Haydée

Haydée, ou Le secret is an opéra comique by the French composer Daniel Auber, first performed by the Théâtre Royal de l'Opéra-Comique at the Salle Favart in Paris on 28 December 1847. The libretto (in three acts) is by Auber's regular collaborator, Eugène Scribe and is based on a short story by Prosper Mérimée, La Partie de trictrac (1830).

The opera was performed regularly by the Opéra-Comique up to the end of the 19th century, achieving over 520 performances there.^[1]

Roles

Anne-Benoîte-Louise Lavoye as Haydée

Role	Voice type	Premiere Cast,[1][2] 28 December 1847 (Conductor: Théodore Labarre)
Andréa Donato	tenor	Marius-Pierre Audran
Doménico	tenor	Edmond-Jules Delaunay-Ricquier
Haydée	soprano	Anne-Benoîte-Louise Lavoye
Lorédan Grimani	tenor	Gustave-Hippolyte Roger
Malipieri	bass	Léonard Hermann-Léon
Rafaela	soprano	Sophie Grimm

Synopsis

The story is set during the 16th century wars between Venice and the Ottoman Empire and concerns a Venetian admiral, Lorédan, who can never forgive himself for once having cheated at dice. The title character is a Cypriot slave girl; her name is taken from Haidée, the pirate king's daughter, in Byron's poem Don Juan.

Recordings

• Isabelle Philippe (Haydée); Bruno Comparetti (Lorédan Grimani); Paul Medioni (Malipieri); Anne Sophie Schmidt (Rafaela); Mathias Vidal (Andréa Donato); Stéphane Malbec-Garcia (Doménico); Michael Swiereczewski (conductor); Théâtre Impérial de Compiègne; Pierre Jourdan (artistic director); André Brasilier (scenery); Jean-Pierre Capeyron (costumes); Thierry Alexandre (lighting). Kultur Video D4244 (Region 1, NTSC, 137 min, 16:9 anamorphic), 2005.

References

Notes

1. Wolff S. Un demi-siècle d'Opéra-Comique. André Bonne, Paris, 1953.
2. Casaglia, Gherardo (2005).[http://www.amadeusonline.net/almanacco?r=&alm_giorno=28&alm_mese=12&alm_anno=1847&alm_testo=Hayd%E9e "Haydée, 28 December 1847"]. Almanacco Amadeus (Italian).

Sources

• Holden, Amanda (Ed.), The New Penguin Opera Guide, New York: Penguin Putnam, 2001. ISBN 0-14-029312-4