# Halévy's REINE DE CHYPRE is coming!



## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

Halevy's _Reine de Chypre_ will be performed at the Paris Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in the 2016-17 season, with the involvement of Bru Zane.

(Source: the Carnets sur sol website.)

This is _fantastic _news!

_La Reine de Chypre_ is one of Halévy's major works, but hasn't been performed for more than a century (last performed at the Paris Opéra in 1878). There are two recordings of "Triste exilé", the most recent from 1919:











Félix Clément praised the opera in his _Dictionnaire des opéras_. He thought Halevy's score - serious, energetic, tender and pathetic - was admirable from start to finish, and the richest in themes of all his works. The libretto was perhaps the best of all modern libretti. (Donizetti fans will know the story; it's _Caterina Cornaro_.)

Wagner, too, admired the work. He reviewed the opera for the _Dresden Abend-Zeitung_ (here, in French).

Here are his piano transcriptions of the overture, played by Cyprien Katsaris:





And one of the ballets:





Katsaris also played a morceau de concert based on a theme from the opera:





I'm trying not to get my hopes up, but who knows? Bru Zane is involved, so this could be the start of another project like their Lalo or David recordings.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Are you going to see it yourself ?


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

Pugg said:


> Are you going to see it yourself ?


If I can!

And _Huguenots_ in Berlin. Which is the première of the new Ricordi edition, and stars Flórez and Ciofi. On the other hand, it's directed by Peter Alden.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

SimonTemplar said:


> If I can!
> 
> And _Huguenots_ in Berlin. Which is the première of the new Ricordi edition, and stars Flórez and Ciofi. On the other hand, it's directed by Peter Alden.


I am going to watch the DVD from Dame Joan Sutherland's farewell tour, then I am happy also


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

Pugg said:


> I am going to watch the DVD from Dame Joan Sutherland's farewell tour, then I am happy also


I watched it again on Sunday! It's a terrific production; Amanda Thane (Valentine), John Pringle (Nevers), Suzanne Johnston (Urbain) and John Wegner (a magnificent St Bris, with his beard and flashing eyes!) are outstanding, and I liked how the staging was based on Flemish Old Masters. The chorus isn't big enough to give the ensembles their full effect, though! What really stood out was how the tone changes; the first couple of acts are close to opéra comique or Rossini - comedy and pastoral charm - and then in Act III the tone darkens. The Marcel/Valentine duet is beautiful. The last couple of acts are intense, edge of the seat theatre: the Blessing of the Swords, the love duet, and the grand trio.

I showed it to a friend who had heard some opera but never seen a full one; they loved it.


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## Figleaf (Jun 10, 2014)

SimonTemplar said:


> I watched it again on Sunday! It's a terrific production; Amanda Thane (Valentine), John Pringle (Nevers), Suzanne Johnston (Urbain) and John Wegner (a magnificent St Bris, with his beard and flashing eyes!) are outstanding, and I liked how the staging was based on Flemish Old Masters. The chorus isn't big enough to give the ensembles their full effect, though! What really stood out was how the tone changes; the first couple of acts are close to opéra comique or Rossini - comedy and pastoral charm - and then in Act III the tone darkens. The Marcel/Valentine duet is beautiful. The last couple of acts are intense, edge of the seat theatre: the Blessing of the Swords, the love duet, and the grand trio.
> 
> I showed it to a friend who had heard some opera but never seen a full one; they loved it.


I lasted as far as 'Sous la beau ciel de la Touraine', but I couldn't accept that Raoul. Did the real star tenor pull out at the last moment with a chorus member having to replace him, or was he really the best they could do?


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

Figleaf said:


> I lasted as far as 'Sous la beau ciel de la Touraine', but I couldn't accept that Raoul. Did the real star tenor pull out at the last moment with a chorus member having to replace him, or was he really the best they could do?


You'll notice I didn't list Anson Austin! He was a principal tenor with the Australian Opera; he sang Rodolfo, Alfredo, Faust, Roméo and operetta, but was miscast as Raoul. (So, too, was Anastasios Vrenios in the Decca recording!) His strength wasn't in Mozart, which Meyerbeer singers need to be able to sing. Was it Nourrit who sang Gluck, Mozart, Rossini and then Meyerbeer?
On the other hand, I once heard a Mozart tenor trying to sing Puccini. Not a pretty sight.


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## Figleaf (Jun 10, 2014)

Agreed about Vrenios and Aussie whatsisname- and while we're at it, Gedda and Fouché. Perhaps Richard Leech is the best Raoul to be found on a complete recording, though not really sufficiently charismatic or heroic.

Oh for a time machine.... 










Back on topic, I think I'd rather hear a modern Reine de Chypre than a modern Huguenots. Even if there aren't going to be singers of the calibre of Jean Noté or Hector Dufranne (etc) who we can hear in the links you posted, the fact that those links are all I've ever heard of the opera both piques my interest in the rest of the work and limits the potential for unflattering comparisons with earlier artists!


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## Figleaf (Jun 10, 2014)

SimonTemplar said:


> You'll notice I didn't list Anson Austin! He was a principal tenor with the Australian Opera; he sang Rodolfo, Alfredo, Faust, Roméo and operetta, but was miscast as Raoul. (So, too, was Anastasios Vrenios in the Decca recording!) His strength wasn't in Mozart, which Meyerbeer singers need to be able to sing. *Was it Nourrit who sang Gluck, Mozart, Rossini and then Meyerbeer?*
> On the other hand, I once heard a Mozart tenor trying to sing Puccini. Not a pretty sight.


Ooh I don't know... I have Henry Pleasants' book on Nourrit at home in the UK, but I don't remember which of the operas already in the repertory he sang. Fascinating character though. I sense that, had I been an habitué of the Opéra back in the day, I might have been a Duprez groupie rather than a Nourrit one, since I'm a sucker for a really huge high C. Damn the lack of a time machine, once again!


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

Figleaf said:


> Agreed about Vrenios and Aussie whatsisname- and while we're at it, Gedda and Fouché. Perhaps Richard Leech is the best Raoul to be found on a complete recording, though not really sufficiently charismatic or heroic.
> 
> Oh for a time machine....
> 
> ...


Although Gedda was terrific as Jean de Leyde! Leech is great, and Eric Cutler is excellent in the Brussels version - a light voice, maybe, but bright and clear. What do you think of Spyres?

And why is the States producing so many Rossini and Meyerbeer tenors?

_Reine de Chypre_ is one of several operas I'd give my soul to hear, properly. (What, no Bertrams or Méphistos on hand?)


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## Figleaf (Jun 10, 2014)

SimonTemplar said:


> Although Gedda was terrific as Jean de Leyde!


Yes, he absolutely was! That's the best complete recording of a Meyerbeer opera I've ever heard, along with Ramey and Vanzo (another overparted Raoul/Robert) in Robert le Diable.



SimonTemplar said:


> Leech is great, and Eric Cutler is excellent in the Brussels version - a light voice, maybe, but bright and clear. What do you think of Spyres?


Spyres: I've heard the name but not the voice.  Cutler: never heard or indeed heard of him! I'll have to check them out.



SimonTemplar said:


> And why is the States producing so many Rossini and Meyerbeer tenors?


Is it? Sounds interesting. As you can probably tell, I don't exactly move with the times!



SimonTemplar said:


> _Reine de Chypre_ is one of several operas I'd give my soul to hear, properly. (What, no Bertrams or Méphistos on hand?)


:lol:


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

Figleaf said:


> Yes, he absolutely was! That's the best complete recording of a Meyerbeer opera I've ever heard, along with Ramey and Vanzo (another overparted Raoul/Robert) in Robert le Diable.


Have you heard the Chemnitz _Vasco da Gama_ (the complete _Africaine_)?



> Spyres: I've heard the name but not the voice.  Cutler: never heard or indeed heard of him! I'll have to check them out.


The Brussels version uses the Ricordi critical edition; many of the numbers are expanded (the Act II and III finales, the Raoul / Marguerite duet), or even new (an aria for Marcel in Act III). The Berlin production this year will be the first to open the cuts for Acts IV and V.


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## Figleaf (Jun 10, 2014)

^ No, I haven't heard the Chemnitz Vasco da Gama at all (though I think someone has posted it on Current Listening or the equivalent thread on the opera forum). In fact the only L'Africaine I have is a German language one from the 50s which is pretty dismal. This kind of operatic archaeology is pretty fascinating, though I will have to get over my squeamishness about modern singing in order to explore it!


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

Figleaf said:


> ^ No, I haven't heard the Chemnitz Vasco da Gama at all (though I think someone has posted it on Current Listening or the equivalent thread on the opera forum). In fact the only L'Africaine I have is a German language one from the 50s which is pretty dismal. This kind of operatic archaeology is pretty fascinating, though I will have to get over my squeamishness about modern singing in order to explore it!


That's the one with Aga Joesten? It didn't stick with me; what I remember most is how much Meyerbeer in German sounded like Wagner! Particularly Act IV.

Here are some of the highlights of _Vasco_:






















It's a beautiful, warm score.


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

SimonTemplar said:


> Halevy's _Reine de Chypre_ will be performed at the Paris Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in the 2016-17 season, with the involvement of Bru Zane.
> 
> (Source: the Carnets sur sol website.)
> 
> ...


Well, it's certainly news, although I'm not sure how _fantastic it is. _


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

And on the subject of Halevy:


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)




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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Someone has really a weakness for Halévy


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

Pugg said:


> Someone has really a weakness for Halévy


I've heard all his operas I can lay my hands on.

Which is five and a half. (And one of those is in German.)

Out of forty odd.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

I only know La Juive , going to play it tonight :tiphat:


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## Figleaf (Jun 10, 2014)

Before this thread I could only name three Halévy operas- now I've heard of four! I've only ever listened to one though- 'La Juive' of course- a live recording with Tony Poncet and Geri Brunin.


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## Figleaf (Jun 10, 2014)

SimonTemplar said:


> That's the one with Aga Joesten? It didn't stick with me; what I remember most is how much Meyerbeer in German sounded like Wagner! Particularly Act IV.
> 
> Here are some of the highlights of _Vasco_:
> 
> ...


Aga Joesten- yes, that was the one! I'll check out your links when I get back to the UK next week. We're off grid here and the folks in the Office de Tourisme are going to get annoyed with me hogging all the bandwidth!


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

Figleaf said:


> Before this thread I could only name three Halévy operas- now I've heard of four! I've only ever listened to one though- 'La Juive' of course- a live recording with Tony Poncet and Geri Brunin.


I haven't heard that recording; I've heard the version with Carreras - as much a technological achievement as a vocal one; Carreras was sick when the other parts were recorded, so his voice was dubbed in afterwards - and seen the (rather ugly) version from Vienna, with Shicoff as Eléazar.

I've heard _La magicienne_, _Charles VI_, and _Noé _(completed by Halévy's son-in-law Bizet) in French productions.
_Clari _is sung in Italian, and was resurrected as a vehicle for Bartoli. And _L'Éclair _- one of Halévy's biggest successes, and only needing a cast of four - is only available in German.


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## Figleaf (Jun 10, 2014)

SimonTemplar said:


> I haven't heard that recording; I've heard the version with Carreras - as much a technological achievement as a vocal one; Carreras was sick when the other parts were recorded, so his voice was dubbed in afterwards - and seen the (rather ugly) version from Vienna, with Shicoff as Eléazar.
> 
> I've heard _La magicienne_, _Charles VI_, and _Noé _(completed by Halévy's son-in-law Bizet) in French productions.
> _Clari _is sung in Italian, and was resurrected as a vehicle for Bartoli. And _L'Éclair _- one of Halévy's biggest successes, and only needing a cast of four - is only available in German.


Gosh, you've heard stuff I never even knew was available!

Re the Carreras* recording: I haven't heard it so strictly speaking I shouldn't prejudge it, _but_- technological trickery and an overparted and non-French Eleazar- this combines quite a number of the factors which make me dislike modern recordings!

Tony Poncet also did an album of highlights of 'La Juive' which was on YouTube in rather disappointing sound, being taken from an LP copy which kept skipping grooves. I don't know whether it's still there. The live version, which is very good if not well recorded, has an excellent Cardinal Brogni who wasn't credited on the YouTube documentary or indeed in Mathilde Poncé's biography of her dad. I feel like I should recognise the bass in question, but I don't!

* I last saw JC on the execrable Pappano tenor documentary, looking like a member of the Addams family and smugly and ignorantly opining that 'before Caruso, [tenor singing] was just mannerism'. Nice to know that not only are this 'artist's' recordings effectively faked, but he apparently begrudges his earliest predecessors any kind of credit at all. What a piece of work that man is!


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

I've just bought a ticket.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

SimonTemplar said:


> I've just bought a ticket.


I knew it , as soon as I saw this topic being in unread posts :cheers:


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## Figleaf (Jun 10, 2014)

I hope you have a great time, SimonT. Do we know whether the performance will be recorded and/or broadcast?


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

Figleaf said:


> I hope you have a great time, SimonT. Do we know whether the performance will be recorded and/or broadcast?


Thanks! The Palazzetto Bru Zane will publish a CD.


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## Figleaf (Jun 10, 2014)

The CD might be a more practical choice for me than the performance - though I found the theatre's website and the prices are not too bad:

http://2017.theatrechampselysees.fr/saison/opera-en-concert-oratorio/la-reine-de-chypre


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Figleaf said:


> The CD might be a more practical choice for me than the performance - though I found the theatre's website and the prices are not too bad:
> 
> http://2017.theatrechampselysees.fr/saison/opera-en-concert-oratorio/la-reine-de-chypre


Service unavailable it says Figleaf.


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## Figleaf (Jun 10, 2014)

The link is working fine here (UK). Try again maybe?


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Figleaf said:


> The link is working fine here (UK). Try again maybe?


_503 Service Unavailable_ it says , tried it several times


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## Figleaf (Jun 10, 2014)

Pugg, maybe the home page would work for you?

http://2017.theatrechampselysees.fr


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Figleaf said:


> Pugg, maybe the home page would work for you?
> 
> http://2017.theatrechampselysees.fr


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

Pugg said:


>


A friend tried to get a seat; she said it was sold out. Dommage! I guess I was *very* lucky to get a ticket!


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