The Man Who Laughs
Opera by Airat Ichmouratov
The Man Who Laughs - Gwynplaine delivering his speech in the House of Lords (drawing by Georges-Antoine Rochegrosse, Victor Hugo's house, circa 1886)
LibrettistBertrand Laverdure
LanguageFrench
Based onVictor Hugo's novelThe Man Who Laughs
Premiere
31 May 2023 (2023-05-31)
Claude Champagne Hall, Montreal

The Man Who Laughs is an opera in two acts with a prologue by Canadian composer Airat Ichmouratov, to a libretto in French by poet Bertrand Laverdure, adapted from the eponymous novel by Victor Hugo. Commissioned by Festival Classica, it was premiered in concert version, conducted by Airat Ichmouratov on May 31, 2023, in Montreal, Canada.[1][2][3][4]

The opera is set in England in two parts. First in 1690, in the prologue, when the poet and showman Ursus meets ten-year-old Gwynplaine, who is disfigured, and one-year-old Dea, who is blind. Both are orphans and Ursus adopts them. Then, fifteen years later, in 1705, Ursus's play about Gwynplaine and Dea became a great success. They gave a performance in London. On this occasion, Gwynplaine is confronted with his past as an aristocrat's child by the lawman Barkilphedro. He is seduced by Duchess Josiane and ends up denying his new reality as Lord. But it's too late to turn back the clock. Déa, his love, dies, and as soon as he finds her, Gwynplaine no longer wants to live and takes his own life.

Roles

Roles, voice types, premier cast
Role Voice type Premiere cast, 31 May 2023
Gwynplaine, street performer (age 25) baritone Hugo Laporte
Gwynplaine child (10 years) soprano Janelle Lucyck
Ursus, poet and showman (50 years) bass-baritone Marc Boucher
Barkilphedro, lawman (50 years) baritone Jean-François Lapointe
Duchess Josiane, aristocrat (32 years) mezzo-soprano Florence Bourget
Fibi, bohemian (23 years) soprano Sophie Naubert
Dea, street performer (16 years) soprano Magali Simard-Galdès
Lord David, aristocrat (40 years) tenor Antonio Figueroa
Villagers, spectators in London, Lords in the House of Lords

Instrumentation

The Man Who Laughs is scored for two flutes (the second doubling piccolo); two oboes; two clarinets in B-flat; two bassoons (the second doubling contrabassoon; four French horns; two trumpets; three trombones; one bass trombone; tuba; a percussion section with timpani, cymbals, triangle, snare drum, bass drum, tam-tam, glockenspiel, xylophone, tubular bells, wind machine; harp; and strings.

References

Sources
  1. ↑ Angers, Charles (2023-04-25). "Festival Classica: The Man Who Laughs, opera by Airat Ichmouratov and Bertrand Laverdure". myscena.org. Retrieved 2023-07-18.
  2. ↑ Depelteau, Marianne (2023-05-27). "L'Homme qui rit est un opéra". exilecvm.ca (in French). Retrieved 2023-07-18.
  3. ↑ Huss, Christophe (2023-04-23). "Le nouvel opéra selon Marc Boucher". ledevoir.com (in French). Retrieved 2023-07-18.
  4. ↑ Bernier, Emmanuel (2023-06-01). "Pari réussi pour L'homme qui rit". lapresse.ca (in French). Retrieved 2023-07-18.

See also

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