''Roger de Flor'' is an opera (''drama lírico'') in three acts by

Ruperto Chapí Ruperto Chapí y Lorente (27 March 1851 – 25 March 1909) was a Spanish composer, and co-founder of the Sociedad General de Autores y Editores, Spanish Society of Authors and Publishers. Biography Chapí was born at Villena, the son of a loc ...

for libretto by Mariano Capdepón. It is the third of the three operas composed by Chapí during his studies in Paris and Italy. It was staged for the first time at the

Teatro Real The Teatro Real () is an opera house in Madrid, Spain. Located at the Plaza de Oriente, opposite the Royal Palace, and known colloquially as "''El Real''" (The Royal One). it is considered the top institution of the performing and musical arts ...

in Madrid on 23 January 1878. The first modern performance was on 10 March 2012 in

Palau de la Música de València The Palau de la Música de València is a concert, cinema, arts, and exhibition hall in València, Valencia situated on the Turia (river), Túria river. The Palau de la Música de Valencia was designed by the architect José María García de P ...

in a

concert performance A concert performance or concert version is a performance of a musical theater or opera in concert form, typically without set design or costumes, and mostly without theatrical interaction between singers. Concert performances are commonly pres ...

Background and performance history

Before ''Roger de Flor'', only seven works by Spanish composers were staged at the

, two of which were 1-act operas by Chapí. The new composition was presented during the wedding fests of

Alfonso XII Alfonso XII (Alfonso Francisco de Asís Fernando Pío Juan María de la Concepción Gregorio Pelayo de Borbón y Borbón; 28 November 185725 November 1885), also known as ''El Pacificador'' (Spanish: the Peacemaker), was King of Spain from 29 D ...

and

Mercedes of Orléans María de las Mercedes of Orléans (24 June 1860 – 26 June 1878) was List of Spanish consorts, Queen of Spain as the first wife of King Alfonso XII. She was born in Madrid, the daughter of Prince Antoine, Duke of Montpensier, and Infanta L ...

. The first performance took place on the very day of the wedding, but was incomplete (only two acts). It had to correspond to the time of the wedding ceremony, and there were also artistical problems. The first complete performance took place some days later, on 22 February, the anniversary of the

First Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (), historiographically referred to as the First Spanish Republic (), was the political regime that existed in Spain from 11 February 1873 to 29 December 1874. The Republic's founding ensued after the abdication of King ...

, conducted by the composer, and the opera was staged for 4 nights. It was sung in Italian translation by Ernesto Palermi.

La Ilustración Española y Americana ''La Ilustración Española y Americana'' was a weekly Spanish magazine that was published from 1869 to 1921 on the 8th, 15th, 22nd and 30th of every month. It was also published biweekly. History The magazine was a continuation of ''El Museo U ...

1878, No. 8 (February 28), p. 142
Although the vocal score of the opera was published shortly after its premiere, the full score remained in the manuscript (this was actually the normal publication practice in Spain by that time). When modern musicians turned to ''Roger de Flor'' having the goal of a new performance, they found out that about a half of the first act was lost. The incomplete version was supposed to be performed on 8
05.10.2009)
(05.10.2009)El increíble caso de Roger de Flor
(10.09.2009) or 9 October 2009,
(10.03.2012) linked to the celebrations of the (9 October) and to the centenary of Chapí's death. However, the revival of the opera was disturbed with the

Valencian Valencian can refer to: * Something related to the Valencian Community ( Valencian Country) in Spain * Something related to the city of Valencia * Something related to the province of Valencia in Spain * Something related to the old Kingdom of ...

national issues. The organizer of the project, Valencian Palau de la Música, proposed to change the Catalan in the text to the Valencians or Aragonese. This led to objections from musicians and the heirs of Chapí. Incapable to find a solution immediately, the Palau canceled the intended performance. Meanwhile, the lost portions of the work were reconstructed from the vocal score by musicologist , who prepared a critical edition of the score. The opera had a concert performance on 10 March 2012, with

Miguel Ángel Gómez Martínez Miguel Ángel Gómez Martínez (17 September 1949 – 4 August 2024) was a Spanish conductor and composer. He was known for memorizing all of the players' parts and conducting without looking at the score. He held international leading chief c ...

conducting.El Palau recupera la ópera 'Roger de flor' de Chapí en su versión completa
(08.03.2012)

Roles

Synopsis

The opera deals with the story of the

Catalan Company The Catalan Company or the Great Catalan Company (; , , , or ) was a company of mercenaries led by Roger de Flor in the early 14th century and hired by Byzantine Emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos to combat the increasing power of the Anatolian b ...

led to the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

Roger de Flor Roger de Flor (c. 1267 – 30 April 1305), also known as Ruggero/Ruggiero da Fiore or Rutger von Blum or Ruggero Flores, was an Italian military adventurer and condottiere active in Aragonese Sicily, Italy, and the Byzantine Empire. He was ...

. The action is set in

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

Gallipoli The Gallipoli Peninsula (; ; ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles strait to the east. Gallipoli is the Italian form of the Greek name (), meaning ' ...

and

Adrianople Edirne (; ), historically known as Orestias, Adrianople, is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the Edirne Province, province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, Edirne was the second c ...

in the first years of the 14th century. It presents Roger's power at the Byzantine court and his subsequent assassination.

Music

The music of the opera shows a great influence of

Meyerbeer Giacomo Meyerbeer (born Jakob Liebmann Meyer Beer; 5 September 1791 – 2 May 1864) was a German opera composer, "the most frequently performed opera composer during the nineteenth century, linking Mozart and Wagner". With his 1831 opera ''Ro ...

, but also with some traits of

Wagnerian Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most ...

style. The rich instrumentation of the overture should have been new to the Madrid audience of the period. María's aria of the second act has some Verdian moments, and the Finale of the same act is laid in the style of Meyerbeerian

grand opera Grand opera is a genre of 19th-century opera generally in four or five acts, characterized by large-scale casts and Orchestra, orchestras. The original productions consisted of spectacular design and stage effects with plots normally based on o ...

. The influence of the latter is also perceptible in the third act duo of María and Roger, in which Italian delicacy is mixed with some vocal writing reminding the ''

Lohengrin Lohengrin () is a character in German Arthurian literature. The son of Parzival (Percival), he is a knight of the Holy Grail sent in a boat pulled by swans to rescue a maiden who can never ask his identity. His story, which first appears in Wo ...

''.

Recordings

* (rec. 2007) Ruperto Chapí: Obra sinfónica ymphony; Overture to ''Roger de Flor''; ''Combate de Don Quijote contra las Ovejas''— Orquestra de l'Acadèmia del GranTeatre del Liceu, Guerassim Voronkov — Columna Músic
B-20442-2007

References

External links

* {{Authority control Spanish-language operas 1878 operas Operas by Ruperto Chapí Libretti by Mariano Capdepón Operas set in Greece