The Girl from Arles

Unrequited love and melodrama collide to make L’Arlésienne a must watch season opener. Propelled by Bizet’s intensely passionate music, conducted by Sir Mark Elder, with all the on stage action in a new translation by Jeremy Sams.

Bizet’s music achieves his trademark colour by weaving in traditional Provençal tunes. Its evocative soundworld paved the way for Bizet’s last and greatest work, the opera Carmen. Although best known through the concert suites for full orchestra, this performance will restore the composer’s original orchestration, with the 26 musicians becoming as much a part of the drama as the actors on stage. Bizet’s score demonstrates his flare for colourful orchestration, imitating local instruments such as the tambourin and galoubet, and includes one of the earliest appearances of the recently invented saxophone in an orchestra.

Alphonse Daudet’s story tells of a young man torn between two lovers – a wholesome young woman from the countryside and a tantalising woman from Arles – and the consequences of his decisions. Premiered in 1872, the production was initially unsuccessful as melodrama was falling out of fashion. It survived thanks to the popularity of Bizet’s music. Reappraisal in the following decades led to a revival in Paris in 1885 which ran for over 400 performances.

Performers:
Cast to be announced
Choir of the Age of Enlightenment
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
Sir Mark Elder conductor
Jeremy Sams director

Programme:
Bizet l’Arlélsienne