Description: La dame blanche (The White Lady) is an opéra comique in three acts by the French composer François-Adrien Boieldieu. The libretto was written by Eugène Scribe and is based on episodes from no fewer than five works of the Scottish writer Sir Walter Scott, including his novels The Monastery, Guy Mannering, and The Abbot. The opera has typical elements of the Romantic in its Gothic mode, including an exotic Scottish locale, a lost heir, a mysterious castle, a hidden fortune, and a ghost, in this case benevolent. The work was one of the first attempts to introduce the fantastic into opera and is a model for works such as Giacomo Meyerbeer's Robert le diable and Charles Gounod's Faust. The opera's musical style also heavily influenced later operas like Lucia di Lammermoor, I puritani and La jolie fille de Perth. François Adrien Boieldieu(1775-1834)La Dame BlancheErna Spoorenberg (soprano)Mimi Aarden (soprano)Henk Dreissen (baritone)Nicolai Gedda (tenor)Jean Fournet, conductorOrchestra of Radio HilversumChorus of Radio Hilversum Boieldieu was, for want of a better description, a bel-cantist; his vocal lines are decorated and at times virtuosic–particularly in his writing for tenor. But at the same time he is quintessentially French in melodic and harmonic temperament and tone; his music is graceful and has a certain regality and delicacy that is immensely appealing. This opera is based on a couple of stories by Sir Walter Scott involving a disguised Earl, a castle, and a ghost (the “white lady” of the title) believed to be haunting the castle. It’s silly, but the music is definitely worth hearing, and this performance, taped live in 1964 (and in very good sound–it must have been broadcast) is excellent. The production’s star is the in-his-prime Nicolai Gedda, who sings the difficult music of George Brown (who turns out to be Julius, Earl of Avenell)–full of coloratura, octave leaps, high Cs, and much soft, sweet singing–as if it were easy. As Anna, whom the Earl eventually winds up marrying (and who has been roaming the castle as the ghost), Mimi Aarden exhibits a lovely soprano; her music often is accompanied by harp and has great charm. The conniving Gaveston, who wants the castle to himself, is baritone Henk Dreissen–perhaps not menacing, but a good singer. The rest of the cast is fine. This is a treat for certain tastes; light and delightful.-Robert Levine, classicstoday "You'd have difficulty finding a stage performance of La dame blanche these days, but in the nineteenth century it was a huge success, clocking up 1,000 performances in Paris alone in the 40 years from its premiere in 1825 and being considered as important in the development of French opera as Der Freischutz in that of German. It owed a lot of its original appeal to the romantic era's fascination both with Sir Walter Scott (on whose Guy Mannering and The Monastery Scribe based his libretto) and with tales of the supernatural, which figures in the plot; but the charm and grace of Boieldieu's music is hard to resist, even if it plumbs few depths. Weber and Mendelssohn were among its admirers, and Boieldieu's melodic gift, allied to more advanced harmony, a flair for colourful orchestration and a freer sense of key (as in the auction scene) immediately establishes his superiority over Mehul (his predecessor as professor of composition at the Paris Conservatoire). He was seen as guiding French opera out from under the influence of Rossini, which had swamped Europe: nevertheless, there are typically Rossinian crescendos in the Overture, and some of the florid vocal writing also shows some indebtedness." -Lionel Salter, Gramophone
Price: 29.95 USD
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio
End Time: 2024-11-19T12:49:23.000Z
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Restocking Fee: No
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All returns accepted: Returns Accepted
Item must be returned within: 30 Days
Refund will be given as: Money Back
Artist: Nicolai GEDDA, Jean FOURNET
Format: CD
Release Title: BOIELDIEU. La Dame Blanche
