Mozart (musical comedy)
Encyclopedia
Mozart is a comédie musicale in three acts with music by Reynaldo Hahn
and words by Sacha Guitry
, a pastiche of the composer's early works to fit beside arias written for Yvonne Printemps
(playing the title role as a breeches role
). The story concerns the fictional adventures of Mozart
on a visit to the French capital.
After the success of L'amour masqué, Sacha Guitry wanted to collaborate again with Messager
, but the older composer declined. Guitry wrote to Hahn, on holiday in Cannes, who seized the opportunity with great joy, and the collaboration was excellent.
It was first performed at the Théâtre Édouard VII in Paris on 2 December 1925.
of Madame d'Epinay, the mistress of the house tries to persuade her godchild Marie-Anne de Saint-Pons of the advantages of a marriage to the Marquis de Chambreuil. The Marquis enters and invites Marie-Anne to play the harpsichord
; she dared not, as the instrument was played by the young Mozart on his first time in Paris. The Baron Grimm and La Guimard, the famous dancer and, it appears, intimate with Grimm, join the party and conversation turns to the visit to Paris of the young Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart when he was a child prodigy
. Mme d'Épinay owns the picture of the boy Mozart by Carmontelle
.
The servants Louise and Grimaud are also present. Although he has sent no news since his last visit, the subject of conversation now makes a surprise entrance. The child prodigy, now 22 and a famous musician, remains sensitive and shy, but tells the company of his journey and having read Dom Juan
of Molière
on the coach from Strasbourg to Paris. He is warmly welcomed and, to thank his hosts, he plays the harpsichord, singing "Il faut que tu m'aimes Paris!".
rehearse, while the composer successfully flirts with Guimard. Mozart then opens the letter he received: it is from his fiancée in Mannheim.
Baron Grimm tries to calm everyone, pointing out that Mozart will have to leave Paris soon. It then emerges that Grimm had written to Mozart's father
to bring forward his departure; Grimm explains that the young man has been frittering away his time in France, his fancy alighting on one woman after another, and it would be better for everyone if he left for Germany. Mozart submits reluctantly and sadly to this decision and bids a tender farewell to the four women, and to Paris.
Yvonne Printemps recorded excerpts from the piece in the 1930s, including "C'est la saison d'amour" and "Je t'aime" (available on La Saison d'Amour, Pearl CD) and "Depuis ton départ, mon amour" and "Alors, adieu, donc, mon amour" (available on Yvonne Printemps: Arias and Songs EMI CD).
Reynaldo Hahn
Reynaldo Hahn was a Venezuelan, naturalised French, composer, conductor, music critic and diarist. Best known as a composer of songs, he wrote in the French classical tradition of the mélodie....
and words by Sacha Guitry
Sacha Guitry
Alexandre-Pierre Georges Guitry was a French stage actor, film actor, director, screenwriter, and playwright of the Boulevard theatre.- Biography :...
, a pastiche of the composer's early works to fit beside arias written for Yvonne Printemps
Yvonne Printemps
Yvonne Printemps was a French singer and actress.-Biography:Born Yvonne Wigniolle, she made her debut at the age of 12 in a revue at La Cigale in Paris. She was dancing at the Folies Bergère at age 13...
(playing the title role as a breeches role
Breeches role
A breeches role is a role in which an actress appears in male clothing .In opera it also refers to any male character that is sung and acted by a female singer...
). The story concerns the fictional adventures of Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
on a visit to the French capital.
After the success of L'amour masqué, Sacha Guitry wanted to collaborate again with Messager
André Messager
André Charles Prosper Messager , was a French composer, organist, pianist, conductor and administrator. His stage compositions included ballets and 30 opéra comiques and operettas, among which Véronique, had lasting success, with Les p'tites Michu and Monsieur Beaucaire also enjoying international...
, but the older composer declined. Guitry wrote to Hahn, on holiday in Cannes, who seized the opportunity with great joy, and the collaboration was excellent.
It was first performed at the Théâtre Édouard VII in Paris on 2 December 1925.
Roles
| Role | Voice type Voice type A voice type is a particular kind of human singing voice perceived as having certain identifying qualities or characteristics. Voice classification is the process by which human voices are evaluated and are thereby designated into voice types... |
Premiere cast, 2 December 1925 (Conductor: Raoul Labis) |
|---|---|---|
| Grimm | spoken | Sacha Guitry Sacha Guitry Alexandre-Pierre Georges Guitry was a French stage actor, film actor, director, screenwriter, and playwright of the Boulevard theatre.- Biography :... |
| Marquis de Chambreuil | spoken | René Maupré |
| Vestris | spoken | Gerlys |
| Mozart | 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... |
Yvonne Printemps Yvonne Printemps Yvonne Printemps was a French singer and actress.-Biography:Born Yvonne Wigniolle, she made her debut at the age of 12 in a revue at La Cigale in Paris. She was dancing at the Folies Bergère at age 13... |
| Mme d'Epinay | mezzo-soprano Mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above... |
Germaine Gallois |
| la Guimard | spoken | Marthe Lenclud |
| Mlle de Saint-Pons | spoken | Edith Merannes |
| Louise | soprano | Madeleine Lebergy |
| Grimaud | 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... |
Léonce Dupré |
Act 1
It is 1778, and in the salonSalon (gathering)
A salon is a gathering of people under the roof of an inspiring host, held partly to amuse one another and partly to refine taste and increase their knowledge of the participants through conversation. These gatherings often consciously followed Horace's definition of the aims of poetry, "either to...
of Madame d'Epinay, the mistress of the house tries to persuade her godchild Marie-Anne de Saint-Pons of the advantages of a marriage to the Marquis de Chambreuil. The Marquis enters and invites Marie-Anne to play the harpsichord
Harpsichord
A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It produces sound by plucking a string when a key is pressed.In the narrow sense, "harpsichord" designates only the large wing-shaped instruments in which the strings are perpendicular to the keyboard...
; she dared not, as the instrument was played by the young Mozart on his first time in Paris. The Baron Grimm and La Guimard, the famous dancer and, it appears, intimate with Grimm, join the party and conversation turns to the visit to Paris of the young Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart when he was a child prodigy
Child prodigy
A child prodigy is someone who, at an early age, masters one or more skills far beyond his or her level of maturity. One criterion for classifying prodigies is: a prodigy is a child, typically younger than 18 years old, who is performing at the level of a highly trained adult in a very demanding...
. Mme d'Épinay owns the picture of the boy Mozart by Carmontelle
Louis Carrogis Carmontelle
Louis Carrogis Carmontelle was a French dramatist, painter, architect, set designer and author, and designer of one of the earliest examples of the French landscape garden, Parc Monceau in Paris...
.
The servants Louise and Grimaud are also present. Although he has sent no news since his last visit, the subject of conversation now makes a surprise entrance. The child prodigy, now 22 and a famous musician, remains sensitive and shy, but tells the company of his journey and having read Dom Juan
Dom Juan
Dom Juan or The Feast with the Statue is a French play by Molière, based on the legend of Don Juan. Molière's characters Dom Juan and Sganarelle are the French counterparts to the Spanish Don Juan and Catalinón, characters who would later become familiar to opera goers as Don Giovanni and Leporello...
of Molière
Molière
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, known by his stage name Molière, was a French playwright and actor who is considered to be one of the greatest masters of comedy in Western literature...
on the coach from Strasbourg to Paris. He is warmly welcomed and, to thank his hosts, he plays the harpsichord, singing "Il faut que tu m'aimes Paris!".
Act 2
A few days later – Mozart is working at the keyboard at Madame d'Epinay's house when her young servant Louise brings him a letter. Mozart has seduced many attractive women during his visit but is unsure who he should choose; the hostess suggests the dancer La Guimard. Mozart is to compose several pieces in Paris, including Les Petits Riens, which La Guimard and VestrisVestris
- Performers :* Gaétan Vestris , French ballet dancer* Auguste Vestris , French dancer, natural son of Gaétan Vestris* Lucia Elizabeth Vestris , English actress and wife of Auguste Vestris...
rehearse, while the composer successfully flirts with Guimard. Mozart then opens the letter he received: it is from his fiancée in Mannheim.
Act 3
Louise's fiancé reproaches her for having made eyes at Mozart. The Marquis de Chambreuil is furious too as the composer has also been flirting with Marie-Anne (who he called Nanerl after his sister), and sent her a letter.Baron Grimm tries to calm everyone, pointing out that Mozart will have to leave Paris soon. It then emerges that Grimm had written to Mozart's father
Leopold Mozart
Johann Georg Leopold Mozart was a German composer, conductor, teacher, and violinist. Mozart is best known today as the father and teacher of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and for his violin textbook Versuch einer gründlichen Violinschule.-Childhood and student years:He was born in Augsburg, son of...
to bring forward his departure; Grimm explains that the young man has been frittering away his time in France, his fancy alighting on one woman after another, and it would be better for everyone if he left for Germany. Mozart submits reluctantly and sadly to this decision and bids a tender farewell to the four women, and to Paris.
Recordings
Hahn: Mozart, Orchestre des Concerts Français- Conductor: André Houve
- Principal singers: Annie Rozanne, Annie Ducaux, Maurice Escande
- Recording date: 15 and 16 June 1955
- Label: EMI, CZS 5 68286 2 (CD) (released with extracts from CibouletteCibouletteCiboulette is a French opérette in three acts, music by Reynaldo Hahn, libretto by Robert de Flers and Francis de Croisset, first performed at the Théâtre des Variétés, in Paris, on April 7, 1923...
)
Yvonne Printemps recorded excerpts from the piece in the 1930s, including "C'est la saison d'amour" and "Je t'aime" (available on La Saison d'Amour, Pearl CD) and "Depuis ton départ, mon amour" and "Alors, adieu, donc, mon amour" (available on Yvonne Printemps: Arias and Songs EMI CD).