Pimpinone or The Unequal Marriage
| Work data | |
|---|---|
| Original title: | Pimpinone or The Unequal Marriage |
| Shape: | Intermezzo giocoso in three acts |
| Original language: | German Italian |
| Music: | Georg Philipp Telemann |
| Libretto : | Johann Philipp Praetorius |
| Literary source: | Pietro Pariati |
| Premiere: | 1725 |
| Place of premiere: | Hamburg |
| people | |
Pimpinone or the unequal marriage ( intermezzo giocoso for soprano and bass or baritone in three acts ) is a musical comedy by Georg Philipp Telemann and classified in the Telemann catalog of works as TWV 21:15. The libretto wrote Johann Philipp Praetorius .
Emergence
The original conception as a funny interlude for Handel - Opera Tamerlano consisted translated into German recitatives of the " intermezzo comico musicale " Pimpinone by Tomaso Albinoni and Pietro Pariati dating back to 1708. The aria and duet texts were taken in the Italian version, to the importance of Italian as the language of opera, and two German duets and two new Italian arias added. The resulting libretto was completely re-composed by Telemann. In today's performances, however, the arias are usually also translated into German to give the piece additional comedy.
On September 27, 1725, Pimpinone was premiered together with Tamerlano at the Hamburg Gänsemarkt theater . The audience was enthusiastic, the work was Telemann's greatest stage success. Two years later, Praetorius and Telemann wrote a sequel under the title The Amours of Vespetta or the Galan in the Box (TWV 21:22). The music for this is lost.
In the 19th century Pimpinone disappeared from the stage and was forgotten, only to be rediscovered during the Telemann renaissance of the 20th century.
Content of the piece
Vespetta, pretty, intelligent, but coming from a poor background, earns her living as a maid and sees in marrying Pimpinone, an old but well-to-do citizen, an opportunity to improve financially. With her beauty and the assurance that she will conscientiously look after the household, she soon succeeds in beguiling the lonely Pimpinone. Although this tries to put her to the test, she manages to remove all doubts. Pimpinone asked for her hand and offered a bridal outfit of 10,000 thalers. After the marriage, however, Vespetta shows her true colors. She is moody, goes out often and is not at all ready to fulfill her duties as a devoted wife. She justifies this with the fact that the employment relationship has expired through the marriage and she is now entitled to all freedoms. Pimpinone, meanwhile regretting the marriage, are tied because the emancipated Vespetta threatens him that if he does not tolerate her whims, he will have to pay off her dowry .
- 1st intermezzo
- Aria: who wants me? I'm a maid
- Recitative: I'm looking for happiness
- Aria: speak politely, sing sweetly
- Recitative: But what kind of pleasure can this arouse?
- Aria: How it can confuse me completely
- Recitative: But what do you think you are doing now
- Duet: My heart delights in the chest
- 2. Intermezzo
- Recitative: Vespetta, do you want to leave me?
- Andante & Arioso: I'm in the service
- Recitative: Shut up, shut up, you did everything right
- Aria: Just look at the fire
- Recitative: He just keep silent!
- Aria: I wasn't born ugly
- Recitative: This is how it works!
- Aria & Duet: Give me your hand, what a joy!
- 3. Intermezzo
- Recitative: I want to go wherever I like
- Aria: I know how to talk
- Recitative: For this time the outcome is unaffected
- Aria: I want to do it like the others
- Recitative: But how if I wanted to do it that way too?
- Aria & Duet: Wilde Bumblebee, Evil Angel!
- Recitative: You stubborn donkey, look!
- Aria & Duet: Be silent in the future, silly drip!
The story of the rich old man who is ensnared by a young woman and then tricked into being is one of the most processed subjects for the stage. Variants of the theme are, for example, Pergolesi's La serva padrona , Donizetti's Don Pasquale and Richard Strauss ' Die Schweigsame Frau . Telemann may have had private ulterior motives when writing the play, because it is known that he himself often quarreled with his wife, who had a relationship with a Swedish officer.
See also
Web links
- Libretto from 1725 as a digitized version in the list of prints published in the German-speaking area of the 18th century . in the German Digital Library
Individual evidence
- ↑ Carl Dahlhaus / Sieghart Döhring (ed.): Piper's Enzyklopädie des Musiktheater. Opera - operetta - musical - ballet . tape 6 . Piper, Munich 1997 ( full text in the Google book search).
- ^ Romain Rolland: Musical Tour Through the Land of the Past . 1922 ( full text in the Google book search).
- ↑ Description on the website of Oper Frankfurt (accessed on April 28, 2011) ( Memento from April 2, 2010 in the Internet Archive )