' (''The King of Ys'') 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 and five tableaux by the French composer

Édouard Lalo Édouard-Victoire-Antoine Lalo (27 January 182322 April 1892) was a French composer. His most celebrated piece is the '' Symphonie espagnole'', a five-movement concerto for violin and orchestra, which remains a popular work in the standard repe ...

, to a

libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major li ...

Édouard Blau Édouard Blau (30 May 1836 – 7 January 1906) was a French dramatist and opera librettist. He was a cousin of Alfred Blau, another librettist of the same period.Smith C. Édouard Blau. In: ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera''. Macmillan, Londo ...

, based on the old Breton legend of the drowned city of Ys. That city was, according to the legend, the capital of the kingdom of

Cornouaille Cornouaille (; br, Kernev, Kerne) is a historical region on the west coast of Brittany in West France. The name is cognate with Cornwall in neighbouring Great Britain. This can be explained by the settlement of Cornouaille by migrant princ ...

. The opera was premiered on 7 May 1888 by the

Opéra Comique ''Opéra comique'' (; plural: ''opéras comiques'') is a genre of French opera that contains spoken dialogue and arias. It emerged from the popular '' opéras comiques en vaudevilles'' of the Fair Theatres of St Germain and St Laurent (and to a l ...

at the

Théâtre Lyrique The Théâtre Lyrique was one of four opera companies performing in Paris during the middle of the 19th century (the other three being the Opéra, the Opéra-Comique, and the Théâtre-Italien). The company was founded in 1847 as the Opér ...

on the Place du Châtelet in Paris. Apart from the

overture Overture (from French language, French ''ouverture'', "opening") in music was originally the instrumental introduction to a ballet, opera, or oratorio in the 17th century. During the early Romantic era, composers such as Ludwig van Beethoven, Be ...

, the most famous piece in the opera is the tenor's

aubade An aubade is a morning love song (as opposed to a serenade, intended for performance in the evening), or a song or poem about lovers separating at dawn. It has also been defined as "a song or instrumental composition concerning, accompanying, or e ...

in act 3, "" ("In vain, my beloved"). Lalo was known outside France primarily for other work, but within France he was recognized almost solely for this opera. His first version of the opera was widely rejected during the 1870s, but the revised work met with great success the following decade, becoming his most successful work for the stage.

Performance history

Lalo composed ''Le roi d'Ys'' between 1875 and 1878 (drafting the entire opera, in its first version, in 1875). His interest in the folklore of Brittany was prompted by his wife, the

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 ...

Julie de Maligny, who was of Breton origin. The role of Margared was originally written for her. Getting the opera staged proved difficult, however. It was turned down by the

in 1878, and by the Opéra de Paris in 1879, although extracts were heard in a concert with Julie as Margared. Lalo undertook a revision of the work in 1886, and it was finally premiered by the

Opéra-Comique The Opéra-Comique is a Paris 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 ...

in the Salle du Châtelet, Paris, on 7 May 1888 to great success. Within a year of its premiere, ''Le roi d'Ys'' had reached its 100th performance there. Blanche Deschamps-Jehin

It was transferred to the Paris Opéra in January 1941 after 490 performances over the half-century. The opera also enjoyed considerable success in Europe, with first performances in Geneva in November 1888, Amsterdam in December 1888, Antwerp and Brussels in February 1889, and Rome in March 1890. Soon after its 1888 premiere, the libretto was translated into Dutch, German, Italian, Czech, Russian, and Romanian. The first performance in England took place at London's

Royal Opera House 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 ...

on 17 July 1901. The work received its American premiere at the French Opera House in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

on 23 January 1890, but it was not until 1922 that it was finally staged 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 opera ...

. The Metropolitan premiere starred

Rosa Ponselle Rosa Melba Ponzillo, known as Rosa Ponselle (January 22, 1897 – May 25, 1981) was an American operatic soprano. She sang mainly at the New York Metropolitan Opera and is generally considered to have been one of the greatest sopranos of the 20t ...

as Margared,

Beniamino Gigli Beniamino Gigli ( , ; 20 March 1890 – 30 November 1957) was an Italian opera singer (lyric tenor). He is widely regarded as one of the greatest tenors of his generation. Early life Gigli was born in Recanati, in the Marche, the son of a shoem ...

as Mylio, and

Frances Alda Frances Davis Alda (31 May 1879 – 18 September 1952) was a New Zealand-born, Australian-raised operatic lyric soprano. She achieved fame during the first three decades of the 20th century due to her outstanding singing voice, fine technique ...

as Rozenn. With declining interest in romantic and lyric operas after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, however, when works of such previously popular composers as Massenet or Reyer suffered, the opera received tepid reviews and ran for just six performances. ''Le roi d'Ys'' has only been sporadically revived in the last 60 years. There was a concert performance of the work in 1985 by the Opera Orchestra of New York, conducted by Eve Queler and more recently one by the

American Symphony Orchestra The American Symphony Orchestra is a New York-based American orchestra founded in 1962 by Leopold Stokowski whose mission is to demystify orchestral music and make it accessible and affordable for all audiences. Leon Botstein is the orchestra's m ...

conducted by

Leon Botstein Leon Botstein (born December 14, 1946 in Zürich, Switzerland) is a Swiss-American conducting, conductor, educator, and scholar serving as the President of Bard College. Biography 1946–1975: Early life, education, and career Botstein was ...

at New York's

Avery Fisher Hall David Geffen Hall is a concert hall in New York City's Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts complex on Manhattan's Upper West Side. The 2,200-seat auditorium opened in 1962, and is the home of the New York Philharmonic. The facility, desi ...

in October 2008. One of the most recent fully staged versions was the October 2007 production at the

Théâtre du Capitole The Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse is an opera house within the main administration buildings, the Capitole, of the city of Toulouse in south-west France. It houses an opera company, ballet company and symphony orchestra, Orchestre nation ...

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and fr ...

, directed by Nicolas Joël and conducted by

Yves Abel Yves Abel (born 1963) is a Canadian conductor. Career Abel was born in Toronto, Ontario, the son of French parents. He made his professional debut as a boy, singing solo in Mozart's ''The Magic Flute'' at the Canadian Opera Company. He studie ...

with Sophie Koch, Inva Mula,

Charles Castronovo Charles Castronovo (born June 19, 1975) is an American operatic tenor. Castronovo was born to a Sicilian father and an Ecuadorian mother in Queens, New York, but grew up in Southern California. He attended California State University, Fullerto ...

, Franck Ferrari and Paul Gay in the leading roles. The Toulouse production was also performed in the National Center for the Performing Arts in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...

in April 2008 conducted by

Michel Plasson Michel Plasson (born 2 October 1933, Paris, France) is a French conductor. Plasson was a student of Lazare Lévy at the Conservatoire de Paris. In 1962, he was a prize-winner at the International Besançon Competition for Young Conductors. ...

, with a French and Chinese cast. On February 2, 2008,

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

aired the opera with

Paul Gay Paul Gay (born 8 November 1968
Accessed August 10, 2009.) is a notable title role The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piece. The title of ...

of The King of Ys. Lalo was known outside France primarily for his '' Symphonie espagnole'' (1874), but within France he was recognized almost solely for this subsequent opera.

Roles

Synopsis

:Time: The

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

:Place: The city of Ys on the coast of

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...

Act 1

Evariste-Vital Luminais - Fuite de Gradlon

As part of a peace agreement, Margared, the daughter of the King of Ys, is betrothed to Prince Karnac, a former enemy of the city. During the celebrations she confesses to her sister Rozenn that she really loves someone who sailed away years ago "on the same ship that carried away Mylio", Rozenn's childhood friend and her beloved. But Margared is actually riddlingly referring to Mylio, himself, and she is convinced that Mylio returns her love. During her wedding ceremony she learns that Mylio has unexpectedly returned and refuses to go ahead with the marriage. Karnac curses Ys and threatens vengeance.

Act 2

Margared discovers that Mylio actually loves Rozenn and overhears the King promising Rozenn’s hand to Mylio when he returns victorious from combat with Karnac. She is overcome with jealousy. Mylio indeed returns victorious, attributing his success to the support of the city’s patron saint, St Corentin. On seeing the defeated Karnac, Margared offers to join him in seeking revenge. The statue of St Corentin warns her to repent, but she ignores him and plans to give Karnac the keys to the

sluice gates Sluice ( ) is a word for a channel controlled at its head by a movable gate which is called a sluice gate. A sluice gate is traditionally a wood or metal barrier sliding in grooves that are set in the sides of the waterway and can be considered ...

that protect the city from the sea.

Act 3

During the wedding ceremony of Mylio and Rozenn, Margared’s resolve begins to waver. However, Karnac re-ignites her jealousy and desire for revenge, and they head for the sluices. The King notices Maragred's absence from the ceremony and is troubled. Margared returns and announces to all that Ys is doomed—Karnac has opened the sluices. Mylio kills Karnac but too late to save the city which is now being engulfed by waves. Half of its citizens are drowned and the remainder are terrified. Margared, stricken with remorse, tells them that the ocean demands a sacrifice and hurls herself into the sea from a high rock. Upon her death, St Corentin appears and calms the waves thereby saving the city.

Recordings

*1943 : ''Le roi d'Ys'' Germaine Cernay, Ginette Guillamat, Gaston Micheletti, Georges Ravoux, Paul gaudin, Lucien Novalo, Choirs & Ochestra of Radio National, Désiré-Émile Inghelbrecht (CD Gesamtaufnahme Historische ton Dokumente). *1957: ''Le roi d'Ys''

Janine Micheau Janine Micheau (17 April 1914 – 18 October 1976) was a French operatic soprano, one of the leading sopranos of her era in France, particularly associated with lyric soprano and coloratura soprano repertory. Biography Janine (or Jeanine) Micheau ...

Rita Gorr Rita Gorr (18 February 1926 – 22 January 2012) was a Belgian operatic mezzo-soprano. She possessed a large, rich-toned voice and was an intense singing-actress, especially in dramatic roles such as Ortrud (''Lohengrin'') and Amneris (''Aida'') ...

Henri Legay Henri Legay (1 July 1920 in Paris – 16 September 1992 in Paris) was a French operatic tenor. He was primarily French-based as his light lyric voice was especially suited to the French operatic repertoire. Life and career Legay studied in Bru ...

Jean Borthayre Jean Borthayre (25 May 1901, Musculdy – 25 April 1984, Montmorency) was a French operatic baritone, particularly associated with the French and Italian repertories. Career Mainly self-taught, Borthayre began his career singing as a soloist ...

, Orchestra of Radiodiffusion Française/

André Cluytens André Cluytens (, ; born Augustin Zulma Alphonse Cluytens; 26 March 19053 June 1967)Baeck E. ''André Cluytens: Itinéraire d’un chef d’orchestre.'' Editions Mardaga, Wavre, 2009. was a Belgian-born French conductor who was active in the con ...

(Pathé/EMI) *1973: ''Le roi d'Ys'' Andréa Guiot,

Jane Rhodes Jane Marie Andrée Rhodes (March 13, 1929 – May 7, 2011) was a French opera singer whose voice encompassed both the soprano and high mezzo-soprano ranges. Her most celebrated role was Carmen, which she sang in the opera's first ever staging at ...

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 ...

, Robert Massard, Orchestra of Radiodiffusion Française/

Pierre Dervaux Pierre Dervaux (born 3 January 1917 in Juvisy-sur-Orge, France; died 20 February 1992 in Marseilles, France) was a French operatic conductor, composer, and pedagogue. At the Conservatoire de Paris, he studied counterpoint and harmony with Marcel ...

(Chant du monde) *1988: ''Le roi d'Ys''

Barbara Hendricks Barbara Hendricks (born November 20, 1948) is an American operatic soprano and concert singer. Hendricks has lived in Europe since 1977, and in Switzerland in Basel since 1985. She is a citizen of Sweden following her marriage to a Swedish c ...

, Dolorès Ziegler, Eduardo Villa, Marcel Vanaud, Orchestra of Radiodiffusion Française/

Armin Jordan Armin Jordan (9 April 1932 – 20 September 2006) was a Swiss conductor known for his interpretations of French music, Mozart and Wagner. Armin Jordan was born in Lucerne, Switzerland. "Mr. Jordan was a large man, with a slab of a face and a ful ...

(Erato) *2008 Live video recording on DVD, Opéra Royal de Wallonie, Patrick Davin (conductor) - Jean-Louis Pichon (Stage director)
Cast: Giuseppina Piunti, Guylaine Girard, Sébastien Guèze, Eric Martin-Bonnet -

Dynamic Dynamics (from Greek δυναμικός ''dynamikos'' "powerful", from δύναμις ''dynamis'' "power") or dynamic may refer to: Physics and engineering * Dynamics (mechanics) ** Aerodynamics, the study of the motion of air ** Analytical dyn ...

2014 The overture was recorded a number of times in the 1920s and 30s by French conductors, including

Philippe Gaubert Philippe Gaubert (5 July 1879 – 8 July 1941) was a French musician who was a distinguished performer on the flute, a respected conductor, and a composer, primarily for the flute. Biography Gaubert – commonly referred to as Gauberto – ...

, Albert Wolff, Gabriel Pierné, and Gustave Cloëz, as well as the Italian Piero Coppola, who made a specialty of French music. The first American recording was by

Pierre Monteux Pierre Benjamin Monteux (; 4 April 18751 July 1964) was a French (later American) conductor. After violin and viola studies, and a decade as an orchestral player and occasional conductor, he began to receive regular conducting engagements in ...

with the

San Francisco Symphony Orchestra The San Francisco Symphony (SFS), founded in 1911, is an American orchestra based in San Francisco, California. Since 1980 the orchestra has been resident at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall in the city's Hayes Valley neighborhood. The San F ...

in 1942. It was recorded in stereo in 1956 by

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it ...

with

Paul Paray Paul Marie-Adolphe Charles Paray () (24 May 1886 – 10 October 1979) was a French conductor, organist and composer. He was the resident conductor of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra from 1952 until 1963. Early life and education Paul Paray was ...

conducting the

Detroit Symphony Orchestra The Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) is an American orchestra based in Detroit, Michigan. Its primary performance venue is Orchestra Hall at the Max M. Fisher Music Center in Detroit's Midtown neighborhood. Jader Bignamini is the current music ...

; initially released on LP, the recording has been reissued by

Philips Records Philips Records is a record label founded by the Dutch electronics company Philips. It was founded as Philips Phonographische Industrie in 1950. In 1946, Philips acquired the company which pressed records for British Decca's Dutch outlet i ...

on CD. John Steane, writing in the ''

Gramophone A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...

'', described the performance as having "an ideal balance between hazy impressionism and stormy strife. This Overture is a striking example of sea and romantic legend music—a high-quality swashbuckler—with memorable solos for clarinet and cello (beautifully done here)." A more recent recording of the overture by

Yan Pascal Tortelier Yan Pascal Tortelier (born 19 April 1947) is a French conductor and violinist. Biography Born in Paris, Tortelier is the son of the cellist Paul Tortelier, and the brother of Maria de la Pau. Tortelier began piano and violin studies at age 4. ...

and the

BBC Philharmonic Orchestra The BBC Philharmonic is a national British broadcasting symphony orchestra and is one of five radio orchestras maintained by the British Broadcasting Corporation. The Philharmonic is a department of the BBC North Group division based at Media ...

, which was included on a Chandos CD with Lalo's Violin Concerto, was also given high praise by the 2008 ''Gramophone Classical Music Guide'' as "certainly the finest account since Paray's old Mercury version." Jolly, James, ed. (2007). ''The Gramophone Classical Music Guide 2008'', p. 584. Middlesex, UK: Haymarket Consumer Media. .

References

;Notes ;Sources *Aldrich, Richard
The Opera
(review of the Metropolitan Opera premiere), ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', January 6, 1922. Accessed 15 December 2008. *Chen Jie
Open the floodgates
''

China Daily ''China Daily'' () is an English-language daily newspaper owned by the Central Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party. Overview ''China Daily'' has the widest print circulation of any English-language newspaper in China. ...

'', 4 January 2008. Accessed 15 December 2008. *Giroud, Vincent
Édouard Lalo & Le roi d'Ys
(programme notes for the October 2008 concert performance by the American Symphony Orchestra). Accessed 15 December 2008. *Henahan, Donal

(review of the 1985 performance by the Opera Orchestra of New York), ''New York Times'', April 15, 1985. Accessed 15 December 2008. *Holden, Amanda (ed), ''The Viking Opera Guide'', Viking, 1993, p. 551. *Huebner, Steven
''French Opera at the Fin de Siècle: Wagnerism, Nationalism, and Style''
Oxford University Press, 2006, pp. 231–251. *Smith, Steve

(review of the 2008 performance by the American Symphony Orchestra), ''New York Times'', October 7, 2008. Accessed 15 December 2008. *''New York Times''

(review of the world premiere), May 10, 1888, p. 6. Accessed 15 December 2008. *Stoecklin, Hubert
Le Capitole ressuscite le Roi d’Ys dans sa totale splendeur!
(review of the 2007 production in Toulouse), ''Res Musica'', October 10, 2007 (in French). Accessed 15 December 2008. * Wild, Nicole; Charlton, David (2005). ''Théâtre de l'Opéra-Comique Paris: répertoire 1762-1972''. Sprimont, Belgium: Editions Mardaga. .

External links

from CBC Radio * {{DEFAULTSORT:Roi d'ys French-language operas Operas Opera world premieres at the Opéra-Comique Operas set in France 1888 operas Operas by Édouard Lalo