The first opera of the grand opera canon is, by common consent, La muette de Portici (1828) by Daniel François Auber . This tale of revolution set in Naples in 1647, ending with an eruption of Mount Vesuvius into which
7700-514: 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 Gaîté-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
7810-442: The names for various classes of nymphs have plural feminine adjectives, most agreeing with the substantive numbers and groups of nymphai. There is no single adopted classification that could be seen as canonical and exhaustive. Some classes of nymphs tend to overlap, which complicates the task of precise classification. e.g. dryads and hamadryads as nymphs of trees generally, meliai as nymphs of ash trees . The following
7920-462: The natural environment: e.g. mountainous regions; forests; springs. Other nymphs were part of the retinue of a god (such as Dionysus , Hermes , or Pan ) or of a goddess (generally the huntress Artemis ). The Greek nymphs were also spirits invariably bound to places, not unlike the Latin genius loci , and sometimes this produced complicated myths like the cult of Arethusa to Sicily. In some of
8030-448: The new leaders of taste, the affluent bourgeoisie. The success of Robert was as spectacular as its production. Over the next few years, Véron brought on Auber's Gustave III (1833, libretto by Scribe, later adapted for Verdi 's Un ballo in maschera ) , and Fromental Halévy 's La Juive (1835, libretto also by Scribe), and commissioned Meyerbeer's next opera Les Huguenots (1836, libretto by Scribe and Deschamps), whose success
8140-479: The occasion for a series of articles by Wagner's disciple, Theodor Uhlig , condemning Meyerbeer's style and crudely attributing his alleged aesthetic failure to his Jewish origins, inspiring Wagner to write his anti-Jewish diatribe Das Judenthum in der Musik ("Jewishness in Music"). Meyerbeer himself was German by birth, but directed nearly all his mature efforts to success in Paris. Richard Wagner 's Rienzi ,
8250-510: The offer, and Énée entrusts his son Ascagne to Didon's care, but he suddenly dries his tears and joins the Carthaginians and Trojans in preparing for battle against the Numidians. This scene is a pantomime with primarily instrumental accompaniment, set in a forest with a cave in the background. A small stream flows from a crag and merges with a natural basin bordered with rushes and reeds. Two naiads appear and disappear, but return to bathe in
8360-520: The opera (reducing it to about three hours), billed as the "American professional stage premiere", in 1966, with Crespin as both Cassandre and Didon and Canadian tenor Jon Vickers as Énée, and again in 1968 with Crespin and Chauvet; Jean Périsson conducted all performances. On 5 May 1964 at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires , Crespin (as Cassandre and Didon) and Chauvet were the leads for
8470-470: The opera, many compromises and cuts were made, some during rehearsals, and some during the run. The new second act was the Chasse Royale et Orage ("Royal Hunt and Storm") [no. 29], an elaborate pantomime ballet with nymphs , sylvans and fauns , along with a chorus. Since the set change for this scene took nearly an hour, it was cut, despite the fact its staging had been greatly simplified with
8580-407: The other Trojans, however, Cassandre is mistrustful of the situation. She foresees that she will not live to marry her fiancé, Chorèbe . Chorèbe appears and urges Cassandre to forget her misgivings. But her prophetic vision clarifies, and she foresees the utter destruction of Troy. When Andromaque silently walks in holding her son Astyanax by the hand, the celebration halts. A captive, Sinon ,
8690-438: The pain that such an undertaking would inevitably cause me ever to embark on it. 'Indeed,' the princess replied, 'the conjunction of your passion for Shakespeare and your love of antiquity must result in the creation of something grand and novel. You must write this opera, this lyric poem; call it what you like and plan it as you wish. You must start work on it and bring it to completion.' As I persisted in my refusal: 'Listen,' said
8800-647: The part under Sir Thomas Beecham in London) sang Didon in the 1929 revival, with Germaine Lubin as Cassandre and Franz again as Énée. Georges Thill sang Énée in 1930. Lucienne Anduran was Didon in 1939, with Ferrer as Cassandre this time, José de Trévi as Énée, and Martial Singher as Chorèbe. Gaubert conducted all performances in Paris before the Second World War. In the UK, concert performances of Les Troyens à Carthage took place in 1897 and 1928, then in 1935
8910-469: The potential of new technology which included larger theatres and orchestras and modern instrumentation. He proved in this work that he could rise to meet them in this undoubted grand opera. However, his comfortable financial position, and the change in political climate after the July Revolution , persuaded him to quit the field. Therefore, Guillaume Tell was his last public composition. After
9020-434: The premiere of Giuseppe Verdi 's first opera for Paris, Jérusalem , an adaptation, meeting the grand opera conventions, of his earlier I Lombardi alla prima crociata . For production statistics of grand opera in Paris, see List of performances of French grand operas at the Paris Opéra . A notable feature of grand opera as it developed in Paris through the 1830s was the presence of a lavish ballet, to appear at or near
9130-404: The princess, 'if you shrink before the hardships that it is bound to cause you, if you are so weak as to be afraid of the work and will not face everything for the sake of Dido and Cassandra , then never come back here, for I do not want to see you ever again.' This was more than enough to decide me. Once back in Paris I started to write the lines for the poem of Les Troyens. Then I set to work on
9240-546: The prosperity that they have achieved in the past seven years since fleeing from Tyre to found a new city. Didon, however, is concerned about Iarbas , the Numidian king, not least because he has proposed a political marriage with her. The Carthaginians swear their defence of Didon, and the builders, sailors and farmers offer tribute to Didon. In private after these ceremonies, Didon and her sister Anna then discuss love. Anna urges Didon to remarry, but Didon insists on honoring
9350-514: The release in 1970 of the first complete recording (based on Covent Garden performances conducted by Colin Davis ), "it was finally possible to study and produce the whole work, and to judge it on its own merits." In early 2016 the Bibliothèque nationale de France bought the 1859 autograph vocal score, which included scenes cut for the orchestral autograph score; the manuscript also includes annotations by Pauline Viardot . On 9 June 1892
9460-582: The rites and cults of individual nymphs venerated by country people in the springs and clefts of Latium . Among the Roman literate class, their sphere of influence was restricted and they appear almost exclusively as divinities of the watery element. The ancient Greek belief in nymphs survived in many parts of the country into the early years of the twentieth century when they were usually known as " nereids ". Nymphs often tended to frequent areas distant from humans but could be encountered by lone travelers outside
9570-514: The scale of some of the works by other composers that followed it. This was particularly noticeable in works by Gomes ( Fosca in 1873, and his Salvator Rosa in 1874); Marchetti (especially Gustavo Wasa in 1875); Ponchielli: ( I Lituani in 1874) and La Gioconda (Milan, 1876, revised 1880)); and Lauro Rossi ( La Contessa di Mons , premiered in Turin in 1874). Other operas on this scale continued to be composed by Italian composers during
9680-400: The score, and after three and a half years of corrections, changes, additions etc., everything was finished. [I polished] the work over and over again, after giving numerous readings of the poem in different places, listening to the comments made by various listeners and benefiting from them to the best of my ability ... ." On 3 May 1861, Berlioz wrote in a letter: "I am sure that I have written
9790-460: The second part, was mounted in Nice in 1891. In subsequent years, according to Berlioz biographer David Cairns , the work was thought of as "a noble white elephant – something with beautiful things in it, but too long and supposedly full of dead wood. The kind of maltreatment it received in Paris as recently as last winter in a new production will, I'm sure, be a thing of the past." At the time of
9900-709: The second, Les Troyens à Carthage (with cuts), was given in English on 26 February 1887 at Chickering Hall with Marie Gramm as Didon, Max Alvary as Énée, and possibly conducted by Frank Van der Stucken . The first staged performance of the whole opera only took place in 1890, 21 years after Berlioz's death. The first and second parts, in Berlioz's revised versions of three and five acts, were sung on two successive evenings, 6 and 7 December, in German at Großherzoglichen Hoftheater in Karlsruhe (see Roles ). This production
10010-400: The spirit of this work is far removed from the bourgeois taste of the grand opera of the 1830s and 1840s. By the 1860s, taste for the grand style was returning. La reine de Saba by Charles Gounod was rarely given in its entirety, although the big tenor aria, "Inspirez-moi, race divine", was a popular feature of tenor recitals. Meyerbeer died on 2 May 1864; his late opera, L'Africaine ,
10120-480: The storm subsides, the clouds lift and dissipate. The Numidians have been beaten back, and both Narbal and Anna are relieved at this. However, Narbal worries that Didon has been neglecting the management of the state, distracted by her love for Énée. Anna dismisses such concerns and says that this indicates that Énée would be an excellent king for Carthage. Narbal reminds Anna, however, that the gods have called Énée's final destiny to be in Italy. Anna replies that there
10230-420: The strength left to deliver the tremendous recitative Dieux immortels! il part! [no. 46], the final aria [ Adieu, fière cité , no. 48], and the scene on the pyre [nos. 50–52] ." The "Song of Hylas " [no. 38], which was "greatly liked at the early performances and was well sung", was cut while Berlioz was at home sick with bronchitis . The singer of the part, Edmond Cabel , was also performing in
10340-523: The title Les Troyens à Carthage , the last three acts were premièred with many cuts by Léon Carvalho 's company, the Théâtre Lyrique , at their theatre (now the Théâtre de la Ville ) on the Place du Châtelet in Paris on 4 November 1863, with 21 repeat performances. The reduced versions run for about three hours. After decades of neglect, today the opera is considered by some music critics as one of
10450-813: The tradition of grand opera but often broke its melodramatic boundaries. The influence of Wagner's operas began to be felt, and it is a moot point whether these works can be simply called grand opera. Jules Massenet had at least two large scale historical works to his credit, Le roi de Lahore (Paris, 1877, assessed by Grove as "the last grand opera to have a great and widespread success". ) and Le Cid (Paris, 1885). Other works in this category include Polyeucte (Paris, 1878) by Charles Gounod and Henry VIII by Camille Saint-Saëns (Paris, 1883). Ernest Reyer had started to compose his Sigurd years earlier, but, unable to get it premiered in Paris, settled for La Monnaie in Brussels (1884). What may have been one of
10560-408: The turn of the 19th century drew in many composers, both French and foreign, especially those of opera. Several Italians working during this period, including Luigi Cherubini , demonstrated that the use of recitative was suited for the powerful dramas that were being written. Others, such as Gaspare Spontini , wrote works to glorify Napoleon . These operas were composed on a suitably grand scale for
10670-404: The variety of its musical invention... it recaptures the tragic spirit and climate of the ancient world." Hugh Macdonald said of it: In the history of French music, Les Troyens stands out as a grand opera that avoided the shallow glamour of Meyerbeer and Halévy , but therefore paid the price of long neglect. In our own time the opera has finally come to be seen as one of the greatest operas of
10780-409: The village, where their music might be heard, and the traveler could spy on their dancing or bathing in a stream or pool, either during the noon heat or in the middle of the night. They might appear in a whirlwind. Such encounters could be dangerous, bringing dumbness, besotted infatuation, madness or stroke to the unfortunate man. When parents believed their child to be nereid-struck, they would pray to
10890-530: The women during this scene with admiration for their courage. Greek soldiers then come on the scene, demanding the Trojan treasure from the women. Cassandre defiantly mocks the soldiers, then suddenly stabs herself. Polyxène takes the same dagger and does likewise. The remaining women scorn the Greeks as being too late to find the treasure, and commit mass suicide, to the soldiers' horror. Cassandre summons one last cry of " Italie! " before collapsing, dead. The Carthaginians and their queen, Didon , are celebrating
11000-673: The works of the Greek-educated Latin poets , the nymphs gradually absorbed into their ranks the indigenous Italian divinities of springs and streams ( Juturna , Egeria , Carmentis , Fontus ) while the Lymphae (originally Lumpae), Italian water goddesses, owing to the accidental similarity of their names, could be identified with the Greek Nymphae. The classical mythologies of the Roman poets were unlikely to have affected
11110-406: Was "the greatest opera ever written." American critic B. H. Haggin heard in the work Berlioz's "arrestingly individual musical mind operating in, and commanding attention with, the use of the [Berlioz] idiom with assured mastery and complete adequacy to the text's every demand." David Cairns described the work as "an opera of visionary beauty and splendor, compelling in its epic sweep, fascinating in
11220-570: Was frequently revived over the succeeding eleven years and was sometimes given on a single day. The conductor, Felix Mottl , took his production to Mannheim in 1899 and conducted another production in Munich in 1908, which was revived in 1909. He rearranged some of the music for the Munich production, placing the "Royal Hunt and Storm" after the love duet, a change that "was to prove sadly influential." A production of both parts, with substantial cuts in
11330-545: Was generally well received in Italy, where it was always performed in Italian translation. Italian operas with their own ballet started to become relatively common in the late 1860s and 1870s. Some of these, such as Il Guarany by the Brazilian composer Antônio Carlos Gomes were designated as "opera ballo" (i.e. 'danced opera'). Others, such as La Gioconda by Amilcare Ponchielli were not, although they qualified for
11440-417: Was more or less forced to allow at the 1863 Théâtre Lyrique premiere production, and his letters and memoirs are filled with the indignation that it caused him to "mutilate" his score. In his July 1867 will Berlioz lamented that Choudens had failed to meet their contractual obligation to engrave the full score and asked his executors to ensure the opera "be published without cuts, without modifications, without
11550-465: Was omitted, because Carvalho had found its "homely style... out of place in an epic work". Iopas 's stanzas [no. 25] disappeared with Berlioz's approval, the singer De Quercy "charged with the part being incapable of singing them well." The duet between Didon and Énée [no. 44] was cut because, as Berlioz himself realized, "Madame Charton's voice was unequal to the vehemence of this scene, which took so much out of her that she would not have had
11660-423: Was premiered posthumously in 1865. Giuseppe Verdi returned to Paris for what many see as the greatest French grand opera, Don Carlos (1867). Ambroise Thomas contributed his Hamlet in 1868, and finally, at the end of the decade, the revised Faust was premiered at the Opéra in its grand opera format. During the 1870s and 1880s, a new generation of French composers continued to produce large-scale works in
11770-407: Was staged again in 1990 for the opening of the new Opéra Bastille in Paris. It was a partial success, because the new theatre was not quite ready on opening night, which caused much trouble during rehearsals. The performance had several cuts, authorised by Berlioz, including some dances in the third act. A full staged version conducted by Charles Dutoit and produced by Francesca Zambello took place at
11880-490: Was the conductor, with Régine Crespin as Didon, Geneviève Serrès as Cassandre, Jacqueline Broudeur as Anna, Guy Chauvet as Énée, Robert Massard as Chorèbe and Georges Vaillant as Narbal; performances by this cast were broadcast on French radio. Several of these artists, in particular Crespin and Chauvet, participated in a set of extended highlights commercially recorded by EMI in 1965, Georges Prêtre conducting. The performance of Les Troyens used at various productions at
11990-543: Was to bring in its wake a reappraisal of Berlioz's entire output which would decisively re-establish his position, even in France." The first complete American production of Les Troyens (with Crespin as Didon) was given in February 1972 by Sarah Caldwell with her Opera Company of Boston , at the Aquarius Theater. On 17 March 1972, John Nelson conducted New Jersey's Pro Arte Chorale and Festival Orchestra in
12100-600: Was to prove the most enduring of all grand operas during the 19th century. Having made a fortune in his stewardship of the Opéra, Véron cannily handed on his concession to Henri Duponchel , who continued his winning formula, if not to such financial reward. Between 1838 and 1850, the Paris Opéra staged numerous grand operas of which the most notable were Halévy ’s La reine de Chypre (1841) and Charles VI (1843), Donizetti 's La favorite and Les martyrs (1840) and Dom Sébastien (1843, librettos by Scribe), and Meyerbeer's Le prophète (1849) (Scribe again). 1847 saw
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