ROSSINI : IL VIAGGIO A REIMS

Radio New Zealand Concert network
Sunday 28th of June 2015 at 6 - 9 pm

ROSSINI: Il Viaggio a Reims, an opera in three acts
Madame Cortese................... Alessandra Marianelli
Contessa di Folleville........... Sofia Mchedlishvili
Corinna................................. Laura Giordano
Marchesa Melibea................ Marianna Pizzolato
Conte di Libenskof............... Maxim Mironov
Chevalier Belfiore................ Bogdan Mihai
Lord Sidney........................... Mirko Palazzi
Don Alvaro........................... Mysketa Gezim
Barone di Trombonok........... Bruno Praticò
Don Profondo........................ Bruno de Simone
Don Prudenzio...................... Baurzhan Anderzhanov
Modestina............................. Annalisa d'Agosto
Don Luigino.......................... Carlos Cardoso
Maddalena............................ Oleysa Chuprinova
Antonio................................. Lucas Somoza Osterc
Zefirino................................. Artavazd Sargsyan
Gelsomino............................. Yasushi Watanabe
Delia...................................... Guiomar Cantò
Poznan Bach Chorus, Virtuosi Brunensis/Antonio Fogliani
(recorded in the Königliches Kurtheater, Bad Wildbad, Baden-Württemberg,
Germany by South West German Radio, Baden-Baden)

INTRODUCTION
SYNOPSIS
LIBRETTO (Italian/Spanish) 
LIBRETTO (Italian)

Gioacchino Rossini (1792-1868), Il Viaggio a Reims (The Journey to Rheims) (1825)
or: L’Albergo del Giglio d’Oro (The Hotel Golden Lily)
Composed for the occasion of the coronation of Charles X of France (and we thought they guillotined kings there); the characters are in a spa hotel in Plombières, preparing to go to Rheims for the event; the journey does not eventuate; they never leave the hostelry, but they do a great deal of singing.
Maddalena (Magdaleine): native of Caux in Normandy, housekeeper of the spa hotel
Don Prudenzio (M. Prudence): medico of the bath-house  
Antonio: maître d’hôtel
Madam Cortese : hotel owner, spirited, friendly, born in the Tyrol, husband a travelling businessman 
Contessa di Folleville (Countess): young widow, graceful , animated, and fashionable
Modestina: Countesses’s chambermaid, a shy and slow girl
Don Luigino: cousin of the Countess
Baron von Trombonok: German major, passionate about music
Don Profondo: friend of Corinna, member of various academies, fanatical antiquarian
Don Alvaro: grandee of Spain, navy admiral, enamoured of the Marchesa Melibea
Marchesa (Marquise) Melibea: Polish lady, widow of an Italian general who was killed in a surprise enemy attack on their wedding day
Conte di Libenskof: impetuous Russian general, also jealously in love with the Marquise
Corinna: celebrated Roman improvising poetess
Delia  young Greek orphan, Corinna’s companion
Lord Sidney:  English colonel,  secretly in love with Corinna
Chevalier Belfiore:  young French officer, dashing and elegant, courting the Countess, and all the ladies
Conductor, on stage with Mariinsky Theatre orchestra, in 1930 costume, Valery Gergiev

Incidentally, I bought the compact audio-disc set of Il Viaggio aReims (DG 1985) when it first came out (The Chamber Orchestra of Europe conducted by Claudio Abbado, and Katia Ricciarelli as Madama Cortese). Peter Mechen and I were both enthusiastic about the rediscovery and reconstruction of this lost opera; but a lot of the tunes were used again in  Le Comte Ory, which I already knew.

SYNOPSIS (The Israeli Opera)

A group of European aristocrats planning to attend Charles X’s coronation in Reims, await their departure at the Giglio d’oro. 

Madama Cortese, the director of the Giglio d’oro, anxious that her guests have a good time, instructs her crew (including Maddalena, Antonio and Prudenzio, a buffoonish doctor) to treat them with great consideration.  

    The first guest to appear is a fashion-crazed Parisian, Contessa di Folleville, followed by her migraine-ridden maid Modestina and, shortly after, by her cousin Luigino, who arrives with bad news: her luggage has been irreparably lost in an accident. At the prospect of having nothing to wear to the coronation, Folleville first faints, then recovers her senses and bitterly laments her loss. But Modestina, much to the amusement of the onlookers, cheers her up again by miraculously producing a hat which survived the mishap. 

   The German music lover Barone di Trombonok, who has witnessed the incident, is soon joined by Don Profondo, a fanatical antiquarian and by Don Alvaro, a Spaniard, and his travel companion, the Polish Marchese Melibea. Closely following them in blind jealousy of Melibea is the Russian Count Libenskof. When Madama Cortese enters to explain why their departure has been delayed, the two rivals are about to fight. Disaster is avoided only by the intervention of the famous Italian singer Corinna who is heard singing outside: her ode to peace and fraternal love momentarily leads everyone to reconcile. 

   Another guest makes his appearance: Lord Sidney who tormented by his undeclared love for Corinna offers her flowers. He soon abandons himself to dreams of eternal love.  

   Corinna enters with her orphan protיgיe Delia; they are greeted by Don Profondo. Left alone, Corinna must suffer the impertinent advances of the Cavaliere Belfiore, a French womanizer and Folleville’s lover. She rejects him in disdain.

   Don Profondo re-enters in order to make a list of all the travellers’ possessions. He eventually rejoices at the prospect of the pending departure. The guests progressively gather, expecting to leave, when Zefirino, another employee of the Giglio d’oro, informs them that their trip has to be cancelled: there is a technical problem and absolutely no means of transportation could be found to take them to Reims. The company reels with horror. But Madama Cortese appears with a letter from her husband in Paris, announcing that sumptuous festivities will be held there after the king returns from the coronation. Folleville invites them all to Paris, offering to accommodate them for the occasion, and all rejoice in this unexpected twist of fate. 

   The next morning, all agree to have a banquet at the Giglio d’oro while they are waiting. At Trombonok’s urge, the only remaining issue – the lovers’ quarrel between Libenskof and Melibea – is resolved. Libenskof begs for her forgiveness, she yields to his tenderness, and they make peace in an ardent duet. 

   After dinner, the Baron proposes a round of musical toasts. After delivering songs in their respective national styles, the guests all ask Corinna to sing, each suggesting a theme on which she should improvise. Unsurprisingly, the one that is chosen is “Charles X, King of France”. Corinna starts singing, joined by everyone in a solemn finale.