Castle Agrazant

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Castle Agrazant is an English-language opera by Ralph Lyford written in the 1920s. It premiered on April 29, 1926, at the Cincinnati Music Hall and won a Bispham Memorial Medal Award in 1926. The story is set in Northern France after the Ninth Crusade (around 1290) and follows Richard of Agrazant, a young crusader, and his wife Isabeau.

Isabeau mourns the death of their newborn daughter when Count Lisiac, a former suitor, takes the opportunity to press her during Richard’s absence. He abducts Isabeau after failing to win her over. Richard returns to find evidence of the assault and the note Isabeau left; he vows revenge.

At Lisiac Hall, Geoffrey, Lisiac’s ally, pressures Isabeau during the celebrations. Traveling musicians arrive, and Richard, wearing a monk’s disguise, reveals himself. Isabeau asks for a Nazareth song, and the disguise is exposed. The musicians perform, and Isabeau’s fear grows as the truth about the assault becomes clear. A melee ensues: Isabeau is wounded, Geoffrey is killed, and Richard escapes with Isabeau and the aiding boy and musician.

By morning, Richard realizes the Crusade may have been a mistake, and he breaks his sword, choosing to stay with Isabeau. They speak of a brighter future together.

The 1926 cast included Olga Forrai as Isabeau, Forrest Lamont as Richard, and Howard Preston as Geoffrey. The production featured a 65-member chorus and 60 players from the Cincinnati Symphony, with staging costing about $15,000 in 1926 (roughly $183,000 in 2010). WLW radio broadcast the opera on May 3, 1926. The Cincinnati Enquirer called the premiere a worthy effort with superb production.