Le roi d'Ys is an opera in three acts by the French composer
Édouard Lalo, to a
libretto by
Édouard Blau. It is based on the old
Breton legend of the drowned city of
Ys, which was according to the legend the capital of the kingdom of
Cornouaille. The opera includes a noteworthy
aubade for tenor in act 3, titled "
Vainement, ma bien-aimée" (In vain, my beloved).
Le roi d'Ys premiered on 7 May 1888 at the
Théâtre Lyrique in Paris, in a production by the
Opéra-Comique. Within France, the opera was regarded as Lalo's most recognized work. This poster was produced by Auguste François-Marie Gorguet for the 1888 premiere of
Le roi d'Ys, and depicts the final scene of the opera.
Poster credit: Auguste François-Marie Gorguet; restored by Adam Cuerden