HAHN: A KARMELITA (LA CARMÉLITE) Opera/4

HAHN: LA CARMÉLITE
Hungarian premiere 
Concert-format opera performance in four acts, with one interval, in French

Louise de La Vallière Hélène Guilmette
King Julien Henric
Athénaïs de Montespan Michèle Losier
Bishop Alexandre Adra
Queen / Sorceress Aude Extrémo
Ardélise / 1st Woman Judith van Wanroij
Acté / Schoolboy Clémence Tilquin
Eglé / Abbess Margaux Poguet
Olympe / 2nd Woman Mathilde Ortscheidt
Hélys Eléonore Pancrazi
Count / Sacrilegious One Matthieu Lécroart
Duke / Master of Ceremonies François Rougier
Marquis / Page / 1st Bourgeois / 1st Soldier Marc Mauillon
Musician / Chair Renter Sahy Ratia
Dance Master / 2nd Bourgeois Artavazd Sargsyan
Poet / 2nd Soldier Laurent Deleuil

Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra
Hungarian National Choir (choirmaster: Csaba Somos)
Zoltán Kodály Hungarian Choir School (choirmaster: Borbála Sapszon)
Conductor: György Vashegyi

Co-production by Palazzetto Bru Zane and the Hungarian National Philharmonic.
Recording as part of the “French Opera” series, released by Bru Zane Label.
The score was published by Heugel and revised by Palazzetto Bru Zane.

The French composer Reynaldo Hahn (1874–1947), largely unknown in Hungary, was born in Venezuela to descendants of German-Jewish  ancestors from Hamburg but became a thoroughly French composer after moving with his family as a young child to Paris, where he spent most of his life. He was a popular figure on the French artistic scene around the turn of the century, enjoying close friendships with such prominent personalities as Sarah Bernhardt and Marcel Proust. As a versatile composer, he wrote in many genres, including operettas and film music, and often sang his own songs himself. His music has experienced a renaissance in recent decades. The opera La Carmélite, composed in 1902 to a libretto by the French Parnassian poet Catulle Mendès, is a comédie musicale. Its Hungarian premiere in the original language is being presented under the baton of Kossuth Prize-winning conductor György Vashegyi in a co-production between the National Philharmonic Orchestra and Palazzetto Bru Zane. The international cast features a number of singers who are returning favourites with Hungarian audiences, including Hélène Guilmette, Julien Henric, Michèle Losier, Aude Extrémo, Judith van Wanroij, and Artavazd Sargsyan.