Abessalom and Eteri
| Work data | |
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| Title: | Abessalom and Eteri |
| Original title: | აბესალომ და ეთერი (Abessalom da Eteri) |
| Shape: | Opera in four acts |
| Original language: | Georgian |
| Music: | Sakaria Paliashvili |
| Libretto : | Petre Miranashvili |
| Literary source: | Georgian folk epic Eteriani |
| Premiere: | February 21, 1919 |
| Place of premiere: | Tbilisi |
| Playing time: | about 2 hours |
| Place and time of the action: | medieval Georgian royal court in Kartlien |
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Abessalom and Eteri ( Georgian აბესალომ და ეთერი Abessalom da Eteri ) is a Georgian opera composed by Sakaria Paliashvili between 1909 and 1918 . The premiere took place on February 21, 1919 in the Georgian National Theater in Tbilisi . A motif of the composition was also incorporated into the national anthem of Georgia .
Emergence
Paliaschwili studied from 1900 to 1903 as a scholarship holder at the Moscow Conservatory with Sergei Taneyev . Together with his teacher, he tried to find a musical connection to the European West and in 1909 began to compose on his opera Abessalom and Eteri . The libretto was written by the teacher and writer Petre Mirianashvili (1860–1940) based on the Georgian folk tale Eteriani . The main theme is formed from a huge tone poem about love and death, which turns into tragedy. A love that is unfulfilled due to social inequality, transformed into envy, ultimately leads to the misfortune and death of the main characters. In the opera, Paliashvili skilfully merged national Georgian folk tunes with classical European music and thus created the Georgian national opera par excellence.
action
first act
The peasant girl Eteri, who has run away from her wicked stepmother, sits deploring her lot in the forest. She hears the chanting of the hunters of the royal entourage from afar. Prince Abessalom and his first courtier Murman are on the hunt. Eteri follows the sound of the chant and meets Murman first. Frightened by this sudden encounter, she runs away in the other direction and falls straight into the prince's hands. Abessalom immediately falls in love with the grace and beauty of the girl, and both commit to a future together. But the courtier Murman is also inflamed by the peasant girl and does not dare to express his feelings for Eteri. He is withdrawing for the time being. In the second picture, Eteri shares her love for the prince with her stepmother and leaves her home. The flaring envy of the prince's higher position, which makes his own love pointless, gives birth to Murman's secret desire to separate Eteri from Abessalom by all means. The return of the hunting party to the castle concludes the first act.
Second act
The quickly scheduled wedding of Prince Abessalom to Eteri is celebrated at the castle. After the procession and the pompous choir performance of the court, King Abio blesses love with a powerful aria. A solemn chorus from the entire court underpins the scene. Abessalom and Eteri swear eternal love and loyalty. Tandaruch, the king's general, is appointed to begin the toasts. He implores Eteri to beware of Murman's intrigues. Abessalom invites the late Murman to dinner. His sister Marichi sings about the bride and her beauty. Murman sold his existence to the dark forces. He presents his wedding present in a precious box: an old Assyrian necklace, which brings death to anyone who wears it. Eteri takes the chain. The disaster is initiated immediately: she begins to feel uncomfortable and has to leave the party. Despite the misfortune, King Abio tries to keep the guests entertained and orders Marichi to continue the ceremony with her singing. The act ends with dancing and singing by the court.
Third act
Great misfortune breaks out in the palace - Eteri is caught by an incurable disease, no doctor can find the cause of the suffering. Her days seem numbered, she is badly ailing, pale as death, and already seems numb to the princes. Abessalom falls into despair over his brief happiness. The entire state mourns the development. Queen Natela advises her son not to leave Eteri at court and to let her go - perhaps the surroundings of her old home and the mountain air there will bring her back to health. Abessalom agrees to let Eteri go. Murman has achieved his goal - after a short time he brings Eteri to himself.
Fourth act
In the tower of Murman's palace, Eteri, contrary to expectations, quickly gets well and notices the great care that Murman offers her. But she feels in the hand of a stranger and secretly doubts Abessalom's love. Murman's mother Naana and the sisters appreciate Eterni in every way. Prince Abessalom finds out about this and has meanwhile been unable to cope with his separation from Eteri. Already weakened as a result of his unfulfilled love, he wishes to visit Eteri. In order to get rid of Murman, he sends him to Veziri to get the water of immortality for him, which he needs to gain his powers. Murman reluctantly agrees to the request. Queen Natela begs Eteri to see Abessalom in the hope that the sick son will feel better. Eteri refuses because she is angry that she was left alone in her suffering and rejects both of them. The persuasion of Marichi, who was also present, finally convinced her to meet Abessalom again. The prince, weakened by a fever, recognizes Eteri and asks her to return to Murman's protection. He dies in her arms. In a fit of guilt and grief, Eteri kills herself with a golden knife that the prince had given her as a present at the beginning of their love. Murman later returns to the place of burial and is buried alive by servants. After a year, two entwined roses grow out of the graves, between which a violet blooms.
Instrumentation
The orchestral line-up for the opera includes the following instruments:
- Woodwinds : piccolo , two flutes , two oboes , English horn , two clarinets , two bassoons
- Brass : four horns , three trumpets , three trombones , tuba
- Timpani , percussion : cymbals , triangle , tambourine , tam-tam , bass drum , glockenspiel , diplipito , doli , daira
- Harp , two mandolins
- Strings
literature
- Horst Seeger: The great lexicon of the opera. Manfred Pawlak, Berlin 1985, p. 13.
Web links
- Abesalom da Eteri : Sheet Music and Audio Files in the International Music Score Library Project
Individual evidence
- ^ Sigrid Neef : Handbook of Russian and Soviet Opera. Henschelverlag Art and Society, Bärenreiter 1989. ISBN 3-7618-0925-5 , p. 315 f.