"How could such fine music as this have remained neglected until now with this premiére recording? ... The Melbourne-based Orchestra Victoria responds intuitively to Bonynge’s direction and delicacy of touch ... The SACD sound is excellent ... handsome full-colour booklet ..."

 

Louis Ferdinand Hérold (1791 - 1833) was a prolific French operatic composer who is today little more than a name in the history of music. He is best known for the overture to his once famous opera Zampa and the ballet La Fille mal gardée still currently in the repertoire of several ballet companies.

Hérold was essentially known as a composer of opéra comique and he wrote over twenty in this genre. His first real success was Le Muletier (1823) followed by Marie (1826), L'Illusion (1829), Zampa (1831) and Le Pré aux Clercs (1832). These were very popular in their day and are worth reviving.

In addition to his operatic repertoire he wrote a deal of piano music, including four pianoforte concertos and several ballets. The first of these, Astolphe et Joconde, a ballet in two acts, was produced in 1827 at the Académie Royale de Musique in Paris. This was followed in the next year by Lydie (one act) and La Fille mal gardée (three acts). In the year 1829 Hérold composed both La Belle au bois dormant (four acts) and La somnambule (three acts). His final ballet, La Noce de Village in one act, was written in 1830.

La somnambule or L'arivée d'un nouveau Seigneur had its premiere at the Académie Royale de Musique on 19th September 1827 and was revived there thirty years later in 1857. Many great balletic names of the early 19th century appear in both libretti - Mérante, Montessu, Rosati, Coralli, Paul, Noblet, Albert and Bournonville.

The libretto of the ballet is written by Scribe with choreography by Aumer. Scribe based his libretto loosely on his earlier two act comedy vaudeville La somnambule written in 1819 for the Théâtre de Vaudeville. Scribe wrote this piece in collaboration with Casimir Delavigne, but although it appears in the complete words of Scribe there is no mention of it in the works of Delavigne, who was presumably a minor collaborator.

La Sonnambula by Bellini was written only four years later than the ballet, in 1831, with the libretto attributed to Romani but with no mention of Scribe. The storyline follows Scribe's libretto almost exactly with many phrases of Scribe translated into Italian. Romani obviously knew the Scribe libretto. Could Bellini possibly have heard some of the music of Hérold? There are distinct pre-echos of Bellini in the ballet and one in the last act in the same situation and same key as in the opera.

The names of the characters underwent two changes. "Cécile" in the vaudeville becomes "Thérèse" in the ballet and "Amina" in the opera. "Gustave" becomes "Edmond", who becomes "Elvino". The ballet takes place in Provence, l'île de la Camargue near Arles while the locale is transferred to the Swiss Alps in the opera.

The present recording of the ballet will presumably be the first time the music has been heard in over 150 years. The composer Adolphe Adam considered Hérold to be the greatest of French ballet composers of the era and La somnambule precedes Giselle by fourteen years. The score was never published and the present edition has been made from the manuscript full score which comes from Hérold's own library.
 
La somnambule can probably be considered as the first in the line of 19th century Romantic ballets.

 

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