• Source: La dame blanche

La dame blanche (English: The White Lady) is an opéra comique in three acts by the French composer François-Adrien Boieldieu. The libretto was written by Eugène Scribe and is based on episodes from no fewer than five works of the Scottish writer Sir Walter Scott, including his novels Guy Mannering (1815), The Monastery (1820), and The Abbot (1820). The opera has typical elements of the Romantic in its Gothic mode, including an exotic Scottish locale, a lost heir, a mysterious castle, a hidden fortune, and a ghost, in this case benevolent. The work was one of the first attempts to introduce the fantastic into opera and is a model for works such as Giacomo Meyerbeer's Robert le diable (1831) and Charles Gounod's Faust (1859). The opera's musical style also heavily influenced later operas like Lucia di Lammermoor, I puritani and La jolie fille de Perth.




Performance history


La dame blanche was first performed on 10 December 1825 by the Opéra-Comique at the Théâtre Feydeau in Paris. It was a major success and became a standby of the 19th century operatic repertory in France and Germany. By 1862, the Opéra-Comique had given more than 1,000 performances of La dame blanche.
It was first performed in England in English as The White Lady at the Drury Lane Theatre on 9 October 1826, and in the United States in French at the Théâtre d'Orléans on 6 February 1827.
The opera's popularity began to diminish towards the very end of the 19th century and performances since have been rare. The opera was revived in Paris in 1996 by the conductor Marc Minkowski and in 2020 at the Opéra Comique. Various recordings of the opera have been made (see below).
The overture was put together from Boieldieu's themes by his student Adolphe Adam.




Musical analysis


Boieldieu's score is highly expressive and full of striking numbers. Of particular note are Jenny's ballad, Brown's entrance aria and the music sung by Anna, which is highly florid and preceded by harp arpeggios whenever the White Lady appears. The central dramatic focus of the opera is the auction scene, an ensemble in the Italian style which has an intensity not equalled or surpassed by any other opéra comique of that period, either by Boieldieu or his contemporaries. The aria from the opera that is most often performed today in recital is the tenor aria, "Viens, gentille dame" ("Come, Gentle Lady"). The opera also makes use of Scottish folk tunes.




Roles






Synopsis


Place: Scotland
Time: 1753
The Count and Countess Avenel have both died in exile, leaving the fate of their castle and estate to their wicked and dishonest steward, Gaveston. The property is supposed to go to the Avenels' son, Julien, but he is missing. Dickson, a tenant farmer on the land of the late Count, and his spouse Jenny are about to celebrate the baptism of their infant son when they realize that they do not have a godfather. A youthful officer in the English army, Georges Brown, offers to assume this role. Dickson informs Brown that the castle is going to be auctioned by Gaveston, who hopes to buy it and the title for himself. Jenny sings the Ballad of The White Lady ("D’ici voyez ce beau domaine"), the "White Lady" being the guardian spirit of the Avenels. Dickson receives correspondence from the White Lady, beckoning him to the castle. As he is too frightened to obey, Brown goes in his place.
Meanwhile, Anna, an orphan raised by the Avenels, tells the elderly housekeeper Marguerite how she cared for an injured soldier who reminded her of Julien, who was her childhood sweetheart. Gaveston proclaims his plans for the auction the next morning. Brown appears, seeking shelter for the night. Left alone, he sings the cavatina, "Viens, gentille dame". Anna enters, disguised as The White Lady, in a white veil. She recognizes Brown as the soldier she took care of in Hanover. Tomorrow he must obey her implicitly. Brown agrees to do so.
The following morning the auction takes place. On behalf of the Avenel tenants, Dickson bets in opposition to Gaveston but quickly reaches his limit. Encouraged by Anna to help Dickson, Brown places a bid in the auction and soon outbids the steward, buying the castle for 500,000 francs. However, Dickson does not have the money and if he does not pay before midday he will be thrown into prison.
Anna and Marguerite look for the statue of the White Lady, in which is stashed the wealth of the Avenels. Brown has a curious feeling that he somehow remembers the castle. Meanwhile, Gaveston receives the news that Georges Brown is in fact the missing Julien Avenel, although Brown himself does not know it. Anna overhears the news and sets a plan in motion. At the strike of 12 noon, the White Lady appears with a treasure chest. Thwarted, Gaveston tears off her veil in a rage to expose Anna, who then reveals Brown's true identity as Julien. Julien and Anna are happily reunited.




Libretto


La dame blanche (French Wikisource)




Recordings


1961 – Michel Sénéchal (Georges Brown), Françoise Louvay (Anna), Jane Berbié (Jenny), Aimé Doniat (Dickson), Adrien Legros (Gaveston), Germaine Baudoz (Marguerite), Pierre Héral (Macirton) – Orchestre et Choeurs Raymond Saint-Paul, Pierre Stoll (conductor) – (Véga, Accord)
1964 – Nicolai Gedda, Mimi Aarden, Sophia Van Sant, Guus Hoekman, Erna Spoorenberg, Henk Drissen and Franz Vroons with Jean Fournet conducting the Hilversum Radio Chorus and Hilversum Radio Orchestra. Issued by Melodram and Opera D'Oro
1996 – Rockwell Blake (Georges Brown), Annick Massis (Anna), Mireille Delunsch (Jenny), Jean-Paul Fouchécourt (Dickson), Laurent Naouri (Gaveston), Sylvie Brunet (Marguerite), conducted by Marc Minkowski with the Choeur de Radio France and the Ensemble Orchestral de Paris (EMI Classics)




References


Notes

Sources

Loewenberg, Alfred (1978). Annals of Opera 1597–1940 (third edition, revised). Totowa, New Jersey: Rowman and Littlefield. ISBN 978-0-87471-851-5.
Warrack, John; West, Ewan (1992). The Oxford Dictionary of Opera. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-869164-5.




External links


Media related to La Dame blanche at Wikimedia Commons
• Source: La Dame Blanche

Yaité Ramos Rodriguez (born 31 August 1974), also known by her stage name La Dame Blanche, is a Cuban singer, flutist and percussionist. She has a classical training in transverse flute in the National Art School in La Habana. but her music combines hip-hop, cumbia, reggae, electro and Afro-Cuban tradition. She has been based in Paris since 1998




Biography


Yaité Ramos Rodriguez was born on 31 August 1974 in Pinar del Rio, Cuba. Yaite is the daughter of Iris Rodriguez and Jesus "Aguaje" Ramos, a trombonist and artistic director of the Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club. Yaite is also the niece of Mayito Rivera, ex singer of Los Van Van. Yaite moved to La Habana and studied transverse flute in the National Art School (Escuela Nacional de Arte). She graduated in 1994 and joined the female septet Sabor a Miel, where she sang traditional, folk, rumba, boleros and Afro-Cuban music to earn a living. In 1998 Yaite moved to Paris, France, where she sang in the all-girl salsa band Rumbana, joined the Grand Orchestre du Splendid, became back-up singer for Sergent Garcia and live singer for El Hijo de la Cumbia. All those experiences added to her emancipation from the family heritage and helped her develop her own musical language.




= La Dame Blanche

=
In 2014 Yaite Ramos Rodriguez becomes La Dame Blanche and releases "Piratas" her first LP published by Wakan Tanka Record and produced by Emiliano Gómez and Marc "Babylotion" Damblé. In several interviews she explains that her father was not very pleased with her musical identity telling her that she did not know what else to make herself. La Dame Blanche presented her first LP in prestigious venues such as "Les Suds" festival in Arles, France.
In 2016, La Dame Blanche released her second album "2", also produced by Marc Damblé and Emiliano Gómez and published by Wakan Tanka Records. The album has 17 songs that balance an influence of Latin rhythms with elements of hip-hop, dub, reggae, world music and electronica. The lyrics are focused on social issues and stories from her own neighborhood that are combined with flows that pass through various parts of the world. Some of the artists that collaborate in this album are: Philippe Cohen-Solal (Gotan Project), Toy Selectah (Control Machette), DJ Nakeye, Flaco Nuñez (Orishas) and her daughter Rachel.
La Dame Blanche was invited to perform at the South by Southwest (SXSW) Music Festival in Austin, Texas, the WOMEX Festival in Poland, the WOMAD Charlton Park Festival and GlobalFest in New York City. She soon began her first American tour. On stage, La Dame Blanche gives homage to her upbringing in the tobacco-rich region with a cigar in hand, a glass of rum, necklaces, white flowers and turban, feeding the energy of the spirits of Santeria, her Afro-Cuban religion. Her stage name refers to a fearsome yet benevolent mythical figure: witch, sorcerer and healer.
In May 2018, La Dame Blanche released “Bajo el mismo cielo” (Under the same sky) by National Records. According to the artist, this album is a declaration of her identity as a musician and black Cuban woman, resulting in a genre that she describes as hip-hop-urbano-Cubano. In this album, La Dame Blanche worked with numerous musicians including Manteiga, a singer from the South African group Batuk on "Mentira"; Mexican duo Celso Piña and Serko Fu on "Dos Caras; Nelson Palacios, singer and Cuban multi-instrumentalist on “No Puedo Loco"; and Brazilian rapper Rincon Sapiência on "El Sumo Sacerdote". The sixth track, "Bajo El Mismo Cielo," features the Spanish singer and flamenco guitarist Sergio Aguilera.
In September 2020, La Dame Blanche released "ELLA", published by Nacional Records. This fourth album by La Dame Blanche is a tribute to her mother, and all of the women that inhabit her. "ELLA" was recorded between Paris (Substudioz) and Mexico City (T-Vox Records). It was produced by Marc "Babylotion'' Damblé and includes beats by French artist Baja Frequencia (La Mulata) and Costarican artist Barzo (La Desconfiada). "ELLA" is a concept album whose ten tracks tell the stories of ten different women. For instance, in La Creyente, which was written during the news about the Amazon fires, Yaite shows her more spiritual side. La Maltratada is a cry for all of the women suffering abuse in the world. The cover art of the album was created by Romanian artist Livia Fălcaru.
In 2021 La Dame Blanche released a series of singles which included: VENENO, inspired by pandemic lockdown and performed at a COLORS SHOW session; MATA SEDE, a downtempo track recorded in collaboration with Brazilian actress Amanda Magalhaes and LA TRAMPA, written together with Mexican artist Pahua.
During 2022 and 2023, La Dame Blanche toured United States, performed at the Vive Latino Festival in Mexico City and also in France, Switzerland, Italy, Denmark, Spain, Belgium and the United Kingdom. She recorded and collaborated with Sol Pereyra and Juli Lasso from Argentina, Villano Antillano, trans rapper from Puerto Rico, La Perla and Dawer X Damper from Colombia, Novalima from Peru, Chico Trujillo from Chile and Nakury from Costa Rica.
In december 2023, La Dame Blanche released her fifth album "Atómica" produced by Marc "Babylotion" Damblé and published by Nacional Records. The album debuted with the single "Mi Negro", inspired by multiple-Latin GRAMMY nominated rapper Akapellah’s "Mi Negra" – an ode to black women, their strength and their beauty. La Dame Blanche responds with words of gratitude, mutual respect and admiration.




Discography






= Studio albums

=
Piratas (2014)
2 (2016)
Bajo el mismo cielo (2018)
ELLA (2020)
Atómica (2023)




= Singles

=
"Cógelo con Calma" (2020)
"La Mentalista" (2020)
"La Maltratada" (2020)
"Mata Sede" feat. Amanda Magalhaes (2021)
"Veneno" (2021)
"Qué más quieres que te dé" (2021)
"A la Verita Tuya (Shangó Remix)" (2022)
"Wine" feat. Nakury (2022)
"Mala Mía" feat. Sol Pereyra (2023)
"Oídos Sordos" (2023)
"Como Loba" (2023)
"Los fines de semana" (2023)
"Bailarina" – Mula (2023)




= Collaborations

=
"La Trampa" – Pahua (2021)
"Muy Loca" – Bassajam (2023)
"No azara" – Dawer x Damper (2023)
"Olvidarte Nunca" – Julieta Laso (2023)
"El remanso" – Tercos (2023)
"Que se cuide ese muchacho" – Renee Goust y Khylie Rylo (2024)
"María" – Niña Dioz (2024)




References

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Notre-Dame de Paris
• Opéra-Comique
• Mont Blanc
• Nuit Blanche
• Alis dari Bretagne
• Komune di departemen Calvados (A-L)
• Komune di departemen Calvados (M-Z)
• Victorien Sardou
• François-Adrien Boieldieu
• Komune di departemen Savoie
• La dame blanche
• La Dame Blanche
• Dame Blanche
• Dame Blanche (resistance)
• White Lady
• François-Adrien Boieldieu
• List of Outlander episodes
• Dames blanches
• Emprise de l'Escu vert à la Dame Blanche
• Louise-Rosalie Lefebvre