LES MARTYRSFirst performed, Paris Opéra 1840Studio recording, October 2014Concert performance, 4 November 2014Royal Festival Hall, London Picture of the Paris Opéra courtesy of the Bridgeman Art Library

DONIZETTI

Please help Opera Rara bring another rediscovered opera back to life

LES MARTYRS

Les Martyrs was Donizetti’s first grand opera for Paris. It was based on his Italian work, Poliuto, which had been written for Naples but was banned there before its premiere because of its religious content.

Donizetti, well aware his new Paris opera was an important international debut, went to enormous pains to adapt Les Martyrs for the French stage, adding an elaborate new overture (with a startling, William Tell-like opening for four solo bassoons), new solos for the tenor, the obligatory ballet score, and – most importantly – several complex and musically innovative ensemble scenes.

The end result is one of the composer’s most challenging and musically varied

scores, with a level of orchestral and harmonic detail not found in his more popular Italian operas.

Les Martyrs soon disappeared from the Paris Opéra’s repertory, although it had some circulation in an Italian version in the mid 19th century. Since then, however, it has very rarely been revived. Even during the Donizetti “renaissance” of the last 50 years, performances have been extremely sporadic, and always in severely truncated versions, with singers more adapted to Italian styles of singing. The Opera Rara revival will be based on a new critical edition of the opera prepared by Dr Flora Willson of King’s College, Cambridge. This edition restores the opera’s original French text,

as well as reinstating numerous musical passages – some of them among the finest Donizetti wrote – that have remained unheard since the time of the first performance. Les Martyrs will be performed on period instruments by the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and with singers adept at the particular demands of French grand opera at this period. Sir Mark Elder will conduct.

The result promises to be a major revelation, restoring to life one of Donizetti’s most remarkable and most unjustly neglected late operas.

OPERA-RARA.COM

Donizetti’s Les Martyrs, a tragic tale of Christian martyrdom, is set in Armenia during its occupation by the Romans. The story is based around the relationship between Polyeucte, the local magistrate who converts to Christianity, and his wife Pauline, whose loyalty to her husband overcomes her love for Sévère, the Roman general who is determined to kill every Christian in the land. Opera Rara has assembled an exceptional cast including American star tenor Bryan Hymel as Polyeucte, Canadian soprano Joyce El-Khoury as Pauline and British baritone David Kempster as Sévère. The Opera Rara Chorus, under its director, Renato Balsadonna will also form an integral part of this grand four-act opera.

Les Martyrs will be recorded in October 2014 with a concert performance, given in partnership with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, in the Royal Festival Hall on Tuesday 4 November.

The studio recording will be released in April 2015. It will be accompanied by a lavishly illustrated book including a complete libretto with English translation, a comprehensive background article and synopsis.

The release will be supported by high-profile public relations and advertising campaigns aimed at musical opinion formers, opera lovers and the public. The recording will be available as a CD or downloadable in studio master quality 24bit sound as well as other file formats from Opera-Rara.com.

Les Martyrs will be the 23rd Donizetti work Opera Rara has recorded and this will be the most ambitious project the company has undertaken in its 44-year history. It is a major financial undertaking. However, we believe that this will not only bring to life one of Donizetti’s most unjustly neglected operas, but will also throw new light on the composer’s work.

The concert performance and the studio recording will also make a powerful case for Les Martyrs to find its rightful place in the theatre.

Bryan Hymel

David Kempster

Joyce El-Khoury

Sir Mark Elder

Opera Rara 134–146 Curtain Road, London EC2A 3AR, England Telephone 020 7613 2858Email robert@opera-rara.com Reg charity no 261403

CASTPolyeucte Bryan Hymel, tenor

Pauline Joyce El-Khoury, soprano

Sévère David Kempster, baritone

Felix Brindley Sherratt, bass

Calisthènes Clive Bayley, bass-baritone

Néarque Wynne Evans, tenor

Opera Rara Chorus Renato Balsadonna, chorus director

Orchestra of the Age of EnlightenmentSir Mark Elder, conductor

THE RECORDING AND CONCERT PERFORMANCE OPERA-RARA.COM

Opera Rara is a charity which needs to raise £250,000 to cover the recording and concert performance costs for Les Martyrs. But we need your help to ensure we make this project happens and our work continues.

Opera Rara is doing what no other arts organisation or music charity does. By recreating the ‘lost’ operas of the past, we are changing opera for the future, in terms of practice, performance, production and scholarship. We believe that the operatic repertory needs constantly to be refreshed and enlivened; and that there are great operatic achievements from the past that urgently need the kind of loving reappraisal that only a team dedicated to the highest standards of scholarship and performance can achieve.

Julie Dorus-Gras as Pauline from the original production of Les Martyrs. Opera Rara Archive.

PLEASE HELP OPERA RARA BRING ANOTHER FORGOTTEN MASTERPIECE BACK TO LIFE

PLEASE SUPPORT US IN ANY WAY YOU CANWe rely on the many people world wide who believe in our mission and appreciate our ability to bring this thrilling, neglected music to life.

There are two ways you can help us:• FirstbyjoiningtheOperaRaraAssociation(thisisan

annual scheme and knowing we have regular donations helpsusplanwithconfidence)

• Second,bydonatingtowardsLes Martyrs

Fulldetailsaregivenonthereverse,oryoucandonateonline at Opera-Rara.com/support

AsamemberoftheOperaRaraAssociationorLes Martyrs supporteryouwillbecreditedonourwebsiteandwillreceive regular newsletters and special offers. In addition CircleandPatronmemberswillbecreditedintheCDbookletandwill:• Receiveacomplimentarycopyoftherecording• Becreditedintheconcertprogramme• Meetoursingersandconductorsatspecially

arranged receptions• JoinconductorsandsingersatrehearsalsforrecordingsandconcertsinOperaRara’sbeautifulMusicLibrary

• Attendandobservetheartistsatworkinthe recording studio

If you require any further information please contact Robert Moffat, Head of Development Telephone +44 (0)20 7613 2858Email robert@opera.rara.com Or write to: Opera Rara, 134–146 Curtain Road, London, EC2A 3AR, EnglandReg charity no 261403

Knowingwehaveannualcontributionshelps usplanrecordingprojectswithconfidence.

Pacini member £100 to £499Meyerbeer member £500 to £999Rossini Circle £1,000to£2,499Donizetti Circle £2,500to£4,999Offenbach Circle £5,000to£9,999Artistic Director’s Circle £10,000andabove

Les Martyrs Supporter

You can of course sponsor any of our performers, the conductor, chorus, orchestra members or any aspect of the recording or performance should you wish. Please contact Robert Moffat for details.

Opera Rara Association Les Martyrs Supporter

I/wewouldlikeannualmembershipof the Opera Rara Association as a member(s) For£

I / we would like to support the forthcoming production of Les MartyrsOR

Title Forename

Surname

Email

Telephone

Address

Postcode Country

AllsupporterswillbelistedonourwebsiteandCircleandPatronmembersontheCDbookletandconcertprogramme– ifyouwishtoremainanonymouspleasetickthisbox

Gift Aid ‘IconfirmIhavepaidorwillpayanamountofincometaxand/orcapitalgainstaxforthecurrenttaxyear(6Aprilto 5April)thatisatleastequaltotheamountoftaxthatallthecharitiesandCommunityAmateurSportsClubs(CASCs)that Idonatetowillreclaimonmygiftsforthecurrenttaxyear.IunderstandthatothertaxessuchasVATandcounciltaxdonotqualify.Iunderstandthecharitywillreclaim25poftaxonevery £1 that I have given.’

Signature

ExpirydateSecurityNo

3.DebitmyMastercard/Visa/Debit/Amex the sum of £

Please return to:RobertMoffat,HeadofDevelopment,OperaRara,134-136CurtainRoad,LondonEC2A3AR,England

Method of payment

1. Cheque / CAF voucher: Iencloseacheque/CAFvoucherfor£ Bank name:NatWestBank

Bank address:218UpperStreet,LondonN11SPBank Sort Code: 50 30 09 Opera Rara account number:21411824Account name:OperaRaraBusinessReserveAccountSwift code: NWBKGB2LIBAN number:GB96NWBK50300921411824

2.Bank transfer: Iwillpay£bybanktransfer.

Opera Rara Association

Foreveryrecordingprojectweneeddonationstohelp cover our recording and performance costs. You can help as follows:

Supporter £50 to £499Benefactor £500 to £999Patron £1,000to£4,999Bronze Patron £5,000to£9,999Silver Patron £10,000to£19,999Gold Patron £20,000andabove

Cardnumber

For£