Les deux aveugles de Tolède (The Two Blind Men of Toledo) is an opéra comique in one act by the French composer Étienne Méhul. It premiered at the Opéra-Comique, Paris on 28 January 1806. The libretto, by Benoît-Joseph Marsollier, is a revision of the same author's Les deux aveugles de Bagdad, set by A.J. Fournier in 1782.[1]
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Contemporary reviewers praised Méhul's music while criticising the weakness of the libretto.[2] The opera only enjoyed limited success, with 19 performances in 1806, plus one on 28 October 1809 and a final one on 22 May 1810.[3] The overture provides local Spanish colour through the use of a bolero rhythm (in the older Spanish sense).[4]
Roles edit
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast |
|---|---|---|
| Nuguez, a blind musician, uncle of Flora | basse-taille (bass-baritone) | Simon Chénard |
| Don Brusco, another blind musician, engaged to Flora | baritone[5] | Jean-Pierre Solié |
| Mendoce, who goes under the assumed name of Pedro; he is Flora's lover, pretending to be a pupil of the blind musicians | baritone[5] | Jean-Blaise Martin |
| Flora, Nuguez's niece | soprano | Madame Gavaudan[6] |
| Jacinthe, the blind men's housekeeper | soprano | Marie Desbrosses |
Recordings edit
The overture appears on: Méhul Overtures, Orchestre de Bretagne, conducted by Stefan Sanderling (ASV, 2002).
References edit
- ^ Bartlet, p.xiii
- ^ Pougin pp.236-7
- ^ Pougin p.238
- ^ Ates Orga in the booklet to the Sanderling recording.
- ^ a b Both Solié and Martin were high baritones: the former had begun his career as a tenor, the latter gave rise to a new type of French light baritone, called 'baryton-Martin' after him. However, having the baritone clef fallen into disuse at the beginning of the Eighteenth Century, both Brusco and Mendoce parts are notated in the bass clef.
- ^ She was born Alexandrine-Marie-Agathe Ducamel (1781-1850) and became known as Mme Gavaudan after marrying tenor Jean-Baptiste-Sauveur Gavaudan (1772-1840).
Sources edit
- Adélaïde de Place Étienne Nicolas Méhul (Bleu Nuit Éditeur, 2005)
- Arthur Pougin Méhul: sa vie, son génie, son caractère (Fischbacher, 1889)
- General introduction to Méhul's operas in the introduction to the edition of Stratonice by M. Elizabeth C. Bartlet (Pendragon Press, 1997)
- Ates Orga: booklet notes to the Sanderling recording
External links edit
- Score: Les Deux aveugles de Tolède, opéra-comique en 1 acte et en prose, paroles de Mr Marsolier, représenté pour le 1re fois à Paris, sur le Théâtre de l'opéra-comique par les comédiens ordinaires de l'Empereur, le mardi 28 janvier 1806, Paris : Magasin de Musique dirigé par MM.rs Cherubuni, Méhul Kreutzer, Rode, N. Edouard et Boieldieu , [s.d.] (Gallica - B.N.F.)