# Chausson's Wagneresque "Le Roi Arthus" - a neglected masterpiece



## superhorn (Mar 23, 2010)

In his tragically brief life, cut short by a bicycling accident , Ernest Chausson wrote only one
opera - but what an opera ! Le Roi Arthus is a retelling of the legend of King Arthur , a great
monarch in Celtic Britain who fought valiantly against the invading Saxons who eventually
turned England into the nation it is today .
The preniere of the opera took place posthumoulsy in Brussels in 1903, four years after the
composer's untimely demise .
Chausson was an ardent Wgnerite , and the music and the plot are very Tristanesque, 
although the composer's own distinctive voive is always apparent . The influence of Tristan
& Isolde pervades the entire opera . There are moments where you would swear you were hearing
Wagner's outtakes from Tristan , to use a cinematic analogy .
If you love, Tristan , you must hear Le Roi Arthus . I've been listening to the excellent Erato recording
conducted by the late Armin Jordan with Gino Quilico as King Arthur , Teresa Zylis -Gara(pronounced zhylis-
Gara as Guinevere , the late Swedish tenor Gosta Winbergh as Lancelot , and Gilles Cachemailles
as Merlin the sorceror . I had gotten to know thew opera some years ago from my local library
on Long Island where I used to live , and recently borrowed another copy from where I now live
in Westchester county , near Long Island and NYC .
I haven't heard the other and more recent recording conducted by Leon Botstein, but very much want to .


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

> Chausson was an ardent Wgnerite , and the music and the plot are very Tristanesque


Too much for me. It seems like he would want to write another Tristan rather than a unique work of his own. I didn't buy it.


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## superhorn (Mar 23, 2010)

I don't think Le Roi Arthus is in any way a "cheao imitation" of Wagner . The music still shows
Chausson's own doistinctive voice .


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## kangxi (Jan 24, 2014)

Well, I've added it to my 'look out for' list rather the 'buy now list'. You never know what you might stumble across in Gramex...


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## waldvogel (Jul 10, 2011)

I heard this opera on the radio many years ago, and it has haunted me ever since. Has any company put it on recently -say, sometime this century? Is there a DVD on some obscure label out there? I would love to SEE it, but if needs be, I'll have to find that CD.


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

You have the opportunity to watch in the theater the coming month of March, at Strasbourg: 

http://www.operanationaldurhin.eu/opera-2013-2014--le-roi-arthus.html


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## waldvogel (Jul 10, 2011)

Only 5000 km from home, and a month after I return from another destination... I only hope someone makes a DVD...


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

Nobody's perfect.


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## OperaMaven (May 5, 2014)

IMHO he screwed around with the story too much. A very "Regie" ending.


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