An opera by Gilbert Bécaud, really? Did this king of French chanson, the singer-songwriter of world hits like ‘Natalie’ and ‘Et maintenant’, ever venture into the opera genre? Certainly: the piece is called Opéra d’Aran and is now available on CD.

Opéra d’Aran, to a text by Pierre Delanoé, Louis Amade and Jacques Emmanuel, was first performed on 25 October 1962, at the Théâtre des Champs- Élysées. That performance, conducted by George Prêtre , was once released on LP and is now also available as a CD.

Marlene Dietrich, Gilbert Bécaud, Jean Cocteau en Margarethe Wallmann tijdens de generale van ‘Opéra d’Aran’ in  Théâtre des Champs-Elysées op 26 oktober 1962

It was quite a chore to find out what the opera is about, as the CD edition is extremely carelessly put together. There is no libretto and not even a synopsis. You also have to do your best to find the cast. But here we go (fasten your seatbelts!):

Angelo, a drowning man fished out of the sea, is brought back to life, and pretends to be a prince from a distant land. He falls in love with Maureen, who looks after the blind mother of her fiancé Sean, whom everyone thinks is dead. Then Sean returns and a duel ensues. Maureen goes blind and everything ends where it all started: in the sea. Say a postmodern ‘Senta and Holländer ‘.

The music is very cinematic. No wonder: Bécaud, before meeting Edith Piaf and finding his true calling, worked as a film composer. The opera, larded with Irish folk music, has a very verismo feel to it. But I also detect a touch of Britten (Peter Grimes!).

With the exception of Alvino Misciano (Angelo), the performance is truly phenomenal.
In her last aria in the first act, Rosanna Carteri (Maureen) manages to move me very deeply. Agnés Disney (Mara) is a real discovery for me, very impressive how she manages to give shape to the blind woman.

Georges Prêtre conducts very enthusiastically and gives the work the grimness it deserves.

Below the making of:

Gilbert Bécaud
Opéra d’Aran
Rosanna Carteri, Agnés Disney, Alvino Misciano, Peter Gottlieb, Frank Schooten and others; Orchestre de la Société des concerts du Conservatoire olv Georges Prêtre
FA 5495