Saint Saens: Le Timbre d'Argent

[mikehopf]

 This rarity is being broadcast on France Musique at 16.00 today.

See Operacast for details.

[jdperdrix]

I'll upload it tonight (if everything goes well...)

[BerlinExpat]

Wishful thinking! According to the programme this afternoon it only seems to be one aria:
Le Timbre d'Argent : Air d'Hélène : "Le Bonheur est chose légère". A foretaste of what's to come? Let's keep our fingers crossed!

[jdperdrix]

Actually this afternoon is only an extensive presentation and interview of François-Xavier Roth about the forecoming series of representations at the Opéra comique, June 9 to 19.
There will be a broadcast on France Musique July 2 at 20:00. I'll upload it when I've got it.
A commercial CD has been announced.
Be patient!

[mikehopf]

Yes, you are all right, it was only a discussion about the forthcoming production . What a disappointment!

Even the aria turns out to be one of Saint Saens best known "melodies".

At least this promo whet my appetite for the real thing.

[mikehopf]

Definitely on this Sunday 2nd July.

Stand by your recorders, chaps!

[BerlinExpat]

Someone please have a go. IMHO it's a stunning opera. I was rivetted the whole way through thorugh the première, constantly intrigued by what Saint-Saens conjured up. Listen out for the precursor of Rimsky's Flight of the Bumble Bee! Is that where R-K got the idea?
Sorry I can't record it this time. Mobile Internet is useless in rural Scotland!

[eschiss1]

(For a moment I read that as Le timbale d'argent - btw shouldn't all those nouns besides "Le" be lowercase, and why aren't they? It's French, not German, fetcsake... - but that's Vasseur's opera-comique, not Saint-Saëns' thing. Also the French title of a lost silent movie from 1921, apparently.)

Hrm. Saint-Saëns 1865 premiered 1877, Rimsky 1900, do the latter's memoirs mention _any_ Saint-Saëns anything, fwiw?...

According to a quick look at I͡Astrebt͡sev's Rimsky biography, Rimsky had a high regard for Saint-Saëns.

[jdperdrix]

The use of capitals is very complicated in French, especially in titles... It should be italicized and be set as Le Timbre d'Argent or Le Timbre d'argent. Even if you are not fluent in French, you'll have a flavor of this complexity checking https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikip%C3%A9dia:Conventions_typographiques#Titres_d.27.C5.93uvres_.28livres.2C_films.2C_etc..29
I'll download the opera from France Musique, then upload it. I'll let you know when it's done...

[adriano]

To clear all spelling doubts:

https://www.francemusique.fr/emissions/dimanche-l-opera/le-timbre-d-argent-de-saint-saens-nouvelle-production-de-l-opera-comique-35134

Timbre (hammer bell) has nothing to do with timbales (timpani). The French never exaggerate in putting capitals to title words like Americans.

Will also record it.

[adriano]

France Musique: Just testing my different incoming sources: Digital Radio (cable) was interrupted two times already within an hour and internat Radio has drop-outs almost every minute! Are we really in the 21st century? Let's hope it will be better this evening!

[jdperdrix]

I'll record from replay, which I hope won't have drop-outs...

[jdperdrix]

I got it! Broadcast sounds fine to me. I'll do some editing--It's in two parts, Acts 1 and 2 (1h23) and Acts 3 and 4 (1h06). Plus comments and other stuff (in French). Note that this seems to be the version Saint-Saens revised for Brussels in 1914, which should not match the score available on imslp.
I'll upload it tomorrow evening on mediafire.

[adriano]

Thanks jdperdrix :-)
Wonderful music, although not very uniform in style. The libretto: ou-la-la! :-)

[jdperdrix]

Uploaded to mediafire.
Available soon on the downloads section.