Le portefaix (The Porter) (full title Le portefaix ou le jardinier de Grenade (The Porter, or the Gardener of Grenada)) is an opéra comique in three acts composed by José Melchor Gomis. The libretto by Eugène Scribe is based on an episode in Le Comte de Villamayor by M. Mortonval (Alexandre Furcy Guesdon). It was originally offered to the composer Giacomo Meyerbeer, but he was contracted instead by the opera manager Louis Véron to create a five-act grand opera (Les Huguenots).[1]
The opera was premiered on 16 June 1835 by the Opéra-Comique at the Théâtre des Nouveautés in Paris with Jean-Baptiste Chollet and Jeanne-Emélie Belloste in the lead roles of Gasparillo and Teresita.[2][3]
Roles
edit| Role | Voice type | Premiere cast, 16 June 1835[4] |
|---|---|---|
| Teresita | soprano | Jeanne-Emélie Belloste |
| Helena | soprano | Geneviève-Aimé-Zoë Prévost |
| Christina | soprano | Cécile Camoin |
| Gasparillo | baritone | Jean-Baptiste Chollet |
| Don Raphael | tenor | Etienne Thénard |
| Don Ramiro | baritone | François-Louis Henry |
| Le corrégidor | M. Victor | |
| Soldiers, constables, valets in livery, porters, Spanish women and young girls | ||
References
edit- ^ Letellier (2014), 1
- ^ Wild, Nicole and Charlton, David (2005). Théâtre de l'Opéra-Comique Paris: répertoire 1762-1972, p. 369. Editions Mardaga (in French).
- ^ Le Ménestrel (28 June 1835). "Opéra-Comique", pp. 1; 4. Retrieved 6 September 2015 (in French).
- ^ Scribe, Eugène (1835). Le porte-faix. Mevrel (in French)
Sources
edit- Letellier, Robert (2014). Meyerbeer’s Les Huguenots: An Evangel of Religion and Love. Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. ISBN 9781443860840
 | This article about a French-language opera is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |