Fiesque

Description

FIESQUE : Opera in three acts (1866 - 1868) by Edouard Lalo Libretto by Charles Beauquier - Based on the play by Johan Friedrich von Schiller: The Conspiracy of Fiesco in Genoa Concert version - World premiere Faithful to his desire to revive forgotten or rarely performed works of French opera, Roberto Alagna recorded this version of Edouard Lalo's opera "Fiesque" in July 2006 in Montpellier. Context: Edouard Lalo quickly denounced the political hypocrisy of the Second Empire. Napoleon the Little is for him a usurper. Inspired by Schiller's conspiracy of Fiesco (1782), which rewrites a historical fact set in 16th century Genoa, Lalo explicitly develops in his work his political conception, which is a clearly republican manifesto. With Charles Beauquier, Lalo condenses Schiller's play from five to three acts, readapts the characters, and simplifies the action. But the main subject remains, faithful to Schiller's design, the defense of freedoms. The subject: Fiesque, a young count with frivolous appearances, actually hides a tyrannical ambitious man who dreams of becoming Doge of Genoa. He takes advantage of the crowd's momentum against the current doges (particularly Gianettino). His wife, Léonore, tries to soften his desire for conquest and recognition. Youth and impetuosity, even passionate violence, indicate despite the rewriting of the French, the persistent sanguine energy of the 22-year-old Schiller, then author of the source novel. But at the end of the conspiracy, the outcome carries away the instigators of the rebellion, and it is mainly the holders of wisdom and experience who reap the true trophies (Andrea Doria and the old Verrina).