Performed in French with projected English translations Performance running time: 4 hours 40 minutes including 2 intermissions Les Troyens Opera Overview “With touches of Homer, Shakespeare, and music like none ever written before... [Les Troyens] is the grandest French opera. Every performance is an occasion.” - Los Angeles Times The drama of the Trojan War, replete with heroes and tragedy, has captivated audiences from literature to film, and nowhere does it come to life more vividly than in French opera’s most astounding work, Les Troyens. Grand and glorious in its musical and dramatic breadth, this operatic retelling of Virgil’s Aeneid is rarely performed because of its enormous scale. Experience the tidal wave of sound from Lyric’s massive chorus and orchestra and the exciting ballet as this theatrical tour de force unfolds with a powerhouse cast. Sir Andrew Davis conducts this much-anticipated Lyric premiere that will draw opera lovers from all over the world! Photo: Michael Cooper/Canadian Opera Company #LyricTroyens Les Troyens (The Trojans) Opera Resources Les Troyens Post-Performance Audience Discussions: Stay after your matinee performance for a 30-minute talk with General Director Anthony Freud and artists from the production.

Synopsis Part 1 — The Taking of Troy The Greeks’ siege of Troy seems to have ended after ten years when they leave an enormous wooden horse, apparently as a parting gift, but the Trojan princess Cassandra prophecies disaster. She is proven correct: Greek soldiers emerge from the horse and wreak catastrophe on what remains of the city. The women of Troy join Cassandra in committing suicide rather than submit to the Greeks. The hero Aeneas escapes, ready to fulfill his destiny by founding a new Troy in Italy. Part 2 — The Trojans at Carthage Aeneas and his men lead Carthage’s army to victory in battle. Queen Dido of Carthage and Aeneas fall in love, but their idyll ends when the hero realizes that fate is too strong: he must leave for Italy. The despairing Dido mounts a funeral pyre and, after proclaiming the coming of a Carthaginian general (Hannibal) who will avenge her, she stabs herself with Aeneas’s sword. She dies envisioning Carthage’s eventual destruction at the hands of Rome, as her people curse Aeneas and his descendants.

ACT FIVE ACT ONE The Trojans are ecstatic to discover that the Greeks have apparently abandoned the siege of their city and sailed away. A huge wooden horse has been left outside the city gates, and everyone assumes this is an offering the Greek army has made to Pallas Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom. Cassandra, daughter of Troy’s king, Priam, is beset by visions of destruction threatening Troy, and laments that her father and the people will not listen to her warnings. Cassandra’s betrothed, Chorebus, cannot convince her to join in the people’s celebrations. Instead she begs him to leave Troy before disaster strikes, but he refuses. King Priam and Queen Hecuba lead the people in thanking the gods for the departure of the Greeks. Everyone is shocked at the despair of Andromache, the grieving widow of the fallen hero Hector. Then Aeneas, a Trojan warrior, brings awful news: the priest, Laocoön, believing the wooden horse was some kind of trick, pierced it with his spear and urged the Trojans to burn it, but moments later two sea serpents devoured him.

Thinking that the serpents are a sign of Pallas Athena’s anger at Troy’s rejection of her gift, Aeneas leads the people to bring the horse into the city, despite Cassandra’s terrified feelings of foreboding. ACT TWO That night the ghost of Hector comes to Aeneas. He tells him that Greek soldiers have poured out of the wooden horse to take the city, that Troy is burning, and that Aeneas must escape to found a new city in Italy. Cassandra convinces the terrified Trojan women that they must commit suicide, rather than be defiled and enslaved by the Greeks. When enemy soldiers appear, Cassandra and her companions kill themselves, consoled by the knowledge that Aeneas has escaped and that he will build a new Troy. ACT THREE The people of Carthage proclaim their devotion to Dido, their queen. She thanks them for their achievements in building a new city, while warning them that they face new threats from the neighboring King Iarbas, who is trying to force her into marriage. Anna, Dido’s sister, urges the reluctant queen, a widow, to fall in love again and provide Carthage with the king it needs.

A group of foreigners come to seek refuge in Carthage, just as King Iarbas begins his threatened invasion of Carthage. The foreigners’ leader reveals that he is Aeneas, and offers to help Dido defend her city. Leaving Ascanius, his son, in her care, he and his men go into battle alongside the Carthaginians. ACT FOUR Having defeated Iarbas’s army, Aeneas has remained in Carthage. He and Dido have fallen in love. Anna dismisses the fears of Narbal, Dido’s chief adviser, who sees the queen giving herself up to pleasure and ignoring her duties, and who is well aware that Aeneas is destined to leave for Italy. Anna however is certain the lovers will marry and rule Carthage together. Anna has arranged an entertainment to delight the lovers, but Dido is restless and nothing pleases her. She asks Aeneas to finish telling the story of Troy’s last days. He tells her how Andromache, Hector’s widow, finally agreed to marry the Greek prince who captured her at the fall of Troy. Dido feels that Andromache’s example releases her from her vow to stay faithful to the memory of her dead husband.

Left alone under the night sky, Dido and Aeneas rejoice in their love. ACT FIVE Hylas, a young Trojan sailor, longs for his homeland, but most of the Trojans are impatient to set sail for Italy. Aeneas has told Dido he must leave, but, still passionately in love, he dreads the final farewell. He is visited by the ghosts of Cassandra, Chorebus, Hector, and Priam, who order him to depart at once to found the new Trojan state. Dido is enraged and in despair at the reality of Aeneas’ leaving. When he begs her to understand that although he loves her, he has no choice but to obey the gods, she curses him. Once Aeneas has gone, Dido orders a pyre built in order to burn the gifts she and Aeneas have shared since his arrival in Carthage. Left alone, Dido prepares for death and bids farewell to her city. The pyre is ready to be burned. In her despair, the queen prophesies the coming of a general from Carthage, Hannibal, who will one day take her revenge on Rome and Aeneas.

Then, to everyone’s horror, she stabs herself. Envisioning Carthage destroyed by Rome, she dies crying “Rome…Rome… eternal,” as her people curse Aeneas and his descendants. AT LAST AT LYRIC! Berlioz's visionary masterwork Les Troyens is as epic as the poem that inspired it and the themes that drive the story. It requires years of planning, hundreds of hours of rehearsals, more than 225 performers, and a virtual army of technical and creative staff to present this monumental piece. Staging an opera like this is a historic experience for Lyric, due to the sheer scale of the production. And operas of epic scale like Les Troyens need epic supporters — and we hope you will consider making a special gift and join the Trojans Circle. Trojans Circle donors will have exclusive access to specific rehearsals, special events with cast and crew, and an opportunity to learn what goes into creating this ambitious new production. We hope that you will be part of this extraordinary moment in our history and join the Trojans Circle.

Les Troyens (The Trojans) Berlioz's greatest opera Written by Dieter Schoop "Les Troyens" or "The Trojans" is certainly one of the most gigantic and convincing masterpieces of music-drama. This opera is Berlioz at the height of his powers. In 1858 when - after two years of composing - he had almost finished his monumental work, he wrote to his sister Adèle.. . "I assure you that the music of "Les Troyens" is noble and grand, and that it has a poignant truthfulness...". In the early 1990s I saw and immensely enjoyed a performance of this awe-inspiring and thrilling opera in Zurich, Switzerland. The duration of this cathedral of an artistic work is about four hours. The first one and a half hours depict the Trojans celebrating the end of the Greek siege of Troy that lasted for 10 years. The sound in this part is austere, electric and possessed. The scenes show how the people of Troy pull the famous Trojan horse with Greek soldiers inside it, into their city - despite the ardent warning of Cassandra - and the ensuing fall of Troy.

Aeneas, a Trojan leader, escapes with sailors and ships. They sail past Greece and Sicily to Tunisia. The second part of "Les Troyens" is set in Carthage, an ancient town in Tunisia, near the capital Tunis in north Africa. The music now is a strong contrast to the first part of the opera. Here it is lyrical, sensuous, sun-drenched and star-laden. Dido, the queen of Carthage falls in love with Aeneas, the commander of the Trojan fleet. But just when his troops are happy to stay in peaceful Carthage, Aeneas is pushed to follow his original dream. Therefore he and his ships leave for Italy, while Dido the heart-broken queen, commits suicide which is depicted most dramatically in Berlioz's orchestration of that scene. Berlioz's Letters During The Time He Composed "The Trojans" July, 1856 to the Princess... "Would you believe it - I have fallen in love, utterly in love, with the Queen of Carthage I adore her, this beautiful Dido." August, 1856 to the Princess...

"Another obstacle for me in composing the music of this drama is that the feelings to be expressed move me too deeply. This is useless - one must try to be cool when the emotions are hottest." October 1856 to his sister Adèle... "You do not know that an extra link has been forged between us since you began to take an interest in this thing ["Les Troyens"] that torments and exalts me, that devours me, that kills me, that makes me live." August 1857 to his sister Adèle... "Three days ago... I went out alone early in the morning, I took my 'Trojans' manuscript, some music paper and a pencil. The landlord arranged a table for me in the shade, with a bowl of milk, kirsch, and suger, and I worked there peacefully, with the splendid landscape spread out before me, till nine in the evening. I was writing a chorus [the opening of the third act], the words of which were appropriate to the scene: 'Has such a day been seen before after so terrible a storm? What a gentle breeze!'" November 1857 to the Princess...

"I live in my score like La Fontaine's rat in the cheese, if you will pardon the comparison. I am about to begin the fifth act and go at it with a concentrated passion which seems to grow the more it is satisfied. What value will it all be given in the end?... Only God knows. Never shall I forget, Princess, that it is to you and to you alone that I owe the extraordinary pleasure that this labour of composition has brought me." February 1858 to his son Louis (serving in the French merchant navy)... I have added a character piece which is intended to contrast with the epic, passionate style of the rest. It's a sailor's song. [In the harbour of Carthage the sailor Hylas sings as he rocks at the masthead of a ship.] I thought of you, dear Louis, when I wrote it, and I send you the words. April 1859 to his friend Humbert Ferrand... Passion abounds in the score of "Les Troyens". August 1859 to the Princess (after completing the opera in 1858)...

The stupid opposition of those idiots in charge of the Opéra (in Paris) is breaking my heart..." Summary The last sentence above explains the resistance that the genius of Berlioz encountered from the so-called "musical experts" in Paris. Berlioz mentions in his "Memoires" that he had actual enemies in the Opéra who did everything to badmouth his masterpieces. Even in his first Opera "Benvenuto Cellini" which was performed under the composer's direction in 1838, Berlioz's enemies disturbed the performance so that it had to be interrupted. For about 130 years his operas went into oblivion because of the Parisian badmouthing of their highly imaginative and gifted composer. The rejection of "Les Troyens" was the final blow in a lifetime of struggles against a largely hostile or indifferent musical environment in Paris. Not so however in Russia and Germany where Berlioz enjoyed some great successes conducting his own works. Luckily, since 1969 when "The Trojans" was first performed in almost its original form at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in London, the Western world experienced a great revival of Berlioz's romantic compositions in general.

I hope you will be able to hear this opera live one day and I'm sure you will be moved to the center of your musical soul. Berlioz' Opera "Les Troyens" Synopsis - The Story of Berlioz Opera Berlioz' Les Troyens takes place in ancient Troy. The Story of Les Troyens Les Troyens, ACT 1 For 10 years, the Greeks have laid siege to the Trojans, but suddenly stopped. Finally, delighted in their perceived peace, the Trojans rejoice; especially after the Greeks leave a large wooden horse outside of the city gate. The Trojans believe it to be an offering made to their goddess, Pallas Athena. However, King Priam's daughter Cassandra, a prophetess, believes no good will come of this horse. She tries warning her father and fiancé, Coroebus, that the horse will bring calamity upon Troy, but her prophesy goes unheeded. Coroebus urges Cassandra to join in their festivities, but she cannot. She begs him to flee the city, but Coroebus doesn't give in to her machinations.

continue reading below our video Celebrity Breakups of 2015 We Didn't See Coming The celebrations cease when Andromaque, the widow of Cassandra's brother Hector, brings a sad note about the priest, Laocoön. Believing the horse to be some kind of trick, Laocoön pierced the wooden horse with his spear and urged the townspeople to set fire to it. Moments later, he was attacked and devoured by two sea serpents. Aeneas, the commander of the Trojan army, is convinced that Laocoön angered Pallace Athena and that the horse must be brought to her temple within the city. The King agrees and Cassandra concedes to her visions of death and destruction. Les Troyens, ACT 2 Asleep in his bedroom, Aeneas is visited by the ghost of Cassandra's brother, Hector. Hector reveals to Aeneas that his is to one day start a new city of Troy and that he must escape. As Hector fades away, Aeneas is awakened by his friend Panthee. Injured by the Greek soldiers hidden within the wooden horse, Panthee briefs Aeneas of the alarming situation.

Within the palace walls, Cassandra and a large group of Trojan women pray for divine intervention. Cassandra prophesies that Aeneas and several of the other soldiers have escaped with a large treasure where they will found a new city in Italy. A group of the women confess they should have listened to Cassandra before, and then she asks them if they are ready to die. Some of the women are not, so Cassandra dismisses them. The remaining women vow to each other that when confronted they will die free women rather than possibly be raped or murdered by Greek soldiers. When the Greek soldiers arrive seeking treasure, the women commit suicide one by one, horrifying the Greek invaders. Moments later, Aeneas and his men make their successful escape from the city. Les Troyens, ACT 3 At the palace of Dido, the Queen of Carthage, she is praised by her people. For the past seven years they have enjoyed great peace and prosperity since their escape from the city of Tyre. Dido, a widow, is concerned about her refusal to marry Iarbas, the king of Numidia, for political reasons, but her sister, Anna assures her that she will one day find love again.

Their conversation is interrupted by Iopas, when he brings them news of the arrival of an unknown group of men. Mindful of her own misfortunes of traveling treacherous seas, she welcomes the men into the city. The group of men make their way into Dido's court and offer her the last of their treasure. They tell her of their escape and their destiny to found a new Troy in Italy. Dido is then brought word that Iarbas and his troops are attacking the city. Knowing that her troops are lacking in numbers, Aeneas reveals his identity and offers to help the queen. After she agrees, Aeneas orders his son, Ascanius to protect the queen. Les Troyens, ACT 4 Separated from the men, Aeneas and Dido take shelter in a cave within a forest when a strong storm encroaches upon them. Nymphs, satyres, fauns, and naiads play outside in the rain during this instrumental segment of the opera. Aeneas and Dido give in to their mutual attraction to one another. Days later, Anna and Narbal are talking in the queen's gardens now that the Numidians have been defeated.

Narbal worries that the queen has been neglecting her duties, having fallen in love with Aeneas. He tells Anna he is concerned that Aeneas will not fulfill his destiny to build a new Troy in Italy. Anna replies that Aeneas will be a good king for Carthage and that no god or prophesy is stronger than love. Dido and Aeneas arrive and Dido asks Aeneas to tell a story of Troy's final days. As he does, she cannot help but draw similarities between herself and the widow of Cassandra's brother, Hector. Still, the two sing of their love for each other. Moments later, Aeneas is reminded by the god, Mercury, of his destiny to found the new Troy. Les Troyens, ACT 5 Panthee and the other Trojan soldiers grow weary of their stay in Carthage. After seeing so many apparitions and omens, they cannot understand why Aeneas has not lead them to Italy. Finally, several of them men approach Aeneas and convince him that they must depart. Finally conceding to their wishes, he tells them they will depart the following day after he visits Dido one last time.

That night, Aeneas is visited by the ghosts of Hector, Cassandra, Coroebus, and the King urging him to leave. Finally, he wakes his men in the middle of the night and demands them to prepare the ships. Dido hears word of his immanent departure and pays a visit to him down by the docks. Angered beyond belief, she cannot believe he would leave her. He tells her that he truly loves her, but she curses him before storming off to the palace. Aeneas, heartbroken boards their vessels and depart. The next morning, having calmed down, Dido asks her sister Anna to bring Aeneas to her so that she can be with him for just a few more days. When her sister returns to the palace, she tells Dido that Aeneas and his men have already left. Feeling betrayed, she regrets not setting his ships on fire beforehand. Instead, she orders a pyre to be built down by the docks where she can burn all of Aeneas' gifts. When the pyre has be built, Dido, Anna, and Narbal begin throwing the gifts into the fire, praying that their gods will curse Aeneas.

As she does this, Dido has visions of an upcoming battle against Rome, avenging her, but sees that the battle is lost by her ally. Suddenly, she stabs herself with a nearby sword, shocking everyone. She admits that they are all destined to die by the forces of Rome, the new Troy, after seeing one last vision. ‘Les Troyens’ With Bryan Hymel at Metropolitan Opera - The New York Times The New York Times Music |Unwrapped After Christmas, a Tenor Search Unwrapped After Christmas, a Tenor ‘Les Troyens’ With Bryan Hymel at Metropolitan Opera Continue reading the main story When, close to midnight on Wednesday, the American tenor Bryan Hymel appeared for his curtain call at the end of the Metropolitan Opera’s performance of the Berlioz epic “Les Troyens,” the entire cast lined up onstage and applauded along with the audience during the prolonged ovation. This gesture from the singers seemed not just a welcoming tribute to a young colleague making his Met debut on short notice in the daunting role of Aeneas.

The cast members, especially the beaming mezzo-soprano Susan Graham, who was again a vocally sumptuous and alluring Dido, seemed genuinely grateful to Mr. Hymel for saving the day by giving an impassioned and confident performance of a heroic role that dominates this formidable French opera . Mr. Hymel (pronounced EE-mel) took over from Marcello Giordani, who was a vocally wobbly Aeneas when the Met’s 2003 production returned on Dec. 13. Mr. Giordani sang the next two scheduled performances. But on Saturday it was announced that he was withdrawing from the final four performances and retiring the role from his repertory, and that Mr. Hymel would take his place. Mr. Hymel, 33, was in London at the time, where he had been singing the title role in a new production at the Royal Opera at Covent Garden of a Meyerbeer rarity, “Robert le Diable.” He sang the last performance in that run on Friday before flying to New York.

The only other time he had appeared on the Met stage was in 2000, when at 20 he was a finalist in the Met’s National Council Auditions concerts . Photo The tenor Bryan Hymel in the Metropolitan Opera production of the Berlioz epic "Les Troyens" on Wednesday night. Credit Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera But he was an experienced Aeneas, having sung the role to acclaim last summer when Covent Garden introduced a new production . That was another instance of Mr. Hymel saving the day in “Les Troyens.” The tenor Jonas Kaufmann had been scheduled to take on Aeneas for the first time. But lingering recuperation from a viral infection forced Mr. Kaufmann to cancel several months of engagements. Aeneas, the Trojan hero, is one of the most difficult of all tenor challenges because it combines such different styles of singing: heroic passages where Aeneas must slice through Berlioz’s orchestra with the power and ping of a Wagnerian tenor, yet also stretches of refined, French-styled lyricism, especially during the enchanting extended scene at the end of Act IV, when Aeneas sings a mellifluous love duet with Dido.

Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Hymel’s voice, over all, is dark hued and muscular, with a quick vibrato and earthy texture and quite even throughout its range. In the demanding scene in the last act, when Aeneas, responding to ghostly omens, resolves that he must abandon his beloved Dido and fulfill his destiny to found the city of Rome, Mr. Hymel sang with unflagging stamina and impetuous abandon, capped with some exciting full-voiced top notes. But he was at his best in the tender, high-lying exchanges with Ms. Graham. And with a dependable Aeneas beside her, Ms. Graham seemed freer than she had been with Mr. Giordani, singing with soaring lyricism and melting sound. The rest of the cast was the same as on the opening night, with Deborah Voigt as Cassandra and, among the standout members of the large cast: Karen Cargill as Anna, Dido’s sister; and Kwangchul Youn as Narbal, a minister to Dido. Fabio Luisi conducted Berlioz’s magnificent score, and this time the performance seemed more settled in than on the first night.

On Wednesday, during the first intermission, a glitch with the stage’s turntable delayed the start of Part II by more than 20 minutes as operagoers waited in their seats — more evidence that the Met’s planned $60 million in stage renovations is needed. This performance was, in essence, a dress rehearsal for Mr. Hymel, who should only get better during the run, which will end with an HD broadcast on Jan. 5, a Saturday matinee. The final performances of “Les Troyens” at the Metropolitan Opera are scheduled for Saturday, Tuesday and Jan. 5; (212) 362-6000, metopera.org. A version of this review appears in print on December 28, 2012, on Page C18 of the New York edition with the headline: Unwrapped After Christmas, a Tenor. Order Reprints | Today's Paper | Subscribe Review: S.F. Opera makes an epic effort with 'Les Troyens' - LA Times S.F.

Opera makes an epic effort with 'Les Troyens' 'Les Troyens' Anna Caterina Antonacci as Cassandre in Berlioz's "Les Troyens." Anna Caterina Antonacci as Cassandre in Berlioz's "Les Troyens." (Cory Weaver/San Francisco Opera) Mark Swed Contact Reporter Los Angeles Times Music Critic Women deliver standout performances in the massive, bulky and brassy 'Les Troyens' opera in San Francisco Berlioz' "Les Troyens" -- a five-hour epic opera after Virgil's "Aeneid" with touches of Homer, Shakespeare and music like none ever written before for the lyric stage -- is the grandest French opera. Every performance is an occasion. San Francisco Opera opened its summer season – a month of three operas in repertory – Sunday afternoon with a mammoth production even for "Troyens." The 32-ton set is the largest ever assembled on the stage of the 83-year-old War Memorial Opera House. David McVicar's lavish staging was originally the Royal Opera's contribution to the festival surrounding the 2012 Olympic games in London. S.F.

Opera's "Troyens" is, however, historically notable for reasons other than its hulking set or massive cast of singers, dancers and acrobats. Berlioz' two-part marathon encompassing the fall of Troy and Aeneas' love affair with Queen Dido in Carthage on his way to found Rome was finished in 1858 but never performed complete in the French composer's lifetime. Not until 1966 did "Troyens," thanks to S.F. Opera, receive its first professional staging in the U.S. But the truncated version (which travelled to the Shrine Auditorium in L.A. and to the outdoor Greek Theater in Berkeley where the star tenor swallowed a moth while singing) left out more than a third of Berlioz' score. "Troyens" was written off as an incoherent mess with some wondrous music.

'Les Troyens' Mezzo-soprano Susan Graham as Didon in "Les Troyens." Mezzo-soprano Susan Graham as Didon in "Les Troyens." (Cory Weaver/San Francisco Opera) Only when Royal Opera mounted and recorded the first note-complete "Troyens" in 1969 did the opera world at large recognize a masterpiece. The Metropolitan Opera staged its first "Troyens" to celebrate the opening of its centennial season in 1983; Paris Opera staged its first full "Troyens" to open its new opera house in 1990. Los Angeles Opera jumped on a "Troyens" bandwagon in 1991. Only now has S.F. Opera gotten around to "Troyens" again and, at last, all (but for couple minutes worth of incidental trims) of "Troyens." Unfortunately, the result is in many ways disappointing. The production treads tired ground. The choreography is an accumulation of balletic clichés.

The sassiness and originality of Berlioz' orchestra, which gives the opera its unmistakable character and atmosphere, is often subdued by conductor Donald Runnicles' taste for ominous brass, fulsomely rich string sounds and otherwise impressively full-bodied Wagnerian sound. 'Les Troyens' Mezzo-soprano Susan Graham as Didon and tenor Bryan Hymel as Enee in "Les Troyens." Mezzo-soprano Susan Graham as Didon and tenor Bryan Hymel as Enee in "Les Troyens." (Cory Weaver/San Francisco Opera) But this is historically a singers company, and standout performances by Anna Caterina Antonacci as Cassandre, Susan Graham as Dido and Sasha Cooke as Dido's sister, Anna, manage to make S.F. Opera's "Troyens" mean something. Berlioz' great improvement upon Virgil was to empower the women, and Sunday they made powerful mockery of masters and commanders with their pathetic piety. Antonacci's Cassandre is no clairvoyant, rather a realist.

The Italian soprano will also star this month in the company's premiere of Marco Tutino's "Two Women," based on the same story as Vittorio Di Sica's classic film starring Sophia Loren. Antonacci's ready. Even her Cassandre is glamorously Loren-esque in her emotionally intense portrayal of a woman betrayed not by the gods who gave her vision but by the smug, blind bellicosity of men. Graham's sensually sung Dido is a formidable queen who puts love above war in an effort to create a great society. Her failure to domesticate Enée (Aeneas), whom the gods insistently guide to Rome, is a rebuke of heroism over passion. Cooke's Anna, who awakes Dido's inner desire, becomes the embodiment of sumptuousness. Next to these women, the men are stolid. Baritone Brian Mulligan -- Cassandra's lover, Chorèbe – can only look on in awe at Cassandre's courage. Berlioz gave Enée little depth, and Bryan Hymel's ideally focused tenor shows no difference between the ardor of love and that of war. Much nuance gets lost in McVicar's spectacle.

The Trojan War is turned into the Crimean War. Carthage is a terracotta desert settlement with idealistic architectural models. Es Devlin's sets are made for destruction. The Trojan horse is an evil looking machine housing watch-works innards. With a large chorus and many singers in small roles, "Troyens" has as many moving parts as the watch-works Trojan horse. Most roles are cast adequately, with the most convincing being the youngest and freshest, the Adler Fellows from the company's training program. The large chorus impresses even when running around like chickens with their heads cut off. Propulsive excitement is a Runnicles specialty, even when precision isn't possible. No doubt the staging would have been stronger had McVicar, choreographer Lynne Page and lighting designer Wolfgang Göbbel travelled to San Francisco rather than turning their duties over to assistants.

Although La Scala in Milan has also mounted the production, the original team might have noticed at the War Memorial Opera House how daft the old-fashioned story-book choreography looks, how much theatricality is lost having Dido express her rage in front of the curtain during the final act, or what happens to illusion when a red light bulb can be seen hanging inside the Trojan horse. The grander the spectacle, the more fragile it is. That, after all, is Berlioz' underlying feminist message staggeringly conveyed by Antonacci and Graham in this "Troyens." Berlioz Les Troyens Combat de Ceste, from Act I Act II Scene 1 Lamento for Les Troyens à Carthage 3 Entrances, from Act III Trojan march in the minor key, from Act III Royal Hunt and Storm 3 Ballets, from Act IV See also Texts and Documents ; Berlioz Libretti ; Berlioz and his music: self-borrowings ; The première of Les Troyens in 1863 ; A neglected source for les Troyens?

Written between 1856 to 1858 and revised up to 1863, Les Troyens was Berlioz’s largest and most ambitious work, and the summation of his entire artistic career. Its origins go back to his childhood and his reading of Virgil’s Aeneid under his father’s instruction, as he recalls in his Memoirs ( chapter 2 ). Thereafter Virgil was never far from his thoughts – citations from the Roman poet abound throughout his writings, and notably in his correspondence. The trip to Italy in 1831-2 gave Berlioz the opportunity to visit some of the places associated with Virgil’s epic . The great work thus matured in his mind for many years before he eventually undertook to write it, after much hesitation, as he recalls in his Memoirs . It represented the convergence of a multiplicity of influences, literary and musical. On the literary side Berlioz ascribed a major part to Shakespeare’s influence in addition to that of Virgil. On the musical side the major influences were those of Gluck and Spontini . For Berlioz the composition of Les Troyens represented thus in many ways a return to his roots.

Combat de Ceste (Boxing fight) This short and lively dance is taken from Act I of Les Troyens. It follows the ceremonial march and hymn of the Trojan people (Dieux protecteurs de la ville éternelle) and precedes the entrance of the tragic figure of Andromache and her son, when the music changes to a minor key and a much slower tempo. The name is derived from the Latin caestus, a kind of leather glove loaded with balls of lead and used in boxing matches. Berlioz almost certainly borrowed the idea of this dance from the funeral games in Book V of Virgil’s Aeneid. Act II Scene 1 Act II of Les Troyens takes place the night after the Trojans have introduced the gigantic wooden horse, full of Greek soldiers, into the city. Aeneas lies asleep in his palace, to the sound of fighting in the distance (bars 1-25). His son Ascanius, frightened by the sounds, makes a brief appearance but withdraws without waking his father (bars 26-74). The shade of Hector then strides in majestically and looks at Aeneas asleep (bars 75-89).

Aeneas wakes abruptly and addresses Hector (bars 90-106), who warns him of the fate of Troy and orders him to escape and seek out Italy where he is to found a new empire (bars 107-35). After this Hector withdraws to the same eerie music that had accompanied his entry (bars 136-42). This scene of Act II is based on Virgil’s Aeneid, Book II, lines 250-97. Both Aeneas’ address to Hector and Hector’s warning follow very closely the wording of Virgil’s text (lines 281-6 for Aeneas, 289-95 for Hector). But Berlioz characteristically adds an element that is missing from his Virgilian original – the brief entry of the frightened boy Ascanius, to the accompaniment of fast and delicate music that contrasts strikingly with the solemn music of the rest of the scene.

The music in this scene is pervaded with motifs that recur elsewhere in the opera, notably the bass line in the orchestral introduction (bars 2-4, 6-7, 12-14, 16-17), which is associated with Cassandra and her prophetic warnings of doom in the first two Acts, and the rhythm in bars 1-3, 12-13, 66-9, 92-6, 98-100 and 104-5, associated throughout the opera with fate. The slow descending chromatic scale of Hector’s warning (bars 107-35) recurs in Act V towards the end of the opera, but this time connected with Dido’s decision to take her own life after burning on a funeral pyre the gifts she had received from Aeneas. In order not to cut off the music abruptly the whole scene is given in full score up to the start of the scene that follows, but the parts of Aeneas and Hector have been silenced.

Lamento for Les Troyens à Carthage This piece was not part of Berlioz’s original design, in which the work was conceived as one single opera in five acts, but resulted from the compromise forced on Berlioz by the realisation that he would have to settle for a truncated version if he was ever going to see the work staged in Paris. It was eventually performed in November and December of 1863 at the newly built Théâtre Lyrique , but shorn of the first two acts, and with numerous cuts in the remaining three which were produced under the name of Les Troyens à Carthage. For this production a prologue was composed by Berlioz in June 1863 to summarise the action before; the prologue is preceded by the orchestral Lamento presented here. The Lamento looks back to the first two acts – its main theme is taken from the scene and duet between Cassandra and Coroebus in Act I, but at a much slower tempo the music now takes on the character of a funeral dirge, like a lament over the fall of Troy and the fate of its people. But it also looks forward to what is to come.

The phrase in the violins (bars 4-8), and again in the violas and cellos (bars 12-16), carries multiple echoes – it alludes to the first aria of Cassandra in Act I (Malheureux roi), but also anticipates a theme prominent in Act III in the duet between Dido and her sister Anna, then in Dido’s monologue preceding the entry of the Trojans (Errante sur les mers). It also carries an echo of Dido’s final recitative and aria in Act V in which she resolves to die after being abandoned by Aeneas (Inutile prière d’un cœur qui se déchire). 3 Entrances from Act III These three orchestral pieces are part of the opening scenes of Act III, when Dido addresses the people of Carthage and celebrates the achievements of the city seven years after its foundation. As part of the festivities processions of various trades — builders, sailors, farm-workers — come forward before the queen who presents them with symbolic gifts. Though short all three pieces are exquisitely crafted and characterised, and add further variety and colour to the opening scenes.

They form an integral part of the work and should never be omitted, but as Berlioz mentions they were cut from the first performances of Les Troyens à Carthage in November and December 1863 and this deplorable practice is sometimes followed in modern performances. Trojan march in the minor key from Act III This orchestral piece occurs later in Act III and accompanies the entrance of the Trojan refugees who have just arrived in Carthage and are introduced before Dido. When it is first heard in the opera, at the conclusion of Act I, the Trojan March is in a bright major key (B flat), while here the minor key (also B flat) reflects the broken fortunes of the Trojan people after the fall of Troy and their flight overseas. The piece should be compared with the orchestral version of the Trojan March which is itself derived from the version of the march at the conclusion of Act I. Note: the part of Dido in bars 16-21 is omitted here. Royal Hunt and Storm This symphonic interlude comes between Acts III and IV of Les Troyens.

The idea was suggested to Berlioz by a passage in Virgil’s Aeneid (Book IV, lines 117-168), but as so often with Berlioz’s use of literature for music his treatment of the episode is very much his own and goes well beyond his Virgilian original. The scene shows an African forest with a high rock at the back and the opening of a cave on the left; two naiads are seen bathing in a pool nearby. This tranquil scene is interrupted by the sound of hunting horns and the entrance of Trojan and Carthaginian hunters. A thunderstorm gathers, at the climax of which Dido and Aeneas are seen entering the cave, while satyrs, fauns and sylvans perform grotesque dances and utter cries of "Italie!" to remind Aeneas of his destiny. The storm gradually subsides and tranquility returns. In Berlioz’s hands, the Royal Hunt and Storm is much more than a magnificent piece of nature painting, remarkable as it is for (among much else) its orchestration and the use of complex simultaneous rhythms.

The storm is of course both literal and metaphorical: it represents the rise and fall of the love of Dido and Aeneas. It is no accident that the opening chromatic phrase is found elsewhere in Berlioz in contexts which express the awakening of love – the opening of part II of Romeo and Juliet (Romeo’s sadness), or the aria of Beatrice in Act II of Beatrice and Benedict (Il m’en souvient), which is quoted in the overture (bars 39-67, esp. the phrase at bars 47-51). The chromatic phrase of the introduction recurs in the subsequent allegretto (bars 175-183, 201-3), then at the climax of the storm (bars 266 and following) before gradually dying away, to be replaced by a return of the diatonic theme heard in the introduction (bars 30 and following, then bars 309 and following) and a final recall of the hunting horns, but this time in a slower tempo.

The concert version of the piece presented here contains the same music as in the opera, but with a less elaborate orchestration (in the opera the hunting fanfares are given to off-stage brass bands); the chorus with its cries of "Italie!" at the climax of the storm has also been omitted. Two technical points: (1) In order to obtain the correct note values on playback it has been necessary to notate a number of triplets and sextuplets in full and not in abbreviated form (bars 208-210, 212-13 for the piccolo; bars 266-8, 272-4 for violins and violas; bars 284-298 for the violins; bars 295-9 for the violas). (2) Berlioz’s tempo marking for the quick section (starting at bar 44) is Allegretto, a marking he uses in different senses according to the context (see Hugh Macdonald in Berlioz Studies ed. Peter Bloom [1992], pages 35-6, though he does not discuss the Royal Hunt and Storm).

He gives a metronome mark of dotted crotchet = 112, which is brisker than in most modern performances. To enable the listener to judge, the piece is provided in two versions, the first with Berlioz’s metronome marks (there is no problem with the opening larghetto), the second with a slower tempo for the Allegretto (here dotted crotchet = 100) which is close to modern performing practice. The first version involves a more abrupt slowing down in the closing pages (from bar 284 onwards) in order to bring the tempo back to that of the opening larghetto, which seems required by the context (bar 309 onwards). 3 Ballets from Act IV These 3 ballets come early in Act IV and accompany the celebrations held at Carthage after Aeneas’ defeat of the hostile Numidian chieftain Iarbas. They were written towards the end of 1859 and early in 1860, some time after the main body of the work which was composed in 1856-8.

As well as containing fine and characteristic music, the ballets play an integral role in the work and are more than elegant concessions to the conventions of the Paris Opéra (for which Les Troyens was originally intended). At the height of the festivities and the seeming happiness of Dido and Aeneas, the prevailing note of regret and loss struck by the music seems to hint at the tragedy that is to follow. There are also echoes that seem deliberate. The first ballet alludes obliquely (bars 46-52 and 56-62) to Narbal’s foreboding in his aria at the start of the Act (De quels revers menaces-tu Carthage, sombre avenir?): key, time signature, melody, harmony, and instrumental colour are similar (note the use of the trombones in the background). The same could be suggested for a passage in the second ballet (bars 65-82 and 92-100). The last ballet, in the exotic vein that Berlioz had used previously in Part I of l’ Enfance du Christ (cf.

the dance of the sooth-sayers), is predominantly in the same key in which Act IV will end, when the intervention of the god Mercury shatters the dream of the two lovers and drags the music away from the rarefied G flat major of the duet to the cold reality of E minor. With this latter ballet may be compared the description given by Berlioz (in Les Soirées de l’orchestre, XXIst soirée) of a performance he heard in London in 1851, given by two Indian musicians to the accompaniment of small drums: "One of them sang, in some Indian dialect, a pretty little melody in E minor, which only had a range of a sixth (from E to C); despite the quick tempo it was so sad, and conveyed such an impression of suffering, exile, slavery and despair, that on hearing it one was overcome with feelings of nostalgia". On the ballets see also the article by Pierre-René Serna on this site.

Some technical points: Ballet 1: the last repeat (bars 56-65) has been written out in full to achieve the required dynamic contrast with the first statement of the passage (Berlioz asks that the repeat should be played as softly as possible). Ballet 2: it is not clear what tempo Berlioz intended for this movement. The metronome mark given (crotchet = 122) is problematic in two ways (cf. Hugh Macdonald in Berlioz Studies ed. Peter Bloom [1992], pages 22-3): the unit of time is given as a crotchet, not a dotted crotchet (or conceivably a quaver) as would be expected in a 6/8 time signature, and the figure of 122 does not exist on the metronome scale available to Berlioz (the nearest figure is 120). Moreover, the tempo, though viable, is significantly faster than that adopted on the complete recordings of the work (for example by Sir Colin Davis and Charles Dutoit, both similar in speed).

To our knowledge the only conductor to follow the printed metronome mark is Hermann Scherchen in his 1952 recording of Les Troyens à Carthage. The piece has been presented here in two versions, the first as written by Berlioz, the second at a slightly slower tempo (crotchet = 112). Since 112 is on the metronome scale it is just possible that the figure of 122 is a mistake for it. Ballet 3: there is no Midi sound for the ‘cymbales antiques’ which Berlioz uses here (as he did in the Queen Mab scherzo of Romeo and Juliet ); the glockenspiel has been substituted. Les Troyens — Productions — Royal Opera House The Royal Opera in Les Troyens © Bill Cooper/ROH 2012 Les Troyens David McVicar brings Berlioz’s most ambitious work to Covent Garden. The sheer scale of the story, music and staging make this an event not to be missed. Most recent performance There are currently no scheduled performances of Les Troyens. It was last on stage 25 June—11 July 2012.

Introduction After the destruction of Troy, the Trojan warrior Énée sets out on a journey to found a new dynasty. He meets Didon, Queen of Carthage, and falls in love. But will Énée's love for Didon prove stronger than his sense of duty? Background Les Troyens is a tour de force of music that ranges from fiery military marches to intense choruses, passionate soliloquies – such as those of the prophetess Cassandre – and the lyrical love duets of Didon and Énée. It is Hector Berlioz's largest work and he wrote the libretto himself, drawing upon his intimate knowledge of Virgil's Aeneid. To the composer's disappointment, Les Troyens was only performed once in full during his lifetime. It was often presented in shortened form during the 20th century. The Royal Opera's production provides a rare chance to see this epic work in its entirety. David McVicar's staging is on an enormous scale, assembling one of the largest casts ever seen at Covent Garden. The sweeping theme of the rise and fall of empires runs throughout Les Troyens, along with moving meditations on love and honour.

News and features Berlioz’s ‘Troyens’ Returns to Metropolitan Opera - The New York Times The New York Times Music |Different War Horse Does the Trick Search Different War Horse Does the Trick Berlioz’s ‘Troyens’ Returns to Metropolitan Opera Continue reading the main story Photo Les Troyens Francesca Zambello's production of Berlioz's work based on "The Aeneid" has returned to the Met Opera, Trojan horse and all. Credit Ruby Washington/The New York Times New productions consume a great deal of time and energy at a company like the Metropolitan Opera. And the Met has three coming up in the next several weeks: a new staging of Donizetti’s “Maria Stuarda,” opening on New Year’s Eve; Verdi’s “Rigoletto” in late January; and Wagner’s “Parsifal” in mid-February. So it must have been a heavy lift for the company to fit a revival of Berlioz’s epic French opera “Les Troyens” — one of the greatest but most challenging works in the repertory, with a score lasting nearly four and a half hours — into its crowded rehearsal schedule.

On Thursday night, for the first time since its 2003 premiere run, the Met presented Francesca Zambello’s visually striking production of “Les Troyens.” It is always a privilege to hear this visionary Berlioz masterpiece. And the mezzo-soprano Susan Graham triumphed in her first Met performance as Didon (Dido), the Queen of Carthage, whose story is told in the last three of this formidable opera’s five acts. But other key cast members were disappointing, especially the tenor Marcello Giordani , who gave a vocally wobbly performance as Enée (Aeneas), the Trojan hero. In the scenes that mattered most, the cast, the always impressive chorus and the excellent orchestra, conducted by Fabio Luisi , came through, especially during the wistful, gently palpitating nocturne for septet and chorus in Act IV, which delicately segues into the radiant, magical love duet for Dido and Aeneas. This sublime music brought out the best in everyone. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Still, over all the musical performance seemed unsettled. Even the movements onstage during crowd scenes lacked confidence and flow. Though Mr.

Luisi brought shape, vigor and color to Berlioz’s score, at times it seemed as if he were mostly engaged in keeping things together and getting everyone through it. The score abounds in Romantic flair and surging Wagnerian power, with massed choral scenes. Photo Deborah Voigt is Cassandra, in "Les Troyens." Credit Ruby Washington/The New York Times Yet Berlioz, in presenting his take on “The Aeneid,” with his own libretto, pays homage to his composer hero Gluck. A performance must also bring out the Classical refinement and delicacy in the music. This was one of those nights at the Met where James Levine was missed. Mr. Levine conducted a rapturous performance in 2003. Of course, he had the benefit of the ample rehearsal time allotted a new production. You have to admire Mr. Giordani for taking on the heroic role of Aeneas. Singing full out, he brought burnished sound and ringing top notes to impassioned phrases, though his emotive, Italianate fervor was not always right for the Berlioz style. But the bottom register of his voice was very patchy.

And he was woefully weak during Aeneas’ most dramatic moment, in Act V, when, hearing ghostly voices, the tormented Aeneas resolves to abandon Dido, follow his destiny and establish Rome. The soprano Deborah Voigt sang the Trojan prophetess Cassandra, a role conceived for mezzo-soprano, when this production was introduced. Though the vocal fit at the time was not perfect, she gave an exciting performance. Her singing on Thursday was solid and steady; her bright sound was never harsh. Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Please re-enter. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up Privacy Policy And she identifies with the anguish of Cassandra, who knows what is coming for the clueless Trojans. But Ms. Voigt’s low-range singing was wan, and her sound often lacked the body and carrying power a Cassandra must summon. Lorraine Hunt-Lieberson was a deeply affecting Dido in 2003, in her last performances at the Met. (The radiant Michelle DeYoung took over the role later in that run.) Ms. Graham is a worthy successor.

She sang with melting richness, regal refinement when called for, and furious passion when Aeneas abandons her. In the tender exchanges with Aeneas, she inspired Mr. Giordani to his most sensitive, pianissimo singing. Standouts among the strong supporting cast included the earthy mezzo-soprano Karen Cargill as Anna (Dido’s sister); the stentorian bass Kwangchul Youn as Dido’s minister, Narbal; the muscular bass Richard Bernstein as the Trojan priest Panthus; and the ardent tenor Eric Cutler as Iopas, the poet at Dido’s court. One of the surprising highlights of this epic opera is the simple, homesick song of the young sailor Hylas, beautifully performed here by the sweet-voiced tenor Paul Appleby. Correction: December 14, 2012 An earlier version of a picture caption with this article misidentified the actress and the role she plays. It is Deborah Voigt as Cassandra, not Susan Graham as Dido, Queen of Carthage. “Les Troyens” runs through Jan.

5 at the Metropolitan Opera House, Lincoln Center; (212) 362-6000, metopera.org. A version of this review appears in print on December 15, 2012, on Page C1 of the New York edition with the headline: Different War Horse Does the Trick. Order Reprints | Today's Paper | Subscribe OPERA NEWS - Les Troyens Les Troyens Royal Opera 6/25/12 Anna Caterina Antonacci (downstage) as Cassandre in David McVicar's new production of Les Troyens at Covent Garden © Bill Cooper 2012 Antonacci with Fabio Capitanucci as Chorèbe © Bill Cooper 2012 Eva-Maria Westbroek as Didon, Bryan Hymel as Énée and Barbara Senator as Ascagne © Bill Cooper 2012 The biggest throw of the Royal Opera's 2011–12 season, Berlioz's epic Les Troyens, opened on June 25 in a two-knight production directed by (newly knighted) Sir David McVicar and conducted by Sir Antonio Pappano.

Toward the end of May the keenly anticipated staging suffered the withdrawal (as have some other recent events) of star tenor Jonas Kaufmann, due to sing Énée. He was replaced by American tenor Bryan Hymel, whose star is in the ascendant. The other main cast members remained as announced — Anna Caterina Antonacci as Cassandre and Eva-Maria Westbroek as Didon. Four decades have passed since the company last presented Berlioz's entire five-act epic; Covent Garden had previously inscribed its name on the Berliozian annals by becoming the first house to stage the piece virtually complete in one evening (1957), an English-language production by John Gielgud that played under the baton of Rafael Kubelik. Subsequently, the work had become a speciality of former music director Colin Davis, in both the theater and the concert hall, as well as on disc. The current production had a lot to live up to. It was certainly a partial success.

McVicar and his designers, Es Devlin (sets) and Moritz Junge (costumes), provided a visual reference point in Berlioz's own time, the French Second Empire, when Napoleon III pursued a policy of national and colonial aggrandizement that ended with the almighty crash of the Franco–Prussian War of 1870 and the terrors of the Paris Commune of 1871. (Berlioz, who composed the piece in 1856–58, died in 1869.) Military uniforms and opulent period dresses distinguished the formal wear of the Trojan court as it paraded in to the strains of the famous Trojan March in Act I. Throughout the two acts of the drama's Trojan section, played in front of and within a mighty semi-circular metallic wall protecting the city of Troy, which was fatally prized open to allow the entrance of a monumental horse constructed from used weaponry, McVicar's stagecraft and direction were assured and incisive. Both benefited from the outstanding individual performance of the evening, Antonacci's Cassandre.

Grand and intense, her smoky, wide-ranging voice amply fleshed out the Trojan princess's baleful visions, her skilled use of physicality embodying the character's terrified isolation. She was strongly supported by Fabio Capitanucci's forthright Chorèbe, a portrayal boldly etched and sustained in a formidable, martial baritone. Adding to the evening's visual distinction, the dumb-show of Hector's widow Andromache and their son Astyanax was beautifully acted by Sophia McGregor and Sebastian Wright. When the production moved on to Carthage after the first interval, McVicar's touch became altogether less assured. Initially, a use of warm Mediterranean colors in both the costuming and the vast layered cityscape representing the North African locale brought welcome contrast to the dour, dark-toned look of the developing Trojan disaster. But the stage picture became fixed at this point, varied only by the use of a plain drop curtain for Dido's great final scene that rose to reveal a rather meager-looking pyre for the queen to ascend.

Episodes such as the Royal Hunt and Storm — a crucial moment in the narrative — and the ghostly reappearance of Énée's former fellow citizens, urging him on to Italy, were ineptly presented. The decorative Act IV ballet, poorly choreographed by Andrew George, seemed otiose. The reappearance of the Trojan Horse at the end of the final scene, now crowned with a semi-human head, was mystifying. Westbroek's Didon, too, failed to match the all-round excellence of Antonacci's Cassandre. The part sounded low for her, its emotional warmth and dignity only partially realized in a presentation that registered as nervous and small-scale. She had able support from the engaged Anna of Polish mezzo Hanna Hipp and the lordly bass of Brindley Sherratt as her chief minister, Narbal. German mezzo Barbara Senator's lithe vocalism gave her Ascagne grace and charm. The only character to sing in all five acts of the opera is Énée, in which role Hymel proved to be a more than creditable replacement for Kaufmann — an artist who now probably ranks as the opera world's favorite tenor.

With high notes placed expertly and delivered with security, as well as a keenly focused overall approach that took on all the tension and drive of the character with complete confidence, Hymel came through with flying colors. Pappano steered the music along with care and attention, if not quite the constant fire and electricity Berlioz demands. The result maintained excitement during the first two acts but fell short in the last three, which felt tepid and occasionally becalmed. Despite this, the standard of choral singing and orchestral playing remained high throughout the long evening. Send feedback to OPERA NEWS .

Question: Who wrote the opera "Les Troyens" ?
Answer: BERLIOZ