''Mignon'' is an 1866 '' opéra comique'' (or

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

in its second version) in three acts by

Ambroise Thomas Charles Louis Ambroise Thomas (; 5 August 1811 – 12 February 1896) was a French composer and teacher, best known for his operas '' Mignon'' (1866) and ''Hamlet'' (1868). Born into a musical family, Thomas was a student at the Conservatoire de ...

. The original French libretto was by

Jules Barbier Paul Jules Barbier (8 March 182516 January 1901) was a French poet, writer and opera librettist who often wrote in collaboration with Michel Carré. He was a noted Parisian bon vivant and man of letters.Michel Carré Michel Carré (20 October 1821, Besançon – 27 June 1872, Argenteuil) was a prolific French librettist. He went to Paris in 1840 intending to become a painter but took up writing instead. He wrote verse and plays before turning to writing lib ...

, based on

Goethe's Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as tre ...

1795-96 novel '' Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre''. The Italian version was translated by Giuseppe Zaffira. The opera is mentioned in

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...

's " The Dead" (''

Dubliners ''Dubliners'' is a collection of fifteen short stories by James Joyce, first published in 1914. It presents a naturalistic depiction of Irish middle class life in and around Dublin in the early years of the 20th century. The stories were writ ...

'') and

Willa Cather Willa Sibert Cather (; born Wilella Sibert Cather; December 7, 1873 – April 24, 1947) was an American writer known for her novels of life on the Great Plains, including '' O Pioneers!'', '' The Song of the Lark'', and '' My Ántonia''. In 192 ...

's '' The Professor's House''. Thomas's goddaughter Mignon Nevada was named after the main character.

Performance history

The first performance was at the Opéra-Comique in Paris on 17 November 1866. The piece proved popular: more than 100 performances took place by the following July, the 1,000th was given there on 13 May 1894, and the 1,500th on 25 May 1919. The opera was also adapted and translated into German for performance in Berlin with Madame Lucca as Mignon. Lucca was well received, but the German critics were unhappy with the opera's alterations to the Goethe original, so Thomas composed a shorter finale with a tragic ending, in which Mignon falls dead in the arms of Wilhelm. This ending was an attempt to make the story of the opera somewhat more similar in tone to the tragic outcome of Goethe's. (The original version of ''Mignon'' for the Opéra-Comique had to have a happy ending, since at that time in Paris tragic operas in French were exclusively reserved for the

Opéra This is a glossary list of opera genres, giving alternative names. "Opera" is an Italian word (short for "opera in musica"); it was not at first ''commonly'' used in Italy (or in other countries) to refer to the genre of particular works. Most c ...

.) Unsurprisingly, this "Version allemande" still failed to satisfy the German critics and proved to be a futile endeavour. As Henry Edward Krehbiel describes it, the "''Mignon'' of Carré and Barbier bears little more than an external resemblance to the ''Mignon'' of Goethe, and to kill her is wanton cruelty." Despite his success in Paris with the French version, Thomas was asked to revise the work for the first performance at the

Drury Lane Theatre The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) and backs onto Drur ...

in London on 5 July 1870. This version was given in Italian with recitatives (instead of spoken dialogue). The role of Mignon, originally for mezzo-soprano, was sung by a soprano ( Christina Nilsson), and the role of Frédéric, originally a

tenor A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is wide ...

, was sung by a

contralto A contralto () is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range is the lowest female voice type. The contralto's vocal range is fairly rare; similar to the mezzo-soprano, and almost identical to that of a countertenor, typica ...

(Zelia Trebelli-Bettini). A second verse was added to Lothario's aria in the first act ("Fugitif et tremblant" in the French version), and in the second act, a rondo-gavotte for Frédéric ("Me voici dans son boudoir") was devised using the music of the ''entr'acte'' preceding that act, to satisfy Mme Trebelli-Bettini, who was discomfited by having to take on a role originally written for buffo tenor. Apparently, the coloratura soprano Elisa Volpini, who was to sing Philine, felt that her aria at the end of the second act ("Je suis Titania") was insufficient, and another florid aria ("Alerte, alerte, Philine!") was inserted after the second act ''entr'acte'' and before Laerte's 6/8 Allegretto ("Rien ne vaut"). The finale was also much shortened.Scherer, p. 8; Thomas (1901), pp. IX, 340–354
''Dwight's Journal of Music'' (2 December 1871).
/ref> Philine's extra aria appears to have either never been orchestrated,Blyth, p 742. or the orchestration was lost or destroyed. (Most sources say that the aria was performed and not cut from the Drury Lane production, implying that Thomas must have orchestrated it.) The aria is known from several piano-vocal scores and is included as an appendix, sung by

Ruth Welting Ruth Welting (November 5, 1948 – December 16, 1999) was an American operatic soprano who had an active international career from the early 1970s through the mid-1990s. A specialist in the coloratura soprano repertoire, she was particularly asso ...

with flute and harpsichord accompaniment, as part of the 1978 recording with

Marilyn Horne Marilyn Horne (born January 16, 1934) is an American mezzo-soprano opera singer. She specialized in roles requiring beauty of tone, excellent breath support, and the ability to execute difficult coloratura passages. She is a recipient of the Natio ...

as Mignon. The recording also includes a second appendix with the original, longer version of the finale. The United States premiere was given on 9 May 1871 at the

French Opera House The French Opera House, or ''Théâtre de l'Opéra'', was an opera house in New Orleans. It was one of the city's landmarks from its opening in 1859 until it was destroyed by fire in 1919. It stood in the French Quarter at the uptown lake corner o ...

in New Orleans. This was followed by a

Maurice Strakosch Maurice Strakosch (probably 15 January 1825 – 9 October 1887) was an American musician and impresario of Czech origin. Biography Strakosch was born in Gross-Seelowitz (today Židlochovice), Moravia. He made his debut as a pianist at the age of ...

production in Italian at the New York Academy of Music on 22 November 1871 with Christine Nilsson as Mignon, Mlle. Léon Duval as Philine, Victor Capoul as Wilhelm, and Mlle. Ronconi as Frédéric. The substantial success of the opera in London and New York has been attributed to the presence of Christine Nilsson in both productions.Thomas (1901), p. VIII. Nilsson also performed the role at the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is oper ...

in New York in 1883.Forbes, Elizabeth. "Mignon" in Sadie, 3: 382–384. The versions of the opera performed outside France, in particular, those in the United States and Italy, have been in Italian (later also in French), with Mignon as a soprano or mezzo-soprano, and Frédéric as a mezzo-soprano or contralto, and with the sung recitatives and the shortened finale. More recently, in 1986, the original opéra comique version with soprano Cynthia Clarey as Mignon was revived for a production at the

Wexford Festival Opera Wexford Festival Opera () is an opera festival that takes place in the town of Wexford in south-eastern Ireland during the months of October and November. The festival began in 1951 under Tom Walsh and a group of opera lovers who quickly gene ...

. Noted soprano interpreters of Mignon have included

Emma Albani Dame Emma Albani, DBE (born Marie-Louise-Emma-Cécile Lajeunesse; 1 November 18473 April 1930) was a Canadian-British operatic soprano of the 19th century and early 20th century, and the first Canadian singer to become an international star. He ...

(Covent Garden's first Mignon in 1874),

Lucrezia Bori Lucrezia Bori (24 December 1887 – 14 May 1960) was a Spanish operatic singer, a lyric soprano and a tireless and effective fundraiser for the Metropolitan Opera. Biography Lucrezia Bori was born on 24 December 1887, in Valencia, Spain. ...

, and

Geraldine Farrar Alice Geraldine Farrar (February 28, 1882 – March 11, 1967) was an American lyric soprano who could also sing dramatic roles. She was noted for her beauty, acting ability, and "the intimate timbre of her voice." She had a large following a ...

; mezzo-sopranos have included

Giulietta Simionato Giulietta Simionato (born Giulia Simionato; Forlì, Romagna, 12 May 1910 – Rome, 5 May 2010) was an Italian mezzo-soprano. Her career spanned the period from the 1930s until her retirement in 1966. Life As a girl she studied in a boarding ...

Frederica von Stade Frederica von Stade OAL (born June 1, 1945) is a semi-retired American opera singer. Since her Metropolitan Opera debut in 1970, she has performed in operas, musicals, concerts and recitals in venues throughout the world, including La Scala, th ...

Risë Stevens Risë Stevens (; June 11, 1913 – March 20, 2013) was an American operatic mezzo-soprano and actress. Beginning in 1938, she sang for the Metropolitan Opera in New York City for more than two decades during the 1940s and 1950s. She was most ...

, and

Ebe Stignani Ebe Stignani (10 July 1903 – 5 October 1974) was an Italian opera singer, who was pre-eminent in the dramatic mezzo-soprano roles of the Italian repertoire during a stage career of more than thirty years. Career Born in Naples in 1903 (some so ...

Lily Pons Alice Joséphine Pons (April 12, 1898 – February 13, 1976), known professionally as Lily Pons, was a French-American operatic soprano and actress who had an active career from the late 1920s through the early 1970s. As an opera singer, she s ...

was famous for singing Philine.

Roles

Synopsis

:Time: End of the 18th century. :Place:

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

Act 1

In the courtyard of an inn in a small German town, the wandering minstrel Lothario sings and the Gypsies dance while the townspeople watch and drink. Jarno threatens Mignon with a stick when she refuses to dance, but Lothario and Wilhelm Meister come to her aid. She thanks them and divides her bouquet of wildflowers between them. Wilhelm and Laerte have a drink together. Philine and Laerte leave, after he gives her his flowers from Mignon. Mignon tells Wilhelm she was captured by Gypsies as a child. Wilhelm decides to purchase Mignon’s freedom. Lothario comes to say goodbye to Mignon. Lothario wants Mignon to travel with him, but she stays with Wilhelm. Frédéric lovingly follows Philine in, but she also wants Wilhelm. The acting troupe is about to set off for a baron's castle after receiving an invitation to perform there. Mignon is deeply in love with Wilhelm, but upset to see the flowers that she gave him in the hands of Philine.

Act 2

In Philine’s room in the baron's castle, Philine is elated, living in the luxury and charming the baron. Laerte is heard outside, praising Philine. Wilhelm and Mignon enter. She pretends to sleep while Wilhelm and Philine sing. When the couple leave, Mignon tries on Philine’s costumes and make-up. She is jealous and exits. Frédéric enters. When Wilhelm returns for Mignon he is confronted by Frédéric. Mignon rushes in to break up their impending fight. Wilhelm decides that he cannot stay with Mignon and says goodbye to her. He leaves arm-in-arm with a jubilant Philine. Later, in the courtyard of the castle, Mignon is consumed by a jealous rage, when she hears Lothario playing the harp. He comforts the girl. Philine's portrayal of Titania in '' A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is applauded in the conservatory. Mignon, in jealousy, shouts that she wishes the building would catch fire and runs out. Lothario hears her and moves toward the conservatory. After Mignon returns, Wilhelm receives her so warmly that Philine, now jealous, sends her to fetch the wildflowers in the conservatory. Wilhelm rushes to save Mignon from the fire that Lothario had set to please her, carrying her unconscious body out of the conservatory with the singed flowers still in her hand.

Act 3

Wilhelm has brought Mignon and Lothario to a castle in Italy which he considers buying. There an old man watches over Mignon and prays for her recovery. Antonio relates how the castle’s previous owner had gone mad after his wife had died of grief over the loss of their young daughter. Wilhelm decides to buy the castle for Mignon because it has so speeded her recovery. Mignon awakens and confesses to Wilhelm of her love for this strangely familiar place. He finally realizes that he loves her deeply and resists Philine’s attempts to win him back. Lothario re-enters and informs the couple that he is the owner of the castle and that returning here has restored his sanity. After reading a prayer found in a book in the house, Mignon realizes that she is his daughter Sperata. The three embrace happily.

Noted arias

*"Oui, je veux par le monde (Yes, I want the world)" (Wilhelm, a

) *"Connais-tu le pays (Do you know the country)" (Mignon, a mezzo-soprano or a soprano) *"Adieu, Mignon! (Farewell, Mignon!)" (Wilhelm, a tenor) *"Je suis Titania (I am Titania)" (Philine, a coloratura soprano) *"Elle ne croyait pas (She did not believe)" (Wilhelm, a tenor) *"Me voici dans son boudoir (Here I am in her boudoir)" (Frédéric, a tenor or a

)

Recordings

* 1945 -

(Mignon),

Mimi Benzell Miriam Ruth "Mimi" Benzell (April 6, 1918 – December 23, 1970) was an American soprano who performed with the Metropolitan Opera before establishing herself as a Broadway musical theatre, television, and nightclub performer. Life and career ...

(Philine),

James Melton James Melton (January 2, 1904 – April 21, 1961), a popular singer in the 1920s and early 1930s, later began a career as an operatic singer when tenor voices went out of style in popular music around 1932–35. His singing talent was similar to ...

(Wilhelm Meister),

Ezio Pinza Ezio Fortunato Pinza (May 18, 1892May 9, 1957) was an Italian opera singer. Pinza possessed a rich, smooth and sonorous voice, with a flexibility unusual for a bass. He spent 22 seasons at New York's Metropolitan Opera, appearing in more than 750 ...

(Lothario), Donald Dame (Laerte), Lucielle Browning (Frédéric) - Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra, Wilfred Pelletier - Broadcast January 27, 1945 - (Sony) * 1953 - Geneviève Moizan (Mignon), Janine Micheau (Philine),

Libero de Luca Libero De Luca (13 March 1913 – 1998) was a Swiss tenor of Italian descent particularly associated with the French repertory. Life and career De Luca was born in Kreuzlingen, Switzerland, and studied voice at the Zurich Conservatory with Alfr ...

(Wilhelm Meister), René Bianco (Lothario), Robert Destaing (Laerte), François Louis Deschamps (Frédéric), Noël Pierotte (Jarno) - Choeur et Orchestre du Théâtre National de Belgique, Georges Sébastian - (Preiser) * 1977 - Huguette Tourangeau (Mignon), Noelle Rogers (Philine), Henri Wilden (Wilhelm Meister), Pierre Charbonneau (Lothario), Antonio de Almeida Santos (Laerte), Michael Philip Davis (Frédéric), Edgar Hanson (Jarno) - Vancouver Opera Chorus and Orchestra, Richard Bonynge - CBC Broadcast January 29, 1977 - (BJR Enterprises Inc. - Bella Voce Records) *

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrat ...

(Mignon),

(Philine),

Alain Vanzo Alain Vanzo (April 2, 1928 – January 27, 2002) was a French opera singer and composer, one of few French tenors of international standing in the postwar era. He, along with such singers as Henri Legay and the Canadian Léopold Simoneau, repres ...

(Wilhelm Meister), Nicola Zaccaria (Lothario), André Battedou (Laerte),

(Frédéric),

Claude Méloni Claude Méloni (born 6 August 1940 in Marseille) is a French baritone of the Paris Opera.Méloni, Claude
on BnF

(Jarno) - Ambrosian Opera Chorus, Philharmonia Orchestra, Antonio de Almeida - (CBS) For details, see

here Here is an adverb that means "in, on, or at this place". It may also refer to: Software * Here Technologies, a mapping company * Here WeGo (formerly Here Maps), a mobile app and map website by Here Technologies, Here Television * Here TV (form ...

References

Notes Sources * , accessed 24 August 2008. * , accessed 27 November 2008. * ''The Athenaeum'' (9 July 1870). "Mignon" (review of the 1870 Drury Lane premiere), pp. 57–58
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Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical ...

. * ''The Athenaeum'' (6 August 1870). "Music" (review of the season at Drury Lane), pp. 185–186
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. * ''The Athenaeum'' (27 July 1874). "Royal Italian Opera" (review of the season), p. 869
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. * Blyth, Alan (1978). Review of the 1978 recording with Marilyn Horne
''Gramophone'', October 1978, pp. 741–742.
* Crichton, Ronald (2001). "Ambroise Thomas" in Holden, Amanda, editor. ''The New Penguin Opera Guide'', pp. 951–952. London: Penguin Books. . * ''

Dwight's Journal of Music ''Dwight's Journal of Music'' (1852–1881, ''DJM'') was an American music journal, one of the most respected and influential such periodicals in the country in the mid-19th century. John Sullivan Dwight created the Journal, and published it in B ...

'' (2 December 1871). "Nilsson in 'Mignon' rom the New York Tribune, p. 141
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. * Kobbé, Gustav (1976). ''The New Kobbé's Complete Opera Book'', edited and revised by the Earl of Harewood. New York: Putnam. . * ''The Musical World'' (19 March 1870). "Italian Opera, Theatre Royal, Drury Lane" (cast announcement for ''Mignon''), p. 206
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. * Osborne, Charles (1969). ''The Complete Operas of Verdi''. New York: Da Capo. . * Rosenthal, Harold (1958). ''Two Centuries of Opera at Covent Garden''. London: Putnam. . * Santley, Charles (1892). ''Student and Singer: The Reminiscences of Charles Santley'', p. 310. London: Macmillan. . Reprint: Read Books, 2009.
Preview
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. * Scherer, Barrymore Laurence (1978). "De Profundis: Ambroise Thomas", original liner notes accompanying Columbia LP M4-34590 . Reproduced in the booklet accompanying Sony CD SM3K 34590 . * Thomas, Ambroise (1901). ''Mignon'', piano vocal score; libretto in French and English; English translation by

Theodore Baker Theodore Baker (June 3, 1851"Passed Away," ''Musical America'' (Nov. 10, 1934), p. 32."Dr. Theodore Baker," ''Musical Courier'' (Nov. 3, 1934), p. 20. – October 12, 1934)H. E. Krehbiel. New York: G. Schirmer. . Kalmus reprint (K 06810): . * Weinstock, Herbert (1968). ''Rossini: A Biography''. New York: Knopf. . (Reprint: New York: Limelight, 1987. .) {{Authority control Operas based on works by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Opéras comiques Operas by Ambroise Thomas French-language operas 1866 operas Operas Opera world premieres at the Opéra-Comique Libretti by Jules Barbier Libretti by Michel Carré Operas based on novels Operas set in Germany Operas set in Italy Works based on Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship