La Navarraise
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by Jules Claretie
| La Navarraise | |
|---|---|
| Opera by Jules Massenet | |
 Poster showing Emma Calvé in the title role | |
| Librettist | |
| Language | French |
| Based on | La Cigarette by Jules Claretie |
| Premiere | |
La Navarraise ([la na.va.ʁɛz], "The Woman of Navarre") is an opera in two acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Jules Claretie and Henri Cain, based on Claretie's short story La cigarette (1890). It was first performed at Covent Garden in London on 20 June 1894, with Emma Calvé in the title role.[1]
The first performance was attended by the Prince of Wales and a command performance was then given at Windsor Castle.[1] Flon conducted the Brussels premiere on 26 November 1894 with Georgette Leblanc in the title role,[2] while Calvé returned for the Paris premiere by the Opéra-Comique at their temporary quarters on the Place du Châtelet (the present Théâtre de la Ville) on 3 October 1895, which led to more than 180 performances of the work by the company over the next 60 years.[3]
La Navarraise is widely agreed to be Massenet's answer to Italian verismo and was very popular in its day, often being performed on a double bill with Mascagni's Cavalleria rusticana. Its popularity has waned since operatic tastes changed in the early part of the twentieth century, and today the opera is rarely performed. However, at the Wexford Festival in October/November 2013, La Navarraise was performed in a double bill with Massenet's Thérèse.[4] It has, however, been recorded a number of times, most notably in 1975 where two versions were recorded, one with Marilyn Horne and Plácido Domingo, the other with Lucia Popp and Alain Vanzo.
| Role | Voice type | Premiere cast,[5] 20 June 1894 (Conductor: Philippe Flon) |
|---|---|---|
| Anita (La Navarraise) | mezzo-soprano | Emma Calvé |
| Araquil, sergeant of the Biscay regiment | tenor | Albert Alvarez |
| Garrido | bass | Pol Plançon |
| Remigio, father of Araquil | baritone | Charles Gilibert |
| Ramon, captain of Biscay regiment | tenor | Claude Bonnard |
| Bustamente | baritone | Eugène Dufriche |
| Chorus: Basque women, officers, wounded soldiers, peasants, a doctor, a chaplain | ||
