Ernelinde, princesse de Norvège (Ernelinde, Princess of Norway) is a three-act opera

Opera

Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...

tic tragédie lyrique, by the French composer François-André Danican Philidor

François-André Danican Philidor

François-André Danican Philidor , often referred to as André Danican Philidor during his lifetime, was a French composer and chess player. He contributed to the early development of the opéra comique...

. The text was by Antonine Alexandre Henri Poinsinet, after Francesco Silvani's opera libretto

Libretto

A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...

 La fede tradita, e vendicata.

Performance history

The work was first performed at the Salle des Machines du Palais des Tuileries, Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 Opéra

Paris Opera

The Paris Opera is the primary opera company of Paris, France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the Académie d'Opéra and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and renamed the Académie Royale de Musique...

, on 24 November 1767. Revised as Sandomir, prince de Dannemarck it was given in the same theatre on 24 January 1769. Still in three acts, it was further revised, this time as Ernelinde for Versailles

Versailles

Versailles , a city renowned for its château, the Palace of Versailles, was the de facto capital of the kingdom of France for over a century, from 1682 to 1789. It is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and remains an important administrative and judicial centre...

 on 11 December 1773. The libretto was then rewritten for a five-act version by Michel-Jean Sedaine

Michel-Jean Sedaine

Michel-Jean Sedaine was a French dramatist, was born in Paris.- Biography :His father, who was an architect, died when Sedaine was quite young, leaving no fortune, and the boy began life as a mason's labourer...

 given at the Paris Opéra on 8 July 1777.

The 1777 performances, with their exotic Viking setting, excited enough interest to provoke parodies. One by Jean-Etienne Despréaux

Jean-Étienne Despréaux

Jean-Étienne Despréaux was a French ballet dancer, choreographer, composer, singer and playwright.He was an author of several opera parodies, appreciated by king Louis XV of France, including Berlingue based on Philidor's Ernelinde, princesse de Norvège.He retired in 1781 with pension of 1,000...

, entitled Berlingue, was performed at Théâtre Royal de la Cour di Choisy-le-Roy on 13 September, another anonymous work called Sans dormir was given at the Opéra-Comique

Opéra-Comique

The Opéra-Comique is a Parisian opera company, which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with, and for a time took the name of its chief rival the Comédie-Italienne at the Hôtel de Bourgogne, and was also called the...

 on 12 October.

Roles

Role	Voice type	Premiere Cast, 24 November 1767	1st revision, 24 January 1769	2nd revision, 11 December 1773	3rd revision, 8 July 1777
Ricimer, King of the Goths	baritone Baritone Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...	Henri Larrivée	Larrivée	Larrivée	Larrivée
Sandomir, Prince of Denmark	tenor Tenor The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...	Joseph Legros Joseph Legros Joseph Legros was a French singer and composer of the 18th century. He is best remembered for his association with the composer Christoph Willibald Gluck...	Legros	Legros	Legros
Ernelinde, Princess of Norway	soprano Soprano A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...	Marie Jeanne Larrivée	Marie Jeanne Larrivée	Marie Jeanne Larrivée	Rosalie Levasseur Rosalie Levasseur Rosalie Levasseur or Le Vasseur was a French soprano. Known as 'Mlle Rosalie', she is best remembered for her work with the composer Christoph Willibald Gluck....
Rodoald, King of Norway	bass	Nicolas Gélin

Synopsis

A viking-era saga about the struggle for control of Norway, Sweden and Denmark - and the hand of the Norwegian princess Ernelinde.