Le comte Ory

Le comte Ory is a comic opera written by Gioachino Rossini in 1828.

Le comte Ory
Some of the music originates from his opera Il viaggio a Reims written
three years earlier for the coronation of Charles X.[1] The French libretto Opera by Gioachino Rossini
was by Eugène Scribe and Charles-Gaspard Delestre-Poirson adapted
from a comedy they had first written in 1817.

The work is ostensibly a comic opera in that the story is humorous, even
farcical. However, it was devised for the Opéra rather than for the
Théâtre de l'Opéra-Comiqueand there are structural inconsistencies with
the contemporary opéra comique genre: whereas the latter consists of
relatively short lyrical numbers and spoken dialogue, Le Comte Ory
consists of "highly developed, even massive musical forms linked by
accompanied recitative.[2] Although the opera contains some of Rossini's
most colorful orchestral writing, the quaint, brief overture is oddly Final scene, in 1830
restrained and unassuming, ending with a whisper ofpizzicato strings. Librettist Eugène Scribe
Charles-Gaspard Delestre-
Poirson
Contents Language French
Performance history Premiere 20 August 1828
Roles Salle Le Peletier, Paris
Synopsis
Act 1
Act 2
Recordings
References
External links

Performance history
It was first performed on 20 August 1828 at the Salle Le Peletier by the Paris Opera. It was given in London at the King's Theatre in
Italian on 28 February 1829, in New Orleans at theThéâtre d'Orléans on 16 December 1830 and in New York on 22 August 1831.[2]

The work receives numerous productions at opera houses around the world.[3] In April 2011 the opera received its premiere
performances at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. The cast included Juan Diego Flórez, Diana Damrau and Joyce DiDonato,
singing in a new production directed byBartlett Sher. In 2013, that production was revived with Juan Diego Flórez repeating his role,
but with a different supporting cast.[4]

Roles
 Premiere Cast, 20 August 1828
Role Voice type
(Conductor: François Habeneck)[5]
Count Ory tenor Adolphe Nourrit
Tutor bass Nicolas Levasseur
Isolier mezzo-soprano (en travesti) Constance Jawureck
Raimbaud baritone Henri-Bernard Dabadie
La Comtesse Adèle coloratura soprano Laure Cinti-Damoreau
Ragonde mezzo-soprano Augusta Mori
Alice soprano
1st Knight tenor Alexis Dupont
2nd Knight tenor Jean-Étienne-Auguste Massol
3rd Knight baritone Henri-Bernard Dabadie the younger
4th Knight baritone Ferdinand Prévôt
Chorus of Ory's men, ladies, crusaders, peasants

Synopsis
Time: Circa 1200, during the Crusades
Place: Touraine

Act 1
The countryside before the castle of Formoutiers

The lords and men of Formoutiers have been away on a crusade. Count Ory, who is in love with the countess Adèle, takes advantage
of the situation. Hoping to win her hand, he disguises himself as a hermit aided by Raimbaud, his friend. Raimbaud announces that a
wise hermit will visit the village to offer advice on matters of the heart. The castle is filled with women waiting for their husbands to
return from the crusades. Ory's page Isolier is in love with the countess. Isolier confides his love to the "hermit" (Count Ory in
disguise) and explains his plan to sneak into the castle disguised as a female pilgrim.

The countess consults the hermit about a cure for her melancholia. He proposes that she fall in love, which she promptly does, with
Isolier. The "hermit" warns her not to trust the page. Everyone is shocked when the Tutor reveals Ory's identity. The countess
receives a letter announcing her brother's return.

Act 2
A large room in the castle

The countess and her attendants admit a group of female pilgrims awaiting their husbands' return from the crusade. This time the
pilgrims are actually Ory and his men in disguise. Ory's new disguise is as "Sister Colette." Missing something to drink with dinner,
Raimbaud breaks into the castle wine cellar and returns with enough for everyone. They toast the countess's absent brother. Isolier
recognizes Ory and reveals his identity to Adèle. Isolier also tells the waiting women that their husbands will be back by midnight.

After everyone is in bed, Ory enters countess Adèle's room. He woos her, not realizing in the dark that it is Isolier's hand he is
holding. The men return from the crusade. Isolier reveals himself and helps Count Ory escape from the castle.

Recordings
 Cast:
Le comte
Ory,
La
comtesse
Conductor,
Year Adèle,
chorus and orchestra Label [6]
Isolier,
Ragonde,
Raimbaud,
Le
Gouverneur
Juan
Oncina,
Sari
Barabas,
audio CD: Urania,
Cora
cat: WS 121109;
1956, Canne- Vittorio Gui
and EMI (2 LPs),
HMV studio recording Meijer, Glyndebourne Festival Chorus and Orchestra
cat: RLS 744
Monica
(mono)
Sinclair,
Michel
Roux,
Ian Wallace
Michel
Sénéchal,
Sari
Barabas,
audio CD: Arkadia,
Cora
1959, Vittorio Gui cat: MP 458.2;
Canne-
live in Torino Chorus and Orchestra of RAI Torino and Living Stage,
Meijer,
cat: LS 4035130
Monica
Sinclair,
Robert
Massard
Rockwell
Blake,
Ashley
Putnam,
1979, Faith Imre Palló audio CD: Celestial
live in New York Esham, Chorus and Orchestra of New York City Opera Audio, cat: CA 368
Jane
Shaulis,
David
Holloway
John Aler,
Sumi Jo,
Diana
Montague,
audio CD: Philips
1988, Raquel John Eliot Gardiner
Classics, cat: 422
studio recording Pierotti, Choeur et Orchestre de l’Opéra de Lyon
406-2
Gino
Quilico,
Gilles
Cachemaille
William
Matteuzzi,
Sumi Jo,
1995, Marie-Ange
filmed at Aix-en- Todorovitch, Evelino Pidò
DVD: Premiere
Provence, Nadine Choeur du Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, and
Opera
stage-directed by Marcel Chery, Orchestre Européen du Festival
Maréchal Jean-Luc
Chaignaud,
Gregory
Reinhart
 1997, Marc Laho, Andrew Davis DVD: NVC Arts,
filmed at Glyndebourne, Annick Glyndebourne FestivalChorus and the London cat: 0630 18646-2;
stage-directed by Massis, Philharmonic Orchestra and Kultur, cat: D
Jérôme Savary Diana 2983
Montague,
Jane
Shaulis,
Ludovic
Tézier,
Julien
Robbins
Huw Rhys-
Evans,
Linda
Gerrard,
Luisa Islam- Brad Cohen
2002,
Ali-Zade, Czech Philharmonic Choir (from Brno) and the audio CD: Naxos
live at Bad Wildbad
Luca Salsi, Czech Chamber Soloists
Gloria
Montanari,
Wojtek
Gierlach
Juan Diego
Flórez,
Stefania
Bonfadelli,
Marie-Ange Jesús López Cobos
audio CD:
2003, Todorovitch, Coro da Camera di Praga (chorus master Lubomír
Deutsche
live in Pesaro Bruno Mátl) and Orchestra ofTeatro Comunale di
Grammophon
Praticò, Bologna
Marina De
Liso,
Alastair
Miles
Juan Diego
Flórez,
Diana
Damrau,
2011, Joyce
filmed in New York, DiDonato, Maurizio Benini DVD: Virgin
stage-directed by Bartlett Stéphane Chorus and Orchestra of theMetropolitan Opera Classics
Sher Degout,
Susanne
Resmark,
Michele
Pertusi
Javier
Camarena,
Cecilia
Bartoli,
2011,
Rebeca
filmed in Zurich, Muhai Tang
Olvera, DVD: Decca, cat:
stage-directed by Moshe Chorus of Zurich Opera andOrchesta La Scintilla
Liliana 001808509
Leiser and Patrice (Zurich)
Nikiteanu,
Caurier
Oliver
Widmer,
Ugo
Guagliardo

References
Notes

1. Osborne, Charles 1994, p.18.

 2. Gossett 2001, p. 793
3. Operabase.com list of top operas(http://operabase.com/top.cgi?lang=en&show=opera&no=0&nat=)ranked by
number of performances given during the 2008/09 to 2012/13 seasons. Retrieved 9 April 2011
4. Met Opera website (http://www.metoperafamily.org/opera/comte-ory-rossini-tickets.aspx)
5. Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia, 20 Agosto, 1828, retrieved 18 November 2012
(http://www.amadeusonline.net/alm
anacco.php?Start=0&Giorno=20&Mese=08&Anno=1828&Giornata=&T esto=&Parola=Stringa)
6. Recordings of Le comte Ory on operadis-opera-discography.org.uk (http://www.operadis-opera-discography.org.uk/C
LROCOMP.HTM)

Cited sources

Gossett, Philip; Brauner, Patricia (2001), " Le comte Ory " in Holden, Amanda (ed.), The New Penguin Opera Guide,
New York: Penguin Putnam. ISBN 0-14-029312-4
Osborne, Charles (1994), The Bel Canto Operas of Rossini, Donizetti, and Bellini , London: Methuen; Portland,
Oregon: Amadeus Press.ISBN 0931340713
Sources

Osborne, Richard (1990),Rossini, Ithaca, New York: Northeastern University Press. ISBN 1-55553-088-5
Osborne, Richard (1998), "Le comte Ory", in Stanley Sadie, (Ed.), The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, Vol. One, p.
913. London: Macmillan Publishers, Inc.ISBN 0-333-73432-7 ISBN 1-56159-228-5
Osborne, Richard (2004), "Rossini's Life", in Emanuele Senici, (Ed.),The Cambridge Companion to Rossini,
Cambridge University Press.ISBN 0-521-00195-1.
Toye, Francis, Rossini: The Man and His Music, Dover Publications, 1987.ISBN 0-486-25396-1 ISBN 0-486-25396-
1,

External links
List of performances ofLe comte Ory on Operabase.

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