- Le roi d'Ys
"Le Roi d'Ys" ("The King of Ys") is an
opera in three acts and fivetableaux by the French composerEdouard Lalo , to thelibretto byÉdouard Blau , based on the old Breton legend of the drowned kingdom ofYs . It receivedpremiere at theOpéra Comique inParis on7 May ,1888 . TheMetropolitan Opera staged it for just six performances in 1922 season, with the premiere starringRosa Ponselle [ [http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/frame.htm The MetOpera archives (database)] ] .Stylistically, it is the work of similar scope as
Esclarmonde (which was composed more or less at the same time and received premiere a year later), with excellent orchestration and dramatic vocal lines. The most famous number in the opera is theaubade in Act Three.ynopsis
Commercial Recordings
*"Le roi d'Ys" Janine Micheau, Rita Gorr, Henri Legay, Orchestra of Radiodiffusion Française/André Cluytens (Pathé/EMI, rec. 1957)
*"Le Roi d'Ys" Andrea Guiot, Jane Rhodes, Alain Vanzo, Robert Massard, Orchestra of Radiodiffusion Française/Pierre Dervaux (Chant du monde, rec. 1973)
*"Le roi d'Ys" Jean-Philippe Courtis, Dolorès Ziegler, Barbara Hendricks, Orchestra of Radiofusion Française/Armin Jordan (Erato, rec. 1988)ources
"The Viking Opera Guide", edited by Amanda Holden (Viking, 1993)
External links
* [http://www.karadar.com/Librettos/lalo_roy.html Full French Libretto]
* [http://www.oldandsold.com/opera/opera-73.shtml Synopsis] on Old and Sold Antiques
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