Sunday, October 7, 2012
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Lyrics and midis for tenor Wagner in Italian
by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com
In fernem Land
from Act III, Scene 2 of the German opera Lohengrin by Richard Wagner
Libretto: Richard Wagner
Role: Lohengrin, a knight
Voice Part: tenor Fach: dramatic tenor/heldentenor
Setting: a plain on the banks of the Schelbt, Antwerp, first half of the 10th century
Synopsis: To this point, the Knight has not been allowed to tell his name or his origin. However, he now must leave because he has killed Frederick, the Count of Brabant, and now tells his past. He is a Knight of the Grail from the island of Montsalvat and his father is Parsifal, the leader of all the Knights of Grail who strive to do good in the world as long as no one knows their secret. He finally reveals that his true name is Lohengrin. Range: Tessitura:
not entered G3 - F#/Gb4
Translations/Aria Texts:
Libretto entered by Robert Glaubitz (added 1999-02-25) Sounds:
MIDI version by Bill King
Sheet Music/Scores:
The Ultimate Tenor Aria Album (Version 2.0). Published by CD Sheet Music. Available at Amazon.com and Sheetmusicplus.com.
Adler, Kurt. Operatic Anthology, Volume 3 - Tenor. Published by G. Schirmer. Available at Amazon.com and Sheetmusicplus.com. Recordings:
none
Mein lieber Schwan
from Act III, Scene 2 of the German opera Lohengrin by Richard Wagner
Libretto: Richard Wagner
Role: Lohengrin, a knight
Voice Part: tenor Fach: dramatic tenor/heldentenor
Setting: a plain on the banks of the Schelbt, Antwerp, first half of the 10th century
Synopsis: As a beautiful swan floats towards them, Lohengrin says goodbye to Elsa. He tells her that her brother Gottfried who disappeared a while ago would have reappeared in a year if Lohengrin did not have to leave. However, he is now forced to leave and gives his sword, his ring, and his horn to Elsa, saying that Gottfried should be given them when he returns. Range: Tessitura:
not entered G3 - G4
Translations/Aria Texts:
Libretto entered by Robert Glaubitz (added 1999-02-25) Sounds:
MIDI version by Bill King
Sheet Music/Scores:
The Ultimate Tenor Aria Album (Version 2.0). Published by CD Sheet Music. Available at Amazon.com and Sheetmusicplus.com. Recordings:
none
Morgenlich leuchtend im rosigen Schein (Walter's Prize Song)
from Act III, Scene 2 of the German opera Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg by Richard Wagner
Libretto: Richard Wagner
Role: Walter von Stolzing, a young knight from Franconia
Voice Part: tenor
Setting: a meadow outside of Nuremburg, Germany, mid-sixteenth century
Synopsis: Walter sings his Prize Song for the song contest. It is a beautiful and magical piece which poetically describes his love for Eva. Range: Tessitura:
not entered G3 - G4
Translations/Aria Texts:
Libretto entered by Mike Richter (added 1999-05-11) Sounds:
MIDI version by Arnold Miller
Sheet Music/Scores:
The Ultimate Tenor Aria Album (Version 2.0). Published by CD Sheet Music. Available at Amazon.com and Sheetmusicplus.com.
Adler, Kurt. Operatic Anthology, Volume 3 - Tenor. Published by G. Schirmer. Available at Amazon.com and Sheetmusicplus.com. Recordings:
none
Ein Schwert verhieß mir der Vater
from Act I, Scene 3 of the German opera Die Walküre by Richard Wagner
Libretto: Richard Wagner
Role: Siegmund, son of Wotan and Fricka
Voice Part: tenor Fach: dramatic tenor/heldentenor
Setting: the interior of Hunding's house, Germany, mythical times
Synopsis: Siegmund soliloquizes, mentioning that his father promised him a sword at one time. In addition, he also expresses his desire for his host's wife, Sieglinde, who is actually his long-lost twin sister. Range: Tessitura:
C3 - G4 G3 - F4
Translations/Aria Texts:
Libretto entered by Lyle Neff (added 1999-02-25) Sounds:
MIDI version by Santiago Schleh
Sheet Music/Scores:
The Ultimate Tenor Aria Album (Version 2.0). Published by CD Sheet Music. Available at Amazon.com and Sheetmusicplus.com. Recordings:
none
Winterstürme wichen dem Wonnemond (Spring Song)
from Act I, Scene 3 of the German opera Die Walküre by Richard Wagner
Libretto: Richard Wagner
Role: Siegmund, son of Wotan and Fricka
Voice Part: tenor Fach: dramatic tenor/heldentenor
Setting: the interior of Hunding's house, Germany, mythical times
Synopsis: After Sieglinde offers him escape from her husband Hunding as well as a sword which is stuck in a tree outside, Siegmund compares his love for Sieglinde to the beauty of springtime. Range: Tessitura:
C3 - G4 F3 - F4
Translations/Aria Texts:
Libretto entered by Lyle Neff (added 1999-02-25) Sounds:
MIDI version by Louis Sauter
Sheet Music/Scores:
The Ultimate Tenor Aria Album (Version 2.0). Published by CD Sheet Music. Available at Amazon.com and Sheetmusicplus.com.
Adler, Kurt. Operatic Anthology, Volume 3 - Tenor. Published by G. Schirmer. Available at Amazon.com and Sheetmusicplus.com.
In fernem Land
from Act III, Scene 2 of the German opera Lohengrin by Richard Wagner
Libretto: Richard Wagner
Role: Lohengrin, a knight
Voice Part: tenor Fach: dramatic tenor/heldentenor
Setting: a plain on the banks of the Schelbt, Antwerp, first half of the 10th century
Synopsis: To this point, the Knight has not been allowed to tell his name or his origin. However, he now must leave because he has killed Frederick, the Count of Brabant, and now tells his past. He is a Knight of the Grail from the island of Montsalvat and his father is Parsifal, the leader of all the Knights of Grail who strive to do good in the world as long as no one knows their secret. He finally reveals that his true name is Lohengrin. Range: Tessitura:
not entered G3 - F#/Gb4
Translations/Aria Texts:
Libretto entered by Robert Glaubitz (added 1999-02-25) Sounds:
MIDI version by Bill King
Sheet Music/Scores:
The Ultimate Tenor Aria Album (Version 2.0). Published by CD Sheet Music. Available at Amazon.com and Sheetmusicplus.com.
Adler, Kurt. Operatic Anthology, Volume 3 - Tenor. Published by G. Schirmer. Available at Amazon.com and Sheetmusicplus.com. Recordings:
none
Mein lieber Schwan
from Act III, Scene 2 of the German opera Lohengrin by Richard Wagner
Libretto: Richard Wagner
Role: Lohengrin, a knight
Voice Part: tenor Fach: dramatic tenor/heldentenor
Setting: a plain on the banks of the Schelbt, Antwerp, first half of the 10th century
Synopsis: As a beautiful swan floats towards them, Lohengrin says goodbye to Elsa. He tells her that her brother Gottfried who disappeared a while ago would have reappeared in a year if Lohengrin did not have to leave. However, he is now forced to leave and gives his sword, his ring, and his horn to Elsa, saying that Gottfried should be given them when he returns. Range: Tessitura:
not entered G3 - G4
Translations/Aria Texts:
Libretto entered by Robert Glaubitz (added 1999-02-25) Sounds:
MIDI version by Bill King
Sheet Music/Scores:
The Ultimate Tenor Aria Album (Version 2.0). Published by CD Sheet Music. Available at Amazon.com and Sheetmusicplus.com. Recordings:
none
Morgenlich leuchtend im rosigen Schein (Walter's Prize Song)
from Act III, Scene 2 of the German opera Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg by Richard Wagner
Libretto: Richard Wagner
Role: Walter von Stolzing, a young knight from Franconia
Voice Part: tenor
Setting: a meadow outside of Nuremburg, Germany, mid-sixteenth century
Synopsis: Walter sings his Prize Song for the song contest. It is a beautiful and magical piece which poetically describes his love for Eva. Range: Tessitura:
not entered G3 - G4
Translations/Aria Texts:
Libretto entered by Mike Richter (added 1999-05-11) Sounds:
MIDI version by Arnold Miller
Sheet Music/Scores:
The Ultimate Tenor Aria Album (Version 2.0). Published by CD Sheet Music. Available at Amazon.com and Sheetmusicplus.com.
Adler, Kurt. Operatic Anthology, Volume 3 - Tenor. Published by G. Schirmer. Available at Amazon.com and Sheetmusicplus.com. Recordings:
none
Ein Schwert verhieß mir der Vater
from Act I, Scene 3 of the German opera Die Walküre by Richard Wagner
Libretto: Richard Wagner
Role: Siegmund, son of Wotan and Fricka
Voice Part: tenor Fach: dramatic tenor/heldentenor
Setting: the interior of Hunding's house, Germany, mythical times
Synopsis: Siegmund soliloquizes, mentioning that his father promised him a sword at one time. In addition, he also expresses his desire for his host's wife, Sieglinde, who is actually his long-lost twin sister. Range: Tessitura:
C3 - G4 G3 - F4
Translations/Aria Texts:
Libretto entered by Lyle Neff (added 1999-02-25) Sounds:
MIDI version by Santiago Schleh
Sheet Music/Scores:
The Ultimate Tenor Aria Album (Version 2.0). Published by CD Sheet Music. Available at Amazon.com and Sheetmusicplus.com. Recordings:
none
Winterstürme wichen dem Wonnemond (Spring Song)
from Act I, Scene 3 of the German opera Die Walküre by Richard Wagner
Libretto: Richard Wagner
Role: Siegmund, son of Wotan and Fricka
Voice Part: tenor Fach: dramatic tenor/heldentenor
Setting: the interior of Hunding's house, Germany, mythical times
Synopsis: After Sieglinde offers him escape from her husband Hunding as well as a sword which is stuck in a tree outside, Siegmund compares his love for Sieglinde to the beauty of springtime. Range: Tessitura:
C3 - G4 F3 - F4
Translations/Aria Texts:
Libretto entered by Lyle Neff (added 1999-02-25) Sounds:
MIDI version by Louis Sauter
Sheet Music/Scores:
The Ultimate Tenor Aria Album (Version 2.0). Published by CD Sheet Music. Available at Amazon.com and Sheetmusicplus.com.
Adler, Kurt. Operatic Anthology, Volume 3 - Tenor. Published by G. Schirmer. Available at Amazon.com and Sheetmusicplus.com.
Guglielmo's other aria in "Mignon": 'Quale sguardo strano': lyrics and midi
by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com
Rec. YouTube, T. Schipa
Recit.
Ah, quale sguardo strano
piu tenero di me questo vegliardo
a consolar pervenne
l'infelice fanciulla
indovinai
di quel core l'arcan
dalle sua labbra
il nome mio sfuggia.
----
I
ah, non credevi tu nel vergin tuo candore
che l'innocente ardor
ond'era accesa in sen,
potesse un di mutarsi
nel piu fervente amore
e perturbare il corso
del viver suo seren
--- sel del fior
gli smunti colori
oggi tu brami
ravvisare ancor.
--- almo april,
dagli un bacio che l'irrori
dagli, o mio cor,
un sospiro d'amor.
II
ahi, che le chieggo invano
un detto, un solo accento
de' mali suoi l'arcan
non posso penetrar
lo guardo mio la turba
e l'empie di sgomento
la fanno i detti miei
dirotta lagrimar.
Rec. YouTube, T. Schipa
Recit.
Ah, quale sguardo strano
piu tenero di me questo vegliardo
a consolar pervenne
l'infelice fanciulla
indovinai
di quel core l'arcan
dalle sua labbra
il nome mio sfuggia.
----
I
ah, non credevi tu nel vergin tuo candore
che l'innocente ardor
ond'era accesa in sen,
potesse un di mutarsi
nel piu fervente amore
e perturbare il corso
del viver suo seren
--- sel del fior
gli smunti colori
oggi tu brami
ravvisare ancor.
--- almo april,
dagli un bacio che l'irrori
dagli, o mio cor,
un sospiro d'amor.
II
ahi, che le chieggo invano
un detto, un solo accento
de' mali suoi l'arcan
non posso penetrar
lo guardo mio la turba
e l'empie di sgomento
la fanno i detti miei
dirotta lagrimar.
Midi and Lyrics "Addio Mignon" --
by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com
Addio, Mignon, fa' core
non lagrimar
ne' verd'anni tuoi
presto passa il dolore
Dio ti consolerà
su te saprà vegliar
non lagrimar
quest'atto non imputa a perfida incostanza
ne d'amorosa fiamma incolpa il folle ardor
nel congedarti, o cara, io nutro la speranza
di riverderti ancor.
Addio, Mignon, fa' core
non lagrimar
ne' verd'anni tuoi
presto passa il dolore
Dio ti consolerà
su te saprà vegliar
non lagrimar
quest'atto non imputa a perfida incostanza
ne d'amorosa fiamma incolpa il folle ardor
nel congedarti, o cara, io nutro la speranza
di riverderti ancor.
Lyrics and midi: 1866 "Mignon" (Thomas) -- 'Addio, Mignon! Fa core!'
by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com
rec. by T. Schipa,
Addio, Mignon, fa core,
non lagrimar,
Ah, ne' verd' anni tuoi
presto passa il dolore
Su te sempre il signore
sapra dal ciel vegliar,
sapra dal ciel vegliar,
non lagrimar.
Deh, rinvenir tu possa
la terra tua natia
Deh, possa arnica sorte arriderti in cammin.
M'e duro inver lasciarti
l'afflitta anima mia
compiange il tuo destin.
rec. by T. Schipa,
Addio, Mignon, fa core,
non lagrimar,
Ah, ne' verd' anni tuoi
presto passa il dolore
Su te sempre il signore
sapra dal ciel vegliar,
sapra dal ciel vegliar,
non lagrimar.
Deh, rinvenir tu possa
la terra tua natia
Deh, possa arnica sorte arriderti in cammin.
M'e duro inver lasciarti
l'afflitta anima mia
compiange il tuo destin.
"Addio, Mignon" 1866 -- Thomas's masterpiece for tenor
by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com
"Mignon" è una tragedia lirica in tre atti e 5 quadri di Ambroise Thomas, su libretto di Jules Barbier e Michel Carré tratta da Les Années d'apprentissage de Wilhelm Meister da Goethe, rappresentata all'Opéra-Comique di Parigi il 17 novembre 1866.
I librettisti Jules Barbier e Michel Carré furono all'origine del progetto Mignon.
Dopo aver adattato, con il successo conseguente, il Faust da Goethe, essi decisero di trarre un libretto da Wilhelm Meister dello stesso autore.
Essi proposero subito il libretto a Meyerbeer, che lo rifiutò, poi a Gounod ed infine ad Ambroise Thomas.
Quest'ultimo era conosciuto essenzialmente come compositore di opéra comique che anche se avevano avuto un certo successo non erano mai rimaste in repertorio.
Con "Mignon", all'età di oltre cinquant'anni, il compositore poté conoscere il trionfo e la fama internazionale, confermata più tardi con Hamlet.
In origine, "Mignon" fu creata con una conclusione tragica, poiché "Mignon", come nel romanzo di Goethe, moriva brutalmente in una festa di villaggio alla vista di Philine.
Questa fine urtava la convenzione allora in vigore, e che fu abbandonata solamente con Carmen di Georges Bizet nel 1875, che voleva che l'opéra comique si concludesse in maniera gioiosa.
Perciò l'opera, all'epoca delle prime rappresentazioni, fu accolta tiepidamente.
"Allora, riporta Jules Barbier, come da persone pratiche quali eravamo, ci dicemmo: ma per rispettare questa scomparsa di "Mignon", secondo quanto previsto da Goethe, dobbiamo privarci di 7-800 rapprestazioni?
Sarebbe molto meglio farli sposare come comuni borghesi e lasciare la porta aperta alla loro numerosa posterità. "
Questo fu fatto ed il lavoro conobbe allora successo travolgente.
Napoleone III assistette alla 22ª rappresentazione, ed entusiasta fece dare 15 rappresentazioni l'anno successivo per i sovrani europei riuniti a Parigi per Exposition universelle del 1867.
Dal 1868, l'opera fu rappresentata a Weimar ed a Vienna dove divenne rapidamente molto popolare.
********************************
Nel 1870 venne rappresentata anche a Londra in italiano con grande successo.
******************* tenor aria: "Addio, Mignon"
Nel 1894, "Mignon" raggiunse la millesima rappresentazione all'Opéra-Comique, divendo così la prima opera lirica a raggiungere le 1.000 rappresentazioni con il suo compositore ancora in vita.
Per rispondere al successo dell'opera, Ambroise Thomas trasformò il suo lavoro in grand opéra trasformando in recitativi i dialoghi parlati.
Ed è in questa versione che l'opera venne ulteriormente ripresa.
Thomas mise a punto anche una versione con l'epilogo tragico da destinare al pubblico tedesco che ben conosceva l'opera originale del connazionale Goethe.
Personaggi
Mignon -------------------------- mezzosoprano
Philine, attrice, --------------- soprano
Wilhelm Meister, studente ------- tenore
Lothario, cantante itinerante --- bass-baritone
Frédéric ------------------------ mezzosoprano
Laërte -------------------------- tenore
Jarno --------------------------- basso
Antonio ------------------------- basso
Abitanti del villaggio, contadini, bohémiens
Nel cortile di una locanda, Atto I, davanti agli abitanti del villaggio, un musicista itinerante, Lothario, canta il suo dolore: egli ricerca sua figlia Sperata, scomparsa da molto tempo.
Arriva una compagnia di attori diretta dal crudele Jarno, che fa la sua rappresentazione sul tema di due commedianti, la civetta Philine e lo spirituale Laërte. Jarno annuncia che la giovane Mignon eseguirà il celebre « pas des œufs » ma la giovane si rifiuta.
Nel momento in cui Jarno sta per picchiarla, un giovane e ricco studente, Wilhelm Meister, s'interpone.
Philine è molto interessata al giovane il quale spiega a Laërte che conduce un'esistenza oziosa e gioiosa e che è anche lui interessato a Philine e deciso a conquistarla.
Arriva Mignon, venuta a ringraziare Wilhelm Meister del suo aiuto.
Il giovane uomo l'interroga ma ella risponde in modo misterioso, che ignora la sua età, ha perso i suoi genitori, e si ricorda solamente di essere stata rapita in un paese soleggiato, forse l'Italia: e canta l'aria celeberrima
"Connais-tu le pays où fleurit l'oranger ? ".
Commosso per questo racconto, Wilhelm Meister riscatta da Jarno la libertà di Mignon.
Philine ritrova uno dei suoi spasimanti, Federico che è furioso per la presenza di Wilhelm. Laërte porta un invito del barone di Rosenberg, zio di Federico, a dare una rappresentazione nel suo castello.
Mignon vuole seguire Wilhelm Meister.
Questo ultimo in un primo momento rifiuta ma finisce per acconsentire a patto che lei si travesta.
Nel boudoir del castello di Rosenberg, Atto II, Philine si prepara per la rappresentazione di Songe d'une nuit d'été di William Shakespeare. Wilhelm le rende visita in compagnia di Manon travestita da paggio. Philine si burla di Manon. Questa decide di abbigliarsi con gli abiti di Philine per sedurre Wilhelm.
Quest'ultimo entrando nel camerino di Philine vede Manon nei panni di Philine e nello stesso tempo entrare Fredreric. I due uomini litigano e Manon esce dal nascondiglio per dividerli ma Wilhelm, che pensa sia solo una bambina, le chiede di andare via. Arriva Philine che vede Manon vestita con i suoi abiti. Ella glieli lascia burlandosi ma Manon se li toglie con rabbia perché è disperata di vedere che Wilhelm ama Philine. Si affida a Lothario che è appena arrivato al castello e che decide di aiutarla a vendicarsi.
Nel parco, Philine trionfa nel suo ruolo di Titania: canta la famosa aria "Je suis Titania la blonde… ". Lothario sopraggiunge come smarrito: ha dato fuoco al castello. Philine manda Manon a cercare il suo bouquet tra le fiamme e viene salvata da Wilhelm.
Nel salone di un palazzo in Italia, Atto III, Lothario ha condotto Mignon e Wilhelm nel palazzo dei Cipriani.
Wilhelm veglia sul sonno della ragazza e contemplandola comprende di esserne innamorato e vuole acquistarle il palazzo. Laërte l'avverte che Philine li ha seguiti e che è là. Manon si sveglia e Wilhelm gli dichiara il suo amore, ma la voce di Philine li interrompe e Manon sviene.
Lothario entra vestito con un abito magnifico e con un cofanetto in mano rivela loro che il palazzo gli appartiene. Wilhelm e Manon lo prendono per matto. Lothario offre alla ragazza una sciarpa ricamata, un braccialetto di corallo ed un libro di orazioni, ma Manon non ha bisogno di aprire il libro per dire la preghiera. Poco a poco, i suoi ricordi ritornano e riconosce il palazzo della sua infanzia. Lothario è suo padre e lei non è altro che Sperata. La ragazza, schiantata dall'emozione, crolla a terra.
Per la prima rappresentazione dell'opera nel 1866, "Mignon" beneficiò di una splendida compagnia di canto.
L'interpretazione di Célestine Galli-Marié nel ruolo di Mignon, contribuì in maniera notevole al successo dell'opera.
Dans le rôle-titre contribua grandement au succès de l'ouvrage.
Ella fu attorniata da Marie Cabel (Philine), Léon Achard (Wilhelm) e Charles Aimable Bataille (Lothario).
A Londra, nel 1870, Christine Nilsson, che aveva interpretato il ruolo di Ofelia in Hamlet nel 1868, trionfò nel ruolo di Mignon. Jean-Baptiste Faure interpretò il ruolo di Lothario.
Sigrid Arnoldson fu una delle più celebri Mignon della primi anni del XX secolo.
Ella aveva debuttato nel ruolo all'Opera comique nel 1887 e la cantò in tutto il mondo.
Nel 1907 celebrò a Dresda la sua 500ª rappresentazione nel ruolo di Mignon.
In quella occasione la signora Thomas le scrisse:
«voi siete sempre, per me, la Mignon prediletta dal maestro. vous êtes toujours pour moi la Mignon favorite du maître. Vi sono molto riconoscente di essere rimasta fedele a questo poetico ruolo, a questo ruolo in cui avete saputo trovare l'ideale.>>
Altri progetti[modifica] Wikimedia Commons contiene file multimediali su Mignon
"Mignon" è una tragedia lirica in tre atti e 5 quadri di Ambroise Thomas, su libretto di Jules Barbier e Michel Carré tratta da Les Années d'apprentissage de Wilhelm Meister da Goethe, rappresentata all'Opéra-Comique di Parigi il 17 novembre 1866.
I librettisti Jules Barbier e Michel Carré furono all'origine del progetto Mignon.
Dopo aver adattato, con il successo conseguente, il Faust da Goethe, essi decisero di trarre un libretto da Wilhelm Meister dello stesso autore.
Essi proposero subito il libretto a Meyerbeer, che lo rifiutò, poi a Gounod ed infine ad Ambroise Thomas.
Quest'ultimo era conosciuto essenzialmente come compositore di opéra comique che anche se avevano avuto un certo successo non erano mai rimaste in repertorio.
Con "Mignon", all'età di oltre cinquant'anni, il compositore poté conoscere il trionfo e la fama internazionale, confermata più tardi con Hamlet.
In origine, "Mignon" fu creata con una conclusione tragica, poiché "Mignon", come nel romanzo di Goethe, moriva brutalmente in una festa di villaggio alla vista di Philine.
Questa fine urtava la convenzione allora in vigore, e che fu abbandonata solamente con Carmen di Georges Bizet nel 1875, che voleva che l'opéra comique si concludesse in maniera gioiosa.
Perciò l'opera, all'epoca delle prime rappresentazioni, fu accolta tiepidamente.
"Allora, riporta Jules Barbier, come da persone pratiche quali eravamo, ci dicemmo: ma per rispettare questa scomparsa di "Mignon", secondo quanto previsto da Goethe, dobbiamo privarci di 7-800 rapprestazioni?
Sarebbe molto meglio farli sposare come comuni borghesi e lasciare la porta aperta alla loro numerosa posterità. "
Questo fu fatto ed il lavoro conobbe allora successo travolgente.
Napoleone III assistette alla 22ª rappresentazione, ed entusiasta fece dare 15 rappresentazioni l'anno successivo per i sovrani europei riuniti a Parigi per Exposition universelle del 1867.
Dal 1868, l'opera fu rappresentata a Weimar ed a Vienna dove divenne rapidamente molto popolare.
********************************
Nel 1870 venne rappresentata anche a Londra in italiano con grande successo.
******************* tenor aria: "Addio, Mignon"
Nel 1894, "Mignon" raggiunse la millesima rappresentazione all'Opéra-Comique, divendo così la prima opera lirica a raggiungere le 1.000 rappresentazioni con il suo compositore ancora in vita.
Per rispondere al successo dell'opera, Ambroise Thomas trasformò il suo lavoro in grand opéra trasformando in recitativi i dialoghi parlati.
Ed è in questa versione che l'opera venne ulteriormente ripresa.
Thomas mise a punto anche una versione con l'epilogo tragico da destinare al pubblico tedesco che ben conosceva l'opera originale del connazionale Goethe.
Personaggi
Mignon -------------------------- mezzosoprano
Philine, attrice, --------------- soprano
Wilhelm Meister, studente ------- tenore
Lothario, cantante itinerante --- bass-baritone
Frédéric ------------------------ mezzosoprano
Laërte -------------------------- tenore
Jarno --------------------------- basso
Antonio ------------------------- basso
Abitanti del villaggio, contadini, bohémiens
Nel cortile di una locanda, Atto I, davanti agli abitanti del villaggio, un musicista itinerante, Lothario, canta il suo dolore: egli ricerca sua figlia Sperata, scomparsa da molto tempo.
Arriva una compagnia di attori diretta dal crudele Jarno, che fa la sua rappresentazione sul tema di due commedianti, la civetta Philine e lo spirituale Laërte. Jarno annuncia che la giovane Mignon eseguirà il celebre « pas des œufs » ma la giovane si rifiuta.
Nel momento in cui Jarno sta per picchiarla, un giovane e ricco studente, Wilhelm Meister, s'interpone.
Philine è molto interessata al giovane il quale spiega a Laërte che conduce un'esistenza oziosa e gioiosa e che è anche lui interessato a Philine e deciso a conquistarla.
Arriva Mignon, venuta a ringraziare Wilhelm Meister del suo aiuto.
Il giovane uomo l'interroga ma ella risponde in modo misterioso, che ignora la sua età, ha perso i suoi genitori, e si ricorda solamente di essere stata rapita in un paese soleggiato, forse l'Italia: e canta l'aria celeberrima
"Connais-tu le pays où fleurit l'oranger ? ".
Commosso per questo racconto, Wilhelm Meister riscatta da Jarno la libertà di Mignon.
Philine ritrova uno dei suoi spasimanti, Federico che è furioso per la presenza di Wilhelm. Laërte porta un invito del barone di Rosenberg, zio di Federico, a dare una rappresentazione nel suo castello.
Mignon vuole seguire Wilhelm Meister.
Questo ultimo in un primo momento rifiuta ma finisce per acconsentire a patto che lei si travesta.
Nel boudoir del castello di Rosenberg, Atto II, Philine si prepara per la rappresentazione di Songe d'une nuit d'été di William Shakespeare. Wilhelm le rende visita in compagnia di Manon travestita da paggio. Philine si burla di Manon. Questa decide di abbigliarsi con gli abiti di Philine per sedurre Wilhelm.
Quest'ultimo entrando nel camerino di Philine vede Manon nei panni di Philine e nello stesso tempo entrare Fredreric. I due uomini litigano e Manon esce dal nascondiglio per dividerli ma Wilhelm, che pensa sia solo una bambina, le chiede di andare via. Arriva Philine che vede Manon vestita con i suoi abiti. Ella glieli lascia burlandosi ma Manon se li toglie con rabbia perché è disperata di vedere che Wilhelm ama Philine. Si affida a Lothario che è appena arrivato al castello e che decide di aiutarla a vendicarsi.
Nel parco, Philine trionfa nel suo ruolo di Titania: canta la famosa aria "Je suis Titania la blonde… ". Lothario sopraggiunge come smarrito: ha dato fuoco al castello. Philine manda Manon a cercare il suo bouquet tra le fiamme e viene salvata da Wilhelm.
Nel salone di un palazzo in Italia, Atto III, Lothario ha condotto Mignon e Wilhelm nel palazzo dei Cipriani.
Wilhelm veglia sul sonno della ragazza e contemplandola comprende di esserne innamorato e vuole acquistarle il palazzo. Laërte l'avverte che Philine li ha seguiti e che è là. Manon si sveglia e Wilhelm gli dichiara il suo amore, ma la voce di Philine li interrompe e Manon sviene.
Lothario entra vestito con un abito magnifico e con un cofanetto in mano rivela loro che il palazzo gli appartiene. Wilhelm e Manon lo prendono per matto. Lothario offre alla ragazza una sciarpa ricamata, un braccialetto di corallo ed un libro di orazioni, ma Manon non ha bisogno di aprire il libro per dire la preghiera. Poco a poco, i suoi ricordi ritornano e riconosce il palazzo della sua infanzia. Lothario è suo padre e lei non è altro che Sperata. La ragazza, schiantata dall'emozione, crolla a terra.
Per la prima rappresentazione dell'opera nel 1866, "Mignon" beneficiò di una splendida compagnia di canto.
L'interpretazione di Célestine Galli-Marié nel ruolo di Mignon, contribuì in maniera notevole al successo dell'opera.
Dans le rôle-titre contribua grandement au succès de l'ouvrage.
Ella fu attorniata da Marie Cabel (Philine), Léon Achard (Wilhelm) e Charles Aimable Bataille (Lothario).
A Londra, nel 1870, Christine Nilsson, che aveva interpretato il ruolo di Ofelia in Hamlet nel 1868, trionfò nel ruolo di Mignon. Jean-Baptiste Faure interpretò il ruolo di Lothario.
Sigrid Arnoldson fu una delle più celebri Mignon della primi anni del XX secolo.
Ella aveva debuttato nel ruolo all'Opera comique nel 1887 e la cantò in tutto il mondo.
Nel 1907 celebrò a Dresda la sua 500ª rappresentazione nel ruolo di Mignon.
In quella occasione la signora Thomas le scrisse:
«voi siete sempre, per me, la Mignon prediletta dal maestro. vous êtes toujours pour moi la Mignon favorite du maître. Vi sono molto riconoscente di essere rimasta fedele a questo poetico ruolo, a questo ruolo in cui avete saputo trovare l'ideale.>>
Altri progetti[modifica] Wikimedia Commons contiene file multimediali su Mignon
"Addio, Mignon"
by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com
Charles Louis Ambroise Thomas (Metz, 5 agosto 1811 – Parigi, 12 febbraio 1896) è stato un compositore francese, molto famoso nel XIX secolo per le sue opere, specialmente per "Mignon".
Ragazzo prodigio, figlio di un violinista di Metz, Jean-Baptiste-Martin Thomas, e di una cantante, Ambroise Thomas apprese la musica da suo padre, imparando nel contempo a suonare il pianoforte ed il violino.
Suo padre morì nel 1823 lasciando la famiglia senza risorse.
Sua moglie, si trasferì a Parigi nel 1827 e l'anno dopo Ambroise entrò al Conservatorio di Parigi dove studiò con Zimmerman, Doulen, Jean-François Lesueur per la composizione e Kalkbrenner per il pianoforte.
Vinse il primo premio di pianoforte nel 1829, il primo premio di armonia nel 1830 e, dopo un primo tentativo infruttuoso nel 1831, il Prix de Rome nel 1832 con la cantata Herman et Ketty.
Durante un suo soggiorno in Italia a Villa Medici, egli compose essenzialmente della musica da camera e divenne amico di Hippolyte Frandin, che gli fece un ritratto, ed Ingres, allora direttore dell'Accademia di Francia.
Egli andò, in seguito, a Vienna, Monaco di Baviera e Lipsia.
Egli era a quei tempi, secondo la descrizione di Léon Escudier, « un giovane uomo di linea slanciata, dalla fisionomia espressiva, con degli occhi azzurri di una dolcezza ammaliante, dal passo noncurante e dai modi eleganti e garbati.
Questo giovane uomo ha la voce flessuosa e penetrante e non si fa pregare molto per sedersi al piano e suonare.
Egli suona bene questo strumento, non alla maniara dei virtuosi da concerto sempre in cerca di approvazione e produttori di sonorità assordanti.
Ma un poeta che sa parlare al cuore e trovare i colori per dipingere i suoi trasporti ed i suoi sogni. »
Àl suo ritorno a Parigi nel 1837, Thomas si indirizza alla composizione di opere, che saranno tutte brillanti.
Anche se le opere di questo periodo, composte in uno stile leggero e molodioso, ottengono un buon successo, nessuna riesce a rimanere in repertorio.
"La Double Échelle" del (1837), che ebbe i complimenti di Hector Berlioz.
"Le Caïd" del 1849, operetta brillante che riportò un grande successo.
"Le Songe d'une Nuit d'Été" del 1850, fantasia drammatica ben accolta, o il Falstaff da William Shakespeare.
"Raymond" del 1851, la cui ouverture rimase popolare, Le Roman d'Elvire, etc.
Grazie al successo di "Caïd", Ambroise Thomas viene eletto trionfalmente all'Académie des Beaux-Arts de l'Institut de France nel 1851, surclassando Berlioz che non ottenne alcun voto.
*********************************
Fu all'età di oltre cinquant'anni che la sua opera "Mignon" del 1866, riportò un notevole successo dopo un debutto mediocre.
Da allora Thomas, la cui fama era stata relativamente modesta, assurse al rango di grande compositore.
Nel 1894 "Mignon" era già stata rappresentata oltre 1.000 volte solamente all'Opéra-Comique ed era un successo in tutti i teatri d'Europa.
La sua opera successiva, "Hamlet" del 1868, dalla tragedia di Shakespeare, gli darà rinomanza internazionale.
La musica di Thomas non era molto calzante al soggetto ma l'opera riuscì comunque ad avere successo, anche per merito della compagnia di canto, tanto che il compositore sarà il primo compositore a ricevere l'insegna di Commendatore della Légion d'honneur direttamente dalle mani di Napoleone III.
Thomas divenne poi professore di composizione al Conservatorio di Parigi nel 1856, succedendo ad Adolphe Adam ed avendo come colleghi Massenet, Édouard Colonne, Théodore Dubois, Albert Bourgault-Ducoudray, Albert Lavignac e Francis Thomé.
Alla morte di Daniel Auber nel 1871, Thomas gli succedette nell'incarico di direttore del Conservatorio.
Egli smise allora di comporre ad eccezione della Françoise de Rimini del 1874, che non ebbe grande successo e di un balletto, La Tempête del 1889, entrambi da Shakespeare, rappresentati all'Opéra de Paris.
Durante la sua direzione del Conservatorio, si oppose alle influenze tedesche nella musica frances, assegnò la cattedra di organo a César Franck nel 1872 e combatté contro la nomina di Gabriel Fauré, che divenne direttore del Conservatorio soltanto dopo la morte di Thomas nel 1896.
All'inizio della sua carriera di compositore, Ambroise Thomas compose alcuni pezzi di musica sacra così come di musica strumentale e sinfonica.
Nel 1887, presiedette la commissione istituita dal ministro della guerra per scegliere la versione ufficiale de La Marseillaise. La version decisa dalla commissione fu adottata fino al 1974.
« Vi sono due generi di musica, la buona e la cattiva e poi c'é la musica di Ambroise Thomas », disse Emmanuel Chabrier: intendendo dire in effetti che la musica di Ambroise Thomas non era ne buona ne cattiva; léggera, facile, melodiosa, era pensata per piacere al pubblico popolare del Secondo impero.
Opere:
La Double échelle, Opéra-Comique, 1837
Le Perruquier de la Régence, 1838
Gipsy, 1839
Le comte de Carmagnola, 1842
Angélique et Médor, 1843
Le Caïd, 1849
Le Songe d'une nuit d'été, 1850
Raymond, 1851
Psyché, 1857
Le Roman d'Elvire, 1860
*******************
Mignon, tragedia lirica in 3 atti e 5 quadri, libretto di Michel Carré e Jules Barbier, rappresentata al Opéra-Comique il 17 novembre 1866
************* tenor aria: "Addio, Mignon" (Guillelmo, studente)
Hamlet, opera in 5 atti, libretto di Michel Carré e Jules Barbier, rappresentata all'Opéra de Paris il 9 marzo 1868
Françoise de Rimini, Opéra de Paris, 1874
La Tempête, balletto, 1889
Altri progetti[modifica] Wikimedia Commons contiene file multimediali su Ambroise Thomas
Collegamenti esterni[modifica]Spartiti liberi di Ambroise Thomas su International Music Score Library Project
Charles Louis Ambroise Thomas (Metz, 5 agosto 1811 – Parigi, 12 febbraio 1896) è stato un compositore francese, molto famoso nel XIX secolo per le sue opere, specialmente per "Mignon".
Ragazzo prodigio, figlio di un violinista di Metz, Jean-Baptiste-Martin Thomas, e di una cantante, Ambroise Thomas apprese la musica da suo padre, imparando nel contempo a suonare il pianoforte ed il violino.
Suo padre morì nel 1823 lasciando la famiglia senza risorse.
Sua moglie, si trasferì a Parigi nel 1827 e l'anno dopo Ambroise entrò al Conservatorio di Parigi dove studiò con Zimmerman, Doulen, Jean-François Lesueur per la composizione e Kalkbrenner per il pianoforte.
Vinse il primo premio di pianoforte nel 1829, il primo premio di armonia nel 1830 e, dopo un primo tentativo infruttuoso nel 1831, il Prix de Rome nel 1832 con la cantata Herman et Ketty.
Durante un suo soggiorno in Italia a Villa Medici, egli compose essenzialmente della musica da camera e divenne amico di Hippolyte Frandin, che gli fece un ritratto, ed Ingres, allora direttore dell'Accademia di Francia.
Egli andò, in seguito, a Vienna, Monaco di Baviera e Lipsia.
Egli era a quei tempi, secondo la descrizione di Léon Escudier, « un giovane uomo di linea slanciata, dalla fisionomia espressiva, con degli occhi azzurri di una dolcezza ammaliante, dal passo noncurante e dai modi eleganti e garbati.
Questo giovane uomo ha la voce flessuosa e penetrante e non si fa pregare molto per sedersi al piano e suonare.
Egli suona bene questo strumento, non alla maniara dei virtuosi da concerto sempre in cerca di approvazione e produttori di sonorità assordanti.
Ma un poeta che sa parlare al cuore e trovare i colori per dipingere i suoi trasporti ed i suoi sogni. »
Àl suo ritorno a Parigi nel 1837, Thomas si indirizza alla composizione di opere, che saranno tutte brillanti.
Anche se le opere di questo periodo, composte in uno stile leggero e molodioso, ottengono un buon successo, nessuna riesce a rimanere in repertorio.
"La Double Échelle" del (1837), che ebbe i complimenti di Hector Berlioz.
"Le Caïd" del 1849, operetta brillante che riportò un grande successo.
"Le Songe d'une Nuit d'Été" del 1850, fantasia drammatica ben accolta, o il Falstaff da William Shakespeare.
"Raymond" del 1851, la cui ouverture rimase popolare, Le Roman d'Elvire, etc.
Grazie al successo di "Caïd", Ambroise Thomas viene eletto trionfalmente all'Académie des Beaux-Arts de l'Institut de France nel 1851, surclassando Berlioz che non ottenne alcun voto.
*********************************
Fu all'età di oltre cinquant'anni che la sua opera "Mignon" del 1866, riportò un notevole successo dopo un debutto mediocre.
Da allora Thomas, la cui fama era stata relativamente modesta, assurse al rango di grande compositore.
Nel 1894 "Mignon" era già stata rappresentata oltre 1.000 volte solamente all'Opéra-Comique ed era un successo in tutti i teatri d'Europa.
La sua opera successiva, "Hamlet" del 1868, dalla tragedia di Shakespeare, gli darà rinomanza internazionale.
La musica di Thomas non era molto calzante al soggetto ma l'opera riuscì comunque ad avere successo, anche per merito della compagnia di canto, tanto che il compositore sarà il primo compositore a ricevere l'insegna di Commendatore della Légion d'honneur direttamente dalle mani di Napoleone III.
Thomas divenne poi professore di composizione al Conservatorio di Parigi nel 1856, succedendo ad Adolphe Adam ed avendo come colleghi Massenet, Édouard Colonne, Théodore Dubois, Albert Bourgault-Ducoudray, Albert Lavignac e Francis Thomé.
Alla morte di Daniel Auber nel 1871, Thomas gli succedette nell'incarico di direttore del Conservatorio.
Egli smise allora di comporre ad eccezione della Françoise de Rimini del 1874, che non ebbe grande successo e di un balletto, La Tempête del 1889, entrambi da Shakespeare, rappresentati all'Opéra de Paris.
Durante la sua direzione del Conservatorio, si oppose alle influenze tedesche nella musica frances, assegnò la cattedra di organo a César Franck nel 1872 e combatté contro la nomina di Gabriel Fauré, che divenne direttore del Conservatorio soltanto dopo la morte di Thomas nel 1896.
All'inizio della sua carriera di compositore, Ambroise Thomas compose alcuni pezzi di musica sacra così come di musica strumentale e sinfonica.
Nel 1887, presiedette la commissione istituita dal ministro della guerra per scegliere la versione ufficiale de La Marseillaise. La version decisa dalla commissione fu adottata fino al 1974.
« Vi sono due generi di musica, la buona e la cattiva e poi c'é la musica di Ambroise Thomas », disse Emmanuel Chabrier: intendendo dire in effetti che la musica di Ambroise Thomas non era ne buona ne cattiva; léggera, facile, melodiosa, era pensata per piacere al pubblico popolare del Secondo impero.
Opere:
La Double échelle, Opéra-Comique, 1837
Le Perruquier de la Régence, 1838
Gipsy, 1839
Le comte de Carmagnola, 1842
Angélique et Médor, 1843
Le Caïd, 1849
Le Songe d'une nuit d'été, 1850
Raymond, 1851
Psyché, 1857
Le Roman d'Elvire, 1860
*******************
Mignon, tragedia lirica in 3 atti e 5 quadri, libretto di Michel Carré e Jules Barbier, rappresentata al Opéra-Comique il 17 novembre 1866
************* tenor aria: "Addio, Mignon" (Guillelmo, studente)
Hamlet, opera in 5 atti, libretto di Michel Carré e Jules Barbier, rappresentata all'Opéra de Paris il 9 marzo 1868
Françoise de Rimini, Opéra de Paris, 1874
La Tempête, balletto, 1889
Altri progetti[modifica] Wikimedia Commons contiene file multimediali su Ambroise Thomas
Collegamenti esterni[modifica]Spartiti liberi di Ambroise Thomas su International Music Score Library Project
Midi and lyrics for second melodious intervention by Tamino in "Flauto Magico" -- 'O wenn ich doch'
by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com
O wenn ich doch imstande wäre, Oh if only I were equal,
Allmächtige, zu eurer Ehre. Almighty, to your honor.
Mit jedem Tone meinen Dank With every tone my thanks
Zu schildern, wie er hier, entsprang. Arose to be portrayed, as here.
Wie stark ist nicht dein Zauberton, How strong is indeed your magic tone,
Weil, holde Flöte, durch dein Spielen For,gracious Flute,thru your playing
Selbst wilde Tiere Freude fühlen. Even wild animals feel joy.
Doch Pamina, nur Panima bleibt davon. Still Pamina, only Pamina stays away.
O wenn ich doch imstande wäre, Oh if only I were equal,
Allmächtige, zu eurer Ehre. Almighty, to your honor.
Mit jedem Tone meinen Dank With every tone my thanks
Zu schildern, wie er hier, entsprang. Arose to be portrayed, as here.
Wie stark ist nicht dein Zauberton, How strong is indeed your magic tone,
Weil, holde Flöte, durch dein Spielen For,gracious Flute,thru your playing
Selbst wilde Tiere Freude fühlen. Even wild animals feel joy.
Doch Pamina, nur Panima bleibt davon. Still Pamina, only Pamina stays away.
Lyrics and midi: 1892, "Werther" (Massenet) -- 'Allor sta proprio qua ... O natura di grazia piena'
by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Tenor aria, "L'ebrea' (1835): 'Rachele Allor Che Iddio a Voti Miei Propri'
by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com
Italian lyrics and midi for tenor aria in Halevy's "L'ebrea"
by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com
Rachel, quand du Seigneur la grace tutelaire Rache, quando del ciel lam grazia tutelare
a mes tremblantes mains confia ton berceau, a mie trmanti man confidò la tua culla,
j'avais à ton bonheur voué ma vie entière a tua felicità votai la vita intera
et c'est moi qui te livre au bourreau! ed or son io che ti voto a morir!
Mais j'entends une voix qui me crie: Ma odo una voce che mi grida:
sauvez-moi de la mort qui m'attend! salvatemi dalla morte che mi attende!
Je suis jeune et je tiens à la vie, Giovane son e ci tengo alla vita,
o mon pere, épargnez votre enfant! padre mio, salvate vostra figlia!
Ah! Rachel, quand ... ecc. Ah! Rachel, quando...ecc.
D'un mot arretant la sentence Ah! Con una parola soltanto
je puis te soustraire au trépas! alla morte sottrarti saprò!
Ah! J'ajourne à jamais ma vengeance, La vendetta io lascio da canto,
Rachel, non, tu ne mourras pas! Rachel morir non lascierò!
Rachel, quand du Seigneur la grace tutelaire Rache, quando del ciel lam grazia tutelare
a mes tremblantes mains confia ton berceau, a mie trmanti man confidò la tua culla,
j'avais à ton bonheur voué ma vie entière a tua felicità votai la vita intera
et c'est moi qui te livre au bourreau! ed or son io che ti voto a morir!
Mais j'entends une voix qui me crie: Ma odo una voce che mi grida:
sauvez-moi de la mort qui m'attend! salvatemi dalla morte che mi attende!
Je suis jeune et je tiens à la vie, Giovane son e ci tengo alla vita,
o mon pere, épargnez votre enfant! padre mio, salvate vostra figlia!
Ah! Rachel, quand ... ecc. Ah! Rachel, quando...ecc.
D'un mot arretant la sentence Ah! Con una parola soltanto
je puis te soustraire au trépas! alla morte sottrarti saprò!
Ah! J'ajourne à jamais ma vengeance, La vendetta io lascio da canto,
Rachel, non, tu ne mourras pas! Rachel morir non lascierò!
Italian lyrics and midi for Delibes's tenor aria in "Lakme" (tenor role: Geraldo)
by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com
Prendre le dessin d'un bijou,
Est-ce donc aussi grave?
Ah! Frédéric est fou!
Mais d'où vient maintenant cette crainte insensée?
Quel sentiment surnaturel
A troublé ma pensée
Devant ce calme solennel!
Fille de mon caprice,
L'inconnue est devant mes yeux!
Sa voix à mon oreille glisse
Des mots mystérieux.
Non! non!
Fantaisie aux divins mensonges, tu reviens m'égarer encor.
Va, retourne au pays de songes,
O fantaisie aux ailes d'or!
Va! va! Retourne au pays des songes.
O fantaisie aux ailes d'or!
Au bras poli de la païenne
Cette annelet dut s'enlacer!
Elle tiendrait toute en la mienne,
La main qui seule y peut passer!
Ce cercle d'or
Je le suppose,
A suivi les pas voyageurs
D'un petit pied qui ne se pose
Que sur la mousse ou sur les fleurs..
Et ce collier encor parfumé d'elle,
De sa personne encor tout embaumé.
A pu sentir battre son coeur fidèle,
tout tressaillant au nom du bien aimé.
Non! Non! Fuyez!
Fuyez, chimères.
Rêves éphémères
Qui troublez ma raison.
Fantaisie aux divins mensonges,
Tu reviens m'égarer encor.
Va, retourne au pays des songes,
O fantaisie aux ailes d'or.
Prendre le dessin d'un bijou,
Est-ce donc aussi grave?
Ah! Frédéric est fou!
Mais d'où vient maintenant cette crainte insensée?
Quel sentiment surnaturel
A troublé ma pensée
Devant ce calme solennel!
Fille de mon caprice,
L'inconnue est devant mes yeux!
Sa voix à mon oreille glisse
Des mots mystérieux.
Non! non!
Fantaisie aux divins mensonges, tu reviens m'égarer encor.
Va, retourne au pays de songes,
O fantaisie aux ailes d'or!
Va! va! Retourne au pays des songes.
O fantaisie aux ailes d'or!
Au bras poli de la païenne
Cette annelet dut s'enlacer!
Elle tiendrait toute en la mienne,
La main qui seule y peut passer!
Ce cercle d'or
Je le suppose,
A suivi les pas voyageurs
D'un petit pied qui ne se pose
Que sur la mousse ou sur les fleurs..
Et ce collier encor parfumé d'elle,
De sa personne encor tout embaumé.
A pu sentir battre son coeur fidèle,
tout tressaillant au nom du bien aimé.
Non! Non! Fuyez!
Fuyez, chimères.
Rêves éphémères
Qui troublez ma raison.
Fantaisie aux divins mensonges,
Tu reviens m'égarer encor.
Va, retourne au pays des songes,
O fantaisie aux ailes d'or.
Friday, June 17, 2011
Didone Abbandonata -- Jommelli, 1747 -- Enea's two arias available on midi
by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com
"Didone abbandonata" is an opera by Jommelli, first presented in 1747.
Niccolò Jommelli (10 September 1714 – 25 August 1774) was an Italian composer.
He was born in Aversa and died in Naples.
Along with other composers mainly in the Holy Roman Empire and France, he made important changes to opera and reduced the importance of star singers.
Jommelli was born to Francesco Antonio Jommelli and Margarita Cristiano in Aversa, a town some 20 kilometres north of Naples.
He had one brother Ignazio, who became a Dominican monk and helped the composer in his old age, and three sisters. His father was a prosperous linen merchant, who entrusted Jommelli to the choir director of the cathedral, Canon Muzzillo.
As he had shown talent for music Jommelli was enrolled after in 1725 at the Conservatorio di Santo Onofrio a Capuana in Naples, where he studied under Ignazio Prota and Francesco Feo. Three years later he was transferred to the Conservatorio di Santa Maria della Pietà dei Turchini, where he was trained under Niccolò Fago, having Don Giacomo Sarcuni and Andrea Basso, as second maestri, that is, singing teachers (maestri di canto).
Jommelli studied music under Canon Muzzillo, the director of the Aversa cathedral choir. In 1725 he was sent to the Conservatorio Sant'Onofrio at Naples, and studied alongside Francesco Feo and Tommaso Prota. In 1728 he moved to the Conservatorio dei Turchini, and was taught by Nicola Fago (among others). He was greatly influenced by Johann Adolph Hasse, who was in Naples during this period. After completing his studies he began work, and wrote two opere buffe, L’errore amorosa in early 1737 and Odoardo in late 1738. His first opera seria, Ricimero re di Goti, was such a success in Rome in 1740 that work was immediately commissioned from him by Henry Benedict Stuart, the Cardinal-Duke of York.
When still studying at the conservatory, Jommelli was impressed with Hasse’s use of obbligato recitative to increase the tension at certain dramatic moments in his operas. Speaking of obbligato recitative for Ricimero, Charles de Brosses says that Jommelli’s use of obbligato recitative was better than anything he had heard in France.[1]
His first opera, the comedy L’errore amoroso, was presented, with great success, under the protection of the Marquis del Vasto, Giovanni Battista d’Avalos, the winter of 1737 in the Teatro Nuovo of Naples. It was followed in the next year by a second comic opera, Odoardo, in the Teatro dei Fiorentini. His first serious opera Ricimero rè de’ Goti, presented in the Roman Teatro Argentina in January 1740, brought him to the attention and then the protection of the Duke of York, Henry Benedict. The duke would later be raised to the rank of cardinal and procure Jommelli an appointment at the Vatican. During the 1740s Jommelli wrote operas for many Italian cities: Bologna, Venice, Turin, Padua, Ferrara, Lucca, Parma, along with Naples and Rome.
When in Bologna in 1741, for the production of his "Ezio", Jommelli (in a situation blurred with anecdotes) met Padre Martini. Saverio Mattei said that Jommelli studied with Martini, and acknowledged to have learned with him ‘the art of escaping any anguish or aridity’. Nevertheless, Jommelli’s constant travelling in order to produce his many operas seems to have prevented him from ever having any lessons on a regular basis. Moreover, Jommelli’s relationship with Martini was not without mutual criticism. The main result of his stay in Bologna and his acquaintance with Martini was to present to the Accademia Filarmonica of that city for the procedures of admission, his first known church music, a five-voice fugue a cappella, on the final words of the small doxology, the ‘Sicut Erat’. The musicologist Gustav Fellerer, who examined several such works testifies that Jommelli’s piece, though being just ‘a rigid school work’, could well rank among the best admission pieces now stored in the Bolognese Accademia Filarmonica. During the early 1740s Jommelli wrote an increasing amount of religious music, mainly oratorios, and his first liturgical piece still extant, a very simple "Lætatus sum" in F major dated 1743, is held in the Santini collection in Münster.
In 1741 Jommelli went to Bologna to compose the music for Metastasio's Ezio, studying for a time under the famous Franciscan Friar and musician, Father Giovanni Battista Martini and becoming a lifelong friend of his. He was admitted to the Accademia Filarmonica. Shortly afterwards he moved to Venice, and composed his opera Merope, which was the forerunner for the French style of opera later in the century. In the years immediately after this, he wrote operas for Venice, Turin, Bologna, Ferrara, and Padua, and two popular oratorios, Isacco figura del Redentore and Betulia liberata.
Some time around 1745, Hasse recommended Jommelli for a position as the Director of Music at the Ospedale degli Incurabili in Venice, one of that city's colleges for female musicians. This full-time employment required him to compose sacred music (mostly settings of the Mass and the Divine Office), but the financial security it gave him also allowed him to compose several other dramatic works.
The appointment of Jommelli, recommended by Hasse, as maestro di cappella to the Ospedale degl’ Incurabili in Venice is not definitively documented. However, in 1745 he did start writing religious works for women’s choir to be performed in the church of the Incurabili, San Salvatore, a duty that was—together with the tuition of the more advanced students of the institution—part of the chapel master’s obligations. There are no autographs of Jommelli’s music composed for the Incurabili, but there are many copies of different versions of several of his works that may, with some certainty, be attributed to his period as maestro there. Among the music Helmut Hochstein lists as being composed for Venice, are to be found four oratorios: "Isacco figura del Redentore", "La Betulia liberata", "Joas", "Juda proditor"; some numbers in a collection of solo motets called Modulamina Sacra; one Missa breve in F major with its Credo in D major, probably a second mass in G major,47 one Te Deum, and five psalms.
Jommelli finds a place among the composers commemorated on the Opéra Garnier, ParisThough some his earliest biographers, Mattei and Villarosa, give 1748 as the year when Jommelli gave up his employment in Venice, his last compositions for the Incurabili are from 1746. He must have left Venice at the very end of 1746 or at the beginning of the following year, because on 28 January 1747 Jommelli was staging at the Argentina theatre in Rome his first version of the "Didone abbandonata", and in May at San Carlo theatre in Naples a second version of "Eumene".
It was the need of an active chapel master for the basilica of Saint Peter’s in reaching for the Jubilee festival year that brought both Jommelli and Davide Perez to Rome in 1749. The Jubilee is a year-long commemoration which the Roman Catholic Church holds every fifty years. Therefore this was an important occasion for Roman aristocratic society to show off. Jommelli was summoned by the Cardinal Duke of York, Henry Benedict, for whom he wrote a setting of Metastasio's oratorio La passione di Gesù Cristo that continued to be played yearly in Rome, and who presented him to Cardinal Alessandro Albani, an intimate of Pope Benedict XIV.
He subsequently visited Vienna before taking a post as Kapellmeister to Duke Karl Eugen of Württemberg in Stuttgart in 1753. This period saw some of his greatest successes and the composition of what are regarded as some of his best works. Many were staged at the Duke's private theatres in the Palace of Ludwigsburg, outside Stuttgart. Mozart and his father passed through Ludwigsburg in 1763 on their "grand tour" and met the composer. Jommelli returned to Naples in 1768, by which time opera buffa was more popular than Jommelli's opera seria, and his last works were not so well received. He suffered a stroke in 1771 which partially paralysed him, but continued to work until his death three years later. He died in Naples.
Jommelli wrote cantatas, oratorios and other sacred works, but by far the most important part of his output were his operas, particularly his opere serie of which he composed around sixty examples, several with libretti by Metastasio. In his work, he tended to concentrate more on the story and drama of the opera than on flashy technical displays by the singers, as was the norm in Italian opera at that time. He wrote more ensemble numbers and choruses, and, influenced by French opera composers such as Jean-Philippe Rameau, he introduced ballets into his work. He used the orchestra (particularly the wind instruments) in a much more prominent way to illustrate the goings-on of the story, and wrote passages for the orchestra alone rather than having it purely as support for the singers. From Johann Adolph Hasse, he learnt to write recitatives accompanied by the orchestra, rather than just by a harpsichord. His reforms are sometimes regarded as equal in importance to Christoph Willibald Gluck's.
Operas
L'errore amoroso (Naples, 1737) – libretto by Antonio Palomba
Odoardo (Naples, 1738)
Ricimero re de' Goti (Rome, 1740)
Astianatte (Rome, 1741) – libretto by Antonio Salvi
Ezio (Bologna, 1741) – libretto by Metastasio
Semiramide riconosciuta (Turin, 1741) – libretto by Metastasio
Merope (Venice, 1741) – libretto by Apostolo Zeno
Don Chichibio (Rome, 1742)
Eumene (Bologna, 1742) – libretto by Apostolo Zeno
Semiramide (Venice, 1742) – libretto by Francesco Silvani
Tito Manlio (Turin, 1743) – libretto by Gaetano Roccaforte
Demofoonte (Padua, 1743) – libretto by Metastasio
Alessandro nell'Indie (Ferrara, 1744) – libretto by Metastasio
Ciro riconosciuto (Bologna, 1744) – libretto by Metastasio
Sofonisba (Venice, 1746) – libretto by Antonio Zanetti e Girolamo Zanetti
Cajo Mario (Rome, 1746) – libretto by Gaetano Roccaforte
Antigono (Lucca, 1746) – libretto by Metastasio
Tito Manlio (Venice, 1746) – libretto by Jacopo Antonio Sanvitale
******************
Didone abbandonata (Rome, 1847) – libretto by Metastasio
******************
L'amore in maschera (Naples, 1748) – libretto by Antonio Palomba
Achille in Sciro (Vienna, 1749) – libretto by Metastasio
Artaserse (Rome, 1749) – libretto by Metastasio
Ciro riconosciuto (Venice, 1749) – libretto by Metastasio
Demetrio (Parma, 1749) – libretto by Metastasio
La cantata e disfida di Don Trastullo (Rome, 1749)
Cesare in Egitto (Rome, 1751) – libretto by Giacomo Francesco Bussani
Ifigenia in Aulide (Rome, 1751) – libretto by Mattia Verazi
La villana nobile (Palermo, 1751) – libretto by Antonio Palomba
L'uccellatrice (Venice, 1751) – libretto by Carlo Goldoni
Ipermestra (Spoleto, 1751) – libretto by Metastasio
Talestri (Rome, 1751) – libretto by Gaetano Roccaforte
I rivali delusi (Rome, 1752)
Attilio Regolo (Rome, 1753)
Bajazette (Turin, 1753) – libretto by Agostino Piovene
Fetonte (Stuttgart, 1753) – libretto by Leopoldo de Villati
La clemenza di Tito (Stuttgart, 1753) – libretto by Metastasio
Il paratajo (Paris, 1753) – revision of L'uccellatrice
Don Falcone (Bologna, 1754)
Catone in Utica (Stuttgart, 1754) – libretto by Metastasio
Lucio Vero (Milan, 1754)
Il giardino incantato (Stuttgart, 1755)
Enea nel Lazio (Stuttgart, 1755) – libretto by Mattia Verazi
Penelope (Stuttgart, 1755) – libretto by Mattia Verazi
Il Creso (Rome, 1757) – libretto by Giovacchino Pizzi
Temistocle (Naples, 1757) – libretto by Metastasio
Tito Manlio (Stuttgart, 1758)
Ezio (Stuttgart, 1758)
L'asilo d'amore (Stuttgart, 1758)
Endimione (Stuttgart, 1759)
Nitteti (Stuttgart, 1759) – libretto by Metastasio
Alessandro nell'Indie (Stuttgart, 1760)
Cajo Fabrizio (Mannheim, 1760) – libretto by Mattia Verazi
L'Olimpiade (Stuttgart, 1761) – libretto by Metastasio
L'isola disabitata (Ludwigsburg, 1761) – libretto by Metastasio
Semiramide riconosciuta (Stuttgart, 1762)
Didone abbandonata (Stuttgart, 1763)
Il trionfo d'amore (Ludwigsburg, 1763) – libretto by Giampiero Tagliazucchi
Demofoonte (Stuttgart, 1764)
Il re pastore (Ludwigsburg, 1764) – libretto by Giampiero Tagliazucchi
La pastorella illustre (Stuttgart, 1764) – libretto by Giampiero Tagliazucchi
Temistocle (Ludwigsburg, 1765)
Imeneo in Atene (Ludwigsburg, 1765)
Il matrimonio per concorso (Ludwigsburg, 1766) – libretto by Gaetano Martinelli
La critica (Ludwigsburg, 1766)
Vologeso (Ludwigsburg, 1766) – libretto by Mattia Verazi
Il matrimonio per concorso (Ludwigsburg, 1766)
Il cacciatore deluso (Tübingen, 1767) – libretto by Gaetano Martinelli
Fetonte (Ludwigsburg, 1768)
L'unione coronata (Solitude, 1768)
La schiava liberata (Ludwigsburg, 1768) – libretto by Gaetano Martinelli
Armida abbandonata (Naples, 1770) – libretto by Francesco Saverio de' Rogati
Demofoonte (Naples, 1770)
Ifigenia in Tauride (Naples, 1771) – libretto by Mattia Verazi
L'amante cacciatore (Rome, 1771)
Achille in Sciro (Rome, 1771)
Le avventure di Cleomede (1771) – libretto by Gaetano Martinelli
Cerere placata (Naples, 1772)
Il trionfo di Clelia (Naples, 1774) – libretto by Metastasio
Arcadia conservata
La Griselda
La pellegrina
[edit] Recording1 concerto in Neapolitan Flute Concertos, Auser Musici, Carlo Ipata, director, Hyperion CDA67784 (2010)
[edit] References^ Charles de Brosses, L'Italie il y a cent ans, ou lettres écrites d'Italie à quelques amis en 1739 et 1740
Maurício Dottori. The Church Music of Davide Perez and Niccolò Jommelli. Curitiba: DeArtes-UFPR, 2008.
[edit] External linksFree scores by Niccolò Jommelli in the International Music Score Library Project
Istituto Internazionale per lo studio del '700 musicale napoletano
Free scores by Niccolò Jommelli in the Werner Icking Music Archive (WIMA)
Free scores by Niccolò Jommelli in the Choral Public Domain Library (ChoralWiki)
"Didone abbandonata" is an opera by Jommelli, first presented in 1747.
Niccolò Jommelli (10 September 1714 – 25 August 1774) was an Italian composer.
He was born in Aversa and died in Naples.
Along with other composers mainly in the Holy Roman Empire and France, he made important changes to opera and reduced the importance of star singers.
Jommelli was born to Francesco Antonio Jommelli and Margarita Cristiano in Aversa, a town some 20 kilometres north of Naples.
He had one brother Ignazio, who became a Dominican monk and helped the composer in his old age, and three sisters. His father was a prosperous linen merchant, who entrusted Jommelli to the choir director of the cathedral, Canon Muzzillo.
As he had shown talent for music Jommelli was enrolled after in 1725 at the Conservatorio di Santo Onofrio a Capuana in Naples, where he studied under Ignazio Prota and Francesco Feo. Three years later he was transferred to the Conservatorio di Santa Maria della Pietà dei Turchini, where he was trained under Niccolò Fago, having Don Giacomo Sarcuni and Andrea Basso, as second maestri, that is, singing teachers (maestri di canto).
Jommelli studied music under Canon Muzzillo, the director of the Aversa cathedral choir. In 1725 he was sent to the Conservatorio Sant'Onofrio at Naples, and studied alongside Francesco Feo and Tommaso Prota. In 1728 he moved to the Conservatorio dei Turchini, and was taught by Nicola Fago (among others). He was greatly influenced by Johann Adolph Hasse, who was in Naples during this period. After completing his studies he began work, and wrote two opere buffe, L’errore amorosa in early 1737 and Odoardo in late 1738. His first opera seria, Ricimero re di Goti, was such a success in Rome in 1740 that work was immediately commissioned from him by Henry Benedict Stuart, the Cardinal-Duke of York.
When still studying at the conservatory, Jommelli was impressed with Hasse’s use of obbligato recitative to increase the tension at certain dramatic moments in his operas. Speaking of obbligato recitative for Ricimero, Charles de Brosses says that Jommelli’s use of obbligato recitative was better than anything he had heard in France.[1]
His first opera, the comedy L’errore amoroso, was presented, with great success, under the protection of the Marquis del Vasto, Giovanni Battista d’Avalos, the winter of 1737 in the Teatro Nuovo of Naples. It was followed in the next year by a second comic opera, Odoardo, in the Teatro dei Fiorentini. His first serious opera Ricimero rè de’ Goti, presented in the Roman Teatro Argentina in January 1740, brought him to the attention and then the protection of the Duke of York, Henry Benedict. The duke would later be raised to the rank of cardinal and procure Jommelli an appointment at the Vatican. During the 1740s Jommelli wrote operas for many Italian cities: Bologna, Venice, Turin, Padua, Ferrara, Lucca, Parma, along with Naples and Rome.
When in Bologna in 1741, for the production of his "Ezio", Jommelli (in a situation blurred with anecdotes) met Padre Martini. Saverio Mattei said that Jommelli studied with Martini, and acknowledged to have learned with him ‘the art of escaping any anguish or aridity’. Nevertheless, Jommelli’s constant travelling in order to produce his many operas seems to have prevented him from ever having any lessons on a regular basis. Moreover, Jommelli’s relationship with Martini was not without mutual criticism. The main result of his stay in Bologna and his acquaintance with Martini was to present to the Accademia Filarmonica of that city for the procedures of admission, his first known church music, a five-voice fugue a cappella, on the final words of the small doxology, the ‘Sicut Erat’. The musicologist Gustav Fellerer, who examined several such works testifies that Jommelli’s piece, though being just ‘a rigid school work’, could well rank among the best admission pieces now stored in the Bolognese Accademia Filarmonica. During the early 1740s Jommelli wrote an increasing amount of religious music, mainly oratorios, and his first liturgical piece still extant, a very simple "Lætatus sum" in F major dated 1743, is held in the Santini collection in Münster.
In 1741 Jommelli went to Bologna to compose the music for Metastasio's Ezio, studying for a time under the famous Franciscan Friar and musician, Father Giovanni Battista Martini and becoming a lifelong friend of his. He was admitted to the Accademia Filarmonica. Shortly afterwards he moved to Venice, and composed his opera Merope, which was the forerunner for the French style of opera later in the century. In the years immediately after this, he wrote operas for Venice, Turin, Bologna, Ferrara, and Padua, and two popular oratorios, Isacco figura del Redentore and Betulia liberata.
Some time around 1745, Hasse recommended Jommelli for a position as the Director of Music at the Ospedale degli Incurabili in Venice, one of that city's colleges for female musicians. This full-time employment required him to compose sacred music (mostly settings of the Mass and the Divine Office), but the financial security it gave him also allowed him to compose several other dramatic works.
The appointment of Jommelli, recommended by Hasse, as maestro di cappella to the Ospedale degl’ Incurabili in Venice is not definitively documented. However, in 1745 he did start writing religious works for women’s choir to be performed in the church of the Incurabili, San Salvatore, a duty that was—together with the tuition of the more advanced students of the institution—part of the chapel master’s obligations. There are no autographs of Jommelli’s music composed for the Incurabili, but there are many copies of different versions of several of his works that may, with some certainty, be attributed to his period as maestro there. Among the music Helmut Hochstein lists as being composed for Venice, are to be found four oratorios: "Isacco figura del Redentore", "La Betulia liberata", "Joas", "Juda proditor"; some numbers in a collection of solo motets called Modulamina Sacra; one Missa breve in F major with its Credo in D major, probably a second mass in G major,47 one Te Deum, and five psalms.
Jommelli finds a place among the composers commemorated on the Opéra Garnier, ParisThough some his earliest biographers, Mattei and Villarosa, give 1748 as the year when Jommelli gave up his employment in Venice, his last compositions for the Incurabili are from 1746. He must have left Venice at the very end of 1746 or at the beginning of the following year, because on 28 January 1747 Jommelli was staging at the Argentina theatre in Rome his first version of the "Didone abbandonata", and in May at San Carlo theatre in Naples a second version of "Eumene".
It was the need of an active chapel master for the basilica of Saint Peter’s in reaching for the Jubilee festival year that brought both Jommelli and Davide Perez to Rome in 1749. The Jubilee is a year-long commemoration which the Roman Catholic Church holds every fifty years. Therefore this was an important occasion for Roman aristocratic society to show off. Jommelli was summoned by the Cardinal Duke of York, Henry Benedict, for whom he wrote a setting of Metastasio's oratorio La passione di Gesù Cristo that continued to be played yearly in Rome, and who presented him to Cardinal Alessandro Albani, an intimate of Pope Benedict XIV.
He subsequently visited Vienna before taking a post as Kapellmeister to Duke Karl Eugen of Württemberg in Stuttgart in 1753. This period saw some of his greatest successes and the composition of what are regarded as some of his best works. Many were staged at the Duke's private theatres in the Palace of Ludwigsburg, outside Stuttgart. Mozart and his father passed through Ludwigsburg in 1763 on their "grand tour" and met the composer. Jommelli returned to Naples in 1768, by which time opera buffa was more popular than Jommelli's opera seria, and his last works were not so well received. He suffered a stroke in 1771 which partially paralysed him, but continued to work until his death three years later. He died in Naples.
Jommelli wrote cantatas, oratorios and other sacred works, but by far the most important part of his output were his operas, particularly his opere serie of which he composed around sixty examples, several with libretti by Metastasio. In his work, he tended to concentrate more on the story and drama of the opera than on flashy technical displays by the singers, as was the norm in Italian opera at that time. He wrote more ensemble numbers and choruses, and, influenced by French opera composers such as Jean-Philippe Rameau, he introduced ballets into his work. He used the orchestra (particularly the wind instruments) in a much more prominent way to illustrate the goings-on of the story, and wrote passages for the orchestra alone rather than having it purely as support for the singers. From Johann Adolph Hasse, he learnt to write recitatives accompanied by the orchestra, rather than just by a harpsichord. His reforms are sometimes regarded as equal in importance to Christoph Willibald Gluck's.
Operas
L'errore amoroso (Naples, 1737) – libretto by Antonio Palomba
Odoardo (Naples, 1738)
Ricimero re de' Goti (Rome, 1740)
Astianatte (Rome, 1741) – libretto by Antonio Salvi
Ezio (Bologna, 1741) – libretto by Metastasio
Semiramide riconosciuta (Turin, 1741) – libretto by Metastasio
Merope (Venice, 1741) – libretto by Apostolo Zeno
Don Chichibio (Rome, 1742)
Eumene (Bologna, 1742) – libretto by Apostolo Zeno
Semiramide (Venice, 1742) – libretto by Francesco Silvani
Tito Manlio (Turin, 1743) – libretto by Gaetano Roccaforte
Demofoonte (Padua, 1743) – libretto by Metastasio
Alessandro nell'Indie (Ferrara, 1744) – libretto by Metastasio
Ciro riconosciuto (Bologna, 1744) – libretto by Metastasio
Sofonisba (Venice, 1746) – libretto by Antonio Zanetti e Girolamo Zanetti
Cajo Mario (Rome, 1746) – libretto by Gaetano Roccaforte
Antigono (Lucca, 1746) – libretto by Metastasio
Tito Manlio (Venice, 1746) – libretto by Jacopo Antonio Sanvitale
******************
Didone abbandonata (Rome, 1847) – libretto by Metastasio
******************
L'amore in maschera (Naples, 1748) – libretto by Antonio Palomba
Achille in Sciro (Vienna, 1749) – libretto by Metastasio
Artaserse (Rome, 1749) – libretto by Metastasio
Ciro riconosciuto (Venice, 1749) – libretto by Metastasio
Demetrio (Parma, 1749) – libretto by Metastasio
La cantata e disfida di Don Trastullo (Rome, 1749)
Cesare in Egitto (Rome, 1751) – libretto by Giacomo Francesco Bussani
Ifigenia in Aulide (Rome, 1751) – libretto by Mattia Verazi
La villana nobile (Palermo, 1751) – libretto by Antonio Palomba
L'uccellatrice (Venice, 1751) – libretto by Carlo Goldoni
Ipermestra (Spoleto, 1751) – libretto by Metastasio
Talestri (Rome, 1751) – libretto by Gaetano Roccaforte
I rivali delusi (Rome, 1752)
Attilio Regolo (Rome, 1753)
Bajazette (Turin, 1753) – libretto by Agostino Piovene
Fetonte (Stuttgart, 1753) – libretto by Leopoldo de Villati
La clemenza di Tito (Stuttgart, 1753) – libretto by Metastasio
Il paratajo (Paris, 1753) – revision of L'uccellatrice
Don Falcone (Bologna, 1754)
Catone in Utica (Stuttgart, 1754) – libretto by Metastasio
Lucio Vero (Milan, 1754)
Il giardino incantato (Stuttgart, 1755)
Enea nel Lazio (Stuttgart, 1755) – libretto by Mattia Verazi
Penelope (Stuttgart, 1755) – libretto by Mattia Verazi
Il Creso (Rome, 1757) – libretto by Giovacchino Pizzi
Temistocle (Naples, 1757) – libretto by Metastasio
Tito Manlio (Stuttgart, 1758)
Ezio (Stuttgart, 1758)
L'asilo d'amore (Stuttgart, 1758)
Endimione (Stuttgart, 1759)
Nitteti (Stuttgart, 1759) – libretto by Metastasio
Alessandro nell'Indie (Stuttgart, 1760)
Cajo Fabrizio (Mannheim, 1760) – libretto by Mattia Verazi
L'Olimpiade (Stuttgart, 1761) – libretto by Metastasio
L'isola disabitata (Ludwigsburg, 1761) – libretto by Metastasio
Semiramide riconosciuta (Stuttgart, 1762)
Didone abbandonata (Stuttgart, 1763)
Il trionfo d'amore (Ludwigsburg, 1763) – libretto by Giampiero Tagliazucchi
Demofoonte (Stuttgart, 1764)
Il re pastore (Ludwigsburg, 1764) – libretto by Giampiero Tagliazucchi
La pastorella illustre (Stuttgart, 1764) – libretto by Giampiero Tagliazucchi
Temistocle (Ludwigsburg, 1765)
Imeneo in Atene (Ludwigsburg, 1765)
Il matrimonio per concorso (Ludwigsburg, 1766) – libretto by Gaetano Martinelli
La critica (Ludwigsburg, 1766)
Vologeso (Ludwigsburg, 1766) – libretto by Mattia Verazi
Il matrimonio per concorso (Ludwigsburg, 1766)
Il cacciatore deluso (Tübingen, 1767) – libretto by Gaetano Martinelli
Fetonte (Ludwigsburg, 1768)
L'unione coronata (Solitude, 1768)
La schiava liberata (Ludwigsburg, 1768) – libretto by Gaetano Martinelli
Armida abbandonata (Naples, 1770) – libretto by Francesco Saverio de' Rogati
Demofoonte (Naples, 1770)
Ifigenia in Tauride (Naples, 1771) – libretto by Mattia Verazi
L'amante cacciatore (Rome, 1771)
Achille in Sciro (Rome, 1771)
Le avventure di Cleomede (1771) – libretto by Gaetano Martinelli
Cerere placata (Naples, 1772)
Il trionfo di Clelia (Naples, 1774) – libretto by Metastasio
Arcadia conservata
La Griselda
La pellegrina
[edit] Recording1 concerto in Neapolitan Flute Concertos, Auser Musici, Carlo Ipata, director, Hyperion CDA67784 (2010)
[edit] References^ Charles de Brosses, L'Italie il y a cent ans, ou lettres écrites d'Italie à quelques amis en 1739 et 1740
Maurício Dottori. The Church Music of Davide Perez and Niccolò Jommelli. Curitiba: DeArtes-UFPR, 2008.
[edit] External linksFree scores by Niccolò Jommelli in the International Music Score Library Project
Istituto Internazionale per lo studio del '700 musicale napoletano
Free scores by Niccolò Jommelli in the Werner Icking Music Archive (WIMA)
Free scores by Niccolò Jommelli in the Choral Public Domain Library (ChoralWiki)
Lyrics and midi: "Didone" (Jommelli) -- 'A trionfar mi chiama'
by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com
Lyrics and midi: 1776 "Didone" (Jommelli) 'Son quel fiume che gonfio'
by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com
Lyrics and midi: "Dorilla" (Vivaldi) -- 'Arsa da rai cocenti'
by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com
Lyrics and midi: 1726 "Dorilla" (Vivaldi) -- 'Bel piacer saria d'un core'
by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com
Lyrics and midi: 1726 "Dorilla" (Vivaldi) -- 'Se amarti non poss'io'
by Luigi Speranzafor "Gli Operai"jlsperanza@aol.com
Lyrics and midi: 1726 "Dorilla" (Vivaldi) -- 'Se ostinata a me resisti'
by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com
Lyrics and midi: 1726 "Dorilla" (Vivaldi) -- 'Vorrei dai lacci sciogliere'
by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com
Lyrics and midi: 1726 "Dorilla" (Vivaldi) -- 'Lieta o Tempe'
by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com
Lyrics and midi: 1726 "Dorilla" (Vivaldi) -- 'Rete, lacci e strali adopra'
by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com
Rete, lacci e strali adopra
Rete, lacci e strali adopra
Lyrics and midi: 1726 "Dorilla" (Vivaldi) -- 'Al mio amore il suo risponda'
by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com
Lyrics and midi: 1726 "Dorilla" (Vivaldi) -- 'Saprò ben con petto forte'
by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com
Saprò ben con petto forte
Saprò ben con petto forte
Lyrics and midi: "Dorilla" (Vivaldi) -- 'Gemiti e lacrime'
by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com
Lyrics and midi: 1726 "Dorilla" (Vivaldi) -- 'Dall'orrido soggiorno mi vien di mostri in torno"
by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com
Lyrics and midi: 1726 "Dorilla" (Vivaldi) -- 'La speranza ch'in me sento'
by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com
La speranza ch'in me sento
La speranza ch'in me sento
Lyrics and midi: 1726 "Dorilla" (Vivaldi) -- 'Mi lusinga il dolce affetto'
by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com
Mi lusinga il dolce affetto
con l'aspetto del mio bene.
pur chi sà temer conviene
che m'inganni amando ancor
ma se quella fosse mai
che adorai, e l'abbandono
infedel ingrato io sono
son crudele e traditor.
Mi lusinga il dolce affetto
con l'aspetto del mio bene.
pur chi sà temer conviene
che m'inganni amando ancor
ma se quella fosse mai
che adorai, e l'abbandono
infedel ingrato io sono
son crudele e traditor.
1726 "Dorilla" (Vivaldi) -- 'Dell'aura al sussurar, dell'onda al mormorar'
by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com
Dell'aura al sussurrar
dell'onda al mormorar,
cantiamo con piacer
fra il dolce, e el goder
della nuova stagion
l'onore, e il vanto
e sia di primavera
d'ogni gioir foriera
il nostro canto
senti quell'usignolo
su la nascente fronda
come il piacer l'innonda
e qual d'amor favella
spiegando lieto il volo
ei cerca fido il nido
al bel piacer ch'attende.
Dell'aura al sussurrar
dell'onda al mormorar,
cantiamo con piacer
fra il dolce, e el goder
della nuova stagion
l'onore, e il vanto
e sia di primavera
d'ogni gioir foriera
il nostro canto
senti quell'usignolo
su la nascente fronda
come il piacer l'innonda
e qual d'amor favella
spiegando lieto il volo
ei cerca fido il nido
al bel piacer ch'attende.
Midi and lyrics: 1726"Dorila"(Vivaldi)'Dell'aura al sussurar'
by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com
"Dorilla in Tempe" is a melodramma eroico pastorale in three acts by composer Antonio Vivaldi with an Italian libretto by Antonio Maria Lucchini.
The opera premiered at the Teatro San Angelo in Venice on 9 November 1726.
Vivaldi later revised the opera numerous times for several difference performances throughout the second half of his career.
"Dorilla in Tempe" was well received at its premiere and became one of Vivaldi's personal favorites.
The opera was the first work by Vivaldi to include in its cast the mezzo-soprano Anna Girò, who went on to form a lifelong friendship and professional partnership with the composer.
The opera was also noted for its visual aspects, boasting some of the most elaborate sets (by Antonio Mauro) in the history of opera up to that point and for its beautiful choreography by Giovanni Galletto.
In 1728 the opera was revived at the small Teatro San Margherita in Venice with an almost identical text, and again in Prague at the Sporck Theatre in the spring of 1732, this time with substantial alterations to the libretto.
During Carnival 1734 the opera was revived at the Teatro San Angelo, this time as a pastiche using recent music by other composers, including Hasse, Giacomelli and Leo.
The only surviving score of Dorilla in Tempe, located in Turin, is from this 1734 pastiche production.
Fortunately, the score includes not only the many insertions into the opera but also a number of the deletions from earlier productions.
Unusually for Vivaldi’s operatic scores, the sinfonia is clearly linked with the main opera.
It follows the title-page instead of preceding it, and the music of its final movement – a C major version of the opening of the Spring concerto– reappears in the opera’s opening chorus, appropriately in praise of spring.
"Dell'aura al sussurrar"
The opera displays a pastoral nature, particularly in its choral and ballet music, that is at times mixed with heroic elements, as in the elaborate celebrations at the end of Act 2, where a hunt is enacted to the inevitable horn accompaniment.
9 November 1726
Dorilla, daughter of Admeto, in love with Elmiro ---- soprano Angela Capuano, "la Capuanina"
Admeto, King of Thessaly ---------------------------- bass Lorenzo Moretti
Nomio/Apollo, the god Apollo disguised as a shepherd, in love with Dorilla contralto castrato Filippo Finazzi
Elmiro, a shepherd, in love with Dorilla ---- soprano (breeches role) Maria Maddalena Pieri
Eudamia, a nymph, in love with Elmiro ------ mezzo-soprano Anna Giró (?)
Filindo, in love with Eudamia -------------- contralto castrato Domenico Giuseppe Galletti
The story takes place in Tempe.
Like the music, the plot intertwines pastoral and heroic elements and centers on the shepherd Nomio, who is in fact Apollo in disguise.
Nomio falls in love with Dorilla, the daughter of Admeto, King of Thessaly, who is herself in love with the shepherd Elmiro.
Admeto is forced by the gods to save his kingdom by offering his daughter as a sacrifice to the sea-serpent Pitone, but she is rescued just in time by Nomius. Nomius claims the hand of Dorilla as his reward, but she remains reluctant and escapes with Elmiro.
The pair are captured, and Elmiro is sentenced to death. Finally, however, the intervention of Nomius, revealing his divine identity, saves the situation and Dorilla and Elmiro are reunited.
Recordings
1994 Dorilla: María Cristina Kiehr, Elmiro: John Elwes, Admeto: Philippe Cantor, Nomio/Apollo: Jean Nirouët. Ensemble Baroque de Nice, Gilbert Bezzina Opéra de Nice 1994,2008[2]
"Dorilla in Tempe" is a melodramma eroico pastorale in three acts by composer Antonio Vivaldi with an Italian libretto by Antonio Maria Lucchini.
The opera premiered at the Teatro San Angelo in Venice on 9 November 1726.
Vivaldi later revised the opera numerous times for several difference performances throughout the second half of his career.
"Dorilla in Tempe" was well received at its premiere and became one of Vivaldi's personal favorites.
The opera was the first work by Vivaldi to include in its cast the mezzo-soprano Anna Girò, who went on to form a lifelong friendship and professional partnership with the composer.
The opera was also noted for its visual aspects, boasting some of the most elaborate sets (by Antonio Mauro) in the history of opera up to that point and for its beautiful choreography by Giovanni Galletto.
In 1728 the opera was revived at the small Teatro San Margherita in Venice with an almost identical text, and again in Prague at the Sporck Theatre in the spring of 1732, this time with substantial alterations to the libretto.
During Carnival 1734 the opera was revived at the Teatro San Angelo, this time as a pastiche using recent music by other composers, including Hasse, Giacomelli and Leo.
The only surviving score of Dorilla in Tempe, located in Turin, is from this 1734 pastiche production.
Fortunately, the score includes not only the many insertions into the opera but also a number of the deletions from earlier productions.
Unusually for Vivaldi’s operatic scores, the sinfonia is clearly linked with the main opera.
It follows the title-page instead of preceding it, and the music of its final movement – a C major version of the opening of the Spring concerto– reappears in the opera’s opening chorus, appropriately in praise of spring.
"Dell'aura al sussurrar"
The opera displays a pastoral nature, particularly in its choral and ballet music, that is at times mixed with heroic elements, as in the elaborate celebrations at the end of Act 2, where a hunt is enacted to the inevitable horn accompaniment.
9 November 1726
Dorilla, daughter of Admeto, in love with Elmiro ---- soprano Angela Capuano, "la Capuanina"
Admeto, King of Thessaly ---------------------------- bass Lorenzo Moretti
Nomio/Apollo, the god Apollo disguised as a shepherd, in love with Dorilla contralto castrato Filippo Finazzi
Elmiro, a shepherd, in love with Dorilla ---- soprano (breeches role) Maria Maddalena Pieri
Eudamia, a nymph, in love with Elmiro ------ mezzo-soprano Anna Giró (?)
Filindo, in love with Eudamia -------------- contralto castrato Domenico Giuseppe Galletti
The story takes place in Tempe.
Like the music, the plot intertwines pastoral and heroic elements and centers on the shepherd Nomio, who is in fact Apollo in disguise.
Nomio falls in love with Dorilla, the daughter of Admeto, King of Thessaly, who is herself in love with the shepherd Elmiro.
Admeto is forced by the gods to save his kingdom by offering his daughter as a sacrifice to the sea-serpent Pitone, but she is rescued just in time by Nomius. Nomius claims the hand of Dorilla as his reward, but she remains reluctant and escapes with Elmiro.
The pair are captured, and Elmiro is sentenced to death. Finally, however, the intervention of Nomius, revealing his divine identity, saves the situation and Dorilla and Elmiro are reunited.
Recordings
1994 Dorilla: María Cristina Kiehr, Elmiro: John Elwes, Admeto: Philippe Cantor, Nomio/Apollo: Jean Nirouët. Ensemble Baroque de Nice, Gilbert Bezzina Opéra de Nice 1994,2008[2]
Vivaldi midi
by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com
Dorilla in Tempe:
Atto I
Aria di Dorilla (MIDI 30k)
CORO (MIDI 45k)
Dell'aura al sussurrar ... Allegro, 124 battute.
Aria di ELMIRO (MIDI 35k)
Mi lusinga il dolce affetto ... Allegro, 167 battute.
Aria di DORILLA (MIDI 46k)
La speranza che in me sento ... Vivace, 65 battute.
Aria di ADMETO (MIDI 56k)
Dall'orrido soggiorno ... Un poco Andante, 44 battute.
CORO (MIDI 40k)
Gemiti e lacrime ... Allegro, 27 battute
Aria di ELMIRO (56k)
Saprò ben con petto forte ... Allegro, 75 battute.
Aria di EUDAMIA (MIDI 43k)
Al mio amore il suo risponda ... Allegro non molto, 107 battute.
Aria di FILINDO (35k)
Rete, lacci e strali ... Allegro, 140 battute.
CORO (MIDI 44k)
Lieta o Tempe ... Allegro, 107 battute.
Atto II
Aria di DORILLA (MIDI 31k)
Saprò ben con petto forte ... Moderato, 73 battute.
Aria di ELMIRO (MIDI 38k)
Vorrei dai lacci sciogliere ... Allegro, 142 battute.
Aria di ADMETO (MIDI 45k)
Se ostinata a me resisti ... Allegro, 163 battute.
Aria di DORILLA (MIDI 49k)
Se amarti non poss'io ... Allegro moderato, 95 battute.
Aria di NOMIO (MIDI 43k)
Bel piacer saria d'un core ... Largo, 48 battute.
Aria di EUDAMIA (MIDI 54k)
Arsa dai rai cocenti ... Allegro non troppo, 118 battute.
arrangiamento di - arrangement copyright by - Luca Bianchini
MP3
Dorilla in Tempe:
Aria di FILINDO (MIDI 32k)
arrangiamento di - arrangement copyright by - Luca Bianchini
Dorilla in Tempe:
Atto I
Aria di Dorilla (MIDI 30k)
CORO (MIDI 45k)
Dell'aura al sussurrar ... Allegro, 124 battute.
Aria di ELMIRO (MIDI 35k)
Mi lusinga il dolce affetto ... Allegro, 167 battute.
Aria di DORILLA (MIDI 46k)
La speranza che in me sento ... Vivace, 65 battute.
Aria di ADMETO (MIDI 56k)
Dall'orrido soggiorno ... Un poco Andante, 44 battute.
CORO (MIDI 40k)
Gemiti e lacrime ... Allegro, 27 battute
Aria di ELMIRO (56k)
Saprò ben con petto forte ... Allegro, 75 battute.
Aria di EUDAMIA (MIDI 43k)
Al mio amore il suo risponda ... Allegro non molto, 107 battute.
Aria di FILINDO (35k)
Rete, lacci e strali ... Allegro, 140 battute.
CORO (MIDI 44k)
Lieta o Tempe ... Allegro, 107 battute.
Atto II
Aria di DORILLA (MIDI 31k)
Saprò ben con petto forte ... Moderato, 73 battute.
Aria di ELMIRO (MIDI 38k)
Vorrei dai lacci sciogliere ... Allegro, 142 battute.
Aria di ADMETO (MIDI 45k)
Se ostinata a me resisti ... Allegro, 163 battute.
Aria di DORILLA (MIDI 49k)
Se amarti non poss'io ... Allegro moderato, 95 battute.
Aria di NOMIO (MIDI 43k)
Bel piacer saria d'un core ... Largo, 48 battute.
Aria di EUDAMIA (MIDI 54k)
Arsa dai rai cocenti ... Allegro non troppo, 118 battute.
arrangiamento di - arrangement copyright by - Luca Bianchini
MP3
Dorilla in Tempe:
Aria di FILINDO (MIDI 32k)
arrangiamento di - arrangement copyright by - Luca Bianchini
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Vieni, Mallika, le liane sono fiorite (1883)"Lakme"(Delibes)
by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com
LAKME
Vieni, Mallika, le liane sono fiorite
Gettano già la loro ombra
Sul sacro ruscello che scorre
Calmo e sereno
Risvegliate dagli uccelli canterini.
MALLIKA
Oh mia padrona!
È l’ora nella quale vedo il tuo volto sorridente
L’ora benedetta nella quale posso leggere
Nel cuore sempre chiuso di Lakmé!
LAKME
Duomo di gelsomino, avviluppato alla rosa
Entrambi fioriti, un fresco mattino,
ci chiamano insieme.
Ah! Scivoliamo seguendo la corrente fuggitiva:
sull’onde frementi,
con mano noncurante,
guadagniamo la riva,
dove l’uccello canta,
duomo di gelsomino, bianco gelsomino,
ci chiamano assieme.
MALLIKA
Sotto la cupola fitta di bianco gelsomino
Che alla rosa si stringe
Sulla riva fiorita che ride al mattino
Vieni, discendiamo assieme.
Scivoliamo dolcemente
Lungo i deliziosi flutti
Seguiamo la corrente fuggitiva:
Sull’onda fremente
Con mano noncurante
Vieni, guadagniamo la riva
Dove la sorgente dorme
E l’uccello, l’uccello canta.
Sotto la cupola fitta
Sotto il bianco gelsomino,
Ah! Discendiamo insieme!
LAKME
Ma, non so qual timore subito,
proviene da me,
quando mio padre da solo
volge verso la città maledetta;
Io tremo, io tremo di spavento!
MALLIKA
Perché è il dio Ganessa che lo protegge,
fino allo stagno dove sguazzano lieti
i cigni ali di neve.
Rechiamoci a cogliere il loto color del blu.
LAKME
Sì, dietro ai cigni con le ali di neve
rechiamoci a cogliere il loto color del blu.
LAKME
Cupola spessa di gelsomino,
s’avvinghia alla rosa,
riva in fiore, fresco mattino,
ci chiamano assieme.
Ah! Scivoliamo seguendo
La corrente fuggitiva:
sull’onde frementi,
con mano noncurante,
guadagniamo la riva,
dove l’uccello canta,
l’uccello, l’uccello canta.
Cupola spessa, bianco gelsomino,
ci chiamano assieme.
MALLIKA
Sotto la cupola spessa, dove il bianco gelsomino
S’avvinghia alla rosa,
sulla riva in fiore ridente al mattino,
vieni, discendiamo assieme.
Scivoliamo dolcemente
Sui suoi deliziosi flutti
Seguiamo la corrente fuggitiva:
sull’onde frementi,
con mano noncurante,
vieni, guadagniamo la riva,
donde la sorgente riposa
e l’uccello, l’uccello canta.
Sotto la cupola spessa,
sotto il bianco gelsomino,
Ah! Discendiamo insieme!
LAKME & MALLIKA
[vanno assieme lentamente verso la barca ormeggiata accanto al roseto,
salgono sulla barca e si allontanano]
Ah! Ah! Ah!
Ah! Ah! Ah!
LAKME
Vieni, Mallika, le liane sono fiorite
Gettano già la loro ombra
Sul sacro ruscello che scorre
Calmo e sereno
Risvegliate dagli uccelli canterini.
MALLIKA
Oh mia padrona!
È l’ora nella quale vedo il tuo volto sorridente
L’ora benedetta nella quale posso leggere
Nel cuore sempre chiuso di Lakmé!
LAKME
Duomo di gelsomino, avviluppato alla rosa
Entrambi fioriti, un fresco mattino,
ci chiamano insieme.
Ah! Scivoliamo seguendo la corrente fuggitiva:
sull’onde frementi,
con mano noncurante,
guadagniamo la riva,
dove l’uccello canta,
duomo di gelsomino, bianco gelsomino,
ci chiamano assieme.
MALLIKA
Sotto la cupola fitta di bianco gelsomino
Che alla rosa si stringe
Sulla riva fiorita che ride al mattino
Vieni, discendiamo assieme.
Scivoliamo dolcemente
Lungo i deliziosi flutti
Seguiamo la corrente fuggitiva:
Sull’onda fremente
Con mano noncurante
Vieni, guadagniamo la riva
Dove la sorgente dorme
E l’uccello, l’uccello canta.
Sotto la cupola fitta
Sotto il bianco gelsomino,
Ah! Discendiamo insieme!
LAKME
Ma, non so qual timore subito,
proviene da me,
quando mio padre da solo
volge verso la città maledetta;
Io tremo, io tremo di spavento!
MALLIKA
Perché è il dio Ganessa che lo protegge,
fino allo stagno dove sguazzano lieti
i cigni ali di neve.
Rechiamoci a cogliere il loto color del blu.
LAKME
Sì, dietro ai cigni con le ali di neve
rechiamoci a cogliere il loto color del blu.
LAKME
Cupola spessa di gelsomino,
s’avvinghia alla rosa,
riva in fiore, fresco mattino,
ci chiamano assieme.
Ah! Scivoliamo seguendo
La corrente fuggitiva:
sull’onde frementi,
con mano noncurante,
guadagniamo la riva,
dove l’uccello canta,
l’uccello, l’uccello canta.
Cupola spessa, bianco gelsomino,
ci chiamano assieme.
MALLIKA
Sotto la cupola spessa, dove il bianco gelsomino
S’avvinghia alla rosa,
sulla riva in fiore ridente al mattino,
vieni, discendiamo assieme.
Scivoliamo dolcemente
Sui suoi deliziosi flutti
Seguiamo la corrente fuggitiva:
sull’onde frementi,
con mano noncurante,
vieni, guadagniamo la riva,
donde la sorgente riposa
e l’uccello, l’uccello canta.
Sotto la cupola spessa,
sotto il bianco gelsomino,
Ah! Discendiamo insieme!
LAKME & MALLIKA
[vanno assieme lentamente verso la barca ormeggiata accanto al roseto,
salgono sulla barca e si allontanano]
Ah! Ah! Ah!
Ah! Ah! Ah!
Duetto dei fiori (Midi) -- Delibes, Lakme (1883)(Lakme-Mallika)
by Luigi Speranzafor "Gli Operai"jlsperanza@aol.com
"Lakmé" è un'opera in tre atti del compositore francese Delibes su libretto di Edmond Gondinet e Philippe Gille, basato sulla novella del 1880 Rarahu ou Le Mariage de Loti di Pierre Loti.
Delibes scrisse la musica fra il 1881 ed il 1883.
Come molte altre opere francesi di quel periodo, anche Lakmé coglie l'atmosfera orientale in voga all'epoca.
L'opera, infatti, è ambientata in India durante il periodo della dominazione inglese.
La prima rappresentazione ebbe luogo al teatro dell'Opéra-Comique di Parigi il 14 aprile 1883.
Il duetto Lakmé-Mallika, noto come "Duetto dei fiori", è la pagina più famosa dell'opera, anche grazie al suo ripetuto impiego in pubblicità e film.
Tuttavia, l'aria "Où va la jeune Hindoue?", nota come "aria delle campanelle", del secondo atto, è da sempre considerata un eccellente pezzo per soprano leggero di coloratura (vista l'incredibile difficoltà del brano dovuta non solo ai sopracuti ma anche e soprattutto all'agilità).
Esistono diverse registrazioni di questo brano cantate in lingua italiana col titolo
"Dov'è l'indiana bruna?".
L'opera è ambientata in India sotto la dominazione inglese, durante la quale molti induisti vennero obbligati a professare la loro religione in segreto e clandestinità.
Gli indù stanno andando a svolgere i loro riti in un tempio dal sommo sacerdote Nilakantha. Lakmé, la giovane figlia di Nilakantha, e la sua serva Mallika si sono attardate per scendere al fiume a raccogliere fiori. Prima di entrare in acqua, Lakmé si toglie i gioielli e li appoggia sulla riva del fiume. Due ufficiali britannici, Frédéric e Gérald, arrivano nelle vicinanze per un pic-nic insieme a due ragazze inglesi ed alla loro governante. Le ragazze vedono i gioielli indiani e Gérald ne fa alcuni disegni a matita. Poco dopo Gérald vede Lakmé e Mallika tornare e si nasconde.
Mallika lascia Lakmé da sola per un po' e Lakmé vede Gérald. Per la paura dello straniero grida aiuto. Tuttavia è incuriosita da quell'uomo in divisa e così Lakmé rimanda via Mallika quando accorre per le urla. Lakmé e Gérald si innamorano. Gérald entra a casa di Lakmé quando il padre è via. Quando il sommo sacerdote Nilakantha rientra, Lakmé, per nasconderlo, fa fuggire Gérald, ma ormai è troppo tardi: il padre lo ha visto ed è deciso ad ucciderlo.
In un bazar (Atto II), Nilakantha costringe Lakmé a cantare l'Aria delle campanelle al fine di attirare l'attenzione di colui che è entrato nella loro casa. Gérald, poco distante, riconosce la voce dell'amata e si avvicina. Riconosciutolo, Nilakantha accoltella Gérald. Lakmé prende Gérald e lo porta in un nascondiglio segreto nella foresta per curargli la ferita.
Lakmé, mentre recupera l'acqua sacra (Atto III) per confermare i loro voti come innamorati, incontra Frédéric, un altro ufficiale inglese, il quale le ricorda che Gérald deve tornare al reggimento. Disperata per averlo perso, Lakmé si suicida avvelenandosi, mentre l'amato, indebolito dalla ferita, le spira in braccio.
La raccolta di poesie Altre stagioni di Roberto Cherubini (Phasar, 2007) è dedicata anche a questa opera.
Il duetto Lakmé-Mallika, popolarmente noto col nome di "Duetto dei fiori", è stato usato spesso come colonna sonora di pubblicità televisive.
Una riduzione per pianoforte del Duetto dei fiori è parte della colonna sonora del film Miriam si sveglia a mezzanotte di Tom Scott (1983).
Preludio
Primo atto
No. 1 Introduzione: "À l'heure accoutumée" (Nilakantha).
Preghiera: "Blanche Dourga" (Lakmé, Nilakantha).
No. 1 Bis - Scena: "Lakmé, c'est toi qui nous protégeons!" (Nilakantha, Lakmé).
No. 2 - Duetto ("Duetto dei fiori"):
"Viens, Mallika, les lianes en fleurs... Dôme épais, le jasmin"
(Lakmé, Mallika).
Scena: "Miss Rose, Miss Ellen" (Gérald).
No. 3 - Quintetto: "Quand une femme est si jolie" (Gérald).
Recitativo: "Nous commettons un sacrilège" (Gérald).
No. 4 - Aria: "Prendre le dessin d'un bijou" (Gérald).
No. 4 Bis - Scena: "Non! Je ne veux pas toucher" (Gérald, Lakmé).
No. 5 - Recitativo e strofe: "Les fleurs me paraissent plus belles" (Lakmé).
No. 5 Bis - Recitativo: "Ah! Mallika! Mallika!" (Lakmé).
No. 6 - Duo: "D'où viens-tu? Que veux-tu?" (Lakme, Gérald).
No. 6 Bis - Scena: "Viens! La! La!" (Nilakantha, Lakmé).
Entr'acte
Secondo atto[modifica]No. 7 - Coro e scena di marcia: "Allons, avant que midi sonne".
No. 7 Bis - Recitativo: "Enfin! Nous aurons du silence!".
No. 8 - Aria di danza: Introduzione.
- Terana.
- Rektah.
- Persian.
- Coda avec Choeurs.
- Sortie.
Recitativo: "Voyez donc ce vieillard".
No. 9 - Scena: "Ah! Ce vieillard encore!" (Nilakantha, Lakmé).
No. 9 Bis - Recitativo: "Ah! C'est de ta douleur" (Lakmé, Nilakantha).
No. 10 - Scena: "Ah!... Par les dieux inspires... Où va la jeune Hindoue" (Lakmé, Nilakantha).
No. 11 - Scena: "La rage me dévore" (Nilakantha, Lakmé).
No. 12 - Scena e coro: "Au milieu des chants d'allegresse" (Nilakantha, Lakmé).
No. 12 Bis - Recitativo: "Le maître ne pense qu'à sa vengeance".
No. 13 - Duo: "Lakmé! Lakmé! C'est toi!" (Lakmé, Gérald).
No. 14 - Finale: "O Dourga, toi qui renais" (Gérald).
Entr'acte.
Terzo atto[modifica]No. 15 - Barcarola: "Sous le ciel tout étoile" (Lakmé).
No. 15 Bis - Recitativo: "Quel vague souvenir alourdit ma pensée?" (Gérald, Lakmé).
No. 16 - Cantilena: "Lakmé! Lakmé! Ah! Viens dans la forêt profonde" (Gérald).
No. 17 - Scena e coro: "La, je pourrai t'entendre" (Lakmé, Gérald).
No. 18 - Scena: "Vivant!" (Gérald).
No. 19 - Duo: "Ils allaient deux à deux" (Lakmé, Gérald).
No. 20 - Finale: "C'est lui! C'est lui!" (Nilankantha, Lakmé, Gérald).
Brani famosi[modifica]Dôme épais le jasmin, detto "Duetto del Fiore" (atto I).
Où va la jeune Hindoue?, detta "Aria delle Campanelle" (atto II).
Collegamenti esterni[modifica]Il Duetto del Fiore
Estratto da "http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lakm%C3%A9"
Categoria: Opere di Delibes | [altre]
Categoria nascosta: Riorganizzare curiosità
Strumenti personaliEntra / Registrati NamespaceVoce Discussione VariantiVisiteLeggi Modifica Visualizza cronologia AzioniRicerca NavigazionePagina principale Ultime modifiche Una voce a caso Vetrina Aiuto ComunitàPortale Comunità Bar Il Wikipediano Fai una donazione Contatti Stampa/esportaCrea un libroScarica come PDFVersione stampabileStrumentiPuntano qui Modifiche correlate Carica su CommonsPagine speciali Link permanente Cita questa voce Altre lingueالعربية Català Deutsch English Español Suomi Français Magyar 日本語 한국어 Polski Português Română Русский ไทย Ultima modifica per la pagina: 22:42, 24 mag 2011.
"Lakmé" è un'opera in tre atti del compositore francese Delibes su libretto di Edmond Gondinet e Philippe Gille, basato sulla novella del 1880 Rarahu ou Le Mariage de Loti di Pierre Loti.
Delibes scrisse la musica fra il 1881 ed il 1883.
Come molte altre opere francesi di quel periodo, anche Lakmé coglie l'atmosfera orientale in voga all'epoca.
L'opera, infatti, è ambientata in India durante il periodo della dominazione inglese.
La prima rappresentazione ebbe luogo al teatro dell'Opéra-Comique di Parigi il 14 aprile 1883.
Il duetto Lakmé-Mallika, noto come "Duetto dei fiori", è la pagina più famosa dell'opera, anche grazie al suo ripetuto impiego in pubblicità e film.
Tuttavia, l'aria "Où va la jeune Hindoue?", nota come "aria delle campanelle", del secondo atto, è da sempre considerata un eccellente pezzo per soprano leggero di coloratura (vista l'incredibile difficoltà del brano dovuta non solo ai sopracuti ma anche e soprattutto all'agilità).
Esistono diverse registrazioni di questo brano cantate in lingua italiana col titolo
"Dov'è l'indiana bruna?".
L'opera è ambientata in India sotto la dominazione inglese, durante la quale molti induisti vennero obbligati a professare la loro religione in segreto e clandestinità.
Gli indù stanno andando a svolgere i loro riti in un tempio dal sommo sacerdote Nilakantha. Lakmé, la giovane figlia di Nilakantha, e la sua serva Mallika si sono attardate per scendere al fiume a raccogliere fiori. Prima di entrare in acqua, Lakmé si toglie i gioielli e li appoggia sulla riva del fiume. Due ufficiali britannici, Frédéric e Gérald, arrivano nelle vicinanze per un pic-nic insieme a due ragazze inglesi ed alla loro governante. Le ragazze vedono i gioielli indiani e Gérald ne fa alcuni disegni a matita. Poco dopo Gérald vede Lakmé e Mallika tornare e si nasconde.
Mallika lascia Lakmé da sola per un po' e Lakmé vede Gérald. Per la paura dello straniero grida aiuto. Tuttavia è incuriosita da quell'uomo in divisa e così Lakmé rimanda via Mallika quando accorre per le urla. Lakmé e Gérald si innamorano. Gérald entra a casa di Lakmé quando il padre è via. Quando il sommo sacerdote Nilakantha rientra, Lakmé, per nasconderlo, fa fuggire Gérald, ma ormai è troppo tardi: il padre lo ha visto ed è deciso ad ucciderlo.
In un bazar (Atto II), Nilakantha costringe Lakmé a cantare l'Aria delle campanelle al fine di attirare l'attenzione di colui che è entrato nella loro casa. Gérald, poco distante, riconosce la voce dell'amata e si avvicina. Riconosciutolo, Nilakantha accoltella Gérald. Lakmé prende Gérald e lo porta in un nascondiglio segreto nella foresta per curargli la ferita.
Lakmé, mentre recupera l'acqua sacra (Atto III) per confermare i loro voti come innamorati, incontra Frédéric, un altro ufficiale inglese, il quale le ricorda che Gérald deve tornare al reggimento. Disperata per averlo perso, Lakmé si suicida avvelenandosi, mentre l'amato, indebolito dalla ferita, le spira in braccio.
La raccolta di poesie Altre stagioni di Roberto Cherubini (Phasar, 2007) è dedicata anche a questa opera.
Il duetto Lakmé-Mallika, popolarmente noto col nome di "Duetto dei fiori", è stato usato spesso come colonna sonora di pubblicità televisive.
Una riduzione per pianoforte del Duetto dei fiori è parte della colonna sonora del film Miriam si sveglia a mezzanotte di Tom Scott (1983).
Preludio
Primo atto
No. 1 Introduzione: "À l'heure accoutumée" (Nilakantha).
Preghiera: "Blanche Dourga" (Lakmé, Nilakantha).
No. 1 Bis - Scena: "Lakmé, c'est toi qui nous protégeons!" (Nilakantha, Lakmé).
No. 2 - Duetto ("Duetto dei fiori"):
"Viens, Mallika, les lianes en fleurs... Dôme épais, le jasmin"
(Lakmé, Mallika).
Scena: "Miss Rose, Miss Ellen" (Gérald).
No. 3 - Quintetto: "Quand une femme est si jolie" (Gérald).
Recitativo: "Nous commettons un sacrilège" (Gérald).
No. 4 - Aria: "Prendre le dessin d'un bijou" (Gérald).
No. 4 Bis - Scena: "Non! Je ne veux pas toucher" (Gérald, Lakmé).
No. 5 - Recitativo e strofe: "Les fleurs me paraissent plus belles" (Lakmé).
No. 5 Bis - Recitativo: "Ah! Mallika! Mallika!" (Lakmé).
No. 6 - Duo: "D'où viens-tu? Que veux-tu?" (Lakme, Gérald).
No. 6 Bis - Scena: "Viens! La! La!" (Nilakantha, Lakmé).
Entr'acte
Secondo atto[modifica]No. 7 - Coro e scena di marcia: "Allons, avant que midi sonne".
No. 7 Bis - Recitativo: "Enfin! Nous aurons du silence!".
No. 8 - Aria di danza: Introduzione.
- Terana.
- Rektah.
- Persian.
- Coda avec Choeurs.
- Sortie.
Recitativo: "Voyez donc ce vieillard".
No. 9 - Scena: "Ah! Ce vieillard encore!" (Nilakantha, Lakmé).
No. 9 Bis - Recitativo: "Ah! C'est de ta douleur" (Lakmé, Nilakantha).
No. 10 - Scena: "Ah!... Par les dieux inspires... Où va la jeune Hindoue" (Lakmé, Nilakantha).
No. 11 - Scena: "La rage me dévore" (Nilakantha, Lakmé).
No. 12 - Scena e coro: "Au milieu des chants d'allegresse" (Nilakantha, Lakmé).
No. 12 Bis - Recitativo: "Le maître ne pense qu'à sa vengeance".
No. 13 - Duo: "Lakmé! Lakmé! C'est toi!" (Lakmé, Gérald).
No. 14 - Finale: "O Dourga, toi qui renais" (Gérald).
Entr'acte.
Terzo atto[modifica]No. 15 - Barcarola: "Sous le ciel tout étoile" (Lakmé).
No. 15 Bis - Recitativo: "Quel vague souvenir alourdit ma pensée?" (Gérald, Lakmé).
No. 16 - Cantilena: "Lakmé! Lakmé! Ah! Viens dans la forêt profonde" (Gérald).
No. 17 - Scena e coro: "La, je pourrai t'entendre" (Lakmé, Gérald).
No. 18 - Scena: "Vivant!" (Gérald).
No. 19 - Duo: "Ils allaient deux à deux" (Lakmé, Gérald).
No. 20 - Finale: "C'est lui! C'est lui!" (Nilankantha, Lakmé, Gérald).
Brani famosi[modifica]Dôme épais le jasmin, detto "Duetto del Fiore" (atto I).
Où va la jeune Hindoue?, detta "Aria delle Campanelle" (atto II).
Collegamenti esterni[modifica]Il Duetto del Fiore
Estratto da "http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lakm%C3%A9"
Categoria: Opere di Delibes | [altre]
Categoria nascosta: Riorganizzare curiosità
Strumenti personaliEntra / Registrati NamespaceVoce Discussione VariantiVisiteLeggi Modifica Visualizza cronologia AzioniRicerca NavigazionePagina principale Ultime modifiche Una voce a caso Vetrina Aiuto ComunitàPortale Comunità Bar Il Wikipediano Fai una donazione Contatti Stampa/esportaCrea un libroScarica come PDFVersione stampabileStrumentiPuntano qui Modifiche correlate Carica su CommonsPagine speciali Link permanente Cita questa voce Altre lingueالعربية Català Deutsch English Español Suomi Français Magyar 日本語 한국어 Polski Português Română Русский ไทย Ultima modifica per la pagina: 22:42, 24 mag 2011.
Midi Duet "Fior" 1883"Lakme"(Delibes)
by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com
http://www.gpollenmusic.co.uk/midi.html
http://www.gpollenmusic.co.uk/midi.html
Lyrics and midi for 1850"Lohengrin"(Wagner)Bridal wedding march
by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com
"Lohengrin" is a romantic opera in three acts composed and written by Richard Wagner, first performed in 1850.
The story of the eponymous character is taken from medieval German romance, notably the Parzival of Wolfram von Eschenbach and its sequel, Lohengrin, written by a different author, itself inspired by the epic of Garin le Loherain. It is part of the Knight of the Swan tradition.
The opera has proved inspirational towards other works of art. Among those deeply moved by the fairy-tale opera was the young King Ludwig II of Bavaria. 'Der Märchenkönig' ('The Fairy-tale King') as he was dubbed later built his ideal fairy-tale castle and dubbed it "New Swan Stone," or "Neuschwanstein", after the Swan Knight. It was King Ludwig's patronage that later gave Wagner the means and opportunity to compose, build a theatre for, and stage his epic cycle, the Ring of the Nibelung.
The most popular and recognizable part of the opera is the Bridal Chorus, better known as "Here Comes the Bride", once often played as a processional at weddings in the West.
Contents [hide]
1 Performance history
2 Instrumentation
3 Roles
4 Synopsis
4.1 Act 1
4.2 Act 2
4.3 Act 3
5 Notable arias and excerpts
6 Parody
7 Recordings
8 References
9 External links
[edit] Performance historyThe first production of Lohengrin was in Weimar, Germany on 28 August 1850 at the Staatskapelle Weimar under the direction of Franz Liszt, a close friend and early supporter of Wagner. Liszt chose the date in honour of Weimar's most famous citizen, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, who was born on 28 August 1749.[1] It was an immediate popular success.
The opera's first performance abroad was in Riga on 5 February 1855. The Austrian premiere took place at the Burgtheater on 19 August 1859 with Róza Csillag as Ortrud. The work was produced in Munich for the first time at the National Theatre on 16 June 1867 with Heinrich Vogl in the title role and Mathilde Mallinger as Elsa. Mallinger sang Elsa again for the work's premiere at the Berlin State Opera's on 6 April 1869. The Belgian premiere of the opera was given at La Monnaie on 22 March 1870 with Étienne Troy as Friedrich of Telramund and Feliciano Pons as Heinrich der Vogler.[2]
The United States premiere of Lohengrin took place at the Stadt Theater at the Bowery in New York City on 3 April 1871.[3] Conducted by Adolf Neuendorff, the cast included Theodor Habelmann as Lohengrin, Luise Garay-Lichtmay as Elsa, Marie Frederici as Ortrud, Adolf Franosch as Heinrich and Edward Vierling as Telramund.[4] The first performance in Italy took place seven months later at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna on 1 November 1871 in an Italian translation by operatic baritone Salvatore Marchesi. It was notably the first performance of any Wagner opera in Italy. Angelo Mariani conducted the performance, which starred Italo Campanini as Lohengrin, Bianca Blume as Elsa, Maria Löwe Destin as Ortrud, Pietro Silenzi as Telramund, and Giuseppe Galvani as Heinrich der Vogler.[2] The performance on 9 November was attended by Giuseppe Verdi, who annotated a copy of the vocal score with his impressions and opinions of Wagner (this was almost certainly his first exposure to Wagner's music).[5]
Lohengrin's Russian premiere took place at the Mariinsky Theatre on 5 February 1873 in a double billing with the premiere of three scenes from Modest Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov (the Inn Scene, Scene in Marina's Boudoir, and Scene in the Garden of Mniszech's Castle). Eduard Nápravník conducted the performance which featured Fyodor Petrovich Komissarzhevsky as Lohengrin, Yuliya Platonova as Elsa, Daria Leonova as Ortrud, and Osip Petrov as Heinrich der Vogler. La Scala produced the opera for the first time the following month on 30 March with Campanini as Lohengrin, Gabrielle Krauss as Elsa, Philippine von Edelsberg as Ortrud, Victor Maurel as Friedrich, and Gian Pietro Milesi as Heinrich.[2]
The United Kingdom premiere of Lohengrin took place at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden on 8 May 1875 using the Italian translation by Marchesi. Auguste Vianesi conducted the performance, which featured Ernesto Nicolini as Lohengrin, Emma Albani as Elsa, Anna D'Angeri as Ortruda, Maurel as Friedrich, and Wladyslaw Seideman as Heinrich. The opera's first performance in Australia took place at the Prince of Wales Theatre in Melbourne on 18 August 1877. The Metropolitan Opera mounted the opera for the first time on 7 November 1883 during the company's inaugural season. Sung in Italian, Campanini portrayed the title role with Christina Nilsson as Elsa, Emmy Fursch-Madi as Ortrud, Giuseppe Kaschmann as Telramund, Franco Novara as Heinrich, and Auguste Vianesi conducting.[2]
Ludwig II of Bavaria portrayed as Lohengrin below a moon with Wagners face. Brochure in Der Floh - 1885.Lohengrin was first publicly performed in France at the Eden-Théâtre in Paris on 30 April 1887 in a French translation by Charles-Louis-Etienne Nuitter. Conducted by Charles Lamoureux, the performance starred Ernest van Dyck as the title hero, Fidès Devriès as Elsa, Marthe Duvivier as Ortrud, Emil Blauwaert as Telramund, and Félix-Adolphe Couturier as Heinrich. There was however an 1881 French performance given as a Benefit, in the Cercle de la Méditerranée Salon at Nice, organized by Sophie Cruvelli, in which she took the role of Elsa.[6] The opera received its Canadian premiere at the opera house in Vancouver on 9 February 1891 with Emma Juch as Elsa. The Palais Garnier staged the work for the first time the following 16 September with van Dyck as Lohengrin, Rose Caron as Elsa, Caroline Fiérens-Peters as Ortrude, Maurice Renaud as Telramund, and Charles Douaillier as Heinrich.[2]
The first Chicago performance of the opera took place at the Auditorium Building of Roosevelt University on 9 November 1891. Performed in Italian, the production starred Jean de Reszke as the title hero, Emma Eames as Elsa, and Edouard de Reszke as Heinrich.[2]
[edit] InstrumentationThe instrumentation is quite extensive for an orchestra of 1850. The work calls for:
3 flutes (3rd doubling on piccolo), 3 oboes (3rd doubling on English horn), 3 clarinets in A, Bes and C (3rd doubling on bass clarinet in A, Bes), 3 bassoons
4 horns in E, D, Es, C and G, 3 trumpets in E, D, Es and C, 3 trombones (2 tenor, 1 bass), 1 tuba
Violins (1 and 2), Violas, Cellos, Double basses, Harp
2 pairs of timpani, cymbals, triangle, tambourine
There are also parts for offstage and onstage instruments. They are as follows: Act 1 – 4 trumpets in C Act 2 – Scene 1 – piccolo, 2 flutes, 3 oboes, 3 clarinets in A, 2 bassoons, 3 horns in E, F, 3 trumpets in D, 3 trombones, timpani, and cymbals 3rd scene – 4 trumpets in D 4th scene – 4 trumpets in D 5th scene – 10 trumpets in C, organ Act 3 – Scene 1 – 3 flutes, 3 oboes, 2 clarinets in B, 3 bassoons, 4 horns in B, 2 trumpets in B, triangle, harp 2nd scene – 4 trumpets, 4 trombones, 3rd scene – 12 trumpets, tenor drums
[edit] RolesRole Voice type Premiere Cast, 28 August 1850
(Conductor: Franz Liszt)
Lohengrin tenor Carl Beck
Elsa of Brabant soprano Rosa von Milde-Agthe
Ortrud, Telramund's wife mezzo-soprano Josephine Fastlinger
Friedrich of Telramund, a Count of Brabant baritone Hans von Milde
Heinrich der Vogler (Henry the Fowler) bass Höfer
The King's Herald baritone August Pätsch
Four Noblemen of Brabant tenors, basses
Four Pages sopranos, altos
Duke Gottfried, Elsa's brother silent Hellstedt
Saxon, Thuringian, and Brabantian counts and nobles, ladies of honor, pages, vassals, serfs
[edit] SynopsisPlace: Antwerp, on the Scheldt.
Time: 10th century
[edit] Act 1
Illustration from the London premièreKing Henry the Fowler has arrived in Brabant where he has assembled the German tribes in order to expel the Hungarians from his dominions. He also needs to settle a dispute involving the disappearance of the child-Duke Gottfried of Brabant. The Duke's guardian, Count Friedrich von Telramund, has accused the Duke's sister, Elsa, of murdering her brother. He calls upon the King to punish Elsa and to make him, Telramund, the new Duke of Brabant.
The King calls for Elsa to answer Telramund's accusation. She enters, surrounded by her attendants. Knowing herself to be innocent, she declares that she will submit to God's judgement through ordeal by combat. Telramund, a strong and seasoned warrior, agrees enthusiastically. When the King asks who shall be her champion, Elsa describes a knight she has beheld in her dreams (Narrative: "Alone in dark days") and sinks to her knees, praying for God to send her relief.
Twice the Herald sounds the horn in summons, without response. Then Elsa herself makes the call. A boat drawn by a swan appears on the river and in it stands a knight in shining armour. He disembarks, dismisses the swan, respectfully greets the king, and asks Elsa if she will have him as her champion. Elsa kneels in front of him and places her honour in his keeping. He asks but one thing in return for his service: she is never to ask him his name or where he has come from. Elsa agrees to this.
Telramund's people advise him to withdraw because he cannot prevail against magic, but he proudly refuses and the combat area is prepared. The company prays to the one "Herr und Gott" for victory for the one whose cause is just. Telramund's wife, Ortrud, a pagan woman, does not join the prayer of the monotheists, but privately expresses confidence that Telramund will win. The combat commences. The unknown knight defeats Telramund but spares his life. Taking Elsa by the hand, he declares her innocent and asks for her hand in marriage. The crowd exits, cheering and celebrating, and Ortrud and Telramund are left to lament their defeat.
[edit] Act 2
Johanna Jachmann-Wagner as Ortrud, ca. 1860Night in the courtyard outside the cathedral
Telramund and Ortrud, banished, listen unhappily to the distant party-music. Ortrud, a pagan witch (daughter of Radbod Duke of Frisia), tries to revive Telramund's courage, assuring him that her people (and he) are destined to rule the kingdom again. She plots to induce Elsa to violate the mysterious knight's only condition.
When Elsa appears on the balcony in the twilight before dawn she hears Ortrud lamenting and pities her. While Elsa descends to open the castle door, Ortrud prays to her pagan gods, Wodan and Freia, for malice, guile, and cunning, in order to deceive Elsa and restore pagan rule to the region. When Elsa appears, Ortrud warns her that since she knows nothing about her rescuer, he could leave her any time, as suddenly as he came.
The sun rises and the people assemble. The Herald announces that Telramund is now outlawed due to the false trial, and anyone who follows Telramund is an outlaw by the law of the land. In addition, he announces that the king has offered to make the unnamed knight the Duke of Brabant; however, the Knight has declined the title, and prefers to be known only as "Leader of Brabant".[7] The Herald further announces that the Knight will lead the people to glorious new conquests, and will celebrate the marriage of him and Elsa. Behind the crowd, four knights quietly express misgivings to each other. Telramund appears, and, concealing himself from the crowd, draws these four knights aside and assures them that he will regain his position and stop the Knight, by accusing him of witchcraft.
As Elsa and her attendants are about to enter the church, Ortrud appears, clad in magnificent attire, and challenges Elsa to tell who her husband is, and to explain why anyone should follow him. After that, King Henry enters with the Knight. Elsa tells both of them that Ortrud was interrupting the ceremony. The Knight tells Ortrud to fall back to the crowd, then takes Elsa's hand to the wedding. The King leads at the front of the couple. When they are about to go inside the church (once more), Telramund also enters. He pleads to the king that his defeat in combat was invalid because the Knight did not give his name; trial by combat is traditionally open only to established citizens. The Knight refuses to reveal his identity and claims that only one person in the world has the right to know his origin – Elsa and Elsa alone. Elsa, though visibly shaken and uncertain, assures him of her confidence. The King supports him too. Ortrud and Telramund take Elsa and tries to intimidate her, and after a short while, the Knight forces both to leave the ceremony. The King, the Knight, and Elsa, together with the men and women around, go forward. Elsa takes one last look at the banished Ortrud, then they enter the church.
[edit] Act 3
Joseph O'Mara in the title role, 1894–1895Scene 1: The bridal chamber
Elsa and her new husband are ushered in with the well-known bridal chorus, and the couple express their love for each other. Ortrud's words, however, are impressed upon Elsa, and, despite his warning, she asks her husband the fatal question. Before the Knight can answer, Telramund and his four recruits rush into the room in order to attack him. The knight defeats and kills Telramund. Then, he sorrowfully turns to Elsa and asks her to follow him to the king, to whom he will now reveal the mystery.
Scene 2: On the banks of the Scheldt (as in Act 1)
The troops arrive equipped for war. Telramund's corpse is brought in, Elsa comes forward, then the Knight. He discloses his identity to the king and Elsa. He tells the story of the Holy Grail, on the Monsalvat, and reveals himself as Lohengrin, Knight of the Holy Grail and son of King Parsifal. The time for his return has arrived and he has only tarried to prove Elsa innocent.
As he sadly bids farewell to his beloved bride, the swan reappears. Lohengrin prays that Elsa may recover her lost brother, and gives her his sword, horn and ring; which allows Elsa to remember him fully. Then, when Lohengrin tries to get in the boat, Ortrud appears. She tells Elsa that the swan who drove Lohengrin to the bank was actually Gottfried, Elsa's brother; and she put a curse on him by turning him into a swan. The people considered Ortrud guilty of witchcraft. Lohengrin prays to the swan, and the swan turns into another form, a young Gottfried. He elects him as the Duke of Brabant. Ortrud sinks as she sees him (Gottfried).
A dove descends from heaven, and, taking the place of the swan at the head of the boat, leads Lohengrin to the castle of the Holy Grail. Elsa is stricken with grief, however, and falls to the ground dead, longing for her beloved.[8]
[edit] Notable arias and excerptsThe opera is full of 'hits' performed as concert set-pieces, namely:
Act I, Prelude.
Act I, 'Einsam in trüben Tage' (Elsa's Narrative)
Act I, Scene 'Wenn ich im Kampfe für dich siege'
Act II, 'Euch lüften, die mein Klagen' (Elsa)
Act II, Scene 4 opening, arranged as "Elsa's Procession to the Cathedral"
Act III, Prelude
Act III, Bridal Chorus "Treulich geführt" arranged as "Here Comes the Bride"
Act III, 'Das süsse Lied verhallt' (Love duet)
Act III, 'Höchstes Vertrau'n' (Lohengrin's Declaration to Elsa)
Act III, Entry of King Henry
Act III, 'In fernem Land' (Lohengrin's Narration)
Act III, 'Mein lieber Schwan... O Elsa! Nur ein Jahr an deiner Seite' (Lohengrin's Farewell)
[edit] ParodyIn 1907, Victor Herbert produced a one-act parody of Lohengrin called The Magic Knight (q.v.)
[edit] RecordingsMain article: Lohengrin discography
[edit] References^ Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5th ed., 1954
^ a b c d e f Performance History of Lohengrin at amadeusonline.net
^ Gustav Kobbé, The Complete Opera Book (Putnam, London 1929 printing), p. 117. The first Academy performance was 23 March 1874 with Christine Nilsson, Cary, Italo Campanini and Del Puente (ibid.). See 'Wagner in the Bowery', Scribner's Monthly Magazine 1871, 214-16; New York Times, Opera at the Stadt Theater, 3 May 1871
^ New York Times, Wagner's "Lohengrin", 8 April 1871. See also Opera Gems.com, Lohengrin
^ Istituto Nazionale di Studi Verdiani
^ Elizabeth Forbes, 'Sophie Cruvelli' (short biography), Arts.jrank.org
^ The title Führer von Brabant is often altered to Schützer in performances since 1945, because the former title had acquired meanings unforeseen by either Lohengrin or Wagner. Führer formerly meant 'Leader' or 'Guide'.
^ Plot taken from The Opera Goer's Complete Guide by Leo Melitz, 1921 version.
[edit] External linksLibretto and Leitmoifs in German, Italian and English
Richard Wagner - Lohengrin. A gallery of historic postcards with motifs from Richard Wagner's operas.
Wagner's libretto (in German)
Further Lohengrin discography
Recording of "Euch Lüften" by Lotte Lehmann
Lohengrin: Free scores at the International Music Score Library Project.
San Diego OperaTalk! with Nick Reveles: Lohengrin
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Operas Die Feen · Das Liebesverbot · Rienzi · Der Fliegende Hollander · Tannhäuser · Lohengrin · Das Rheingold · Die Walküre · Siegfried · Götterdämmerung · Tristan und Isolde · Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg · Parsifal
Non-operatic music Wesendonck Lieder · Siegfried Idyll · Symphony in C major · Das Liebesmahl der Apostel
Writings Autobiographic Sketch · The Artwork of the Future · Art and Revolution · Das Judenthum in der Musik (Jewishness in Music) · Opera and Drama · Music of the Future
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Book · Category · WikiProject
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lohengrin_(opera)"
Categories: Operas | 1850 operas | Arthurian operas | German-language operas | Operas by Richard Wagner | Romantische Opern | Music for orchestra and organ
Personal toolsLog in / create account NamespacesArticle Discussion VariantsViewsRead Edit View history ActionsSearch NavigationMain page Contents Featured content Current events Random article Donate to Wikipedia InteractionHelp About Wikipedia Community portal Recent changes Contact Wikipedia ToolboxWhat links here Related changes Upload file Special pages Permanent link Cite this page Print/exportCreate a bookDownload as PDFPrintable versionLanguagesCatalà Dansk Deutsch Ελληνικά Esperanto Español Français 한국어 Italiano Magyar Nederlands 日本語 Norsk (bokmål) Norsk (nynorsk) Polski Português Română Русский Slovenčina Српски / Srpski Suomi Svenska ไทย Українська 中文 This page was last modified on 13 June 2011 at 11:03.
"Lohengrin" is a romantic opera in three acts composed and written by Richard Wagner, first performed in 1850.
The story of the eponymous character is taken from medieval German romance, notably the Parzival of Wolfram von Eschenbach and its sequel, Lohengrin, written by a different author, itself inspired by the epic of Garin le Loherain. It is part of the Knight of the Swan tradition.
The opera has proved inspirational towards other works of art. Among those deeply moved by the fairy-tale opera was the young King Ludwig II of Bavaria. 'Der Märchenkönig' ('The Fairy-tale King') as he was dubbed later built his ideal fairy-tale castle and dubbed it "New Swan Stone," or "Neuschwanstein", after the Swan Knight. It was King Ludwig's patronage that later gave Wagner the means and opportunity to compose, build a theatre for, and stage his epic cycle, the Ring of the Nibelung.
The most popular and recognizable part of the opera is the Bridal Chorus, better known as "Here Comes the Bride", once often played as a processional at weddings in the West.
Contents [hide]
1 Performance history
2 Instrumentation
3 Roles
4 Synopsis
4.1 Act 1
4.2 Act 2
4.3 Act 3
5 Notable arias and excerpts
6 Parody
7 Recordings
8 References
9 External links
[edit] Performance historyThe first production of Lohengrin was in Weimar, Germany on 28 August 1850 at the Staatskapelle Weimar under the direction of Franz Liszt, a close friend and early supporter of Wagner. Liszt chose the date in honour of Weimar's most famous citizen, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, who was born on 28 August 1749.[1] It was an immediate popular success.
The opera's first performance abroad was in Riga on 5 February 1855. The Austrian premiere took place at the Burgtheater on 19 August 1859 with Róza Csillag as Ortrud. The work was produced in Munich for the first time at the National Theatre on 16 June 1867 with Heinrich Vogl in the title role and Mathilde Mallinger as Elsa. Mallinger sang Elsa again for the work's premiere at the Berlin State Opera's on 6 April 1869. The Belgian premiere of the opera was given at La Monnaie on 22 March 1870 with Étienne Troy as Friedrich of Telramund and Feliciano Pons as Heinrich der Vogler.[2]
The United States premiere of Lohengrin took place at the Stadt Theater at the Bowery in New York City on 3 April 1871.[3] Conducted by Adolf Neuendorff, the cast included Theodor Habelmann as Lohengrin, Luise Garay-Lichtmay as Elsa, Marie Frederici as Ortrud, Adolf Franosch as Heinrich and Edward Vierling as Telramund.[4] The first performance in Italy took place seven months later at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna on 1 November 1871 in an Italian translation by operatic baritone Salvatore Marchesi. It was notably the first performance of any Wagner opera in Italy. Angelo Mariani conducted the performance, which starred Italo Campanini as Lohengrin, Bianca Blume as Elsa, Maria Löwe Destin as Ortrud, Pietro Silenzi as Telramund, and Giuseppe Galvani as Heinrich der Vogler.[2] The performance on 9 November was attended by Giuseppe Verdi, who annotated a copy of the vocal score with his impressions and opinions of Wagner (this was almost certainly his first exposure to Wagner's music).[5]
Lohengrin's Russian premiere took place at the Mariinsky Theatre on 5 February 1873 in a double billing with the premiere of three scenes from Modest Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov (the Inn Scene, Scene in Marina's Boudoir, and Scene in the Garden of Mniszech's Castle). Eduard Nápravník conducted the performance which featured Fyodor Petrovich Komissarzhevsky as Lohengrin, Yuliya Platonova as Elsa, Daria Leonova as Ortrud, and Osip Petrov as Heinrich der Vogler. La Scala produced the opera for the first time the following month on 30 March with Campanini as Lohengrin, Gabrielle Krauss as Elsa, Philippine von Edelsberg as Ortrud, Victor Maurel as Friedrich, and Gian Pietro Milesi as Heinrich.[2]
The United Kingdom premiere of Lohengrin took place at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden on 8 May 1875 using the Italian translation by Marchesi. Auguste Vianesi conducted the performance, which featured Ernesto Nicolini as Lohengrin, Emma Albani as Elsa, Anna D'Angeri as Ortruda, Maurel as Friedrich, and Wladyslaw Seideman as Heinrich. The opera's first performance in Australia took place at the Prince of Wales Theatre in Melbourne on 18 August 1877. The Metropolitan Opera mounted the opera for the first time on 7 November 1883 during the company's inaugural season. Sung in Italian, Campanini portrayed the title role with Christina Nilsson as Elsa, Emmy Fursch-Madi as Ortrud, Giuseppe Kaschmann as Telramund, Franco Novara as Heinrich, and Auguste Vianesi conducting.[2]
Ludwig II of Bavaria portrayed as Lohengrin below a moon with Wagners face. Brochure in Der Floh - 1885.Lohengrin was first publicly performed in France at the Eden-Théâtre in Paris on 30 April 1887 in a French translation by Charles-Louis-Etienne Nuitter. Conducted by Charles Lamoureux, the performance starred Ernest van Dyck as the title hero, Fidès Devriès as Elsa, Marthe Duvivier as Ortrud, Emil Blauwaert as Telramund, and Félix-Adolphe Couturier as Heinrich. There was however an 1881 French performance given as a Benefit, in the Cercle de la Méditerranée Salon at Nice, organized by Sophie Cruvelli, in which she took the role of Elsa.[6] The opera received its Canadian premiere at the opera house in Vancouver on 9 February 1891 with Emma Juch as Elsa. The Palais Garnier staged the work for the first time the following 16 September with van Dyck as Lohengrin, Rose Caron as Elsa, Caroline Fiérens-Peters as Ortrude, Maurice Renaud as Telramund, and Charles Douaillier as Heinrich.[2]
The first Chicago performance of the opera took place at the Auditorium Building of Roosevelt University on 9 November 1891. Performed in Italian, the production starred Jean de Reszke as the title hero, Emma Eames as Elsa, and Edouard de Reszke as Heinrich.[2]
[edit] InstrumentationThe instrumentation is quite extensive for an orchestra of 1850. The work calls for:
3 flutes (3rd doubling on piccolo), 3 oboes (3rd doubling on English horn), 3 clarinets in A, Bes and C (3rd doubling on bass clarinet in A, Bes), 3 bassoons
4 horns in E, D, Es, C and G, 3 trumpets in E, D, Es and C, 3 trombones (2 tenor, 1 bass), 1 tuba
Violins (1 and 2), Violas, Cellos, Double basses, Harp
2 pairs of timpani, cymbals, triangle, tambourine
There are also parts for offstage and onstage instruments. They are as follows: Act 1 – 4 trumpets in C Act 2 – Scene 1 – piccolo, 2 flutes, 3 oboes, 3 clarinets in A, 2 bassoons, 3 horns in E, F, 3 trumpets in D, 3 trombones, timpani, and cymbals 3rd scene – 4 trumpets in D 4th scene – 4 trumpets in D 5th scene – 10 trumpets in C, organ Act 3 – Scene 1 – 3 flutes, 3 oboes, 2 clarinets in B, 3 bassoons, 4 horns in B, 2 trumpets in B, triangle, harp 2nd scene – 4 trumpets, 4 trombones, 3rd scene – 12 trumpets, tenor drums
[edit] RolesRole Voice type Premiere Cast, 28 August 1850
(Conductor: Franz Liszt)
Lohengrin tenor Carl Beck
Elsa of Brabant soprano Rosa von Milde-Agthe
Ortrud, Telramund's wife mezzo-soprano Josephine Fastlinger
Friedrich of Telramund, a Count of Brabant baritone Hans von Milde
Heinrich der Vogler (Henry the Fowler) bass Höfer
The King's Herald baritone August Pätsch
Four Noblemen of Brabant tenors, basses
Four Pages sopranos, altos
Duke Gottfried, Elsa's brother silent Hellstedt
Saxon, Thuringian, and Brabantian counts and nobles, ladies of honor, pages, vassals, serfs
[edit] SynopsisPlace: Antwerp, on the Scheldt.
Time: 10th century
[edit] Act 1
Illustration from the London premièreKing Henry the Fowler has arrived in Brabant where he has assembled the German tribes in order to expel the Hungarians from his dominions. He also needs to settle a dispute involving the disappearance of the child-Duke Gottfried of Brabant. The Duke's guardian, Count Friedrich von Telramund, has accused the Duke's sister, Elsa, of murdering her brother. He calls upon the King to punish Elsa and to make him, Telramund, the new Duke of Brabant.
The King calls for Elsa to answer Telramund's accusation. She enters, surrounded by her attendants. Knowing herself to be innocent, she declares that she will submit to God's judgement through ordeal by combat. Telramund, a strong and seasoned warrior, agrees enthusiastically. When the King asks who shall be her champion, Elsa describes a knight she has beheld in her dreams (Narrative: "Alone in dark days") and sinks to her knees, praying for God to send her relief.
Twice the Herald sounds the horn in summons, without response. Then Elsa herself makes the call. A boat drawn by a swan appears on the river and in it stands a knight in shining armour. He disembarks, dismisses the swan, respectfully greets the king, and asks Elsa if she will have him as her champion. Elsa kneels in front of him and places her honour in his keeping. He asks but one thing in return for his service: she is never to ask him his name or where he has come from. Elsa agrees to this.
Telramund's people advise him to withdraw because he cannot prevail against magic, but he proudly refuses and the combat area is prepared. The company prays to the one "Herr und Gott" for victory for the one whose cause is just. Telramund's wife, Ortrud, a pagan woman, does not join the prayer of the monotheists, but privately expresses confidence that Telramund will win. The combat commences. The unknown knight defeats Telramund but spares his life. Taking Elsa by the hand, he declares her innocent and asks for her hand in marriage. The crowd exits, cheering and celebrating, and Ortrud and Telramund are left to lament their defeat.
[edit] Act 2
Johanna Jachmann-Wagner as Ortrud, ca. 1860Night in the courtyard outside the cathedral
Telramund and Ortrud, banished, listen unhappily to the distant party-music. Ortrud, a pagan witch (daughter of Radbod Duke of Frisia), tries to revive Telramund's courage, assuring him that her people (and he) are destined to rule the kingdom again. She plots to induce Elsa to violate the mysterious knight's only condition.
When Elsa appears on the balcony in the twilight before dawn she hears Ortrud lamenting and pities her. While Elsa descends to open the castle door, Ortrud prays to her pagan gods, Wodan and Freia, for malice, guile, and cunning, in order to deceive Elsa and restore pagan rule to the region. When Elsa appears, Ortrud warns her that since she knows nothing about her rescuer, he could leave her any time, as suddenly as he came.
The sun rises and the people assemble. The Herald announces that Telramund is now outlawed due to the false trial, and anyone who follows Telramund is an outlaw by the law of the land. In addition, he announces that the king has offered to make the unnamed knight the Duke of Brabant; however, the Knight has declined the title, and prefers to be known only as "Leader of Brabant".[7] The Herald further announces that the Knight will lead the people to glorious new conquests, and will celebrate the marriage of him and Elsa. Behind the crowd, four knights quietly express misgivings to each other. Telramund appears, and, concealing himself from the crowd, draws these four knights aside and assures them that he will regain his position and stop the Knight, by accusing him of witchcraft.
As Elsa and her attendants are about to enter the church, Ortrud appears, clad in magnificent attire, and challenges Elsa to tell who her husband is, and to explain why anyone should follow him. After that, King Henry enters with the Knight. Elsa tells both of them that Ortrud was interrupting the ceremony. The Knight tells Ortrud to fall back to the crowd, then takes Elsa's hand to the wedding. The King leads at the front of the couple. When they are about to go inside the church (once more), Telramund also enters. He pleads to the king that his defeat in combat was invalid because the Knight did not give his name; trial by combat is traditionally open only to established citizens. The Knight refuses to reveal his identity and claims that only one person in the world has the right to know his origin – Elsa and Elsa alone. Elsa, though visibly shaken and uncertain, assures him of her confidence. The King supports him too. Ortrud and Telramund take Elsa and tries to intimidate her, and after a short while, the Knight forces both to leave the ceremony. The King, the Knight, and Elsa, together with the men and women around, go forward. Elsa takes one last look at the banished Ortrud, then they enter the church.
[edit] Act 3
Joseph O'Mara in the title role, 1894–1895Scene 1: The bridal chamber
Elsa and her new husband are ushered in with the well-known bridal chorus, and the couple express their love for each other. Ortrud's words, however, are impressed upon Elsa, and, despite his warning, she asks her husband the fatal question. Before the Knight can answer, Telramund and his four recruits rush into the room in order to attack him. The knight defeats and kills Telramund. Then, he sorrowfully turns to Elsa and asks her to follow him to the king, to whom he will now reveal the mystery.
Scene 2: On the banks of the Scheldt (as in Act 1)
The troops arrive equipped for war. Telramund's corpse is brought in, Elsa comes forward, then the Knight. He discloses his identity to the king and Elsa. He tells the story of the Holy Grail, on the Monsalvat, and reveals himself as Lohengrin, Knight of the Holy Grail and son of King Parsifal. The time for his return has arrived and he has only tarried to prove Elsa innocent.
As he sadly bids farewell to his beloved bride, the swan reappears. Lohengrin prays that Elsa may recover her lost brother, and gives her his sword, horn and ring; which allows Elsa to remember him fully. Then, when Lohengrin tries to get in the boat, Ortrud appears. She tells Elsa that the swan who drove Lohengrin to the bank was actually Gottfried, Elsa's brother; and she put a curse on him by turning him into a swan. The people considered Ortrud guilty of witchcraft. Lohengrin prays to the swan, and the swan turns into another form, a young Gottfried. He elects him as the Duke of Brabant. Ortrud sinks as she sees him (Gottfried).
A dove descends from heaven, and, taking the place of the swan at the head of the boat, leads Lohengrin to the castle of the Holy Grail. Elsa is stricken with grief, however, and falls to the ground dead, longing for her beloved.[8]
[edit] Notable arias and excerptsThe opera is full of 'hits' performed as concert set-pieces, namely:
Act I, Prelude.
Act I, 'Einsam in trüben Tage' (Elsa's Narrative)
Act I, Scene 'Wenn ich im Kampfe für dich siege'
Act II, 'Euch lüften, die mein Klagen' (Elsa)
Act II, Scene 4 opening, arranged as "Elsa's Procession to the Cathedral"
Act III, Prelude
Act III, Bridal Chorus "Treulich geführt" arranged as "Here Comes the Bride"
Act III, 'Das süsse Lied verhallt' (Love duet)
Act III, 'Höchstes Vertrau'n' (Lohengrin's Declaration to Elsa)
Act III, Entry of King Henry
Act III, 'In fernem Land' (Lohengrin's Narration)
Act III, 'Mein lieber Schwan... O Elsa! Nur ein Jahr an deiner Seite' (Lohengrin's Farewell)
[edit] ParodyIn 1907, Victor Herbert produced a one-act parody of Lohengrin called The Magic Knight (q.v.)
[edit] RecordingsMain article: Lohengrin discography
[edit] References^ Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5th ed., 1954
^ a b c d e f Performance History of Lohengrin at amadeusonline.net
^ Gustav Kobbé, The Complete Opera Book (Putnam, London 1929 printing), p. 117. The first Academy performance was 23 March 1874 with Christine Nilsson, Cary, Italo Campanini and Del Puente (ibid.). See 'Wagner in the Bowery', Scribner's Monthly Magazine 1871, 214-16; New York Times, Opera at the Stadt Theater, 3 May 1871
^ New York Times, Wagner's "Lohengrin", 8 April 1871. See also Opera Gems.com, Lohengrin
^ Istituto Nazionale di Studi Verdiani
^ Elizabeth Forbes, 'Sophie Cruvelli' (short biography), Arts.jrank.org
^ The title Führer von Brabant is often altered to Schützer in performances since 1945, because the former title had acquired meanings unforeseen by either Lohengrin or Wagner. Führer formerly meant 'Leader' or 'Guide'.
^ Plot taken from The Opera Goer's Complete Guide by Leo Melitz, 1921 version.
[edit] External linksLibretto and Leitmoifs in German, Italian and English
Richard Wagner - Lohengrin. A gallery of historic postcards with motifs from Richard Wagner's operas.
Wagner's libretto (in German)
Further Lohengrin discography
Recording of "Euch Lüften" by Lotte Lehmann
Lohengrin: Free scores at the International Music Score Library Project.
San Diego OperaTalk! with Nick Reveles: Lohengrin
[hide]v · d · eRichard Wagner
Operas Die Feen · Das Liebesverbot · Rienzi · Der Fliegende Hollander · Tannhäuser · Lohengrin · Das Rheingold · Die Walküre · Siegfried · Götterdämmerung · Tristan und Isolde · Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg · Parsifal
Non-operatic music Wesendonck Lieder · Siegfried Idyll · Symphony in C major · Das Liebesmahl der Apostel
Writings Autobiographic Sketch · The Artwork of the Future · Art and Revolution · Das Judenthum in der Musik (Jewishness in Music) · Opera and Drama · Music of the Future
Bayreuth Festival Bayreuth Festival · Bayreuth Festspielhaus · Bayreuth canon
Book · Category · WikiProject
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lohengrin_(opera)"
Categories: Operas | 1850 operas | Arthurian operas | German-language operas | Operas by Richard Wagner | Romantische Opern | Music for orchestra and organ
Personal toolsLog in / create account NamespacesArticle Discussion VariantsViewsRead Edit View history ActionsSearch NavigationMain page Contents Featured content Current events Random article Donate to Wikipedia InteractionHelp About Wikipedia Community portal Recent changes Contact Wikipedia ToolboxWhat links here Related changes Upload file Special pages Permanent link Cite this page Print/exportCreate a bookDownload as PDFPrintable versionLanguagesCatalà Dansk Deutsch Ελληνικά Esperanto Español Français 한국어 Italiano Magyar Nederlands 日本語 Norsk (bokmål) Norsk (nynorsk) Polski Português Română Русский Slovenčina Српски / Srpski Suomi Svenska ไทย Українська 中文 This page was last modified on 13 June 2011 at 11:03.
Midi for "Lohengrin"(Wagner)Wedding march
by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com
http://www.8notes.com/scores/425.asp?ftype=midi
http://www.8notes.com/scores/425.asp?ftype=midi
Midi and lyrics for Orfeo's aria -- Atto II -- 1607"Orfeo"(Monteverdi)'Ecco pur ch'a voi ritorno'
by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com
Ecco pur ch'à voi ritorno
care selve e piaggie amate
da quel Sol fatte beate
per cui sol
mie notti han giorno.
Ecco pur ch'à voi ritorno
care selve e piaggie amate
da quel Sol fatte beate
per cui sol
mie notti han giorno.
Lyrics and midi for 1607"Orfeo"(Monteverdi)'Lasciate i monti' (chorus of 'ninfe, pastori')
by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com
--- "NINFE, PASTORI"
Lasciate i monti
lasciate i fonti,
ninfe vezzose e liete
e in questi prati
a i balli usati
leggiadro il piè rendete.
Qui miri il sole
vostre carole
più vaghe assai di quelle
ond' a la Luna
a l' aria bruna
danzan in ciel le stelle.
Poi di bei fiori
per voi s' onori
di questi amanti il crine
ch' or dei martiri
de i lor desiri
godon beati al fine.
--- "NINFE, PASTORI"
Lasciate i monti
lasciate i fonti,
ninfe vezzose e liete
e in questi prati
a i balli usati
leggiadro il piè rendete.
Qui miri il sole
vostre carole
più vaghe assai di quelle
ond' a la Luna
a l' aria bruna
danzan in ciel le stelle.
Poi di bei fiori
per voi s' onori
di questi amanti il crine
ch' or dei martiri
de i lor desiri
godon beati al fine.
Lyrics and midi for 1644"Ormindo"(Cavalli)'Se mi cinge'
by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com
Se mi cinge
se mi stringe
doppio laccio e doppio nodo
il contento
doppio sento
doppia gioia io provo e godo.
Luci amate
che brillate
nella fronte de' miei cieli
voi voi siete
che struggete
di mia sorte i crudi geli.
Se mi cinge
se mi stringe
doppio laccio e doppio nodo
il contento
doppio sento
doppia gioia io provo e godo.
Luci amate
che brillate
nella fronte de' miei cieli
voi voi siete
che struggete
di mia sorte i crudi geli.
Lyrics and midi for 1644"Ormindo"(Cavalli)'Mai volsi ch'il mio core'
by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com
Mai volsi, ch'il mio core
mi volasse dal petto
né feci mai ricetto
per tema d'abbruciarlo il cor d'ardore
nell'incostanza mia sempre costante
amai solo il diletto
e non l'amante.
Mai volsi, ch'il mio core
mi volasse dal petto
né feci mai ricetto
per tema d'abbruciarlo il cor d'ardore
nell'incostanza mia sempre costante
amai solo il diletto
e non l'amante.
Midi and lyrics for 1644"Ormindo"(Cavalli)'Se nel sen di giovanetti'
by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com
Se nel sen di giovanetti
l'alma mia
sol desia di trar diletti
vecchio re
per marito il ciel mi diè.
Famelica, e digiuna
di dolcezze veraci
con sospiri interrotti
passo le tristi notti
sazia di freddi, e di sciapiti baci
pasco sol di desio l'avide brame
ed a mensa real moro di fame.
Se nel sen di giovanetti
l'alma mia
sol desia di trar diletti
vecchio re
per marito il ciel mi diè.
Famelica, e digiuna
di dolcezze veraci
con sospiri interrotti
passo le tristi notti
sazia di freddi, e di sciapiti baci
pasco sol di desio l'avide brame
ed a mensa real moro di fame.
4 midis from 1644, "Ormindo" (Cavalli)--tenor aria
by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com
"Ormindo: is an opera in three acts and a prologue by Francesco Cavalli to an original Italian libretto by Giovanni Faustini.
The manuscript score and libretto, which describes the work as a favola dramatica musicale, are held at the Biblioteca Marciana in Venice.
The opera has set numbers with recitative, and is set in Fez in the ancient Kingdom of Mauretania.
"Ormindo" was first performed at the Teatro San Cassiano, Venice, 1644.
It is now rarely staged.
It was arranged by Raymond Leppard for performance at Glyndebourne Festival Opera in 1967, and this was probably the first time "Ormindo" had been performed since 1644.
The work received its American premiere in 1968 in a performance at the Juilliard School supervised by Leppard.
A recent performance was by the Pittsburgh Opera in February, 2007, using a new performing edition by Peter Foster.
It was conducted by Bernard McDonald and directed by Chas Rader-Shieber.
Peter Foster's edition was also used by The Harvard Early Music Society in its November, 2008 performance of the work, conducted by Matthew Hall and directed by Roy Kimmey.
The Baylor University School of Music performed the work in English on November 21-22, 2008 under the direction of Dr. Michael Johnson with conductor Dr. Andrew Hudson.
It was performed by Pinchgut Opera of Sydney in December 2009.
Amida, Prince of Tremisene ------ tenor
Amore --------------------------- soprano
Custode ------------------------- tenor
Erice, Sicle's nurse ------------ tenor
Erisbe, the wife of Hariadeno --- soprano
Hariadeno, King of Mauretania --- bass
Destino ------------------------- tenor
Armonia ------------------------- soprano
Fortuna ------------------------- mezzo-soprano
Melide, Sicle's lady-in-waiting - soprano
Mirinda, Erisbe's confidante ---- soprano
Nerillo, Amida's page ----------- mezzo-soprano
Ormindo, Prince of Tunis -------- alto
Osman, King Hariadeno's captain - tenor
Sicle, Princess of Susio (Scotland) -- soprano
Messo (Messenger) -------------------- mezzo-soprano
The Winds, Ormindo's soldiers, Amida's soldiers, Mauritanian soldiers, Erisbe's ladies-in-waiting
Fez in the ancient Kingdom of Mauretania.
The foreign princes, Amida and Ormindo, who are assisting in the defense of Mauretania, are both in love with Erisbe who is unhappily married to Hariadeno, Mauretania's elderly king. The princes agree to remain friends while they test her love. During the course of the opera, there is much plotting by Amore, Princess Sicle (Amida's abandoned lover) and Erice (Sicle's nurse) to interfere with the contest. Erice stages a séance to communicate with the 'dead' Sicle who reproaches Amida for his inconstancy which had driven her to suicide. Amida, overcome with remorse, realizes that he still loves Princess Sicle and is overjoyed when it is revealed that she is actually alive and not a ghost. Meanwhile, Erisbe and Ormindo decide to elope to Tunis, where Ormindo must defend his homeland from attack. When King Hariadeno discovers their adultery, he orders his captain, Osmano, to have them poisoned. However, Osmano substitutes a sleeping potion for the poison at the urging of Mirinda (Erisbe's confidante) who has promised to marry him if he spares the lovers. All ends more or less happily when the King learns that Ormindo is actually his son from a youthful liaison. He forgives everyone and cedes his kingdom to Ormindo.
Recordings
Complete
Cavalli: L'Ormindo (John Wakefield, tenor; Peter-Christoph Runge, baritone; Hanneke van Bork, soprano; Anne Howells, mezzo-soprano; Federico Davia, bass; London Philharmonic Orchestra; Raymond Leppard, conductor). Recorded at the Glyndebourne Festival Opera House. Label: Decca.
Cavalli: L'Ormindo (Howard Crook, tenor; Dominique Visse, countertenor; Sandrine Piau, soprano; Martin Oro, countertenor; Les Paladins, ensemble; Jerome Correas, harpsichord and conductor). Label: Pan Classics.
Excerpts
Cavalli: Arias and Duets from Didone, Egisto, Ormindo, Giasone and Callisto (Mario Cecchetti, tenor; Rosita Frisani, soprano; Gloria Banditelli, mezzo-soprano; Mediterraneo Concento, ensemble; Sergio Vartolo, conductor). Label: Naxos.
References
Glynias, Marissa A., "Hargis Broaches Baroque Opera", The Harvard Crimson, November 7, 2008. Accessed 12 November 2008.
Henahan, Donal, "Opera: L'Ormindo", New York Times, August 20, 1982. Accessed 12 November 2008.
Pittsburgh Opera, Program notes for the company's 2007 performance. Accessed 12 November 2008.
Vartolo, Sergio, Liner notes for Cavalli: Arias and Duets from Didone, Egisto,
Ormindo, Giasone and Callisto, Naxos Records. Accessed 12 November 2008.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ormindo"
Categories: Italian-language operas | 1640s operas | Operas by Francesco Cavalli | Operas | 1644 operas
Personal toolsLog in / create account NamespacesArticle Discussion VariantsViewsRead Edit View history ActionsSearch NavigationMain page Contents Featured content Current events Random article Donate to Wikipedia InteractionHelp About Wikipedia Community portal Recent changes Contact Wikipedia ToolboxWhat links here Related changes Upload file Special pages Permanent link Cite this page Print/exportCreate a bookDownload as PDFPrintable versionLanguagesCatalà Español Հայերեն This page was last modified on 27 November 2010 at 16:44.
"Ormindo: is an opera in three acts and a prologue by Francesco Cavalli to an original Italian libretto by Giovanni Faustini.
The manuscript score and libretto, which describes the work as a favola dramatica musicale, are held at the Biblioteca Marciana in Venice.
The opera has set numbers with recitative, and is set in Fez in the ancient Kingdom of Mauretania.
"Ormindo" was first performed at the Teatro San Cassiano, Venice, 1644.
It is now rarely staged.
It was arranged by Raymond Leppard for performance at Glyndebourne Festival Opera in 1967, and this was probably the first time "Ormindo" had been performed since 1644.
The work received its American premiere in 1968 in a performance at the Juilliard School supervised by Leppard.
A recent performance was by the Pittsburgh Opera in February, 2007, using a new performing edition by Peter Foster.
It was conducted by Bernard McDonald and directed by Chas Rader-Shieber.
Peter Foster's edition was also used by The Harvard Early Music Society in its November, 2008 performance of the work, conducted by Matthew Hall and directed by Roy Kimmey.
The Baylor University School of Music performed the work in English on November 21-22, 2008 under the direction of Dr. Michael Johnson with conductor Dr. Andrew Hudson.
It was performed by Pinchgut Opera of Sydney in December 2009.
Amida, Prince of Tremisene ------ tenor
Amore --------------------------- soprano
Custode ------------------------- tenor
Erice, Sicle's nurse ------------ tenor
Erisbe, the wife of Hariadeno --- soprano
Hariadeno, King of Mauretania --- bass
Destino ------------------------- tenor
Armonia ------------------------- soprano
Fortuna ------------------------- mezzo-soprano
Melide, Sicle's lady-in-waiting - soprano
Mirinda, Erisbe's confidante ---- soprano
Nerillo, Amida's page ----------- mezzo-soprano
Ormindo, Prince of Tunis -------- alto
Osman, King Hariadeno's captain - tenor
Sicle, Princess of Susio (Scotland) -- soprano
Messo (Messenger) -------------------- mezzo-soprano
The Winds, Ormindo's soldiers, Amida's soldiers, Mauritanian soldiers, Erisbe's ladies-in-waiting
Fez in the ancient Kingdom of Mauretania.
The foreign princes, Amida and Ormindo, who are assisting in the defense of Mauretania, are both in love with Erisbe who is unhappily married to Hariadeno, Mauretania's elderly king. The princes agree to remain friends while they test her love. During the course of the opera, there is much plotting by Amore, Princess Sicle (Amida's abandoned lover) and Erice (Sicle's nurse) to interfere with the contest. Erice stages a séance to communicate with the 'dead' Sicle who reproaches Amida for his inconstancy which had driven her to suicide. Amida, overcome with remorse, realizes that he still loves Princess Sicle and is overjoyed when it is revealed that she is actually alive and not a ghost. Meanwhile, Erisbe and Ormindo decide to elope to Tunis, where Ormindo must defend his homeland from attack. When King Hariadeno discovers their adultery, he orders his captain, Osmano, to have them poisoned. However, Osmano substitutes a sleeping potion for the poison at the urging of Mirinda (Erisbe's confidante) who has promised to marry him if he spares the lovers. All ends more or less happily when the King learns that Ormindo is actually his son from a youthful liaison. He forgives everyone and cedes his kingdom to Ormindo.
Recordings
Complete
Cavalli: L'Ormindo (John Wakefield, tenor; Peter-Christoph Runge, baritone; Hanneke van Bork, soprano; Anne Howells, mezzo-soprano; Federico Davia, bass; London Philharmonic Orchestra; Raymond Leppard, conductor). Recorded at the Glyndebourne Festival Opera House. Label: Decca.
Cavalli: L'Ormindo (Howard Crook, tenor; Dominique Visse, countertenor; Sandrine Piau, soprano; Martin Oro, countertenor; Les Paladins, ensemble; Jerome Correas, harpsichord and conductor). Label: Pan Classics.
Excerpts
Cavalli: Arias and Duets from Didone, Egisto, Ormindo, Giasone and Callisto (Mario Cecchetti, tenor; Rosita Frisani, soprano; Gloria Banditelli, mezzo-soprano; Mediterraneo Concento, ensemble; Sergio Vartolo, conductor). Label: Naxos.
References
Glynias, Marissa A., "Hargis Broaches Baroque Opera", The Harvard Crimson, November 7, 2008. Accessed 12 November 2008.
Henahan, Donal, "Opera: L'Ormindo", New York Times, August 20, 1982. Accessed 12 November 2008.
Pittsburgh Opera, Program notes for the company's 2007 performance. Accessed 12 November 2008.
Vartolo, Sergio, Liner notes for Cavalli: Arias and Duets from Didone, Egisto,
Ormindo, Giasone and Callisto, Naxos Records. Accessed 12 November 2008.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ormindo"
Categories: Italian-language operas | 1640s operas | Operas by Francesco Cavalli | Operas | 1644 operas
Personal toolsLog in / create account NamespacesArticle Discussion VariantsViewsRead Edit View history ActionsSearch NavigationMain page Contents Featured content Current events Random article Donate to Wikipedia InteractionHelp About Wikipedia Community portal Recent changes Contact Wikipedia ToolboxWhat links here Related changes Upload file Special pages Permanent link Cite this page Print/exportCreate a bookDownload as PDFPrintable versionLanguagesCatalà Español Հայերեն This page was last modified on 27 November 2010 at 16:44.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Parole -- "In quegli anni" -- tenor aria (Basilio) in Mozart's "Nozze di Figaro"
by Luigi Speranzafor "Gli Operai"jlsperanza@aol.com
In quegl'anni, in cui val poco
la mal pratica ragion
ebbi anch'io lo stesso foco
fui quel pazzo ch'or non son.
Che col tempo e coi perigli
donna flemma capitò
e i capricci, ed i puntigli
della testa mi cavò.
Presso un piccolo abituro
seco lei mi trasse un giorno
e togliendo giù dal muro
del pacifico soggiorno
una pella di somaro
prendi disse, oh figlio caro
poi disparve, e mi lasciò.
Mentre ancor tacito
guardo quel dono
il ciel s'annuvola
rimbomba il tuono
mista alla grandine
scroscia la piova
ecco le membra
coprir mi giova
col manto d'asino
che mi donò.
Finisce il turbine
nè fo due passi
che fiera orribile
dianzi a me fassi
già già mi tocca
l'ingorda bocca
già di difendermi
speme non ho.
Ma il finto ignobile
del mio vestito
tolse alla belva
sì l'appetito
che disprezzandomi
si rinselvò.
Così conoscere
mi fè la sorte
ch'onte, pericoli
vergogna, e morte
col cuoio d'asino
fuggir si può.
In quegl'anni, in cui val poco
la mal pratica ragion
ebbi anch'io lo stesso foco
fui quel pazzo ch'or non son.
Che col tempo e coi perigli
donna flemma capitò
e i capricci, ed i puntigli
della testa mi cavò.
Presso un piccolo abituro
seco lei mi trasse un giorno
e togliendo giù dal muro
del pacifico soggiorno
una pella di somaro
prendi disse, oh figlio caro
poi disparve, e mi lasciò.
Mentre ancor tacito
guardo quel dono
il ciel s'annuvola
rimbomba il tuono
mista alla grandine
scroscia la piova
ecco le membra
coprir mi giova
col manto d'asino
che mi donò.
Finisce il turbine
nè fo due passi
che fiera orribile
dianzi a me fassi
già già mi tocca
l'ingorda bocca
già di difendermi
speme non ho.
Ma il finto ignobile
del mio vestito
tolse alla belva
sì l'appetito
che disprezzandomi
si rinselvò.
Così conoscere
mi fè la sorte
ch'onte, pericoli
vergogna, e morte
col cuoio d'asino
fuggir si può.
1786--"In quegli anni" (tenor aria)--Mozart's "Nozze di Figaro" --- midi
by Luigi Speranza for "Gli Operai" jlsperanza@aol.com
Le nozze di Figaro, ossia la folle giornata (The Marriage of Figaro, or The Day of Madness), K. 492, is an opera buffa (comic opera) composed in 1786 in four acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, based on a stage comedy by Pierre Beaumarchais, La folle journée, ou le Mariage de Figaro (1784).
Although the play by Beaumarchais was at first banned in Vienna because of its satire of the aristocracy, considered dangerous in the decade before the French Revolution, the opera became one of Mozart's most successful works. The overture is especially famous and is often played as a concert piece. The musical material of the overture is not used later in the work, aside from two brief phrases during the Count's part in the terzetto Cosa sento! in act 1.[1]
Contents [hide]
1 Composition
2 Performance history
2.1 Other early performances
2.2 Contemporary reputation
3 Roles
4 Synopsis
4.1 Act 1
4.2 Act 2
4.3 Act 3
4.4 Act 4
5 Instrumentation
6 Frequently omitted numbers
7 Musical style
8 Critical discussion
9 Other uses of the melodies
10 Recordings
11 See also
12 Notes and references
13 Sources
14 External links
[edit] CompositionThe opera was the first of three collaborations between Mozart and Da Ponte; their later collaborations were Don Giovanni and Così fan tutte. It was Mozart who originally selected Beaumarchais' play and brought it to Da Ponte, who turned it into a libretto in six weeks, rewriting it in poetic Italian and removing all of the original's political references. In particular, Da Ponte replaced Figaro's climactic speech against inherited nobility with an equally angry aria against unfaithful wives. Contrary to the popular myth, the libretto was approved by the Emperor, Joseph II, before any music was written by Mozart.[2]
The Imperial Italian opera company paid Mozart 450 florins for the work;[3] this was three times his (low) salary for a year, when he had worked as a court musician in Salzburg (Solomon 1995). Da Ponte was paid 200 florins.[3]
[edit] Performance historyFigaro premiered at the Burgtheater in Vienna on 1 May 1786, the cast for which is included in the "Roles" section below. Mozart himself directed the first two performances, conducting seated at the keyboard, the custom of the day. Later performances were by Joseph Weigl.[4] The first production was given eight further performances, all in 1786.[5]
Although the total of nine performances was nothing like the frequency of performance of Mozart's later success The Magic Flute, which for months was performed roughly every other day (Solomon 1995), the premiere is generally judged to have been a success. The applause of the audience on the first night resulted in five numbers being encored, seven on 8 May (Deutsch 1965, p. 272). Joseph II, who, in addition to his empire, was in charge of the Burgtheater, was concerned by the length of the performance and directed his aide Count Rosenberg as follows:
"To prevent the excessive duration of operas, without however prejudicing the fame often sought by opera singers from the repetition of vocal pieces, I deem the enclosed notice to the public (that no piece for more than a single voice is to be repeated) to be the most reasonable expedient. You will therefore cause some posters to this effect to be printed."[6]
The requested posters were printed up and posted in the Burgtheater in time for the third performance on 24 May (Deutsch 1965, p. 275).
The newspaper Wiener Realzeitung carried a review of the opera in its issue of 11 July 1786. It alludes to interference probably produced by paid hecklers, but praises the work warmly:
"Mozart's music was generally admired by connoisseurs already at the first performance, if I except only those whose self-love and conceit will not allow them to find merit in anything not written by themselves.
The public, however … did not really know on the first day where it stood. It heard many a bravo from unbiassed connoisseurs, but obstreperous louts in the uppermost storey exerted their hired lungs with all their might to deafen singers and audience alike with their St! and Pst; and consequently opinions were divided at the end of the piece.
Apart from that, it is true that the first performance was none of the best, owing to the difficulties of the composition.
But now, after several performances, one would be subscribing either to the cabal or to tastelessness if one were to maintain that Herr Mozart's music is anything but a masterpiece of art.
It contains so many beauties, and such a wealth of ideas, as can be drawn only from the source of innate genius."[7]
The Hungarian poet Ferenc Kazinczy was in the audience for a May performance, and later remembered the powerful impression the work made on him:
"[Nancy] Storace [see below], the beautiful singer, enchanted eye, ear, and soul. – Mozart directed the orchestra, playing his fortepiano; the joy which this music causes is so far removed from all sensuality that one cannot speak of it. Where could words be found that are worthy to describe such joy?"[8]
Joseph Haydn appreciated the opera greatly, writing to a friend that he heard it in his dreams.[9] In summer 1790 Haydn attempted to produce the work with his own company at Eszterháza, but was prevented from doing so by the death of his patron, Nikolaus Esterházy (Landon & Jones 1988, p. 174).
[edit] Other early performancesThe Emperor requested a special performance at his palace theater in Laxenburg, which took place in June 1786 (Deutsch 1965).
The opera was produced in Prague starting in December 1786 by the Pasquale Bondini company. This production was a tremendous success; the newspaper Prager Oberpostamtszeitung called the work "a masterpiece" (Deutsch 1965, p. 281), and said "no piece (for everyone here asserts) has ever caused such a sensation." (Deutsch 1965, p. 280) Local music lovers paid for Mozart to visit Prague and hear the production; he listened on 17 January 1787, and conducted it himself on the 22nd (Deutsch 1965, p. 285). The success of the Prague production led to the commissioning of the next Mozart/Da Ponte opera, Don Giovanni, premiered in Prague in 1787; see Mozart and Prague.
The work was not performed in Vienna during 1787 or 1788, but starting in 1789 there was a revival production.[10] For this occasion Mozart replaced both arias of Susanna with new compositions, better suited to the voice of Adriana Ferrarese del Bene who took the role. For Deh, vieni he wrote Al desio di chi t'adora – "[come and fly] To the desire of who adores you" (K. 577) in July 1789, and for Venite, inginocchiatevi! he wrote Un moto di gioia – "A joyous emotion", (K. 579), probably in mid-1790.[11]
[edit] Contemporary reputationThe Marriage of Figaro is now regarded as a cornerstone of the standard operatic repertoire, and it appears as number five on the Operabase list of the most-performed operas worldwide.[12]
[edit] RolesThe voice types which appear in this table are those listed in the original libretto. In modern performance practice, Cherubino is usually assigned to a mezzo-soprano (sometimes also Marcellina), Count Almaviva to a baritone, and Figaro to a bass-baritone.[13] Mozart (and his contemporaries) never used the terms "mezzo-soprano" or "baritone". Women's roles were listed as either "soprano" or "contralto", while men's roles were listed as either "tenor" or "bass". Many of Mozart's baritone and bass-baritone roles derive from the basso buffo tradition, where no clear distinction was drawn between bass and baritone, a practice that continued well into the 19th century. Similarly, mezzo-soprano as a distinct voice type was a 19th century development.[14] Modern re-classifications of the voice types for Mozartian roles have been based on analysis of contemporary descriptions of the singers who created those roles and their other repertoire, and on the role's tessitura in the score. Changes in role assignment can also result from modern preferences for contrasts in vocal timbre between two major characters, e.g. Fiordiligi and Dorabella in Così fan tutte. Both roles were written for sopranos, although the slightly more low-lying role of Dorabella is now often sung by a mezzo.[15]
Role Voice type Premiere cast, 1 May 1786
(Conductor: W.A. Mozart)
Count Almaviva bass Stefano Mandini
Countess Rosina Almaviva soprano Luisa Laschi
Susanna, the countess's maid soprano Ann Storace
Figaro, personal valet to the count bass Francesco Benucci
Cherubino, the Count's page soprano Dorotea Bussani
Marcellina soprano Maria Mandini
Bartolo, doctor from Seville, also a practising lawyer bass Francesco Bussani
Basilio, music master tenor Michael Kelly
Don Curzio, judge tenor Michael Kelly
Barbarina, Antonio's daughter soprano Anna Gottlieb
Antonio, the Count's gardener, Susanna's uncle bass Francesco Bussani
Chorus of peasants, villagers, and servants
[edit] SynopsisThe Marriage of Figaro is a continuation of the plot of The Barber of Seville several years later, and recounts a single "day of madness" (la folle giornata) in the palace of the Count Almaviva near Seville, Spain. Rosina is now the Countess; Dr. Bartolo is seeking revenge against Figaro for thwarting his plans to marry Rosina himself; and Count Almaviva has degenerated from the romantic youth of Barber into a scheming, bullying, skirt-chasing baritone. Having gratefully given Figaro a job as head of his servant-staff, he is now persistently trying to obtain the favors of Figaro's bride-to-be, Susanna. He keeps finding excuses to delay the civil part of the wedding of his two servants, which is arranged for this very day. Figaro, Susanna, and the Countess conspire to embarrass the Count and expose his scheming. He responds by trying to legally compel Figaro to marry a woman old enough to be his mother, but it turns out at the last minute that she really is his mother. Through Figaro's and Susanna's clever manipulations, the Count's love for his Countess is finally restored.
Place: Count Almaviva's estate, Aguas-Frescas, three leagues outside Seville, Spain.[16]
[edit] Act 1
Act 1: Cherubino hides behind Susanna's chair as the Count arrives.A partly furnished room, with a chair in the centre.
Figaro is happily measuring the space where the bridal bed will fit while Susanna is trying on her wedding bonnet in front of the mirror (in the present day, a more traditional French floral wreath or a modern veil are often substituted, often in combination with a bonnet, so as to accommodate what Susanna happily describes as her wedding "capellino"). (Duet: Cinque, dieci, venti, trenta – "Five, ten, twenty, thirty"). Figaro is quite pleased with their new room; Susanna far less so. She is bothered by its proximity to the Count's chambers: it seems he has been making advances toward her and plans on exercising his "droit de seigneur", the purported feudal right of a lord to bed a servant girl on her wedding night before her husband can sleep with her. The Count had the right abolished when he married Rosina, but he now wants to reinstate it. Figaro is livid and plans to outwit the Count (Cavatina: Se vuol ballare, signor contino – "If you want to dance, sir Count").
Figaro departs, and Dr. Bartolo arrives with Marcellina, his old housekeeper. Marcellina has hired Bartolo as her counsel, since Figaro had once promised to marry her if he should default on a loan she had made to him, and she intends to enforce that promise. Bartolo, still irked at Figaro for having facilitated the union of the Count and Rosina (in The Barber of Seville), promises, in comical lawyer-speak, to help Marcellina (aria: La vendetta – "Vengeance").
Bartolo departs, Susanna returns, and Marcellina and Susanna share an exchange of very politely delivered sarcastic insults (duet: Via, resti servita, madama brillante – "After you, brilliant madam"). Susanna triumphs in the exchange by congratulating her rival on her impressive age. The older woman departs in a fury.
Cherubino then arrives and, after describing his emerging infatuation with all women and particularly with his "beautiful godmother" the Countess (aria: Non so più cosa son – "I don't know anymore what I am"), asks for Susanna's aid with the Count. It seems the Count is angry with Cherubino's amorous ways, having discovered him with the gardener's daughter, Barbarina, and plans to punish him. Cherubino wants Susanna to ask the Countess to intercede on his behalf. When the Count appears, Cherubino hides behind a chair, not wanting to be seen alone with Susanna. The Count uses the opportunity of finding Susanna alone to personally step up his demands for favours from her, including financial inducements to sell herself to him. As Basilio, the slimy music teacher, arrives, the Count, not wanting to be caught alone with Susanna, hides behind the chair. Cherubino leaves that hiding place just in time, and jumps onto the chair while Susanna scrambles to cover him with a dress.
When Basilio starts to gossip about Cherubino's obvious attraction to the Countess, the Count angrily leaps from his hiding place. Lifting the dress from the chair he finds Cherubino. The young man is only saved from punishment by the entrance of the peasants of the Count's estate, this entrance being a preemptive attempt by Figaro to commit the Count to a formal gesture symbolizing the promise of Susanna's entering into the marriage unsullied. The Count evades Figaro's plan by postponing the gesture. The Count says that he forgives Cherubino, but he dispatches him to Seville for army duty. Figaro gives Cherubino advice about his new, harsh, military life from which women will be totally excluded (aria: Non più andrai – "No more gallivanting").[17]
[edit] Act 2A handsome room with an alcove, a dressing room on the left, a door in the background (leading to the servants' quarters) and a window at the side.
The Countess laments her husband's infidelity. (aria: Porgi, amor, qualche ristoro – "Grant, love, some comfort"). Susanna comes in to prepare the Countess for the day. She responds to the Countess's questions by telling her that the Count is not trying to "seduce" her, he is merely offering her a monetary contract in return for her affection. Figaro enters and explains his plan to distract the Count with anonymous letters warning him of adulterers. He has already sent one to the Count (via Basilio) that indicates the Countess has a rendezvous that evening of her own. They hope that the Count will be too busy looking for imaginary adulterers to interfere with Figaro's and Susanna's wedding. Figaro additionally advises the Countess to keep Cherubino around by dressing him as a girl. Figaro leaves.
Cherubino arrives, eager to be dressed up by the Countess and Susanna. Susanna urges him to sing the song he wrote for the Countess (aria: Voi che sapete che cosa è amor – "You ladies who know what love is, is it what I'm suffering from?"). After the song, they proceed to attire him in women's clothes (aria of Susanna: Venite, inginocchiatevi! – "Come, kneel down before me"). At this time, the Countess sees Cherubino's military commission, and notes that the Count was in such a hurry that he forgot to seal it with his signet ring (which was necessary to make it an official document). Susanna returns to her room for some clothing in which to dress Cherubino. While the Countess and Cherubino are waiting for Susanna to come back, they suddenly hear the Count arriving. Cherubino hides in the closet. The Count demands to be allowed into the room and the Countess reluctantly unlocks the door. The Count enters and hears a noise from the closet. He tries to open it, but it is locked. The Countess tells him it is only Susanna, trying on her wedding dress. The Count shouts for her to identify herself by her voice, but the Countess orders her to be silent. At this moment, Susanna re-enters unobserved, quickly realises what's going on, and hides behind a couch (Trio: Susanna, or via sortite! – "Susanna, come out!"). Furious and suspicious, the Count leaves, with the Countess, in search of tools to force the closet door open. As they leave, he locks all the bedroom doors to prevent the intruder from escaping. Cherubino and Susanna emerge from their hiding places, and Cherubino escapes by jumping through the window into the garden. Susanna then takes his place in the closet, vowing to make the Count look foolish. (duet: Aprite, presto, aprite – "Open the door, quickly!").
The Count and Countess return. The Countess desperately admits that Cherubino is hidden in the closet. The raging Count draws his sword, promising to kill Cherubino on the spot, but when the door is opened, they both find to their astonishment only Susanna. The Count demands an explanation; the Countess tells him it is a practical joke, to test his trust in her. Shamed by his jealousy, the Count begs for forgiveness. When the Count presses about the anonymous letter, Susanna and the Countess reveal that the letter was written by Figaro, and then delivered through Basilio. Figaro then arrives and tries to start the wedding festivities, but the Count berates him with questions about the anonymous note. Just as the Count is starting to run out of questions, Antonio the gardener arrives, complaining that a man has jumped out of the window and broken his flowerpots. The Count immediately realizes that the jumping fugitive was Cherubino, but Figaro claims it was he himself who jumped out the window, and fakes a foot-injury. Antonio brings forward a paper which, he says, was dropped by the escaping man. The Count orders Figaro to prove he was the jumper by identifying the paper (which is, in fact, Cherubino's appointment to the army). Figaro is able to do this because of the cunning teamwork of the two women. His victory is, however, short-lived; Marcellina, Bartolo, and Basilio enter, bringing charges against Figaro and demanding that he honor his contract to marry Marcellina. The Count happily postpones the wedding in order to investigate the charge.
[edit] Act 3A rich hall, with two thrones, prepared for the wedding ceremony.
The Count mulls over the confusing situation. At the urging of the Countess, Susanna enters and gives a false promise to meet the Count later that night in the garden (duet: Crudel, perché finora – "Cruel girl, why did you make me wait so long"). As Susanna leaves, the Count overhears her telling Figaro that he has already won the case. Realizing that he is being tricked (aria: Hai già vinta la causa ... Vedrò mentr'io sospiro – "You've already won the case?" ... "Shall I, while sighing, see"), he resolves to make Figaro pay by forcing him to marry Marcellina.
Figaro's trial follows, and the judgment is that Figaro must marry Marcellina. Figaro argues that he cannot get married without his parents' permission, and that he does not know who his parents are, because he was stolen from them when he was a baby. The ensuing discussion reveals that Figaro is Rafaello, the long-lost illegitimate son of Bartolo and Marcellina. A touching scene of reconciliation occurs. During the celebrations, Susanna enters with a payment to release Figaro from his debt to Marcellina. Seeing Figaro and Marcellina in celebration together, Susanna mistakenly believes that Figaro now prefers Marcellina over her. She has a tantrum and slaps Figaro's face. Figaro explains, and Susanna, realizing her mistake, joins the celebration. Bartolo, overcome with emotion, agrees to marry Marcellina that evening in a double wedding (sextet: Riconosci in questo amplesso una madre – "Recognize a mother in this hug").
All leave, and the Countess, alone, ponders the loss of her happiness (aria: Dove sono i bei momenti – "Where are they, the beautiful moments"). Susanna enters and updates her regarding the plan to trap the Count. The Countess dictates a love letter for Susanna to give to the Count, which suggests that he meet her that night, "under the pines". The letter instructs the Count to return the pin which fastens the letter. (duet: Sull'aria...che soave zeffiretto – "On the breeze… What a gentle little Zephyr").
A chorus of young peasants, among them Cherubino disguised as a girl, arrives to serenade the Countess. The Count arrives with Antonio, and, discovering the page, is enraged. His anger is quickly dispelled by Barbarina (a peasant girl, Antonio's daughter), who publicly recalls that he had once offered to give her anything she wants, and asks for Cherubino's hand in marriage. Thoroughly embarrassed, the Count allows Cherubino to stay.
The act closes with the double wedding, during the course of which Susanna delivers her letter to the Count. Figaro watches the Count prick his finger on the pin, and laughs, unaware that the love-note is from Susanna herself. As the curtain drops, the two newlywed couples rejoice.
[edit] Act 4The garden, with two pavilions. Night.
Following the directions in the letter, the Count has sent the pin back to Susanna, giving it to Barbarina. Unfortunately, Barbarina has lost it (aria: L'ho perduta, me meschina – "I lost it, poor me"). Figaro and Marcellina see Barbarina, and Figaro asks her what she is doing. When he hears the pin is Susanna's, he is overcome with jealousy, especially as he recognises the pin to be the one that fastened the letter to the Count. Thinking that Susanna is meeting the Count behind his back, Figaro complains to his mother, and swears to be avenged on the Count and Susanna, and on all unfaithful wives. Marcellina urges caution, but Figaro will not listen. Figaro rushes off, and Marcellina resolves to inform Susanna of Figaro's intentions. Marcellina sings of how the wild beasts get along with each other, but rational humans can't. (aria: Il capro e la capretta – "The billy-goat and the she-goat"). (This aria and Basilio's ensuing aria are usually omitted from performances due to their relative unimportance, both musically and dramatically; however some recordings include them.)
Actuated by jealousy, Figaro tells Bartolo and Basilio to come to his aid when he gives the signal. Basilio comments on Figaro's foolishness and claims he was once as frivoulous as Figaro was. He tells a tale of how he was given common sense by "Donna Flemma" and ever since he has been aware of the wiles of women (aria: In quegli anni – "In youthful years"). They exit, leaving Figaro alone. Figaro muses on the inconstancy of women (aria: Aprite un po' quegli occhi – "Open your eyes"). Susanna and the Countess arrive, dressed in each other's clothes. Marcellina is with them, having informed Susanna of Figaro's suspicions and plans. After they discuss the plan, Marcellina and the Countess leave, and Susanna teases Figaro by singing a love song to her beloved within Figaro's hearing (aria: Deh, vieni, non tardar – "Oh come, don't delay"). Figaro is hiding behind a bush and, thinking the song is for the Count, becomes increasingly jealous.
The Countess arrives in Susanna's dress. Cherubino shows up and starts teasing "Susanna" (really the Countess), endangering the plan. Fortunately, the Count gets rid of him by striking out in the dark. His punch actually ends up hitting Figaro, but the point is made and Cherubino runs off.
The Count now begins making earnest love to "Susanna" (really the Countess), and gives her a jewelled ring. They go offstage together, where the Countess dodges him, hiding in the dark. Onstage, meanwhile, the real Susanna enters, wearing the Countess' clothes. Figaro mistakes her for the Countess, and starts to tell her of the Count's intentions, but he suddenly recognizes his bride in disguise. He plays along with the joke by pretending to be in love with "my lady", and inviting her to make love right then and there. Susanna, fooled, loses her temper and slaps him many times. Figaro finally lets on that he has recognized Susanna's voice, and they make peace, resolving to conclude the comedy together.
The Count, unable to find "Susanna", enters frustrated. Figaro gets his attention by loudly declaring his love for "the Countess" (really Susanna). The enraged Count calls for his people and for weapons: his servant is seducing his wife. Bartolo, Basilio and Antonio enter with torches as, one by one, the Count drags out Cherubino, Barbarina, Marcellina and the "Countess" from behind the pavilion.
All beg him to forgive Figaro and the "Countess", but he loudly refuses, repeating "no" at the top of his voice, until finally the real Countess re-enters and reveals her true identity. The Count, seeing the ring he had given her, realizes that the supposed Susanna he was trying to seduce, was actually his wife. Ashamed and remorseful, he kneels and pleads for forgiveness himself (Contessa, perdono – "Countess, forgive me"). The Countess, more kind than he (Piú docile io sono – "I am more kind"), forgives her husband and all are contented. The opera ends in a night-long celebration.
[edit] Instrumentation
Libretto 1786The Marriage of Figaro is scored for two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, timpani, and strings; the recitativi are accompanied by a keyboard instrument, usually a fortepiano or a harpsichord, often joined by a cello. The instrumentation of the recitativi is not given in the score, so it is up to the conductor and the performers. A typical performance usually lasts around 3 hours.
[edit] Frequently omitted numbersTwo arias from act 4 are usually omitted: one in which Marcellina regrets that people (unlike animals) abuse their mates (Il capro e la capretta), and one in which Don Basilio tells how he saved himself from several dangers in his youth, by using the skin of an ass for shelter and camouflage (In quegli anni).
[edit] Musical styleIn spite of all the sorrow, anxiety, and anger the characters experience, only one number is in a minor key: Barbarina's brief aria L'ho perduta at the beginning of act 4, where she mourns the loss of the pin and worries about what her master will say when she fails to deliver it, is written in F minor. Other than this the entire opera is set in major keys.
Mozart uses the sound of two horns playing together to represent cuckoldry, in the act 4 aria Aprite un po quelli'ochi. Verdi later used the same device in Ford's aria in Falstaff.
[edit] Critical discussionLorenzo Da Ponte wrote a preface to the first published version of the libretto, in which he boldly claimed that he and Mozart had created a new form of music drama:
"In spite … of every effort … to be brief, the opera will not be one of the shortest to have appeared on our stage, for which we hope sufficient excuse will be found in the variety of threads from which the action of this play [i.e. Beaumarchais's] is woven, the vastness and grandeur of the same, the multiplicity of the musical numbers that had to be made in order not to leave the actors too long unemployed, to diminish the vexation and monotony of long recitatives, and to express with varied colours the various emotions that occur, but above all in our desire to offer as it were a new kind of spectacle to a public of so refined a taste and understanding."[18]
Charles Rosen (in The Classical Style) proposes to take Da Ponte's words quite seriously, noting the "richness of the ensemble writing",[19] which carries forward the action in a far more dramatic way than recitatives would. Rosen also suggests that the musical language of the classical style was adapted by Mozart to convey the drama: many sections of the opera musically resemble sonata form; by movement through a sequence of keys, they build up and resolve musical tension, providing a natural musical reflection of the drama. As Rosen says:
"The synthesis of accelerating complexity and symmetrical resolution which was at the heart of Mozart's style enabled him to find a musical equivalent for the great stage works which were his dramatic models. The Marriage of Figaro in Mozart's version is the dramatic equal, and in many respects the superior, of Beaumarchais's work."[20]
This is demonstrated in the closing numbers of all four acts: as the drama escalates, Mozart eschews recitativi altogether and opts for increasingly sophisticated writing, bringing his characters on stage, revelling in a complex weave of solo and ensemble singing in multiple combinations, and climaxing in seven- and eight-voice tutti for acts 2 and 4.
[edit] Other uses of the melodies Overture to The Marriage of Figaro
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The Marriage of Figaro
No. 11 Cavatina "Porgi, amor"
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A phrase from The Marriage of Figaro, with the words Così fan tutte le belle, was later reused in the overture to Così fan tutte. Figaro's aria Non più andrai is used as the regimental slow march of the Coldstream Guards of the British Army and is quoted in the second act of Mozart's opera Don Giovanni. Mozart "recycled" the music of the Agnus Dei of his Krönungsmesse (Coronation Mass) for the Countess' Dove sono, in C major instead of the original F major. The same motif was used in his early bassoon concerto. Franz Liszt quoted the opera in his Fantasy on Themes from Mozart's Marriage of Figaro and Don Giovanni.
In 1819, Henry R. Bishop wrote an adaptation of the opera in English, translating from Beaumarchais's play and re-using some of Mozart's music, while adding some of his own.[21]
[edit] RecordingsMain article: The Marriage of Figaro discography
[edit] See alsoList of operas by Mozart
[edit] Notes and references^ Andrew Steptoe: The Mozart–Da Ponte operas: the cultural and musical background to Le nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni, and Così fan tutte, p. 170. Oxford University Press 1990. ISBN 9780198162216 (A motif from the overture appears to the Count's words Parta, parta il damerino! in bars 101–103 and 105–107 of the terzetto Cosa sento! in act 1.)
^ Nathan Broder. Essay on the Opera in the Schirmer edition
^ a b Deutsch 1965, p. 274
^ Deutsch 1965, p. 272 Deutsch says Mozart played a harpsichord; for conflicting testimony, see below.
^ These were: 3, 8, 24 May; 4 July, 28 August, 22 (perhaps 23) of September, 15 November, 18 December (Deutsch 1965, p. 272)
^ 9 May 1786, quoted from Deutsch 1965, p. 272
^ Quoted in Deutsch 1965, p. 278
^ From Kazinczy's 1828 autobiography; quoted in Deutsch 1965
^ The letter, to Marianne von Genzinger, is printed in Geiringer 1982, pp. 90–92
^ Performance dates: 29 and 31 August; 2, 11, 19 September; 3, 9, 24 October; 5, 13, 27 November; 8 January 1790; 1 February; 1, 7, 9, 19, 30 May; 22 June; 24, 26 July; 22 August; 3, 25 September; 11 October; 4, 20 January 1791; 9 February; from Deutsch 1965, p. 272
^ Dexter Edge, "Mozart's Viennese Copyists" (PhD diss., University of Southern California, 2001), 1718–34.
^ "Opera Statistics for the five seasons 2005/06 to 2009/10". Operabase. http://operabase.com/top.cgi?lang=en#opera. Retrieved 8 May 2011.
^ Robinson (1986) p. 173; Chanan (1999) p. 63; Singher and Singher (2003) p. 150
^ Jander, Steane, Forbes, Harris, and Waldman (2001)
^ See Jackson (2005) pp. 458–459; Gutman (2001) p. 704
^ Thomas, Hugh (2006). "Ten – Leaving Madrid.". Beaumarchais in Seville: an intermezzo.. New Haven: Yale University Press. pp. 143. ISBN 9780300121032. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=r5o4oTlIoHsC&pg=PA143&lpg=PA143&source=web&ots=9uMnfYVXo5&sig=qHxumt3AVqzVz7YXutt9dZc2vhk&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=2&ct=result#PPA143,M1. Retrieved 27 August 2008. Synopsis based on Melitz (1921).
^ This piece became so popular that Mozart himself, in the final act of his next opera Don Giovanni, transformed the aria into table music played by a woodwind ensemble, and alluded to by Leporello as "rather well-known sounds".
^ English translation taken from Deutsch 1965, 273–274
^ Rosen 1997, 182
^ Rosen 1997, 183
^ Henry R. Bishop (1819). The Marriage of Figaro: a comic opera in three acts. http://books.google.com/books?id=LR0CAAAAYAAJ. Full text online.
[edit] SourcesChanan, Michael (1999). From Handel to Hendrix: the composer in the public sphere. Verso. ISBN 1859847064
Deutsch, Otto Erich. Mozart: A Documentary Biography. Stanford University Press.
Geiringer, Karl; Irene Geiringer (1982). Haydn: A Creative Life in Music (3rd ed. ed.). University of California Press. xii, 403. ISBN 0520043162.
Gutman, Robert W. (2001). Mozart: A Cultural Biography. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 0156011719
Jackson, Roland John (2005). Performance practice: a dictionary-guide for musicians. Routledge. ISBN 0415941393
Jander, Owen; Steane, J.B.; Forbes, Elizabeth; Harris, Ellen T.; and Waldman, Gerald (2001). "Baritone" and "Mezzo-soprano [mezzo]", in Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell (eds.), The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd edition. Macmillan. ISBN 0333608003.
Landon, H. C. Robbins; David Wyn Jones (1988). Haydn: His Life and Music. Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0253372659.
Melitz, Leo (1921). The Opera Goer's Complete Guide (translated by Richard Sanger. Dodd, Mead and Co.
Robinson, Paul A. (1986). Opera & ideas: from Mozart to Strauss. Cornell University Press. ISBN 0801494281
Rosen, Charles (1997). The Classical Style: Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven (2nd ed. ed.). New York: W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 0-393-31712-9.
Singher, Martial and Singher, Eta (2003). An Interpretive Guide to Operatic Arias: A Handbook for Singers, Coaches, Teachers, and Students. Penn State Press. ISBN 0271023546
[edit] External links Italian Wikisource has original text related to this article:
Le nozze di Figaro
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Le nozze di Figaro: Score and critical report (German) in the Neue Mozart-Ausgabe
Complete libretto
Full orchestral score (German/Italian)
English Translation
Italian/English side by side translation
The Marriage of Figaro: Free scores at the International Music Score Library Project.
Complete recording at Mozart Archiv
Teaching material & analysis from the Metropolitan Opera
Mozart's house in Vienna where he composed The Marriage of Figaro (+ video)
Synopsis of The Marriage of Figaro from the English Touring Opera
Photos of 21st century productions of The Marriage of Figaro in Germany and Switzerland (German)
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Le nozze di Figaro, ossia la folle giornata (The Marriage of Figaro, or The Day of Madness), K. 492, is an opera buffa (comic opera) composed in 1786 in four acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, based on a stage comedy by Pierre Beaumarchais, La folle journée, ou le Mariage de Figaro (1784).
Although the play by Beaumarchais was at first banned in Vienna because of its satire of the aristocracy, considered dangerous in the decade before the French Revolution, the opera became one of Mozart's most successful works. The overture is especially famous and is often played as a concert piece. The musical material of the overture is not used later in the work, aside from two brief phrases during the Count's part in the terzetto Cosa sento! in act 1.[1]
Contents [hide]
1 Composition
2 Performance history
2.1 Other early performances
2.2 Contemporary reputation
3 Roles
4 Synopsis
4.1 Act 1
4.2 Act 2
4.3 Act 3
4.4 Act 4
5 Instrumentation
6 Frequently omitted numbers
7 Musical style
8 Critical discussion
9 Other uses of the melodies
10 Recordings
11 See also
12 Notes and references
13 Sources
14 External links
[edit] CompositionThe opera was the first of three collaborations between Mozart and Da Ponte; their later collaborations were Don Giovanni and Così fan tutte. It was Mozart who originally selected Beaumarchais' play and brought it to Da Ponte, who turned it into a libretto in six weeks, rewriting it in poetic Italian and removing all of the original's political references. In particular, Da Ponte replaced Figaro's climactic speech against inherited nobility with an equally angry aria against unfaithful wives. Contrary to the popular myth, the libretto was approved by the Emperor, Joseph II, before any music was written by Mozart.[2]
The Imperial Italian opera company paid Mozart 450 florins for the work;[3] this was three times his (low) salary for a year, when he had worked as a court musician in Salzburg (Solomon 1995). Da Ponte was paid 200 florins.[3]
[edit] Performance historyFigaro premiered at the Burgtheater in Vienna on 1 May 1786, the cast for which is included in the "Roles" section below. Mozart himself directed the first two performances, conducting seated at the keyboard, the custom of the day. Later performances were by Joseph Weigl.[4] The first production was given eight further performances, all in 1786.[5]
Although the total of nine performances was nothing like the frequency of performance of Mozart's later success The Magic Flute, which for months was performed roughly every other day (Solomon 1995), the premiere is generally judged to have been a success. The applause of the audience on the first night resulted in five numbers being encored, seven on 8 May (Deutsch 1965, p. 272). Joseph II, who, in addition to his empire, was in charge of the Burgtheater, was concerned by the length of the performance and directed his aide Count Rosenberg as follows:
"To prevent the excessive duration of operas, without however prejudicing the fame often sought by opera singers from the repetition of vocal pieces, I deem the enclosed notice to the public (that no piece for more than a single voice is to be repeated) to be the most reasonable expedient. You will therefore cause some posters to this effect to be printed."[6]
The requested posters were printed up and posted in the Burgtheater in time for the third performance on 24 May (Deutsch 1965, p. 275).
The newspaper Wiener Realzeitung carried a review of the opera in its issue of 11 July 1786. It alludes to interference probably produced by paid hecklers, but praises the work warmly:
"Mozart's music was generally admired by connoisseurs already at the first performance, if I except only those whose self-love and conceit will not allow them to find merit in anything not written by themselves.
The public, however … did not really know on the first day where it stood. It heard many a bravo from unbiassed connoisseurs, but obstreperous louts in the uppermost storey exerted their hired lungs with all their might to deafen singers and audience alike with their St! and Pst; and consequently opinions were divided at the end of the piece.
Apart from that, it is true that the first performance was none of the best, owing to the difficulties of the composition.
But now, after several performances, one would be subscribing either to the cabal or to tastelessness if one were to maintain that Herr Mozart's music is anything but a masterpiece of art.
It contains so many beauties, and such a wealth of ideas, as can be drawn only from the source of innate genius."[7]
The Hungarian poet Ferenc Kazinczy was in the audience for a May performance, and later remembered the powerful impression the work made on him:
"[Nancy] Storace [see below], the beautiful singer, enchanted eye, ear, and soul. – Mozart directed the orchestra, playing his fortepiano; the joy which this music causes is so far removed from all sensuality that one cannot speak of it. Where could words be found that are worthy to describe such joy?"[8]
Joseph Haydn appreciated the opera greatly, writing to a friend that he heard it in his dreams.[9] In summer 1790 Haydn attempted to produce the work with his own company at Eszterháza, but was prevented from doing so by the death of his patron, Nikolaus Esterházy (Landon & Jones 1988, p. 174).
[edit] Other early performancesThe Emperor requested a special performance at his palace theater in Laxenburg, which took place in June 1786 (Deutsch 1965).
The opera was produced in Prague starting in December 1786 by the Pasquale Bondini company. This production was a tremendous success; the newspaper Prager Oberpostamtszeitung called the work "a masterpiece" (Deutsch 1965, p. 281), and said "no piece (for everyone here asserts) has ever caused such a sensation." (Deutsch 1965, p. 280) Local music lovers paid for Mozart to visit Prague and hear the production; he listened on 17 January 1787, and conducted it himself on the 22nd (Deutsch 1965, p. 285). The success of the Prague production led to the commissioning of the next Mozart/Da Ponte opera, Don Giovanni, premiered in Prague in 1787; see Mozart and Prague.
The work was not performed in Vienna during 1787 or 1788, but starting in 1789 there was a revival production.[10] For this occasion Mozart replaced both arias of Susanna with new compositions, better suited to the voice of Adriana Ferrarese del Bene who took the role. For Deh, vieni he wrote Al desio di chi t'adora – "[come and fly] To the desire of who adores you" (K. 577) in July 1789, and for Venite, inginocchiatevi! he wrote Un moto di gioia – "A joyous emotion", (K. 579), probably in mid-1790.[11]
[edit] Contemporary reputationThe Marriage of Figaro is now regarded as a cornerstone of the standard operatic repertoire, and it appears as number five on the Operabase list of the most-performed operas worldwide.[12]
[edit] RolesThe voice types which appear in this table are those listed in the original libretto. In modern performance practice, Cherubino is usually assigned to a mezzo-soprano (sometimes also Marcellina), Count Almaviva to a baritone, and Figaro to a bass-baritone.[13] Mozart (and his contemporaries) never used the terms "mezzo-soprano" or "baritone". Women's roles were listed as either "soprano" or "contralto", while men's roles were listed as either "tenor" or "bass". Many of Mozart's baritone and bass-baritone roles derive from the basso buffo tradition, where no clear distinction was drawn between bass and baritone, a practice that continued well into the 19th century. Similarly, mezzo-soprano as a distinct voice type was a 19th century development.[14] Modern re-classifications of the voice types for Mozartian roles have been based on analysis of contemporary descriptions of the singers who created those roles and their other repertoire, and on the role's tessitura in the score. Changes in role assignment can also result from modern preferences for contrasts in vocal timbre between two major characters, e.g. Fiordiligi and Dorabella in Così fan tutte. Both roles were written for sopranos, although the slightly more low-lying role of Dorabella is now often sung by a mezzo.[15]
Role Voice type Premiere cast, 1 May 1786
(Conductor: W.A. Mozart)
Count Almaviva bass Stefano Mandini
Countess Rosina Almaviva soprano Luisa Laschi
Susanna, the countess's maid soprano Ann Storace
Figaro, personal valet to the count bass Francesco Benucci
Cherubino, the Count's page soprano Dorotea Bussani
Marcellina soprano Maria Mandini
Bartolo, doctor from Seville, also a practising lawyer bass Francesco Bussani
Basilio, music master tenor Michael Kelly
Don Curzio, judge tenor Michael Kelly
Barbarina, Antonio's daughter soprano Anna Gottlieb
Antonio, the Count's gardener, Susanna's uncle bass Francesco Bussani
Chorus of peasants, villagers, and servants
[edit] SynopsisThe Marriage of Figaro is a continuation of the plot of The Barber of Seville several years later, and recounts a single "day of madness" (la folle giornata) in the palace of the Count Almaviva near Seville, Spain. Rosina is now the Countess; Dr. Bartolo is seeking revenge against Figaro for thwarting his plans to marry Rosina himself; and Count Almaviva has degenerated from the romantic youth of Barber into a scheming, bullying, skirt-chasing baritone. Having gratefully given Figaro a job as head of his servant-staff, he is now persistently trying to obtain the favors of Figaro's bride-to-be, Susanna. He keeps finding excuses to delay the civil part of the wedding of his two servants, which is arranged for this very day. Figaro, Susanna, and the Countess conspire to embarrass the Count and expose his scheming. He responds by trying to legally compel Figaro to marry a woman old enough to be his mother, but it turns out at the last minute that she really is his mother. Through Figaro's and Susanna's clever manipulations, the Count's love for his Countess is finally restored.
Place: Count Almaviva's estate, Aguas-Frescas, three leagues outside Seville, Spain.[16]
[edit] Act 1
Act 1: Cherubino hides behind Susanna's chair as the Count arrives.A partly furnished room, with a chair in the centre.
Figaro is happily measuring the space where the bridal bed will fit while Susanna is trying on her wedding bonnet in front of the mirror (in the present day, a more traditional French floral wreath or a modern veil are often substituted, often in combination with a bonnet, so as to accommodate what Susanna happily describes as her wedding "capellino"). (Duet: Cinque, dieci, venti, trenta – "Five, ten, twenty, thirty"). Figaro is quite pleased with their new room; Susanna far less so. She is bothered by its proximity to the Count's chambers: it seems he has been making advances toward her and plans on exercising his "droit de seigneur", the purported feudal right of a lord to bed a servant girl on her wedding night before her husband can sleep with her. The Count had the right abolished when he married Rosina, but he now wants to reinstate it. Figaro is livid and plans to outwit the Count (Cavatina: Se vuol ballare, signor contino – "If you want to dance, sir Count").
Figaro departs, and Dr. Bartolo arrives with Marcellina, his old housekeeper. Marcellina has hired Bartolo as her counsel, since Figaro had once promised to marry her if he should default on a loan she had made to him, and she intends to enforce that promise. Bartolo, still irked at Figaro for having facilitated the union of the Count and Rosina (in The Barber of Seville), promises, in comical lawyer-speak, to help Marcellina (aria: La vendetta – "Vengeance").
Bartolo departs, Susanna returns, and Marcellina and Susanna share an exchange of very politely delivered sarcastic insults (duet: Via, resti servita, madama brillante – "After you, brilliant madam"). Susanna triumphs in the exchange by congratulating her rival on her impressive age. The older woman departs in a fury.
Cherubino then arrives and, after describing his emerging infatuation with all women and particularly with his "beautiful godmother" the Countess (aria: Non so più cosa son – "I don't know anymore what I am"), asks for Susanna's aid with the Count. It seems the Count is angry with Cherubino's amorous ways, having discovered him with the gardener's daughter, Barbarina, and plans to punish him. Cherubino wants Susanna to ask the Countess to intercede on his behalf. When the Count appears, Cherubino hides behind a chair, not wanting to be seen alone with Susanna. The Count uses the opportunity of finding Susanna alone to personally step up his demands for favours from her, including financial inducements to sell herself to him. As Basilio, the slimy music teacher, arrives, the Count, not wanting to be caught alone with Susanna, hides behind the chair. Cherubino leaves that hiding place just in time, and jumps onto the chair while Susanna scrambles to cover him with a dress.
When Basilio starts to gossip about Cherubino's obvious attraction to the Countess, the Count angrily leaps from his hiding place. Lifting the dress from the chair he finds Cherubino. The young man is only saved from punishment by the entrance of the peasants of the Count's estate, this entrance being a preemptive attempt by Figaro to commit the Count to a formal gesture symbolizing the promise of Susanna's entering into the marriage unsullied. The Count evades Figaro's plan by postponing the gesture. The Count says that he forgives Cherubino, but he dispatches him to Seville for army duty. Figaro gives Cherubino advice about his new, harsh, military life from which women will be totally excluded (aria: Non più andrai – "No more gallivanting").[17]
[edit] Act 2A handsome room with an alcove, a dressing room on the left, a door in the background (leading to the servants' quarters) and a window at the side.
The Countess laments her husband's infidelity. (aria: Porgi, amor, qualche ristoro – "Grant, love, some comfort"). Susanna comes in to prepare the Countess for the day. She responds to the Countess's questions by telling her that the Count is not trying to "seduce" her, he is merely offering her a monetary contract in return for her affection. Figaro enters and explains his plan to distract the Count with anonymous letters warning him of adulterers. He has already sent one to the Count (via Basilio) that indicates the Countess has a rendezvous that evening of her own. They hope that the Count will be too busy looking for imaginary adulterers to interfere with Figaro's and Susanna's wedding. Figaro additionally advises the Countess to keep Cherubino around by dressing him as a girl. Figaro leaves.
Cherubino arrives, eager to be dressed up by the Countess and Susanna. Susanna urges him to sing the song he wrote for the Countess (aria: Voi che sapete che cosa è amor – "You ladies who know what love is, is it what I'm suffering from?"). After the song, they proceed to attire him in women's clothes (aria of Susanna: Venite, inginocchiatevi! – "Come, kneel down before me"). At this time, the Countess sees Cherubino's military commission, and notes that the Count was in such a hurry that he forgot to seal it with his signet ring (which was necessary to make it an official document). Susanna returns to her room for some clothing in which to dress Cherubino. While the Countess and Cherubino are waiting for Susanna to come back, they suddenly hear the Count arriving. Cherubino hides in the closet. The Count demands to be allowed into the room and the Countess reluctantly unlocks the door. The Count enters and hears a noise from the closet. He tries to open it, but it is locked. The Countess tells him it is only Susanna, trying on her wedding dress. The Count shouts for her to identify herself by her voice, but the Countess orders her to be silent. At this moment, Susanna re-enters unobserved, quickly realises what's going on, and hides behind a couch (Trio: Susanna, or via sortite! – "Susanna, come out!"). Furious and suspicious, the Count leaves, with the Countess, in search of tools to force the closet door open. As they leave, he locks all the bedroom doors to prevent the intruder from escaping. Cherubino and Susanna emerge from their hiding places, and Cherubino escapes by jumping through the window into the garden. Susanna then takes his place in the closet, vowing to make the Count look foolish. (duet: Aprite, presto, aprite – "Open the door, quickly!").
The Count and Countess return. The Countess desperately admits that Cherubino is hidden in the closet. The raging Count draws his sword, promising to kill Cherubino on the spot, but when the door is opened, they both find to their astonishment only Susanna. The Count demands an explanation; the Countess tells him it is a practical joke, to test his trust in her. Shamed by his jealousy, the Count begs for forgiveness. When the Count presses about the anonymous letter, Susanna and the Countess reveal that the letter was written by Figaro, and then delivered through Basilio. Figaro then arrives and tries to start the wedding festivities, but the Count berates him with questions about the anonymous note. Just as the Count is starting to run out of questions, Antonio the gardener arrives, complaining that a man has jumped out of the window and broken his flowerpots. The Count immediately realizes that the jumping fugitive was Cherubino, but Figaro claims it was he himself who jumped out the window, and fakes a foot-injury. Antonio brings forward a paper which, he says, was dropped by the escaping man. The Count orders Figaro to prove he was the jumper by identifying the paper (which is, in fact, Cherubino's appointment to the army). Figaro is able to do this because of the cunning teamwork of the two women. His victory is, however, short-lived; Marcellina, Bartolo, and Basilio enter, bringing charges against Figaro and demanding that he honor his contract to marry Marcellina. The Count happily postpones the wedding in order to investigate the charge.
[edit] Act 3A rich hall, with two thrones, prepared for the wedding ceremony.
The Count mulls over the confusing situation. At the urging of the Countess, Susanna enters and gives a false promise to meet the Count later that night in the garden (duet: Crudel, perché finora – "Cruel girl, why did you make me wait so long"). As Susanna leaves, the Count overhears her telling Figaro that he has already won the case. Realizing that he is being tricked (aria: Hai già vinta la causa ... Vedrò mentr'io sospiro – "You've already won the case?" ... "Shall I, while sighing, see"), he resolves to make Figaro pay by forcing him to marry Marcellina.
Figaro's trial follows, and the judgment is that Figaro must marry Marcellina. Figaro argues that he cannot get married without his parents' permission, and that he does not know who his parents are, because he was stolen from them when he was a baby. The ensuing discussion reveals that Figaro is Rafaello, the long-lost illegitimate son of Bartolo and Marcellina. A touching scene of reconciliation occurs. During the celebrations, Susanna enters with a payment to release Figaro from his debt to Marcellina. Seeing Figaro and Marcellina in celebration together, Susanna mistakenly believes that Figaro now prefers Marcellina over her. She has a tantrum and slaps Figaro's face. Figaro explains, and Susanna, realizing her mistake, joins the celebration. Bartolo, overcome with emotion, agrees to marry Marcellina that evening in a double wedding (sextet: Riconosci in questo amplesso una madre – "Recognize a mother in this hug").
All leave, and the Countess, alone, ponders the loss of her happiness (aria: Dove sono i bei momenti – "Where are they, the beautiful moments"). Susanna enters and updates her regarding the plan to trap the Count. The Countess dictates a love letter for Susanna to give to the Count, which suggests that he meet her that night, "under the pines". The letter instructs the Count to return the pin which fastens the letter. (duet: Sull'aria...che soave zeffiretto – "On the breeze… What a gentle little Zephyr").
A chorus of young peasants, among them Cherubino disguised as a girl, arrives to serenade the Countess. The Count arrives with Antonio, and, discovering the page, is enraged. His anger is quickly dispelled by Barbarina (a peasant girl, Antonio's daughter), who publicly recalls that he had once offered to give her anything she wants, and asks for Cherubino's hand in marriage. Thoroughly embarrassed, the Count allows Cherubino to stay.
The act closes with the double wedding, during the course of which Susanna delivers her letter to the Count. Figaro watches the Count prick his finger on the pin, and laughs, unaware that the love-note is from Susanna herself. As the curtain drops, the two newlywed couples rejoice.
[edit] Act 4The garden, with two pavilions. Night.
Following the directions in the letter, the Count has sent the pin back to Susanna, giving it to Barbarina. Unfortunately, Barbarina has lost it (aria: L'ho perduta, me meschina – "I lost it, poor me"). Figaro and Marcellina see Barbarina, and Figaro asks her what she is doing. When he hears the pin is Susanna's, he is overcome with jealousy, especially as he recognises the pin to be the one that fastened the letter to the Count. Thinking that Susanna is meeting the Count behind his back, Figaro complains to his mother, and swears to be avenged on the Count and Susanna, and on all unfaithful wives. Marcellina urges caution, but Figaro will not listen. Figaro rushes off, and Marcellina resolves to inform Susanna of Figaro's intentions. Marcellina sings of how the wild beasts get along with each other, but rational humans can't. (aria: Il capro e la capretta – "The billy-goat and the she-goat"). (This aria and Basilio's ensuing aria are usually omitted from performances due to their relative unimportance, both musically and dramatically; however some recordings include them.)
Actuated by jealousy, Figaro tells Bartolo and Basilio to come to his aid when he gives the signal. Basilio comments on Figaro's foolishness and claims he was once as frivoulous as Figaro was. He tells a tale of how he was given common sense by "Donna Flemma" and ever since he has been aware of the wiles of women (aria: In quegli anni – "In youthful years"). They exit, leaving Figaro alone. Figaro muses on the inconstancy of women (aria: Aprite un po' quegli occhi – "Open your eyes"). Susanna and the Countess arrive, dressed in each other's clothes. Marcellina is with them, having informed Susanna of Figaro's suspicions and plans. After they discuss the plan, Marcellina and the Countess leave, and Susanna teases Figaro by singing a love song to her beloved within Figaro's hearing (aria: Deh, vieni, non tardar – "Oh come, don't delay"). Figaro is hiding behind a bush and, thinking the song is for the Count, becomes increasingly jealous.
The Countess arrives in Susanna's dress. Cherubino shows up and starts teasing "Susanna" (really the Countess), endangering the plan. Fortunately, the Count gets rid of him by striking out in the dark. His punch actually ends up hitting Figaro, but the point is made and Cherubino runs off.
The Count now begins making earnest love to "Susanna" (really the Countess), and gives her a jewelled ring. They go offstage together, where the Countess dodges him, hiding in the dark. Onstage, meanwhile, the real Susanna enters, wearing the Countess' clothes. Figaro mistakes her for the Countess, and starts to tell her of the Count's intentions, but he suddenly recognizes his bride in disguise. He plays along with the joke by pretending to be in love with "my lady", and inviting her to make love right then and there. Susanna, fooled, loses her temper and slaps him many times. Figaro finally lets on that he has recognized Susanna's voice, and they make peace, resolving to conclude the comedy together.
The Count, unable to find "Susanna", enters frustrated. Figaro gets his attention by loudly declaring his love for "the Countess" (really Susanna). The enraged Count calls for his people and for weapons: his servant is seducing his wife. Bartolo, Basilio and Antonio enter with torches as, one by one, the Count drags out Cherubino, Barbarina, Marcellina and the "Countess" from behind the pavilion.
All beg him to forgive Figaro and the "Countess", but he loudly refuses, repeating "no" at the top of his voice, until finally the real Countess re-enters and reveals her true identity. The Count, seeing the ring he had given her, realizes that the supposed Susanna he was trying to seduce, was actually his wife. Ashamed and remorseful, he kneels and pleads for forgiveness himself (Contessa, perdono – "Countess, forgive me"). The Countess, more kind than he (Piú docile io sono – "I am more kind"), forgives her husband and all are contented. The opera ends in a night-long celebration.
[edit] Instrumentation
Libretto 1786The Marriage of Figaro is scored for two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, timpani, and strings; the recitativi are accompanied by a keyboard instrument, usually a fortepiano or a harpsichord, often joined by a cello. The instrumentation of the recitativi is not given in the score, so it is up to the conductor and the performers. A typical performance usually lasts around 3 hours.
[edit] Frequently omitted numbersTwo arias from act 4 are usually omitted: one in which Marcellina regrets that people (unlike animals) abuse their mates (Il capro e la capretta), and one in which Don Basilio tells how he saved himself from several dangers in his youth, by using the skin of an ass for shelter and camouflage (In quegli anni).
[edit] Musical styleIn spite of all the sorrow, anxiety, and anger the characters experience, only one number is in a minor key: Barbarina's brief aria L'ho perduta at the beginning of act 4, where she mourns the loss of the pin and worries about what her master will say when she fails to deliver it, is written in F minor. Other than this the entire opera is set in major keys.
Mozart uses the sound of two horns playing together to represent cuckoldry, in the act 4 aria Aprite un po quelli'ochi. Verdi later used the same device in Ford's aria in Falstaff.
[edit] Critical discussionLorenzo Da Ponte wrote a preface to the first published version of the libretto, in which he boldly claimed that he and Mozart had created a new form of music drama:
"In spite … of every effort … to be brief, the opera will not be one of the shortest to have appeared on our stage, for which we hope sufficient excuse will be found in the variety of threads from which the action of this play [i.e. Beaumarchais's] is woven, the vastness and grandeur of the same, the multiplicity of the musical numbers that had to be made in order not to leave the actors too long unemployed, to diminish the vexation and monotony of long recitatives, and to express with varied colours the various emotions that occur, but above all in our desire to offer as it were a new kind of spectacle to a public of so refined a taste and understanding."[18]
Charles Rosen (in The Classical Style) proposes to take Da Ponte's words quite seriously, noting the "richness of the ensemble writing",[19] which carries forward the action in a far more dramatic way than recitatives would. Rosen also suggests that the musical language of the classical style was adapted by Mozart to convey the drama: many sections of the opera musically resemble sonata form; by movement through a sequence of keys, they build up and resolve musical tension, providing a natural musical reflection of the drama. As Rosen says:
"The synthesis of accelerating complexity and symmetrical resolution which was at the heart of Mozart's style enabled him to find a musical equivalent for the great stage works which were his dramatic models. The Marriage of Figaro in Mozart's version is the dramatic equal, and in many respects the superior, of Beaumarchais's work."[20]
This is demonstrated in the closing numbers of all four acts: as the drama escalates, Mozart eschews recitativi altogether and opts for increasingly sophisticated writing, bringing his characters on stage, revelling in a complex weave of solo and ensemble singing in multiple combinations, and climaxing in seven- and eight-voice tutti for acts 2 and 4.
[edit] Other uses of the melodies Overture to The Marriage of Figaro
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The Marriage of Figaro
No. 11 Cavatina "Porgi, amor"
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A phrase from The Marriage of Figaro, with the words Così fan tutte le belle, was later reused in the overture to Così fan tutte. Figaro's aria Non più andrai is used as the regimental slow march of the Coldstream Guards of the British Army and is quoted in the second act of Mozart's opera Don Giovanni. Mozart "recycled" the music of the Agnus Dei of his Krönungsmesse (Coronation Mass) for the Countess' Dove sono, in C major instead of the original F major. The same motif was used in his early bassoon concerto. Franz Liszt quoted the opera in his Fantasy on Themes from Mozart's Marriage of Figaro and Don Giovanni.
In 1819, Henry R. Bishop wrote an adaptation of the opera in English, translating from Beaumarchais's play and re-using some of Mozart's music, while adding some of his own.[21]
[edit] RecordingsMain article: The Marriage of Figaro discography
[edit] See alsoList of operas by Mozart
[edit] Notes and references^ Andrew Steptoe: The Mozart–Da Ponte operas: the cultural and musical background to Le nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni, and Così fan tutte, p. 170. Oxford University Press 1990. ISBN 9780198162216 (A motif from the overture appears to the Count's words Parta, parta il damerino! in bars 101–103 and 105–107 of the terzetto Cosa sento! in act 1.)
^ Nathan Broder. Essay on the Opera in the Schirmer edition
^ a b Deutsch 1965, p. 274
^ Deutsch 1965, p. 272 Deutsch says Mozart played a harpsichord; for conflicting testimony, see below.
^ These were: 3, 8, 24 May; 4 July, 28 August, 22 (perhaps 23) of September, 15 November, 18 December (Deutsch 1965, p. 272)
^ 9 May 1786, quoted from Deutsch 1965, p. 272
^ Quoted in Deutsch 1965, p. 278
^ From Kazinczy's 1828 autobiography; quoted in Deutsch 1965
^ The letter, to Marianne von Genzinger, is printed in Geiringer 1982, pp. 90–92
^ Performance dates: 29 and 31 August; 2, 11, 19 September; 3, 9, 24 October; 5, 13, 27 November; 8 January 1790; 1 February; 1, 7, 9, 19, 30 May; 22 June; 24, 26 July; 22 August; 3, 25 September; 11 October; 4, 20 January 1791; 9 February; from Deutsch 1965, p. 272
^ Dexter Edge, "Mozart's Viennese Copyists" (PhD diss., University of Southern California, 2001), 1718–34.
^ "Opera Statistics for the five seasons 2005/06 to 2009/10". Operabase. http://operabase.com/top.cgi?lang=en#opera. Retrieved 8 May 2011.
^ Robinson (1986) p. 173; Chanan (1999) p. 63; Singher and Singher (2003) p. 150
^ Jander, Steane, Forbes, Harris, and Waldman (2001)
^ See Jackson (2005) pp. 458–459; Gutman (2001) p. 704
^ Thomas, Hugh (2006). "Ten – Leaving Madrid.". Beaumarchais in Seville: an intermezzo.. New Haven: Yale University Press. pp. 143. ISBN 9780300121032. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=r5o4oTlIoHsC&pg=PA143&lpg=PA143&source=web&ots=9uMnfYVXo5&sig=qHxumt3AVqzVz7YXutt9dZc2vhk&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=2&ct=result#PPA143,M1. Retrieved 27 August 2008. Synopsis based on Melitz (1921).
^ This piece became so popular that Mozart himself, in the final act of his next opera Don Giovanni, transformed the aria into table music played by a woodwind ensemble, and alluded to by Leporello as "rather well-known sounds".
^ English translation taken from Deutsch 1965, 273–274
^ Rosen 1997, 182
^ Rosen 1997, 183
^ Henry R. Bishop (1819). The Marriage of Figaro: a comic opera in three acts. http://books.google.com/books?id=LR0CAAAAYAAJ. Full text online.
[edit] SourcesChanan, Michael (1999). From Handel to Hendrix: the composer in the public sphere. Verso. ISBN 1859847064
Deutsch, Otto Erich. Mozart: A Documentary Biography. Stanford University Press.
Geiringer, Karl; Irene Geiringer (1982). Haydn: A Creative Life in Music (3rd ed. ed.). University of California Press. xii, 403. ISBN 0520043162.
Gutman, Robert W. (2001). Mozart: A Cultural Biography. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 0156011719
Jackson, Roland John (2005). Performance practice: a dictionary-guide for musicians. Routledge. ISBN 0415941393
Jander, Owen; Steane, J.B.; Forbes, Elizabeth; Harris, Ellen T.; and Waldman, Gerald (2001). "Baritone" and "Mezzo-soprano [mezzo]", in Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell (eds.), The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd edition. Macmillan. ISBN 0333608003.
Landon, H. C. Robbins; David Wyn Jones (1988). Haydn: His Life and Music. Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0253372659.
Melitz, Leo (1921). The Opera Goer's Complete Guide (translated by Richard Sanger. Dodd, Mead and Co.
Robinson, Paul A. (1986). Opera & ideas: from Mozart to Strauss. Cornell University Press. ISBN 0801494281
Rosen, Charles (1997). The Classical Style: Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven (2nd ed. ed.). New York: W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 0-393-31712-9.
Singher, Martial and Singher, Eta (2003). An Interpretive Guide to Operatic Arias: A Handbook for Singers, Coaches, Teachers, and Students. Penn State Press. ISBN 0271023546
[edit] External links Italian Wikisource has original text related to this article:
Le nozze di Figaro
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Le nozze di Figaro
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: The Marriage of Figaro
Le nozze di Figaro: Score and critical report (German) in the Neue Mozart-Ausgabe
Complete libretto
Full orchestral score (German/Italian)
English Translation
Italian/English side by side translation
The Marriage of Figaro: Free scores at the International Music Score Library Project.
Complete recording at Mozart Archiv
Teaching material & analysis from the Metropolitan Opera
Mozart's house in Vienna where he composed The Marriage of Figaro (+ video)
Synopsis of The Marriage of Figaro from the English Touring Opera
Photos of 21st century productions of The Marriage of Figaro in Germany and Switzerland (German)
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