Clari
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Clari | |
|---|---|
| Opera semiseria by Fromental Halévy | |
 The composer in 1825 | |
| Librettist | Léon Halévy |
| Language | Italian |
| Premiere | |
Clari is an opera semiseria in three acts by Fromental Halévy, to an Italian libretto by Pietro Giannone. It was first produced at the Théâtre-Italien in Paris on 19 December 1828.
Clari was based on a popular novella, the storyline of which had already been set as an opera by Henry Bishop in London in 1823 (Clari, or the Maid of Milan – it included what came to be Bishop's most famous song, Home! Sweet Home!). There had also been a production of the story as Clari ou la promesse de mariage as a 'ballet-pantomime' in three acts at the Paris Opéra in 1820, with music by Rodolphe Kreutzer and designs by Cicéri and Louis Daguerre.[1]
Halévy was chef de chant (vocal coach) at the Théâtre-Italien when he wrote the opera, his first in the Italian language. Clari's entrance aria in Act I, Come dolce a me favelli, had been in fact written by him in Italy some five or six years earlier as a fulfilment of his requirements when he had won the Prix de Rome.[2]
Although Halévy was able to secure Maria Malibran for the title role, the work failed to please the public and was taken off after six performances.[3] Fromental's brother, Ludovic, in his biography of the composer, however refers to Malibran's performance as 'so moving and dramatic'.[4] A few further performances were given, of a revised version, in 1830.[5]
Performance history
The opera was not revived for nearly 180 years when Cecilia Bartoli took the role of Clari in a production given by the Opernhaus Zürich in 2008 in celebration of the centenary of Malibran's birth. [6]
