Louis Fremaux - Massenet: Le Cid - Offenbach: Overtures

More than any others of Massenet's operas, Le Cid may be said to be an essay in the "grand" Meyerbeerian style. It was first performed in 1885, with the great Jean de Reszke in the title role. Le Cid was the name given to Rodrigo de Vivar, a famous Spanish knight of the 11^th century whose exploits, as recounted by various authors, have inspired many operas, most of them now forgotten. Massenet's story is an adaptation of a tragedy by Pierre Corneille (1606-1684). Le Cid challenges his beloved's father, who has insulted the knight's father, to a duel, and kills him. The distraught daughter swears vengeance over the father's dead body, but in the end the lovers are reunited. The ballet occurs in Act II and provides the opportunity for much seductive and exotic Spanish flavored music, set at a spring festival in the square in Burgos.