Les Troyens, H 133 (Berlioz, Hector)
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Prélude à Les Troyens à Carthage (Act III)
Complete Score
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Charles Malherbe (1853–1911)
Felix Weingartner (1863–1942)
Hector Berlioz Werke, Serie II, Band 5.
Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel, 1900–1907. Plate H.B. 14
Reprint – Mineola: Dover Publications
Parts
Chasse royale et Orage (Act IV)
Cellos and Double Basses
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Vocal Scores
French
Acts I, II (La Prise de Troie) – 2nd edition
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Louis Narici (1858–1935), piano reduction
Paris: Choudens, n.d. (ca.1892, but released 1899). Plate A.C. 11,312.
Bookmarked by Act.
Note: The original Act I is here split into “Acts I and II”; the two tableaux of Act II now are made into “Act III”, however the second of these is mysteriously split into two tableaux!
Prélude, Marche troyenne, Acts III, IV and V (Les Troyens à Carthage)
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Hector Berlioz, piano reduction; First Edition
Paris: Choudens, n.d. (ca.1863). Plate A.C. 988.
This reprint of Berlioz’s privately published 1862 vocal score of Les troyens reflects the 1863 performance, which consisted of only half of the opera, and was thus entitled Les Troyens à Carthage. It lacks Acts I and II; it includes the Prélude and a prologue incorporating the Marche troyenne, which were composed to cover the omission of those acts. There are three further cuts in this score, in Acts IV and V: the Act IV duet of Anna and Narbal; the Act V duet of two Trojan soldiers, and the confrontation between Énée and Didon at the end of the same tableau.
Note: Act III is renamed as “Act I”; the two tableaux of Act IV become “Acts II and III” respectively; the first tableau of Act V is renamed as “Act IV”, and the remainder of the Act remains as “Act V”.
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General Information
| Work Title | Les Troyens |
|---|---|
| Alternative Title | The Trojans |
| Composer | Berlioz, Hector |
|---|---|
| Opus/Catalogue Number | H 133 |
| Number of Movements/Sections | Grand opera in 5 acts |
| Average Duration | 4 Hours |
| Year/Date of Composition | 1856–58 |
| Year of First Publication | 1863 (vocal score) 1885 (abridged full score) 1969 (complete full score) |
| Librettist | Berlioz, after Virgil’s Aeneid |
| Language | French |
| Dedication | à Princess Carolyne Sayn-Wittgenstein |
| Genre | Opera |
| Piece Style | Romantic |
| Instrumentation | Piccolo, 2 Flutes (1 Doubling Piccolo), 2 + 3 Oboes (1 Doubling English Horn), 2 Clarinets (1 Doubling Bass Clarinet), 4 Bassoons 4 Horns, 2 Trumpets, 2 Cornets, 3 + 3 Trombones, Ophicleide (or Tuba) Sopranino Saxhorn, 2 Soprano Saxhorns, 2 Alto Saxhorns, 2 Tenor Saxhorns, 2 Contrabass Saxhorns Timpani, Triangle, Bass Drum, Cymbals + More Cymbals, Tambourine, Crotales, Tam-Tam, Tarbuka 6-8 Harps, and Strings Mixed Choruses of Trojans, Greeks, Tyrenians, Carthagians, Nymphes, Satyrs, Fauna, Sylvains, and Ghosts. Solo Sopranos: Ascagne, Polyxène, and Hécube Solo Tenors: Énée, Iopas, Hylas, and Helenus. Solo Altos and Mezzo-Sopranos: Cassandre, Didon, and Anna. Solo Basses: Chorèbe (Baritone), Panthée, Narbal, Priam, Un Chef Grec, L'Ombre d'Hector, Le Dieu Mercure, and Un Prêtre de Pluton. |
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Misc. Comments
Conceived as a grand opera in five acts and composed between 1856 and 1858, the work was refused by the Paris Opéra. The compromises that Berlioz had to make to get half of the work performed in 1863 at the much smaller Théâtre-Lyrique led him to divide the work into two parts, La prise de Troie (The capture of Troy), and Les Troyens à Carthage (The Trojans in Carthage), with a new Prélude à Les Troyens à Carthage composed in 1863 as an overture to the second part, along with a short prologue reworking excerpts from Acts I and II; the second part was also shorn of ballet music, and underwent further cuts owing to the difficulties of staging.
Les Troyens à Carthage, was premiéred at the Théâtre-Lyrique, Paris, on 4 November 1863.
La prise de Troie was first performed in a concert version in Paris in 1879, and first staged as an opera in Karlsruhe, Germany, on 6 December 1890.
Performances of the complete opera Les Troyens in five acts as Berlioz intended, did not occur until the 20th century, and the first complete performance in Paris only occurred as recently as 2003.
Personnages
- Énée (ténor), héros troyen, fils de Venus et d’Anchise
- Chorèbe (baryton), jeune prince d’Asie, fiancé de Cassandre
- Panthée (basse), prêtre troyen, ami d’Énée
- Narbal (basse), ministre de Didon
- Iopas (ténor), poète tyrien de la cour de Didon
- Ascagne (soprano), jeune fils d’Énée (15 ans)
- Cassandre (mezzo-soprano), prophétesse troyenne, fille de Priam
- Didon (mezzo-soprano), reine de Carthage, veuve de Sichée prince de Tyr
- Anna (contralto), sœur de Didon
Coryphées
- Hylas (ténor ou contralto), jeune matelot phrygien
- Priam (basse), roi des Troyens
- Un Chef Grec (basse)
- L’Ombre d’Hector (basse), héros troyen, fils de Priam
- Helenus (ténor), prêtre troyen, fils de Priam
- Deux Soldats Troyens (basses)
- Le Dieu Mercure (baryton ou basse)
- Un Prêtre de Pluton (basse)
- Polyxène (soprano), sœur de Cassandre
- Hécube (soprano), reine des Troyens
Personnages muets
- Andromaque, veuve d’Hector
- Asyanax, son fils (8 ans)
Chœurs
- Troyens, Grecs, Tyriens, et Carthaginois
- Nymphes, Satyres, Faunes et Sylvaines
- Ombres Invisibles (Il faut une certaine de choristes surnuméraires)
Publication History
- 1862: Publication of complete Piano-Vocal Score by means of private subscription by Berlioz through the printer Thierry.
- 1863: As Léon Carvalho was unable to stage the entire opera, Berlioz modified it to allow it to be staged as two operas; thus Antoine Choudens reprinted the 1862 publication in two volumes, A.C. 987 (La Prise de Troie) and A.C. 988 (Les Troyens à Carthage), adding to the latter the newly composed material for the 1863 performance. Both went on sale but as the run of performances had increasing numbers of cuts made, Choudens similarly trimmed the latter Vocal Score to match.
- 1885: Choudens published full score of Les Troyens à Carthage (plate number unknown).
- 1892: Choudens printed a new edition of the vocal scores, incorporating a new piano reduction by Louis Narici: A.C. 11,258 (Les Troyens [à Carthage]) and A.C. 11,312 (La Prise de Troie), the latter score may have been released somewhat later (the Variations project copy includes a list of artists involved in Taffanel’s 1899 performance).
- Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel, n.d., as part of Hector Berlioz Werke (1900–07), Supplement, Band XXII–XXIII, edited by Charles Malherbe and Felix Weingartener. Apparently a reprint of the Choudens full score with minimal editorial reworking; reprinted in the Kalmus Miniature Score series.
- Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1969–70, BA 5442, as part of New Berlioz Edition (1967–2005), Volume 2a (Acts I, II), 2b (Acts III–V), 2c (Supplement), edited by Hugh Macdonald. First complete full score.


