Robinson Crusoé
Encyclopedia
Robinson Crusoé is an opéra comique
, or operetta
, by Jacques Offenbach
.
The French
libretto was written by Eugène Cormon
and Hector-Jonathan Crémieux
, which was loosely adapted from the novel Robinson Crusoe
by Daniel Defoe
, though the work owes more to British pantomime
than to the book itself.
(Salle Favart), on 23 November 1867 with Vendredi, the 'Man Friday' role, sung by Célestine Galli-Marié, later to achieve fame as the first Carmen. Despite a positive reception by the public and press, no professional theatre played the work after its premiere until 1973 at the Camden Festival
. In 1983 it was staged and toured by Kent Opera
; Opera della Luna
's 1994 production of the work also played at Iford
in 2004. Ohio Light Opera
produced the work in 1996.
, Sunday tea is served. Robinson confides in Toby that he has booked them both to South America, but he is overheard by Toby's fiancée, Suzanne. Robinson decides to go to sea alone, seeking fortune for himself, for Edwige and his family.
Elsewhere on the island, Edwige, along with Suzanne and Toby have arrived to look for Robinson, although their ship was also attacked by pirates and they were set adrift. Toby and Suzanne, captured by the cannibals, are presented to the cannibals' chef, who turns out to be from Bristol (where he had run away from years before), Jim Cocks. He tells them that they will be the cannibals' meal that evening. At sunset, Edwige is brought in by natives, who believe that she is a white goddess because of her fair looks. Friday spies all this, but falls in love with Edwige. When the fire is lit, he lets off Robinson's pistol, the natives flee, and he rescues Edwige, Suzanne, Toby and Jim Cocks.
Robinson, pretending to be mad, fools the pirates with a story of treasure buried in the jungle and the pirates go off to find it, only to be caught by the cannibals. Robinson next wields the pirates' guns and the pirates plead to be saved. Robinson agrees, and all set sail for Bristol once again, with Captain Atkins marrying Robinson and Edwige at sea.
have released a recording made in English in London in 1980. This was conducted by Alun Francis
with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
and the Geoffrey Mitchell Choir. The cast included Roderick Kennedy (Sir William Crusoe), Enid Hartle
(Lady Deborah Crusoe), Alan Opie
(Jim Cocks), Wyndham Parfitt (Will Atkins), Yvonne Kenny
(Edwige), John Brecknock (Robinson Crusoé), Marilyn Hill Smith (Suzanne), Alexander Oliver (Toby), and Sandra Browne (Man Friday).
Opéra comique
Opéra comique is a genre of French opera that contains spoken dialogue and arias. It emerged out of the popular opéra comiques en vaudevilles of the Fair Theatres of St Germain and St Laurent , which combined existing popular tunes with spoken sections...
, or operetta
Operetta
Operetta is a genre of light opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter. It is also closely related, in English-language works, to forms of musical theatre.-Origins:...
, by Jacques Offenbach
Jacques Offenbach
Jacques Offenbach was a Prussian-born French composer, cellist and impresario. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s–1870s and his uncompleted opera The Tales of Hoffmann. He was a powerful influence on later composers of the operetta genre, particularly Johann Strauss, Jr....
.
The French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
libretto was written by Eugène Cormon
Eugène Cormon
Pierre-Etienne Piestre, known as Eugène Cormon , was a French dramatist and librettist. He used his mother’s name, Cormon, during his career....
and Hector-Jonathan Crémieux
Hector-Jonathan Crémieux
Hector-Jonathan Crémieux was a French librettist and playwright. His best-known work is his collaboration with Ludovic Halévy for Jacques Offenbach's Orphée aux Enfers, known in English as Orpheus in the Underworld....
, which was loosely adapted from the novel Robinson Crusoe
Robinson Crusoe
Robinson Crusoe is a novel by Daniel Defoe that was first published in 1719. Epistolary, confessional, and didactic in form, the book is a fictional autobiography of the title character—a castaway who spends 28 years on a remote tropical island near Trinidad, encountering cannibals, captives, and...
by Daniel Defoe
Daniel Defoe
Daniel Defoe , born Daniel Foe, was an English trader, writer, journalist, and pamphleteer, who gained fame for his novel Robinson Crusoe. Defoe is notable for being one of the earliest proponents of the novel, as he helped to popularise the form in Britain and along with others such as Richardson,...
, though the work owes more to British pantomime
Pantomime
Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...
than to the book itself.
Performance history
Robinson Crusoé was first staged at the Opéra-ComiqueOpéra-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...
(Salle Favart), on 23 November 1867 with Vendredi, the 'Man Friday' role, sung by Célestine Galli-Marié, later to achieve fame as the first Carmen. Despite a positive reception by the public and press, no professional theatre played the work after its premiere until 1973 at the Camden Festival
Camden Festival
Camdem Festival was an annual spring festival held in London, England, of which opera was the central feature.Founded in 1954 and continuing until 1987, it was originally called the St Pancras Festival until 1965. It specialised in the revival of long-forgotten operas, some of which subsequently...
. In 1983 it was staged and toured by Kent Opera
Kent Opera
Kent Opera was a British opera company in the period 1969-1989. Based in Ashford, England the Company presented its productions in several centres mainly in the southern part of England. These included The Orchard Theatre, Dartford, the Assembly Halls, Tunbridge Wells, Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury,...
; Opera della Luna
Opera della Luna
Opera della Luna, founded in 1994, is a British touring theatre troupe of actor-singers focusing on comic works. Led by artistic director Jeff Clarke, it takes its name from Haydn's operatic setting of Goldoni's farce Il mondo della luna...
's 1994 production of the work also played at Iford
Iford Manor
Iford Manor in Wiltshire sits on the steep slopes of the Frome valley, which itself has been occupied since Roman times. The house is mediaeval in origin, the classical façade having been added in the 18th century when the hanging woodlands above the garden were planted.-History and...
in 2004. Ohio Light Opera
Ohio Light Opera
The Ohio Light Opera is a professional opera company based in Wooster, Ohio that performs the light opera repertory, including Gilbert and Sullivan, American, British and continental operettas, and other musical theatre works, especially of the late 19th and early 20th centuries...
produced the work in 1996.
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, 23 November 1867, (Conductor Conducting Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble... : - ) |
|---|---|---|
| Robinson Crusoé | 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... |
Montaubry Achille-Félix Montaubry Achille-Félix Montaubry, was a French musician and operatic tenor, active in Paris; later a theatre director... |
| Vendredi (Man Friday) | 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... |
Célestine Galli-Marié |
| Edwige, Robinson's fiancée | 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 Cico Marie Cico Marie Cico, born in Paris in 1843 and died Neuilly-sur-Seine on 11 September 1875 was a French singer of opéra-comique and operetta. She made her debut at the Palais-Royal, where she was noticed by Jacques Offenbach, who took her into his company... |
| Suzanne, a servant | soprano | Caroline Girard Caroline Girard Caroline Girard was a French operatic soprano. She was the mother of Juliette Simon-Girard.-Career:Girard was a principal singer at the Théâtre Lyrique in Paris from 1853, creating many roles including Margot in Le diable à quatre by Solié/Adam in 1853, Columbine in Le tableau parlant by Grétry in... |
| Toby, a servant | tenor | Charles-Auguste Ponchard |
| Jim Cocks, a neighbour then cannibal chef | 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... |
Charles-Louis Sainte-Foy |
| Sir William Crusoé | bass Bass (voice type) A bass is a type of male singing voice and possesses the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, a bass is typically classified as having a range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C... |
Crosti |
| Lady Deborah Crusoé | mezzo-soprano | Antoinette-Jeanne Révilly |
| Will Atkins | bass | François Bernard |
| Sailors, natives, etc | ||
Act 1
At the Crusoe family home in BristolBristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, Sunday tea is served. Robinson confides in Toby that he has booked them both to South America, but he is overheard by Toby's fiancée, Suzanne. Robinson decides to go to sea alone, seeking fortune for himself, for Edwige and his family.
Act 2
Six years later, on a desert island at the mouth of the Orinoco (after having been captured by pirates), Robinson has only one companion, Friday, whom he rescued just as he was being sacrificed to the gods by the cannibal tribe on the island. Robinson dreams of Edwige, and tries in vain to explain all this to Friday.Elsewhere on the island, Edwige, along with Suzanne and Toby have arrived to look for Robinson, although their ship was also attacked by pirates and they were set adrift. Toby and Suzanne, captured by the cannibals, are presented to the cannibals' chef, who turns out to be from Bristol (where he had run away from years before), Jim Cocks. He tells them that they will be the cannibals' meal that evening. At sunset, Edwige is brought in by natives, who believe that she is a white goddess because of her fair looks. Friday spies all this, but falls in love with Edwige. When the fire is lit, he lets off Robinson's pistol, the natives flee, and he rescues Edwige, Suzanne, Toby and Jim Cocks.
Act 3
The next day in Robinson's hut, he discovers Edwige sleeping and they are joyfully reunited, while the rest of the English party are pleased to learn that Friday's master is Robinson. Friday explains that the pirates have left their ship, allowing the English the opportunity to re-take to return to England while the pirates feast and dance.Robinson, pretending to be mad, fools the pirates with a story of treasure buried in the jungle and the pirates go off to find it, only to be caught by the cannibals. Robinson next wields the pirates' guns and the pirates plead to be saved. Robinson agrees, and all set sail for Bristol once again, with Captain Atkins marrying Robinson and Edwige at sea.
Recordings
Opera RaraOpera Rara
Opera Rara is a British record label, founded in the early 1970s by Americans Patric Schmid and Don White to promote concerts of rare and/or forgotten operas by Giacomo Meyerbeer and Donizetti and such other "bel canto" composers as Giovanni Pacini, Saverio Mercadante, and Federico Ricci.The...
have released a recording made in English in London in 1980. This was conducted by Alun Francis
Alun Francis
Alun Francis is a Welsh conductor.-Professional career:Francis was the principal conductor of the Ulster Orchestra from 1966 for ten years...
with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London. It tours widely, and is sometimes referred to as "Britain's national orchestra"...
and the Geoffrey Mitchell Choir. The cast included Roderick Kennedy (Sir William Crusoe), Enid Hartle
Enid Hartle
Enid Hartle was born in Sheffield in 1935 and studied singing first at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and after with Vera Rozsa, with whom she had a long and fruitful relationship.-Operatic career:...
(Lady Deborah Crusoe), Alan Opie
Alan Opie
Alan Opie is a Cornish baritone, primarily known as an opera singer.He attended Truro School and studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and the London Opera Centre before joining the Sadler's Wells Opera...
(Jim Cocks), Wyndham Parfitt (Will Atkins), Yvonne Kenny
Yvonne Kenny
Yvonne Kenny AM is an Australian soprano, particularly associated with Handel and Mozart roles.Born in Sydney, she first studied at the University of Sydney in science, hoping to become a biochemist, but decided to pursue a career in music instead...
(Edwige), John Brecknock (Robinson Crusoé), Marilyn Hill Smith (Suzanne), Alexander Oliver (Toby), and Sandra Browne (Man Friday).