Les amazones
Encyclopedia
Les amazones, ou La fondation de Thèbes (The Amazons, or The Founding of Thebes) is an opera in three acts by the French composer Étienne Méhul
with a libretto
by Victor-Joseph Étienne de Jouy. It was first performed at the Paris Opéra
on 17 December 1811 with the Emperor Napoleon
and his new wife, Marie-Louise in the audience. The plot, which concerns the reconciliation of two warring peoples, was intended to symbolise the peace between France and Austria.
was missing. Absorbed in conversation, the actor Bertin had failed to hear the machine operator's whistle, and the chariot left without the god. He had to be restrained from throwing himself from the top of the stage. What made the accident even more heartbreaking for him was that the Emperor Napoleon and Marie-Louise were among the spectators of this disastrous performance. I was in the orchestra and I can bear witness to the hilarity this episode aroused in their Imperial Majesties. I doubt the great Napoleon ever laughed so heartily."
Méhul, his health already undermined by tuberculosis
, was crushed by the failure of Les amazones. Elizabeth Bartlet describes it as "the worst blow that the composer ever experienced." Méhul gave up writing for the stage for a while and retired to his house at Pantin
in order to devote himself to his passion for gardening.
Étienne Méhul
Etienne Nicolas Méhul was a French composer, "the most important opera composer in France during the Revolution." He was also the first composer to be called a "Romantic".-Life:...
with a 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...
by Victor-Joseph Étienne de Jouy. It was first performed at the Paris 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 17 December 1811 with the Emperor Napoleon
Napoleon I
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
and his new wife, Marie-Louise in the audience. The plot, which concerns the reconciliation of two warring peoples, was intended to symbolise the peace between France and Austria.
Performance history
The opera was a failure, its lack of success blamed on the weak libretto. Méhul's early biographer, Pierre Vieillard, was one of the musicians at the premiere. He wrote, "A bizarre occurrence added to the woes of this sorry work. The worst thing which went wrong was the denouement which, one might say, fell from a great height, since Jupiter himself appeared up in the air to recognise Amphion and Zethus as his sons. At the very moment when this revelation should have stopped short the Amazons, ready to strike down the unknown children of their queen, a cloud chariot was indeed seen to descend from the flies, but no Jupiter; the deus ex machinaDeus ex machina
A deus ex machina is a plot device whereby a seemingly inextricable problem is suddenly and abruptly solved with the contrived and unexpected intervention of some new event, character, ability, or object.-Linguistic considerations:...
was missing. Absorbed in conversation, the actor Bertin had failed to hear the machine operator's whistle, and the chariot left without the god. He had to be restrained from throwing himself from the top of the stage. What made the accident even more heartbreaking for him was that the Emperor Napoleon and Marie-Louise were among the spectators of this disastrous performance. I was in the orchestra and I can bear witness to the hilarity this episode aroused in their Imperial Majesties. I doubt the great Napoleon ever laughed so heartily."
Méhul, his health already undermined by tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
, was crushed by the failure of Les amazones. Elizabeth Bartlet describes it as "the worst blow that the composer ever experienced." Méhul gave up writing for the stage for a while and retired to his house at Pantin
Pantin
Pantin is a commune in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. It is one of the most densely populated municipalities in Europe. Its post code is 93500.Pantin was once the site of Motobecane's operations...
in order to devote himself to his passion for gardening.
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, 17 December 1811 (Conductor:) |
|---|---|---|
| Antiope, Queen of the Amazons | 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... |
Alexandrine-Caroline Branchu Alexandrine-Caroline Branchu Alexandrine-Caroline Branchu was a French opera soprano. She was born in Cap-Haïtien, Haïti at a time when Haiti was a French colony... |
| Ériphile, a young Amazon | soprano | Augustine Albert-Hymm |
| Amphion | 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... |
Louis Nourrit |
| Zéthus, Amphion's brother | bass | Henri-Étienne Dérivis |
| Jupiter | bass | Jean-Honoré Bertin |
| Licidas, the Theban chief | bass | Duparc |
| An Amazon | J. Armand | |
| A Theban officer | Henrard | |
| Chorus of warriors, Amazons, Theban people | ||
Sources
- Adélaïde de Place Étienne Nicolas Méhul (Bleu Nuit Éditeur, 2005)
- Pierre Vieillard Méhul: sa vie et ses œuvres (Ledoyen, 1859)
- General introduction to Méhul's operas in the introduction to the edition of StratoniceStratonice (opera)Stratonice is a one-act opéra comique by Étienne Méhul to a libretto by François-Benoît Hoffman, first performed at the Théâtre Favart, Paris, on 3 May 1792...
by M. Elizabeth C. Bartlet (Pendragon Press, 1997)