Ariodant
Opéra comique byÉtienne Méhul
Title page of the libretto
Librettist	François-Benoît Hoffman
Language	French
Based on	Episode in Ariosto'sOrlando Furioso
Premiere	11 October 1799 (1799-10-11) Opéra-Comique, Paris

Ariodant is anopéra comique (drame mêlé de musique) in three acts by the French composerÉtienne Méhul first performed at theThéâtre Favart in Paris on 11 October 1799. Thelibretto,^[1] byFrançois-Benoît Hoffman is based on the same episode inAriosto'sOrlando Furioso that also inspiredHandel's operaAriodante. The work had a profound influence on the development ofRomantic opera, particularly in Germany.

The premiere took place on 11 October 1799. There were fears that the success of the opera might be damaged by the plot's similarity toHenri Montan Berton'sMontano et Stéphanie, which had debuted on 15 April of the same year. In the event, the audience was warmly appreciative and Méhul appeared on stage at the end to take their applause (Hoffman had been kept at home by illness). Méhul dedicated the score to his friendLuigi Cherubini.^[2][3]

Scene: The court of King Edgard

Ina, daughter of King Edgard of Scotland, is in love with the knight Ariodant. Ina's rejected suitor, the villainous Othon, plots against her with Ina's maid Dalinde. Othon and Ariodant are about to fight when the feast is announced in the king's hall.

Scene: A garden at night, overlooked by Ina's balcony

A bard plays a song on his harp. Ariodant has arranged a midnight duel with Othon and Ina gives him a ribbon of her own hair. Lurcain, Ina's brother, and four other knights enter and hide. They are there to make sure Othon does not play any dirty tricks. However, when Othon arrives he does not fight but tells Ariodant he has been visiting Ina's bedroom every night. When Dalinde appears at the balcony dressed as Ina, it apparently proves Othon's point. Lurcain and Edgard arrest Ina for unchastity.

Scene: The hall of justice

Ina is about to be put on trial. Othon tries to make a deal with her: if she will agree to marry him, he will claim she has secretly been his wife all along. Ina refuses. Othon's henchmen tell him they have made away with Dalinde. The trial goes ahead, but the accused turns out to be Dalinde, veiled and in disguise. She reveals the details of Othon's plot and how Othon's men would have murdered her had she not been saved by Ariodant.

Ariodant, with its sombre and dramatic character, is among the most highly regarded of Méhul's works.^[2]Edward Dent wrote, "This is perhaps the best of all Méhul's operas, for it has consistency of style, and a plot which although wildly Romantic is not outrageously nonsensical and deals with very genuine human emotions. Moreover, it is not dependent, as some of these operas are, on scenic effects such as storms and avalanches."^[9] Méhul scholarElizabeth Bartlet describes it as "Mehul's best work of the decade and a highpoint ofRevolutionary opera. It epitomises the major achievements of the genre: musical continuity and unification in spite of divisions caused by the spoken dialogue, the coordination of music and drama in the work as a whole, and inventiveness of form, orchestral treatment, and vocal writing to realise theatrical and musical aims."^[10]

Ariodant had a profound influence on German Romantic opera, especiallyWeber'sEuryanthe (1823), which has a very similar chivalric plot. But Weber also learned from Méhul's use of the orchestra to evoke atmosphere. AsJohn Warrack writes: "Much of the opera is set by night or in underground rooms and labyrinthine passages or a thick forest and Méhul responds with some of the swarthiest orchestration he can contrive, setting the tone at once with an overture (brief, irregular in form, and ending in harmonic mid-air) beginning on three solo cellos and ending on unison double basses."^[11] The opera also makes use of a "reminiscence motif" (the forerunner of theLeitmotiv), descending discords symbolising Othon's jealousy and anger which recur throughout the work.^[11][10][12] According toWinton Dean, it occurs in "at least eight of the fifteen movements of the opera."^[13]

The overture appears on: MéhulOvertures, Orchestre de Bretagne, conducted by Stefan Sanderling (ASV, 2002) Catalogue number CD DCA 1140.

The sopranoVéronique Gens sings Ina's act 2 recitative, melodrama and aria "Quelle fureur barbare!...Mais, que dis-je?...Ô des amants le plus fidèle" on the albumTragédiennes Volume 3 withLes Talens Lyriques conducted byChristophe Rousset (Virgin Classics, 2011).

Sources

• Bartlet, Mary Elizabeth Caroline (1997). "Ariodant [Ina]". InStanley Sadie (ed.).The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. Vol. I. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 186.ISBN 978-0-19-522186-2.
• — (1999).Etienne-Nicolas Méhul and Opera: Source and Archival Studies of Lyric Theatre During the French Revolution, Consulate and Empire. Heilbronn, Germany: Musik-Edition Galland.ISBN 3-925934-41-3.
• de Place, Adélaïde (2005).Étienne Nicolas Méhul. Bleu Nuit Éditeur.
• Dean, Winton (1988). "French Opera". InGerald Abraham (ed.).The New Oxford History of Music Volume 8: The Age of Beethoven 1790–1830. Oxford University Press.
• Dent, Edward Joseph (1979).The Rise of Romantic Opera. Cambridge University Press.
• Méhul, Étienne (n.d.).Ariodant, Opéra en 3 actes. Paroles d'Hoffman. Musique de Méhul (Original printed score). Paris: Jmbault – viaGallica – B.N.F.
• Warrack, John (2001).German Opera from the Beginnings to Wagner. Cambridge University Press.

• General introduction to Méhul's operas in the introduction to the edition ofStratonice byMary Elizabeth Caroline Bartlet (Pendragon Press, 1997)
• The Viking Opera Guide, ed.Amanda Holden (Viking, 1993)

• Ariodant (Méhul): Scores at theInternational Music Score Library Project

• Operas by Étienne Méhul
• 1799 operas
• Opéras comiques
• French-language operas
• Operas
• Operas based on works by Ludovico Ariosto
• Opera world premieres at the Opéra-Comique
• Music dedicated to family or friends

• Articles with Italian-language sources (it)
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• Short description matches Wikidata
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