For all that Lalo’s Le roi d’Ys (premiered in 1888) has scarcely maintained any foothold in the operatic repertoire in modern times, it packs quite a punch, both for its vengeful drama and its score which finds a happy medium between Wagnerian orchestral depth and rigour, and a French clarity in its setting of the libretto. Although based on a Breton legend about the submerged city of Ys (which also inspired Debussy’s famous Prelude for piano, La cathédrale engloutie) that Celtic subject matter also followed a certain fashion for such themes, following Tristan und Isolde. (One wonders if Chelsea Opera Group might one day follow up with Chausson’s Le roi Arthus.)
If there are similarities with any of Wagner’s operas in the plot, however, it is with Lohengrin: just as Ortrud and Telramund devise a plan to bring down the betrothed couple Lohengrin and Elsa, so Margared collaborates with Prince Karnac in her act of jealous revenge upon her sister Rozenn, who is to be wed to Mylio, with whom Margared had been in love herself. A wider scheme of warfare has already brought events to that point in the opera, however, since Karnac had previously been at war with the women’s father, the eponymous King of Ys, but was supposed to be married to Margared as part of the peace settlement. When she sees and recalls Mylio, she refuses the marriage which prompts Karnac to wage battle again. Seeing Mylio defeat him and now paired up with her sister, Margared and Karnac join in a common cause of revenge against them and the people of Ys generally, as she tells Karnac that there is a gate which keeps the sea back from the city, and she will help him open it in order to wreak destruction. He is killed by Mylio after doing so, and in an act of remorse, Margared sacrifices herself to the sea (a sort of echo of Der fliegende Holländer) to placate the patron saint, Corentin, and stem the tide. Insofar as Margared responds to Karnac’s invocation of the demonic forces of hell to avenge himself, there is also a confrontation between good and evil, Christian faith and paganism, as in Lohengrin.
Paul Wingfield conducted the Chelsea Opera Group Orchestra in a solid, convincing account of the music in this concert performance of the opera – thrillingly driven in its various dramatic passages, but giving other sections atmosphere and spaciousness. To hear the orchestra on such good form is all the more satisfying given the vigorous demands Lalo makes of it. The Chorus brought heft and emphasis especially in more densely scored, chordal sections; more intricate passages with diffuse choral entries were less secure.
Alexey Gusev stood out for his unyielding and forcefully efficient interpretation of Karnac – his unbending vocal tone ideally expressed the character’s defiant nature. He was complemented by Maria Schellenberg’s distinctive contribution as Margared, her somewhat brittle timbre conveying her deviousness, while also negotiating the wide vocal range well. With her auburn hair and white dress, she also certainly happened to look the part of a Celtic princess. Hye-Youn Lee and Luis Gomez were more lyrically effusive in the more straightforward, innocent guises of Rozenn and Mylio – the former sweetly mellifluous, the later more broad and open voiced, though with some wide vibrato that caused a few notes to be inexactly pitched, and tone a little stretched.
Edward Jowle’s St Corentin (how many operas feature a saint?!) made a striking impression from up in the gallery behind the Cadogan Hall stage, as he called upon Margared to repent of her vendetta in resonant voice, with the otherworldly force of the Commendatore. Although the title role, the King has rather little to sing, which Thomas D Hopkinson tackled decently, though Ross Cumming was a more commanding musical presence as Jahel, the herald.
Sensational and perhaps silly as the story is, this riveting performance made a firm case that this forgotten opera should be heard (or even seen) occasionally for its wonderful music.
Curtis Rogers
Le roi d’Ys
Composer: Édouard Lalo
Libretto: Édouard Blau
Cast and production personnel;
Le roi d’Ys – Thomas D Hopkinson; Margared – Maria Schellenberg; Rozenn – Hye-Youn Lee; Prince Karnac – Alexey Gusev; Mylio – Luis Gomes; Jahel – Ross Cumming; St Corentin – Edward Jowle
Conductor – Paul Wingfield; Chelsea Opera Group Chorus and Sinfonia
Cadogan Hall, London, 30 March 2025
Photo (from previous performance at Cadogan Hall): © Chelsea Opera