Overview
Introduction
Don Sanche, ou Le château de l'amour (English: Don Sanche, or The Castle of Love), S.1, is an opera in one act composed in 1824-25 by Franz Liszt, with French libretto by Théaulon and de Rancé, based on a story by Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian. For 30 years it was believed to be lost until it was rediscovered in 1903. The first modern performance took place 74 years after its rediscovery.
Composition
The opera appears to have been ready as early as September 1824. It is known that on 20 June 1825, Liszt presented an overture in his second Birmingham concert. This is probably the one from Don Sanche since no other overture exists from this period. The manuscript contains many passages that are reminiscent of the style of his compositions teacher Ferdinando Paer, who admittedly helped Liszt with orchestration. Liszt received a mere 170 francs for his opera. Later in the 1840s, Liszt tried to pursue a career as an opera composer. He planned, sketched, but never completed several other operas. Among them a work in the Italianate style known as Sardanapale, of which 111 sketched pages exists.
Don Sanche premiered at the Salle Le Peletier of the Paris Opéra on 17 October 1825 with Rodolphe Kreutzer conducting. Liszt was not quite 14 years old at the time of the première. Lina Ramann, his biographer, wrote:
The 17th October (1825) had come, the day when "Don Sancho" [sic] was to be presented to the public. A brilliant audience had assembled in the Opera House. Rudolf Kreutzer was the director, the noble and celebrated tenor, Adolf Nourrit sang the principal part; all the cooperators did their best to secure success, and the public followed the first piece of the youthful composer with growing interest. At the conclusion the applause was boundless; the public called rapturously for their darling and for Nourrit, the singer of the principal part. Then the latter, a tall and stately figure, with an overflowing of amiability, took in his arms the young composer, still small for his fourteen years, and carried him before the audience, whose jubilation was without bounds. Kreutzer, too, came and caressed and embraced him. Adam Liszt was beside himself with joy. The tears streamed from his eyes a reception such as "Don Sancho" [sic] had found exceeded all expectation! Franz, on the contrary, was only glad on his father's account; his manner was serious, almost forbidding; that Nourrit, in spite of his struggling, should have carried him before the public, like a child, gnawed to his inmost heart. He received the applause, too, as only intended for his youth, and could scarcely be tranquillized either as to himself or the worth of his work.
