Amadis is an opera in three acts with a prologue by French composer Jules Massenet, set to a French libretto by Jules Claretie. The libretto is based on the Spanish chivalric romance Amadis de Gaula by Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo.
Composition and Premiere
Massenet began composing the work around 1895 but set it aside. He returned to it clandestinely in the final years of his life, completing it around 1910. The opera was first performed at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo on 1 April 1922, nearly ten years after Massenet's death. It is one of three operas by Massenet to have been premiered posthumously, the others being Panurge (1913) and Cléopâtre (1914). The premiere was conducted by Léon Jehin.
Synopsis
The story is set in ancient Brittany and concerns twin brothers Amadis and Galaor, the sons of Princess Elisène and King Périon of France. Separated at birth, they are raised without knowledge of each other's identity. As adults, both become rival knights competing for the hand of Princess Floriane. In a tournament, Galaor defeats Amadis. Later, Amadis returns and challenges Galaor to a duel, fatally wounding him. Only then does Amadis discover, through matching magical stones (carved by Merlin) around their necks, that Galaor is his long-lost brother. Before dying, Galaor forgives Amadis and blesses the union of Amadis and Floriane.
Musical and Dramatic Features
The opera is written in a style described as Pre-Raphaelite, with the libretto's stage directions evoking the visual aesthetic of painter Edward Burne-Jones. Act I (the prologue) is largely orchestral with a spoken narration. The title role of Amadis is a trouser role, written for a contralto (mezzo-soprano) voice. The orchestration calls for a large ensemble including piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, English horn, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, sarussophone, 4 horns, 3 trumpets (plus 3 offstage), 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion (glockenspiel, tam-tam, cymbals, bass drum), 2 harps, and strings. The average duration is approximately two hours.
Performance History and Recordings
Amadis has not gained lasting popularity in the standard operatic repertoire. It was revived during the Massenet Festival in Saint-Étienne, France, in 1988, and a recording was released on the Koch Swann label. A later recording was issued on the Forlane label featuring the Paris Opera Orchestra and Chorus conducted by Patrick Fournillier, with Hélène Perraguin as Amadis and Didier Henry as Galaor.
