Roland (Piccinni)

Roland

Tragédie lyrique by Niccolò Piccinni

Title page of the libretto

Librettist| Jean-François Marmontel
Language| French
Based on| Philippe Quinault's Libretto for Lully's Roland
Premiere|

27 January 1778 (1778-01-27)

Théâtre du Palais-Royal, Paris

Roland is a tragédie lyrique in three acts by the composer Niccolò Piccinni. The opera was a new setting of a libretto written by Philippe Quinault for Jean-Baptiste Lully in 1685, specially adapted for Piccinni by Jean-François Marmontel and based on Ludovico Ariosto's epic poem Orlando Furioso (The Frenzy of Orlando). The opera was first performed on 27 January 1778 by the Académie Royale de Musique (Paris Opera) at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal.[1]

## Background and performance history

[edit]

Roland was the first opera Piccinni wrote for Paris. He had been hired by the Académie royale de musique in 1776, in spite of his ignorance of the French language. Piccinni still knew no French when he was composing Roland and had to be helped all the way by his librettist Marmontel, who provided a translation of every word along with details on how to accentuate it correctly. Marmontel also helped Piccinni come to terms with the French style of opera, which was very different from the Italian. The French preferred short arias, accompanied recitative and plenty of dance movements. In spite of these obstacles, Roland was a great success at its premiere.

Roland forms part of a late 18th-century vogue for resetting libretti Quinault had written for Lully, the first major French opera composer, almost one hundred years before. Another famous example is Gluck's Armide (1776). In fact, Gluck – who was regarded as Piccinni's rival in Paris – was said to have abandoned work on his own setting of Roland when he learnt of Piccinni's version.[2] Piccinni went on to set another Quinault libretto, Atys, in 1779.

## Roles

[edit]

Role  | Voice type | Premiere cast[3]
27 January 1778
(Conductor: – )

|
|

Roland (Orlando)  | baritone | Henri Larrivée
Angélique (Angelica)  | soprano | Rosalie Levasseur
Médor (Medoro)  | haute-contre | Joseph Legros
Témire  | soprano  | Lebourgeois
Astolfe (Astolfo)  | haute-contre[4] | Tirot
Logistille (Logistilla)  | soprano  | Châteauvieux
Isolano  | bass  | Nicolas Gélin
Coridon  | tenor | Étienne Lainez
Tersandre  | baritone  | Moreau
Belise  | soprano  | Anne-Marie-Jeanne Gavaudan

## Synopsis

[edit]

Marmontel's revised libretto adheres closely to Quinault's original. The major changes are the omission of the allegorical prologue and the reduction of Quinault's five acts to three. For an outline of the plot see Roland (Lully).

## Recordings

[edit]

* Roland Soloists, Bratislava Chamber Choir, Orchestra Internazionale d'Italia conducted by David Golub (Dynamic, 2001)
* Médor's demanding Italianate aria, "En butte aux fureurs de l'orage", has been recorded by Rockwell Blake on the CD, Airs d'Opéras Français, Orchestre philarmonique de Monte-Carlo, conducted by Patrick Fournillier (EMI, 1994)

## References

[edit]

Notes

1. ^ Rushton 2001, p. 674; Pitou 1985, vol. 2, pp. 472–473 (theatre). Pitou has the incorrect date 17 January 1778 for the premiere.
2. ^ Rushton 2001, p. 674.
3. ^ Casaglia, Gherardo (2005). "27 January 1778". L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia (in Italian).
4. ^ Les spectacles de Paris, ou calendrier historique & chronologique des Théatres ..., volume 27, Paris, Duchesne, 1777, p. 13.

Sources

* Pitou, Spire (1983–1990). The Paris Opéra: An Encyclopedia of Operas, Ballets, Composers, and Performers (3 volumes). Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. ISBN 978-0-686-46036-7.
* Rushton, Julian (2001). "Niccolò Piccinni", pp. 673–676, in The New Penguin Opera Guide, edited by Amanda Holden. New York: Penguin Putnam. ISBN 0-14-029312-4.
* Warrack, John; West, Ewan (1992). The Oxford Dictionary of Opera. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-869164-5.

## External links

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* Roland: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
* Libretto in French (Paris: Duchene, 1781) at Google Books.

* v
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Niccolò Piccinni

Opera|

* La buona figliuola (1760)
* Le donne vendicate (1763)
* Il finto astrologo (1765)
* L'americano (1772)
* Roland (1778)
* Atys (1780)
* Iphigénie en Tauride (1781)
* Adèle de Ponthieu (1781)
* Didon (1783)
* Diane et Endymion (1784)
* Pénélope (1785)

List of operas by Niccolò Piccinni ·  Category:Operas by Niccolò Piccinni

* v
* t
* e

Ludovico Ariosto's Orlando Furioso

Fictional
characters|

* Angelica
* Bradamante
* Brandimarte
* Ruggiero
* Angelica and Medoro
* Rodomonte
* Mandricardo
* Astolfo
* Atlantes
* Brunello
* Ferragut
* Sacripante
* Agolant
* Duke Aymon
* Ganelon
* Mambrino
* Marfisa
* Maugris
* Melissa
* Naimon
* Oliver
* Pinabel
* Renaud de Montauban
* Zerbino
* Brigliadoro

Historical figures|

* Roland
* Charlemagne

Source|

* Orlando Innamorato by Matteo Maria Boiardo
* La Spagna
* Entrée d'Espagne

Films|

* Hearts and Armour (1983)

Opera|

* La liberazione di Ruggiero (Caccini, 1625)
* Il palazzo incantato (Rossi, 1642)
* Roland (Lully, 1685)
* Orlando Generoso (Steffani, 1691)
* Bradamante (Lacoste, 1707)
* Orlando furioso (Vivaldi, 1714)
* Orlando (Vivaldi, 1727)
* Orlando (Handel, 1733)
* Ariodante (Handel, 1735)
* Alcina (Handel, 1735)
* Les Paladins (Rameau, 1760)
* Roland (Piccinni, 1778)
* Orlando paladino (Haydn, 1782)
* Ariodant (Méhul, 1799)
* Ginevra di Scozia (Mayr, 1801)
* Bombastes Furioso (Rhodes, 1810)

Art|

* Roger Freeing Angelica (1873 painting)

Related|

* The Castle of Iron
* The Song of Roland
* Paladin

Portal:

* Opera

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

* Germany
* United States

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