The Canterbury Pilgrims (De Koven): Difference between revisions

The Canterbury Pilgrims
The Canterbury Pilgrims
Opera by Reginald De Koven
	The composer in 1904
Librettist	Percy MacKaye
Language	English
Based on	The Canterbury Tales; by Geoffrey Chaucer
Premiere	March 8, 1917; Metropolitan Opera House

Browse history interactively

← Previous edit

Content deleted Content added

VisualWikitext

Inline

Latest revision as of 16:50, 20 February 2024

The Canterbury Pilgrims is an opera by the American composer Reginald De Koven. It premiered at the Metropolitan Opera House on March 8, 1917 just as the United States was on the verge of declaring war on Germany. The unfolding world events caused its cancellation after just five performances.^[1] The libretto, written by Percy MacKaye, is loosely based on Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales.

Roles

Role	Voice type	Premiere cast, 8 March 1917^[2] (Conductor: Artur Bodanzky)
Chaucer	baritone	Johannes Sembach
Alisoun, The Wife of Bath	contralto	Margarethe Arndt-Ober
The Prioress	soprano	Edith Mason
The Squire	tenor	Paul Althouse
King Richard II	tenor	Albert Reiss
Johanna	soprano	Marie Sundelius
The Friar	tenor	Max Bloch
The Knight	baritone	Robert Leonhardt^[3]
Joannes	tenor	Pietro Audisio
Man of Law	baritone	Robert Leonhardt
The Miller	bass	Basil Ruysdael
The Host	bass	Giulio Rossi
The Herald	bass	Riccardo Tegani
Two Girls		Marie Tiffany, Minnie Egener
The Pardoner	tenor	Julius Bayer
The Summoner	baritone	Carl Schlegel
The Shipman	baritone	Mario Laurenti
The Cook	bass	Pompilio Malatesta

Synopsis

Place: England. Time: April, 1387.^[4]

The story has to do with the merry schemes of the Wife of Bath, who has fallen in love with Chaucer who in his turn loves the Prioress, and of her winning of a bet to gain possession of a certain brooch which carries with it Chaucer's promise of marriage. He is finally rescued by Richard II who decides that the Wife may marry a sixth time only on condition that she marry a miller. A devoted miller joyfully accepts the opportunity and the Prioress and Chaucer are reconciled.

Notes

^ Barrington, Candace (2007). American Chaucers. doi:10.1007/978-1-137-10748-0. ISBN 978-1-349-73271-5.
^ List of singers taken from Gustav Kobbé: The Complete Opera Book (1919 ed.), p. 843.
^ "[Met Performance] CID:65390 World Premiere The Canterbury Pilgrims {1} Metropolitan Opera House: 03/8/1917". The Metropolitan Opera Archives. The Metropolitan Opera. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
^ The synopsis is taken from Leo Melitz, The Opera Goer's Complete Guide, 1921 version.

References

The Opera Goer's Complete Guide by Leo Melitz, 1921 version.
The Complete Opera Book by Gustav Kobbé, 1919 version.

External links

[1] Barrington, Candace (2007). American Chaucers. doi:10.1007/978-1-137-10748-0. ISBN 978-1-349-73271-5.

[2] List of singers taken from Gustav Kobbé: The Complete Opera Book (1919 ed.), p. 843.

[3] "[Met Performance] CID:65390 World Premiere The Canterbury Pilgrims {1} Metropolitan Opera House: 03/8/1917". The Metropolitan Opera Archives. The Metropolitan Opera. Retrieved June 11, 2013.

[4] The synopsis is taken from Leo Melitz, The Opera Goer's Complete Guide, 1921 version.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Infobox opera
-'''''The Canterbury Pilgrims''''' is an opera by the American composer [[Reginald De Koven]]. It premiered at the [[Metropolitan Opera House (39th St)|Metropolitan Opera House]] on March 8, [[1917]]. The [[libretto]], written by [[Percy MacKaye]], is based on [[Geoffrey Chaucer]]'s ''[[The Canterbury Tales]]''.
+| name              = The Canterbury Pilgrims
+| composer          = [[Reginald De Koven]]
-== Roles ==
+| image             = Reginald de Koven 1904.jpg
+| caption           = The composer in 1904
+| librettist        = [[Percy MacKaye]]
+| language          = English
+| based_on          = {{based on|''[[The Canterbury Tales]]''|[[Geoffrey Chaucer]]}}
+| premiere_date     = {{Start date|1917|03|08}}
+| premiere_location = [[Metropolitan Opera House (39th St)|Metropolitan Opera House]]
+| website           =
+}}
+'''''The Canterbury Pilgrims''''' is an opera by the American composer [[Reginald De Koven]]. It premiered at the [[Metropolitan Opera House (39th St)|Metropolitan Opera House]] on March 8, 1917 just as the United States was on the verge of declaring [[WWI|war on Germany]]. The unfolding world events caused its cancellation after just five performances.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-1-137-10748-0|doi=10.1007/978-1-137-10748-0|title=American Chaucers|year=2007|last1=Barrington|first1=Candace|isbn=978-1-349-73271-5}}</ref> The [[libretto]], written by [[Percy MacKaye]], is loosely based on [[Geoffrey Chaucer]]'s ''[[The Canterbury Tales]]''.
+==Roles==
+[[File:Reginald De Koven, The Canterbury Pilgrims, 1917.jpg|thumb|450px|Scene from ''The Canterbury Pilgrims'']]
 {| class="wikitable"
 !Role
 !Voice type
-!Premiere cast,<br>8 March 1917<ref>List of singers taken from [[Gustav Kobbé]]: ''[[The Complete Opera Book]]'' (1919 ed.), p. 843.</ref><br />(Conductor:  Bodanzky)
+!Premiere cast,<br>8 March 1917<ref>List of singers taken from [[Gustav Kobbé]]: ''[[The Complete Opera Book]]'' (1919 ed.), p. 843.</ref><br />(Conductor: [[Artur Bodanzky]])
 |-
+|[[Geoffrey Chaucer|Chaucer]]
-|Chaucer
 |[[baritone]]
-|Johannes Sembach
+|[[Johannes Sembach]]
 |-
-|Alisoun, <i>The Wife of Bath</i>
+|Alisoun, ''The Wife of Bath''
 |[[contralto]]
-|[[Margarethe Arndt-Ober|Margaret Ober]]
+|[[Margarethe Arndt-Ober]]
 |-
 |The Prioress
 |[[soprano]]
-|Edith Mason
+|[[Edith Mason]]
 |-
 |The Squire
@@ Line 24: / Line 36: @@
 |[[Paul Althouse]]
 |-
-|King Richard II
+|[[Richard II of England|King Richard II]]
 |tenor
 |[[Albert Reiss]]
 |-
 |Johanna
 |soprano
 |[[Marie Sundelius]]
@@ Line 34: / Line 46: @@
 |The Friar
 |tenor
-|Max Block
+|Max Bloch
+|-
+|The Knight
+|baritone
+|[[Robert Leonhardt]]<ref>{{cite web |url= http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=65390&limit=500&xBranch=ALL&xsdate=&xedate=&theterm=Leonhardt,%20Robert%20%5BBaritone%5D&x=0&xhomepath=&xhome=|title= [Met Performance] CID:65390 World Premiere The Canterbury Pilgrims {1} Metropolitan Opera House: 03/8/1917.|date= |website= The Metropolitan Opera Archives|publisher=The Metropolitan Opera |accessdate=June 11, 2013}}</ref>
 |-
 |Joannes
 |tenor
-|Pietro Audsio
+|Pietro Audisio
 |-
 |Man of Law
@@ Line 46: / Line 62: @@
 |The Miller
 |[[bass (vocal range)|bass]]
 |[[Basil Ruysdael]]
 |-
 |The Host
 |bass
 |Giulio Rossi
 |-
 |The Herald
@@ Line 56: / Line 72: @@
 |Riccardo Tegani
 |-
 |Two Girls
 |
-|Marie Tiffany, Minnie Egener
+|[[Marie Tiffany]], [[Minnie Egener]]
 |-
 |The Pardoner
@@ Line 78: / Line 94: @@
 |}
-== Synopsis ==
+==Synopsis==
 Place: England.
 Time: April, 1387.<ref>The synopsis is taken from Leo Melitz, The Opera Goer's Complete Guide, 1921 version.</ref>
-The story has to do with the merry schemes of the Wife of Bath, who has fallen in love with Chaucer who in his turn loves the Prioress, and of her winning of a bet to gain possession of a certain brooch which carries with it Chaucer's promise of marriage He is finally rescued by Richard II who decides that the Wife may marry a sixth time only on condition that she marry a miller. A devoted miller joyfully accepts the opportunity and the Proiress and Chaucer are reconciled.
+The story has to do with the merry schemes of the Wife of Bath, who has fallen in love with [[Chaucer]] who in his turn loves the Prioress, and of her winning of a bet to gain possession of a certain brooch which carries with it Chaucer's promise of marriage. He is finally rescued by [[Richard II]] who decides that the Wife may marry a sixth time only on condition that she marry a miller. A devoted miller joyfully accepts the opportunity and the Prioress and Chaucer are reconciled.
 ==Notes==
 {{Reflist|1}}
-== References ==
+==References==
 *''The Opera Goer's Complete Guide'' by Leo Melitz, 1921 version.
 *''The Complete Opera Book'' by Gustav Kobbé, 1919 version.
-==External Links==
+==External links==
+*[https://archive.org/details/librettoofoperac00deko Libretto]
+*[https://archive.org/details/canterburypilgri00deko Vocal Score]
+{{The Canterbury Tales}}
-*[http://www.archive.org/details/librettoofoperac00deko Libretto]
-*[http://www.archive.org/details/canterburypilgri00deko Vocal Score]
-{{DEFAULTSORT:Canterbury Pilgrims, The}}
+{{DEFAULTSORT:Canterbury Pilgrims, The}}
 [[Category:Operas]]
 [[Category:1917 operas]]
+[[Category:Fiction set in the 1380s]]
+[[Category:Operas set in the 14th century]]
 [[Category:English-language operas]]
-[[Category:Metropolitan Opera world premieres]]
+[[Category:Opera world premieres at the Metropolitan Opera]]
-[[Category:Operas set in the British Isles]]
+[[Category:Operas set in England]]
+[[Category:Works based on The Canterbury Tales]]
+[[Category:Operas by Reginald De Koven]]
+[[Category:Cultural depictions of Richard II of England]]
+[[Category:Operas based on works by Geoffrey Chaucer]]

v t e Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales
Order of The Canterbury Tales	General Prologue The Knight's Tale The Miller's Tale The Reeve's Tale The Cook's Tale The Man of Law's Tale The Wife of Bath's Tale The Friar's Tale The Summoner's Tale The Clerk's Tale The Merchant's Tale The Squire's Tale The Franklin's Tale The Physician's Tale The Pardoner's Tale The Shipman's Tale The Prioress's Tale Sir Thopas The Tale of Melibee The Monk's Tale The Nun's Priest's Tale The Second Nun's Tale The Canon's Yeoman's Tale The Manciple's Tale The Parson's Tale
Addenda	The Plowman's Tale The Tale of Gamelyn Siege of Thebes Prologue and Tale of Beryn
Films	The Canterbury Tales (1972)
Stage and music	The Two Noble Kinsmen (1634 play) The Canterbury Pilgrims (De Koven) (1917 opera) Canterbury Tales (1964 musical)
Television	Trinity Tales (1975) Canterbury Tales (2003)
Literature	The Canterbury Puzzles A Commentary on the General Prologue to The Canterbury Tales
Single tale derivations	The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle Chanticleer and the Fox The Book of the Dun Cow Palamon and Arcite (Edwardes) "Palamon and Arcite" (Dryden) God Spede the Plough "The Pilgrim's Tale"
Related	Chaucer's Retraction Descriptive Catalogue Ellesmere Chaucer "Have a nice day" Hengwrt Chaucer The Tabard