Le postillon de Lonjumeau

Le postillon de Lonjumeau (The Postillion of Lonjumeau) is an opéra-comique in three acts by Adolphe Adam to a French libretto by Adolphe de Leuven and Léon Lévy Brunswick.

For the film, see The Postman from Longjumeau.
Adolphe Adam, 1850

The opera has become the most successful of Adam's works, and the one by which (apart from his ballet Giselle and his Christmas carol Cantique de Noël) he is best known outside his native France. The opera is known for the difficult aria "Mes amis, écoutez l'histoire" which has been called a test for tenors because of the demanding high D, or D5, at the end of the aria.

Performance history

The opera was premiered by the Opéra-Comique at the Salle de la Bourse in Paris on 13 October 1836. Performances followed at the St. James Theatre, London on 13 March 1837, and in New Orleans at the Théâtre d'Orléans on 19 April 1838.

Recent productions have been mounted in the Berlin Staatsoper Unter den Linden (from 4 August 2000) and at the Grand Théâtre, Dijon, (from 30 March 2004 under Philippe Cambreling, with Isabelle Poulenard (Madeleine / Madame de Latour). The latter was a co-production of Opéra Paris-Sud and Opéra de Dijon. The work was performed in Paris for the first time in 125 years in a new production at the Opèra Comique in March 2019 with Michael Spyres in the title role,[1] in a production by Michel Fau. Sébastien Rouland conducted, with Florie Valiquette as Madeleine.[2]

Roles
Prévost and Chollet as Madeleine and Chapelou
Roles, voice types, premiere cast
Role Voice type Premiere cast,[3] 13 October 1836
(Conductor: Henri Valentino[4])
Madeleine, Chapelou's wife dramatic coloratura soprano Geneviève-Aimé-Zoë Prévost
Rose light-lyric soprano or soubrette Mme Roy
Chapelou, a coachman tenor Jean-Baptiste Chollet
Le Marquis de Corcy, head of the Paris Opéra baritone Edmond-Jules Delaunay-Ricquier
Biju, Chapelou's friend bass-baritone François-Louis Henry
Bourdon bass M. Roy
Chorus

Synopsis

Act 1 The newly married postilion, or coachman, (Chapelou) and his wife (Madeleine), an innkeeper, to ensure that their marriage will be a joyous one, decide to consult a clairvoyant, who predicts that things will not go smoothly in their marriage but does not state exactly what will occur nor when. Initially concerned, their thoughts are temporarily forgotten as they enjoy their wedding night. Several days into the marriage, the Marquis de Corcy (who is also the director of the Royal Paris Opera House) arrives at the inn that Madeleine owns and Chapelou works at. He is immediately smitten with Chapelou's wife, but doesn't say anything to her. Then he overhears her husband singing his ‘usual’ song with other guests at the inn, and is impressed with his beautiful voice. He decides to invite the young coachman to join the Marquis’s company, but they have to leave immediately. With excitement, Chapelou asks his friend, Biju, to tell his wife where he has gone and what he plans to do. Chapelou and the Marquis then quickly depart for Paris, leaving Madeleine in a state of shock.

Act 2

Ten years later. By now Madeleine has come into an inheritance and is known as Madame Latour, and Chapelou has become a star at the Paris Opera. After a performance, the Marquis holds a reception to which he has invited Madame Latour. As soon as they meet at the reception, Chapelou falls for the Madame's charms, not recognising the wife he left behind. He proposes, she accepts, and a wedding occurs.

Act 3

The Marquis has gone to inform the police and denounce this apparent act of bigamy. On the wedding night, Madeleine appears in her old peasant clothes and Chapelou recognises her. Then she transforms before his eyes into Madame Latour, the rich heiress. She reveals her deception to the Marquis, as he arrives with the police and declares to them her game – the couple have married twice and vow from that day on to love like good village people. This induces a hearty response from the chorus to provide a stirring finale.

Film

In 1936 the opera was loosely adapted into an Austrian-Swiss comedy film The Postman from Longjumeau directed by Carl Lamac.

Recordings

References
  1. Brodie, Susan. "Old French Delight Is Polished Anew By Opéra Comique | Classical Voice North America". Classical Voice North America. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
  2. Nicolas Blanmont. Report from Paris. Opera, July 2019, Vol. 70, No. 7, pp. 838–839.
  3. Le postillon de Lonjumeau, libretto at Google Books; Casaglia, Gherardo (2005)."Le postillon de Lonjumeau, 13 October 1836". L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia (in Italian).
  4. Pougin 1880; Tamvaco 2000, p. 654, note 115.

Sources

  • Pougin, Arthur (1880). "Valentino (Henri-Justin-Joseph)", pp. 597–598, in Biographie universelle des musiciens et Bibliographie générale de la musique par F.-J. Fétis. Supplément et complément, vol. 2. Paris: Firmin-Didot. View at Google Books.
  • Tamvaco, Jean-Louis (2000). Les Cancans de l'Opéra. Chroniques de l'Académie Royale de Musique et du théâtre, à Paris sous les deux restorations (2 volumes, in French). Paris: CNRS Editions. ISBN 9782271056856.

Further reading
  • Warrack, John and West, Ewan (1992), The Oxford Dictionary of Opera, 782 pages, ISBN 0-19-869164-5
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