The Canterbury Pilgrims

The Canterbury Pilgrims is an opera by the American composer Reginald De Koven. It premiered at the Metropolitan Opera House on March 8, 1917. The libretto, written by Percy MacKaye, is loosely based on Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales.

Roles

Role	Voice type	Premiere cast, 8 March 1917^[1] (Conductor: Artur Bodanzky)
Chaucer	baritone	Johannes Sembach
Alisoun, The Wife of Bath	contralto	Margaret Ober
The Prioress	soprano	Edith Mason
The Squire	tenor	Paul Althouse
King Richard II	tenor	Albert Reiss
Johanna	soprano	Marie Sundelius
The Friar	tenor	Max Block
The Knight	baritone	Robert Leonhardt^[2]
Joannes	tenor	Pietro Audisio
Man of Law	baritone	Robert Leonhardt
The Miller	bass	Basil Ruysdael
The Host	bass	Giulio Rossi
The Herald	bass	Riccardo Tegani
Two Girls		Marie Tiffany, Minnie Egener
The Pardoner	tenor	Julius Bayer
The Summoner	baritone	Carl Schlegel
The Shipman	baritone	Mario Laurenti
The Cook	bass	Pompilio Malatesta

Synopsis

Place: England. Time: April, 1387.^[3]

The story has to do with the merry schemes of the Wife of Bath, who has fallen in love with Chaucer who in his turn loves the Prioress, and of her winning of a bet to gain possession of a certain brooch which carries with it Chaucer's promise of marriage. He is finally rescued by Richard II who decides that the Wife may marry a sixth time only on condition that she marry a miller. A devoted miller joyfully accepts the opportunity and the Prioress and Chaucer are reconciled.

Notes

↑ List of singers taken from Gustav Kobbé: The Complete Opera Book (1919 ed.), p. 843.
↑ "[Met Performance] CID:65390 World Premiere The Canterbury Pilgrims {1} Metropolitan Opera House: 03/8/1917.". The Metropolitan Opera Archives. The Metropolitan Opera. Retrieved June 11, 2013. line feed character in |title= at position 28 (help)
↑ The synopsis is taken from Leo Melitz, The Opera Goer's Complete Guide, 1921 version.

References

The Opera Goer's Complete Guide by Leo Melitz, 1921 version.
The Complete Opera Book by Gustav Kobbé, 1919 version.

External links

Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales

Order of The Canterbury Tales	General Prologue The Knight's Tale The Miller's Tale The Reeve's Tale The Cook's Tale The Man of Law's Tale The Wife of Bath's Tale The Friar's Tale The Summoner's Tale The Clerk's Tale The Merchant's Tale The Squire's Tale The Franklin's Tale The Physician's Tale The Pardoner's Tale The Shipman's Tale The Prioress's Tale Sir Thopas The Tale of Melibee The Monk's Tale The Nun's Priest's Tale The Second Nun's Tale The Canon's Yeoman's Tale The Manciple's Tale The Parson's Tale

Addenda	The Plowman's Tale The Tale of Gamelyn Siege of Thebes Prologue and Tale of Beryn

Films	The Canterbury Tales (1972)

Stage	The Two Noble Kinsmen (1634 play) The Canterbury Pilgrims (1917 opera) Canterbury Tales (1964 musical)

Television	Trinity Tales (1975) The Canterbury Tales (2003)

Literature	The Canterbury Puzzles A Commentary on the General Prologue to The Canterbury Tales

Single tale derivations	The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle Chanticleer and the Fox The Book of the Dun Cow Palamon and Arcite God Spede the Plough "The Pilgrim's Tale"

Related	Chaucer's Retraction Ellesmere Chaucer Hengwrt Chaucer Descriptive Catalogue "Have a nice day" Words first used in

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