Ernest Reyer - SIGURD - Entrée de Sigurd: "Prince du Rhin, au pays de mon père"

Описание: SIGURD
Opéra en 4 actes & 9 tableaux
Composer: Ernest Reyer (1823–1909)
Libretto: Camille du Locle & Alfred Blau
First performance: Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, Brussels, 7 January 1884

SETTING : Worms and Iceland, 5th century

PLOT : While Gunther, king of the Burgundians, dreams of new conquests, his sister Hilda has fallen in love with the Frankish hero Sigurd, who avenged her father’s death and saved her from captivity. Uta, her nurse, promises to make Sigurd fall in love with her, thanks to a magic potion. Sigurd (now in love with Hilda), Gunther and Hagen swear blood brotherhood and sail to Iceland, where the Valkyrie Brunehild lies in an enchanted sleep, guarded by walls of fire and monsters. Sigurd, disguised as Gunther, overcomes these obstacles to win Brunehild for Gunther. Brunehild, however, loves Sigurd, and a jealous Hilda reveals that Sigurd, not Gunther, rescued the Valkyrie. The enchantment on Sigurd is broken, and, now madly in love with Brunehild, plans to take her away from Gunther as he rescued her from Odin. But Gunther has Hagen murder Sigurd while hunting. Brunehild mounts Sigurd’s funeral pyre, and Hilda, infuriated by her brother’s crime and cowardice, sends a bracelet to Attila which will bring down his vengeance on Gunther. Finally, an apotheosis shows Sigurd and Brunehild ascending to Valhalla, where Odin forgives them.

‘Sigurd’ is the French answer to Wagner’s ‘Ring des Nibelungen’. Both operas are based on the first part of the ‘Nibelungelied’, which tells of Siegfried’s wooing of Brünhild and his murder by Hagen. Although Reyer’s opera was produced eight years after ‘Götterdämmerung’ (1876), the last part of the Ring Cycle, Reyer’s opera is not an imitation of Wagner. Reyer had written most of the opera almost fifteen years before its Brussels première, at which time he had heard no Wagner opera later than ‘Lohengrin’ (1850) [   • Richard Wagner - LOHENGRIN - Vorspiel (Pre...  ].

Acte I – Scène V – Entrée de Sigurd: ‘Prince du Rhin, au pays de mon père !’
Ensemble : ‘Sigurd ! Le héros invincible !’
Gunther : ‘O fils de Sigémon ! Sigurd !’
Sigurd, Gunther : ‘Nous nous promettons devant vous’
Sigurd : ‘Dieux ! Quel trouble s’empare de mon cœur !’

Sigurd arrives at Gunther's castle. Hilda slips a magic potion into his drink, and he falls in love with her. He swears blood brotherhood with Gunther, and they sail off to find Brunehild.

Sigurd, héros Franc / Frankish hero (tenor): Guy Chauvet
Gunther, Roi des Burgondes / King of the Burgundians (baritone): Robert Massard
Hagen, guerrier, compagnon de Gunther / warrior, Gunther’s friend (bass): Jules Bastin
Hilda, sœur de Gunther / Gunther’s sister (mezzo-soprano): Andrée Esposito
Uta, nourrice de Hilda / Hilda’s nurse (mezzo-soprano): Denise Scharley

Conductor: Manuel Rosenthal
Choeur & Orchestre Philharmonique de l'O.R.T.F. de Paris
Paris, 1973