Gismonda (Février)

Gismonda
Grand opera by Henry Février
Poster for the first performance in Paris at the Opéra-Comique on 15 October 1919.[1]
Librettist
LanguageFrench
Based onGismonda
by Victorien Sardou
Premiere
14 January 1919 (1919-01-14)
Chicago

Gismonda is a 1919 French-language grand opera in three acts by Henry Février to a libretto by Henri Caïn and Louis Payen based on the 1894 play Gismonda by Victorien Sardou. The planned premiere in Paris was halted by the outbreak of World War I but the composer was given leave from the French army to premiere the opera with Mary Garden in the title role with the Chicago Opera Association on 14 January 1919.[2][3][4] Février was also present when the production was then shown in New York City at Loew's Lexington Theatre (demolished in 1960, now a hotel) on January 27 that year.[5] It premiered in Paris at the Opéra-Comique on 15 October of the same year.[1][6]

Recordings

References

  1. ^ a b Catalogue record for the poster, Bibliothèque nationale de France
  2. ^ Michael Turnbull (1997). Mary Garden. Ashgate. p. 134. ISBN 9781859282632. Fevrier, although a serving member of the French army, had been granted leave by his government to come to Chicago with Mary to conduct his opera Gismonda. Gismonda's premiere had been halted by the outbreak of war.
  3. ^ Cohen, H. Robert; Gigou, Marie-Odile (1968). Cent ans de mise en scène lyrique en France (env. 1830-1930) (in French). Pendragon Press. p. 107. ISBN 978-0-918728-69-2.
  4. ^ Casaglia, Gherardo (2005). "Gismonda, 14 January 1919". L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia (in Italian).
  5. ^ "Two New French Operas". The New York Times. 26 January 1919. (Article PDF)
  6. ^ Casaglia, Gherardo (2005). "Gismonda, 15 October 1919". L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia (in Italian).
  7. ^ "La Paix du cloître", Claudine Boons (audio) on YouTube
  8. ^ "Oui, vous étiez l'enjeu splendide", René Lapelleterie (audio) on YouTube
  9. ^ "Dit-elle vrai?", Véronique Gens (audio) on YouTube