L'Heure espagnole

Place and time: The plot takes place in Toledo, in the 18th century

Characters: Concepción, Torquemada's wife (Soprano) – Gonzalve, bachelier (Tenor) – Torquemada, clockmaker (Trial (Tenor)) – Ramiro, muleteer (Baryton-Martin) – Don Iñigo Gomez, banker (Bassbuffo)

Maurice Ravel gives free rein to his enthusiasm for Spain in this one-hour comedy (L’Heure!). Dances such as Jota, Habanera, Seguidilla and Malagueña shimmer through, and in places Bizet's dramatic Carmen is travestied with admiration. Based on first editions and the autographs, Jean-François Monnard presents in L’Heure espagnole a meticulous Urtext that corrects in detail all previous shortcomings, and, especially in the vocal parts, resolves the discrepancies between the piano vocal score published in 1908 and the full score published three years later. The appendix to the full score and piano vocal score includes a new German/English prose translation of the libretto.

solos: STTBarB – orch: picc.2.cor ang.2.B-clar.2.sarrusophone – 4.2.3.1 – timp.perc(6) – 2pp – cel – str