Valentine de Milan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
fr.jpg)
Valentine de Milan (Valentina of Milan) is an opera by the French composer Étienne Méhul with a libretto by Jean-Nicolas Bouilly. It takes the form of a drame lyrique in three acts. Méhul began work on the score in 1807, revising it in 1815, but it was left incomplete when he died in 1817. His nephew Joseph Daussoigne-Méhul finished the opera, adding five numbers, and it premiered at the Opéra-Comique, Paris on 28 November 1822, five years after Méhul's death.[1] At the end of the performance, a bust of Méhul was brought on stage and crowned with flowers and laurel wreaths to the acclamation of the audience. The opera was a success and there were frequent performances until 1825, when it disappeared from the Opéra-Comique's repertory.[2] Louis Spohr staged a German version in Kassel in 1824.[3]
| Role | Voice type[4] | Premiere Cast |
|---|---|---|
| Jean Galéas, Viscomti, Grand Duke of Milan | basse-taille (bass-baritone) | Mr Darancourt |
| Valentine, the Grand Duke's only daughter | soprano | Mme Paul (also called Paul-Michu) |
| Louis de France, brother of Charles VI, King of France | haute-contre | Auguste Huet |
| Olivier de Clisson, Constable of France, head of the allies against the Milanese | basse-taille | Eugène Dessessarts |
| Sire-Albert, a famous doctor, friend and confidant of Prince Louis | basse taille | Mr Leclerc |
| Urbain Galéas, nephew of the Grand Duke | taille (baritenor)/haute-contre[5] | Alexis Dupont |
| The Duke of Florence, ally of the Grand Duke | basse taille | Jean-Pierre Louvet |
| The Duke of Ferrara, ally of the Grand Duke | basse-taille | François Louis Ferdinand Deshayes, called 'Henri' |
| Laurencia, a pharmacist, aged fifty, retired to a village | soprano | Marie Desbrosses |
| An unknown man | mute role | Mr Gregoire |
| First squire of Prince Louis | spoken | Mr Allair |
| First squire of the duke | spoken | Mr Mada |
| Chorus: French and Swiss soldiers; lords and ladies; Milanese and Flemish soldiers; male and female villagers | ||
