Franz Liszt: Don Sanche ou le Chateau d'Amour S. 1 dir. by Tamás Pál

Lina Ramann, the author of a comprehensive biography presenting the whole life of Franz Liszt (her work is the first of its kind about Liszt), had a tremendous advantage over the Liszt scholars of the last 100 years: she acquired her information straight from the composer. This means a great deal, despite the fact the aged Liszt could not remember everything and was not always accurate in his recollections. His memories nonetheless provided the possibility of selection, and of drawing the borderline between important and less importatn phases in a career which had followed such a tremendous path.

Mrs. Ramann sent Liszt questionnaires, which the composer attempted to answer as accurately he could. One question put in November 1874 was: "What happened to the opera 'Don Sanche'?" And the answer: "The score lay around for years in the library of the Paris Grande Opéra, and later fell victim to a fire." Mrs. Ramann was very sorry to learn that the work Liszt had written while still almost a child (and in fact his only opera) had been lost, she vwould to have liked to poblish a facsimile of at least one sheet of the manuscript in the first volume of the romantic biography.

But really lucky in this respect was another researcher, Jean Chantavoine, who in 1903, fond the work that had hitherto been considered lost. The manuscript of the opera was contained in two ornately bound volumes. For the time being (and for quite some time to come) the find was an asset only to scholars, but the work finally took on a new lease of life in October 1977, after a silence of 153 years, when it was produced as an event at a Liszt festival in London.

When listening to the work one should never forget that the music was written by a boy of 13 or 14 who was never again to write any operas. It was in other genres that Liszt made his name. In any case, even as a curious one can hardly sniff at the feat of composing an opera at that age. Aart from Mozart who wrote his 'Bastien und Bastienne' in the age of 12, no similar piece of bravura is recorded in the history of music. The parallel is not fortuitous, as the child Liszt gained a position very similar to that of the child Mozart. His father, Adam Liszt avowedly had Mozart the child prodigy in mind when he quitted his secure position on the Esterházy's estate, and took his son to Vienna and then to Paris in December 1823, and by the following year this "charmant" boy had become a household word as a virtuoso pianist in the art-loving salons of Paris...

The story of opera has medieval origin, but was retold in the 18th century by Claris de Florian, and from this story the libretto was written by two insignificant French writers, Mme. Théaulon and de Rancé. The story might have been told often in knightly company in the late Middle Ages (in the time of Guillaume Machault, for example.)

The opera presents an all-day story for us, in frames of a knight tale. The main role, Knight Don Sanche loving his dame, Elzire, but she as a lady-evil does not render his emotions, since an another knight, Alidor, is more beloved for her...

See booklet for details.



Performers:

Gérard Garino (Don Sanche, a knight, tenor)
Júlia Hamari (Elzire, a princess, mezzo-soprano)
István Gáti (Alidor, a wizard, baritone)
Katalin Farkas (Page, soprano)
Ildikó Komlósi (Zélis, attendante of Elzire, mezzo-soprano)
Mária Zádori (A Lady, soprano)
Gábor Kállay (A Knight, tenor)

Choir of Hungarian State Broadcasting Co.
Orchestra of Hungarian State Opera

Conductor: Tamás Pál

Release year: 1986

Tracklist:

CD 1 Premiere Partie

1. Ouverture (7:08)
2. No.1 Choeur. Venez, venez a votre tour (Choeur, Un Chevalier, Une Dame) (4:08)
3. No.2 Récitatif. Beau chévalier (Page, Don Sanche) (0:50)
4. No.3 Air. Aimer, aimer voila (Don Sanche) (3:36)
5. No.4 Récitatif. Eh quoi? jeune guerrier (Page, Don Sanche) (0:27)
6. No.5 Choeur. Beau chevalier, va chercher (Choeur, Page) (1:35)
7. No.6 Récitatif. Ainsi tout a mon coeur (Don Sanche, Alidor) (3:34)
8. No.7 Duo. Transport jaloux (Don Sanche, Alidor) (4:12)
9. No.8 Récitatif. Qu'un orage (Alidor) (0:35)
10. No.9 Air. Esprits de ces déserts (Alidor) (2:24)
11. No.10 Récitatif. Mes ordres sont remplis (Alidor) (0:36)
12. No.11 Choeur. Quel pouvoir (1:41)
13. No.12 Récitatif avec Choeur. D'un vieux manoir (Zélis, Page, Elzire) (1:32)
14. No.13 Chanson. C'est ici le chateau d'amour (Page, Elzire, Zélis) (2:24)
15. No.14 Récitatif avec Choeur. Nous allons, je le vois (Choeur, Zélis, Elzire, Page) (2:24)
16. No.15 Air. non, non aux volontés des Dieux (Elzire) (2:54)
17. No.16 Récitatif. Oui, vous allez d'un Roi (Zélis, Elzire, Don Sanche) (1:38)
18. No.17 Trio. Entendez-vous gronder l'orage? (Don Sanche, Elzire, Zélis) (3:40)
19. No.18 Récitatif et Arioso. Sous cette voute de feuillage (Elzire, Don Sanche). Ces feuillages épais (Elzire) (2:07)
20. No.19 Air. Repose en paix (Don Sanche) (3:35)
21. No.20 Entr'acte

CD 2 Seconde Partie

1. No.21 Air et Choeur. Brillant asile doux (Choeur, Page) (4:36)
2. No.22 Introduction et Marche (7:31)
3. No.23 Choeur et Récitatif. Romualde a touché ces bords (Elzire, Zélis, Don Sanche, Alidor) (1:32)
4. No.24 Air. Vainement vous voulez me fuir (Alidor) (3:20)
5. No.25 Récitatif. Honte des preux (Elzire, Alidor, Don Sanche) (0:37)
6. No.26 Duo et Choeur. Tremble, tremble (Choeur, Don Sanche, Alidor) (1:27)
7. No.27 Récitatif. Ils sortent, dans leur yeux (Zélis, Elzire) (0:42)
8. No.28 Priere. Roi des ces bords (Elzire) (4:38)
9. No.29 Récitatif et Choeur. Non loin de cette enceinte (Zélis, Elzire, Un Chevalier) (3:41)
10. No.30 Marche funebre et Choeur. Il est tombé (3:21)
11. No.31 Récitatif. N'est il donc nul espoir? (Zélis, Elzire, Page, Alidor) (2:50)
12. No.32 Duo. Recevez nos tendres serments (Elzire, Don Sanche) (2:22)
13. No.33 Finale. Honneur aux amants (Choeur, Elzire, Don Sanche, Page) (1:31)