by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com
--- From Ricordi's edition (1910) of "Fanciulla":
NOTE. The Girl of the Golden West — a drama of love and of moral redemption against a dark and vast background of primitive characters and untrammelled nature — is an episode in this original period of American history. The action takes place in that period of California history which follows immediately upon the discovery made by the miner Marshall of the first nugget of gold, at Coloma, in January, 1848. An unbridled greed, an upheaval of all social order, a restless anarchy followed upon the news of this discovery. The United States, which in the same year, 1848, had annexed California, were engaged in internal wars; and, as yet undisturbed by the abnormal state of things, they were practically outside everything that occurred in the period of this work; the presence of their sheriff indicates a mere show of supremacy and political control. An early history of California, quoted by Belasco, says of this period: "In those strange days, people coming from God knows where joined forces in that far Western land, and, according to the rude custom cf the camp, their very names were soon
lost and unrecorded, and here they struggled, laughed, gambled, cursed, killed, loved, and worked out their strange destinies in a manner incredible to us of to-day. Of one thing only we are sure — they lived!' And here we have the atmosphere in which is evolved the drama of the three leading characters. The cgmp of the gold-seekers in the valley, and the Sierra Mountains ; the inhabitants of the spot coming down from the mountains, joining the goldseekers who come from every part of America, making common cause with them, sharing the same passions ; round this mixed and lawless folk a conglomeration of thieving and murderous gangs has sprung up as a natural outcome of this same lust of gold, and infests the highways, robbing the foreign goldseekers as well as those from the mountains; from the strenuous conflict between these two parties arises the application of a primitive justice of cruelty and rapacity.
This opera by Giacomo Puccini is founded upon the drama of the same name by David Belasco. The libretto is written by Carlo Zangarini and Guelfo Civinni It was first produced in New York in 1910. The scene is laid in a mining camp at the foot of Cloudy Mountains, in California, in the days of the gold fever, 1849 and 1850.
Act I. In the barroom of the "Polka" a number of miners are gathered and amongst them is Ranee, the sheriff. Ashby enters and says that after three months of tracking, his men are rounding up Ramerrez, and his band of Mexican "greasers." Minnie, a comely young woman, who has l)een brought up among the miners and since her father's death continues to run the business, enters in time to stop a fight between the sheriff and a miner who resented Ranee's boast that Minnie would soon be his wife. Ranee makes love to Minnie, but she repulses him, even showing him a revolver that she carries. After a time a stranger api^cars. He gives his name as Dick Johnson from Sacramento, and when the sheriff threatens him, Minnie acknowledges that she has met him licfore. She and the stranger recall their chance meeting on the road when each fell in love with the other, and Johnson (who is no other tl:an Ramerrez, the outlaw, and who has come to rob the saloon, knowing that the miners leave their gold in Minnie's charge) finds himself so attracted by the girl that he relinquishes his plan. When Minnie has gone with him and the miners into the dance hall, .Ashby's men bring in Jose Castro. They are for hanging him, and Castro, though he sees his chief's saddle and thinks him captured, soon finds from the talk that Ramerrez is still free, and offers to conduct them to him. The miners go off with the sheriff and Ashby's men to seize the outlaw, leaving their barrel of gold in Minnie's charge, with only Nick and Billy to protect her and it. Nick reports that a greaser is sulking around, and Johnson knows that his men are only awaiting his whistle to come and seize the gold. Minnie declares valiantly that he who takes the gold will have to kill her first, and he admires her spirit. She invites him to call on her in her cabin after the miners come back, and he. accepting the invitation, goes out.
Act II. At Minnie's dwelling Wowkle is sitting on the floor before the fire rocking her baby in her arms. Billy comes in and Minnie soon follows. She puts on what finery she possesses and* when Johnson arrives entertains him graciously. They both acknowledge their love, and when a severe snowstorm comes up Minnie invites him to remain for the night. Pistol shots are heard and Johnson, knowing himself to be in grave danger, determines to stay with Minnie and vows that he will never give her up. Johnson is lying on Minnie's bed and she is resting on the hearth rug when shouts are heard without, and Nick hails Minnie. She insists that Johnson hide, and then she admits Nick, Ranee, Ashby and some of the miners. They tell her that Dick Johnson is Ramerrez, and is near, and that they were worried about her. They say also that Johnson came to the saloon to take their gold, though he left without it, which they cannot understand. She is overwhelmed by their revelations, especially when Johnson's photograph, obtained from a notorious woman at a nearby ranch, is shown her. She sends the men ofif and will not listen to having any one stay with her. When they are gone she confronts Johnson with the photograph and he confesses who he is and tells her how he was brought up to the life of an outlaw. Minnie cannot forgive him for deceiving her when she gave him her
love, and she sends him ofif. Johnson goes out, desperate and willing to die. A shot is heard and Minnie opens the door, drags him in wounded, and hides him in the loft. Ranee enters and Minnie has almost convinced him that the outlaw escaped and is not there, when a drop of blood falls on his hand. He drags the wounded man down from the loft. Minnie, knowing that the sherifiF has the gambler's passion, offers to play a game of poker with him, her life and Johnson's to be the stake. If she loses she will marry him and he may do what he will with Johnson. They play while Johnson lies unconscious near, and Ranee is winning when Minnie clearly cheats and so wins the game. Ranee, dumbfounded, but true to his word, goes out.
Act III. On the edge of the great Californian forest in the early dawn, Ranee, Ashby and Nick are waiting. Ranee tells of his chagrin that Johnson's wound was not fatal, and that Minnie had nursed him back to life at her cabin. Ashby's men come on the scene, having captured Johnson after an exciting chase. He is brought in, bound and wounded and his clothing torn. The men gather about him like animals about their prey, and taunt him savagely. Johnson confronts them defiantly, even when they name many of the robberies and murders that he and his gang have committed. As they are about to hang him he asks one favor — that they will never tell Minnie how he died. At the last moment Minnie dashes in on horseback. She places herself in front of Johnson and presents her pistol to the crowd, and in spite of Ranee's orders no one dares to push her aside and pull the noose taut. Minnie appeals to them, and at last, in spite of Ranee the miners cut the noose and restore Johnson to Minnie. The two go ofif together amid the affectionate farewells of the men.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Analytic Table of Contents for "Chapters of Opera" -- an excellent book.
by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com
Chapters of Opera, by Krehbiel
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION OF OPERA IN NEW YORK
1. The Introduction of Italian Opera in New York
2. English Ballad Operas and Adaptations from French and Italian Works
3. Hallam's Comedians and "The Beggar's Opera"
4. The John Street Theater and Its Early Successors
5. Italian Opera's First Home
6. Manuel Garcia
7. The New Park Theater and Some of Its Rivals
8. Malibran and English Opera
9. The Bowery Theater, Richmond Hill, Niblo's and Castle Gardens
CHAPTER II
EARLY THEATERS, MANAGERS, AND SINGERS
2.1 Of the Building of Opera Houses
2.2. A Study of Influences
2. 3. The First Italian Opera House in New York
Early Impresarios and Singers
Da Ponte, Montressor, Rivafinoli
Signorina Pedrotti and Fornasari
Why Do Men Become Opera-Managers?
Addison and Italian Opera
The Vernacular Triumphant
CHAPTER III
THE FIRST ITALIAN COMPANY
Manuel del Popolo Vicente Garcia
"Il Barbiere di Siviglia"
Signorina Maria Garcia's Unfortunate Marriage
Lorenzo da Ponte
His Hebraic Origin and Checkered Career
"Don Giovanni"
An Appeal in Behalf of Italian Opera
CHAPTER IV
HOUSES BUILT FOR OPERA
More Opera Houses
Palmo's and the Astor Place
Signora Borghese and the Distressful Vocal Wabble
Antognini and Cinti-Damoreau
An Orchestral Strike
Advent of the Patti Family
Don Francesco Marty y Torrens and His Havanese Company
Opera Gowns Fifty Years Ago
Edward and William Henry Fry
Horace Greeley and His Musical Critic
James H. Hackett and William Niblo
Tragic Consequences of Canine Interference
Goethe and a Poodle
A Dog-Show and the Astor Place Opera House
CHAPTER V: MARETZEK, HIS RIVALS AND SINGERS
Max Maretzek
His Managerial Career
Some Anecdotes
"Crotchets and Quavers"
His Rivals and Some of His Singers
Bernard Ullmann
Marty Again
Bottesini and Arditi
Steffanone
Bosio
Tedesco
Salvi
Bettini
Badiali
Marini
CHAPTER VI: THE NEW YORK ACADEMY OF MUSIC
Operatic Warfare Half a Century Ago
The Academy of Music and Its Misfortunes
A Critic's Opera and His Ideals
A Roster of American Singers
Grisi and Mario
Annie Louise Cary
Ole Bull as Manager
Piccolomini and Réclame
Adelina Patti's Début and an Anniversary Dinner Twenty-five
Years Later
A Kiss for Maretzek
CHAPTER VII: MAPLESON AND OTHER IMPRESARIOS
Colonel James H. Mapleson
A Diplomatic Manager
His Persuasiveness
How He Borrowed Money from an Irate Creditor
Maurice Strakosch
Musical Managers
Pollini
Sofia Scalchi and Annie Louise Cary Again
Campanini and His Beautiful Attack
Brignoli
His Appetite and Superstition
CHAPTER VIII: THE METROPOLITAN OPERA HOUSE
The Academy's Successful Rival
Why It Was Built
The Demands of Fashion
Description of the Theater
War between the Metropolitan and the Academy of Music
Mapleson and Abbey
The Rival Forces
Patti and Nilsson
Gerster and Sembrich
A Costly Victory
CHAPTER IX: FIRST SEASON AT THE METROPOLITAN
The First Season at the Metropolitan Opera House
Mr. Abbey's Singers
Gounod's "Faust" and Christine Nilsson
Marcella Sembrich and Her Versatility
Sofia Scalchi
Signor Kaschmann
Signor Stagno
Ambroise Thomas's "Mignon"
Madame Fursch-Madi
Ponchielli's "La Gioconda"
CHAPTER X: OPERATIC REVOLUTIONS
The Season 1883-1884 at the Academy of Music
Lillian Nordica's American Début
German Opera Introduced at the Metropolitan Opera House
Parlous State of Italian Opera in London and on the Continent
Dr. Leopold Damrosch and His Enterprise
The German Singers
Amalia Materna
Marianne Brandt
Marie Schroeder-Hanfstängl
Anton Schott, the Military Tenor
Von Bülow's Characterization: "A Tenor is a Disease"
CHAPTER X: GERMAN OPERA AT THE METROPOLITAN
First German Season
Death Struggles of Italian Opera at the Academy
Adelina Patti and Her Art
Features of the German Performances
"Tannhäuser"
Marianne Brandt in Beethoven's Opera
"Der Freischütz"
"Masaniello"
Materna in "Die Walküre"
Death of Dr. Damrosch
CHAPTER XII: END OF ITALIAN OPERA AT THE ACADEMY
The Season 1885-1886
End of the Mapleson Régime at the Academy of Music
Alma Fohström
The American Opera Company
German Opera in the Bowery
A Tenor Who Wanted to be Manager of the Metropolitan Opera House
The Coming of Anton Seidl
His Early Career
Lilli Lehmann
A Broken Contract
Unselfish Devotion to Artistic Ideals
Max Alvary
Emil Fischer
CHAPTER XIII: WAGNER HOLDS THE METROPOLITAN
Second and Third German Seasons
The Period 1885-1888
More about Lilli Lehmann
Goldmark's "Queen of Sheba"
First Performance of Wagner's "Meistersinger"
Patti in Concert and Opera
A Flash in the Pan at the Academy of Music
The Transformed American Opera Company
Production of Rubinstein's "Nero"
An Imperial Operatic Figure
First American Performance of "Tristan und Isolde"
Albert Niemann and His Characteristics
His Impersonation of Siegmund
Anecdotes
A Triumph for "Fidelio"
CHAPTER XIV: WAGNERIAN HIGH TIDE
Wagnerian High Tide at the Metropolitan Opera House
1887-1890
Italian Low Water Elsewhere
Rising of the Opposition
Wagner's "Siegfried"
Its Unconventionality
"Götterdämmerung"
"Der Trompeter von Säkkingen"
"Euryanthe"
"Ferdinand Cortez"
"Der Barbier von Bagdad"
Italo Campanini and Verdi's "Otello"
Patti and Italian Opera at the Metropolitan Opera House
CHAPTER XV: END OF THE GERMAN PERIOD
End of the German Period
1890-1891
Some Extraordinary Novelties
Franchetti's "Asrael"
"Der Vasall von Szigeth"
A Royal Composer, His Opera and His Distribution of Decorations
"Diana von Solange"
Financial Salvation through Wagner
Italian Opera Redivivus
Ill-mannered Box-holders
Wagnerian Statistics
CHAPTER XVI: ITALIAN OPERA AGAIN AT THE METROPOLITAN
The Season 1891-1892
Losses of the Stockholders of the Metropolitan Opera House Company
Return to Italian Opera
Mr. Abbey's Expectations
Sickness of Lilli Lehmann
The De Reszke Brothers and Lassalle
Emma Eames
Début of Marie Van Zandt
"Cavalleria Rusticana"
Fire Damages the Opera House
Reorganization of the Owning Company
CHAPTER XVII: THE ADVENT OF MELBA AND CALVÉ
An Interregnum
Changes in the Management
Rise and Fall of Abbey, Schoeffel, and Grau
Death of Henry E. Abbey
His Career
Season 1893-1894
Nellie Melba
Emma Calvé
Bourbonism of the Parisians
Massenet's "Werther"
1894-1895
A Breakdown on the Stage
"Elaine"
Sybil Sanderson and "Manon"
Shakespearian Operas
Verdi's "Falstaff"
CHAPTER XVIII: UPRISING IN FAVOR OF GERMAN OPERA
The Public Clamor for German Opera
Oscar Hammerstein and His First Manhattan Opera House
Rivalry between Anton Seidl and Walter Damrosch
The Latter's Career as Manager
Wagner Triumphant
German Opera Restored at the Metropolitan
"The Scarlet Letter"
"Mataswintha"
"Hänsel und Gretel" in English
Jean de Reszke and His Influence
Mapleson for the Last Time
"Andrea Chenier"
Madame Melba's Disastrous Essay with Wagner
"Le Cid"
Metropolitan Performances 1893-1897
CHAPTER XIX: BEGINNING OF THE GRAU PERIOD
Beginning of the Grau Period
Death of Maurice Grau
His Managerial Career
An Interregnum at the Metropolitan Opera House Filled by
Damrosch and Ellis
Death of Anton Seidl
His Funeral
Characteristic Traits
"La Bohème"
1898-1899
"Ero e Leandro" and Its Composer
CHAPTER XX: NEW SINGERS AND OPERAS
Closing Years of Mr. Grau's Régime
Traits in the Manager's Character
Débuts of Alvarez, Scotti, Louise Homer, Lucienne Bréval and
Other Singers
Ternina and "Tosca"
Reyer's "Salammbô"
Gala Performance for a Prussian Prince
"Messaline"
Paderewski's "Manru"
"Der Wald"
Performances in the Grau Period
CHAPTER XXI: HEINRICH CONRIED AND "PARSIFAL"
Beginning of the Administration of Heinrich Conried
Season 1903-1904
Mascagni's American Fiasco
"Iris" and "Zanetto"
Woful Consequences of Depreciating American Conditions
Mr. Conried's Theatrical Career
His Inheritance from Mr. Grau
Signor Caruso
The Company Recruited
The "Parsifal" Craze
CHAPTER XXII: END OF CONRIED'S ADMINISTRATION
Conried's Administration Concluded
1905-1908
Visits from Humperdinck and Puccini
The California Earthquake
Madame Sembrich's Generosity to the Suffering Musicians
"Madama Butterfly"
"Manon Lescaut"
"Fedora"
Production and Prohibition of "Salome"
A Criticism of the Work
"Adriana Lecouvreur"
A Table of Performances
CHAPTER XXIII: HAMMERSTEIN AND HIS OPERA HOUSE
Oscar Hammerstein Builds a Second Manhattan Opera House
How the Manager Put His Doubters to Shame
His Earlier Experiences as Impresario
Cleofonte Campanini
A Zealous Artistic Director and Ambitious Singers
A Surprising Record but No Novelties in the First Season
Melba and Calvé as Stars
The Desertion of Bonci
Quarrels about Puccini's "Bohéme"
List of Performances
CHAPTER XXIV: A BRILLIANT SEASON AT THE MANHATTAN
Hammerstein's Second Season
Amazing Promises but More Amazing Achievements
Mary Garden and Maurice Renaud
Massenet's "Thaïs," Charpentier's "Louise"
Giordano's "Siberia" and Debussy's "Pelléas et Mélisande" Performed for
the First Time in America
Revival of Offenbach's "Les Contes d'Hoffmann," "Crispino e la Comare"
of the Ricci Brothers, and Giordano's "Andrea Chenier"
The Tetrazzini Craze
Repertory of the Season
------
Index of Names.
There is a second volume to this, "Chapters of Opera," ii.
Chapters of Opera, by Krehbiel
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION OF OPERA IN NEW YORK
1. The Introduction of Italian Opera in New York
2. English Ballad Operas and Adaptations from French and Italian Works
3. Hallam's Comedians and "The Beggar's Opera"
4. The John Street Theater and Its Early Successors
5. Italian Opera's First Home
6. Manuel Garcia
7. The New Park Theater and Some of Its Rivals
8. Malibran and English Opera
9. The Bowery Theater, Richmond Hill, Niblo's and Castle Gardens
CHAPTER II
EARLY THEATERS, MANAGERS, AND SINGERS
2.1 Of the Building of Opera Houses
2.2. A Study of Influences
2. 3. The First Italian Opera House in New York
Early Impresarios and Singers
Da Ponte, Montressor, Rivafinoli
Signorina Pedrotti and Fornasari
Why Do Men Become Opera-Managers?
Addison and Italian Opera
The Vernacular Triumphant
CHAPTER III
THE FIRST ITALIAN COMPANY
Manuel del Popolo Vicente Garcia
"Il Barbiere di Siviglia"
Signorina Maria Garcia's Unfortunate Marriage
Lorenzo da Ponte
His Hebraic Origin and Checkered Career
"Don Giovanni"
An Appeal in Behalf of Italian Opera
CHAPTER IV
HOUSES BUILT FOR OPERA
More Opera Houses
Palmo's and the Astor Place
Signora Borghese and the Distressful Vocal Wabble
Antognini and Cinti-Damoreau
An Orchestral Strike
Advent of the Patti Family
Don Francesco Marty y Torrens and His Havanese Company
Opera Gowns Fifty Years Ago
Edward and William Henry Fry
Horace Greeley and His Musical Critic
James H. Hackett and William Niblo
Tragic Consequences of Canine Interference
Goethe and a Poodle
A Dog-Show and the Astor Place Opera House
CHAPTER V: MARETZEK, HIS RIVALS AND SINGERS
Max Maretzek
His Managerial Career
Some Anecdotes
"Crotchets and Quavers"
His Rivals and Some of His Singers
Bernard Ullmann
Marty Again
Bottesini and Arditi
Steffanone
Bosio
Tedesco
Salvi
Bettini
Badiali
Marini
CHAPTER VI: THE NEW YORK ACADEMY OF MUSIC
Operatic Warfare Half a Century Ago
The Academy of Music and Its Misfortunes
A Critic's Opera and His Ideals
A Roster of American Singers
Grisi and Mario
Annie Louise Cary
Ole Bull as Manager
Piccolomini and Réclame
Adelina Patti's Début and an Anniversary Dinner Twenty-five
Years Later
A Kiss for Maretzek
CHAPTER VII: MAPLESON AND OTHER IMPRESARIOS
Colonel James H. Mapleson
A Diplomatic Manager
His Persuasiveness
How He Borrowed Money from an Irate Creditor
Maurice Strakosch
Musical Managers
Pollini
Sofia Scalchi and Annie Louise Cary Again
Campanini and His Beautiful Attack
Brignoli
His Appetite and Superstition
CHAPTER VIII: THE METROPOLITAN OPERA HOUSE
The Academy's Successful Rival
Why It Was Built
The Demands of Fashion
Description of the Theater
War between the Metropolitan and the Academy of Music
Mapleson and Abbey
The Rival Forces
Patti and Nilsson
Gerster and Sembrich
A Costly Victory
CHAPTER IX: FIRST SEASON AT THE METROPOLITAN
The First Season at the Metropolitan Opera House
Mr. Abbey's Singers
Gounod's "Faust" and Christine Nilsson
Marcella Sembrich and Her Versatility
Sofia Scalchi
Signor Kaschmann
Signor Stagno
Ambroise Thomas's "Mignon"
Madame Fursch-Madi
Ponchielli's "La Gioconda"
CHAPTER X: OPERATIC REVOLUTIONS
The Season 1883-1884 at the Academy of Music
Lillian Nordica's American Début
German Opera Introduced at the Metropolitan Opera House
Parlous State of Italian Opera in London and on the Continent
Dr. Leopold Damrosch and His Enterprise
The German Singers
Amalia Materna
Marianne Brandt
Marie Schroeder-Hanfstängl
Anton Schott, the Military Tenor
Von Bülow's Characterization: "A Tenor is a Disease"
CHAPTER X: GERMAN OPERA AT THE METROPOLITAN
First German Season
Death Struggles of Italian Opera at the Academy
Adelina Patti and Her Art
Features of the German Performances
"Tannhäuser"
Marianne Brandt in Beethoven's Opera
"Der Freischütz"
"Masaniello"
Materna in "Die Walküre"
Death of Dr. Damrosch
CHAPTER XII: END OF ITALIAN OPERA AT THE ACADEMY
The Season 1885-1886
End of the Mapleson Régime at the Academy of Music
Alma Fohström
The American Opera Company
German Opera in the Bowery
A Tenor Who Wanted to be Manager of the Metropolitan Opera House
The Coming of Anton Seidl
His Early Career
Lilli Lehmann
A Broken Contract
Unselfish Devotion to Artistic Ideals
Max Alvary
Emil Fischer
CHAPTER XIII: WAGNER HOLDS THE METROPOLITAN
Second and Third German Seasons
The Period 1885-1888
More about Lilli Lehmann
Goldmark's "Queen of Sheba"
First Performance of Wagner's "Meistersinger"
Patti in Concert and Opera
A Flash in the Pan at the Academy of Music
The Transformed American Opera Company
Production of Rubinstein's "Nero"
An Imperial Operatic Figure
First American Performance of "Tristan und Isolde"
Albert Niemann and His Characteristics
His Impersonation of Siegmund
Anecdotes
A Triumph for "Fidelio"
CHAPTER XIV: WAGNERIAN HIGH TIDE
Wagnerian High Tide at the Metropolitan Opera House
1887-1890
Italian Low Water Elsewhere
Rising of the Opposition
Wagner's "Siegfried"
Its Unconventionality
"Götterdämmerung"
"Der Trompeter von Säkkingen"
"Euryanthe"
"Ferdinand Cortez"
"Der Barbier von Bagdad"
Italo Campanini and Verdi's "Otello"
Patti and Italian Opera at the Metropolitan Opera House
CHAPTER XV: END OF THE GERMAN PERIOD
End of the German Period
1890-1891
Some Extraordinary Novelties
Franchetti's "Asrael"
"Der Vasall von Szigeth"
A Royal Composer, His Opera and His Distribution of Decorations
"Diana von Solange"
Financial Salvation through Wagner
Italian Opera Redivivus
Ill-mannered Box-holders
Wagnerian Statistics
CHAPTER XVI: ITALIAN OPERA AGAIN AT THE METROPOLITAN
The Season 1891-1892
Losses of the Stockholders of the Metropolitan Opera House Company
Return to Italian Opera
Mr. Abbey's Expectations
Sickness of Lilli Lehmann
The De Reszke Brothers and Lassalle
Emma Eames
Début of Marie Van Zandt
"Cavalleria Rusticana"
Fire Damages the Opera House
Reorganization of the Owning Company
CHAPTER XVII: THE ADVENT OF MELBA AND CALVÉ
An Interregnum
Changes in the Management
Rise and Fall of Abbey, Schoeffel, and Grau
Death of Henry E. Abbey
His Career
Season 1893-1894
Nellie Melba
Emma Calvé
Bourbonism of the Parisians
Massenet's "Werther"
1894-1895
A Breakdown on the Stage
"Elaine"
Sybil Sanderson and "Manon"
Shakespearian Operas
Verdi's "Falstaff"
CHAPTER XVIII: UPRISING IN FAVOR OF GERMAN OPERA
The Public Clamor for German Opera
Oscar Hammerstein and His First Manhattan Opera House
Rivalry between Anton Seidl and Walter Damrosch
The Latter's Career as Manager
Wagner Triumphant
German Opera Restored at the Metropolitan
"The Scarlet Letter"
"Mataswintha"
"Hänsel und Gretel" in English
Jean de Reszke and His Influence
Mapleson for the Last Time
"Andrea Chenier"
Madame Melba's Disastrous Essay with Wagner
"Le Cid"
Metropolitan Performances 1893-1897
CHAPTER XIX: BEGINNING OF THE GRAU PERIOD
Beginning of the Grau Period
Death of Maurice Grau
His Managerial Career
An Interregnum at the Metropolitan Opera House Filled by
Damrosch and Ellis
Death of Anton Seidl
His Funeral
Characteristic Traits
"La Bohème"
1898-1899
"Ero e Leandro" and Its Composer
CHAPTER XX: NEW SINGERS AND OPERAS
Closing Years of Mr. Grau's Régime
Traits in the Manager's Character
Débuts of Alvarez, Scotti, Louise Homer, Lucienne Bréval and
Other Singers
Ternina and "Tosca"
Reyer's "Salammbô"
Gala Performance for a Prussian Prince
"Messaline"
Paderewski's "Manru"
"Der Wald"
Performances in the Grau Period
CHAPTER XXI: HEINRICH CONRIED AND "PARSIFAL"
Beginning of the Administration of Heinrich Conried
Season 1903-1904
Mascagni's American Fiasco
"Iris" and "Zanetto"
Woful Consequences of Depreciating American Conditions
Mr. Conried's Theatrical Career
His Inheritance from Mr. Grau
Signor Caruso
The Company Recruited
The "Parsifal" Craze
CHAPTER XXII: END OF CONRIED'S ADMINISTRATION
Conried's Administration Concluded
1905-1908
Visits from Humperdinck and Puccini
The California Earthquake
Madame Sembrich's Generosity to the Suffering Musicians
"Madama Butterfly"
"Manon Lescaut"
"Fedora"
Production and Prohibition of "Salome"
A Criticism of the Work
"Adriana Lecouvreur"
A Table of Performances
CHAPTER XXIII: HAMMERSTEIN AND HIS OPERA HOUSE
Oscar Hammerstein Builds a Second Manhattan Opera House
How the Manager Put His Doubters to Shame
His Earlier Experiences as Impresario
Cleofonte Campanini
A Zealous Artistic Director and Ambitious Singers
A Surprising Record but No Novelties in the First Season
Melba and Calvé as Stars
The Desertion of Bonci
Quarrels about Puccini's "Bohéme"
List of Performances
CHAPTER XXIV: A BRILLIANT SEASON AT THE MANHATTAN
Hammerstein's Second Season
Amazing Promises but More Amazing Achievements
Mary Garden and Maurice Renaud
Massenet's "Thaïs," Charpentier's "Louise"
Giordano's "Siberia" and Debussy's "Pelléas et Mélisande" Performed for
the First Time in America
Revival of Offenbach's "Les Contes d'Hoffmann," "Crispino e la Comare"
of the Ricci Brothers, and Giordano's "Andrea Chenier"
The Tetrazzini Craze
Repertory of the Season
------
Index of Names.
There is a second volume to this, "Chapters of Opera," ii.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Why we prefer a simple "Orfeo"
Sartorio's "Orfeo", rather:
The plot is extremely complicated. In Aureli and Sartorio's version of the story, Aristaeus is Orpheus's brother and he too is in love with Eurydice, which makes Orpheus jealous. Aristaeus rejects the love of Autonoe who disguises herself as a gypsy to be near him and enlists the help of Achilles and Hercules. The jealous Orpheus plans to have Eurydice murdered in a forest but Eurydice dies when she steps on a snake while trying to flee Aristaeus. Orpheus sets off for the underworld to bring Eurydice back to life. Pluto, the ruler of the underworld, is won over by his singing and releases Eurydice on condition that Orpheus does not look at her before they have reached the land of the living. But Orpheus turns roundd and Eurydice is lost again. Aristaeus finally accepts the love of Autonoe and the two are married.
The plot is extremely complicated. In Aureli and Sartorio's version of the story, Aristaeus is Orpheus's brother and he too is in love with Eurydice, which makes Orpheus jealous. Aristaeus rejects the love of Autonoe who disguises herself as a gypsy to be near him and enlists the help of Achilles and Hercules. The jealous Orpheus plans to have Eurydice murdered in a forest but Eurydice dies when she steps on a snake while trying to flee Aristaeus. Orpheus sets off for the underworld to bring Eurydice back to life. Pluto, the ruler of the underworld, is won over by his singing and releases Eurydice on condition that Orpheus does not look at her before they have reached the land of the living. But Orpheus turns roundd and Eurydice is lost again. Aristaeus finally accepts the love of Autonoe and the two are married.
Recordings of Landi's "Orfeo"
La morte d'Orfeo Elwes, Koslowski, Cordier, van der Kamp, Tragicomedia, conducted by Stephen Stubbs (Accent, 1987)
La morte d'Orfeo Auvity, Laurens, Visse, van Elsacker, Guillon, Bucher, Akadêmia, conducted by Françoise Lasserre (Zig Zag Territoires, 2007)
La morte d'Orfeo Auvity, Laurens, Visse, van Elsacker, Guillon, Bucher, Akadêmia, conducted by Françoise Lasserre (Zig Zag Territoires, 2007)
comparing "Che faro senza Euridice" with Monteverdi -- on DVD
Check with DVD Monteverdi's "Orfeo" for his reaction upon the vanishing of Euridice. Also with Baker -- Glyndebourne DVD.
Recordings of Caccini's opera, "Orfeo ed Euridice" (1600)
Euridice Soloists, Rennes Chorus and Orchestra, conducted by Rodrigo de Zayas (Arion, 1980)
L'Euridice Scherzi Musicali, Nicolas Achten (Ricercar, 2008) [1]
L'Euridice Scherzi Musicali, Nicolas Achten (Ricercar, 2008) [1]
Dates of some Italian "Orfeos" from 1600 onwards
1600. Jacopo Peri, "Orfeo ed Euridice". Performed at Palazzo Pitti, Firenze. The first genuine opera whose music survives to this day. The role of Orfeo played by Peri and in later performances by Basi, who will create the role in Monteverdi's better known version, in Mantova.
1602 - Giulio Caccini, "Orfeo ed Euridice". Caccini's daughter had played Euridice in Peri's version. Caccini managed to publish his own opera before Peri, but it was not performed till 1602.
1607 - Claudio Monteverdi – Monteverdi's "Orfeo", widely regarded as the first operatic masterwork.
1616 - Domenico Belli - "Orfeo dolente".
1619 - Stefano Landi – "La morte d'Orfeo"
1647 - Luigi Rossi – "Orfeo".
1654 - Carlo d'Aquino – Orfeo
1672 - Antonio Sartorio – Orfeo
1676 - Giuseppe di Dia – Orfeo
1677 - Francesco della Torre – Orfeo
1683 - Antonio Draghi – La lira d' Orfeo
1689 - Bernardo Sabadini – Orfeo
1690 - Luigi Lulli – Orfeo.
1699 - André Campra – Orfeo nell'inferni
1715 - Johann Joseph Fux – Orfeo ed Euridice
1749 - Giovanni Alberto Ristori – I lamenti d'Orfeo
1762 - Christoph Willibald Gluck – Orfeo ed Euridice. Contains: "Che faro senza Euridice?", also set by Bertoni. Published by Ricordi 1889. Recorded by Tito Schipa with the Milano orchestra "Grammofono" and by Pavarotti in concert (to piano accompaniment).
1775 - Antonio Tozzi – Orfeo ed Euridice
1776 - Ferdinando Bertoni – Orfeo ed Euridice (to the same libretto as Gluck's more famous work)
1781 - Luigi Torelli – Orfeo
1789 - Vittorio Trento – Orfeo negli Elisi
1791 - Joseph Haydn – L'anima del filosofo, ossia Orfeo ed Euridice. On DVD with Bertoli.
1791 - Ferdinando Paer – Orfeo.
1796 - Luigi Lamberti – Orfeo
1796 - Francesco Morolin – Orfeo ed Euridice
1814 - Marchese Francesco Sampieri – Orfeo.
1858 - Jacques Offenbach - Orphée aux enfers. On DVD.
1925 - Gian Francesco Malipiero – L'Orfeide.
1932 - Alfredo Casella – La favola d'Orfeo, chamber opera after Poliziano's L'Orfeo
1996 - Lorenzo Ferrero - Orfeo, musical action in one act, libretto by Lorenzo Ferrero and Dario Del Corno, premiered at the Teatro Filarmonico
1602 - Giulio Caccini, "Orfeo ed Euridice". Caccini's daughter had played Euridice in Peri's version. Caccini managed to publish his own opera before Peri, but it was not performed till 1602.
1607 - Claudio Monteverdi – Monteverdi's "Orfeo", widely regarded as the first operatic masterwork.
1616 - Domenico Belli - "Orfeo dolente".
1619 - Stefano Landi – "La morte d'Orfeo"
1647 - Luigi Rossi – "Orfeo".
1654 - Carlo d'Aquino – Orfeo
1672 - Antonio Sartorio – Orfeo
1676 - Giuseppe di Dia – Orfeo
1677 - Francesco della Torre – Orfeo
1683 - Antonio Draghi – La lira d' Orfeo
1689 - Bernardo Sabadini – Orfeo
1690 - Luigi Lulli – Orfeo.
1699 - André Campra – Orfeo nell'inferni
1715 - Johann Joseph Fux – Orfeo ed Euridice
1749 - Giovanni Alberto Ristori – I lamenti d'Orfeo
1762 - Christoph Willibald Gluck – Orfeo ed Euridice. Contains: "Che faro senza Euridice?", also set by Bertoni. Published by Ricordi 1889. Recorded by Tito Schipa with the Milano orchestra "Grammofono" and by Pavarotti in concert (to piano accompaniment).
1775 - Antonio Tozzi – Orfeo ed Euridice
1776 - Ferdinando Bertoni – Orfeo ed Euridice (to the same libretto as Gluck's more famous work)
1781 - Luigi Torelli – Orfeo
1789 - Vittorio Trento – Orfeo negli Elisi
1791 - Joseph Haydn – L'anima del filosofo, ossia Orfeo ed Euridice. On DVD with Bertoli.
1791 - Ferdinando Paer – Orfeo.
1796 - Luigi Lamberti – Orfeo
1796 - Francesco Morolin – Orfeo ed Euridice
1814 - Marchese Francesco Sampieri – Orfeo.
1858 - Jacques Offenbach - Orphée aux enfers. On DVD.
1925 - Gian Francesco Malipiero – L'Orfeide.
1932 - Alfredo Casella – La favola d'Orfeo, chamber opera after Poliziano's L'Orfeo
1996 - Lorenzo Ferrero - Orfeo, musical action in one act, libretto by Lorenzo Ferrero and Dario Del Corno, premiered at the Teatro Filarmonico
A different setting to "Che faro senza Euridice?" first heard in Venice
Bertoni's "Orfeo" opened in Venice, at the Teatro San Benedetto, 1776), based on the same libretto of Ranieri de' Calzabigi of the work of Gluck.
possibly the best image, and coloured too---for songbook
possibly the best image, and coloured, too.
Che farò senza Euridice!
by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com
I
Che farò senza Euridice? J'ai perdu mon Eurydice.
Dove andrò senza il mio ben? Rien n'égale mon malheur.
Che farò? Dove andrò? Sort cruel! Quelle rigueur!
Che farò senza il mio ben? Rien n'égale mon malheur.
Dove andrò senza il mio ben? Je succombe à ma douleur.
II
(a)
Euridice! Euridice! Eurydice! Eurydice!
Oh Dio, rispondi! Réponds! Quel supplice!
Rispondi! Réponds-moi!
(b)
Io son pure il tuo fedel. C'est ton époux, ton époux fidèle.
Io son pure il tuo fedel. Entends ma voix qui t'appelle,
il tuo fedel. ma voix qui t'appelle.
III
Che farò senza Euridice? J'ai perdu mon Eurydice.
Dove andrò senza il mio ben? Rien m'égale mon malheur.
Che farò? Dove andrò? Sort cruel! Quelle rigueur!
Che farò senza il mio ben? Rien m'égale mon malheur.
Dove andrò senza il mio ben? Je succombe à ma doleur.
IV
(a)
Euridice! Euridice! Euydice! Eurydice!
(b)
Ah, non m'avanza Mortel silence!
Più soccorso, più speranza Vaine esperance! Quelle souffrance!
Né dal mondo né dal ciel. Quel tourment déchire mon cœur.
V
Che farò senza Euridice? J'ai perdu mon Eurydice.
Dove andrò senza il mio ben? Rien m'egale mon malheur.
Che fafò? Dove andrò? Sort cruel! Quelle rigueur!
che faro senza il mio ben Rien m'égale mon malheur.
Che farò? Dove andrò? Sort cruel! Quelle rigueur!
Che farò senza il mio ben? J'ai succombe à ma doleur,
Senza il mio ben? à ma doleur,
Senza il mio ben? à ma doleur.
NOTES.
For what is worth (a lot, :) -- since you won't find this online, this far!) the strict comparison, line-by-line of Ranieri de' Calzabigi and Moline's translation, which Ricordi ignored when he omitted it in the 1889 edition. One may do with a strict analysis of 'performative' acts. The Italian version is all about 'rhetorical' questions, almost -- although not quite. Some say that Orfeo is a controversial figure. So, when he says, "What shall I do WITHOUT Eurydice?" he may MEAN it. As it happens, he became so disilussioned with women after this disgrace that it provoked the reaction by the Furies who dismember him. I understand this was the original Monteverdi ending which he was forced to adapt for the wedding of de Medici, or something.
lines 1-2.
So, to the 'question', "Che faro, dove andro?", the French offers a statement: "J'ai perdu mon Eurydice". (In fact, this has been parodied, elsewhere, as "J'ai TROUVE mon Eurydice"). Again, the second 'rhetoric' question ("Where will I go without my good?") becomes another statement, however spiritual, "Rien n'egale mon malheur".
lines 3-4.
The loveliness of the interrupted questions in the Italian, "What shall I do, where shall I go" (che faro, dove andro) are turned into 'exclamatives' in French. In fact, I find one exclamative too many in the French. So the first here are "Sort cruel!" corresponding to the abbreviated question, "Che faro", and the proper exclamative, "Quelle rigueur" for the "dove andro".
line 5.
The next divergence is the introduction of a NEW proposition in the first 'stanza', 'Je succombe a ma doleur' in the French. The Italian just does with a repetition of previous, er, questions, notably the second: "Dove andro senza il mio ben?".
line 5.
Now, we can examine the rhyme in the first stanza. The French manages with a perfect consonant rhyme in a trio: malheur--rigueur--douleur. Which is unavailable in Italian, which merely has, but I love it, still, 'mio ben', rhyiming with 'mio ben', rhyming with 'mio ben'!
line 6-7.
In the second 'stanza', Moline manages to introduce 'suplice' to rhyme with "Eurydice" of the 'vocative' (one vocative too many, for my taste, in this arietta). Instead, the Italian, rather clumsily, introduces a different emphatic, "Oh Dio", which sort of puts me off slightly. I do tend to use this exclamative often, but without MEANING it. How many of us, do say, "Oh my God" withOUT meaning it. I think this is the case with Orfeo. In any case, in those days, they believed in like 15 gods, so we are not sure who he is thinking. So this must be Cazalbigi.
Line 8
Another feature of interest is the 'moi' in the 'responds-moi'. The Italian does with a rather more effective repetition of the 'rispondi'. The second one is exactly a gem in the octave range it covers. Instead the French does not really repeat the cri-de-coeur. It has 'responds' on one line and 'responds-MOI' in the second. As if Eurydice could respond to someone OTHER than the inquirer.
line 9-10.
The (b) section of this second stanza offers a new introduction of a new proposition in the French text that is not covered in the original Italian. It's the line, "entends ma voix qui t'appelle". The Italian does with the 'husband' motif. After all, the play -- and especially the Monteverdi -- opens, effectively, with the WEDDING. This is some sort of 'honeymoon' in hell they are suffering. She possibly died a virgin. So, it is 'meant' that Orfeo sees himself as 'il tuo fedel'. The French introduces, hyperbolically, 'epoux' (spouse) and instead of sticking to the repetition of the 'ALWAYS' (pure) your faithful one (il tuo fedel) adds this point about 'hear my voice that calls for you'.
line 12.
While the rhyme in the next section in Italian is magisterial (speranza, avanza -- or 'avanza', 'speranza', rather) the French manages even perhaps better with the addition of a THIRD -ance ending word. So we have 'silence' (to match 'avanza') and 'esperance' which matches 'speranza' -- but it adds "quel souffrance'. Yet another 'exclamative'. When I write 'proper' exclamative I mean the use of the wh- pronoun followed by the noun. Quelle souffrance. When we say, "What beauty!", what do we mean? I contend that we mean something like "This is SOME beauty". I.e. the use of the interrogative pronoun in the exclamative use is quite a bother, pragmatic. It has the form of a question, but it's an exclamation, and what is 'exclaimed' is just IMPLICATED. What suffering! Meaning -- what?
line 13.
While we cannot say that the Italian text is structured in terms of LONG phrases, one of the longest, grammatical, is that 'avanza--speranza' one which ends with 'ne dal ciel'. I.e. the whole section is just ONE proposition. "I have no hope on earth or heaven", he is saying. Instead the French version prefers to cut the proposition short -- instead of the locative, 'in earth as in heaven' we find a new proposition, with, yes, another exclamative, 'quel tournment dechire mon coeur'.
---- Next: to locate in the classical literature -- of the Greeks preferably -- anything similar coming from the VOICE of "Orfeo".
Or something --.
I
Che farò senza Euridice? J'ai perdu mon Eurydice.
Dove andrò senza il mio ben? Rien n'égale mon malheur.
Che farò? Dove andrò? Sort cruel! Quelle rigueur!
Che farò senza il mio ben? Rien n'égale mon malheur.
Dove andrò senza il mio ben? Je succombe à ma douleur.
II
(a)
Euridice! Euridice! Eurydice! Eurydice!
Oh Dio, rispondi! Réponds! Quel supplice!
Rispondi! Réponds-moi!
(b)
Io son pure il tuo fedel. C'est ton époux, ton époux fidèle.
Io son pure il tuo fedel. Entends ma voix qui t'appelle,
il tuo fedel. ma voix qui t'appelle.
III
Che farò senza Euridice? J'ai perdu mon Eurydice.
Dove andrò senza il mio ben? Rien m'égale mon malheur.
Che farò? Dove andrò? Sort cruel! Quelle rigueur!
Che farò senza il mio ben? Rien m'égale mon malheur.
Dove andrò senza il mio ben? Je succombe à ma doleur.
IV
(a)
Euridice! Euridice! Euydice! Eurydice!
(b)
Ah, non m'avanza Mortel silence!
Più soccorso, più speranza Vaine esperance! Quelle souffrance!
Né dal mondo né dal ciel. Quel tourment déchire mon cœur.
V
Che farò senza Euridice? J'ai perdu mon Eurydice.
Dove andrò senza il mio ben? Rien m'egale mon malheur.
Che fafò? Dove andrò? Sort cruel! Quelle rigueur!
che faro senza il mio ben Rien m'égale mon malheur.
Che farò? Dove andrò? Sort cruel! Quelle rigueur!
Che farò senza il mio ben? J'ai succombe à ma doleur,
Senza il mio ben? à ma doleur,
Senza il mio ben? à ma doleur.
NOTES.
For what is worth (a lot, :) -- since you won't find this online, this far!) the strict comparison, line-by-line of Ranieri de' Calzabigi and Moline's translation, which Ricordi ignored when he omitted it in the 1889 edition. One may do with a strict analysis of 'performative' acts. The Italian version is all about 'rhetorical' questions, almost -- although not quite. Some say that Orfeo is a controversial figure. So, when he says, "What shall I do WITHOUT Eurydice?" he may MEAN it. As it happens, he became so disilussioned with women after this disgrace that it provoked the reaction by the Furies who dismember him. I understand this was the original Monteverdi ending which he was forced to adapt for the wedding of de Medici, or something.
lines 1-2.
So, to the 'question', "Che faro, dove andro?", the French offers a statement: "J'ai perdu mon Eurydice". (In fact, this has been parodied, elsewhere, as "J'ai TROUVE mon Eurydice"). Again, the second 'rhetoric' question ("Where will I go without my good?") becomes another statement, however spiritual, "Rien n'egale mon malheur".
lines 3-4.
The loveliness of the interrupted questions in the Italian, "What shall I do, where shall I go" (che faro, dove andro) are turned into 'exclamatives' in French. In fact, I find one exclamative too many in the French. So the first here are "Sort cruel!" corresponding to the abbreviated question, "Che faro", and the proper exclamative, "Quelle rigueur" for the "dove andro".
line 5.
The next divergence is the introduction of a NEW proposition in the first 'stanza', 'Je succombe a ma doleur' in the French. The Italian just does with a repetition of previous, er, questions, notably the second: "Dove andro senza il mio ben?".
line 5.
Now, we can examine the rhyme in the first stanza. The French manages with a perfect consonant rhyme in a trio: malheur--rigueur--douleur. Which is unavailable in Italian, which merely has, but I love it, still, 'mio ben', rhyiming with 'mio ben', rhyming with 'mio ben'!
line 6-7.
In the second 'stanza', Moline manages to introduce 'suplice' to rhyme with "Eurydice" of the 'vocative' (one vocative too many, for my taste, in this arietta). Instead, the Italian, rather clumsily, introduces a different emphatic, "Oh Dio", which sort of puts me off slightly. I do tend to use this exclamative often, but without MEANING it. How many of us, do say, "Oh my God" withOUT meaning it. I think this is the case with Orfeo. In any case, in those days, they believed in like 15 gods, so we are not sure who he is thinking. So this must be Cazalbigi.
Line 8
Another feature of interest is the 'moi' in the 'responds-moi'. The Italian does with a rather more effective repetition of the 'rispondi'. The second one is exactly a gem in the octave range it covers. Instead the French does not really repeat the cri-de-coeur. It has 'responds' on one line and 'responds-MOI' in the second. As if Eurydice could respond to someone OTHER than the inquirer.
line 9-10.
The (b) section of this second stanza offers a new introduction of a new proposition in the French text that is not covered in the original Italian. It's the line, "entends ma voix qui t'appelle". The Italian does with the 'husband' motif. After all, the play -- and especially the Monteverdi -- opens, effectively, with the WEDDING. This is some sort of 'honeymoon' in hell they are suffering. She possibly died a virgin. So, it is 'meant' that Orfeo sees himself as 'il tuo fedel'. The French introduces, hyperbolically, 'epoux' (spouse) and instead of sticking to the repetition of the 'ALWAYS' (pure) your faithful one (il tuo fedel) adds this point about 'hear my voice that calls for you'.
line 12.
While the rhyme in the next section in Italian is magisterial (speranza, avanza -- or 'avanza', 'speranza', rather) the French manages even perhaps better with the addition of a THIRD -ance ending word. So we have 'silence' (to match 'avanza') and 'esperance' which matches 'speranza' -- but it adds "quel souffrance'. Yet another 'exclamative'. When I write 'proper' exclamative I mean the use of the wh- pronoun followed by the noun. Quelle souffrance. When we say, "What beauty!", what do we mean? I contend that we mean something like "This is SOME beauty". I.e. the use of the interrogative pronoun in the exclamative use is quite a bother, pragmatic. It has the form of a question, but it's an exclamation, and what is 'exclaimed' is just IMPLICATED. What suffering! Meaning -- what?
line 13.
While we cannot say that the Italian text is structured in terms of LONG phrases, one of the longest, grammatical, is that 'avanza--speranza' one which ends with 'ne dal ciel'. I.e. the whole section is just ONE proposition. "I have no hope on earth or heaven", he is saying. Instead the French version prefers to cut the proposition short -- instead of the locative, 'in earth as in heaven' we find a new proposition, with, yes, another exclamative, 'quel tournment dechire mon coeur'.
---- Next: to locate in the classical literature -- of the Greeks preferably -- anything similar coming from the VOICE of "Orfeo".
Or something --.
Two-column format for "Che faro senza Euridice?"
I
Che farò senza Euridice? J'ai perdu mon Eurydice.
Dove andrò senza il mio been? Rien n'égale mon malheur
Che faro? Dove andro? Sort cruel! Quelle rigueur!
Che faro senza il mio ben? Rien n'égale mon malheur.
Dove andro senza il mio ben? Je succombe à ma douleur.
II
Euridice! Euridice! Eurydice! Eurydice!
Oh Dio, rispondi! Réponds! quel supplice!
Rispondi! Réponds-moi!
Io son pure il tuo fedel. C'est ton époux fidèle.
Io son pure il tuo fedel. Entends ma voix qui t'appelle,
il tuo fedel. ma voix qui t'appelle.
III
Che faro senza Euridice? J'ai perdu mon Eurydice.
Dove andro senza il mio ben. Rien m'egale mon malheur
Che faro, dove andro Sorte cruel, quelle rigeur
Che faro senza il mio ben Rien m'egale mon malheur
dove andro senza il mio ben. Je succombe a mon doleur.
IV
Euridice! Euridice! Eyrydice! Eurydice!
Ah, non m'avanza Mortel silence!
più soccorso, più speranza Vaine esperance! Quelle souffrance!
né dal mondo né dal ciel. Quel tourment déchire mon cœur.
V
Che farò senza Euridice? j'ai perdu mon Eurydice.
Dove andrò senza il mio ben Rien m'egale mon malheur
Che faro? Dove andro? Sorte cruel! Quelle rigeur!
che faro senza il mio ben rien m'egale mon malheur
Che faro? Dove andro? Sort cruel! Quelle rigeur!
Che faro senza il mio ben? j'ai soccombe a mon doleur
senza il mio ben? a mon doleur
senza il mio ben? a mon doleur.
Che farò senza Euridice? J'ai perdu mon Eurydice.
Dove andrò senza il mio been? Rien n'égale mon malheur
Che faro? Dove andro? Sort cruel! Quelle rigueur!
Che faro senza il mio ben? Rien n'égale mon malheur.
Dove andro senza il mio ben? Je succombe à ma douleur.
II
Euridice! Euridice! Eurydice! Eurydice!
Oh Dio, rispondi! Réponds! quel supplice!
Rispondi! Réponds-moi!
Io son pure il tuo fedel. C'est ton époux fidèle.
Io son pure il tuo fedel. Entends ma voix qui t'appelle,
il tuo fedel. ma voix qui t'appelle.
III
Che faro senza Euridice? J'ai perdu mon Eurydice.
Dove andro senza il mio ben. Rien m'egale mon malheur
Che faro, dove andro Sorte cruel, quelle rigeur
Che faro senza il mio ben Rien m'egale mon malheur
dove andro senza il mio ben. Je succombe a mon doleur.
IV
Euridice! Euridice! Eyrydice! Eurydice!
Ah, non m'avanza Mortel silence!
più soccorso, più speranza Vaine esperance! Quelle souffrance!
né dal mondo né dal ciel. Quel tourment déchire mon cœur.
V
Che farò senza Euridice? j'ai perdu mon Eurydice.
Dove andrò senza il mio ben Rien m'egale mon malheur
Che faro? Dove andro? Sorte cruel! Quelle rigeur!
che faro senza il mio ben rien m'egale mon malheur
Che faro? Dove andro? Sort cruel! Quelle rigeur!
Che faro senza il mio ben? j'ai soccombe a mon doleur
senza il mio ben? a mon doleur
senza il mio ben? a mon doleur.
Line-by-line: Italian-French, Che faro senza Euridice, J'ai perdu mon Eurydice
I
Che farò senza Euridice.
j'ai perdu mon Eurydice.
dove andrò senza il mio be-en.
rien n'égale mon malheur
che faro? dove andro?
sort cruel, quelle rigueur
che faro senza il mio ben
rien n'égale mon malheur.
dove andro senza il mio ben?
je succombe à ma douleur.
--- II
(a)
Euridice! Euridice!
Eurydice! Eurydice!
oh dio, rispondi,
réponds! quel supplice!
rispondi.
Réponds-moi!
(b)
io son pure il tuo fedel.
C'est ton époux fidèle.
io son pure il tuo fedel.
Entends ma voix qui t'appelle,
il tuo fedel.
ma voix qui t'appelle.
BACK TO I:
che faro senza Euridice?
j'ai perdu mon Eurydice.
dove andro senza il mio bene.
rien m'egale mon malheur
che faro, dove andro
sorte cruel, quelle rigeur
che faro senza il mio be-e-ne
rien m'egale mon malheur
dove andro senza il mio ben.
j'ai succombe a mon doleur.
III
Euridice, Euridice.
Eyrydice! Eurydice!
(b)
Ah, non m'avanza più soccorso, più speranza
mortel silence! vaine esperance! quelle souffrance!
né dal mondo né dal ciel.
quel tourment déchire mon cœur.
--- IV -- back to I
che farò senza Euridice?
j'ai perdu mon Eurydice.
dove andrò senza il mio ben
rien m'egale mon malheur
che faro, dove andro
sorte cruel, quelle rigeur
che faro senza il mio ben
rien m'egale mon malheur
che faro, dove andro
sort cruel, quelle rigeur
che faro senza il mio ben
j'ai soccombe a mon doleur
senza il mio ben
a mon doleur
senza il mio ben.
a mon doleur.
Che farò senza Euridice.
j'ai perdu mon Eurydice.
dove andrò senza il mio be-en.
rien n'égale mon malheur
che faro? dove andro?
sort cruel, quelle rigueur
che faro senza il mio ben
rien n'égale mon malheur.
dove andro senza il mio ben?
je succombe à ma douleur.
--- II
(a)
Euridice! Euridice!
Eurydice! Eurydice!
oh dio, rispondi,
réponds! quel supplice!
rispondi.
Réponds-moi!
(b)
io son pure il tuo fedel.
C'est ton époux fidèle.
io son pure il tuo fedel.
Entends ma voix qui t'appelle,
il tuo fedel.
ma voix qui t'appelle.
BACK TO I:
che faro senza Euridice?
j'ai perdu mon Eurydice.
dove andro senza il mio bene.
rien m'egale mon malheur
che faro, dove andro
sorte cruel, quelle rigeur
che faro senza il mio be-e-ne
rien m'egale mon malheur
dove andro senza il mio ben.
j'ai succombe a mon doleur.
III
Euridice, Euridice.
Eyrydice! Eurydice!
(b)
Ah, non m'avanza più soccorso, più speranza
mortel silence! vaine esperance! quelle souffrance!
né dal mondo né dal ciel.
quel tourment déchire mon cœur.
--- IV -- back to I
che farò senza Euridice?
j'ai perdu mon Eurydice.
dove andrò senza il mio ben
rien m'egale mon malheur
che faro, dove andro
sorte cruel, quelle rigeur
che faro senza il mio ben
rien m'egale mon malheur
che faro, dove andro
sort cruel, quelle rigeur
che faro senza il mio ben
j'ai soccombe a mon doleur
senza il mio ben
a mon doleur
senza il mio ben.
a mon doleur.
Monday, September 6, 2010
Che faro senza Euridice -- as sung by Schipa and Pavarotti
GLUCK, Orfeo (1764).
----- tenore.
------------------ rec. by Tito Schipa (with orchestra La Scala, 1932, L. Pavarotti, with piano acc. 1985)
---- DVD
piano introduction
---- vocal line:
che farò -- senza Euridice --
dove andrò -- senza il mio be-en.
che-e faro, dove-e andro
che faro senza el mio ben
do-o-ve andro se-enza il mio ben.
----
Euridice, Euridice
oh-dio -- rispondi,
---
rispo-o-o-o-ndi.
io son pure il tuo fedel.
io son pure il tuo fedel.
il tuo fed-e-l.
che faro senza Euridice
dove andro senza il mio bene.
che faro
dove andro
che faro senza il mio be-e-ne
dove andro senza il mio ben.
-----
Euridice -- Eu-u-u-ri-i-ce.
----
Ah- non m'avanza --- più soccorso
più speranza
né dal mondo ----- né-e-e-e-e- dal cie-e-e-e-l.
che farò senza Euridice
dove andrò senza il mio ben
che faro, dove andro
che faro senza il mio ben
che faro dove andro
che faro senza il mio bee-e--en
senza il mio be-e-e-n
senza il mio ben.
----- tenore.
------------------ rec. by Tito Schipa (with orchestra La Scala, 1932, L. Pavarotti, with piano acc. 1985)
---- DVD
piano introduction
---- vocal line:
che farò -- senza Euridice --
dove andrò -- senza il mio be-en.
che-e faro, dove-e andro
che faro senza el mio ben
do-o-ve andro se-enza il mio ben.
----
Euridice, Euridice
oh-dio -- rispondi,
---
rispo-o-o-o-ndi.
io son pure il tuo fedel.
io son pure il tuo fedel.
il tuo fed-e-l.
che faro senza Euridice
dove andro senza il mio bene.
che faro
dove andro
che faro senza il mio be-e-ne
dove andro senza il mio ben.
-----
Euridice -- Eu-u-u-ri-i-ce.
----
Ah- non m'avanza --- più soccorso
più speranza
né dal mondo ----- né-e-e-e-e- dal cie-e-e-e-l.
che farò senza Euridice
dove andrò senza il mio ben
che faro, dove andro
che faro senza il mio ben
che faro dove andro
che faro senza il mio bee-e--en
senza il mio be-e-e-n
senza il mio ben.
"Con che tenorita": With Gluck's "Orfeo" (del Globo) and Handel's "Serse" (Avenida), "Gli Operai" dedicate their fortnightly meeting to an examination of title roles regained for the tenor repertoire ("Che faro senza Euridice", "Ombra mai piu"). With Luigi Speranza at the piano. 5 pm. St. Michael Hall, Calle 58, No. 611, La Plata.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Che faro senza Euridice: il tenore italiano gluckiano
by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com
--- as recorded by tenor N. Gedda:
J'ai perdu mon Eurydice,
Rien n'égale mon malheur;
Sort cruel! quelle rigueur!
Rien n'égale mon malheur!
Je succombe à ma douleur!
Eurydice, Eurydice,
Réponds, quel supplice!
Réponds-moi!
C'est ton époux fidèle;
Entends ma voix qui t'appelle.
J'ai perdu mon Eurydice, etc
Eurydice, Eurydice!
Mortel silence! Vaine espérance!
Quelle souffrance!
Quel tourment déchire mon cœur!
J'ai perdu mon Eurydice, etc
Ah! puisse ma douleur finir avec ma vie!
Je ne survivrai pas à ce dernier revers.
Je touche encor aux portes des enfers,
J'aurai bientôt rejoint mon épouse chérie.
Oui, je te suis, tendre objet de ma foi,
Je te suis, attends-moi!
Tu ne me seras plus ravie,
Et la mort pour jamais va m'unir avec toi.
--- as recorded by tenor N. Gedda:
J'ai perdu mon Eurydice,
Rien n'égale mon malheur;
Sort cruel! quelle rigueur!
Rien n'égale mon malheur!
Je succombe à ma douleur!
Eurydice, Eurydice,
Réponds, quel supplice!
Réponds-moi!
C'est ton époux fidèle;
Entends ma voix qui t'appelle.
J'ai perdu mon Eurydice, etc
Eurydice, Eurydice!
Mortel silence! Vaine espérance!
Quelle souffrance!
Quel tourment déchire mon cœur!
J'ai perdu mon Eurydice, etc
Ah! puisse ma douleur finir avec ma vie!
Je ne survivrai pas à ce dernier revers.
Je touche encor aux portes des enfers,
J'aurai bientôt rejoint mon épouse chérie.
Oui, je te suis, tendre objet de ma foi,
Je te suis, attends-moi!
Tu ne me seras plus ravie,
Et la mort pour jamais va m'unir avec toi.
Il tenore italiano gluckiano
by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com
Recordings of "Orfeo" 1774 Paris version (with tenor Orpheus)
Léopold Simoneau
(Philips mono, 1956 - reissued on CD 2001)
Nicolai Gedda
Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire,
Louis de Fremont
Deutsche Grammophon, mono, 1955 - reissued on CD by Profil 2009)
Jean-Paul Fouchécourt
Naxos 2002
Richard Croft
Deutsche Grammophon Archiv, 2002, released 2004
J. D. Florez
Decca 2010
David Hobson
1993, (OpusArte/Faveo and Kultur 2006).
Recordings of "Orfeo" 1774 Paris version (with tenor Orpheus)
Léopold Simoneau
(Philips mono, 1956 - reissued on CD 2001)
Nicolai Gedda
Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire,
Louis de Fremont
Deutsche Grammophon, mono, 1955 - reissued on CD by Profil 2009)
Jean-Paul Fouchécourt
Naxos 2002
Richard Croft
Deutsche Grammophon Archiv, 2002, released 2004
J. D. Florez
Decca 2010
David Hobson
1993, (OpusArte/Faveo and Kultur 2006).
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Che faro senza Euridice? In search for Orfeo the tenor
by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com
--- to accompany production at "Il Globo".
"Orfeo ed Euridice ("Orphée et Eurydice") is an opera composed by Christoph Willibald Gluck based on the myth of Orfeo, set to a libretto by Ranieri de' Calzabigi."
"It belongs to the genre of the "azione teatrale," meaning an opera on a mythological subject with choruses and dancing.[1]
"The piece was first performed at Vienna on 5 October 1762."
""Orfeo ed Euridice" is the first of Gluck's "reform" operas, in which he attempted to replace the abstruse plots and overly complex music of opera seria with a "noble simplicity" in both the music and the drama.[2]
"The opera is the most popular of Gluck's works,[2] and one of the most influential on subsequent German opera."
"Variations on its plot—the underground rescue-mission in which the hero must control, or conceal, his emotions—include Mozart's The Magic Flute, Beethoven's Fidelio and Wagner's Das Rheingold."
"Though originally set to an Italian libretto, Orfeo ed Euridice owes much to the genre of French opera, particularly in its use of
accompanied recitative
and a general absence of vocal virtuosity."
"Indeed, 12 years after the 1762 premiere, Gluck re-adapted the opera to suit the tastes of a Parisian audience at the Académie Royale de Musique with a libretto by Pierre-Louis Moline."
"This reworking was given the title Orphée et Eurydice, and several alterations were made in vocal casting and orchestration to suit French tastes."
"Francesco Algarotti's Essay on the Opera (1755) was a major influence in the development of Gluck's reformist ideology.[3]"
"Algarotti proposed a heavily simplified model of opera seria, with the drama pre-eminent, instead of the music or ballet or staging. The drama itself should "delight the eyes and ears, to rouse up and to affect the hearts of an audience, without the risk of sinning against reason or common sense"."
"Algarotti's ideas influenced both Gluck and his librettist, Calzabigi.[4] Calzabigi was himself a prominent advocate of reform,[2] and he stated as follows."
""If Mr Gluck was the creator of dramatic music, he did not create it from nothing. I provided him with the material or the chaos, if you like. We therefore share the honour of that creation."[5]
"Other influences included the composer Niccolò Jommelli and his maître de ballet at Stuttgart, Jean-Georges Noverre.[4]
"Noverre's Lettres sur la danse (1760) called for dramatic effect over acrobatic ostentation; Noverre was himself influenced by the operas of Rameau and the acting style of David Garrick.[4]
"The considerable quantity of ballet in Orfeo ed Euridice is thought to be due to his influence. Jommelli himself was noted for his blending of all aspects of the production: ballet, staging, and audience.[6]"
Italian Premiere Cast
5 October 1762
(Conductor: - ) Revised version
French Premiere Cast
2 August 1774
(Conductor: - )
Orfeo Alto castrato (Vienna),
High tenor, Haute-contre (Paris),
or mezzo-soprano
Gaetano Guadagni
Joseph Legros
Amore soprano
Marianna Bianchi Sophie Arnould
Euridice soprano Lucia Clavereau Rosalie Levasseur
The first lines of arias, choruses, etc., are given in Italian (1762 version) and French (1774 version).
Atto 1. A chorus of nymphs and shepherds join Orfeo around the tomb of his wife Euridice in a solemn chorus of mourning; Orfeo is only able to utter Euridice's name (Chorus and Orfeo:
“Ah, se intorno”/“Ah! Dans ce bois”).
Orfeo sends the others away and sings of his grief in the aria
"Chiamo il mio ben"/“Objet de mon amour”,
the three verses of which are preceded by expressive recitatives. This technique was extremely radical at the time and indeed proved overly so for those who came after Gluck: Mozart chose to retain the unity of the aria. Amore (Cupid) appears, telling Orfeo that he may go to the Underworld and return with his wife on the condition that he not look at her until they are back on earth (1774 only: aria by Amour,
“Si les doux accords”). As encouragement, Amore informs Orfeo that his present suffering shall be short-lived with the aria
"Gli sguardi trattieni"/“Soumis au silence”.
Orfeo resolves to take on the quest. In the 1774 version only he delivers an ariette
("L'espoir renaît dans mon âme") in the older, showier, Italian style, originally composed for an occasional entertainment, Il Parnaso confuso (1765), and subsequently re-used in another one, Le feste d'Apollo (1769).[1]
Atto II.
In a rocky landscape, the Furies refuse to admit Orfeo to the Underworld, and sing of Cerberus, its canine guardian
(“Chi mai dell’Erebo”/“Quel est l’audacieux”).
When Orfeo, accompanied by his lyre (represented in the opera by a harp), begs for pity in the aria
"Deh placatevi con me"/“Laissez-vous toucher”,
he is at first interrupted by cries of "No!" from the Furies, but they are eventually softened by the sweetness of his singing in the arias
"Mille pene"/“Ah! La flamme and "Men tiranne"/“La tendresse”, and let him in
(“Ah, quale incognito affetto”/“Quels chants doux”).
In the 1774 version, the scene ends with the "Dance of the Furies" (No. 28).[7]
The second scene opens in Elysium. The brief ballet of 1762 became the four-movement "Dance of the Blessed Spirits" (with a prominent part for solo flute) in 1774. This is followed (1774 only) by a solo which celebrates happiness in eternal bliss (“Cet asile”), sung by either an unnamed Spirit or Euridice, and repeated by the chorus. Orfeo arrives and marvels at the purity of the air in an arioso
("Che puro ciel"/“Quel nouveau ciel”).
But he finds no solace in the beauty of the surroundings, for Euridice is not yet with him. He implores the spirits to bring her to him, which they do (Chorus:
“Torna, o bella”/“Près du tendre objet”).
Atto III
On the way out of Hades, Euridice is delighted to be returning to earth, but Orfeo, remembering the condition related by Amore in Act I, lets go of her hand and refuses to look at her, does not explain anything to her. She does not understand his action and reproaches him, but he must suffer in silence (Duet:
“Vieni, appaga il tuo consorte”/“Viens, suis un époux”).
Euridice takes this to be a sign that he no longer loves her, and refuses to continue, concluding that death would be preferable. She sings of her grief at Orfeo's supposed infidelity in the aria "Che fiero momento"/“Fortune ennemie” (in 1774, there is a brief duet before the reprise). Unable to take any more, Orfeo turns and looks at Euridice; again, she dies. Orfeo sings of his grief in the famous aria
Che farò senza Euridice?
J’ai perdu mon Eurydice
(“What shall I do without Euridice?”/"I have lost my Euridice")
Orfeo decides he will kill himself to join Euridice in Hades, but Amore returns to stop him (1774 only: Trio: “Tendre Amour”). In reward for Orfeo's continued love, Amore returns Euridice to life, and she and Orfeo are reunited. After a four-movement ballet, all sing in praise of Amore (“Trionfi Amore”). In the 1774 version, the chorus (“L’Amour triomphe”) precedes the ballet, to which Gluck had added three extra movements.
The opera was first performed in Vienna at the Burgtheater on 5 October 1762, for the name-day celebrations of the Emperor Francis I.
The production was supervised by the reformist theatre administrator, Count Giacomo Durazzo.
Choreography was by Gasparo Angiolini, and set designs were by Giovanni Maria Quaglio, both leading members of their fields.
The first Orfeo was the famous castrato Gaetano Guadagni.
Orfeo was revived in Vienna during the following year, but then not performed until 1769.
For the performances that took place in London in 1770, Guadagni sang the role of Orfeo, but little of the music bore any relation to Gluck's original, with J.C. Bach - "the English Bach" - providing most of the new music.[2]
Haydn conducted a performance of the Italian version at Eszterháza in 1776.
During the early 19th century, Adolphe Nourrit became particularly well-known for his performances of Orfeo at the Paris Opera.
In 1854 Franz Liszt conducted the work at Weimar, composing a symphonic poem of his own to replace Gluck's original overture.[2]
Typically during the 19th century and for most of the 20th century, the role of Orfeo was sung by a female contralto, and noted interpreters of the role from this time include Clara Butt and Kathleen Ferrier, and the mezzo-sopranos Rita Gorr, Marilyn Horne, Janet Baker and Risë Stevens (at the Metropolitan Opera).[2]
Among conductors, Arturo Toscanini was a notable proponent of the opera.[2] His radio broadcast of Act II was eventually released on both LP and CD.
In 1769 for a performance at Parma which was conducted by the composer,[2] Gluck transposed the role of Orfeo up for the soprano castrato Giuseppe Millico, maintaining a libretto in Italian.
This version has not been performed in modern times.[2]
Gluck revised the score again for a production in Paris, which premiered on 2 August 1774.
This version, named Orphée et Eurydice, had a French libretto by Pierre-Louis Moline, which was both a translation of and an expansion upon Calzabigi's original text.
Gluck expanded and rewrote parts of the opera, and changed the role of Orfeo from a part for a castrato to one for high tenor or the so-called haute-contre - the usual voice in French opera for heroic characters - as the French almost never used castrati.[2]
This version of the work also had additional ballet sequences, conforming to the tastes that were prevalent at the time in Paris.
In 1859, the composer Hector Berlioz made a version of the opera - in four acts - with the singer Pauline Viardot in mind, adapting the score for a female alto.[8]
In this adaptation, Berlioz used the key scheme of the 1762 Vienna score while incorporating much of the additional music of the 1774 Paris score.
He returned to the Italian version only when he considered it to be superior either in terms of music or in terms of the drama.[8]
He also changed the orchestration to take advantage of new developments in musical instruments.[8]
In Berlioz's day, Orfeo came to be generally sung by a female alto or
a tenor,
as the original version for castrato became increasingly neglected.
Operatic castrati themselves had virtually vanished by 1825, and performances of the original version for castrato became increasingly rare.
The modern practice of approximating castrati by using countertenors as replacements only dates to 1950.[2]
Finally, an 1889 edition, published by Ricordi, combined elements of both the Italian and the French versions, using again a female alto as Orfeo.
This edition proved extremely popular, and consisted largely of Berlioz's adaption condensed into three acts.
It also re-incorporated much of the music of the 1774 French version that had been omitted by Berlioz.
On occasion the role of Orfeo has even been transposed down an octave for a baritone to sing.
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and Hermann Prey are two notable baritones who have performed the role in Germany.[2]
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau recorded the opera, a recording which is still available commercially.
The opera was the first by Gluck showing signs of his ambition to reform opera seria. Self-contained arias and choruses make way for shorter pieces strung together to make larger structural units. Da capo arias are notable by their absence;[2]
Gluck instead uses strophic form, notably in Act One's "Chiamo il mio ben così", where each verse is interposed with dramatic recitative, - that is, stromentato, where the voice is accompanied by part or all of the orchestra - and rondo form, such as in Act Three's famous
"Che farò senza Euridice?".
Also absent is traditional secco recitative, where the voice is accompanied only by the basso continuo.[2]
On the whole, old Italian operatic conventions are disregarded in favour of giving the action dramatic impetus.
The complexity of the storyline is greatly reduced by eliminating subplots. Gluck was influenced by the example of French tragédies en musique, particularly those of Rameau. Like them, the opera contains a large number of expressive dances, extensive use of the chorus and accompanied recitative.[2]
The coup de théâtre of opening the drama with a chorus mourning one of the main characters is very similar to that used in Rameau's Castor et Pollux (1737).[9]
Other elements do not follow Gluck's subsequent reforms; for instance, the brisk, cheerful overture does not reflect the action to come.[2]
The role of Orfeo calls for an especially gifted actor, so that the strophic "Chiamo il mio ben così" does not become dull, and so that tragic import can be given both to this aria and to
"Che farò senza Euridice?", both of which are based on harmonies that are not obviously mournful in nature.[10]
The first Orfeo, Gaetano Guadagni, was reputedly a fine actor who had certainly taken lessons while in London from the renowned Shakespearian actor David Garrick.
Guadagni was apparently also able to project a moving and emotive tone without raising his voice.[10]
Indeed, Gluck faced criticism of "Che farò senza Euridice?" on the grounds that it was emotionally uninvolved;
he responded by pointing out the absolute necessity of fine execution of the aria:
"make the slightest change, either in the movement or in the turn of expression, and it will become a saltarello for marionettes".[10]
Gluck's reforms, which began with Orfeo ed Euridice, have had significant influence throughout operatic history. Gluck's ideals heavily influenced the popular works of Mozart, Wagner, and Weber,[11] with Wagner's Gesamtkunstwerk vision especially influenced by that of Gluck.[12]
Old-style opera seria and the domination of embellishment-orientated singers came to be increasingly unpopular after the success of Gluck's operas as a whole and Orfeo in particular.[2]
In Orfeo ed Euridice the orchestra is far more predominant than in earlier opera, most notably in Orfeo's arioso "Che puro ciel". Here the voice is reduced to the comparatively minor role of recitative-style declamation, while the oboe carries the main melody, supported by solos from the flute, cello, bassoon, and horn. There is also accompaniment from the strings (playing in triplets) and the continuo in the most complex orchestration that Gluck ever wrote.[2]
Gluck made a number of changes to the orchestration of Orfeo when adapting it from the original Italian version to the French version of 1774.
Cornetts and chalumeaux are replaced by commoner and more modern oboes and clarinets, while the part played by trombones considerably decreases, possibly due to a lack of technical ability on the part of the French trombonists.[5] Cornetts were instruments that were typically used for church music, and chalumeaux were predominant only in chamber music: both cornetts and chalumeaux were unpopular in France in 1774.[5]
In many ways the change from chalumeau to oboe corresponds to that from castrato to high tenor.[5]
Neither castrato nor chalumeau were to survive.[5]
In both the Italian and French version Orfeo's lyre is represented by the harp, and it was this use of the instrument in 1774 that it is usually thought introduced the harp to French orchestras.[5]
Each verse of the strophic "Chiamo il mio ben cosi" is accompanied by different solo instruments.
In Vienna these were flute, horns, and English horns, but in 1774 Gluck was required to change this orchestration to that of a single horn and two clarinets, again replacing uncommon instruments with those in far more widespread usage.[5] During the aria "Chiamo il mio ben cosi" and the interspersing recitatives Gluck added another offstage orchestra consisting of strings and chalumeaux, in order to provide an echo effect.[2]
There have been numerous recordings of the different versions, especially of the Berlioz adaptation featuring a female Orfeo.
The British alto Kathleen Ferrier and American mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne were especially notable interpreters.[2]
In recent years, recordings and stage productions of the Vienna version of the opera have featured countertenors in the role of Orpheus.
Countertenors Derek Lee Ragin, Jochen Kowalski, René Jacobs, James Bowman, and Michael Chance have recorded Orfeo ed Euridice.
Until recent times, most recordings of all versions were cut or altered in some way.[13]
------------------
Recordings of the version
for
TENOR are still relatively rare
due to a lack of genuine haute-contres:[2]
there is one from the mid-1950s starring
Léopold Simoneau
opposite his wife Pierrette Alarie, and
Nicolai Gedda
also recorded the role in 1955.[2]
(Simoneau's version has been available on CD, although not at present, but Gedda's recording had its premiere CD release in 2009.)
In 2002 haute-contre
Jean-Paul Fouchécourt
added his version, while
Marc Minkowski
brought out a period instrument performance with
Richard Croft
in the title role in 2004.
In April 2010, a concert performance recorded in Madrid two years earlier by tenore di grazia
Juan Diego Florez,
was finally released.
There is also a DVD of the 1993 Australian Opera production, directed by Stefanos Lazaridis, with Australian haute-contre
David Hobson as Orfeo.
1762 Vienna version (with counter-tenor Orpheus)
Jochen Kowalski (Orfeo), Dagmar Schellenberger-Ernst (Euridice), Christian Fliegner (Amore); Berlin Radio Chorus, C.P.E. Bach Chamber Orchestra, Hartmut Haenchen (Capriccio, 1990)
Derek Lee Ragin (Orfeo), Sylvia McNair (Euridice), Cyndia Sieden (Amore); Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists, John Eliot Gardiner (Philips, 1991)
James Bowman (Orfeo), Lynne Dawson (Euridice), Claron McFadden (Amore); Choeur de Chambre de Namur, La Grande Écurie et La Chambre du Roy, Jean-Claude Malgoire (Astrée 1994)
1762 Vienna version (with female Orpheus)
Rise Stevens (Orfeo), Lisa Della Casa (Euridice), Roberta Peters (Amore); Chorus and Orchestra of the Rome Opera, Pierre Monteux (RCA, 1957)
Shirley Verrett (Orfeo), Anna Moffo (Euridice), Judith Raskin (Amore); Polyphonic Chorus of Rome, I Virtuosi di Roma, Renato Fasano (RCA, 1965)
Marilyn Horne (Orfeo), Pilar Lorengar (Euridice), Helen Donath (Amore); Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Georg Solti (Decca, 1969)
Bernarda Fink (Orfeo), Veronica Cangemi (Euridice), Maria Cristina Kiehr (Amore); RIAS Kammerchor, Freiburger Barockorchester, René Jacobs (Harmonia Mundi, 2001)
1762 Vienna version (with baritone Orpheus)
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (Orfeo), Gundula Janowitz (Euridice), Edda Moser (Amore); Münchener Bach-Chor, Münchener Bach-Orchester, Karl Richter (Deutsche Grammophon) stereo.
1774 Paris version (with TENOR Orfeo)
Léopold Simoneau (Orphée), Suzanne Danco (Eurydice), Pierrette Alarie (Amour); Robert Blanchard Vocal Ensemble, Orchestre Lamoureux, Hans Rosbaud (Philips mono, 1956 - reissued on CD 2001)
TENOR Nicolai Gedda (Orfeo), Janine Micheau (Eurydice), Liliane Berton (Amour); Chef du choeur Elisabeth Brasseur, Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire, Louis de Fremont (Deutsche Grammophon, mono, 1955 - reissued on CD by Profil 2009)
TENOR Jean-Paul Fouchécourt (Orfeo), Catherine DuBosc (Eurydice), Suzie Le Blanc (Amour); Opera Lafayette Orchestra and Chorus, Ryan Brown (Naxos 2002)
TENOR Richard Croft (Orfeo), Mireille Delunsch (Eurydice), Marion Harousseau (Amour); Les Musiciens du Louvre, Marc Minkowski (Deutsche Grammophon Archiv, 2002, released 2004)
TENOR J. D. Florez (Orfeo), Ainhoa Garmendia (Eurydice), Alessandra Marianelli (Amour); Coro y Orquesta Titular del Teatro Real (Coro y Orquesta Sinfónica de Madrid), Jesus López-Cobos (Decca 2010)
TENOR David Hobson (Orfeo), Amanda Thane (Eurydice), Miriam Gormley (L'Amour); The Australian Opera Chorus, Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra, Marco Guidarini; DVD recorded at the Sydney Opera House, 20 September 1993, (OpusArte/Faveo and Kultur 2006).
[edit] 1859 Berlioz version
In French: Anne Sofie von Otter (Orphée), Barbara Hendricks (Eurydice), Brigitte Fournier (Amour); Monteverdi Choir, Lyon Opera Orchestra, John Eliot Gardiner (EMI)
In French: Ewa Podleś (Orphée), Raphaele Farman (Eurydice), Marie-Noelle de Callataÿ (Amour); Capella Brugensis, Collegium Instrumentale Brugense, Patrick Peire (Forlane)
In French: Jennifer Larmore (Orphée), Dawn Upshaw (Eurydice), Alison Hagley (Amour); Chorus and Orchestra of San Francisco Opera Donald Runnicles (Teldec 1996)
[edit] 1889 Ricordi composite version
In Italian : Kathleen Ferrier (Orfeo), Ann Ayars (Euridice), Zoe Vlachopoulos (Amore), Glyndebourne Festival Choir, Southern Philharmonic Orchestra, Fritz Stiedry (Decca mono, 1947 - abridged)
In Italian : Kathleen Ferrier (Orfeo), Greet Koeman (Euridice), Nel Duval (Amore), Chorus & Orchestra of Netherlands Opera, Charles Bruck, recorded live 1951, remastered and released in 2004 by EMI.
In Italian: Janet Baker (Orfeo), Elisabeth Speiser (Euridice), Elizabeth Gale (Amore); Glyndebourne Chorus, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Raymond Leppard (Erato, 1983)
In Italian: Marjana Lipovšek (Orfeo), Lucia Popp (Euridice), Julie Kaufmann (Amore); Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Münchner Rundfunkorchester, Leopold Hager (RCA, 1986)
[edit] See also
List of Orphean operas
[edit] Notes
1.^ a b Holden 1993, p. 375
2.^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Hayes
3.^ Orrey, p. 81
4.^ a b c Orrey, p. 83
5.^ a b c d e f g Mestron
6.^ Orrey, p. 82
7.^ In the Metropolitan Opera productions in 1950s, or even earlier, that number concluded Act 1 of the opera, and act 2 starts with the ballet music of the next scene.
8.^ a b c Holden 1995, p. 136
9.^ Girdlestone, p. 202. Girdlestone compares the effect of the two opening scenes in detail.
10.^ a b c Noiray
11.^ Orrey, p. 88
12.^ Orrey, p. 169
13.^ Loppert, pp. 26-31
[edit] References
Durazzo, Angela Valenti "La premiata ditta Durazzo & Gluck" in "I durazzo da schiavi a dogi della Repubblica di Genova", Principality of Monaco (2004).
Girdlestone, Cuthbert (1990). Jean-Philippe Rameau: His Life and Work. New York: Dover Publications. ISBN 0-486-26200-6.
Hayes, Jeremy: "Orfeo ed Euridice", Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed 10 December 2006), grovemusic.com, subscription access.
Holden, Amanda; Nicholas Kenyon, Stephen Walsh (eds.) (1995). The Penguin Opera Guide. Penguin. ISBN 978-0140251319.
Holden, Amanda; Alan Blyth (1993). The Viking opera guide. New York: Viking. ISBN 0-670-81292-7.
Loppert, Max (1979). "Orfeo ed Euridice". In: Alan Blyth (ed.) Opera on Record. London: Hutchinson. ISBN 0-09-139980-7.
Mestron, Hervé translated by Mary Pardoe:Archaisms and innovations in the orchestration of Orfeo (1994). Published by Astrée as a brief essay to accompany the Jean-Claude Malgoire recording above.
Noiray, Michael translated by Mary Pardoe:A musical manifesto (1994). Published by Astrée as a brief essay to accompany the Jean-Claude Malgoire recording above.
Orrey, Leslie; Rodney Milnes (1987). Opera, a concise history. London: Thames and Hudson. ISBN 0-500-20217-6.
[edit] External links
Libretto (Italian)
Libretto of the 1774 Paris version
Piano Vocal Score - English and Italian
The Opera Guide has the libretto in German, English, French and Italian as well as synopsis.
Orfeo ed Euridice MP3 Creative Commons Complete Recording
Synopsis of Orfeo ed Euridice (Metropolitan Opera)
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orfeo_ed_Euridice"
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--- to accompany production at "Il Globo".
"Orfeo ed Euridice ("Orphée et Eurydice") is an opera composed by Christoph Willibald Gluck based on the myth of Orfeo, set to a libretto by Ranieri de' Calzabigi."
"It belongs to the genre of the "azione teatrale," meaning an opera on a mythological subject with choruses and dancing.[1]
"The piece was first performed at Vienna on 5 October 1762."
""Orfeo ed Euridice" is the first of Gluck's "reform" operas, in which he attempted to replace the abstruse plots and overly complex music of opera seria with a "noble simplicity" in both the music and the drama.[2]
"The opera is the most popular of Gluck's works,[2] and one of the most influential on subsequent German opera."
"Variations on its plot—the underground rescue-mission in which the hero must control, or conceal, his emotions—include Mozart's The Magic Flute, Beethoven's Fidelio and Wagner's Das Rheingold."
"Though originally set to an Italian libretto, Orfeo ed Euridice owes much to the genre of French opera, particularly in its use of
accompanied recitative
and a general absence of vocal virtuosity."
"Indeed, 12 years after the 1762 premiere, Gluck re-adapted the opera to suit the tastes of a Parisian audience at the Académie Royale de Musique with a libretto by Pierre-Louis Moline."
"This reworking was given the title Orphée et Eurydice, and several alterations were made in vocal casting and orchestration to suit French tastes."
"Francesco Algarotti's Essay on the Opera (1755) was a major influence in the development of Gluck's reformist ideology.[3]"
"Algarotti proposed a heavily simplified model of opera seria, with the drama pre-eminent, instead of the music or ballet or staging. The drama itself should "delight the eyes and ears, to rouse up and to affect the hearts of an audience, without the risk of sinning against reason or common sense"."
"Algarotti's ideas influenced both Gluck and his librettist, Calzabigi.[4] Calzabigi was himself a prominent advocate of reform,[2] and he stated as follows."
""If Mr Gluck was the creator of dramatic music, he did not create it from nothing. I provided him with the material or the chaos, if you like. We therefore share the honour of that creation."[5]
"Other influences included the composer Niccolò Jommelli and his maître de ballet at Stuttgart, Jean-Georges Noverre.[4]
"Noverre's Lettres sur la danse (1760) called for dramatic effect over acrobatic ostentation; Noverre was himself influenced by the operas of Rameau and the acting style of David Garrick.[4]
"The considerable quantity of ballet in Orfeo ed Euridice is thought to be due to his influence. Jommelli himself was noted for his blending of all aspects of the production: ballet, staging, and audience.[6]"
Italian Premiere Cast
5 October 1762
(Conductor: - ) Revised version
French Premiere Cast
2 August 1774
(Conductor: - )
Orfeo Alto castrato (Vienna),
High tenor, Haute-contre (Paris),
or mezzo-soprano
Gaetano Guadagni
Joseph Legros
Amore soprano
Marianna Bianchi Sophie Arnould
Euridice soprano Lucia Clavereau Rosalie Levasseur
The first lines of arias, choruses, etc., are given in Italian (1762 version) and French (1774 version).
Atto 1. A chorus of nymphs and shepherds join Orfeo around the tomb of his wife Euridice in a solemn chorus of mourning; Orfeo is only able to utter Euridice's name (Chorus and Orfeo:
“Ah, se intorno”/“Ah! Dans ce bois”).
Orfeo sends the others away and sings of his grief in the aria
"Chiamo il mio ben"/“Objet de mon amour”,
the three verses of which are preceded by expressive recitatives. This technique was extremely radical at the time and indeed proved overly so for those who came after Gluck: Mozart chose to retain the unity of the aria. Amore (Cupid) appears, telling Orfeo that he may go to the Underworld and return with his wife on the condition that he not look at her until they are back on earth (1774 only: aria by Amour,
“Si les doux accords”). As encouragement, Amore informs Orfeo that his present suffering shall be short-lived with the aria
"Gli sguardi trattieni"/“Soumis au silence”.
Orfeo resolves to take on the quest. In the 1774 version only he delivers an ariette
("L'espoir renaît dans mon âme") in the older, showier, Italian style, originally composed for an occasional entertainment, Il Parnaso confuso (1765), and subsequently re-used in another one, Le feste d'Apollo (1769).[1]
Atto II.
In a rocky landscape, the Furies refuse to admit Orfeo to the Underworld, and sing of Cerberus, its canine guardian
(“Chi mai dell’Erebo”/“Quel est l’audacieux”).
When Orfeo, accompanied by his lyre (represented in the opera by a harp), begs for pity in the aria
"Deh placatevi con me"/“Laissez-vous toucher”,
he is at first interrupted by cries of "No!" from the Furies, but they are eventually softened by the sweetness of his singing in the arias
"Mille pene"/“Ah! La flamme and "Men tiranne"/“La tendresse”, and let him in
(“Ah, quale incognito affetto”/“Quels chants doux”).
In the 1774 version, the scene ends with the "Dance of the Furies" (No. 28).[7]
The second scene opens in Elysium. The brief ballet of 1762 became the four-movement "Dance of the Blessed Spirits" (with a prominent part for solo flute) in 1774. This is followed (1774 only) by a solo which celebrates happiness in eternal bliss (“Cet asile”), sung by either an unnamed Spirit or Euridice, and repeated by the chorus. Orfeo arrives and marvels at the purity of the air in an arioso
("Che puro ciel"/“Quel nouveau ciel”).
But he finds no solace in the beauty of the surroundings, for Euridice is not yet with him. He implores the spirits to bring her to him, which they do (Chorus:
“Torna, o bella”/“Près du tendre objet”).
Atto III
On the way out of Hades, Euridice is delighted to be returning to earth, but Orfeo, remembering the condition related by Amore in Act I, lets go of her hand and refuses to look at her, does not explain anything to her. She does not understand his action and reproaches him, but he must suffer in silence (Duet:
“Vieni, appaga il tuo consorte”/“Viens, suis un époux”).
Euridice takes this to be a sign that he no longer loves her, and refuses to continue, concluding that death would be preferable. She sings of her grief at Orfeo's supposed infidelity in the aria "Che fiero momento"/“Fortune ennemie” (in 1774, there is a brief duet before the reprise). Unable to take any more, Orfeo turns and looks at Euridice; again, she dies. Orfeo sings of his grief in the famous aria
Che farò senza Euridice?
J’ai perdu mon Eurydice
(“What shall I do without Euridice?”/"I have lost my Euridice")
Orfeo decides he will kill himself to join Euridice in Hades, but Amore returns to stop him (1774 only: Trio: “Tendre Amour”). In reward for Orfeo's continued love, Amore returns Euridice to life, and she and Orfeo are reunited. After a four-movement ballet, all sing in praise of Amore (“Trionfi Amore”). In the 1774 version, the chorus (“L’Amour triomphe”) precedes the ballet, to which Gluck had added three extra movements.
The opera was first performed in Vienna at the Burgtheater on 5 October 1762, for the name-day celebrations of the Emperor Francis I.
The production was supervised by the reformist theatre administrator, Count Giacomo Durazzo.
Choreography was by Gasparo Angiolini, and set designs were by Giovanni Maria Quaglio, both leading members of their fields.
The first Orfeo was the famous castrato Gaetano Guadagni.
Orfeo was revived in Vienna during the following year, but then not performed until 1769.
For the performances that took place in London in 1770, Guadagni sang the role of Orfeo, but little of the music bore any relation to Gluck's original, with J.C. Bach - "the English Bach" - providing most of the new music.[2]
Haydn conducted a performance of the Italian version at Eszterháza in 1776.
During the early 19th century, Adolphe Nourrit became particularly well-known for his performances of Orfeo at the Paris Opera.
In 1854 Franz Liszt conducted the work at Weimar, composing a symphonic poem of his own to replace Gluck's original overture.[2]
Typically during the 19th century and for most of the 20th century, the role of Orfeo was sung by a female contralto, and noted interpreters of the role from this time include Clara Butt and Kathleen Ferrier, and the mezzo-sopranos Rita Gorr, Marilyn Horne, Janet Baker and Risë Stevens (at the Metropolitan Opera).[2]
Among conductors, Arturo Toscanini was a notable proponent of the opera.[2] His radio broadcast of Act II was eventually released on both LP and CD.
In 1769 for a performance at Parma which was conducted by the composer,[2] Gluck transposed the role of Orfeo up for the soprano castrato Giuseppe Millico, maintaining a libretto in Italian.
This version has not been performed in modern times.[2]
Gluck revised the score again for a production in Paris, which premiered on 2 August 1774.
This version, named Orphée et Eurydice, had a French libretto by Pierre-Louis Moline, which was both a translation of and an expansion upon Calzabigi's original text.
Gluck expanded and rewrote parts of the opera, and changed the role of Orfeo from a part for a castrato to one for high tenor or the so-called haute-contre - the usual voice in French opera for heroic characters - as the French almost never used castrati.[2]
This version of the work also had additional ballet sequences, conforming to the tastes that were prevalent at the time in Paris.
In 1859, the composer Hector Berlioz made a version of the opera - in four acts - with the singer Pauline Viardot in mind, adapting the score for a female alto.[8]
In this adaptation, Berlioz used the key scheme of the 1762 Vienna score while incorporating much of the additional music of the 1774 Paris score.
He returned to the Italian version only when he considered it to be superior either in terms of music or in terms of the drama.[8]
He also changed the orchestration to take advantage of new developments in musical instruments.[8]
In Berlioz's day, Orfeo came to be generally sung by a female alto or
a tenor,
as the original version for castrato became increasingly neglected.
Operatic castrati themselves had virtually vanished by 1825, and performances of the original version for castrato became increasingly rare.
The modern practice of approximating castrati by using countertenors as replacements only dates to 1950.[2]
Finally, an 1889 edition, published by Ricordi, combined elements of both the Italian and the French versions, using again a female alto as Orfeo.
This edition proved extremely popular, and consisted largely of Berlioz's adaption condensed into three acts.
It also re-incorporated much of the music of the 1774 French version that had been omitted by Berlioz.
On occasion the role of Orfeo has even been transposed down an octave for a baritone to sing.
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and Hermann Prey are two notable baritones who have performed the role in Germany.[2]
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau recorded the opera, a recording which is still available commercially.
The opera was the first by Gluck showing signs of his ambition to reform opera seria. Self-contained arias and choruses make way for shorter pieces strung together to make larger structural units. Da capo arias are notable by their absence;[2]
Gluck instead uses strophic form, notably in Act One's "Chiamo il mio ben così", where each verse is interposed with dramatic recitative, - that is, stromentato, where the voice is accompanied by part or all of the orchestra - and rondo form, such as in Act Three's famous
"Che farò senza Euridice?".
Also absent is traditional secco recitative, where the voice is accompanied only by the basso continuo.[2]
On the whole, old Italian operatic conventions are disregarded in favour of giving the action dramatic impetus.
The complexity of the storyline is greatly reduced by eliminating subplots. Gluck was influenced by the example of French tragédies en musique, particularly those of Rameau. Like them, the opera contains a large number of expressive dances, extensive use of the chorus and accompanied recitative.[2]
The coup de théâtre of opening the drama with a chorus mourning one of the main characters is very similar to that used in Rameau's Castor et Pollux (1737).[9]
Other elements do not follow Gluck's subsequent reforms; for instance, the brisk, cheerful overture does not reflect the action to come.[2]
The role of Orfeo calls for an especially gifted actor, so that the strophic "Chiamo il mio ben così" does not become dull, and so that tragic import can be given both to this aria and to
"Che farò senza Euridice?", both of which are based on harmonies that are not obviously mournful in nature.[10]
The first Orfeo, Gaetano Guadagni, was reputedly a fine actor who had certainly taken lessons while in London from the renowned Shakespearian actor David Garrick.
Guadagni was apparently also able to project a moving and emotive tone without raising his voice.[10]
Indeed, Gluck faced criticism of "Che farò senza Euridice?" on the grounds that it was emotionally uninvolved;
he responded by pointing out the absolute necessity of fine execution of the aria:
"make the slightest change, either in the movement or in the turn of expression, and it will become a saltarello for marionettes".[10]
Gluck's reforms, which began with Orfeo ed Euridice, have had significant influence throughout operatic history. Gluck's ideals heavily influenced the popular works of Mozart, Wagner, and Weber,[11] with Wagner's Gesamtkunstwerk vision especially influenced by that of Gluck.[12]
Old-style opera seria and the domination of embellishment-orientated singers came to be increasingly unpopular after the success of Gluck's operas as a whole and Orfeo in particular.[2]
In Orfeo ed Euridice the orchestra is far more predominant than in earlier opera, most notably in Orfeo's arioso "Che puro ciel". Here the voice is reduced to the comparatively minor role of recitative-style declamation, while the oboe carries the main melody, supported by solos from the flute, cello, bassoon, and horn. There is also accompaniment from the strings (playing in triplets) and the continuo in the most complex orchestration that Gluck ever wrote.[2]
Gluck made a number of changes to the orchestration of Orfeo when adapting it from the original Italian version to the French version of 1774.
Cornetts and chalumeaux are replaced by commoner and more modern oboes and clarinets, while the part played by trombones considerably decreases, possibly due to a lack of technical ability on the part of the French trombonists.[5] Cornetts were instruments that were typically used for church music, and chalumeaux were predominant only in chamber music: both cornetts and chalumeaux were unpopular in France in 1774.[5]
In many ways the change from chalumeau to oboe corresponds to that from castrato to high tenor.[5]
Neither castrato nor chalumeau were to survive.[5]
In both the Italian and French version Orfeo's lyre is represented by the harp, and it was this use of the instrument in 1774 that it is usually thought introduced the harp to French orchestras.[5]
Each verse of the strophic "Chiamo il mio ben cosi" is accompanied by different solo instruments.
In Vienna these were flute, horns, and English horns, but in 1774 Gluck was required to change this orchestration to that of a single horn and two clarinets, again replacing uncommon instruments with those in far more widespread usage.[5] During the aria "Chiamo il mio ben cosi" and the interspersing recitatives Gluck added another offstage orchestra consisting of strings and chalumeaux, in order to provide an echo effect.[2]
There have been numerous recordings of the different versions, especially of the Berlioz adaptation featuring a female Orfeo.
The British alto Kathleen Ferrier and American mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne were especially notable interpreters.[2]
In recent years, recordings and stage productions of the Vienna version of the opera have featured countertenors in the role of Orpheus.
Countertenors Derek Lee Ragin, Jochen Kowalski, René Jacobs, James Bowman, and Michael Chance have recorded Orfeo ed Euridice.
Until recent times, most recordings of all versions were cut or altered in some way.[13]
------------------
Recordings of the version
for
TENOR are still relatively rare
due to a lack of genuine haute-contres:[2]
there is one from the mid-1950s starring
Léopold Simoneau
opposite his wife Pierrette Alarie, and
Nicolai Gedda
also recorded the role in 1955.[2]
(Simoneau's version has been available on CD, although not at present, but Gedda's recording had its premiere CD release in 2009.)
In 2002 haute-contre
Jean-Paul Fouchécourt
added his version, while
Marc Minkowski
brought out a period instrument performance with
Richard Croft
in the title role in 2004.
In April 2010, a concert performance recorded in Madrid two years earlier by tenore di grazia
Juan Diego Florez,
was finally released.
There is also a DVD of the 1993 Australian Opera production, directed by Stefanos Lazaridis, with Australian haute-contre
David Hobson as Orfeo.
1762 Vienna version (with counter-tenor Orpheus)
Jochen Kowalski (Orfeo), Dagmar Schellenberger-Ernst (Euridice), Christian Fliegner (Amore); Berlin Radio Chorus, C.P.E. Bach Chamber Orchestra, Hartmut Haenchen (Capriccio, 1990)
Derek Lee Ragin (Orfeo), Sylvia McNair (Euridice), Cyndia Sieden (Amore); Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists, John Eliot Gardiner (Philips, 1991)
James Bowman (Orfeo), Lynne Dawson (Euridice), Claron McFadden (Amore); Choeur de Chambre de Namur, La Grande Écurie et La Chambre du Roy, Jean-Claude Malgoire (Astrée 1994)
1762 Vienna version (with female Orpheus)
Rise Stevens (Orfeo), Lisa Della Casa (Euridice), Roberta Peters (Amore); Chorus and Orchestra of the Rome Opera, Pierre Monteux (RCA, 1957)
Shirley Verrett (Orfeo), Anna Moffo (Euridice), Judith Raskin (Amore); Polyphonic Chorus of Rome, I Virtuosi di Roma, Renato Fasano (RCA, 1965)
Marilyn Horne (Orfeo), Pilar Lorengar (Euridice), Helen Donath (Amore); Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Georg Solti (Decca, 1969)
Bernarda Fink (Orfeo), Veronica Cangemi (Euridice), Maria Cristina Kiehr (Amore); RIAS Kammerchor, Freiburger Barockorchester, René Jacobs (Harmonia Mundi, 2001)
1762 Vienna version (with baritone Orpheus)
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (Orfeo), Gundula Janowitz (Euridice), Edda Moser (Amore); Münchener Bach-Chor, Münchener Bach-Orchester, Karl Richter (Deutsche Grammophon) stereo.
1774 Paris version (with TENOR Orfeo)
Léopold Simoneau (Orphée), Suzanne Danco (Eurydice), Pierrette Alarie (Amour); Robert Blanchard Vocal Ensemble, Orchestre Lamoureux, Hans Rosbaud (Philips mono, 1956 - reissued on CD 2001)
TENOR Nicolai Gedda (Orfeo), Janine Micheau (Eurydice), Liliane Berton (Amour); Chef du choeur Elisabeth Brasseur, Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire, Louis de Fremont (Deutsche Grammophon, mono, 1955 - reissued on CD by Profil 2009)
TENOR Jean-Paul Fouchécourt (Orfeo), Catherine DuBosc (Eurydice), Suzie Le Blanc (Amour); Opera Lafayette Orchestra and Chorus, Ryan Brown (Naxos 2002)
TENOR Richard Croft (Orfeo), Mireille Delunsch (Eurydice), Marion Harousseau (Amour); Les Musiciens du Louvre, Marc Minkowski (Deutsche Grammophon Archiv, 2002, released 2004)
TENOR J. D. Florez (Orfeo), Ainhoa Garmendia (Eurydice), Alessandra Marianelli (Amour); Coro y Orquesta Titular del Teatro Real (Coro y Orquesta Sinfónica de Madrid), Jesus López-Cobos (Decca 2010)
TENOR David Hobson (Orfeo), Amanda Thane (Eurydice), Miriam Gormley (L'Amour); The Australian Opera Chorus, Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra, Marco Guidarini; DVD recorded at the Sydney Opera House, 20 September 1993, (OpusArte/Faveo and Kultur 2006).
[edit] 1859 Berlioz version
In French: Anne Sofie von Otter (Orphée), Barbara Hendricks (Eurydice), Brigitte Fournier (Amour); Monteverdi Choir, Lyon Opera Orchestra, John Eliot Gardiner (EMI)
In French: Ewa Podleś (Orphée), Raphaele Farman (Eurydice), Marie-Noelle de Callataÿ (Amour); Capella Brugensis, Collegium Instrumentale Brugense, Patrick Peire (Forlane)
In French: Jennifer Larmore (Orphée), Dawn Upshaw (Eurydice), Alison Hagley (Amour); Chorus and Orchestra of San Francisco Opera Donald Runnicles (Teldec 1996)
[edit] 1889 Ricordi composite version
In Italian : Kathleen Ferrier (Orfeo), Ann Ayars (Euridice), Zoe Vlachopoulos (Amore), Glyndebourne Festival Choir, Southern Philharmonic Orchestra, Fritz Stiedry (Decca mono, 1947 - abridged)
In Italian : Kathleen Ferrier (Orfeo), Greet Koeman (Euridice), Nel Duval (Amore), Chorus & Orchestra of Netherlands Opera, Charles Bruck, recorded live 1951, remastered and released in 2004 by EMI.
In Italian: Janet Baker (Orfeo), Elisabeth Speiser (Euridice), Elizabeth Gale (Amore); Glyndebourne Chorus, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Raymond Leppard (Erato, 1983)
In Italian: Marjana Lipovšek (Orfeo), Lucia Popp (Euridice), Julie Kaufmann (Amore); Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Münchner Rundfunkorchester, Leopold Hager (RCA, 1986)
[edit] See also
List of Orphean operas
[edit] Notes
1.^ a b Holden 1993, p. 375
2.^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Hayes
3.^ Orrey, p. 81
4.^ a b c Orrey, p. 83
5.^ a b c d e f g Mestron
6.^ Orrey, p. 82
7.^ In the Metropolitan Opera productions in 1950s, or even earlier, that number concluded Act 1 of the opera, and act 2 starts with the ballet music of the next scene.
8.^ a b c Holden 1995, p. 136
9.^ Girdlestone, p. 202. Girdlestone compares the effect of the two opening scenes in detail.
10.^ a b c Noiray
11.^ Orrey, p. 88
12.^ Orrey, p. 169
13.^ Loppert, pp. 26-31
[edit] References
Durazzo, Angela Valenti "La premiata ditta Durazzo & Gluck" in "I durazzo da schiavi a dogi della Repubblica di Genova", Principality of Monaco (2004).
Girdlestone, Cuthbert (1990). Jean-Philippe Rameau: His Life and Work. New York: Dover Publications. ISBN 0-486-26200-6.
Hayes, Jeremy: "Orfeo ed Euridice", Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed 10 December 2006), grovemusic.com, subscription access.
Holden, Amanda; Nicholas Kenyon, Stephen Walsh (eds.) (1995). The Penguin Opera Guide. Penguin. ISBN 978-0140251319.
Holden, Amanda; Alan Blyth (1993). The Viking opera guide. New York: Viking. ISBN 0-670-81292-7.
Loppert, Max (1979). "Orfeo ed Euridice". In: Alan Blyth (ed.) Opera on Record. London: Hutchinson. ISBN 0-09-139980-7.
Mestron, Hervé translated by Mary Pardoe:Archaisms and innovations in the orchestration of Orfeo (1994). Published by Astrée as a brief essay to accompany the Jean-Claude Malgoire recording above.
Noiray, Michael translated by Mary Pardoe:A musical manifesto (1994). Published by Astrée as a brief essay to accompany the Jean-Claude Malgoire recording above.
Orrey, Leslie; Rodney Milnes (1987). Opera, a concise history. London: Thames and Hudson. ISBN 0-500-20217-6.
[edit] External links
Libretto (Italian)
Libretto of the 1774 Paris version
Piano Vocal Score - English and Italian
The Opera Guide has the libretto in German, English, French and Italian as well as synopsis.
Orfeo ed Euridice MP3 Creative Commons Complete Recording
Synopsis of Orfeo ed Euridice (Metropolitan Opera)
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orfeo_ed_Euridice"
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Saturday, August 28, 2010
Opera and Applause
by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com
I intend to approach this topic. By now, I'll go through the arias in what I call the 'definite' collection: this Genoa-based CD recordings (6 of them) of tenor arias. Since I'm SO familiar with it, I'll start from last to first not to bore me so.
I'll try to recall DVD productions I have by different companies of these operas, and reflect on APPLAUSE as the tenor aria ENDS:
"Testa adorata" (Leoncavallo, Boheme -- Marcello's tenor aria). Unfortunately, while I am aware that some 'pirate' or informal recording of a performance of this on DVD MUST be available, I never saw it. I wouldn't think applause is much merited here. It's TOO dramatic, and I'm for one, I'm too moved to even TRY. The last line goes exactly like the end of "Ridi pagliaccio":
"la stanza e morta"
"E il vedovo mio cor
piange nel dtedio quei perduti di".
----- The slancio lies elsewhere, and this is like a more minor-key coda, so if there is a strong applause, it is for recollecting the big 'slancio' bit where the tenor pours his 'heart', as they put it, "Bianchi manine", perhaps.
"Apri la tua finestra" -- Mascagni, Iris. Compared to "Quel vino e generoso", this is quite a bore, and I would NOT be disappointed if the tenor aria does not get too much of an applause. I think applause goes best when it's really a full orchestral boom-boom, rather than this harp arrangement. It's a Chinese thing. The last lines go: "al paese eterno ti trarro ove, o fanciulla, tu serai amata". Too future in tense to merit much of an overwhelming applause. Again, I lack a DVD recording of this.
"Giunto sul passo estremo". I was told on this list this was created by Campanini. It's from Boito, Mefistofele. The last 'stanza', for the thing is rather boringly structured in quatrains goes: "gia nell'idea gregusto l'alta ineffabil ora" -- I think there are some 'flourishings' to that final line, which is a way to 'invite' applause. When all is said and done -- why KEEP reapeating a line unless you want to make a point TO THE AUDIENCE? I do have the DVD with Ramey as Mefistofele for this, but can't say I recall much about the tenor performance. The fact that I was so more familiar with the OTHER, more cheerful aria, 'of prairies and mountains', I cannot say much about THIS 'Giunto sul passo estremo', which seems to invite for COMPASSION rather than extravagant 'Bravo!' applause.
"Spirto gentil". I do have KRAUS's DVD for this (Donizetti, La Favorita), and a good thing about Kraus-Trujillo is that he never cared for applause. If he did, his face did not show it! I am so vague about this aria. I never learned who first sang it in Italian and WHY -- that the character does not move me much. The last line goes: "segnasti il core d'onda mortal -- ahime ahime", etc. And then that would be good, but this is a ternary thing -- so it's back to 'larve d'amor' -- a TRICK. It's easy to ask for APPLAUSE in a ternary aria, where the audience is FAMILAR (to death sometimes) with a melody. It's much difficult to elicit applause in an irregular aria -- like my favourites, e.g. "L'anima ho stanca" in Cilea's Lecouvreur. I see Caruso recorded this, and this triggers a question in me: why is it that when it comes to CDs people prefer 'studio' recordings (I think -- I DO), while when it comes to DVD productions it's always LIVE recordings that count? Answer: the applause.
"O Paradiso" -- Meyerbeer. Osborne has a whole book on THIS! "O nuovo mondo tu m'appartieni" is the last line. This is supposed to be grand. Alas, I don't think there is a DVD 'legal' production of this. I only have ONE DVD by Meyerbeer and it's NOT this (It's the rather more boring "Crusade" thing).
"La rivedro nell'estasi" -- Ballo -- to skip because it's too complex. Last line: "ma la mia stella e questa che il ciel non ha"
"La vita e inferno al infelice" (Forza, Verdi). Role created by Tamerlik. Last line SO TRAGIC and the hero is virile enough to stand a good round of applause -- he's not dying of old age, as Fausto in Mefistofele is, say --. Last line: "Leonora mia, soccorrimi, pieta del mio penar, pieta di me". This is good. I like the fact that the ending is sort of 'illiterate'. It is one thing to ask for 'piety for my suffering'. Another one to ask for 'piety of myself altogether'. So I like that. It's a way the composer has of letting us think that the lyrics are spontaneous enough as coming from this "Incan" prince -- or something. APPLAUSE much merited. Plus, this is the ONLY bit of hightlight in an otherwise rather boring opera, so what else can you have to 'lighten up' the occasion?
"Da voi lontan in sconosciuta terra" I have Bocelli's Met live performance for this. Just kidding. This is Wagner. I don't think Wagnerian audiences enjoy applauding much. They say 'applause' is a Southern European (Italian, even Provencal) thing, rather than "Gothic'. Verdi referred to the Goths as a very cold people, and was annoyed when people said that "Aida" was Gothic in conception. The last line is: "un angiol la porto sull'ali d'or" -- this is stanzaic, since 'ali d'or' rhymes with reliquia del signor'. So it's not precisely SPONTANEOUS. Mind: some cris de coeur ARE spontaneous, or rather, are rhymic, but one forgets: I die "in dispair" (disperato) in "Tosca" (E lucevan le stelle) IS The last bit of the aria, even if it's 'tanto la VITA -- tanto la vita', as a code, is the bit that connects back to the rhyme of "l'ora e fuggita' -- but audiences are so wild and the thing is so heavenly that one forgets the man is just reciting a little verse.
"Non piangere, Liu" (Turandot). The last line is good in that Puccini managed to rhyme "Liu" (a non-Italian name) with "che non sorride piu". It is ODD to end an aria with a "u" sound, so if applause follows galore, it is welcomed. I prefer this aria to the worn out, "Nessun dorma". It's much more melodious, and the rhythm is magic.
"Salve, dimora, casta e pura". This has an extravagant ending -- it invites applause even as a drawing-room piece! It's of course ternary, so it shouldn't count. The tenor goes back to the first bit ("Salve, dimora casta e pura") to end his piece with. But still, it shows what a craftsman Gounod was. He KNEW. Odd this is the only opera ("Fausto") that we are treated with regularly.
"Di' tu se fedele" Verdi -- Ballo. VERY complicated. Let alone to analyse applause at the end. "nell'anime nostre non entra terror".
"La donna e mobile" While Verdi has the good sense of having TWO stanzas here ("E sempre misero chi a lei sfida"), it comes back to the first line for the ending -- spoiling it all, in a way. "e di pensier" -- "e di pensier". This must be the most applauded bit in all opera, so I would love for Verdi to have gone here, as he does in "Celeste Aida" with "p pp dim ppp morendo". That would be the day! Oddly Il Cairo opera theatre opened with "Rigoletto" -- so was "Aida" really necessary? (Just kidding). The role was created by TERATE.
"Questa o quella" Rigoletto. Ends with "se mi punge una qualche belta". Difficult. Hardly to elicit as much applause as "Donna e mobile" -- for good or bad.
"Mi par l'udire ancora" Pescatori di Perle (Bizet). Too lyrical -- and Bizet himself did not look like the man that encouraged a lot of applause. Looks Gallicly cold. The last line: "la veggio d'ogni velo prenderli per le ser", but it comes back to the 'refrain' at the end, I think, so it doesn't count. Strictly.
"Un di all'azurro spazio". I'm somewhat saddened that the OTHER aria in Giordano "Chenier" was not included. But this is GRANDIOSE. Too grandiose to my taste, in fact. Last line: "invian chiedeva pane e invano stendea la mano". The fact that it is not addressed to the love of the prima donna -- makes 'applause' an easier thing. This is a PUBLIC manifestation of stuff, and the applause is thus the public paying 'tit' for 'tat'.
"Ah, la paterna mano" (McDuff in Verdi's Macbeth). Ends with a rhyme: "rossa c olui la braccia del tuo perdono aprir" with 'aprir' rhyming with 'respir'. The slancio or the most dramatic bit (which I love) is in "coll'ultimo singulto, coll'ultimo respir", but it becomes so repetitive at the end, plus those unorchestrated exposed cris de coeurs that if it does not get an applause one just as well shoot oneself. It was created by Brunacci in 1847 -- complete in kilt, which helped.
"Ch'ella mi creda libero e lontano". I would NOT be surprised if Caruso was most CLAPPED for this geniality! Oddly, apparently he never recorded it? I have the MET DVD of it.
"Dalla sua pace la mia dipende" (Mozart, Ottavio, in Don Giovanni). Apparently, it's the OTHER aria (mio tesoro) that gets the louder applause. He starts and ends up in an empty stage for this. The fact that not everybody empahtises with the character (a non-actor, really) does not help. It tends to be clapped, I expect, for virtuosismo. It's one of those 'di capo' things that get a bit repetitive at the end (cfr. "Un'aura amorosa" in Cosi fan tutte") -- "e non ho bene s'ella non l'ha". How many TIMES does he say that? before he gets the applause? I never learned what Da Ponte (a practical man) thought of Mozart's settings of his simpler verse in such exercises of virtuosismo. Plus, at Salzburg, people never clap much, so."
"Quando le sere al placido" (Miller, Verdi). The only masterpiece in a rather dry score, and a TYPICAL aria, which should GET as much applause as it can. "Ah, mi tradia" is the last line, overepeated, but then it is a simple (short) sentence and not so boring to hear repeated again and again. Plus, it's the typical aria where the applause is to empathise for the tenor who has been totally wronged by the prima donna. So the applause is DOUBLY justified. How many like to applaud to a silly happy ending arietta, instead?
"Quanto e bella, quanto e cara" -- Nemorino's OTHER aria in "Elisire". This is a typical Donizetti ending -- "io non so che suspirar" he repeats 4 times, and without orchestra, typical, too. Surely Nemorino gets his good round of applause. Oddly, I applaud in recollecting the bits in the aria which are NICER than the very last bit which I don't find particularly applause-provoking. What an art, to compose an aria which is sublime in bits, and yet is NOT really spoiled by a 'closure' which is TOO conventional and artsy and virtuosistic like this one.
"Vesti la giubba". This must be the MOST applauded aria (Yes, I said that of "La donna e mobile", but I contain multitudes). "Ridi del duol che t'avvelenna il cor". I actually Have TWO instrumental recordings of this (and a piano reduction, which I love even better). In ONE instrumental tracking (I mean with no voice), the orchestra continues for like 2 minutes after the vocal line -- and I LOVE that. It's SO NECESSARY, after such an outpour. The result, though: applause is a TRICK here. I have Alagna DVD and as he notes, he must LEAVE the stage as the 'aria' ends (the orchestral strains rather) as he sobs and stuff. So, it's not as 'simplistic' as "e di pensier!" in "Donna e mobile".
"Recondita armonia" (Tosca). "Tosca, sei tu!" -- my favourite aria to applaud. It's unsubtle enough -- in that you KNOW when it has 'ended'. What bothers me slightly here is the fact that the tenor is sharing the stage with his 'friend'. If his friend were mute that would be ok -- but he manages to bring in the odd line. But my 'bravo' is directed to the one on the right (the tenor), not the one on the left.
"Amor ti vieta" (Fedora, Giordano). I have Domingo DVD and he DOES get an overwhelming round. It is a subtle thing. And this was created by Caruso, when his voice was still defined as "feminine" by the La Scala critics (in comparing it when he returned in full glory to the theatre some two decades later). "Se il labbro dice, non t'amero". What annoys me slightly about the last line is that it's in QUOTES. But quotes don't 'sing' easily. So I'm sure MY FRIEND will think it's Caruso who says "I won't" (love you). Very tricky. What I like about this is that it's high-class verismo. I mean, the style, musical, is verista at heart. A disperate cri de coeur that one associates with 'working life' of the verista repertoire. But this is a noble Russian in a ball -- which IS a ball.
"Ella mi fu rapita" (Rigoletto). THE only aria in Rigoletto. In the sense that the tenor FEELS it like character. The other pieces are more for the 'public display' (La donna e mobile, Questa o quella). The last line: "ei che le sfere agli angeli per te non invidio". Very sincere. Should get the loudest applause, but it doesn't.
"Di quella pira" (Trovatore). "O teco almeno corro a morir" but it gets complicated. A classic example to study given he variants that tenors like to bring to this. Role created by Baucarde, who was not everybody's cup of tea (There is an online review by an Englishwoman who saw him in London and detested him!).
"Mamma, quel vino e generoso". Should get the biggest loudest applause. MEANT for it. Mascagni at his "search for applause" best. Created by a non-star, really (i.e. not someone who LOOKS like he cared much for applause). STAGNO, in Rome, 1890.
"Che gelida manina" -- This ends with some sort of anti-climax: "deh, parlate", etc. Which contain the best harmonies, I find. Those 'progressions' that Puccini was so in favour of (cfr. "Madama Butterfly", Love duet, and others). Plus, everybody KNOWS that Mimi will JUST have a big part herself, so what's the good of DELAYING her aria by Too-Long-an-applause? I would love to see what this PhD on Puccini and applause says about this -- we were discussing changes in "Tosca".
"M'appari tutt'amor" (Flotow, Martha). I identify this with the Brits (Mario in the Covent Garden) so I'm not expecting an of applause. Caruso found, two years before he died -- that he still could sing it. I loved that. (I read about it in Caruso, "a life in words and music"). The ending is repetitive: " di dolor morro" -- si, ah, oh, si, morro, morro morro. If you don't get applause after such a rather low trick! What is a bit annoying is that Martha did not really BETRAY the tenor -- she just, literally, disappeared. I suppose that as far as German arias go -- in Italian -- this is a pretty dramatic one. But cannot really compare with the so many other masterpieces we have, I would think. I never learned what Italian was identified qua tenor with this aria and what was the Italian theatre where it was MORE popular. It seems like a piece IN ITALIAN by non-Italians and to be sung 'overseas' or 'outside' Italy (which is nothing bad -- but something one may reflect upon).
"Dio. Mi potevi scagliar tutti i mali" (Otello, Verdi --, libretto my Boito). Such a masterpiece.I would be too moved to applaud. Plus, it's not very musical, and I love to applaud a tenor trying to keep a tone, rather than 'parlando' as this one does. Tamagno, nobody could sing it like him (and he did look the part, too, as they say --). I have Domingo DVD Zeffirelli -- and it's a good thing it's a STUDIO thing (a film), since too much of an applause would turn this thing into a 4-hour long thing.
"E lucevan le stelle". "e non ho amato mai tanto la vita -- (rhyming with "l'ora e fuggita"), with a repeat. Possibly one of the best finals for an aria ever. I love the fact that, when I sing it with the orchstral backings I have for this, one can really make a parallel with "ed orezzava la terra" and the rest of it). So, we have here that what looks like spontaneous, is very well thought out.
CORRESPONDING to
entrava ella fragrante ------ "e non ho amato mai tanto la vita"
mi cadea su la braccia --- "tanto la vita". Genius!
"Donna non vidi mai" (Puccini, Manon Lescaut). Deh non cessare, deh non cessare, deh non cessare. A bit repetitive for my taste, but very sophisticated. While NOT like "Celeste Aida", this is a bit of a cavatina, too, and one DOUBTS of a love-at-first-sight like this. As it transpires, De Grieux is in love with his own idea of love. Not credible. But it should merit a good applause.
"La fior che avevi a me tu gitato" (Carmen, Bizet). In my DVD, Vickers is so ONTO the thing that he couldn't care less (literally) if people applaud or not. Plus, I think it's a studio thing, which does not help. It's a very lyrical, as all Bizet is, thing -- : The very last thing, "Carmen, io t'amo" is simple enough and should merit a good round. -- It's all a crescendo thing, having started so delicately. The ideal aria, or ideal format of an aria to culminate in big applause.
"E la solita storia del pastore" (Arlesiana, Cilea). Role created by Caruso. Last line: "Fatale vission, mi lascia, mi fai tanto male, ahime". There are variants on this, I should be more familiar with. What I love about this, however, is the passage (just orchestral) between the first and the second part -- just after the strings take up the last bit of the vocal line in "di lei il dolce sembiante". I like an aria to be tender. The fact that we never SEE this Arlesiana who "has done so much bad" to the tenor is NOT credible. I do not have a DVD version of this, but I expect it elicits lots of applause.
"Ecco ridente in cielo" (Rossini, Barbiere). It's a 'quoted' aria --. Not something coming out of the tenor's heart, but as disguised as a troubador. It's too artsy. The last line, "lo stral che mi feri" contain the best orchestration -- and THAT to me is the end of the aria, even if it officially goes on with some 'marcia' type thing which is so unromantic that becomes distracting.
"Nessun dorma". Possibly the most applauded piece in all-time opera.
"Cielo e mare". A trick. Ponchielli, Gioconda. "Vieni," "della vita e del amor", the last line. It's pretty good and ideal for applause. The setting helps. Of course, knowing that the 'boat' will go on flames soon after add to the dramatism. I forget what the Enzo who created this role was like. The fact that it's the only Ponchielli that survives does not help to get an idea of what type of aria this composer favoured. One usually studies him as a 'satellite' of Verdi, as others study contemporaries of Sullivan in London as satellites of the Savoyard. Plus, all the applause will go to that 'interpolation': the dance of the hours.
"Ah, non mi ridestar". (Werther, Bizet). A good piece to applaud. Last line: "e che dolore. Ohime!". A sort of low trick. If you are expressing your pain in such an explicit way, isn't the thing to do to provide help via some sort of 'emotional support' that an applause amounts to? Surely the wicked characters in opera get LESS of an applause. "Which is ridiculous," as Joan Sutherland said. "Bel canto means that even the wickedest people should get their due of good applause", as she reminisced over "Lucrezia Borgia", the poisoner of all. Kraus made this aria his own, and he did NOT care for applause, much. It seems. He was too professional to care, they say. And he looked it.
"Celeste Aida". Apparently Mongini had a 'flexible' voice but not too expressive. So perhaps Verdi KNEW that he would go 'bombastic' with "vicino al sol, vicino al sol, vicino al sol" and all the aristocracy and the 'eastern' ladies occupying the royal boxes-cum-harem would be there. And there is a cultural gap there. So perhaps Verdi thought it best to just PROHIBIT Mongini to go 'too Italian' over this: marking the thing: 'p pp dim ppp morendo' -- enough to give you a headache.
"Addio fiorito asil" -- Pinkerton. The man is such a bastard that while one APPLAUDS him, one does not love him.
"Tu che a Dio spiegasti l'ali" (Lucia). This is the END of the opera. So it doesn't COUNT! Surely one has to applaud at the end of the opera. This is my favourite so I should be able to elaborate. There is the recit., which you don't HAVE to applaud (it's actually very CLUMSY to applaud -- but I wouldn't be surprised if someone did in this one, since it's so bombastic). Then comes the aria proper -- with all the Donizettian overlong repetitions, 'remember the imbecile who dies for you' for you -- the ashes of the imbecile who dies for you. ... I suppose that is technical the end of the aria. But in my tracking, I cannot wait for the cabaletta, with which the thing ends. At this point the thing has gotten so complicated, that I can only pity Rubini. He has a whole CHORUS at his side. So his last line, "ne coniunga il nume in ciel" gets to mixed up with what all the other hypocrites are saying ("What a scene of horror! Forgive him, he doesn't know what he did -- by stabbing himself") that you don't know WHO you are applauding. It's a good thing Lucia is well dead by then! (But surely most know that one has to save some energy of applause for the re-appearance of the soprano a few minutes after the end of the opera).
"Sogno soave e casto" (Don Pasquale). A masterpiece I would applaud and applaud and applaud. Created by Mario. But the plot and the character and the morale of this aria is so superficial and feign ("Go with him. I renounce to you if your life with the millonaire will make you happier") that one is reluctant to applaud TOO MUCH. It's not like somebody is dying or something.
"Tra voi, belle, brune e bionde" (Puccini, Manon Lescaut) -- usually NOT applauded. I don't see why they had to include this arietta in this collection. And the last bit is:
"Una furtiva lagrima" (Donizetti). Role created by Genero, who would not have cared for applause. The final is so repetitive it ACCUMULATES desire to applaud. Each repetition is like the tenor saying: "you thought the aria is over -- it's not -- See how much I can still sing! See how I FEEL the lines! Di piu non chiedo". What really annoys me is that the original version (and in some recordings too) this ends with "CHIEDO" not with "die of love". "Amor" does NOT rhyme with the "Lo vedo" of the first stanza! Or something!
Speranza -- Bordighera
I intend to approach this topic. By now, I'll go through the arias in what I call the 'definite' collection: this Genoa-based CD recordings (6 of them) of tenor arias. Since I'm SO familiar with it, I'll start from last to first not to bore me so.
I'll try to recall DVD productions I have by different companies of these operas, and reflect on APPLAUSE as the tenor aria ENDS:
"Testa adorata" (Leoncavallo, Boheme -- Marcello's tenor aria). Unfortunately, while I am aware that some 'pirate' or informal recording of a performance of this on DVD MUST be available, I never saw it. I wouldn't think applause is much merited here. It's TOO dramatic, and I'm for one, I'm too moved to even TRY. The last line goes exactly like the end of "Ridi pagliaccio":
"la stanza e morta"
"E il vedovo mio cor
piange nel dtedio quei perduti di".
----- The slancio lies elsewhere, and this is like a more minor-key coda, so if there is a strong applause, it is for recollecting the big 'slancio' bit where the tenor pours his 'heart', as they put it, "Bianchi manine", perhaps.
"Apri la tua finestra" -- Mascagni, Iris. Compared to "Quel vino e generoso", this is quite a bore, and I would NOT be disappointed if the tenor aria does not get too much of an applause. I think applause goes best when it's really a full orchestral boom-boom, rather than this harp arrangement. It's a Chinese thing. The last lines go: "al paese eterno ti trarro ove, o fanciulla, tu serai amata". Too future in tense to merit much of an overwhelming applause. Again, I lack a DVD recording of this.
"Giunto sul passo estremo". I was told on this list this was created by Campanini. It's from Boito, Mefistofele. The last 'stanza', for the thing is rather boringly structured in quatrains goes: "gia nell'idea gregusto l'alta ineffabil ora" -- I think there are some 'flourishings' to that final line, which is a way to 'invite' applause. When all is said and done -- why KEEP reapeating a line unless you want to make a point TO THE AUDIENCE? I do have the DVD with Ramey as Mefistofele for this, but can't say I recall much about the tenor performance. The fact that I was so more familiar with the OTHER, more cheerful aria, 'of prairies and mountains', I cannot say much about THIS 'Giunto sul passo estremo', which seems to invite for COMPASSION rather than extravagant 'Bravo!' applause.
"Spirto gentil". I do have KRAUS's DVD for this (Donizetti, La Favorita), and a good thing about Kraus-Trujillo is that he never cared for applause. If he did, his face did not show it! I am so vague about this aria. I never learned who first sang it in Italian and WHY -- that the character does not move me much. The last line goes: "segnasti il core d'onda mortal -- ahime ahime", etc. And then that would be good, but this is a ternary thing -- so it's back to 'larve d'amor' -- a TRICK. It's easy to ask for APPLAUSE in a ternary aria, where the audience is FAMILAR (to death sometimes) with a melody. It's much difficult to elicit applause in an irregular aria -- like my favourites, e.g. "L'anima ho stanca" in Cilea's Lecouvreur. I see Caruso recorded this, and this triggers a question in me: why is it that when it comes to CDs people prefer 'studio' recordings (I think -- I DO), while when it comes to DVD productions it's always LIVE recordings that count? Answer: the applause.
"O Paradiso" -- Meyerbeer. Osborne has a whole book on THIS! "O nuovo mondo tu m'appartieni" is the last line. This is supposed to be grand. Alas, I don't think there is a DVD 'legal' production of this. I only have ONE DVD by Meyerbeer and it's NOT this (It's the rather more boring "Crusade" thing).
"La rivedro nell'estasi" -- Ballo -- to skip because it's too complex. Last line: "ma la mia stella e questa che il ciel non ha"
"La vita e inferno al infelice" (Forza, Verdi). Role created by Tamerlik. Last line SO TRAGIC and the hero is virile enough to stand a good round of applause -- he's not dying of old age, as Fausto in Mefistofele is, say --. Last line: "Leonora mia, soccorrimi, pieta del mio penar, pieta di me". This is good. I like the fact that the ending is sort of 'illiterate'. It is one thing to ask for 'piety for my suffering'. Another one to ask for 'piety of myself altogether'. So I like that. It's a way the composer has of letting us think that the lyrics are spontaneous enough as coming from this "Incan" prince -- or something. APPLAUSE much merited. Plus, this is the ONLY bit of hightlight in an otherwise rather boring opera, so what else can you have to 'lighten up' the occasion?
"Da voi lontan in sconosciuta terra" I have Bocelli's Met live performance for this. Just kidding. This is Wagner. I don't think Wagnerian audiences enjoy applauding much. They say 'applause' is a Southern European (Italian, even Provencal) thing, rather than "Gothic'. Verdi referred to the Goths as a very cold people, and was annoyed when people said that "Aida" was Gothic in conception. The last line is: "un angiol la porto sull'ali d'or" -- this is stanzaic, since 'ali d'or' rhymes with reliquia del signor'. So it's not precisely SPONTANEOUS. Mind: some cris de coeur ARE spontaneous, or rather, are rhymic, but one forgets: I die "in dispair" (disperato) in "Tosca" (E lucevan le stelle) IS The last bit of the aria, even if it's 'tanto la VITA -- tanto la vita', as a code, is the bit that connects back to the rhyme of "l'ora e fuggita' -- but audiences are so wild and the thing is so heavenly that one forgets the man is just reciting a little verse.
"Non piangere, Liu" (Turandot). The last line is good in that Puccini managed to rhyme "Liu" (a non-Italian name) with "che non sorride piu". It is ODD to end an aria with a "u" sound, so if applause follows galore, it is welcomed. I prefer this aria to the worn out, "Nessun dorma". It's much more melodious, and the rhythm is magic.
"Salve, dimora, casta e pura". This has an extravagant ending -- it invites applause even as a drawing-room piece! It's of course ternary, so it shouldn't count. The tenor goes back to the first bit ("Salve, dimora casta e pura") to end his piece with. But still, it shows what a craftsman Gounod was. He KNEW. Odd this is the only opera ("Fausto") that we are treated with regularly.
"Di' tu se fedele" Verdi -- Ballo. VERY complicated. Let alone to analyse applause at the end. "nell'anime nostre non entra terror".
"La donna e mobile" While Verdi has the good sense of having TWO stanzas here ("E sempre misero chi a lei sfida"), it comes back to the first line for the ending -- spoiling it all, in a way. "e di pensier" -- "e di pensier". This must be the most applauded bit in all opera, so I would love for Verdi to have gone here, as he does in "Celeste Aida" with "p pp dim ppp morendo". That would be the day! Oddly Il Cairo opera theatre opened with "Rigoletto" -- so was "Aida" really necessary? (Just kidding). The role was created by TERATE.
"Questa o quella" Rigoletto. Ends with "se mi punge una qualche belta". Difficult. Hardly to elicit as much applause as "Donna e mobile" -- for good or bad.
"Mi par l'udire ancora" Pescatori di Perle (Bizet). Too lyrical -- and Bizet himself did not look like the man that encouraged a lot of applause. Looks Gallicly cold. The last line: "la veggio d'ogni velo prenderli per le ser", but it comes back to the 'refrain' at the end, I think, so it doesn't count. Strictly.
"Un di all'azurro spazio". I'm somewhat saddened that the OTHER aria in Giordano "Chenier" was not included. But this is GRANDIOSE. Too grandiose to my taste, in fact. Last line: "invian chiedeva pane e invano stendea la mano". The fact that it is not addressed to the love of the prima donna -- makes 'applause' an easier thing. This is a PUBLIC manifestation of stuff, and the applause is thus the public paying 'tit' for 'tat'.
"Ah, la paterna mano" (McDuff in Verdi's Macbeth). Ends with a rhyme: "rossa c olui la braccia del tuo perdono aprir" with 'aprir' rhyming with 'respir'. The slancio or the most dramatic bit (which I love) is in "coll'ultimo singulto, coll'ultimo respir", but it becomes so repetitive at the end, plus those unorchestrated exposed cris de coeurs that if it does not get an applause one just as well shoot oneself. It was created by Brunacci in 1847 -- complete in kilt, which helped.
"Ch'ella mi creda libero e lontano". I would NOT be surprised if Caruso was most CLAPPED for this geniality! Oddly, apparently he never recorded it? I have the MET DVD of it.
"Dalla sua pace la mia dipende" (Mozart, Ottavio, in Don Giovanni). Apparently, it's the OTHER aria (mio tesoro) that gets the louder applause. He starts and ends up in an empty stage for this. The fact that not everybody empahtises with the character (a non-actor, really) does not help. It tends to be clapped, I expect, for virtuosismo. It's one of those 'di capo' things that get a bit repetitive at the end (cfr. "Un'aura amorosa" in Cosi fan tutte") -- "e non ho bene s'ella non l'ha". How many TIMES does he say that? before he gets the applause? I never learned what Da Ponte (a practical man) thought of Mozart's settings of his simpler verse in such exercises of virtuosismo. Plus, at Salzburg, people never clap much, so."
"Quando le sere al placido" (Miller, Verdi). The only masterpiece in a rather dry score, and a TYPICAL aria, which should GET as much applause as it can. "Ah, mi tradia" is the last line, overepeated, but then it is a simple (short) sentence and not so boring to hear repeated again and again. Plus, it's the typical aria where the applause is to empathise for the tenor who has been totally wronged by the prima donna. So the applause is DOUBLY justified. How many like to applaud to a silly happy ending arietta, instead?
"Quanto e bella, quanto e cara" -- Nemorino's OTHER aria in "Elisire". This is a typical Donizetti ending -- "io non so che suspirar" he repeats 4 times, and without orchestra, typical, too. Surely Nemorino gets his good round of applause. Oddly, I applaud in recollecting the bits in the aria which are NICER than the very last bit which I don't find particularly applause-provoking. What an art, to compose an aria which is sublime in bits, and yet is NOT really spoiled by a 'closure' which is TOO conventional and artsy and virtuosistic like this one.
"Vesti la giubba". This must be the MOST applauded aria (Yes, I said that of "La donna e mobile", but I contain multitudes). "Ridi del duol che t'avvelenna il cor". I actually Have TWO instrumental recordings of this (and a piano reduction, which I love even better). In ONE instrumental tracking (I mean with no voice), the orchestra continues for like 2 minutes after the vocal line -- and I LOVE that. It's SO NECESSARY, after such an outpour. The result, though: applause is a TRICK here. I have Alagna DVD and as he notes, he must LEAVE the stage as the 'aria' ends (the orchestral strains rather) as he sobs and stuff. So, it's not as 'simplistic' as "e di pensier!" in "Donna e mobile".
"Recondita armonia" (Tosca). "Tosca, sei tu!" -- my favourite aria to applaud. It's unsubtle enough -- in that you KNOW when it has 'ended'. What bothers me slightly here is the fact that the tenor is sharing the stage with his 'friend'. If his friend were mute that would be ok -- but he manages to bring in the odd line. But my 'bravo' is directed to the one on the right (the tenor), not the one on the left.
"Amor ti vieta" (Fedora, Giordano). I have Domingo DVD and he DOES get an overwhelming round. It is a subtle thing. And this was created by Caruso, when his voice was still defined as "feminine" by the La Scala critics (in comparing it when he returned in full glory to the theatre some two decades later). "Se il labbro dice, non t'amero". What annoys me slightly about the last line is that it's in QUOTES. But quotes don't 'sing' easily. So I'm sure MY FRIEND will think it's Caruso who says "I won't" (love you). Very tricky. What I like about this is that it's high-class verismo. I mean, the style, musical, is verista at heart. A disperate cri de coeur that one associates with 'working life' of the verista repertoire. But this is a noble Russian in a ball -- which IS a ball.
"Ella mi fu rapita" (Rigoletto). THE only aria in Rigoletto. In the sense that the tenor FEELS it like character. The other pieces are more for the 'public display' (La donna e mobile, Questa o quella). The last line: "ei che le sfere agli angeli per te non invidio". Very sincere. Should get the loudest applause, but it doesn't.
"Di quella pira" (Trovatore). "O teco almeno corro a morir" but it gets complicated. A classic example to study given he variants that tenors like to bring to this. Role created by Baucarde, who was not everybody's cup of tea (There is an online review by an Englishwoman who saw him in London and detested him!).
"Mamma, quel vino e generoso". Should get the biggest loudest applause. MEANT for it. Mascagni at his "search for applause" best. Created by a non-star, really (i.e. not someone who LOOKS like he cared much for applause). STAGNO, in Rome, 1890.
"Che gelida manina" -- This ends with some sort of anti-climax: "deh, parlate", etc. Which contain the best harmonies, I find. Those 'progressions' that Puccini was so in favour of (cfr. "Madama Butterfly", Love duet, and others). Plus, everybody KNOWS that Mimi will JUST have a big part herself, so what's the good of DELAYING her aria by Too-Long-an-applause? I would love to see what this PhD on Puccini and applause says about this -- we were discussing changes in "Tosca".
"M'appari tutt'amor" (Flotow, Martha). I identify this with the Brits (Mario in the Covent Garden) so I'm not expecting an of applause. Caruso found, two years before he died -- that he still could sing it. I loved that. (I read about it in Caruso, "a life in words and music"). The ending is repetitive: " di dolor morro" -- si, ah, oh, si, morro, morro morro. If you don't get applause after such a rather low trick! What is a bit annoying is that Martha did not really BETRAY the tenor -- she just, literally, disappeared. I suppose that as far as German arias go -- in Italian -- this is a pretty dramatic one. But cannot really compare with the so many other masterpieces we have, I would think. I never learned what Italian was identified qua tenor with this aria and what was the Italian theatre where it was MORE popular. It seems like a piece IN ITALIAN by non-Italians and to be sung 'overseas' or 'outside' Italy (which is nothing bad -- but something one may reflect upon).
"Dio. Mi potevi scagliar tutti i mali" (Otello, Verdi --, libretto my Boito). Such a masterpiece.I would be too moved to applaud. Plus, it's not very musical, and I love to applaud a tenor trying to keep a tone, rather than 'parlando' as this one does. Tamagno, nobody could sing it like him (and he did look the part, too, as they say --). I have Domingo DVD Zeffirelli -- and it's a good thing it's a STUDIO thing (a film), since too much of an applause would turn this thing into a 4-hour long thing.
"E lucevan le stelle". "e non ho amato mai tanto la vita -- (rhyming with "l'ora e fuggita"), with a repeat. Possibly one of the best finals for an aria ever. I love the fact that, when I sing it with the orchstral backings I have for this, one can really make a parallel with "ed orezzava la terra" and the rest of it). So, we have here that what looks like spontaneous, is very well thought out.
CORRESPONDING to
entrava ella fragrante ------ "e non ho amato mai tanto la vita"
mi cadea su la braccia --- "tanto la vita". Genius!
"Donna non vidi mai" (Puccini, Manon Lescaut). Deh non cessare, deh non cessare, deh non cessare. A bit repetitive for my taste, but very sophisticated. While NOT like "Celeste Aida", this is a bit of a cavatina, too, and one DOUBTS of a love-at-first-sight like this. As it transpires, De Grieux is in love with his own idea of love. Not credible. But it should merit a good applause.
"La fior che avevi a me tu gitato" (Carmen, Bizet). In my DVD, Vickers is so ONTO the thing that he couldn't care less (literally) if people applaud or not. Plus, I think it's a studio thing, which does not help. It's a very lyrical, as all Bizet is, thing -- : The very last thing, "Carmen, io t'amo" is simple enough and should merit a good round. -- It's all a crescendo thing, having started so delicately. The ideal aria, or ideal format of an aria to culminate in big applause.
"E la solita storia del pastore" (Arlesiana, Cilea). Role created by Caruso. Last line: "Fatale vission, mi lascia, mi fai tanto male, ahime". There are variants on this, I should be more familiar with. What I love about this, however, is the passage (just orchestral) between the first and the second part -- just after the strings take up the last bit of the vocal line in "di lei il dolce sembiante". I like an aria to be tender. The fact that we never SEE this Arlesiana who "has done so much bad" to the tenor is NOT credible. I do not have a DVD version of this, but I expect it elicits lots of applause.
"Ecco ridente in cielo" (Rossini, Barbiere). It's a 'quoted' aria --. Not something coming out of the tenor's heart, but as disguised as a troubador. It's too artsy. The last line, "lo stral che mi feri" contain the best orchestration -- and THAT to me is the end of the aria, even if it officially goes on with some 'marcia' type thing which is so unromantic that becomes distracting.
"Nessun dorma". Possibly the most applauded piece in all-time opera.
"Cielo e mare". A trick. Ponchielli, Gioconda. "Vieni," "della vita e del amor", the last line. It's pretty good and ideal for applause. The setting helps. Of course, knowing that the 'boat' will go on flames soon after add to the dramatism. I forget what the Enzo who created this role was like. The fact that it's the only Ponchielli that survives does not help to get an idea of what type of aria this composer favoured. One usually studies him as a 'satellite' of Verdi, as others study contemporaries of Sullivan in London as satellites of the Savoyard. Plus, all the applause will go to that 'interpolation': the dance of the hours.
"Ah, non mi ridestar". (Werther, Bizet). A good piece to applaud. Last line: "e che dolore. Ohime!". A sort of low trick. If you are expressing your pain in such an explicit way, isn't the thing to do to provide help via some sort of 'emotional support' that an applause amounts to? Surely the wicked characters in opera get LESS of an applause. "Which is ridiculous," as Joan Sutherland said. "Bel canto means that even the wickedest people should get their due of good applause", as she reminisced over "Lucrezia Borgia", the poisoner of all. Kraus made this aria his own, and he did NOT care for applause, much. It seems. He was too professional to care, they say. And he looked it.
"Celeste Aida". Apparently Mongini had a 'flexible' voice but not too expressive. So perhaps Verdi KNEW that he would go 'bombastic' with "vicino al sol, vicino al sol, vicino al sol" and all the aristocracy and the 'eastern' ladies occupying the royal boxes-cum-harem would be there. And there is a cultural gap there. So perhaps Verdi thought it best to just PROHIBIT Mongini to go 'too Italian' over this: marking the thing: 'p pp dim ppp morendo' -- enough to give you a headache.
"Addio fiorito asil" -- Pinkerton. The man is such a bastard that while one APPLAUDS him, one does not love him.
"Tu che a Dio spiegasti l'ali" (Lucia). This is the END of the opera. So it doesn't COUNT! Surely one has to applaud at the end of the opera. This is my favourite so I should be able to elaborate. There is the recit., which you don't HAVE to applaud (it's actually very CLUMSY to applaud -- but I wouldn't be surprised if someone did in this one, since it's so bombastic). Then comes the aria proper -- with all the Donizettian overlong repetitions, 'remember the imbecile who dies for you' for you -- the ashes of the imbecile who dies for you. ... I suppose that is technical the end of the aria. But in my tracking, I cannot wait for the cabaletta, with which the thing ends. At this point the thing has gotten so complicated, that I can only pity Rubini. He has a whole CHORUS at his side. So his last line, "ne coniunga il nume in ciel" gets to mixed up with what all the other hypocrites are saying ("What a scene of horror! Forgive him, he doesn't know what he did -- by stabbing himself") that you don't know WHO you are applauding. It's a good thing Lucia is well dead by then! (But surely most know that one has to save some energy of applause for the re-appearance of the soprano a few minutes after the end of the opera).
"Sogno soave e casto" (Don Pasquale). A masterpiece I would applaud and applaud and applaud. Created by Mario. But the plot and the character and the morale of this aria is so superficial and feign ("Go with him. I renounce to you if your life with the millonaire will make you happier") that one is reluctant to applaud TOO MUCH. It's not like somebody is dying or something.
"Tra voi, belle, brune e bionde" (Puccini, Manon Lescaut) -- usually NOT applauded. I don't see why they had to include this arietta in this collection. And the last bit is:
"Una furtiva lagrima" (Donizetti). Role created by Genero, who would not have cared for applause. The final is so repetitive it ACCUMULATES desire to applaud. Each repetition is like the tenor saying: "you thought the aria is over -- it's not -- See how much I can still sing! See how I FEEL the lines! Di piu non chiedo". What really annoys me is that the original version (and in some recordings too) this ends with "CHIEDO" not with "die of love". "Amor" does NOT rhyme with the "Lo vedo" of the first stanza! Or something!
Speranza -- Bordighera
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Trama di Aida
by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com
Aida, principessa etiope, viene catturata e condotta in schiavitù in Egitto. Radamès, un comandante militare, è combattuto nella scelta tra il suo amore per Aida e la sua fedeltà al Faraone. A complicare ulteriormente le cose, Radamès è amato da Amneris, la figlia del Faraone, ma non ricambia il sentimento della principessa. Il Re degli etiopi (Amonasro, padre di Aida) si fa catturare, per vincere la guerra, ma nessuno conosce la sua vera identità. Radamès dice ad Aida che la guerra finirà con un ultimo attacco. Amonasro lo sente e fa fallire l’attacco e la guerra è vinta dagli etiopi. Radamès si fa punire dal padre e dal Faraone e viene seppellito vivo. Aida, innamorata di lui, si fa seppellire vicino a lui.
Atto I [modifica]
Scena I: Sala del palazzo del Re a Menfi.
Aida, figlia del Re di Etiopia Amonasro, vive a Menfi come schiava; gli Egizi l'hanno catturata durante una spedizione militare contro l'Etiopia ignorando la sua vera identità. Suo padre ha organizzato una incursione in Egitto per liberarla dalla prigionia. Ma fin dalla sua cattura, Aida si è innamorata del giovane guerriero Radamès, che a sua volta la ama (Radamès: "Se quel guerrier io fossi... Celeste Aida"). Aida ha una pericolosa rivale, Amneris, la figlia del Re d'Egitto (duetto, Radamès e Amneris: "Quale insolita fiamma nel tuo sguardo!"). Giunta Aida, Amneris intuisce che possa essere lei la fiamma di Radamès e falsamente la consola dal suo pianto (terzetto, Aida, Amneris e Radamès: "Ohimè! di guerra fremere l'atroce grido io sento"). Appare il Re assieme agli ufficiali e Ramfis che introduce un messaggero recante le notizie dal confine. Aida è preoccupata: suo padre sta marciando contro l'Egitto. Alla fine il Re dichiara che Radamès è stato scelto da Iside come comandante dell'esercito che combatterà contro Amonasro (inno di battaglia: "Su, del Nilo al sacro lido"). Il cuore di Aida è diviso tra l'amore per il padre e la Patria e l'amore per Radamès (Aida: "Ritorna vincitor!").
Scena II: Interno del tempio di Vulcano a Menfi.
Cerimonie solenni e danza delle sacerdotesse (coro delle sacerdotesse: "Immenso Fthà del mondo"). Investitura di Radamès come comandante in capo (preghiera, Ramfis e coro: "Nume, custode e vindice di questa sacra terra").
Atto II [modifica]
Scena I: Una sala nell'appartamento di Amneris.
Danze festose e musica nelle stanze di Amneris (coro di donne: "Chi mai fra gl'inni e i plausi erge alla gloria il vol" e la celebre Danza degli schiavi Mori). Amneris riceve la sua schiava Aida e ingegnosamente la spinge a dichiarare il suo amore per Radamès, mentendole dicendo che Radamès è morto in battaglia; la reazione di Aida alla notizia la tradisce rivelando il suo amore per Radamès (Amneris e Aida: "Fu la sorte dell'armi a' tuoi funesta, povera Aida" Aida: "Amore, amore! Gaudio, tormento"). Amneris, scoperto il suo amore, la minaccia: ella è figlia del Faraone. Con orgoglio Aida dice che anche lei è figlia di re, ma se ne pente ben presto. Risuonano da fuori le trombe della vittoria. Amneris obbliga Aida a vedere con lei il trionfo dell'Egitto e la sconfitta del suo popolo ("Alla pompa che s'appresta, meco o schiava assisterai"). Aida è disperata, e chiede perdono ad Amneris ("...questo amore che t'irrita nella tomba spegnerò").
Scena II: Uno degli ingressi della città di Tebe.
Radamès torna vincitore (coro, Re e popolo: "Gloria all'Egitto"). Marcia trionfale. Il faraone decreta che in questo giorno il trionfatore Radamès potrà avere tutto quello che desidera. I prigionieri etiopi sono condotti alla presenza del Re e Amonasro è uno di questi. Aida immediatamente accorre ad abbracciare il padre, ma le loro vere identità sono ancora sconosciute agli Egizi. Amonasro infatti dichiara che il Re etiope è stato ucciso in battaglia (Amonasro: "Quest'assisa ch'io vesto vi dica"). Radamès per amore di Aida usa l'offerta del Re per chiedere il rilascio dei prigionieri. Il Re d'Egitto, grato a Radamès, lo proclama suo successore al trono concedendogli la mano della figlia Amneris e fa inoltre rilasciare i prigionieri, ma fa restare Aida e Amonasro come ostaggi per assicurare che gli etiopi non cerchino di vendicare la loro sconfitta.
Atto III [modifica]
Scena: Le rive del Nilo, vicino al tempio di Iside.
(Coro dei sacerdoti e delle sacerdotesse: "O tu che sei d'Osiride...") Amonasro e Aida sono tenuti in ostaggio (aria, Aida: "O cieli azzurri"); il Re etiope costringe la figlia a farsi rivelare da Radamès la posizione dell'esercito egizio (duetto, Aida e Amonasro: "A te grave cagion m'adduce"). Radamès ha solo apparentemente consentito di diventare il marito di Amneris, e fidandosi di Aida, durante la conversazione le rivela le informazioni richieste dal padre (duetto, Radamès e Aida: "Pur ti riveggo mia dolce Aida"). Quando Amonasro rivela la sua identità e fugge con Aida, Radamès, disperato per avere involontariamente tradito il suo Re e la sua Patria, si consegna prigioniero al sommo sacerdote (terzetto, Amonasro, Aida e Radamès: "Io son disonorato!").
Atto IV [modifica]
Scena I: Sala nel palazzo del Re; andito a destra che conduce alla prigione di Radamès.
Amneris desidera salvare Radamès ("L'aborrita rivale a me sfuggìa"), ma lui la respinge (duetto, Amneris e Radamès: "Già i Sacerdoti adunansi / Arbitri del tuo fato"). Il suo processo ha luogo fuori dal palcoscenico; egli non parla in propria difesa, mentre Amneris, che rimane sul palco, si appella ai sacerdoti affinché gli mostrino pietà. Radamès viene condannato a morte per tradimento e sarà sepolto vivo. Amneris maledice i sacerdoti mentre Radamès viene portato via (scena del processo, Amneris, Ramfis e coro: "Spirto del Nume, sovra noi discendi!").
Scena II: L'interno del tempio di Vulcano e la tomba di Radamès; la scena è divisa in due piani: il piano superiore rappresenta l'interno del tempio splendente d'oro e di luce, il piano inferiore un sotterraneo.
Aida si è nascosta nella cripta per morire con Radamès (duetto, Radamès e Aida: "La fatal pietra sovra me si chiuse"). I due amanti accettano il loro terribile destino (Radamès: "Morir, sì pura e bella!"), dicono addio al mondo e alle sue pene, e aspettano l'alba ("O terra addio, addio valle di pianti"), mentre Amneris piange e prega sopra la loro tomba durante le cerimonie religiose e la danza di gioia delle sacerdotesse (coro di sacerdoti e sacerdotesse: "Immenso Fthà").
Aida, principessa etiope, viene catturata e condotta in schiavitù in Egitto. Radamès, un comandante militare, è combattuto nella scelta tra il suo amore per Aida e la sua fedeltà al Faraone. A complicare ulteriormente le cose, Radamès è amato da Amneris, la figlia del Faraone, ma non ricambia il sentimento della principessa. Il Re degli etiopi (Amonasro, padre di Aida) si fa catturare, per vincere la guerra, ma nessuno conosce la sua vera identità. Radamès dice ad Aida che la guerra finirà con un ultimo attacco. Amonasro lo sente e fa fallire l’attacco e la guerra è vinta dagli etiopi. Radamès si fa punire dal padre e dal Faraone e viene seppellito vivo. Aida, innamorata di lui, si fa seppellire vicino a lui.
Atto I [modifica]
Scena I: Sala del palazzo del Re a Menfi.
Aida, figlia del Re di Etiopia Amonasro, vive a Menfi come schiava; gli Egizi l'hanno catturata durante una spedizione militare contro l'Etiopia ignorando la sua vera identità. Suo padre ha organizzato una incursione in Egitto per liberarla dalla prigionia. Ma fin dalla sua cattura, Aida si è innamorata del giovane guerriero Radamès, che a sua volta la ama (Radamès: "Se quel guerrier io fossi... Celeste Aida"). Aida ha una pericolosa rivale, Amneris, la figlia del Re d'Egitto (duetto, Radamès e Amneris: "Quale insolita fiamma nel tuo sguardo!"). Giunta Aida, Amneris intuisce che possa essere lei la fiamma di Radamès e falsamente la consola dal suo pianto (terzetto, Aida, Amneris e Radamès: "Ohimè! di guerra fremere l'atroce grido io sento"). Appare il Re assieme agli ufficiali e Ramfis che introduce un messaggero recante le notizie dal confine. Aida è preoccupata: suo padre sta marciando contro l'Egitto. Alla fine il Re dichiara che Radamès è stato scelto da Iside come comandante dell'esercito che combatterà contro Amonasro (inno di battaglia: "Su, del Nilo al sacro lido"). Il cuore di Aida è diviso tra l'amore per il padre e la Patria e l'amore per Radamès (Aida: "Ritorna vincitor!").
Scena II: Interno del tempio di Vulcano a Menfi.
Cerimonie solenni e danza delle sacerdotesse (coro delle sacerdotesse: "Immenso Fthà del mondo"). Investitura di Radamès come comandante in capo (preghiera, Ramfis e coro: "Nume, custode e vindice di questa sacra terra").
Atto II [modifica]
Scena I: Una sala nell'appartamento di Amneris.
Danze festose e musica nelle stanze di Amneris (coro di donne: "Chi mai fra gl'inni e i plausi erge alla gloria il vol" e la celebre Danza degli schiavi Mori). Amneris riceve la sua schiava Aida e ingegnosamente la spinge a dichiarare il suo amore per Radamès, mentendole dicendo che Radamès è morto in battaglia; la reazione di Aida alla notizia la tradisce rivelando il suo amore per Radamès (Amneris e Aida: "Fu la sorte dell'armi a' tuoi funesta, povera Aida" Aida: "Amore, amore! Gaudio, tormento"). Amneris, scoperto il suo amore, la minaccia: ella è figlia del Faraone. Con orgoglio Aida dice che anche lei è figlia di re, ma se ne pente ben presto. Risuonano da fuori le trombe della vittoria. Amneris obbliga Aida a vedere con lei il trionfo dell'Egitto e la sconfitta del suo popolo ("Alla pompa che s'appresta, meco o schiava assisterai"). Aida è disperata, e chiede perdono ad Amneris ("...questo amore che t'irrita nella tomba spegnerò").
Scena II: Uno degli ingressi della città di Tebe.
Radamès torna vincitore (coro, Re e popolo: "Gloria all'Egitto"). Marcia trionfale. Il faraone decreta che in questo giorno il trionfatore Radamès potrà avere tutto quello che desidera. I prigionieri etiopi sono condotti alla presenza del Re e Amonasro è uno di questi. Aida immediatamente accorre ad abbracciare il padre, ma le loro vere identità sono ancora sconosciute agli Egizi. Amonasro infatti dichiara che il Re etiope è stato ucciso in battaglia (Amonasro: "Quest'assisa ch'io vesto vi dica"). Radamès per amore di Aida usa l'offerta del Re per chiedere il rilascio dei prigionieri. Il Re d'Egitto, grato a Radamès, lo proclama suo successore al trono concedendogli la mano della figlia Amneris e fa inoltre rilasciare i prigionieri, ma fa restare Aida e Amonasro come ostaggi per assicurare che gli etiopi non cerchino di vendicare la loro sconfitta.
Atto III [modifica]
Scena: Le rive del Nilo, vicino al tempio di Iside.
(Coro dei sacerdoti e delle sacerdotesse: "O tu che sei d'Osiride...") Amonasro e Aida sono tenuti in ostaggio (aria, Aida: "O cieli azzurri"); il Re etiope costringe la figlia a farsi rivelare da Radamès la posizione dell'esercito egizio (duetto, Aida e Amonasro: "A te grave cagion m'adduce"). Radamès ha solo apparentemente consentito di diventare il marito di Amneris, e fidandosi di Aida, durante la conversazione le rivela le informazioni richieste dal padre (duetto, Radamès e Aida: "Pur ti riveggo mia dolce Aida"). Quando Amonasro rivela la sua identità e fugge con Aida, Radamès, disperato per avere involontariamente tradito il suo Re e la sua Patria, si consegna prigioniero al sommo sacerdote (terzetto, Amonasro, Aida e Radamès: "Io son disonorato!").
Atto IV [modifica]
Scena I: Sala nel palazzo del Re; andito a destra che conduce alla prigione di Radamès.
Amneris desidera salvare Radamès ("L'aborrita rivale a me sfuggìa"), ma lui la respinge (duetto, Amneris e Radamès: "Già i Sacerdoti adunansi / Arbitri del tuo fato"). Il suo processo ha luogo fuori dal palcoscenico; egli non parla in propria difesa, mentre Amneris, che rimane sul palco, si appella ai sacerdoti affinché gli mostrino pietà. Radamès viene condannato a morte per tradimento e sarà sepolto vivo. Amneris maledice i sacerdoti mentre Radamès viene portato via (scena del processo, Amneris, Ramfis e coro: "Spirto del Nume, sovra noi discendi!").
Scena II: L'interno del tempio di Vulcano e la tomba di Radamès; la scena è divisa in due piani: il piano superiore rappresenta l'interno del tempio splendente d'oro e di luce, il piano inferiore un sotterraneo.
Aida si è nascosta nella cripta per morire con Radamès (duetto, Radamès e Aida: "La fatal pietra sovra me si chiuse"). I due amanti accettano il loro terribile destino (Radamès: "Morir, sì pura e bella!"), dicono addio al mondo e alle sue pene, e aspettano l'alba ("O terra addio, addio valle di pianti"), mentre Amneris piange e prega sopra la loro tomba durante le cerimonie religiose e la danza di gioia delle sacerdotesse (coro di sacerdoti e sacerdotesse: "Immenso Fthà").
Radames -- Celeste Aida
by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com
From an online essay on "Aida"
the paradox of Radames, with "his love for a woman who is the princess of these "barbarous Africans"".
From an online essay on "Aida"
the paradox of Radames, with "his love for a woman who is the princess of these "barbarous Africans"".
"Dal Nilo al Tirreno" -- and back: With Verdi's "Aida" at the Colón, and Mozart's "Così fan tutte" at the Avenida, "Gli Operai" dedicate their fortnightly meeting to Ferrando's amourous aria ("Un'aura amorosa") and how belcanto evolved into a big heroic thing by the time of Radamès ("Celeste Aida"). With Luigi Speranza at the piano. 5 pm, St. Michael Hall, Calle 58, No. 611, La Plata.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
An excellent classification of tenors (with A-Z tenors and A-Z tenor roles)
by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com
Lirico-Leggiero tenor
The male equivalent of a lyric coloratura, this voice is a light lyric instrument, is very agile and is able to perform difficult passages of fioritura. The Lirico-Leggiero tenor has a range of approximately the C one octave below middle C (C3) to the D above tenor C (D5), with a few leggiero tenors being able to sing F5 and even higher while maintaining quality to the sound. Similarly, the lirico-leggero may be able to sing a little lower than the C3. The voice is the highest operatic tenor voice and is sometimes referred to as "tenore di grazia". This voice is utilized frequently in the operas of Mozart, Rossini, Donizetti and the highest Baroque repertoire for tenors.
Lirico-Leggiero Tenor Roles In Opera & Operettas:[2]
Count Almaviva, Il Barbiere di Siviglia (Rossini)
Belmonte, The Abduction from the Seraglio (Mozart)
Ernesto, Don Pasquale (Donizetti)
Ferrando, Così fan tutte (Mozart)
Lindoro, L'italiana in Algeri (Rossini)
Don Ottavio, Don Giovanni (Mozart)
Don Ramiro, La Cenerentola (Rossini)
Tonio, La Fille du Régiment (Donizetti)
Lirico-Leggiero Tenor Singers:
John Aler
Luigi Alva
Ian Bostridge
Rockwell Blake
Lawrence Brownlee
Richard Croft
Juan Diego Flórez
Topi Lehtipuu
William Matteuzzi
Francesco Meli
Peter Schreier
Tito Schipa
Léopold Simoneau
Ferruccio Tagliavini
Cesare Valletti
[edit] Lyric tenor
A warm graceful voice with a bright, full timbre that is strong but not heavy and can be heard over an orchestra. Lyric tenors have a range from approximately the C one octave below middle C (C3) to the D one octave above middle C (D5) with some able to sing up to E♭5 and higher. Similarly, their lower range may extend a few notes below the C3. There are many vocal shades to the lyric tenor group, repertoire should be selected according to the weight, colors, and abilities of the voice.
Lyric Tenor Roles In Opera & Operettas:[2]
Alfredo, La traviata (Giuseppe Verdi)
Arturo, I Puritani (Vincenzo Bellini)
Chevalier, Dialogues des Carmélites (Francis Poulenc)
David, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Richard Wagner)
Il Duca di Mantova, Rigoletto (Giuseppe Verdi)
Edgardo, Lucia di Lammermoor (Gaetano Donizetti)
Elvino, La Sonnambula (Bellini)
Faust, Faust (Charles Gounod)
Fenton, Falstaff (Giuseppe Verdi)
Hoffmann, The Tales of Hoffmann (Offenbach)
Lensky, Eugene Onegin (Tchaikovsky)
Oronte, I Lombardi alla prima crociata (Giuseppe Verdi)
Pinkerton, Madama Butterfly (Giacomo Puccini)
Rinuccio, Gianni Schicchi (Giacomo Puccini)
Rodolfo, La Bohème (Puccini)
Roméo, Roméo et Juliette (Gounod)
Tamino, Die Zauberflöte (Mozart)
Werther, Werther (Jules Massenet)
Wilhelm Meister, Mignon (Ambroise Thomas)
Guillaume Tell, Arnold (Giacchino Rossini)
Lyric Tenor Singers:
Nazareno Antinori
Roberto Alagna
Marcelo Álvarez
Giacomo Aragall
Piotr Beczała
Evgeny Belyaev
Jussi Björling
Joseph Calleja
José Carreras
Richard Croft
Richard Crooks
Giuseppe di Stefano
Gerald English
Salvatore Fisichella
Miguel Fleta
Luigi Marini
Beniamino Gigli
Nicolai Gedda
Jerry Hadley
Pyotr Slovtsov
Tibor Kelen
Sergei Lemeshev
John McCormack
Francesco Marconi
Chris Merritt
Luciano Pavarotti
Jan Peerce
Alfred Piccaver
Jacques Pottier
Dmitri Smirnov
Leonid Sobinov
Richard Tauber
Joseph Schmidt
Robert Swensen
Alain Vanzo
Ramón Vargas
Fernando del Valle
Rolando Villazón
Gösta Winbergh
Fritz Wunderlich
Gustavo Zamora
Rok Krajnc
[edit] Spinto tenor
This voice has the brightness and height of a lyric tenor, but with a heavier vocal weight enabling the voice to be "pushed" to dramatic climaxes with less strain than the lighter-voice counterparts. (They are also known as "lyric-dramatic" tenors.) This fach is divided into lirico-spinto and drammatico-spinto, though it is an old-school Italian tradition to do so and Spinto tenors today are simply labeled "Spinto". Spinto tenors have a darker timbre than a lyric tenor, without having a vocal color as dark as a dramatic tenor. However, other spinto tenors, such as Carlo Bergonzi have brightly colored and lyrical sounding voices, but are nevertheless able to perform spinto roles due to large vocal size or high volume [2]. Spinto tenors have a wide range of flexibility within the fach system being able to perform such roles as Radames in Aida and Don Alvaro in La forza del destino as well as lighter roles such as the Duca in Rigoletto and Werther. The German equivalent of the Spinto fach is the Jugendlicher Heldentenor and encompasses many of the Dramatic tenor roles as well as some Wagner roles such as Lohengrin and Siegmund. The difference is often the depth and metal in the voice where some lyric tenors age or push their way into singing as a Spinto giving them a lighter tone and Jugendlicher Heldentenors tend to be either young heldentenors or true lyric dramatic voices giving them a dark dramatic tenor like tone. Spinto tenors have a range from approximately the C one octave below middle C (C3) to the C one octave above middle C (C5), and, like the lyric tenors, they are often capable of reaching D5 and sometimes higher. Similarly, their lower range may extend a few notes below the C3.[2]
Spinto Tenor Roles In Opera & Operettas:[2]
Andrea Chénier, Andrea Chénier (Umberto Giordano)
Canio, Pagliacci (Leoncavallo)
Des Grieux, Manon Lescaut (Puccini)
Don Carlo, Don Carlo (Verdi)
Don José, Carmen (Bizet)
Erik, Der Fliegende Holländer (Wagner)
Ernani, Ernani (Verdi)
Hermann, Queen of Spades (Tchaikovsky)
Idomeneo, Idomeneo (Mozart)
Macduff, Macbeth (opera) (Verdi)
Manrico, Il trovatore (Verdi)
Mario Cavaradossi, Tosca (Puccini)
Maurizio, Adriana Lecouvreur (Cilea)
Max, Der Freischütz (Carl Maria von Weber)
Pollione Norma (Bellini)
Stiffelio Stiffelio (Verdi)
Riccardo, Un ballo in maschera (Verdi)
Turiddu, Cavalleria rusticana (Pietro Mascagni)
Spinto Tenor Singers:
Carlo Bergonzi
Beniamino Gigli
Franco Corelli
Plácido Domingo
Giuseppe Giacomini
Jonas Kaufmann
Giacomo Lauri-Volpi
Francesco Merli
Giovanni Martinelli
Aureliano Pertile
Helge Rosvaenge
Georges Thill
Richard Tucker
[edit] Dramatic tenor
Also "tenore di forza" or "robusto" – a rich, emotive, ringing and very powerful, clarion heroic tenor. The dramatic tenor has an approximate range from the C one octave below middle C (C3) to the C one octave above middle C (C5).[2] Many successful dramatic tenors have historically avoided the coveted high C in performance. Their lower range tends to extend into the baritone tessitura or, a few notes below the C3.
Dramatic Tenor Roles In Opera & Operettas:[2]
Calaf, Turandot (Puccini)
Canio, I Pagliacci (Leoncavallo)
Cavaradossi, Tosca (Giacomo Puccini)
Dick Johnson, La fanciulla del West (Giacomo Puccini)
Don Alvaro, La forza del destino (Verdi)
Florestan, Fidelio (Beethoven)
Otello, Otello (Verdi)
Peter Grimes, Peter Grimes (Benjamin Britten)
Radames, Aïda (Verdi)
Samson, Samson et Dalila (Saint-Saëns)
Dramatic Tenor Singers:
Franco Bonisolli
Enrico Caruso
Giuseppe Giacomini later in career
Mario del Monaco
James McCracken
Aureliano Pertile later in career
Jean de Reszke
Vladimir Rosing
Francesco Tamagno
Ramon Vinay
[edit] Heldentenor
A rich, dark, powerful and dramatic voice. As its name implies, the Heldentenor (English: heroic tenor) vocal fach features in the German romantic operatic repertoire. The Heldentenor is the German equivalent of the tenore drammatico, however with a more baritonal quality: the typical Wagnerian protagonist. The keystone of the heldentenor's repertoire is arguably Wagner's Siegfried, an extremely demanding role requiring a wide vocal range and great power, plus tremendous stamina and acting ability. Often the heldentenor is a baritone who has transitioned to this fach or tenors who have been misidentified as baritones. Therefore the heldentenor voice might or might not have facility up to high B or C. The repertoire, however, rarely calls for such high notes. A Heldentenor is less a true tenor than a baritone with a strong top register. Heldentenor Roles In Operas & Operettas:[2]
Florestan, Fidelio (Beethoven)
Tannhäuser, Tannhäuser (Wagner)
Loge, Das Rheingold (Wagner)
Lohengrin, Lohengrin (Wagner)
Parsifal, Parsifal (Wagner)
Drum Major, Wozzeck (Berg)
Siegfried, Götterdämmerung (Wagner)
Siegfried, Siegfried (Wagner)
Siegmund, Die Walküre (Wagner)
Walter von Stolzing, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Wagner)
Tristan, Tristan und Isolde (Wagner)
Heldentenor Singers:
Bernd Aldenhoff
Giuseppe Borgatti
Karel Burian
Richard Cassilly
Mario del Monaco
Wilhelm Elsner
Stephen Gould
Ben Heppner
Siegfried Jerusalem
James King
Heinrich Knote
Ernst Kraus
Lauritz Melchior
Albert Niemann
Simon O'Neill
Ticho Parly
Ludwig Schnorr von Carolsfeld
Peter Seiffert
Ludwig Suthaus
Set Svanholm
Josef Tichatschek
Jacques Urlus
Jon Vickers
Wolfgang Windgassen
Franz Völker
Ivan Yershov
Jess Thomas
René Kollo
[edit] Tenor buffo or Spieltenor
A tenor with good acting ability, and the ability to create distinct voices for his characters. This voice specializes in smaller comic roles. The range of the tenor buffo is from the C one octave below middle C (C3) to the C one octave above middle C (C5). The tessitura of these parts lies lower than the other tenor roles. These parts are often played by younger tenors who have not yet reached their full vocal potential or older tenors who are beyond their prime singing years. Only rarely will a singer specialize in these roles for an entire career.[2] In French opéra comique, supporting roles requiring a thin voice but good acting are sometimes described as 'trial', after the singer Antoine Trial (1737–1795), examples being in the operas of Ravel and in The Tales of Hoffmann.[11]
Tenor Buffo or Spieltenor Roles in Opera & Operettas:[2]
Count Danilo Danilovitsch, Die Lustige Witwe (Franz Lehár)
Don Basilio, The Marriage of Figaro (Mozart)
Mime, Siegfried (Richard Wagner)
Don Anchise/ Il Podestà, La Finta Giardiniera (Mozart)
Monostatos, The Magic Flute (Mozart)
Pedrillo, The Abduction from the Seraglio (Mozart)
Dr. Blind, Die Fledermaus (Johann Strauss II)
Slender, The Merry Wives of Windsor (opera) (Otto Nicolai)
Kálmán Zsupán, The Gypsy Baron (Johann Strauss II)
The Captain, Wozzeck (Alban Berg)
The Magician, The Consul (Gian-Carlo Menotti)
Beppe, I Pagliacci (Ruggero Leoncavallo)
Frantz, Les Contes d'Hoffmann (Jacques Offenbach)
Spoletta, Tosca (Giacomo Puccini)
Goro, Madama Butterfly (Giacomo Puccini)
Pong, Turandot (Giacomo Puccini)
Gastone, La traviata (Giuseppe Verdi)
Tenor Buffo or Spieltenor singers:
Charles Anthony
Nico Castel
Graham Clark (tenor)
Piero de Palma
Anthony Laciura
Michel Sénéchal
Darren Keith Woods
Heinz Zednik
Renato Ercolani
Gerhard Stolze
[edit] Operetta
Tenor Roles in Operetta: All of the Gilbert and Sullivan comic operettas have at least one lead lyric tenor character; other notable roles are:
Candide, (Candide)
Eisenstein, (Die Fledermaus)
Camille, Count de Rosillon, (The Merry Widow)
Prince Karl, (The Student Prince)
Sheikh Red Shadow, (The Desert Song)
Captain Dick, (Naughty Marietta)
[edit] References
Specific references:
1.^ McKinney, James (1994). The Diagnosis and Correction of Vocal Faults. Genovex Music Group. ISBN 978-1565939400.
2.^ a b c d e f g h i j k Boldrey, Richard (1994). Guide to Operatic Roles and Arias. Caldwell Publishing Company. ISBN 978-1877761645.
3.^ Stark, James (2003). Bel Canto: A History of Vocal Pedagogy. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 978-0802086143.
4.^ a b Smith, Brenda (2005). Choral Pedagogy. Plural Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-1597560436.
5.^ Shortage of tenors acknowledged (but blamed on cultural discouragement)
6.^ Joseph Callega interview: mentions shortage of tenors
7.^ The disciplines of vocal pedagogy By Karen Sell: mentions shortage of tenors
8.^ Averill, Gage (2003). Four Parts, No Waiting: A Social History of American Barbershop Harmony. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195116724.
9.^ Cantwell, Robert (2002). Bluegrass Breakdown: The Making of the Old Southern Sound. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 978-0252071171.
10.^ Appelman, D. Ralph (1986). The Science of Vocal Pedagogy: Theory and Application. Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0253203786.
11.^ Cotte RJV. Trial, French family of musicians. In: The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. Macmillan, London and New York, 1997.
General references:
David Fallows, Owen Jander. Tenor, Grove Music Online, ed. L. Macy, grovemusic.com (subscription required)
Lirico-Leggiero tenor
The male equivalent of a lyric coloratura, this voice is a light lyric instrument, is very agile and is able to perform difficult passages of fioritura. The Lirico-Leggiero tenor has a range of approximately the C one octave below middle C (C3) to the D above tenor C (D5), with a few leggiero tenors being able to sing F5 and even higher while maintaining quality to the sound. Similarly, the lirico-leggero may be able to sing a little lower than the C3. The voice is the highest operatic tenor voice and is sometimes referred to as "tenore di grazia". This voice is utilized frequently in the operas of Mozart, Rossini, Donizetti and the highest Baroque repertoire for tenors.
Lirico-Leggiero Tenor Roles In Opera & Operettas:[2]
Count Almaviva, Il Barbiere di Siviglia (Rossini)
Belmonte, The Abduction from the Seraglio (Mozart)
Ernesto, Don Pasquale (Donizetti)
Ferrando, Così fan tutte (Mozart)
Lindoro, L'italiana in Algeri (Rossini)
Don Ottavio, Don Giovanni (Mozart)
Don Ramiro, La Cenerentola (Rossini)
Tonio, La Fille du Régiment (Donizetti)
Lirico-Leggiero Tenor Singers:
John Aler
Luigi Alva
Ian Bostridge
Rockwell Blake
Lawrence Brownlee
Richard Croft
Juan Diego Flórez
Topi Lehtipuu
William Matteuzzi
Francesco Meli
Peter Schreier
Tito Schipa
Léopold Simoneau
Ferruccio Tagliavini
Cesare Valletti
[edit] Lyric tenor
A warm graceful voice with a bright, full timbre that is strong but not heavy and can be heard over an orchestra. Lyric tenors have a range from approximately the C one octave below middle C (C3) to the D one octave above middle C (D5) with some able to sing up to E♭5 and higher. Similarly, their lower range may extend a few notes below the C3. There are many vocal shades to the lyric tenor group, repertoire should be selected according to the weight, colors, and abilities of the voice.
Lyric Tenor Roles In Opera & Operettas:[2]
Alfredo, La traviata (Giuseppe Verdi)
Arturo, I Puritani (Vincenzo Bellini)
Chevalier, Dialogues des Carmélites (Francis Poulenc)
David, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Richard Wagner)
Il Duca di Mantova, Rigoletto (Giuseppe Verdi)
Edgardo, Lucia di Lammermoor (Gaetano Donizetti)
Elvino, La Sonnambula (Bellini)
Faust, Faust (Charles Gounod)
Fenton, Falstaff (Giuseppe Verdi)
Hoffmann, The Tales of Hoffmann (Offenbach)
Lensky, Eugene Onegin (Tchaikovsky)
Oronte, I Lombardi alla prima crociata (Giuseppe Verdi)
Pinkerton, Madama Butterfly (Giacomo Puccini)
Rinuccio, Gianni Schicchi (Giacomo Puccini)
Rodolfo, La Bohème (Puccini)
Roméo, Roméo et Juliette (Gounod)
Tamino, Die Zauberflöte (Mozart)
Werther, Werther (Jules Massenet)
Wilhelm Meister, Mignon (Ambroise Thomas)
Guillaume Tell, Arnold (Giacchino Rossini)
Lyric Tenor Singers:
Nazareno Antinori
Roberto Alagna
Marcelo Álvarez
Giacomo Aragall
Piotr Beczała
Evgeny Belyaev
Jussi Björling
Joseph Calleja
José Carreras
Richard Croft
Richard Crooks
Giuseppe di Stefano
Gerald English
Salvatore Fisichella
Miguel Fleta
Luigi Marini
Beniamino Gigli
Nicolai Gedda
Jerry Hadley
Pyotr Slovtsov
Tibor Kelen
Sergei Lemeshev
John McCormack
Francesco Marconi
Chris Merritt
Luciano Pavarotti
Jan Peerce
Alfred Piccaver
Jacques Pottier
Dmitri Smirnov
Leonid Sobinov
Richard Tauber
Joseph Schmidt
Robert Swensen
Alain Vanzo
Ramón Vargas
Fernando del Valle
Rolando Villazón
Gösta Winbergh
Fritz Wunderlich
Gustavo Zamora
Rok Krajnc
[edit] Spinto tenor
This voice has the brightness and height of a lyric tenor, but with a heavier vocal weight enabling the voice to be "pushed" to dramatic climaxes with less strain than the lighter-voice counterparts. (They are also known as "lyric-dramatic" tenors.) This fach is divided into lirico-spinto and drammatico-spinto, though it is an old-school Italian tradition to do so and Spinto tenors today are simply labeled "Spinto". Spinto tenors have a darker timbre than a lyric tenor, without having a vocal color as dark as a dramatic tenor. However, other spinto tenors, such as Carlo Bergonzi have brightly colored and lyrical sounding voices, but are nevertheless able to perform spinto roles due to large vocal size or high volume [2]. Spinto tenors have a wide range of flexibility within the fach system being able to perform such roles as Radames in Aida and Don Alvaro in La forza del destino as well as lighter roles such as the Duca in Rigoletto and Werther. The German equivalent of the Spinto fach is the Jugendlicher Heldentenor and encompasses many of the Dramatic tenor roles as well as some Wagner roles such as Lohengrin and Siegmund. The difference is often the depth and metal in the voice where some lyric tenors age or push their way into singing as a Spinto giving them a lighter tone and Jugendlicher Heldentenors tend to be either young heldentenors or true lyric dramatic voices giving them a dark dramatic tenor like tone. Spinto tenors have a range from approximately the C one octave below middle C (C3) to the C one octave above middle C (C5), and, like the lyric tenors, they are often capable of reaching D5 and sometimes higher. Similarly, their lower range may extend a few notes below the C3.[2]
Spinto Tenor Roles In Opera & Operettas:[2]
Andrea Chénier, Andrea Chénier (Umberto Giordano)
Canio, Pagliacci (Leoncavallo)
Des Grieux, Manon Lescaut (Puccini)
Don Carlo, Don Carlo (Verdi)
Don José, Carmen (Bizet)
Erik, Der Fliegende Holländer (Wagner)
Ernani, Ernani (Verdi)
Hermann, Queen of Spades (Tchaikovsky)
Idomeneo, Idomeneo (Mozart)
Macduff, Macbeth (opera) (Verdi)
Manrico, Il trovatore (Verdi)
Mario Cavaradossi, Tosca (Puccini)
Maurizio, Adriana Lecouvreur (Cilea)
Max, Der Freischütz (Carl Maria von Weber)
Pollione Norma (Bellini)
Stiffelio Stiffelio (Verdi)
Riccardo, Un ballo in maschera (Verdi)
Turiddu, Cavalleria rusticana (Pietro Mascagni)
Spinto Tenor Singers:
Carlo Bergonzi
Beniamino Gigli
Franco Corelli
Plácido Domingo
Giuseppe Giacomini
Jonas Kaufmann
Giacomo Lauri-Volpi
Francesco Merli
Giovanni Martinelli
Aureliano Pertile
Helge Rosvaenge
Georges Thill
Richard Tucker
[edit] Dramatic tenor
Also "tenore di forza" or "robusto" – a rich, emotive, ringing and very powerful, clarion heroic tenor. The dramatic tenor has an approximate range from the C one octave below middle C (C3) to the C one octave above middle C (C5).[2] Many successful dramatic tenors have historically avoided the coveted high C in performance. Their lower range tends to extend into the baritone tessitura or, a few notes below the C3.
Dramatic Tenor Roles In Opera & Operettas:[2]
Calaf, Turandot (Puccini)
Canio, I Pagliacci (Leoncavallo)
Cavaradossi, Tosca (Giacomo Puccini)
Dick Johnson, La fanciulla del West (Giacomo Puccini)
Don Alvaro, La forza del destino (Verdi)
Florestan, Fidelio (Beethoven)
Otello, Otello (Verdi)
Peter Grimes, Peter Grimes (Benjamin Britten)
Radames, Aïda (Verdi)
Samson, Samson et Dalila (Saint-Saëns)
Dramatic Tenor Singers:
Franco Bonisolli
Enrico Caruso
Giuseppe Giacomini later in career
Mario del Monaco
James McCracken
Aureliano Pertile later in career
Jean de Reszke
Vladimir Rosing
Francesco Tamagno
Ramon Vinay
[edit] Heldentenor
A rich, dark, powerful and dramatic voice. As its name implies, the Heldentenor (English: heroic tenor) vocal fach features in the German romantic operatic repertoire. The Heldentenor is the German equivalent of the tenore drammatico, however with a more baritonal quality: the typical Wagnerian protagonist. The keystone of the heldentenor's repertoire is arguably Wagner's Siegfried, an extremely demanding role requiring a wide vocal range and great power, plus tremendous stamina and acting ability. Often the heldentenor is a baritone who has transitioned to this fach or tenors who have been misidentified as baritones. Therefore the heldentenor voice might or might not have facility up to high B or C. The repertoire, however, rarely calls for such high notes. A Heldentenor is less a true tenor than a baritone with a strong top register. Heldentenor Roles In Operas & Operettas:[2]
Florestan, Fidelio (Beethoven)
Tannhäuser, Tannhäuser (Wagner)
Loge, Das Rheingold (Wagner)
Lohengrin, Lohengrin (Wagner)
Parsifal, Parsifal (Wagner)
Drum Major, Wozzeck (Berg)
Siegfried, Götterdämmerung (Wagner)
Siegfried, Siegfried (Wagner)
Siegmund, Die Walküre (Wagner)
Walter von Stolzing, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Wagner)
Tristan, Tristan und Isolde (Wagner)
Heldentenor Singers:
Bernd Aldenhoff
Giuseppe Borgatti
Karel Burian
Richard Cassilly
Mario del Monaco
Wilhelm Elsner
Stephen Gould
Ben Heppner
Siegfried Jerusalem
James King
Heinrich Knote
Ernst Kraus
Lauritz Melchior
Albert Niemann
Simon O'Neill
Ticho Parly
Ludwig Schnorr von Carolsfeld
Peter Seiffert
Ludwig Suthaus
Set Svanholm
Josef Tichatschek
Jacques Urlus
Jon Vickers
Wolfgang Windgassen
Franz Völker
Ivan Yershov
Jess Thomas
René Kollo
[edit] Tenor buffo or Spieltenor
A tenor with good acting ability, and the ability to create distinct voices for his characters. This voice specializes in smaller comic roles. The range of the tenor buffo is from the C one octave below middle C (C3) to the C one octave above middle C (C5). The tessitura of these parts lies lower than the other tenor roles. These parts are often played by younger tenors who have not yet reached their full vocal potential or older tenors who are beyond their prime singing years. Only rarely will a singer specialize in these roles for an entire career.[2] In French opéra comique, supporting roles requiring a thin voice but good acting are sometimes described as 'trial', after the singer Antoine Trial (1737–1795), examples being in the operas of Ravel and in The Tales of Hoffmann.[11]
Tenor Buffo or Spieltenor Roles in Opera & Operettas:[2]
Count Danilo Danilovitsch, Die Lustige Witwe (Franz Lehár)
Don Basilio, The Marriage of Figaro (Mozart)
Mime, Siegfried (Richard Wagner)
Don Anchise/ Il Podestà, La Finta Giardiniera (Mozart)
Monostatos, The Magic Flute (Mozart)
Pedrillo, The Abduction from the Seraglio (Mozart)
Dr. Blind, Die Fledermaus (Johann Strauss II)
Slender, The Merry Wives of Windsor (opera) (Otto Nicolai)
Kálmán Zsupán, The Gypsy Baron (Johann Strauss II)
The Captain, Wozzeck (Alban Berg)
The Magician, The Consul (Gian-Carlo Menotti)
Beppe, I Pagliacci (Ruggero Leoncavallo)
Frantz, Les Contes d'Hoffmann (Jacques Offenbach)
Spoletta, Tosca (Giacomo Puccini)
Goro, Madama Butterfly (Giacomo Puccini)
Pong, Turandot (Giacomo Puccini)
Gastone, La traviata (Giuseppe Verdi)
Tenor Buffo or Spieltenor singers:
Charles Anthony
Nico Castel
Graham Clark (tenor)
Piero de Palma
Anthony Laciura
Michel Sénéchal
Darren Keith Woods
Heinz Zednik
Renato Ercolani
Gerhard Stolze
[edit] Operetta
Tenor Roles in Operetta: All of the Gilbert and Sullivan comic operettas have at least one lead lyric tenor character; other notable roles are:
Candide, (Candide)
Eisenstein, (Die Fledermaus)
Camille, Count de Rosillon, (The Merry Widow)
Prince Karl, (The Student Prince)
Sheikh Red Shadow, (The Desert Song)
Captain Dick, (Naughty Marietta)
[edit] References
Specific references:
1.^ McKinney, James (1994). The Diagnosis and Correction of Vocal Faults. Genovex Music Group. ISBN 978-1565939400.
2.^ a b c d e f g h i j k Boldrey, Richard (1994). Guide to Operatic Roles and Arias. Caldwell Publishing Company. ISBN 978-1877761645.
3.^ Stark, James (2003). Bel Canto: A History of Vocal Pedagogy. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 978-0802086143.
4.^ a b Smith, Brenda (2005). Choral Pedagogy. Plural Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-1597560436.
5.^ Shortage of tenors acknowledged (but blamed on cultural discouragement)
6.^ Joseph Callega interview: mentions shortage of tenors
7.^ The disciplines of vocal pedagogy By Karen Sell: mentions shortage of tenors
8.^ Averill, Gage (2003). Four Parts, No Waiting: A Social History of American Barbershop Harmony. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195116724.
9.^ Cantwell, Robert (2002). Bluegrass Breakdown: The Making of the Old Southern Sound. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 978-0252071171.
10.^ Appelman, D. Ralph (1986). The Science of Vocal Pedagogy: Theory and Application. Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0253203786.
11.^ Cotte RJV. Trial, French family of musicians. In: The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. Macmillan, London and New York, 1997.
General references:
David Fallows, Owen Jander. Tenor, Grove Music Online, ed. L. Macy, grovemusic.com (subscription required)
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