Ariadne auf Naxos (Benda)

For the opera by Richard Strauss, see Ariadne auf Naxos.

Template:Benda operas Ariadne auf Naxos (Ariadne on Naxos) is a duodrama in one act by composer Georg Benda with a German libretto by Johann Christian Brandes. The opera's first performance was at the Schloss Friedenstein, Gotha, on 27 January 1775.

Historical background and musical analysis

When Ariadne auf Naxos first premiered it was hailed by critics as the definitive work of the then new genre known as German melodrama. In melodrama, the attempt is to merge spoken dialogue with music, making it the only form of opera with no singing. The text of Ariadne auf Naxos was written by Brandes for his wife Charlotte, who was a lauded thespian in Germany known for her passionate performances. She played the part of Ariadne in the initial production. Brandes adapted a cantata by Heinrich Wilhelm von Gerstenberg as a basis for his libretto. Contemporary music historians have also suggested that Brandes may have been influenced by Virgil's Aeneid as Brandes' version of Ariadne has no Bacchus to redeem Ariadne and she instead commits suicide after seeing Theseus sail away.

In 1774, Brandes gave his text to Benda, who responded with a brilliant musical composition. Critics at the time praised the work for its incredible amount of visual imagery in the poetry with an orchestration of lush tone painting and thematic integration that merged perfectly with the spoken declamations of the libretto. The original production was also the first German theater production to use authentic historical costumes.

Mozart attended a production of Ariadne auf Naxos and became a great admirer of Benda's compositions. In 1778 he wrote to his father expressing the desire to compose a duodrama entitled Semiramide on the model of Benda's Ariadne auf Naxos and Medea. He believed at the time that melodrama was the way to solve the problems of operatic recitative. However, Mozart never got around to creating a duodrama. He did create a miniture melodrama within his unfinished operetta, Zaide, written in 1780. Other composers who admired and were influenced by Benda's melodramas include Carl Maria von Weber and Ludwig van Beethoven.

Performance history

Although not performed often, Benda's Ariadne has remained in the performance repetoire since it first premiered and a number of recordings of the work have been made. Most recently, the work was performed in August 2005 at the Edinburgh International Festival in a double bill with Mozart's Zaide. The cast included Dagmar Manzel as Ariadne and Rainer Trost as Theseus. Charles Mackerras conducted the English National Opera orchestra.

Roles

Role	Voice type	Premiere Cast, January 27, 1775 (Conductor: – )
Ariadne	speaking role	Charlotte Brandes
Theseus	speaking role

Synopsis

Ariadne is sleeping on the shore of the island of Naxos, as Theseus, her lover, looks down on her resting form. Theseus feels there is a destiny placed upon him and feels that he can not stay tied to Ariadne and fulfill that destiny. He slips away from Ariadne on his ship, leaving her stranded alone on Naxos. Ariadne awakes to find herself deserted by the faithless Theseus. Ariadne despairs and commits suicide.

Discography

• Benda Melodramas: Ariadne auf Naxos/Pygmalion with conductor Christian Benda and the Prague Chamber Orchestra. Cast: Brigitte Quadlbauer (Ariadne) and Peter Uray (Theseus). Released in 1996 on the Naxos label.

• Melodrama: Carl Eberwein's Proserpina and Georg Benda's Ariadne auf Naxos with conductor Peter Gulke and the Symphony Orchestra Wuppertal. Released in 1997 on the Gold label.