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A quick overview of Thomas’ 1868 opera of Shakespeare’s tragedy.

Premiered

1868

Music by

Ambroise Thomas

Libretto by

Michel Carré
and Jules Barbier

Language

French

In the first half of the 19th century, French opera was transformed as audiences drew away from the excesses of Grand Opéra and began to covet emotionally thrilling dramas. Evidence of this shift can be seen in the work of contemporary French composers such as Ambroise Thomas (1811-1896), Charles Gounod (1818-1893), and Georges Bizet (1838-1875), whose works were calculated to appeal to the middle-class taste for dramatically naïve, melodically sweet operas.

Paris audiences, who primarily viewed their opera experiences as melodic backgrounds to social maneuvering, loved Thomas’ Hamlet for its sprightly dances, hearty choruses, and poignant dramatic moments.

Carré and Barbier’s powerfully dramatic libretto, coupled with Thomas’ expert understanding of the human voice and atmospheric scene-painting, made Hamlet Thomas’ masterpiece and only success at the Opéra.

While French audiences were duly impressed by this intertwining of story and melody, audiences of its Covent Garden premiere in 1869 were appalled at what they felt was a bastardization of one of the greatest English texts of all time.

To suit the audience, a revised version was constructed which more closely mirrored the plot of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, and it is this revised version which has become popular in recent years.

Though Mignon (1866) and Hamlet (1868) were his only lasting successes, Thomas was a significant figure in 19th-century French opera and his lyrical sentimentalism set the stage for the masterpieces of composers such as Gounod, Saint-Saëns, and Bizet.

Act I

In the castle of Elsinore, a celebration is taking place for Queen Gertrude and her new husband Claudius, King of Denmark. Prince Hamlet mourns the death of his father and is stunned by the hasty second marriage of his mother to his uncle Claudius.

Act II

Hamlet’s lover, Ophelia, is afraid he will leave the Court because of his mother’s actions, and begs him to reaffirm his love. Outside the castle walls, Hamlet sees the ghost of his father, who tells Hamlet that he was murdered by Claudius. The ghost makes Hamlet swear to avenge his death but not to harm his mother.

Fearing that Hamlet no longer loves her, Ophelia asks Gertrude’s permission to leave the Court but is refused. Claudius attempts to calm Gertrude’s fears about her son’s strange behavior while simultaneously worrying that Hamlet suspects the crime.

Hamlet offers to entertain the Court by persuading a group of actors to perform a play about the murder of King Gonzago, which mirrors the death of his father and implicates his uncle. Hamlet sees Claudius’ guilty reaction and accuses him of murder.

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