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Mendès had begun work on his libretto in 1878, hoping to offer it to "one of the leading lights of the French school [of opera]". Massenet's Le Cid (1885, Paris Opera) may have put Mendès off in his search for a composer. It was only in April, 1890 that Mendès handed it to the young Debussy.[1] Mendès had predicted that Debussy would become "one of the great composers of the future" and had helped to promote his music. Although he was unimpressed by the literary quality of the drama he had to set, Debussy was encouraged by the prospect that his work would be performed at the Paris Opéra and earn him some money. Over the next two years Debussy's musical style developed in a radically new direction and his enthusiasm for the old-fashioned Rodrigue et Chimène began to flag. In a letter of January, 1892, he admitted, "My life is hardship and misery thanks to this opera. Everything about it is wrong for me." On 17 May 1893 Debussy attended a performance of Maeterlinck's Symbolist play Pelléas et Mélisande and realised that this was exactly the type of drama he had been looking for. When he played excerpts from the score of Rodrigue et Chimène to Paul Dukas in August of the same year, he confessed that Mendès' libretto was "totally at odds with all that I dream about, demanding a type of music that is alien to me". Debussy abandoned any idea of bringing Rodrigue et Chimène to the stage and later claimed he had accidentally burned it.
Completion and stagingedit
The score did, however, survive and the various manuscripts, after being owned by Alfred Cortot were eventually assembled by the American collector Robert Owen Lehman. Excerpts from a vocal score prepared by the musicologist Richard Langham Smith were performed at the Bibliothèque nationale in Paris in June 1987.[1] Debussy had completed all but the orchestration of Rodrigue et Chimène (although two scenes of the vocal score have been lost). The Russian composer Edison Denisov was asked to provide the orchestration for a stage performance to mark the opening of Opéra de Lyon's new auditorium, "Opéra Nouvel". Thus Rodrigue et Chimène finally received its premiere in Lyon on 14 May 1993.
Rolesedit
Role
Voice type
Premiere Cast (Denisov completion, 14 May 1993) Conductor: Kent Nagano
Daughters of Bivar, Men of Gormaz, Men of Bivar, Servants and Servant-girls, Soldiers, Monks
Synopsisedit
Time: 11th century
Place: Spain
Act 1edit
Rodrigue, son of Don Diègue of Bivar, is engaged to marry Chimène, daughter of Don Gomez of Gormaz. They meet for a tryst just before dawn outside Don Gomez's house. They are interrupted by the arrival of the men of Gomez, singing a drinking song. The young women of Bivar also appear and the men of Gomez try to carry them off. They are stopped by an outraged Don Diègue. A quarrel breaks out between Don Diègue and Don Gomez, who objects to Diègue striking his servants. The two draw their swords but Don Diègue proves too old and weak to fight.
Act 2edit
Rodrigue and his brothers are playing chess when they see an old beggar on the highway and offer him help. The "beggar" is Don Diègue and he demands, not alms, but the head of Don Gomez. He asks Rodrigue to avenge the slight on his honour by killing Chimène's father. Rodrigue reluctantly accepts the commission. Rodrigue challenges Don Gomez to a duel and fatally wounds him. Don Gomez dies in Chimène's arms, having told her the killer was her beloved.
Act 3edit
King Ferdinand assembles his army for a campaign against the Moors. He notices that Don Gomez is missing from the ranks of his warriors. Chimène steps forward and begs for justice for her dead father, but Don Diègue pleads equally passionately for the life of the son who has restored his honour. The king sends for Rodrigue. Chimène confesses to her maidservant Iňez that she still loves him, but family honour demands he should die. The grief-stricken Rodrigue tells Chimène she should kill him with the selfsame sword that slew her father. She is unable to strike him, but unable to forgive him. He asks one of the king's soldiers to kill him instead. Don Diègue tells Rodrigue he must live so he can fight and defeat the Moors. Rodrigue reluctantly agrees, hoping to be killed in battle.
Recordingedit
Rodrigue et Chimène (Denisov completion) Donna Brown, Laurence Dale, José van Dam, Choeur et Orchestre de l'Opéra de Lyon, conducted by Kent Nagano (Erato, 1995)
Referencesedit
^ abcLangham Smith, Richard. Rodrigue et Chimène. In: New Grove Dictionary of Opera. Macmillan, London and New York, 1997.
Sources
Booklet notes by Claude Samuel to the Nagano Erato recording (1995).
Casaglia, Gherardo (2005). "Rodrigue et Chimène,14 May 1993". L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia (in Italian).
January 01, 1970
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This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article relies largely or entirely on a single source Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources Find sources Rodrigue et Chimene news newspapers books scholar JSTOR October 2019 This article includes a list of general references but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations October 2019 Learn how and when to remove this message Learn how and when to remove this message Rodrigue et Chimene English Rodrigo and Ximena is an unfinished opera in three acts by Claude Debussy The French libretto by Catulle Mendes 1 is based on the plays Las Mocedades del Cid by Guillen de Castro y Bellvis and Corneille s Le Cid which deal with the legend of El Cid Rodrigue in the opera It was first staged in a version completed by Edison Denisov in Lyon on 14 May 1993 Rodrigue et ChimeneUnfinished opera by Claude DebussyDebussy portrayed by Marcel Baschet 1884LibrettistCatulle MendesLanguageFrenchBased onLegend of El CidPremiere14 May 1993 1993 05 14 Lyon Contents 1 Composition 2 Completion and staging 3 Roles 4 Synopsis 4 1 Act 1 4 2 Act 2 4 3 Act 3 5 Recording 6 ReferencesComposition editMendes had begun work on his libretto in 1878 hoping to offer it to one of the leading lights of the French school of opera Massenet s Le Cid 1885 Paris Opera may have put Mendes off in his search for a composer It was only in April 1890 that Mendes handed it to the young Debussy 1 Mendes had predicted that Debussy would become one of the great composers of the future and had helped to promote his music Although he was unimpressed by the literary quality of the drama he had to set Debussy was encouraged by the prospect that his work would be performed at the Paris Opera and earn him some money Over the next two years Debussy s musical style developed in a radically new direction and his enthusiasm for the old fashioned Rodrigue et Chimene began to flag In a letter of January 1892 he admitted My life is hardship and misery thanks to this opera Everything about it is wrong for me On 17 May 1893 Debussy attended a performance of Maeterlinck s Symbolist play Pelleas et Melisande and realised that this was exactly the type of drama he had been looking for When he played excerpts from the score of Rodrigue et Chimene to Paul Dukas in August of the same year he confessed that Mendes libretto was totally at odds with all that I dream about demanding a type of music that is alien to me Debussy abandoned any idea of bringing Rodrigue et Chimene to the stage and later claimed he had accidentally burned it Completion and staging editThe score did however survive and the various manuscripts after being owned by Alfred Cortot were eventually assembled by the American collector Robert Owen Lehman Excerpts from a vocal score prepared by the musicologist Richard Langham Smith were performed at the Bibliotheque nationale in Paris in June 1987 1 Debussy had completed all but the orchestration of Rodrigue et Chimene although two scenes of the vocal score have been lost The Russian composer Edison Denisov was asked to provide the orchestration for a stage performance to mark the opening of Opera de Lyon s new auditorium Opera Nouvel Thus Rodrigue et Chimene finally received its premiere in Lyon on 14 May 1993 Roles editRole Voice type Premiere Cast Denisov completion 14 May 1993 Conductor Kent Nagano Rodrigue tenor Laurence Dale Chimene soprano Donna Brown Inez mezzo soprano Helene Jossoud Hernan tenor Gilles Ragon Bermudo tenor Jean Paul Fouchecourt Don Diegue baritone Jean Philippe Courtis Don Gomez baritone Jules Bastin Le Roi bass Vincent Le Texier Don Juan d Arcos tenor Don Pedre de Terruel tenor Daughters of Bivar Men of Gormaz Men of Bivar Servants and Servant girls Soldiers MonksSynopsis editTime 11th century Place Spain Act 1 edit Rodrigue son of Don Diegue of Bivar is engaged to marry Chimene daughter of Don Gomez of Gormaz They meet for a tryst just before dawn outside Don Gomez s house They are interrupted by the arrival of the men of Gomez singing a drinking song The young women of Bivar also appear and the men of Gomez try to carry them off They are stopped by an outraged Don Diegue A quarrel breaks out between Don Diegue and Don Gomez who objects to Diegue striking his servants The two draw their swords but Don Diegue proves too old and weak to fight Act 2 edit Rodrigue and his brothers are playing chess when they see an old beggar on the highway and offer him help The beggar is Don Diegue and he demands not alms but the head of Don Gomez He asks Rodrigue to avenge the slight on his honour by killing Chimene s father Rodrigue reluctantly accepts the commission Rodrigue challenges Don Gomez to a duel and fatally wounds him Don Gomez dies in Chimene s arms having told her the killer was her beloved Act 3 edit King Ferdinand assembles his army for a campaign against the Moors He notices that Don Gomez is missing from the ranks of his warriors Chimene steps forward and begs for justice for her dead father but Don Diegue pleads equally passionately for the life of the son who has restored his honour The king sends for Rodrigue Chimene confesses to her maidservant Inez that she still loves him but family honour demands he should die The grief stricken Rodrigue tells Chimene she should kill him with the selfsame sword that slew her father She is unable to strike him but unable to forgive him He asks one of the king s soldiers to kill him instead Don Diegue tells Rodrigue he must live so he can fight and defeat the Moors Rodrigue reluctantly agrees hoping to be killed in battle Recording editRodrigue et Chimene Denisov completion Donna Brown Laurence Dale Jose van Dam Choeur et Orchestre de l Opera de Lyon conducted by Kent Nagano Erato 1995 References edit a b c Langham Smith Richard Rodrigue et Chimene In New Grove Dictionary of Opera Macmillan London and New York 1997 Sources Booklet notes by Claude Samuel to the Nagano Erato recording 1995 Casaglia Gherardo 2005 Rodrigue et Chimene 14 May 1993 L Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia in Italian Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Rodrigue et Chimene amp oldid 1173801132, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
