|
''Les cloches de Corneville'' (known in English as ''The Chimes of Normandy'' or ''The Bells of Corneville'') is an opera-comique in three acts, composed by Robert Planquette to a French libretto by Louis Clairville and Charles Gabet based on a play by Gabet. In 1876, the director of the Théâtre des Folies-Dramatiques, Louis Cantin, hired Planquette to compose the operetta, which had originally been intended for Hervé.〔(Gänzl, Kurt: ''Les cloches de Corneville'', Grove Music Online, ed. L. Macy ) (Accessed 12 October 2007)〕 Despite initially mixed reviews (the storyline was criticized for its similarity to ''La dame blanche'' and ''Martha''), it became probably the most popular French operetta of all time, with hit productions in London and elsewhere. ''Les cloches de Corneville'' was Planquette's first full operetta score and has been praised for its fine melodies, rhythmic variety, good choral writing and complex orchestral colour (although Planquette may not have done the orchestration himself).〔(Review of a recording by Raymond Walker for MusicWeb )〕 ==Performance history== ''Les cloches de Corneville'' was first produced in Paris at the Théâtre des Folies-Dramatiques, opening on April 19, 1877, and ran for 408 performances. The operetta was then produced as ''The Chimes of Normandy'' at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City, beginning on October 22, 1877. There was also another New York run in 1878. Later productions included one as ''The Bells of Corneville'' at the Victoria Theater, New York, beginning on April 21, 1902. In London, it played at the Folly Theatre, with an English libretto by H. B. Farnie and Robert Reece, opening on February 28, 1878 (transferring to the Globe Theatre on 31 August 1878 as ''The Chimes of Normandy''), outlasting ''H.M.S. Pinafore'' by running for a world record-setting 705 performances (holding this record until ''Dorothy'' in 1886).〔Mackerness, E.D. ("Cellier, Alfred," ) ''Grove Music Online,'' Oxford Music Online, accessed 18 August 2011 ; and Gänzl, Kurt. ("Cloches de Corneville, Les," ) ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'', Grove Music Online, Oxford Music Online, accessed 18 August 2011〕 Violet Cameron and Shiel Barry starred as Germaine and Gaspard. At the same time, the production toured the provinces, starring Florence St. John as Germaine, who then joined the London cast late in the run, making her West End debut. The work remained popular thereafter; it was translated into several languages and enjoyed numerous productions worldwide.〔(French site about the operetta )〕 In 1917 it was adapted in Britain as a silent feature film, under its French name, directed by Thomas Bentley. It continued to be performed into the 1940s in Britain〔 and the 1960s in France,〔 and it still receives some productions today.〔(Advertisement for scheduled 2008 production )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Les cloches de Corneville」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|