La Chanson du mal-aimé
La Chanson du mal-aimé is an oratorio composed by Léo Ferré in 1952–53 on Guillaume Apollinaire's eponymous poem. This piece for four soloist singers, choir and orchestra is an example of an oratorio that is not based on a religious subject.
It was created on stage in the Opéra de Monte-Carlo, on 29 April 1954, then was recorded and released on an LP for the first time in 1957. Ferré recorded an alternate version in 1972, wherein he sang all by himself, instead of using any classical singers.
Analysis
Roles
- The Poorly Loved
- The Woman
- The Angel
- The Double
Recordings
- Léo Ferré, Orchestre national et chœurs de l'Opéra de Monte-Carlo, Bernard Demigny, Nadine Sautereau, Jacques Douai, Henri B. Etcheverry. Live at Opéra de Monte-Carlo, 1954
- Léo Ferré, Orchestre national de la Radiodiffusion française and Raymond Saint-Paul Choir, Camille Maurane, Michel Roux, Nadine Sautereau, Jacques Petitjean, 1957
- Léo Ferré, Orchestre Lamoureux, Janine de Waleyne, 1972
- Dag Achatz, Léo Ferré, Janine de Waleyne. Live at the Opéra-Comique of Paris, 1974
- Léo Ferré, Pasdeloup Orchestra, Janine de Waleyne, Ensemble vocal Alborada, Olympos Choir, Ensemble vocal Raphaël Passaquet. Live at the Palais des congrès de Paris, 1975
- Gianluigi Gelmetti, Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra, Laurent Deleuil, Jean-Luc Chaignaud, Alessandro Luciano, Danielle Streiff and Katarzyna Medlarska, 2014