Patrie! is an 1886 French-language opera in five acts by Émile Paladilhe with a libretto by Victorien Sardou and Louis Gallet based on the play by Sardou about a 16th-century revolt of Flemish nobles in Brussels. The opera was Paladilhe's greatest popular success and was one of the last in the style of grand opera to premiere at the Paris Opéra.David Charlton - The Cambridge Companion to Grand Opera 2003 0521646839 p300 "Patrie! achieved a total of seventy-two performances (after revivals in 1900 and 1907) and a solid record on provincial stages. It had a better run in Paris than Don Carlos in its day. If there was a swan-song for the historical drama side of the genre, this was it."
Performance history The opera was premiered on 16 December 1886 by the Opéra at the Palais Garnier in Paris. The mise-en-scène was by Pedro Gailhard, and the choreography, by Louis Merante. The opera was last performed at the Garnier on 9 August 1919, its 93rd performance.Stéphane Wolff (1962; reprint 1983). L'Opéra au Palais Garnier (1875–1962). Paris: Deposé au journal L'Entr'acte . Paris: Slatkine (1983), . .Spire Pitou (1990). The Paris Opéra: An Encyclopedia of Operas, Ballets, Composers, and Performers. Growth and Grandeur, 1815–1914. New York: Greenwood Press, . .
The opera has also been performed outside of France, in Prague (28 April 1887, in Czech), Ghent (25 January 1888), Antwerp (6 March 1888), Rome (23 November 1889, in Italian), Hamburg (1 January 1890, in German), Amsterdam (1 September 1898, in Dutch), Geneva (19 February 1901), and Brussels (10 September 1931).Alfred Loewenberg (1978). Annals of Opera 1597–1940 (third edition, revised). Totowa, New Jersey: Rowman and Littlefield, column 1125. .
Roles
RoleVoice typeCast list from the 1886 vocal score.Premiere cast, 16 December 1886Conductor: Jules Garcin Delorès soprano Gabrielle Krauss Rafaela soprano Rosa Bosman Count of Rysoor baritone Jean Lassalle Karloo tenor Valentin Duc Duke of Alba bass Édouard de Reszke La Trémoïlle tenor Muratet Jonas baritone Bérardi Noircarmès bass Auguste Dubulle Rincon bass Sentein Vargas tenor Étienne Sapin Delrio bass Crépeaux
Recordings "Pauvre martyr obscur", sung by the baritone Rysoor "Ah! Maintenant à moi!..., duet of Dolorès & Rysoor
References
External links
Patrie! at The Opera Scribe