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''Kuningas lähtee Ranskaan'' ( en, The King Goes Forth to France) is an
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 three acts by
Aulis Sallinen
Aulis Sallinen (born 9 April 1935) is a Finnish contemporary classical music composer. His music has been variously described as "remorselessly harsh", a "beautifully crafted amalgam of several 20th-century styles", and "neo-romantic". Sallinen ...
, based on the novel of the same title by
Paavo Haavikko
Paavo Juhani Haavikko (January 25, 1931 in Helsinki – October 6, 2008) was a Finnish poet, playwright, essayist and publisher, considered one of the country's most outstanding writers. He published more than 70 works, and his poems have been tran ...
, who also wrote the
libretto. The English singing version is by
Stephen Oliver.
Background
''Kuningas lähtee Ranskaan'' was first performed on 7 July 1984 by the
Savonlinna Opera Festival,
[Arni E. The King Goes Forth to France. In: ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera.'' Macmillan, London and New York, 1997.] and revived at the festival in the three years that followed. Later performances have taken place at the
Kiel Opera House (1986, in a cut version not approved by the composer
[Milnes R. Awaiting the King. ''About the House'', Christmas 1986, 48–51.]), the
Santa Fe Opera Festival (1986) and the
Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal O ...
(1987).
[Arni E. The King's Story. Article in Royal Opera programme for ''The King Goes Forth to France'', London, 9 April 1987.] A concert performance of the opera in Helsinki in 2005 was recorded by Ondine.
In 1973 Paavo Haavikko wrote a play for radio and in 1977 rang Sallinen to ask whether, if the composer was considering writing another opera, this story could become the libretto? Sallinen's first opera ''The Horseman'' had a libretto by Haavikko but the composer was cautious about taking up the suggestion. Eventually, having read the play, Sallinen came to like the ambiguous blend of tragedy and irony, wit and cruelty; he began composing in the summer of 1980.
The opera was jointly commissioned by the Savonlinna Opera Festival, the
Royal Opera, London, and the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, and is set during a future
ice age
An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gre ...
and in the time of the
Hundred Years' War.
Around the time of writing this, his third opera, Sallinen commented "It’s always worthwhile to write an opera. If it’s a success, I’m happy, if it isn’t, somebody else’s happy".
With ''Kuningas lähtee Ranskaan'' Sallinen moved away from the overtly Finnish subject matter of his previous operas, creating a universal allegory.
John Allison noted (in relation to the recording) "this opera is notable for its lightness of texture. The composer has a witty way of evoking ceremonial moments... a wild arrangement of a
Schubert
Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...
Marche Militaire in D is put to dark dramatic use... there is sweep and pace – in short it shows Sallinen’s innate theatricality."
Rodney Milnes
Rodney Milnes Blumer OBE (26 July 1936 – 5 December 2015) was an English music critic, musicologist, writer, translator and broadcaster, with a particular interest in opera.Rodney Milnes. ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera''. Macmillan ...
describes the work as both poetic and disturbing: a journey from farcical, inconsequential and irreverent comedy moving through increasingly sardonic episodes to the final image of a brutalised, unstoppable army challenging the audience.
(Prelude for orchestra) opus 52, is an orchestral work by Sallinen written straight after he completed the second act of ''The King Goes Forth to France'', related thematically but independent from the opera, "its lyrical and dramatic ingredients reflecting the philosophy of the opera". It was first performed on 30 November 1982 by the
National Symphony Orchestra conducted by
Mstislav Rostropovich.
[Note in the Novello composer's facsimile study score.]
Roles
Synopsis
Act 1
Prologue
A garden at the English court in May. The guide and chorus portray England in an encroaching Ice Age. The prime minister suggests that it would be a good time for the prince to choose a wife, for which purpose he presents the two Carolines and the two Annes.
Scene 1
The Carolines and Annes introduce themselves and sing of their identical purposes: to become the prince's wife.
Scene 2
The prince is concerned by the strange nature of the spring, but the prime minister brushes aside his worries and tells him to make the most of his youth and select a bride. The prince decides to assume power, ordering his fleet away from the English Channel, where it had been breaking up the advancing ice, and plans to march to France, crossing the frozen sea. With him he will take parliament (in the form of a giant cannon) and the four suitors. When the prime minister expresses fears about war, the prince makes the prime minister's office hereditary.
Scene 3
The four girls prepare to set off, Caroline with the Mane believing that she will soon marry the prince. The Nice Caroline realises that the Caroline with the Mane is mentally unstable and persuades the others to humour her.
Scene 4
A bridge of ice firm enough to carry an army covers the Channel; the girls cross it as their country is submerged by the ice. The take with them no souvenirs except their memories. During the march the prince and prime minister become friends – the prime minister the prince's friend, the prince, the prime minister's King.
Act 2
Scene 5
Arriving at the French coast, the Caroline with the Mane awaits the King and her marriage, while the other ladies sing to her with barely concealed sarcasm and eroticism. The king is however being married to a German princess; the others comfort Caroline with the Mane, saying the king will arrive soon.
Scene 6
As they march through the north of France, the prime minister remarks that the army's route near to
Crecy follows that of
King Edward III
Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring ...
. The prime minister criticises the King's economic policy (the crown and the queen have been pawned) and his adventurism, fearing a repeat of the
Hundred Years War. The King points out France's allies in the forest – the King of Bohemia and mercenary Genoese crossbowmen, singing as they march on Crecy.
Scene 7
Battle of Crécy
The Battle of Crécy took place on 26 August 1346 in northern France between a French army commanded by King PhilipVI and an English army led by King EdwardIII. The French attacked the English while they were traversing northern France du ...
. When he sees that the Genoese are in his own army's way, the French king orders their slaughter. The battle is won thanks to a blast from the English parliamentary cannon fired by the prime minister.
Scene 8
Now dead, the Genoese and the King of Bohemia march to Paris. An English archer drunkenly drags in a French prisoner whom he leaves with the Carolines and Annes for them to look after. The prime minister proposes setting off for Paris, but the King prefers as target the fortified city of
Calais.
Act 3
Scene 9
Autumn, with the English laying siege to Calais. When the English archer asks to be discharged so he can go to Paris for the winter, the King orders that his back be flayed and the decommission signed on his skin; when he pleads to retract his request the archer's ears are cut off, and the King threatens even his tongue if he does not keep quiet.
Scene 10
At night, Caroline with the Mane, descending further into madness, cares for the wounded archer, but spurns his advances.
Scene 11
The next morning after a night of vivid dreams: the King shows increasing interest in the Nice Caroline, while the archer has spent the night shackled to the Caroline with the Mane. As the two Annes argue, the King's angers boils over: power is making him ruthless and miserable. The girls attempt to calm him; the Nice Caroline sings of woman's role as life giver and preserver.
Scene 12
The young prime minister has inherited the office from his father and presents his secretary, and chronicler, Froissart. The frail and weak have been sent out of Calais and they cry out as they starve in the moat. The King promises that he will spare them and the town if six burghers plead for mercy from him, barefoot and only wearing their shirts.
Scene 13
Enough money has been found to redeem the Queen from the pawnbroker for the King's birthday; the ladies dress themselves. The Queen enters and the guide announces the surrender of Calais; six burghers arrive before the royal party. Accusing the peasants of treachery, they show the King the English archer's severed head. The King orders their death, but after Caroline with the Mane and the Queen beg him to relent he makes the burghers members of the War Tribunal.
The King wants to conquer Paris, imprison the French king and then march south for the new wine. He tells the Nice Caroline that he loves her. The king accuses the King of France of having broken the law of war by attacking in the rain when the bowstrings of the English archers were too slack. As the king calls for the French king's back to be flayed, the English archer sings the praises of his judgment. The march south starts with enthusiasm, and the wings of cranes are heard flying northwards. A storm breaks but the group continue into a gale. Froissart asks the king to read his story, but is rebuffed: the king has had no part in History – it was shaped by Time.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuningas lahtee Ranskaan
Finnish-language operas
Operas
1984 operas
Operas by Aulis Sallinen
Operas based on novels
Operas set in England
Operas set in France