Il viaggio a Reims, ossia L'albergo del giglio d'oro (The Journey to Reims, or The Hotel of the Golden Fleur-de-lis) is an operatic dramma giocoso, originally performed in three acts,[1] by Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Balocchi [ca], based in part on the 1807 novel Corinne ou l'Italie by Germaine de Staël.
Rossini's last opera in the Italian language (all of his later works were in French) premiered under the title Le voyage à Reims, ou l'Hôtel du Lys-d'Or.
It was published in Milan, in 1938, in a revision by Giuseppe Piccioli,[3] which was first performed in the Teatro alla Scala, on 5 November 1938, conducted by Richard Strauss.
Il viaggio a Reims was first performed at the Théâtre Italien's Salle Louvois, Paris, on 19 June 1825, with Giuditta Pasta as Corinna.
It was expensive to stage, but Rossini resisted moving it to the larger Salle Lepeletier with the potential of raising more money, because he had learned that his operas Mosè in Egitto and La donna del lago were more effective in smaller theatres.
In 1992, The Royal Opera, London, gave several performances: Carlo Rizzi conducted, and the cast included Montserrat Caballé, Renée Fleming, Sylvia McNair, John Aler and Andrew Shore.
The Polish premiere was given in April 2003, directed by Tomasz Konina, with, among others, Ewa Podleś as Marchesa Melibea and Rockwell Blake as Count Libenskoff (Alberto Zedda conducted).
[5] In November 2005 there was another production in Monte Carlo, with a cast including June Anderson, Raùl Gimenez, Rockwell Blake, and Ruggero Raimondi.
The Wiener Staatsoper produced the opera in its Rossini Festival conducted by Claudio Abbado, with Montserrat Caballé and again Ruggero Raimondi.
[8] Scene 1: Introduction The housekeeper Maddalena is unhappy with the preparations made by the servants for the arrival of the important people who are travelling to Reims for the coronation of Charles X of France.
She regrets that she will be unable to attend the coronation ("Di vaghi raggi adorno"), but is keen to show off the hotel to the visitors in the hope that they will return some day to take the waters.
Modestina had entrusted the letter to the Countess's cousin, Don Luigino, who immediately arrives to say that the stagecoach which he had hired to carry the boxes had overturned on the way.
("Non pavento alcun periglio") A harp prelude is heard, and the poetess Corinna sings offstage of brotherly love, to everyone's delight.
("Arpa gentil") Scene 1: Lord Sidney's aria Madame Cortese is still waiting for the return of her servant Gelsomino with news of the horses.
("Invan strappar dal core") His mood lifts when girls singing in praise of Corinna enter with flowers, but then he is disturbed by Don Profondo's strange requests for information about the location of antiquities, and departs.
He then turns his attention to enumerating the effects of his fellow-travellers (as requested by the Baron), noting that their possessions tend to sum up each of their nations' characteristics.
The rest of the travellers arrive, and the Baron produces the courier Zefirino, who is obliged to report that there are no horses to be had anywhere, not even for ready money.
A stagecoach will convey them there on the following day, but in the meantime a grand banquet, with invitations to the public, will be held at the Golden Lily, paid for with the money that would have been spent at the coronation.
Scene 2: Finale After the opening chorus ("L'allegria è un sommo bene"), the Baron introduces a series of short national songs sung by each of the travellers, some of them set to well-known tunes (Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser and God Save the King), and ending with, first, a French song (praising the Duchesse de Berry)[9] sung by the Countess Folleville and the Chevalier Belfiore, then a rustic Tyrolean duet for Madame Cortese and Don Profondo, and finally an improvised solo for Corinna on one of a number of mostly French subjects suggested by each traveller and drawn from an urn.