Patrie!

For other uses, see Patrie (disambiguation).

Patrie! is an 1886 French-language opera in five acts by Émile Paladilhe with a libretto by Victorien Sardou and Louis Gallet based on the play by Sardou about a 16th-century revolt of Flemish nobles in Brussels. The opera was Paladilhe's greatest popular success and was one of the last in the style of grand opera to premiere at the Paris Opéra.^[1]

Patrie!
Opera by Émile Paladilhe
Poster for the 1886 premiere
Librettist	Victorien Sardou, Louis Gallet
Language	French
Based on	Patrie! (1869 play by Sardou)
Premiere	16 December 1886 Opéra Garnier

Performance history

The opera was premiered on 16 December 1886 by the Opéra at the Palais Garnier in Paris. The mise-en-scène was by Pedro Gailhard, and the choreography, by Louis Merante. The opera was last performed at the Garnier on 9 August 1919, its 93rd performance.^[2][3]

The opera has also been performed outside of France, in Prague (28 April 1887, in Czech), Ghent (25 January 1888), Antwerp (6 March 1888), Rome (23 November 1889, in Italian), Hamburg (1 January 1890, in German), Amsterdam (1 September 1898, in Dutch), Geneva (19 February 1901), and Brussels (10 September 1931).^[4]

Roles

Francisque Delmas as the Count of Rysoor in the Paris revival of 1907

Role	Voice type[5]	Premiere cast,[2] 16 December 1886 Conductor: Jules Garcin[2]
Delorès	soprano	Gabrielle Krauss
Rafaela	soprano	Rosa Bosman
Count of Rysoor	baritone	Jean Lassalle
Karloo	tenor	Valentin Duc
Duke of Alba	bass	Édouard de Reszke
La Trémoïlle	tenor	Muratet
Jonas	baritone	Bérardi
Noircarmès	bass	Auguste Dubulle
Rincon	bass	Sentein
Vargas	tenor	Étienne Sapin
Delrio	bass	Crépeaux

Recordings

• "Pauvre martyr obscur", sung by the baritone Rysoor
• "Ah! Maintenant à moi!..., duet of Dolorès & Rysoor

References

1. David Charlton - The Cambridge Companion to Grand Opera 2003 0521646839 p300 "Patrie! achieved a total of seventy-two performances (after revivals in 1900 and 1907) and a solid record on provincial stages. It had a better run in Paris than Don Carlos in its day. If there was a swan-song for the historical drama side of the genre, this was it."
2. Stéphane Wolff (1962; reprint 1983). L'Opéra au Palais Garnier (1875–1962). Paris: Deposé au journal L'Entr'acte OCLC 7068320, 460748195. Paris: Slatkine (1983), pp. 170–171. ISBN 9782050002142.
3. Spire Pitou (1990). The Paris Opéra: An Encyclopedia of Operas, Ballets, Composers, and Performers. Growth and Grandeur, 1815–1914. New York: Greenwood Press, pp. 1020–1023. ISBN 9780313262180.
4. Alfred Loewenberg (1978). Annals of Opera 1597–1940 (third edition, revised). Totowa, New Jersey: Rowman and Littlefield, column 1125. ISBN 9780874718515.
5. Cast list from the 1886 vocal score.

External links

• Patrie!: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
• Patrie! at The Opera Scribe