JOSEPH BOLOGNE, CHEVALIER DE SAINT
L'Amant Anonyme
A French Opera
Sunday, March 19, 2023
An unjustly neglected 1780 chamber opera by Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, a pioneering Black composer. This is the only complete opera from him that is known to have survived.
David Fallis, Conductor
Robert Cooper, Chorus Director
Featuring
Dion Mazerolle as Ophémon
Ruth Acheampongas Jeannette
Alexander Cappellazzo as Valcour
Holly Chaplin as Leontine
Joshua Clemenger as Colin
SYNOPSIS
Valcour knows that he could never directly tell Leontine how he feels about her. After her husband died, leaving her independently wealthy, she swore never to entertain another relationship. This fact does not stop him from trying however, and for the past four years he has also played the role of an anonymous lover, sending her gifts and letters, but never revealing his identity. In fact, he has treated the whole situation with such an austere detachment, that Leontine could never suspect him.
However, playing this dual identity puts a great weight on Valcour, and he really feels that he can no longer love Leontine in secret. He creates a plan to reveal that he was the anonymous lover all along, and enlists the help of Ophemon, Leontine's tutor, and two of her friends from the village, Jeannette and Colin, who are about to get married. Whether Leontine returns his affection or not, at least he will have an answer, and will no longer bear the weight of hiding.
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