Feramors

Feramors is an opera in two acts by Anton Rubinstein to a libretto by Julius Rodenberg. The story is based on Lalla Rookh by the Irish poet Thomas Moore. The opera was composed in 1862.

Anton Rubinstein

Performance history

The opera was premiered at the Semperoper in Dresden on 24 February 1863, and had subsequent stagings in Vienna (1872), Milan (1874), Berlin (1879), and Danzig (1880). Its first production in Russia was an amateur performance in St. Petersburg in 1884. The first professional production there was on 18 August 1898 at the Mariinsky Theatre, conducted by Felix Blumenfeld.[1] The reason for its late appearance on the Russian stage was competition from an opéra-comique on the same subject by Félicien David. Peter Tchaikovsky, who heard the opera at the Berlin 1879 staging, liked the opera and wrote to Nadezhda von Meck that ‘it comes from the period in which Rubinstein did all his best work, that is 20 years ago’. [2]

Perhaps the same Berlin production of March 4, 1879 produced an interesting report in the Musical Times; "Rubinstein’s opera ...was successfully produced on the 4th ult. at the Royal Opera house at Berlin, the principal rôles being taken by Herr Niemann and Madame Mallinger; in consequence, however, of the latter having refused to sing certain portions of her part, the composer abstained from personally conducting his work."[3]

Roles
Role[4] Voice type[4] Premiere cast[5]
24 February 1863
(Conductor: )
Lalla Roukh, princess of Hindustansoprano
Hafisa, her friendcontralto
Feramors, a minstreltenor
Fadladin, ruler (Grossvezier) of Hindustanbass
Chosru, ambassador of the king of Bokharabaritone
A muezzintenor
A messengertenor

Synopsis

Lalla, the princess of Hindustan, is engaged to marry the King of Bokhara, but falls in love with the minstrel Feramors, who turns out to be the King in disguise.

Recordings

There are a number of recordings of the ballet music from the opera, which includes a 'Torch Dance' and a 'Dance of Bayaderes', both written in the composer's style of exotic orientalism.[6]

Notes
  1. Feramors on the www.classic-music.ru website (in Russian)
  2. Taruskin, Feramors
  3. The Musical Times and Singing-Class Circular, Vol.20, No.434, April 1, 1879, Foreign Notes, p.221.
  4. "Feramors (Rubinstein, Anton)". Bartholf Senff (via IMSLP.org). Retrieved 28 September 2010.
  5. "Almanacco 24 February 1863" (in Italian). AmadeusOnline. Retrieved 28 September 2010.
  6. "On-line catalogue entry - Rubinstein: Feramors / The Demon / Nero". Naxos Records. Retrieved 28 September 2010.
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Sources
  • Richard Taruskin,Feramors Oxford Music Online (subscribers only). Consulted online 17 April 2010
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