Madame Sans-Gêne (opera)
Encyclopedia
Madame Sans-Gêne is an opera
in three acts by Umberto Giordano
. The libretto was taken from Victorien Sardou
and Emile Moreau
's play, adapted for the opera by Renato Simoni
.
on 25 January 1915, conducted by Arturo Toscanini
with Geraldine Farrar
in the title role, Giovanni Martinelli
, and Pasquale Amato
. This was followed by a performance in Turin
under Ettore Panizza
with Farneti, Grassi and Riccardo Stracciari
on 28 February 1915.
. There is a squabble in the laundry of Catharina Hubscher, a beautiful Alsacian
girl, a very free and easy mannered woman whom everyone calls "Madame Sans-Gêne}" (Madame Carefree). One of her customers is Fouché
(later Minister of Police under Napoleon), whom Catharina dislikes; another, a quiet young officer who lives nearby, is Napoleon himself. As Catharina is about to close her laundry, a wounded Austria
n officer arrives and asks for her help, Catharina hides him in her room. The officer turns out to be the Count of Neipperg
. Sergeant Lefebvre
, Catharina's fiancé, arrives with more soldiers and is suspicious when he sees the doors closed. He discovers Neipperg but tells his men that there is no one in the room, and to leave. Once alone with Catharina, he helps her to assist the Count.
. September 1811. Napoléon is at the height of his career. Lefebvre has distinguished himself in many battles, and has become a Marshal of France
. For his success in the siege of Danzig
, Napoléon has made him Duke of Danzig. Catharina, the former laundress, is his wife of many years, and now a duchess, but her demeanor has not changed and causes scandals in court. The Emperor orders Lefebvre to divorce Catharina and find a more suitable wife. Lefebvre and Catharina are desperate and also worried about their friend Neipperg, who is suspected by the Emperor of an affair with the Empress Marie-Louise
. During a reception, Catharina makes a series of gaffes and gets into a fight with the Emperor's sisters, and the butler announces that the Emperor wishes to see her.
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...
in three acts by Umberto Giordano
Umberto Giordano
Umberto Menotti Maria Giordano was an Italian composer, mainly of operas.He was born in Foggia in Puglia, southern Italy, and studied under Paolo Serrao at the Conservatoire of Naples...
. The libretto was taken from Victorien Sardou
Victorien Sardou
Victorien Sardou was a French dramatist. He is best remembered today for his development, along with Eugène Scribe, of the well-made play...
and Emile Moreau
Émile Moreau
Émile Moreau was a French playwright and screenwriter. In co-operation with Victorien Sardou, he wrote the plays Madame Sans-Gêne and Cleopatre . He also wrote the play Les Amours de la reine Élisabeth, and the script for its film adaptation, and was one of the co-founders of the Indian...
's play, adapted for the opera by Renato Simoni
Renato Simoni
Renato Simoni was an Italian journalist, playwright, writer and theatrical critic noted for his collaboration work with Giuseppe Adami for Giacomo Puccini's Turandot....
.
Performance history
Its première took place in the Metropolitan OperaMetropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
on 25 January 1915, conducted by Arturo Toscanini
Arturo Toscanini
Arturo Toscanini was an Italian conductor. One of the most acclaimed musicians of the late 19th and 20th century, he was renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orchestral detail and sonority, and his photographic memory...
with Geraldine Farrar
Geraldine Farrar
Geraldine Farrar was an American soprano opera singer and film actress, noted for her beauty, acting ability, and "the intimate timbre of her voice." She had a large following among young women, who were nicknamed "Gerry-flappers".- Early life and opera career :Farrar was born in Melrose,...
in the title role, Giovanni Martinelli
Giovanni Martinelli
Giovanni Martinelli was a celebrated Italian operatic tenor. He was particularly associated with the Italian lyric-dramatic repertory, although he performed French operatic roles to great acclaim as well...
, and Pasquale Amato
Pasquale Amato
Pasquale Amato was an outstanding Italian operatic baritone. Amato enjoyed an international reputation but attained the peak of his fame in New York City, where he sang with the Metropolitan Opera from 1908 until 1921....
. This was followed by a performance in Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
under Ettore Panizza
Ettore Panizza
Ettore Panizza was an Argentinian conductor and composer, one of the leading conductors of the early 20th century. Panizza possessed technical mastery and was popular and influential during his time, widely admired by Richard Strauss.- Biography :Panizza was born in Buenos Aires, of Italian parents...
with Farneti, Grassi and Riccardo Stracciari
Riccardo Stracciari
Riccardo Stracciari was a leading Italian baritone. His repertoire consisted mainly of Italian operatic works, with Rossini's Figaro and Verdi's Rigoletto becoming his signature roles during a long and distinguished career which stretched from 1899 to 1944.- Life and career :Born near Bologna,...
on 28 February 1915.
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, 25 January 1915 (Conductor: Arturo Toscanini Arturo Toscanini Arturo Toscanini was an Italian conductor. One of the most acclaimed musicians of the late 19th and 20th century, he was renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orchestral detail and sonority, and his photographic memory... ) |
|---|---|---|
| Cathérine Hubscher, laundress then Duchess of Danzig | 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... |
Geraldine Farrar Geraldine Farrar Geraldine Farrar was an American soprano opera singer and film actress, noted for her beauty, acting ability, and "the intimate timbre of her voice." She had a large following among young women, who were nicknamed "Gerry-flappers".- Early life and opera career :Farrar was born in Melrose,... |
| Lefebvre François Joseph Lefebvre François Joseph Lefebvre, First Duc de Dantzig was a French military commander during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars and one of the original eighteen Marshals of the Empire created by Napoleon.... , sergeant then Duke of Danzig |
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... |
Giovanni Martinelli Giovanni Martinelli Giovanni Martinelli was a celebrated Italian operatic tenor. He was particularly associated with the Italian lyric-dramatic repertory, although he performed French operatic roles to great acclaim as well... |
| Fouché | baritone | Andrés De Segurola Andrés de Segurola Andrés Perelló de Segurola was a Spanish operatic bass who performed as Andrés de Segurola.-Biography:... |
| Count Neipperg | tenor | Paul Althouse Paul Althouse Paul Shearer Althouse was an American opera singer. He began his career as a lyric tenor with a robust Italianate sound, excelling in roles like Cavaradossi, Pinkerton, and Turiddu. He later branched out into the dramatic tenor repertoire, finding particular success in portraying Wagnerian heroes... |
| Napoléon | 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... |
Pasquale Amato Pasquale Amato Pasquale Amato was an outstanding Italian operatic baritone. Amato enjoyed an international reputation but attained the peak of his fame in New York City, where he sang with the Metropolitan Opera from 1908 until 1921.... |
| Toniotta, laundress | soprano | Leonora Sparkes |
| Giulia, laundress | soprano | Rita Fornia |
| La Rossa, laundress | soprano | Sophie Braslau Sophie Braslau Sophie Braslau was a contralto prominent in United States opera, starting with her debut in New York's Metropolitan Opera in 1913 when she was just 21 years of age.... |
| Vinaigre, drummer | tenor | Max Bloch |
| Queen Carolina | soprano | Vena Curtis |
| Princess Princess Princess is the feminine form of prince . Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or his daughters.... Elisa |
soprano | Minnie Egener Minnie Egener Minnie Egener was an American operatic mezzo-soprano. She made her professional opera debut in 1904 at the Metropolitan Opera as one of the flower maidens in Richard Wagner's Parsifal. In 1906 she moved to Italy and spent the next several years performing in operas with various theaters throughout... |
| Desperéaux, dancing master | tenor | Angelo Badà Angelo Badà Angelo Badà was an Italian operatic tenor. He had a lengthy association with the Metropolitan Opera of New York City where he gave a total of 2,170 performance in 94 different operas in over 100 different roles from 1908 through 1938. Only two singers in the Met's history have made more... |
| Gelsomino, valet | baritone | Riccardo Tegani |
| Leroy, tailor | baritone | Robert Leonhardt |
| De Brigole, court chamberlain | baritone | Vincenzo Reschiglian Vincenzo Reschiglian Vincenzo Reschiglian was an Italian operatic baritone who specialized in the comprimario repertoire.-Biography:Born in Venice, he was the older brother of tenor Giuseppe Reschiglian... |
| Madame de Bülow, lady at court | soprano | |
| Roustan, head of the Mamelukes | baritone | Bernard Bégué |
| Townspeople, shopkeepers, national guards, soldiers, diplomats and others | ||
Act 1
Paris. 10 August 1792, the day of the capture of the Tuileries during the French RevolutionFrench Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
. There is a squabble in the laundry of Catharina Hubscher, a beautiful Alsacian
Alsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
girl, a very free and easy mannered woman whom everyone calls "Madame Sans-Gêne}" (Madame Carefree). One of her customers is Fouché
Joseph Fouché
Joseph Fouché, 1st Duc d'Otrante was a French statesman and Minister of Police under Napoleon Bonaparte. In English texts his title is often translated as Duke of Otranto.-Youth:Fouché was born in Le Pellerin, a small village near Nantes...
(later Minister of Police under Napoleon), whom Catharina dislikes; another, a quiet young officer who lives nearby, is Napoleon himself. As Catharina is about to close her laundry, a wounded Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n officer arrives and asks for her help, Catharina hides him in her room. The officer turns out to be the Count of Neipperg
Adam Albert von Neipperg
Adam Albert, Count von Neipperg was an Austrian general and statesman. The son of a diplomat, famous for inventing a letter-copying machine, and a French mother, he was the grandson of Wilhelm Reinhard von Neipperg....
. Sergeant Lefebvre
François Joseph Lefebvre
François Joseph Lefebvre, First Duc de Dantzig was a French military commander during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars and one of the original eighteen Marshals of the Empire created by Napoleon....
, Catharina's fiancé, arrives with more soldiers and is suspicious when he sees the doors closed. He discovers Neipperg but tells his men that there is no one in the room, and to leave. Once alone with Catharina, he helps her to assist the Count.
Act 2
The castle of CompiègneCompiègne
Compiègne is a city in northern France. It is designated municipally as a commune within the département of Oise.The city is located along the Oise River...
. September 1811. Napoléon is at the height of his career. Lefebvre has distinguished himself in many battles, and has become a Marshal of France
Marshal of France
The Marshal of France is a military distinction in contemporary France, not a military rank. It is granted to generals for exceptional achievements...
. For his success in the siege of Danzig
Siege of Danzig (1807)
The Siege of Danzig was the French encirclement and capture of Danzig during the War of the Fourth Coalition. On 19 March, 1807, around 27,000 French troops under Marshall Lefebvre besieged around 11,000 Prussian and Russian troops under Marshall Kalckreuth garrisoning the city of...
, Napoléon has made him Duke of Danzig. Catharina, the former laundress, is his wife of many years, and now a duchess, but her demeanor has not changed and causes scandals in court. The Emperor orders Lefebvre to divorce Catharina and find a more suitable wife. Lefebvre and Catharina are desperate and also worried about their friend Neipperg, who is suspected by the Emperor of an affair with the Empress Marie-Louise
Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma
Marie Louise of Austria was the second wife of Napoleon I, Emperor of the French and later Duchess of Parma...
. During a reception, Catharina makes a series of gaffes and gets into a fight with the Emperor's sisters, and the butler announces that the Emperor wishes to see her.