Plácido Domingo premieres Le Cid by Jules Massenet at the Palau de les Arts
23.04.2012
Valencia (23-4-2012).- Plácido Domingo, in his role as musical director, will premiere tomorrow, Tuesday, April 24 at 8:00 p.m., Le Cid by Jules Massenet, which the Palau de les Arts presents in a concert version, within the celebrations of the centenary of the death of the French composer.
After singing in Thaïs , Plácido Domingo takes on, this time from the podium, one of the most significant works of his career. Considered by critics to be the definitive Rodrigue, he has been the leading champion in recent decades of this Massenet opera, which portrays the exploits of Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, El Cid Campeador.
The Auditori at Valencia's arts center hosts the final opera performance of the 2011-2012 season, featuring Jorge de León from Tenerife in the role of the legendary medieval hero, so closely linked to the history of the city of Valencia. Alongside him, the rising Ukrainian soprano Liudmila Monastirska brings Chimène to life in her debut at the Valencian arts center, following her recent successes in London, Milan, and Berlin.
Veteran bass Hao Jiang Tian sings Don Diègue, a role he previously performed alongside Domingo in Washington, in one of the few stage productions of Le Cid in recent decades. English bass-baritone James Rutherford (The King) and soprano Micaëla Oeste (The Infanta) complete the quintet of principal singers.
The cast of Le Cid is completed by: Felipe Bou (Le Comte de Gormas), Josep Miquel Ramon (Santiago Apóstol), Isaac Galán (Moorish Envoy), Mario Cerdá (Don Arias) and Leonard Bernad (Don Alonzo).
As Plácido Domingo explains: “ Le Cid is one of the most epic and dramatically powerful scores, which also contains brilliant moments of intimacy and tenderness, as it is also a love story. It showcases the great versatility of Jules Massenet, which is never repeated in any of his compositions.”
The Auditori of the Palau de les Arts hosts three performances of this opera in concert on April 24, 27 and 30.
Plácido Domingo and Le Cid
In 1873, Édouard Blau and Louis Gallet based their libretto for Le Cid on Pierre Corneille's tragedy of the same name, and the score was initially commissioned to Georges Bizet. However, the Parisian composer never completed the work.
Eleven years later, Georges Hartmann obtained the rights to the libretto and entrusted it to Jules Massenet who, after the plot adjustments by Adolphe-Philippe D'Ennery, undertook the elaboration of a new score in its definitive format of four acts and ten scenes.
Le Cid premiered to great acclaim on November 30, 1885, at the Paris Opera, becoming one of the composer from Saint-Étienne's most celebrated works. However, the opera disappeared from the standard repertoire of major opera houses once the 20th century began.
Plácido Domingo has been one of the greatest champions of Le Cid, which he has sung in New York, Hamburg, Paris, Vienna, Madrid, Chicago, Seville, and Washington. In his role as artistic director, he spearheaded one of the most recent productions of this opera at the Teatro de la Maestranza in Seville and the Washington Opera, directed by Hugo de Ana. His 1976 recording of Le Cid at Carnegie Hall in New York is a landmark in the discography of Jules Massenet.
