La magicienne
Music by Fromental Halévy · libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges · premiered 1858 · at Salle Le Peletier
La magicienne (The Sorceress) is a grand opera in five acts composed by Fromental Halévy. The libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges is based on stories surrounding the European folk figure Melusine, especially Coudrette's 15th-century Roman de Mélusine. The opera premiered on 17 March 1858 at the Théâtre de l'Académie Impériale de Musique in Paris. It had a mixed reception and after its initial run of 45 performances was not heard again until it was revived in a heavily cut concert version performed in Montpellier in 2011.
Text from the Wikipedia article "La magicienne", licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
About the Composer
Jacques-François-Fromental-Élie Halévy, usually known as Fromental Halévy (French: [fʁɔmɑ̃tal alevi]; 27 May 1799 – 17 March 1862), was a French opera composer, widely regarded in his lifetime as one of the central figures of 19th-century French music. A student of Luigi Cherubini, he achieved his first major triumph with La Juive (1835), a cornerstone of the grand opéra repertoire, and which Gustav Mahler considered one of the greatest operas ever written. The 368th performance of La Juive inaugurated the new Paris opera house, the Palais Garnier, in 1875. Halévy's bust stands on the façade, with the inscription "Poésie lyrique" above it. During the following two decades, Halévy became a…
Text from the Wikipedia article "Fromental Halévy", licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Other Operas by Fromental Halévy
- L'artisan (1827)
- Clari (1828)
- L'Éclair (1835)
- La Juive (1835)
- Guido et Ginevra (1838)
- La reine de Chypre (1841)
- Charles VI (1843)
- Jaguarita l'Indienne (1863)