Alcide al bivio

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Work data
Title: Alcide al bivio
Scene V. Alcide: “Edonie ah che miro! Son fuor di me. La Madre mia. "

Scene V.
Alcide: “Edonie ah che miro!
Son fuor di me. La Madre mia. "

Shape: Festa teatrale
Original language: Italian
Music: First setting by Johann Adolph Hasse
Libretto : Pietro Metastasio
Premiere: October 8, 1760
Place of premiere: Vienna
people
  • Alcide ( Heracles ), young man
  • Fronimo , his tutor
  • Edonide (Εὐδαιμονία), goddess of pleasure and lust
  • Aretea (Ἀρετή), goddess of virtue and valor
  • Iride ( Iris ), messenger of the gods of Juno and Jupiter
  • Entourage of Edonide and Aretea, genii, heroes, nymphs, guests

Alcide al bivio is a libretto for a Festa teatrale in one act by Pietro Metastasio . It deals with the myth of Heracles at the Crossroads . It was performed for the first time in the setting by Johann Adolph Hasse on October 8, 1760 for the wedding of Archduke Joseph , later Emperor Joseph II, with Princess Isabella von Bourbon in the Redoutensaal of the Vienna Hofburg.

A German translation of the libretto by Johann Anton Koch appeared in 1774 under the name Alcides an dem Scheideweg in the sixth volume of his unfinished complete edition Des Herr Abbot Peter Metastasio Kayserl. Royal Court Poet's Dramatic Poems.

action

Image from the libretto, music by Johann Adolph Hasse, Vienna 1760
Title page of the libretto, music by Johann Adolph Hasse, Vienna 1760

"Che il giovanetto Alcide giunto alla maturità degli anni, e della ragione si trovasse nel pericoloso cimento di scegliere una delle opposte due strade, all quali nel tempo stesso lo invitavano a gara la Virtù, & il Piacere, fu allegori insegnamento d'antich , adottato dal più celebre tra Filosofi; & à servito di motivo al presente drammatico componinento.

Senos. Lib. II, Cap. I, delle Cose memorabili. "

“That the young man Alcide, when he came to the maturity of years and reason, found himself in the dangerous ordeal of having to choose between one of two opposing roads which at the same time invited him, between the path of virtue and that of pleasure choose was an allegorical symbol of the ancient sages adopted by the most famous among philosophers; and it served as the subject of the current drama. "

- Pietro Metastasio : Foreword from the libretto of the setting by Johann Adolph Hasse, Vienna 1760

The following table of contents is based on the libretto of the setting by Johann Adolph Hasse , published in Leipzig in 1777 . The plot is divided into twelve scenes.

Scene 1. At a fork in the road, the young Alcide asks his tutor Fronimo where he should turn his steps. Fronimo advises him to look for clues in his own heart. He goes away.

Scene 2. Alcide takes a closer look at the two paths. One looks friendly, but doesn't irritate him. He likes the other one more, although at first glance it seems daunting. After a while he decides on the second way.

Scene 3. Edonide, the goddess of pleasure and pleasure, appears and warns him of the chosen path of misery. She advises him to follow her and spend his days in joys and jokes. When Alcides asked where her preferred path would lead, she replied that it was the royal castle of joys.

Scene 4. Edonide shows Alcide her castle in a vision. Their beauty is celebrated by a choir of nymphs and love gods.

Scene 5. Aretea, the goddess of virtue and valor, appears. Edonide advises Alcide to flee. However, Alcide thinks he is seeing his mother. Aretea advises Alcide not to listen to Edonides' deceptions. Only she herself can create true bliss. She is rich in help in unhappiness and temperance in happiness. Edonide contradicts and explains to Alcide that he will then no longer have a moment of peace. After a long argument, Edonide finally gives up and flees.

Scene 6. Alcide is puzzled by Edonide's behavior. Aretea explains to him that Edonide is used to idleness and can no longer bear labor.

Scene 7. In a vision, Aretea shows Alcide her price. A choir of heroes and guardian spirits appears. Alcide assures Aretea that he wants to follow her path. She is leaving him.

Scene 8. Left alone, Alcide doubts his choice again.

Scene 9. Fronimo comes back and urges Alcide to decide.

Scene 10. Followers on both sides bring presents to Alcide. On the one hand, wealth, precious stones and gold beckon, on the other armor and weapons. When he finally decides on the second way, it is blocked by the servants of lust. However, he is not deterred and is ready to fight his way free.

Scene 11. A choir encourages Alcide. Edonide reappears and wishes to accompany him on the path of virtue. She has changed and also wants to be ruled by virtue. Aretea has heard her words and agrees. The desire for pleasure, like reason, is a gift from heaven. Both have to support each other. Together with Fronimo, they all join a quartet and sing about the new unity: “Where reason dictates desires, where pleasure is consecrated to virtue; There resides peace and serenity, There true, pure bliss! "

Scene 12. The messenger of the gods Iride comes on a rainbow and brings Alcide the blessing of the Olympian gods. A choir ends the work with good wishes for the ducal bride and groom.

history

In his foreword, Metastasio names the first chapter of the second book of Memorabilia ( Memories of Socrates ) by the Greek writer Xenophon as a historical source . The myth is told here in paragraphs 21–34.

The celebrations for the wedding of Archduke Joseph and Princess Isabella of Bourbon took place from October 8-10, 1760. Hasse's work was performed on the first evening. At the end of the celebrations, Christoph Willibald Gluck's Serenata Tetide was given. Singers Caterina Gabrielli and Giovanni Manzuoli took part in both performances .

Settings

The following composers set this libretto to music:

year composer premiere Performance location Remarks
1760 Johann Adolph Hasse October 8, 1760, Redoutensaal Vienna also on February 2, 1774 in the Kongelige Teater in Copenhagen ; 1777 in Leipzig ; 1781 again in Vienna (concert performance); 1883 in Dresden on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the composer's death, in German by KF Niese as Die Wahl des Herkules
1765 Nicola Conforto December 28, 1765, Palacio Ducal de Béjar Madrid in two acts
1778 Dmitri Stepanowitsch Bortnyansky 1778 Venice as Alcide in three acts
1778 Luciano Xavier Santos 5th July 1778, Palazzo Queluz Lisbon
1780 Giovanni Paisiello December 6 or November 25, 1780, Hermitage St. Petersburg
1790 Vincenzo Righini May 6, 1790, courtyard Koblenz Revised as a cantata on June 5, 1804 in Vienna
1809 Johann Simon Mayr 1809, Istituto Filarmonico Bergamo

Recordings and performances in recent times

  • Dmitri Stepanowitsch Bortnyansky :
    • 1998: CD. Orchester symphonique de chamber "Leopolis" de Lviv, Gloria Chamber Choir, Lwow, conductor: Jean-Pierre Loré. Singers: Natalya Datso (Alcide), Patrick Garayt (Fronimo), Marina Zagorulko (Edonide), Olga Pasitschnyk (Areta).
    • 2013/2014: Performances at the Odessa National Opera. Oriana Choir of the Center for Ukrainian Culture, Symphony Orchestra of the Odessa National Opera, conductor: Oksana Lyniv . Singers: Irina Berlisowa (Alcide), Wladislaw Goraij (Fronimo), Olena Kisteniowa (Edonide), Anastasia Holub (Aretea). A recording from 17./18. February 2014 was transferred to BR-Klassik on September 19, 2014 .
  • Johann Adolph Hasse :
    • 1998: Performance at the Handel Festival in Halle . La Stagione Frankfurt, Favorite and Capell Choir Leipzig, conductor: Michael Schneider . Singers: Arno Raunig (Alcide), Christian Elsner (Fronimo), Martina Rüping (Edonide), Heidrun Kordes (Aretea).
    • 2009: Performance of the Morningside Opera. Head: Mark Seto . Singers: Amber Youell (Alcide), Sean Parr (Fronimo), Brett Umlauf (Edonide), Brooke Bryant (Aretea).
  • Vincenzo Righini :
    • 1979/1993: CD. Coro e Orchestra della Radio Svizzera Italiana, conductor: Tito Gotti . Singers: William McKinney (Alcide), Robert Amis El Hage (Fronimo), Luciana Serra (Edonide), Sandra Browne (Aretea).

Web links

Commons : Alcide al bivio  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Digital copies

  1. ^ Johann Anton Koch: The abbot Peter Metastasio Kayserl. Royal Court Poet's Dramatic Poems, translated from Italian. Sixth volume. Krauss, Frankfurt and Leipzig in 1774 as digitization at the Munich digitization center .
  2. ↑ a b Libretto (Italian) of the Serenata by Johann Adolph Hasse, Vienna 1760 as a digitized version on Google Books .
  3. ↑ a b Libretto (Italian / German) of the Serenata by Johann Adolph Hasse, Leipzig 1777 as digitized version at the Berlin State Library .
  4. ↑ Score of the Serenata by Johann Adolph Hasse, Vienna 1760 as digitized version in the International Music Score Library Project .
  5. ^ Libretto (Italian) of the opera by Dmitri Stepanowitsch Bortnjanski as full text at Stanford University .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Don Neville:  Metastasio [Trapassi], Pietro (Antonio Domenico Bonaventura). In: Grove Music Online (English; subscription required).
  2. ↑ Metastasio, Pietro in Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart , p. 50861 ff (cf. MGG vol. 9, p. 229 ff.) Bärenreiter-Verlag 1986 ( digital library volume 60).
  3. ↑ Xenophon: Memorabilia. Original text at Wikisource
  4. ↑ Xenophon: Memorabilia. German translation by Otto Güthling in the Gutenberg-DE project
  5. ↑ 1752-1772 in the biography of Christoph Willibald Gluck on the website of the Gluck Research Center Salzburg, accessed on February 3, 2015.
  6. ↑ Alcide al bivio (Johann Adolf Hasse) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna , accessed on February 3, 2015.
  7. ↑ Alcide al Bivio (Johann Adolf Hasse) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna , accessed on February 2, 2015.
  8. ^ List of stage works by Johann Adolf Hasse based on MGG at Operone, accessed on September 29, 2014.
  9. ^ List of the stage works by Nicola Conforto based on the MGG from Operone, accessed on February 2, 2015.
  10. ↑ Alcide (Dmitry Stepanovic Bortnyansky) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna , accessed on February 2, 2015.
  11. ↑ Alcide al bivio (Luciano Xavier Santos) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna , accessed on February 2, 2015.
  12. ^ Alcide al bivio (Giovanni Paisiello) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna , accessed on February 2, 2015.
  13. ↑ Alcide al bivio (Vincenzo Righini) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna , accessed on February 2, 2015.
  14. ↑ Work data on Alcide al bivio (Righini) based on the MGG with discography at Operone, accessed on February 2, 2015.
  15. ↑ Alcide al Bivio (Johann Simon Mayr) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna , accessed on February 2, 2015.
  16. ↑ plant data to Dmitri Stepanovich Bortnianski on the basis of MGG with discography in operons, accessed on February 2, 2015.
  17. ↑ Dmitrij Bortnjanskij: "Alcide" on BR-Klassik ( Memento from February 13, 2016 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on February 13, 2016.
  18. ↑ Oper im Radio 2002 on euro-opera.de , accessed on February 2, 2015.
  19. ↑ Picture gallery of the performance in 2009 ( Memento of February 3, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) on the Morningside Opera website, accessed on February 2, 2015.
  20. ↑ Performance details of the 2009 performance on the Morningside Opera Facebook page, accessed on February 2, 2015.
  21. ^ Righini: Alcide al Bivio - Tito Gotti. CD information from Allmusic , accessed February 2, 2015.