Lalo's Le Roi d'Ys

Composed between 1875 and 1878, Le roi d'Ys was met with incredible success, with 100 performances the year of its premiere. The soprano Giuseppina Piunti (Margared) joins the Wallonie-Liège Royal Opera Orchestra under the direction of par Patrick Davin, and Jean-Louis Pichon’s staging bring this chef-d’œuvre of the Wagnerian opera to new heights. 

Written by Édouard Blau, the libretto of the opera Le roi d’Ys (“The King of Ys”) has all the elements of a Romantic tale: love, jealousy, fear, and a touch of magic. Inspired by a legend from France’s region of Brittany of the city and castle of Ys, it tells the story of the King Gradlon and his daughter Ahès-Dahut who gave the key to the lock to one of her lovers so that he can come to her bed. Set to colorful and contrast-filled music, the plot mixes with that of Lohengrin and the conclusion comes from the Ghost Ship. Ever original, Lalo’s harmonic writing is at its height in the overture, and the Andantino that paints the portrait of Rozenn one of the King of Ys’s daughters is without a doubt one of the most spectacular pages of the French symphonic repertoire.