''Le Cid'' is an

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

in four acts and ten tableaux by

Jules Massenet Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet (; 12 May 1842 – 13 August 1912) was a French composer of the Romantic music, Romantic era best known for his operas, of which he wrote more than thirty. The two most frequently staged are ''Manon'' (1884 ...

to a

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...

Adolphe d'Ennery Adolphe d'Ennery (; or Dennery; Adolphe Philippe; 17 June 181125 January 1899) was a French playwright and novelist. Life Born in Paris, his real surname was Philippe. He obtained his first success in collaboration with Charles Desnoyer in ' ...

Louis Gallet Louis Gallet (14 February 1835 in Valence, Drôme – 16 October 1898) was a French writer of operatic libretti, plays, romances, memoirs, pamphlets, and innumerable articles, who is remembered above all for his adaptations of fiction —and ...

and

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, Lond ...

. It is based on the play of the same name by

Pierre Corneille Pierre Corneille (; ; 6 June 1606 – 1 October 1684) was a French tragedian. He is generally considered one of the three great 17th-century French dramatists, along with Molière and Racine. As a young man, he earned the valuable patronage ...

. It was first performed by a star-studded cast at the

Paris Opéra 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 kn ...

on 30 November 1885 in the presence of President Grévy, with

Jean de Reszke Jean de Reszke (born Jan Mieczysław Reszke; 14 January 18503 April 1925) was a Polish dramatic tenor and opera star. Reszke came from a wealthy Polish family with classical and operatic musical traditions. His mother gave him his first singing ...

as Rodrigue. The staging was directed by

Pedro Gailhard Pedro or Pierre Gailhard, full name Pierre Samson Gailhard, (1 August 1848 – 12 October 1918) was a French opera singer and theatre director. Gifted with an exceptional singing bass voice, Pedro Gailhard made his debut at the Opéra-Comique in ...

, with costumes designed by Comte Lepic, and sets by

Eugène Carpezat Eugène Louis Carpezat (Paris, 4 November 1833 – Paris, 26 February 1912) was an acclaimed French scenographer in the Belle Époque. Career Carpezat was the son of lemonade makers Claude François Carpezat and Jacqueline Caniou. After conside ...

(act 1), Enrico Robecchi and his student Amable (act 2),

Auguste Alfred Rubé Auguste Alfred Rubé (20 June 1817 – 13 April 1899) was a French painter noted especially for his theatre decorations. Biography Born in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, Rubé was an innovator in the field of theatrical set design. This "dec ...

Philippe Chaperon Philippe Chaperon (2 February 1823 – 21 December 1906) was a French painter and scenic designer, particularly known for his work at the Paris Opera. He produced stage designs for the premieres of numerous 19th-century operas, including Verdi's ...

and their students Marcel Jambon (act 3), and

Jean-Baptiste Lavastre Jean-Baptiste Lavastre (24 August 1839 – 24 April 1891) was a French landscape painter and scenic designer. Biography A student of Édouard Desplechin as soon as 1854 when he was only fifteen (and then his associate from 1864 to 1870), Je ...

(act 4). The opera had been seen 150 times by 1919 but faded from the repertory and was not performed again in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

until the 2015 revival at the

Palais Garnier The (, Garnier Palace), also known as (, Garnier Opera), is a historic 1,979-seatBeauvert 1996, p. 102. opera house at the Place de l'Opéra in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, France. It was built for the Paris Opera from 1861 to 1875 at the ...

. While ''Le Cid'' is not in the standard operatic repertory, the

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

suite is a popular concert and recording piece which includes dances from different regions of

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. It was specially created by Massenet for the

prima ballerina A ballet dancer is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet. They rely on years of extensive training and proper technique to become a part of a professional ballet company. Ballet dancers ...

Rosita Mauri ''María Isabel Amada Antonia Rosa Mauri Segura'' or ''Roseta Mauri y Segura'' (15 September 1850 – 3 December 1923) was a Spanish dancer and ballet teacher. Her year of birth has also been quoted as between 1849 and 1856. A prima ballerina of ...

. An opera on the subject had been composed by Sacchini, ''Il Cid'', for London in 1783, and from 1890 to 1892 Debussy worked on, but did not complete, an opera ''

Rodrigue et Chimène ''Rodrigue et Chimène'' (English: ''Rodrigo and Ximena'') is an unfinished opera in three acts by Claude Debussy. The French libretto, by Catulle Mendès,Langham Smith, Richard. Rodrigue et Chimène. In: ''New Grove Dictionary of Opera''. Macmil ...

'' also based on Corneille.

Performance history

After the premiere, 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 kn ...

continued to revive ''Le Cid'' until 1919,Bégaud, Josée. "L'œuvre à l'affiche". In: ' 161 – Panurge ~ ''Le Cid''. Paris 1994, pp. 130–133. reaching over 150 performances at the theatre by that date.Art Lyrique Francais – ''Le Cid'' page
accessed 14 August 2014. A new production was mounted at the Opéra in the 2014/15 season, 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

Roberto Alagna Roberto Alagna (; born 7 June 1963) is a French operatic tenor. He obtained French citizenship in 1981, while also retaining his previous Italian citizenship. Early years Alagna was born in Clichy-sous-Bois, outside the city of Paris, in 1963 t ...

in the title role. This production was first seen in June 2011 at the

Opéra de Marseille The Opéra de Marseille, known today as the Opéra Municipal, is an opera company located in Marseille, France. In 1685, the city was the second in France after Bordeaux to have an opera house, which was erected on a tennis court. However, the ...

in a production directed by Charles Roubaud, conducted by

Jacques Lacombe Jacques Lacombe, (born July 14, 1963 in Cap-de-la-Madeleine, Quebec) is a Canadian conductor. Biography Lacombe began his musical learning with choral singing. He later trained as an organist, and continued his studies at the Conservatoire de ...

, with Alagna singing Rodrigue. In March–April 2015 at the Paris Opera Alagna reprised the title role, alongside

Sonia Ganassi Sonia Ganassi (born 1966) is an Italian mezzo-soprano. Born in Reggio Emilia, she made her debut as Rosina in Rossini’s ''The Barber of Seville'' in Rome in 1992. She has performed in many of the world’s famous opera houses including the Metro ...

and

Annick Massis Annick Massis (born Jacqueline Dubreuil; ; born 31 January 1958) is a French operatic soprano whose career is primarily based in Europe. She performed roles from various classical music eras, spanning from baroque, operas by Mozart, to 19th-centur ...

. Local premieres took place in Frankfurt, Antwerp, and Vienna in 1887, followed by Rome, New Orleans Geneva and

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

in the years following. In New York, the premiere at the Metropolitan Opera House in 1897 was revived in 1901 and 1902, and a cut concert performance on 8 March 1976 at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

with

Plácido Domingo José Plácido Domingo Embil (born 21 January 1941) is a Spanish opera singer, conductor, and arts administrator. He has recorded over a hundred complete operas and is well known for his versatility, regularly performing in Italian, French, ...

and

Grace Bumbry Grace Melzia Bumbry (January 4, 1937 – May 7, 2023) was an American opera singer, considered one of the leading mezzo-sopranos of her generation, who also ventured to soprano roles. She belonged to a pioneering generation of African-American c ...

was later issued as a commercial recording.Gillis, Patrick. "Points de repère". In: ''L'Avant-scène opéra'' 161 – Panurge ~ ''Le Cid''. Paris 1994, pp. 3–9. It was produced in 1979 in

Limoges Limoges ( , , ; , locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region. Situated o ...

and Saint-Etienne conducted by Pierre-Michel Le Conte with Maurice Maievsky in the title role with Hélia T'Hézan,

Robert Massard Robert Massard (born August 15, 1925) is a French baritone, primarily associated with the French repertory. He is one of a number of outstanding French opera singers of the postwar era. Career Massard was born in Pau, France, and was mainly s ...

, Peggy Bouveret and

René Bianco René Bianco (21 June 1908 – 23 January 2008) was a French operatic baritone who performed at the Opéra Comique and the Paris Opera The Paris Opera ( ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XI ...

, then at the 1994

Massenet Festival Massenet Festival is a wikt:biennale, biennale festival of music by French composer, Jules Massenet held in Saint-Étienne, France, close to the area where the composer was born. The first Massenet Festival took place in November 1990 when the ope ...

under

Patrick Fournillier Patrick Fournillier (born 26 December 1954 in Neuilly-sur-Seine) is a French conductor, particularly associated with opera and with the works of Jules Massenet. He studied in Paris with Louis Fourestier and Pierre Dervaux, then in Strasbourg ...

with Michele Command and Chris Merritt. Other modern productions include 1981 in San Francisco under

Julius Rudel Julius Rudel (6 March 1921 – 26 June 2014) was an Austrian-born American opera and orchestra conductor. He was born in Vienna and was a student at the city's Academy of Music. He immigrated to the United States at the age of 17 in 1938 after th ...

with

Carol Neblett Carol Lee Neblett (February 1, 1946 – November 23, 2017) was an American operatic soprano. Life and career Neblett was born in Modesto, California and raised in Redondo Beach. She studied at the University of California, Los Angeles. In 1969 ...

and William Lewis, 1984 and 1993 in Rouen, 1999 at Seville, and a 2001 production by the

Washington Opera Washington National Opera (WNO) is an American opera company in Washington, D.C. Formerly the Opera Society of Washington and the Washington Opera, the company received Congressional designation as the National Opera Company in 2000. Performance ...

, starring Domingo, which was shown on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

, and was seen in Zurich in January 2008. In September 2015, Odyssey Opera performed ''Le Cid'' for the first time in Boston, a semi-staged version conducted by

Gil Rose Gil Rose is the founder and conductor of the Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP), founder and General-Artistic Director of Odyssey Opera, Artistic Director of Monadnock Music Festival, Professor of Practice at Northeastern University, and Execu ...

, with tenor Paul Groves in the title role. The opera had its UK premiere on 24 July 2018, performed by the Dorset Opera Festival at

Bryanston Bryanston is a village and civil parish in north Dorset, England, situated on the River Stour west of Blandford Forum. In the 2011 census the parish had a population of 925. The village is adjacent to the grounds of Bryanston School, an in ...

, with Leonardo Capalbo in the title role, Lee Bisset as Chimène and

Paul Gay Paul Gay (born 8 November 1968
Accessed August 10, 2009.) is a French bass-baritone who sings opera and other classic ...

as Don Diègue, conducted by Jeremy Carnall.Hall, George. "Dorset Opera Festival at Bryanston School, Blandford Forum". ''

Opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

'' (London), October 2018, vol. 69, no. 10, pp. 1277–1279.

Roles

Synopsis

Act 1

Tableau 1

''In

Burgos Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populous municipality of the province of Burgos. Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of th ...

, a hall in the Gormas palace.'' To the sound of fanfares outside the friends of the Comte de Gormas recount how the King is to make Rodrigue a knight, despite his young age. Gormas desires to be named the governor of the Infanta by the King. Gormas however approves the romantic attachment which his daughter Chimène has for Rodrigue. The Infanta has confessed to Chimène that she too loves Rodrigue, but as she is not allowed to love a mere knight Rodrigue could proceed to marry Chimène.

Tableau 2

''A gallery in the royal palace leading to an entrance to Burgos cathedral'' With bells sounding, the people give thanks for victory over the Moors. The King now rewards Rodrigue by knighting him ("Ô noble lame étincelante"), and Rodrigue swears his faith to Saint Jacques de Compostelle. The King next names Don Diègue as governor of the Infanta, and this is seen as an insult by the Comte de Gormas and his friends. Don Diègue holds out his hand and wishes the marriage of his son and Chimène, but the count insults, swipes and disarms him. Cursing his loss of strength and old age, Don Diègue demands that his son revenges his honour. Rodrigue bemoans his fate, and the loss of his happiness, when he learns that the challenger is the father of his beloved.

Act 2

Tableau 3

''A street in Burgos at night.'' Rodrigue wonders if he should allow himself to be killed by the count rather than kill him, to avoid the anger and hatred of Chimène, but he concludes that he owes more to his father than his loved one and that he must go ahead and seek vengeance. In the following duel he swiftly kills the count. A crowd and a jubilant Don Diègue arrive on the scene, but when Chimène rushes out to find out about the murderer of her father she faints when she discovers his identity.

Tableau 4

''The main square of Burgos. It is a lively spring day'' The Infanta distributes alms and dancing follows: a Castillane, Andalouse, Aragonaise, Aubade, Catalane, Madrilène, Navarraise (ballet). Chimène demands justice to the King against Rodrigue and will hear of no pity or pardon for him. Don Diègue says that his son has only revenged him and that he should bear the accusation. The Infanta feels her lost hopes revive. A moorish envoy brings a declaration of war to the King from his leader Boabdil, who is on the march. The King reproaches Rodrigue for having lost Spain's most courageous captain and Don Diègue calls for his son to take the place of the dead count in battle. Rodrigue asks the King for a day of grace – the time to return victorious. The King consents and the people acclaim Rodrigue while Chimène in despair continues to demand justice.

Act 3

Tableau 5

'' Chimène's chamber, night.'' Chimène gives way to grief ("Pleurez! pleurez mes yeux...") at her dilemma. Rodrigue appears to say farewell but sad at having to go into battle with her hate behind him. As he departs, she calls on him to cover himself in glory to diminish his sins and to forget the past. She flees, ashamed to have allowed some hope of pardon for her father's murderer.

Tableau 6

''Rodrigue's camp.'' At evening the officers and soldiers from Navarre and Castille drink and sing. Prisoners and Moorish musicians wait on one side. After a drinking song and a Moorish rhapsody some of the soldiers want to leave, confronted by such a large army of moors.

Tableau 7

''Rodrigue's tent.'' Rodrigue submits a fervent prayer ("Ô souverain, ô juge, ô père") which is answered by the image of Saint Jacques announcing that he will be victorious. In thunder and lightning the tent disappears.

Tableau 8

''The camp ~ the battle.'' At dawn soldiers run in groups, fanfares sound and all rush out, promised victory by Rodrigue.

Act 4

Tableau 9

''A room in the royal palace in Grenada.'' Deserting soldiers tell Don Diègue that Rodrigue was killed in battle but he throws them out. He is more content with the noble and courageous end than the death of his son. The Infanta and Chimène learn the news in despair and all three mourn Rodrigue. Chimène swears to them that she still loved him and that he believed himself loved of her as he died. Fanfares in the distance and cheers in the city warn her that Rodrigue still lives.

Tableau 10

''Royal courtyard in Grenada.'' The crowd acclaim Rodrigue, named Le Cid by the chiefs of the vanquished moors. The King offers him rewards, but Rodrigue replies that only Chimène can name his fate. As she cannot pardon him nor demand his punishment, he will himself pass justice, and he draws his sword to kill himself. Chimène hesitates and pardons him through her declaration of love and the opera ends in general rejoicing.

Noted arias

*Rodrigue: "O noble lame étincelante" *Chimène: "Pleurez, pleurez mes yeux" *Rodrigue: "O souverain, o juge, o père"

References

External links

* * Visual documentation of the premiere o
Gallica
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cid, Le Operas by Jules Massenet French-language operas 1885 operas Operas Operas set in Spain Opera world premieres at the Paris Opera Operas based on works by Pierre Corneille Cultural depictions of El Cid Libretti by Louis Gallet