Roland 2nd edition, 1709

 Roland is one of three operas by composer Jean-Baptiste Lully and librettist Philippe Quinault based on the medieval legends of chivalry (the other two are Amadis and Armide). Roland sets episodes from Ludovico Ariosto's Orlando furioso. And, like its sibling Armide, Roland centers on the conflict between duty and love. Acts I-III portray this conflict within Angélique, Queen of Cathay, while the remaining acts concern Roland's unrequited love for Angélique, which is resolved only when the goddesses Glory and Fame show him that this too is a struggle between duty and love. 

The newly-found peace alluded to in the prelude was the "Truce of Ratisbon."  The exotic characters from Ariosto's poem (Angélique, Queen of Cathay, and Médor, an African warrior) also allowed Quinault to refer to other current events: the presence of an embassy from Siam, who had arrived the previous year, and the recent campaign against Barbary pirates off the coast of Tripoli waged by the French navy under Admiral Duquesne.[1]  

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[1] Robert M. Isherwood, Music in the Service of the King: France in the Seventeenth Century (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1973), 235.

The "Palace of Demogorgon" provides the setting for the Prologue. Fairies and genies celebrate the recently restored peace and make preparations to entertain their hero (a reference to the king, Louis XIV) with the story of Roland. 

Act I takes place in a modest hamlet. Finding the wounded African warrior Médor on the battlefield, Angélique, Queen of Cathay, has nursed him back to health and, in the process, fallen deeply in love. The famed knight Roland, however, loves her as well. Embarrassed by this situation, Angélique rejects Médor because he is of inferior lineage ("Ah! quel tourment")–although she sends her confidante, Témire, to comfort him. Through his friend Ziliante, Roland sends a bracelet to Angélique with a message that she alone is his desire, not fame nor honor nor glory. 

Act II begins in a forest where Angélique searches in vain for the fountain of hate, finding instead the enchanted fountain of love. Hearing Roland approach, she uses a magic ring given to her by her father to become invisible. Roland laments that he is unable to continue without her love ("Angélique, ingrate, inhumaine"). Roland leaves and Médor appears, drawing his sword to commit suicide. Angélique, moved by his suffering, reveals herself and her love for him. The act ends with a pastoral celebration of their love. 

The Act III curtain rises on a seaport. Angélique's attempts to reason with Roland have been unsuccessful. She and Médor plot to escape Roland's wrath by sailing away. As part of this plot, Angélique feigns love for Roland and agrees to meet him. Now free, Médor and Angélique share an extended love scene after which Angélique introduces Médor to the people of Cathay. 

Act IV takes place in a grotto in the midst of the forest, where Roland awaits Angélique. There he finds an inscription on a tree telling of the love between Angélique and Médor. An approaching wedding party (that of shepherds Belise and Coridon) finds the distraught Roland and, in the course of their celebrations, reveal the love of Angélique and Médor and the plans for their departure. Unable to control his grief and anger, Roland goes mad, destroying anything within reach ("Je suis trahi! Ciel!"). 

The scene for Act V changes to the Palace of the wise fairy Logistille. Roland's friend, Astolfe, begs the fairy Logistille to return Roland to his senses. She causes a deep sleep to envelop Roland and then invokes the spirits of dead heroes whose virtuous lives serve as an example to Roland ("Roland courez aux armes"). Roland awakes,ashamed yet still grieving over the loss of Angélique. Glory and Fame enter and caution him never to forget this lesson of duty and love.  

Title from title page: ROLAND / TRAGEDIE / MISE EN MUSIQUE.
Genre: tragédie lyrique (Tragédie en musique)
Siglum from Lully thematic catalog: LWV 65
Composer: Jean-Baptiste Lully, 1632-1687
Librettist: Philippe Quinault, 1635-1688
Libretto based on: Ludovico Ariosto's romantic epic Orlando furioso
Setting: Medieval Cathay
Premiere: Versailles, court, 8 January 1685
First published: Paris: Christophe Ballard, 1685
Volume in the UNT Lully Collection: Second edition, Paris: de Baussen, 1709

For further reading on Roland, see:

Newman, Joyce.  Jean-Baptiste Lully and his Tragédies Lyriques.  UMI Research Press, 1979.

Rosow, Lois.  "Roland (i)."  In Grove Music Online.  Edited by Laura Macy.  Accessed 4 May 2005 <http://www.grovemusic.com>

See the Lully bibliography for more suggested reading.

M1500 .L95 1709

Reduced score: Engraved. 2°: 1 A-3M² 3N1. P2, 1-233. 35 ¼ x 24 ¼ cm.

This copy of Roland (composer Jean-Baptiste Lully, librettist Philippe Quinault) in the Lully Collection is a second edition engraved in 1709 by Henri de Baussen (credited on the title page and signed "De Baussen Sculpsit" on final page) and sold in competition with the scores printed and sold by Christophe Ballard, who held the exclusive patent for printing music in France under Louis XIV. Between 1708 and 1711, de Baussen was involved in the production of several engraved "second editions" of Lully operas that led to a lawsuit with Ballard.

Condition: The present binding, of cardboard with leather spine, probably dates from the 19th century. Author, title and decorative rules in gilt on the spine. Plain endpapers. Pages discolored, mend on final page.

Provenance: North Texas State College bookplate on front pastedown endpaper and library stamp at bottom of title page. Ownership mark ("F.K."?) in upper right corner of title page.

RISM A/I L3028