''La reine de Saba'' (''

The Queen of Sheba The Queen of Sheba ( he, מַלְכַּת שְׁבָא‎, Malkaṯ Šəḇāʾ; ar, ملكة سبأ, Malikat Sabaʾ; gez, ንግሥተ ሳባ, Nəgśətä Saba) is a figure first mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. In the original story, she bring ...

'') is a grand opera in four or five acts by Charles Gounod to a libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré inspired by

Gérard de Nerval Gérard de Nerval (; 22 May 1808 – 26 January 1855) was the pen name of the French writer, poet, and translator Gérard Labrunie, a major figure of French romanticism, best known for his novellas and poems, especially the collection '' Les ...

's ''La Reine de Saba'', in '' Le voyage en Orient''. It was premiered at the

Salle Le Peletier The Salle Le Peletier or Lepeletier (sometimes referred to as the Salle de la rue Le Peletier or the Opéra Le Peletier) was the home of the Paris Opera from 1821 until the building was destroyed by fire in 1873. The theatre was designed and con ...

by the

Paris Opera The Paris Opera (, ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be ...

on February 28, 1862. The magnificent first production was directed by Eugène Cormon, with costumes designed by Alfred Albert and Paul Lormier, and scenery by Édouard Desplechin (Act I),

Charles-Antoine Cambon Charles-Antoine Cambon (21 April 1802 – 22 October 1875) was a French scenographer, theatrical production designer, who acquired international renown in the Romantic Era. Career Little biographical information exists on Cambon's early year ...

and Joseph Thierry (Acts II and IV, scene 2), Hugues Martin (Act III), and Joseph Nolau and Auguste Alfred Rubé (Act IV, scene 1).

Roles

Synopsis

Act 1

''The workshop of Adoniram in Jerusalem'' Adoniram, sculptor and architect of Soliman's temple, prays to Tubal-cain, who was the first metal-worker according to the Bible, for help in his latest monumental project, the forging of an enormous bowl, a "sea of bronze" (Air: ''"Inspirez-moi, race divine!''"). Three of Adoniram's workers, Amrou, Phanor and Méthousaë, enter and demand of him increased privileges and better pay, but Adoniram dismisses them. An emissary from Soliman invites him to the ceremony welcoming the legendary beauty, Balkis the Queen of Sheba, at the temple he designed. The three disgruntled employees of Adoniram plot to get back at him. ''In front of the magnificent temple of Soliman'' A march and procession announce the arrival of Balkis, the Queen of Sheba, on a state visit to Jerusalem. Soliman asks her for the ring she promised him as a symbol of their engagement; she gives it to him with reluctance. Balkis is tremendously impressed by the splendour of the temple and asks to meet the architect. She is presented to Adoniram and gives him a necklace as a mark of her esteem. This, and Adoniram's popularity with the crowd, arouse Soliman's jealousy.

Act 2

''A site in Jerusalem, with a blast furnace'' The King, Balkis and the people have come to watch the casting of Adoniram's "sea of bronze". However, Amrou, Phanor and Méthousaël have sabotaged the process and molten metal pours out uncontrolled. All run for cover as the furnace explodes.

Act 3

''A clearing in the woods where Balkis and her suite have their quarters'' Costume pour Balkis, la Reine de Saba (de l'opera de Gounod, 1862)

After a ballet of her serving- women Balkis reflects on the love she feels for Adoniram (Cavatina: '' Plus grand dans son obscurité''). He appears, and abashed by the public failure of his forging of the "sea of bronze", tries to return to her the necklace she gave him. She refuses to take it and the pair confess the love they feel for each other (Duet: '' Qu'importe ma gloire effacée''). Benoni, Adoniram's assistant, appears with the news that the mould of the "bronze sea" was repaired, apparently by supernatural agency, and the cast is now completed. As Adoniram, Balkis and her suite give thanks to Tubal-cain for hearing Adoniram's prayers, Amrou, Phanor and Méthousaël, who have been watching these proceedings unobserved, resolve to tell the King of Adoniram's and Balkis' love.

Act 4

''A splendid room in Soliman's summer palace'' Soliman is distressed by Balkis' apparent reluctance to wed him as she agreed (Air:''Sous les pieds d'une femme''). Amrou, Phanor and Méthousaël inform the King about Adoniram's and Balkis' tryst but the King does not believe them. Adoniram appears and rejects the King's attempts to appease him. After he leaves, Balkis enters and asks to delay the wedding, which arouses Soliman's fury. A sleeping powder is put into his drink and Balkis slips the ring she gave him off his finger while he is unconscious.

Act 5

''A narrow gorge in the midst of a storm'' Adoniram is waiting for Balkis to elope with him, as they had arranged, at this spot. Instead, Amrou, Phanor and Méthousaël appear and renew their demands, which he again rejects. They stab him and flee. The Queen arrives and is horrified to find Adoniram dead. She slips the ring she had given to Soliman on to Adoniram's finger and bitterly mourns his death over his body (Finale:''Emportons dans la nuit '').

US premiere

Odyssey Opera Odyssey Opera is an opera company based in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 2013 by Gil Rose, it typically begins its season with a Concert version, concert performance of a large, rarely heard opera in the fall, continuing the season with fully st ...

, Boston, gave the US premiere of the opera in a concert version on 22 September 2018.

English version by Henry Farnie

An English reworking of the libretto by Henry Farnie "interwoven ithcertain legends and traditions of

freemasonry Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

" was titled ''Irene''. It transposed the action to

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

in the time of Suleyman the Magnificent and the building of the Great Mosque and used almost all of Gounod's music. It was not a success.

Highlights

One of the main fragments from ''La reine de Saba'' is the tenor aria 'Inspirez-moi, race divine!', in which the hero invokes the example of the sons of Tubal-cain (son of Lamech and Zillah, the founder of metalworking) as the molten metal flows into its mould. In its English version 'How vain and weak a thing is man... Lend me your aid, O race divine', this became a war-horse of the concert repertoire, surviving into the 20th century in the recordings of Edward Lloyd and

Walter Widdop Walter Widdop (19 April 1892 – 6 September 1949) was a British operatic tenor who is best remembered for his Wagnerian performances. His repertoire also encompassed works by Verdi, Leoncavallo, Handel and Bach. Career Widdop was born at N ...

. It was also recorded by

Enrico Caruso Enrico Caruso (, , ; 25 February 1873 – 2 August 1921) was an Italian operatic first lyrical tenor then dramatic tenor. He sang to great acclaim at the major opera houses of Europe and the Americas, appearing in a wide variety of roles (74) ...

, in one of whose versions the English text was re-translated back into French with the exceptionable formula: 'Prête-moi ton aide'. Balkis' cavatina "Plus grand dans son obscurité" has been recorded by Francoise Pollet,

Elīna Garanča Elīna Garanča (born 16 September 1976) is a Latvian mezzo-soprano. She began to study singing in her hometown of Riga in 1996 and continued her studies in Vienna and in the United States. By 1999 she had won first place in a significant competi ...

, Elizabeth Whitehouse,

Marian Anderson Marian Anderson (February 27, 1897April 8, 1993) was an American contralto. She performed a wide range of music, from opera to spirituals. Anderson performed with renowned orchestras in major concert and recital venues throughout the United ...

and Karine Deshayes.

Recordings

Francesca Scaini (soprano) La Reine Balkis, Jeon-Won Lee (tenor) Adoniram, Anna Lucia Alessio (soprano) Bénoni, Annalisa Carbonara (sop.) Sarahil, Luca Grassi (bar.) Le Roi Soliman, Salvatore Cordella (ten) Amrou, Jean Vendassi (bar) Phanor, Pietro Naviglio (bass) Méthousaël, Volodymyr Deyneka (bass) Sadoc ; Bratislava Chamber Choir Italian International Orchestra Manlio Benzi Review
'' The Gramophone'', 2002.

References

Notes Sources *Huebner, Steven (1992)
"''Reine de Saba, La'' (‘The Queen of Sheba’)"
vol. 3, p. 1283, in '' The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'', four volumes, edited by

Stanley Sadie Stanley John Sadie (; 30 October 1930 – 21 March 2005) was an influential and prolific British musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the '' Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (1980), which was pub ...

. London: Macmillan. .

External links

Reine de Saba. Inspirez-moi, race divine. Vocal score. English & French
from the Sibley Music Library Digital Score Collection
Review of ''La Reine de Saba'' (2 March 1862)
(in French) in '' Le Ménestrel'' (digitized by the

Bibliothèque nationale de France The Bibliothèque nationale de France (, 'National Library of France'; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites known respectively as ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national repository ...

) {{DEFAULTSORT:Reine De Saba Operas 1862 operas French-language operas Operas by Charles Gounod Opera world premieres at the Paris Opera Libretti by Jules Barbier Libretti by Michel Carré Operas based on plays