Joachim Ulric Voyer
Joachim Ulric Voyer | |
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Born | July 5, 1982 Quebec City, Canada |
Died | January 8, 1935 Quebec City, Canada |
Nationality | Canadian |
Occupation | Opera composer |
Website | http://ulricvoyercompositeurdoperacanadien.qc.ca/ |
Joachim Ulric Voyer, was born on July 5, 1892 in Saint-Roch, Quebec City (province of Quebec)[1] and died on January 8, 1935, at the age of 42, in the same city.[2] He was a Canadian opera composer, whose opera L'Intendant Bigot, created in Montreal on February 5 and 7, 1929, is considered to be one of the first Canadian operas.[3]
L'Intendant Bigot, Historic Canadian Opera[]
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L'Intendant Bigot was created under the patronage of the Honorable Athanase David, provincial secretary,[4] by the Société canadienne d'opérette established by Honoré Vaillancourt, his managing director and M. Albert Roberval, art director, who managed this opera with the cooperation of several members of this society.[5] The opera premiered February 5, 1929 at the Monument national de Montréal " in front of a record attendance, " and repeated the next day with as much success.[6] Three additional sold-out performances were mounted at the Auditorium de Québec: on the morning and evening of Saturday, March 23, and on Sunday, March 24, in the presence of numerous celebrities including Sir Lomer Gouin, Lieutenant governor and ex-Prime Minister of the province, and Madam Louis- Alexandre Taschereau, wife of the Prime Minister.[7] The opera presented in Quebec was under the direction of Edmond-J. Trudel and the title role was entrusted to Arnold Becker of New York’s San Carlo Opera.[8]
The opera L'Intendant Bigot evokes the years of oppression endured by the people under Governor Bigot, the last governor of New France, and his accomplices who were repatriated to France, where they were sentenced to stiff penalties for corruption and had their properties dispossessed. The opera makes a reference to " this period which extends from 1755 to 1760, when François Bigot, governor of the law, the police and finance had absolute power to increase his authoritarianism, to display his sumptuous taste as a big player and bon vivant, and, according to the appetites which he wanted to satisfy, to even turn to crime to denounce the darkest plots ".[9]
Characters and Casting of The Opera L'Intendant Bigot[]
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J.-U. Voyer and Alfred Rousseau's[10] libretto, stages great names in history such as François Bigot, the last governor of New France and his mistress Madam Péan, Angélique Renaud d'Avène des Méloïses (nicknamed The Pompadour of Quebec,[11] wife of Michel Jean Hugues Péan, the governor's right-hand man as well as the Marquis Gaston of St-Germain.
The scene takes place in Quebec in 1758.
Several fictitious characters provide dramatic historic and symbolic aspects to the opera. In a handwritten note dating May 28, 1928 and published in the program of a public reading for the children of the composer, who had never heard the work before his death, J.-Ulric Voyer describes the characters[12] and their intrigues thus:
- Gemma, Dumas’ daughter and Raymond’s fiancée, symbolizes the image of France, which was treacherously killed in our country. (Role played by Marie-Rose Descarries in Montreal and Quebec) [13]
- Raymond, Gemma's hunter fiancé, symbolizes the suffering and rebellious people, who swears to one day take revenge. (Role played by P. Trottier in Montreal and Quebec)
- Gaston de St-Germain, marquis, plays the dignified representative of the nobility. (Role played by Charles-E. Brodeur in Montreal and Paul Trottier in Quebec)
- Dumas, Gemma’s father, symbolizes the oppressed people (Role played by Émile Lamarre in Montreal and J.E.A. Cloutier in Quebec)
- Madame Péan, Bigot’s friend and mistress, is the Canadian Pompadour (Role played by Jeanne Maubourg-Roberval in Montreal and Madam Dupuis-Becker in Quebec)
- Rosine, the Marquis de Saint Germain’s lover, symbolizes the flower of the nobility (Role played by Caro Lamoureux in Montreal and in Quebec)
- Bigot, also known as the Ours Noir, symbolizes the black stain on our glorious history (Role played by Arnold Becker in Montreal and Quebec)
(Toinon, Alice, three bandits, nobles, soldiers, peasants, servants, hunters and the people complete this casting and constitute the choirs)
" Can this work, writes J.-Ulric Voyer, if it communicates to the listener bitter regret at the sight of this innocent victim who had deserved to be happy with us always, he clearly understands, also, that France has not died a natural death, but they killed her, in spite of us. A finale without this innocent victim would have been easily found. But history is there, that a few days after this legend, was a beautiful and greatest victim. The separation was cruel, so cruel, that after 168 years, at the heart of all French-Canadians, there is still a bitter regret, a hope, an I remember... " [12]
The Libretto[]
Here is a synopsis of each of the opera’s acts:[6]
- Act One
The first act is set in 1758, on the côte de Beaupré, at Bigot’s hunting lodge. He is in the company of the Marquis de St-Germain, to whom he owes a large sum. The Marquis agrees to erase this debt if Bigot succeeds in convincing Gemma to marry him. But Gemma loves Raymond, a young hunter, and refuses Bigot's request.
- Act Two
The second act sets the scene in the guest house of Dumas, the father of Gemma, where Bigot and the marquis try in vain to convince Gemma. By leaving, the marquis forgets a glove which Raymond finds and makes a fit of jealousy and parts from Gemma.
- Act Three
In the third act, a party is organized at Bigot's home, and Gemma is invited. Bigot hires 3 bandits to kidnap her and bring her by force to his house. During the kidnapping, Gemma is fatally injured and one of the arrested bandits reveals the plot. Furious, a crowd captures Bigot and crushes him under a bench.
Appreciation of the Work[]
The five performances of the opera L'Intendant Bigot were sold out, and were well received by the press and benefited from significant media coverage. Several artists stressed the qualities of the work, including Wilfrid Pelletier, conductor of New York’s Metropolitan Opera, who said to the author: "you possess a theatrical writing, and it is an extremely rare thing, not only in the United States, but in Europe nowadays".[14] M. Honoré Vaillancourt,[15] managing director of the Société canadienne d'opérette, considered the author to be " the first Canadian to produce a lyric work set on stage in the form of an opera ".[3] Arnold Becker of New York's San Carlo Opera[16] underlined that the author " possesses the so-called extramusical faculties, without which any composer, however capable he may be, even Schubert, would be incapable to make his plays triumph. "[17] The work, however, raised in the pages of the magazine La Lyre in May 1929, much controversy initiated by recognized professional artists, forcing the editorial committee to intervene." On the occasion of the performance of " L'Intendant Bigot", there were deplorable debates, he wrote. [] Unfortunately, personal arguments, completely unrelated to the music, were presented. [] we have never said that M. Voyer, self-taught, produced a masterpiece, no more than we said that M. Voyer gave, in his score, trips to the rules of the musical prosody, he concludes[18] " .
Musical Background[]
J.-Ulric Voyer was not a professional musician. He worked for 21 years, as an advertising agent for J.-B. Renaud and regretted not having been able to dedicate his life to music. He was artistic director of the radio station CHRC.[19]
He studied at Wallace, studied the laws of musical composition with M. Lefrançois, organist of St-Roch,[20] and studied the piano with M. Hudson. In Montreal, he studied the organ and harmony with Léon Dessane and Auguste Descarries.[21]
1996: Rediscovery at the Institut canadien de Québec[]
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Nineteen ninety six marks the rediscovery of the opera L'Intendant Bigot. At the Institut canadien de Québec, in front of 75 of the composer's descendants and friends, eleven extracts of the opera were performed by Bruno Laplante and France Duval, accompanied by Hélène Marceau on the piano.[12] None of the spectators, with the exception of two of his children, had ever heard more than two excerpts of his work on 78. His own children were moved to hear these excerpts for the first time.
1998 : In The Context of the Fêtes de la Nouvelle-France[]
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On August 7, 1998, at the Jardin des Gouverneurs in Old Quebec, in the shade of the Château Frontenac, 800 to 1000 people listen to a concert version of L'Intendant Bigot, including 8 of his living children, attending a performance for the first time.[22] Organized as part of the Fêtes de la Nouvelle-France on the evenings of August 7 and 8, this event receives widespread attention. The cast includes twenty singers under the artistic and musical direction of Bruno Laplante.Accompanied by 25 musicians from the Quebec Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Gilles Auger, the main performers are Manuel Blais, baritone, Réginald Côté, a tenor, France Duval, a soprano, Benoît Gendron, a tenor, Bruno Laplante, baritone, Line Malenfant, soprano and Sébastien Ouellet, baritone. Despite the lack of sets, the performers were all dressed up, and the two evenings were successfully narrated by Jacques Boulanger.
Twenty members of the Société lyrique de la Nouvelle Beauce formed the chorus. France Duval, one of the main performers, believed the music to be in a classical style, requiring a good register. She claims not to know " of another example of an opera of this scale written by a Quebecois, the importance of the work exceeds its artistic value. It's a part of our cultural heritage ".[23]
To mark the event with the descendants of the composer and some of the cast, a brunch was organized on Sunday, August 9 in Val-Bélair by Claire Voyer Allard, his youngest daughter.
Recordings and publications[]
In 1929, two excerpts of L'Intendant Bigot were recorded under the label Starr [25]: " Romance du marquis " sung by C.E. Brodeur and " Dans un petit village " sung by Marie-Rose Descarries. " In less than two months, wrote the editorial staff of the magazine La Lyre, more than ONE THOUSAND copies of the single " Dans un petit village ", were sold, sung so sweetly by Miss Marie-Rose Descarries. After 26 years in the music business in Montreal, we believe that this is a sales record that has never been achieved by Canadian work, during this period "[26].
On October 30, 1929, at Steinway Hall,[24] the soprano Audrie Rubanny, accompanied by the pianist Edgar Goodaire, integrates "Dans un petit village" to her recital which also included pieces by Debussy, Gabriel Fauré and Rupés.[25]
In 1997, the single " Ô mon ami, veuille le dire encore " is recorded by the duo Laplante-Duval on the CD l'Opérette française. The same excerpt is incorporated into their recital and will be sung during their European tour to Paris, Vienna, Zagreb, Belgrade and Budapest as well as in Brazil, Mexico and Venezuela.
Besides the publication of the libretto of L'Intendant Bigot, nothing was ever published from this work by the author during his lifetime.
It was not until 2000 that the Nouveau théâtre musical publishes, in collaboration with the Société des amis d'Ulric Voyer, the L'Intendant Bigot score and arrangements for voice and piano.[26] The Nouveau théâtre musical also published in 2007, a few vocal scores: « Ronde de l'Ours Noir » for bass voice and piano, « Quel sublime décor » for baritone and piano, « Dans un petit village » for soprano and piano and « Dans l'abandon, les noirs regrets » for tenor and piano.[27]
Other Works[]
- La duchesse en sabots: this one-act comic opera, featuring 45 extras, was performed on November 8 and 9, 1920 for the benefit of the parish church of Saint François d' Assise, in Quebec[28]
- Petit Mouton: composed between 1920 and 1923, this comic opera in 4 acts was never created. A 144-page manuscript of orchestration is kept in the family archives, as well as some violin and voice scores.[28]
- Triste réalité: on April 10 and 11, 1923, at the Académie de St-Sauveur, the dramatic 3 act work "Triste réalité", was performed at the Académie de St-Sauveur. The scene takes place in Saint-Sauveur (electoral district), in Quebec City and is interpreted by the Cercle dramatique Legault.[29]
- Jean-Marie: on the same occasion, excerpts of the opera Jean-Marie, composed by J.-Ulric Voyer, were also presented. The libretto was written in association with Alfred Rousseau.[30] François – Xavier Mercier, the tenor who directed this opera, remarked that " the plot is good, the scenes are well organised and the music is of an originality and a surprising truth. It is a real opera which I do not hesitate, he wrote, to place next to well known works.[31]
- Mademoiselle de Lanaudière : this comic opera in 3 acts and 4 scenes was composed in 1930, but was never performed because of the untimely death of the composer.[20] What survives is the libretto written by Henri Deyglun and the orchestration revised by G.-E. Lefebvre. A 205 page manuscript kept by Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec [32] and a 333-page manuscript kept in the family archives.
- Published scores: at the beginning of his career, some scores were published, among whom " Si vous m'aimez un peu ", a melody dedicated to A. B. (Alice Bédard), and " Prends garde à l'amour – Valse " published in 1913. In 1914, " Si tu savais " is published by John T. Hall Music and a sung waltz dedicated to Miss Alice Bédard " Je te dirais – Je t'aime " is published by the Éditions Le passe-temps of Montreal.[33]
The untimely death of the composer[]
Voyer died unexpectedly at the young age of 42, when he was struck by pulmonary congestion. He was survived by his wife, Alice Bédard and fifteen children, the youngest being only nine months old.[34]
On September 14, 2006, an epigraph, in memory of the composer, was affixed to the facade of the house he inhabited at 170 13th Street, in the Limoilou neighborhood of Quebec City.
References and Notes[]
- ^ 1892 Registre (photographies) au Greffe de Québec, Québec Paroisse St-Roch page 201
- ^ Mort subite de Monsieur Ulric Voyer, Le Soleil (quotidien), 8 January 1935 p. 3
- ^ Jump up to: a b Rubrique Le mois musical, " Notre premier opéra canadien.
- ^ " Le grand gala d'opéra réunira toute la société québécoise – Patronage de l'Hon.
- ^ Riel, « Notes biographiques – Le Maître A. Roberval », L'événement (quotidien), , p. 6
- ^ Jump up to: a b « La pièce de M. J.-U. Voyer a du succès à Montréal – Le premier opéra canadien a été joué hier soir au Monument National devant une assistance-record – Le libretto », Le Soleil (quotidien), , p. 4
- ^ " L'Intendant Bigot fera salle comble », L'événement, , p. 5
- ^ « Le plus grand événement théâtral de la saison », Le Soleil (quotidien), , p. 19
- ^ « L'Intendant Bigot », Le Mégantic (quotidien), , p. 1
- ^ J.-Ulric Voyer, L'Intendant Bigot – Opéra en 3 actes – Livret de J.-U. Voyer et Alfred Rousseau, musique de J.-U. Voyer (lire en ligne)
- ^ « Les romantiques – Site francophone dédié au roman féminin » (Consulted on July 11, 2016)
- ^ Jump up to: a b c Le Duo lyrique Laplante-Duval présente les principaux extraits de L'Intendant Bigot – Lecture publique pour les enfants du compositeur, samedi 14 décembre 1996 à 16 h à l'Institut Canadien de Québec, Québec, 1996, dépliant 1 p.
- ^ Monument national – Société canadienne d'opérette – mardi 5 février 1929 et jeudi 7 février, Création d'un opéra canadien en 3 actes, L'Intendant Bigot (Programme), Montréal, 1929, 22 p.
- ^ « Une entrevue de l'auteur de cet opéra canadien – Le compositeur de « L'Intendant Bigot, » M. Voyer, se réjouit de l'intérêt manifesté à son oeuvre.
- ^ Philippe Laframboise, « Vaillancourt, Honoré » (Consulted on August 8, 2016)
- ^ James B. McPherson, « San Carlo Opera Company » (Consulted on August 8, 2016)
- ^ " Un opéra canadien au Monument National », La Patrie (quotidien), , p. 35
- ^ La rédaction, " Note de la rédaction », La Lyre, , p. 5
- ^ « Mort subite », Le Soleil (quotidien), , p. 14
- ^ Jump up to: a b L'Oncle Gaspard, « Un grand ami de la musique », L'Événement (quotidien), , p. 4
- ^ « J.-Ulric Voyer », sur The Canadian Encyclopedia, (Consulted on October 7, 2019)
- ^ " L'Opéra L'Intendant Bigot », Journal de Québec (quotidien), , p. 9
- ^ Jacques Légaré, " Une vingtaine de Beaucerons vont chanter dans L'Intendant Bigot », Hebdo régional (Beauce), , p. 4
- ^ (en) " Audrie Rubanni's Recital », New York Times, , p. 29
- ^ Audrie Rubanni, Soprano – Program, 1929, 1 p., p. 1
- ^ J.-Ulric Voyer, Alfred Rousseau, Nouveau théâtre musical et Société des amis d'Ulric Voyer, L'Intendant Bigot [musique] : opéra historique canadien en 3 actes (1928) = historical Canadian opera in 3 acts (1928), Québec, Nouveau théâtre musical, 2000, XII, 344 p.
- ^ « Nouveau Théâtre Musical » (consulté le 8 août 2016)
- ^ Jump up to: a b « Premiers opéras », sur J.-Ulric Voyer, compositeur d'opéra canadien (Consulted on August 8, 2016)
- ^ " Jean-Marie et Triste réalité », Action catholique (quotidien), , p. 8
- ^ « Jean-Marie », Le Soleil (quotidien), , p. 8
- ^ « L'opéra Jean-Marie », Le Soleil (quotidien), , p. 2
- ^ [https://web.archive.org/web/20171223215945/http://iris.banq.qc.ca/alswww2.dll/APS_PRESENT_BIB?Style=Portal3&SubStyle=&Lang=FRE&ResponseEncoding=utf-8&no=0000243419&Via=Z3950&View=ISBD&Parent=Obj_659771470688393&SearchBrowseList=Obj_659771470688393&SearchBrowseListItem=94131&BrowseList=Obj_659771470688393%3FStyle%3DPortal3&SubStyle=&Lang=FRE&ResponseEncoding=utf-8&BrowseListItem=94131&QueryObject=Obj_659751470688393 Archived December 23, 2017, at the Wayback Machine « Mademoiselle de Lanaudière [manuscrit] : opéra-comique en 3 actes et 4 tableaux »], sur Catalogue Iris (Consulted on August 8, 2016)
- ^ « Musiques imprimées », sur J.-Ulric Voyer, compositeur d'opéra canadien (Consulted on August 9, 2016)
- ^ " Mort subite de monsieur Ulric Voyer », Le Soleil (quotidien), , p. 14
External links[]
- 1892 births
- 1935 deaths
- 20th-century classical composers
- Canadian opera composers
- Canadian composers
- Canadian male composers
- 20th-century Canadian male musicians