(Radio abridgement - complete as performed byFrench Radio)
Finale of Act 2 in the original production (Paris,
1864)
Lithograph by Caillot after Auguste Lamy
Mireille
....................................................
Martha Angelici
Vincent
....................................................
Charles Richard
Taven
...........................................,......... Suzanne Darbans
Ourrias ..........................................................
Michel Dens
Ramon
......................................................
Lucien Lovano
Andreloun
................................................... Michel Hamel
Ambroise
.................................................. André Vessières
Vincenette ....................................................... Lili Danière
Clemence ................................................. Andrée
Cuvelier
Les Choeurs et l 'Orchestre Radio-Lyrique
Jules
Gressier, cond.
French Radio, July 9, 1948
Mireille had from the start a very checkered career. Gounod and Carvalho,
the impresario and husband of the first Mireille, fought furiously during the
rehearsals for the first production and the composer was forced to accept
changes he didn't agree with. The première was poorly received and other
changes, cuts and rearrangements followed, not always by Gounod and often
without his approval.
At one time, even a happy ending was tried but real success still eluded
the piece. Much changed, the work entered the repertoire of the Opéra-Comique
in 1874. In 1939, composer Henri Busser prepared an edition as close as
possible to Gounod's original score. It has given the opera a new lease and has
been used in most subsequent performances and recordings.
The composer knew better, after all.
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SRC="divider1.gif" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="188" HEIGHT="43">Act 1