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Christophe Colomb
Opera by Darius Milhaud
Milhaud in 1923
Librettist	Paul Claudel
Language	French
Based on	Life of Christopher Columbus
Premiere	5 May 1930 (1930-05-05) Berlin State Opera

Christophe Colomb (Christopher Columbus) is an opera in two parts by the French composer Darius Milhaud. The poet Paul Claudel wrote the libretto based on his own play about the life of Christopher Columbus, Le Livre de Christophe Colomb. The opera was first performed at the Staatsoper, Berlin, on 5 May 1930 in a German translation by Rudolph Stephan Hoffmann. Milhaud thoroughly revised the work and produced a second version around 1955. The opera is on a large scale and requires many resources for its staging. As in many of his other works, Milhaud employs polytonality in parts of the score.

Roles

Synopsis

The opera tells the life of Christopher Columbus in a series of episodes which avoid chronological order and are sometimes allegorical.

Recording

Janine Micheau (Reine Isabelle), Claudine Collart (Duchesse Medina Sidonia), Robert Massard (Christophe Colomb), Xavier Depraz (Christophe Colomb II, Messenger, etc.), Jean Giraudeau (Majordome, Cuisinier, Valet, Sultan), Lucien Lovano (Roi d'Espagne, Commandant, Aubergiste etc.), Orchestre Radio Lyrique, Chœurs de la RTF, conducted by Manuel Rosenthal. Disques Montaigne CE 8750 (from the INA), released 1987; recorded at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées on 31 May 1956.

(A 1954 recording "conducted by Pierre Boulez" is of the Claudel play, with different incidental music by Milhaud, and a cast including Jean-Pierre Granval, Jean Desailly, Jean-Louis Barrault, Pierre Bertin, and Madeleine Renaud).

References

1. Casaglia, Gherardo (2005). "Christophe Colomb, 5 May 1930". L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia (in Italian).

Further reading

• The Viking Opera Guide ed. Amanda Holden (Viking, 1993)
• Del Teatro (in Italian)

v t e Darius Milhaud
List of compositions
Operas	L'Orestie d'Eschyle Christophe Colomb L'abandon d'Ariane La Délivrance de Thésée La mère coupable Le pauvre matelot David
Ballets	La création du monde Le Bœuf sur le toit Les mariés de la tour Eiffel L'éventail de Jeanne L'Homme et son désir Le Train bleu
Symphonies	No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 ("Te Deum") No. 4 No. 5 No. 6 No. 7 No. 8 ("Rhôdanienne") No. 9 No. 10 No. 11 ("Romantique") No. 12 ("La Rurale") No. 13 ("Pacem in terris") Little Symphonies No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 No. 4 No. 5 No. 6
Orchestra works	Saudades do Brasil Suite provençale
Incidental and film music	Days of Hope Dreams That Money Can Buy Judith Land Without Bread La Tragédie impériale Le jeu de Robin et Marion Le Voyageur sans bagage Love Cavalcade Madame Bovary Mollenard The Beloved Vagabond The Citadel of Silence The Private Affairs of Bel Ami
Chamber music	La cheminée du roi René Scaramouche Sonata for flute, oboe, clarinet and piano
Piano music	Le Bœuf sur le toit Saudades do Brasil
Collaborations	Genesis Suite Homage to Paderewski L'Album des Six Les mariés de la tour Eiffel L'éventail de Jeanne Mouvements du coeur Variations sur le nom de Marguerite Long
Named for Milhaud	Lycée intercommunal Darius-Milhaud
Related articles	Les Six Neoclassicism
Category

v t e Paul Claudel
List of works
Plays	L'Otage (1911) L'Ours et la Lune (1917) Le Pain dur (1918) Le Père humilié (1920) Le Livre de Christophe Colomb (1927) The Satin Slipper (1929) L'Histoire de Tobie et de Sara (1938)
Libretti	L'Homme et son désir (1921) Christophe Colomb (1930) L'Orestie d'Eschyle (1936) Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher (1938)
Portrayals	Camille Claudel (1988 film) Camille Claudel (2003 musical) Camille Claudel 1915 (2013 film)
Related	Camille Claudel (sister)
Category

• [REDACTED] Opera

• French-language operas
• Operas by Darius Milhaud
• 1930 operas
• Operas
• Opera world premieres at the Berlin State Opera
• Cultural depictions of Christopher Columbus
• Compositions with a narrator
• Operas based on plays
• Works by Paul Claudel
• Adaptations of works by Paul Claudel
• Operas based on real people