Ludovic (opera)

Ludovic is a two act opéra comique to a libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges. The music, by Ferdinand Hérold, was left unfinished at his death, and the work was completed by Fromental Halévy.

The plot, elements of which were later reworked by Halévy and Saint-Georges in "Le val d'Andorre" (1847), centres on misplaced alliance, love, forced conscription, flight, pardon and marriage. The opera is set in the countryside around Rome and the main characters are Ludovic, a farmer from Corsica, Francesca, who owns the farm he manages, and her cousin Gregorio. A bizarre touch, which would perhaps make the opera unacceptable to present-day sensibilities, is that when, at the end of act I, Ludovic hears of Francesca's intended marriage to Gregorio, he shoots her, wounding her in the arm. This apparently serves to make her fall in love with her assailant.

The opera was premiered at the Paris Opéra-Comique on 16 May 1833, and achieved 70 performances by the end of 1834, making it a modest success.

ources

Ruth Jordan, "Fromental Halévy". London, 1994. ISBN 9781871082517