Performers
- Aleksandra Olczyk soprano*
- Monika Ledzion mezzosoprano‡
- Orchestra of the Teatr Wielki – Polish National Opera
- Patrick Fournillier conductor
Programme
Georges Bizet Opera Carmen (selection)
Prelude to act IV [3’]
Habanera L’amour est un oiseau rebelle, Carmen’s aria from act I [5’]‡
Je dis que rien ne m’épouvante, Micaëla’s aria from act III [6’]*
Jules Massenet Méditation for violin and orchestra, entr’acte from act II of the opera Thaïs [6’]
Jacques Offenbach Elle a fui, la tourterelle!, Antonia’s aria from act III of the opera The Tales of Hoffmann (Les Contes
d’Hoffmann) [5’]*
Jules Massenet Les larmes qu’on ne pleure pas, Charlotte’s aria from act III of the opera Werther [3’]‡
Léo Delibes Dôme épais le jasmin, Lakmé and Malika’s duet (Flower Duet) from act I of the opera Lakmé [5’]*‡
Camille Saint-Saëns Opera Samson and Dalila, Op. 47 (selection)
Bacchanale from act II [8’]
Mon cœur s’ouvre à ta voix, Dalila’s aria from act II [7’]‡
Charles Gounod Waltz Je veux vivre dans ce rêve, Julia’s aria from act I of the opera Romeo and Juliet [5’]*
Jacques Offenbach Barcarolle Belle nuit, ô nuit d’amour, Juliet and Nicholas’s duet from act IV of the opera The Tales of Hoffmann [5’]*‡
Concert description
Dedicated to Institut Français in Poland on its 100th anniversary
The most representative place to experience and practice music in 19th century Paris was, of course, the opera house. An evening at the Salle Le Peletier, the Salle Favart or the Théâtre Lyrique meant reveling in the art, but sometimes also technological innovations (the Salle Le Peletier, for example, was the first French theater to install gas lighting!), and always – a social gathering. Although full operas were usually staged in theaters, and selections of pieces were more often performed in salons accompanied by piano excerpts or small ensembles, there were also large galas consisting of excerpts from various works with a full orchestra. Like today, they often had an occasional character. One of the most memorable took place 150 years ago, on January 5, 1875, when, after years of construction and sometimes utterly insane adventures (including confusing the decoration of two halls and dismantling scaffolding the day before the opening), the Palais Garnier, the new edifice of the Paris Opera House, was ceremonially inaugurated. Excerpts from works by Daniel Auber and Giacomo Meyerbeer, a ballet by Léon Delibes, among others, were then performed, and, unfortunately, excerpts from Charles Gounod’s Faust and Ambroise Thomas’s Hamlet had to be abandoned due to the indisposition of one of the sopranos. Who knows, maybe the music of the most beautiful French operas, dimmed lights and the power of imagination will transport us directly from Moniuszko Auditorium to the 19th century City of Light (La Ville Lumière)?
– Dominika Micał (pisanezesluchu.pl)