GABASTON : AN OPERA IN TWO ACTS
Music: Bernard Salles
Libretto: Eleanor and Peter Martindale
EXTRACTS
The following scenes were recorded in February 2024 thanks to a fundraising project organised by the Orchestre Symphonique d’Alénya Roussillon (OSAR), Bernard Salles (composer) and Eleanor Martindale (co-librettist). We thank everybody who supported us: sponsors, musicians and singers, as well as the mayor and parish council of Alénya who kindly offered use their performance space in the Caves Ecoiffier.
OSAR is an amateur orchestra, with professional musicians leading each section. You can visit their website here.
The singers are all professional or pre-professional. To learn more about the cast, click here.
In the final scene (Act 2 scene 10), the chorus parts are sung by the choir Tutti Canti (director: Eloise Aymerich).
ACT 1
ACT 1 SCENE 2
Isabella and Margaret
Isabella laments her position as Edward’s queen: she is unloved and ignored (Edward, Edward, come look on me). Gabaston’s wife Margaret tries to console her and advises her to seduce her husband as he needs an heir. Isabella asks Margaret for her help (Margaret, will you sister me?) and the two women agree to support each other, and their husbands, who are threatened by the barons.
ACT 1 SCENE 3
Gabaston alone
Gabaston has arrived in England at the court of Edward II, and he is overjoyed to see his lover again.
ACT 1 SCENE 4
Edward and Gabaston
Edward is thinking about what his father has left him, now he is about to be crowned King of England. Gabaston joins him and their discussion about the barons' betrayal of Edward transforms slowly into a love duet.
ACT 2
ACT 2 SCENE 3
Isabella and Margaret
Isabella has begun to look towards the baron Mortimer for support – and perhaps more. Margaret, who has just given birth to Gabaston’s child, advises her against an affair (we must keep our vows), and reiterates that she must give Edward an heir (Isabella, it is time to give Edward a son… that is your say in the world). The scene ends with a fanfare as Edward and Gabaston arrive together.
ACT 2 SCENE 5
Margaret and Gabaston
A lullaby sung by Margaret to her infant daughter, Joan. Gabaston joins her and they sing the final line together.
ACT 2 prelude to SCENE 7
Orchestra
Time passing. In scene 6, Isabella has used her close relationship with Mortimer to try and negotiate peace with the barons. In scene 7, Edward must meet the barons.
ACT 2 SCENE 8
Margaret and Gabaston
War seems inevitable, and Edward has advised Margaret to flee to safety with the infant Joan. She tries to persuade Gabaston to come with her but he refuses to leave Edward (Edward made me… he is my destiny, and I am his). They say their goodbyes (Farewell, fair Gabaston. May God forgive your sins).
ACT 2 SCENE 9
Edward and Gabaston
Edward refuses to bend to Warwick’s will, though he knows now it will lead to war. Gabaston tries to advise him (You are no more a wild impulsive boy, but a King). Edward regrets the past (I only want to be a boy in your arms). Gabaston knows that to follow Edward will lead to his downfall, but cannot refuse him (If I die, remember me… who loved you as no-one else will do). They vow to remain together (Come, Gabaston, we will do this together, as we always have).
ACT 2 SCENE 10
Gabaston / Edward, a Priest, chorus
After scene 9, a large orchestral interlude depicts the war scenes. At the end of this, Gabaston is captured by the barons. Scene 10 (final) is divided into two stage spaces: on one side, a cell where Gabaston waits to be executed, on the other, a church where Edward II and the rest of the court attend the baptism of the future Edward III. The priest officiates the baptismal service, accompanied by the voices of a chorus of nuns and monks, but Edward does not seem present, thinking only of his lover and the tragic fate that awaits him. They dialogue in thought, alternated by the interventions of the priest. At the end of the scene, the barons enter Gabaston's cell with the executioner to bring him to his death: the curtain falls at the same time as the sword on Gabaston's neck.