Opera Lafayette, Léonore: Sun., Feb. 19 (DC) & Thurs., Feb. 23 (NYC)

Judith Miller Discussion

The Opera Lafayette presents the modern premiere of Gaveaux and Bouilly’s 1798 Léonore, ou L'amour conjugal. The opera won praise from audiences and critics alike for its lovely melodies and its stirring choruses. Bouilly claimed that the story was drawn from a true event, the heroic rescue of a prisoner during the Terror “by one of the ladies of Touraine.” The work, of course, was the basis for Beethoven’s Fidelio. Led by Ryan Brown, the Opera Lafayette specializes in eighteenth-century French opera. This production features French-Canadian artists directed by Oriol Tomas of the Opéra de Montréal. Performances are:

Sun., Feb. 19, 3pm (Washington, DC, Lisner Auditorium at George Washington University) 

Thurs., Feb 23, 7:30pm (NYC, Gerald W. Lynch Theater John Jay College)

Tickets are available through the website: http://operalafayette.org/leonore   

The synopsis and wonderful program notes by Julia Doe (Historical Musicology, Columbia University) are available also on the production’s website. http://operalafayette.org/leonore  

Looking further ahead to the spring, the Opera Lafayette will perform Les Indes galantes, Part IV on May 31 (DC) and June 2 (NYC). http://operalafayette.org/les-indes-galantes

The company’s website is http://operalafayette.org/  I had the pleasure of seeing its production of works from the French Revolution last year, and can assure you that it is an exciting company—inventive productions of works that deserve new critical and artistic attention.   

Dr. Judith A. Miller histjam@emory.edu 

Department of History

Emory University

Atlanta, GA 30322  USA

Office phone: 404 727 6564

Fax: 404 727 4959

http://history.emory.edu/home/people/faculty/miller-judith.html

Emory Liaison, Council for European Studies http://councilforeuropeanstudies.org/