L'heure espagnole is a one-act opera, described as a comédie musicale, with music by Maurice Ravel to a French libretto by Franc-Nohain, based on his play ('comédie-bouffe') of the same name first performed at the Théâtre de l'Odéon on 28 October 1904. The title can be translated literally as "The Spanish Hour", but the word "heure" more importantly means "time" – "Spanish Time", with the connotation "How They Keep Time in Spain". Ravel had been at work on the music as early as 1907.
| Original Name | L'heure espagnole |
| Librettist | Franc-Nohain |
| Date of composition | 1907 |
| Premiered | 1911, May 19th in Paris, France |
| First published | 1908-1911 |
| Type | Opera |
| Catalogue | M. 52 |
| Spoken language | French |
| Instruments |
Orchestra
Voice (Tenor) - Torquemada, horloger (a clockmaker) Voice (Mezzo-Soprano) - Concepción, femme de Torquemada (Torquemada's wife) Voice (Bass) - Don Iñigo Gomez, riche financier (a banker) Voice (Baritone) - Ramiro, muletier (a muleteer) Voice (Tenor) - Gonzalve, bachelier poète (a student poet) |
| Autotranslations beta |
Maurice Ravel: The Spanish Hour, M. 52 Maurice Ravel: The Spanish Hour, M. 52 Maurice Ravel: The Spanish Hour, M. 52 |