Ludovic (opera)

Ludovic

Opéra comique by

* Ferdinand Hérold (unfinished)
* Fromental Halévy (completed)

Ferdinand Hérold

Librettist| Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges
Language| French
Premiere|

16 May 1833 (1833-05-16)

Salle de la Bourse,
Opéra-Comique, Paris

Ludovic is an opéra comique in two acts to a French-language libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges. The music, by Ferdinand Hérold, was left unfinished at his death, and the work was completed by his deputy at the Opéra-Comique, Fromental Halévy. Hérold had only written the overture, four numbers and the beginning of the act 1 finale.[1][2]

The plot, elements of which were later reworked by Halévy and Saint-Georges in the opera Le val d'Andorre (1847), centres on misplaced alliance, love, forced conscription, flight, pardon, and marriage.

Chopin wrote a set of variations in B-flat major, Variations brillantes, Op. 12 (1833), on the act 1 aria "Je vends des scapulaires" (I sell scapulars).

## Performance history

[edit]

The opera was premiered by the Paris Opéra-Comique at the Salle de la Bourse on 16 May 1833, five months after Hérold's death. It achieved 70 performances by the end of 1834, making it a modest success, which set the foundation for Halévy's career.[3]

## Roles

[edit]

Roles, voice types, premiere cast Role  | Voice type | Premiere cast, 16 May 1833[4]

|
|

Ludovic  | tenor | Louis-Augustin Lemonnier
Nice  | soprano | Marie Massy
Gregorio  | baritone | Vizentini
Francesca  | soprano  | Félicité Pradher
Scipion  | bass |
Male and female farmers, soldiers

## Synopsis

[edit]

Place: Francesca's farm, the village of Albano, near Rome

The main characters are Ludovic, a farmer from Corsica; Francesca, who owns the farm he manages; and her cousin Gregorio. When Francesca is about to marry Gregorio, Ludovic shoots her and is sentenced to death. Francesca recovers and realizes she loves Ludovic.[1]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Fuller, Nick. "Ferdinand Hérold" (PDF). 21. Ludovic. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
2. ^ Jouvin, Benoît [fr]. Hérold, sa vie et ses oeuvres, pp. 190–191 (Paris: Heugel, 1868)
3. ^ "Jacques Fromental Halévy", Music of the 19th Century Paris
4. ^ Casaglia, Gherardo (2005). "Ludovic, 16 May 1833". L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia (in Italian).

## Further reading

[edit]

* Gesänge aus Ludovic, der Corsicaner : komische Oper in 2 Akten [Songs from Ludovic, the Corsican, comic opera in 2 acts], German translation by Friedrich Genée [de] for the Königsstädtisches Theater, Berlin (in German) – via Albert Schatz Collection, Library of Congress
* Jordan, Ruth, Fromental Halévy. London, 1994. ISBN 978-1-871082-51-7

## External links

[edit]

* Ludovic (Hérold): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project; the same edition (Schlesinger, n.d.) at Google Books

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Ferdinand Hérold

Operas|

* Zampa (1831)
* Le pré aux clercs (1832)
* Ludovic (completed 1833 by Halévy)

* v
* t
* e

Fromental Halévy

Operas|

* L'artisan (1827)
* Le Roi et le batelier (1827)
* Clari (1828)
* Le dilettante d'Avignon (1829)
* La tentation (1832)
* Ludovic (1833, completion of Hérold opera)
* La Juive (1835)
* L'éclair (1835)
* Guido et Ginevra (1838)
* Le shérif (1839)
* La reine de Chypre (1841)
* Charles VI (1843)
* Le lazzarone (1844)
* Le val d'Andorre (1847)
* Le Juif errant (1852)
* Le nabab (1853)
* Jaguarita l'Indienne (1855)
* Valentine d'Aubigny (1856)
* La magicienne (1858)
* Noé (1885, completed by Bizet)

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