Overview
Synopsis
After his father鈥檚 untimely death, Hamlet is suspicious of his uncle Claudius, the new king, and his mother, Queen Gertrude. His suspicions are confirmed when he is visited by his father鈥檚 ghost, who demands that Hamlet take vengeance against them for his murder. Hamlet becomes so obsessed with the idea of taking a life that he neglects his other duties. One such duty was the care of his beloved Ophelie, who strays into madness believing that Hamlet no longer loves her. After spending such a long time considering the purpose of life, it is the reality of Ophelie鈥檚 death which finally persuades Hamlet to seek vengeance in his father鈥檚 name. He kills Claudius, sends his mother to a convent, and is crowned King of Denmark.
Ambroise Thomas鈥檚 operatic retelling of 厂丑补办别蝉辫别补谤别鈥檚 Hamlet, is a distilled version of this classic story, which focuses only on the important plot points in Hamlet鈥檚 life. Many of the original characters are removed, and the ending is fundamentally changed. Instead of dying from his own inaction, Hamlet realises the correct course of action, inspired by Laerte鈥檚 immediate desire for vengeance for his sister鈥檚 death, and another visit from his father鈥檚 ghost.
Show Information
- Music
- Ambroise Thomas
- Based On Book By
- William Shakespeare
- Libretto
- Michel Carré , Jules Barbier
- Based on the Play/Book/Film
- Hamlet by William Shakespeare
- Category
- Opera
- Age Guidance
- Thirteen Plus (PG-13)
- Number of Acts
- 5
- First Produced
- 1868
- Genres
- Drama, Tragedy
- Settings
- Period, Multiple Settings
- Time & Place
- Elsinor, Denmark, 16th century
- Cast Size
- medium
- Orchestra Size
- Large
- Dancing
- Some Dance
- Licensor
- None/royalty-free
- Ideal For
- Mostly Male Cast, Professional Opera, Star Vehicle Female, Star Vehicle Male, Includes Adult, Mature Adult, Young Adult, Elderly, Child, Early Teen, Late Teen Characters, Medium Cast
Context
Plot
Characters
| Name | Part Size | Gender | Vocal Part |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Lead |
Male |
Baritone |
|
|
Lead |
Female |
Mezzo-Soprano |
|
|
Lead |
Female |
Soprano |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Bass-Baritone, Bass |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Tenor |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Bass |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Tenor |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Bass |
|
|
Featured |
Male |
Bass |
|
|
Featured |
Male |
Baritone |
|
|
Featured |
Male |
Tenor |
|
|
Ensemble |
Either Gender |
Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano, Tenor, Baritone, Bass, Contralto |
Songs
Act One
Scene One - Elsinor, a hall in the palace
- 笔谤茅濒耻诲别
- No. 1 Introduction, March and Chorus 鈥楺ue nos chants montent jusqu'aux cieux鈥� - Chorus
- 鈥極 toi qui fus la femme de mon fr猫re鈥� - Le Roi, Chorus, La Reine
- No. 2 Recitative and duet 鈥榁ains regrets! Tendresse 茅ph茅m猫re!鈥� - Hamlet
- 鈥楳onseigneur!鈥� - Oph茅lie, Hamlet
- 鈥楧oute de la lumi猫re鈥� - Hamlet, Oph茅lie
- No. 3 Recit and Cavatina of La毛rte 鈥楽alut Au Prince Hamlet! Pour Mon Pays, En Serviteur鈥� - La毛rte, Hamlet, Oph茅lie, Chorus
- No. 4 Chorus of Officers and Pages 鈥楴argue de la tristesse!鈥� - Chorus, Horatio, Marcellus
Scene Two - The Esplanade
- 笔谤茅濒耻诲别
- No. 5 鈥榁iendra-T-Il?鈥� - Horatio, Hamlet, Marcellus
- Invocation 鈥楽pectre Infernal! Image V茅n茅r茅e! - Hamlet, Horatio, Marcellus
- 贰苍迟谤鈥檃肠迟别
Act Two
Scene One
- No. 6 Oph茅lie's Aria 鈥橝dieu, dit-il, ayez foi!鈥欌€� - Oph茅lie
- No. 7 Recitative 鈥楯e croyais pr猫s de vous trouver mon fils鈥� - La Reine, Oph茅lie
- Arioso 鈥楧ans son regard plus sombre鈥� La Reine, Oph茅lie
- No. 8 Duet 鈥楲'芒me de votre fils est 脿 jamais troubl茅e鈥� Le Roi, La Reine, Hamlet
- No. 9 Chorus of Comedians 鈥榁oici les histrions mand茅s par vous鈥� - Marcellus, Horatio, Chorus
- No. 10 Drinking Song鈥� O vin, dissipe la tristesse鈥� - Hamlet, Chorus Marcellus, Horatio
Scene Two - The grand hall of the palace, preparing for a festival
- No. 11 Danish March
- Recitative and prologue 鈥楤elle, permettez-nous鈥� - Hamlet, Oph茅lie
- Pantomime and finale 鈥楥'est le vieux Roi gonzague鈥� - Hamlet, Le Roi, La Reine, Chorus, Oph茅lie
- 鈥極 mortelle offense!鈥� - Le Roi, Oph茅lie, Marcellus, Polonius, Horatio, La Reine, Chorus
Act Three - A room in the Queen鈥檚 apartments
- No. 13 Monologue 鈥楨tre ou ne pas 锚tre鈥� - Hamlet
- No. 14 Recitative and Aria 鈥楯e t'implore, 么 mon fr猫re!鈥� - Le Roi, Hamlet, Polonius
- No. 15 Trio 鈥楢llez dans un clo卯tre, allez, oph茅lie鈥� - Hamlet, La Reine, Oph茅lie
- No. 16 Grand Duet 鈥楬amlet, ma douleur est immense鈥� - La Reine, Hamlet
- 鈥楳on fils!鈥� - Le Spectre, Hamlet, La Reine
Act Four - A shaded area with great trees
- No. 17 贰苍迟谤鈥檃肠迟别 and Village Dance 鈥楲a F锚te du Printemps鈥� - Chorus
- No. 18 Sc猫ne and aria of Oph茅lie 鈥楳ais quelle est cette belle et jeune danoise鈥� - Chorus, Oph茅lie
- 鈥楨t maintenant 茅coutez ma chansons!鈥� - Oph茅lie
- 鈥楽a raison a fui sans retour - Chorus
- Final 鈥楲e voil脿! Je crois l鈥檈ntendre鈥� - Oph茅lie, Chorus
- No. 19 Waltz-Ballet
- No. 20 Humming Chorus
Act Five - The Cemetery of Elsinor
- No. 21 Song of the Gravediggers 鈥楧ame ou prince, homme ou femme鈥� - Les Deux Fossoyeurs, Hamlet
- No. 22 Aria 鈥楲a fatigue alourdit mes pas...Comme une p芒le fleur鈥� - Hamlet
- Scene and Recitative 鈥楳ais qui marche dans l'ombre?鈥� - Hamlet, La毛rte
- No. 23 Funeral March and Chorus 鈥楨coute! Quel est ce bruit de pas?鈥� - Hamlet, La毛rte, Chorus
- No. 24 Finale 鈥極ph茅lie ! Hamlet !鈥� - Hamlet, Le Roi, La Reine, Marcellus, Horatio, Polonius, Le Spectre
A song with an asterisk (*) before the title indicates a dance number; a character listed in a song with an asterisk (*) by the character's name indicates that the character exclusively serves as a dancer in this song, which is sung by other characters.
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Guide Written By:
Wendy Silvester
Singer and vocal coach based in the UK.