COMTE ORY, LE
(Count Ory)

Melodramma giocoso in two acts by Gioachino Rossini (1792-18680, to a libretto by Scribe and Delestre-Poirson. First performance:  Paris, Opera, 20 August 1828

The action takes place in and around the castle of Formoutiers, about the year 1200. Count Ory (tenor), with the heir of his friend Raimbaud (baritone), has disguised himself as a hermit, so he can gain entry to the castle and court the Countess Adèle (soprano). Enter Isolier (mezzo-soprano), the Count's page, who fails to recognize his master and confides in him about his own love for Adèle. When the Countess approaches the "hermit,'' he tells her about the page's feelings, but asks her to stay away from him. While the perplexed Countess is preparing to return to her castle, the Count's tutor (bass) arrives and unmasks Ory, to everyone's dismay. Night falls. A group of poor women on a pilgrimage call at the castle. They tell the Countess they have been threatened by the Count, and so she welcomes them in. The pilgrims turn out to be the Count Ory and some of his knights dressed as women. But then Isolier appears on the scene, realizes the deception, and plans with the Countess to play a trick on his bold rial. So he takes the place of the Countess Adèle and, dressed in her clothes, lets himself be courted by the Count while the bedroom is in darkness. Trumpets announce the return of the Count of Fourmoutiers, Adèle's brother. Ory is forced to flee with his cronies. Adèle goes to meet her brother and the other ladies greet their husbands. Finally Adèle decides she will marry the loyal Isolier, who had succeeded in foiling Count Ory and his schemes.

The libretto of Le Comte Ory is an extended version of the play written by the librettist himself, Eugène Scribe. The music that Rossini composed for the opera was partly taken from his II viaggio a Rheims (1825), and the impact of its melodic intensity ensured its triumphal success. The humour in Le Comtr Ory differs from that of Il barbiere di Siviglia in being more contained and aristocratic, using a greater degree of subtlety and ambiguity in drawing attention to the comical parts of the libretto. Even though its vigour seems to fall short, the comic quality is certainly on a par with Rossini's masterpieces.