- Robinson Crusoé
Offenbach operas
"Robinson Crusoé " is an
opéra comique , oroperetta , byJacques Offenbach . The French libretto was written byEugène Cormon andHector-Jonathan Crémieux , which was loosely adapted from the novelRobinson Crusoe byDaniel Defoe , though the work owes more to British pantomime than to the book itself.Performance history
"Robinson Crusoé" was first staged at the
Opéra-Comique ,Salle Favart on23 November 1867 with Vendredi, the 'Man Friday' role, sung byCélestine Marié , later to achieve fame as the first Carmen. Despite a positive reception by the public and press, no professional theatre played the work after its premiere until 1973 at the Festival in Camden.Opera della Luna 's 1994 production of the work also played at Ilford in 2004.Ohio Light Opera produced the work in 1996.Roles
Synopsis
Robinson Crusoe, a hopeless romantic from
Bristol , England, runs away to sea looking for adventure. He is shipwrecked and set upon by drunken pirates. His fiancee and her two servants set out to find him and end up on the same tropical island, where they meet Friday. They are taken prisoner by cannibals, whose cook turns out to be also from Bristol. Friday saves the day, and the Englishmen can return to Bristol.Selected recordings
Opera Rara have released a recording made in English in London in 1980. This was conducted byAlun Francis with theRoyal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Geoffrey Mitchell Choir. The cast included Roderick Kennedy (Sir William Crusoe), Enid Hartle (Lady Deborah Crusoe),Alan Opie (Jim Cocks), Wyndham Parfitt (Will Atkins),Yvonne Kenny (Edwige),John Brecknock (Robinson Crusoé), Marilyn Hill Smith (Suzanne), Alexander Oliver (Toby), and Sandra Browne (Man Friday).References
* Andrew Lamb, "Robinson Crusoé" in "The
New Grove Dictionary of Opera ", ed. Stanley Sadie (London, 1992) ISBN 0-333-73432-7
* [http://www.jacques-offenbach.de/index.php?startseite=http://www.jacques-offenbach.de/liste-robinson.html French profile of the work]External links
* [http://www.ifordarts.co.uk/reviews/crusoe.htm Reviews of the operetta at Ilford]
* [http://olo.wooster.edu/seasons/1996/crusoe.php Ohio Light Opera's Crusoe page]
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