Alcione (opera)
| Opera dates | |
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| Title: | Alcione |
Title page, Paris 1706 |
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| Shape: | Tragédie en musique in a prologue and five acts |
| Original language: | French |
| Music: | Marin Marais |
| Libretto : | Antoine Houdar de la Motte |
| Literary source: | Ovid: Metamorphoses |
| Premiere: | February 18, 1706 |
| Place of premiere: | Paris Opera |
| Playing time: | approx. 2 ½ hours |
| Place and time of the action: | Trachis , mythical time |
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prolog
action
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Alcione or Alcyone is an opera (original name: " Tragédie en musique ") in a prologue and five acts by Marin Marais (music) with a libretto by Antoine Houdar de la Motte based on the Alkyone story in the 11th book of Ovid's Metamorphoses . The first performance took place on February 18, 1706 in the Paris Opera .
action
Céix and Alcione love each other and want to get married. Céix's friend Pélée is also in love with Alcione. He is ready to do without her, but the magicians Phorbas and Ismène use his feelings as an excuse to destroy their opponent Céix. After successfully sabotaging the wedding, they persuade Céix that he has to leave the country to save Alcione. His ship sinks in a storm. Alcione learns of her lover's death through a dream and also wants to kill himself in order to follow him. Her friends can prevent her at first, and Céix's father Phosphore gives her new hope. However, when the body of Céix was washed ashore the next morning, Alcione stabbed herself out of grief. Still, there is a happy ending, as the god Neptune rises out of the sea and turns the couple into kingfishers .
prolog
Mount Tmole
River gods and naiads populate the mountains and form a kind of waterfall. Tmole announces a singing competition. On one side there is Pan with fauns and dryads , on the other side Apollo (an allegory of King Louis XIV. ) With the muses . Pan begins the competition with a praise to the war, which through fame makes immortal. Apollo, on the other hand, sings of peace, supported by the echo. When Tmole declares Apollon the winner, Pan leaves the stage indignantly with the faunas. Apollo calls the shepherds of the area and invites the muses to tell the story of Alcione to celebrate his victory .
first act
A gallery in the Palace of Céix that leads to the part of the palace dedicated to the gods
Scene 1. The magician Phorbas leads Pélée into the palace. This is where the wedding of Alcione's beloved to his rival Céix will take place. Phorbas, like his colleague Ismène a bitter opponent of Céix, is determined to prevent the connection by all means. But Pélée is bound to Céix through gratitude and friendship (after Pélée murdered his brother, Céix protected him from his mother's anger). Phorbas is determined to revive a monster Pélée has defeated to use against the couple. However, Pélée does not want to incur any more guilt (“Trop malheureux Pélée”).
Scene 2. The bride and groom appear with a group of Aeolian women, Céix's entourage and Alcione's confidants Céphise and Doris. The choir praises the luck of the two (“Aimez, aimez-vous sans alarmes”) who join in the singing. When Céix notices the unhappy face of his friend Pélée, the latter excuses himself by saying that he feels guilty for bringing harm to this place. A divertissement follows .
Scene 3. The high priest of the god Hymenaios arrives with his people carrying torches adorned with garlands and begins the wedding ceremony. But this is interrupted by hellish noise. Furies rise from the underworld, snatch the torches from the priests and set the palace on fire. To the high priest, this is a sign that heaven has refused the connection.
Second act
A horrific secluded area with the entrance to the caves of Phorbas and Ismène
Scene 1. The two wizards await the arrival of Céix, who seeks help after his interrupted wedding. You want to further unsettle him and hide.
Scene 2. Desperate Céix approaches, complaining of his suffering. When Phorbas and Ismène show themselves, he begs them to call the spirits of hell for his support. The two advise him to forget about Alcione. But then they grant him his wish and summon more magicians to summon the demons.
The scene is transformed into an image of hell
In the background, Pluto and Proserpine sit on their throne - on one side the five rivers of the underworld on their vessels, on the other side the three Parzen . Phorbas, Ismène and the magicians perform various summoning ceremonies. After a while, Phorbas announced that he had received an answer: Céix's doom would be certain if he did not give up Alcione. All that remains for him is to flee to Apollon. Céix is on his way.
Third act
The port of Trachis with a ship ready for departure
Scene 1. Pélée compares the deceptive calm of the sea with love (“O mer, dont le calme infidèle”).
Scene 2. Phorbas assures Pélée that his chances at Alcione are better now that he has cleared Céix out of the way.
Scene 3. Sailors ask the sea god Neptune with dancing and singing for a quiet journey before they board the ship.
Scene 4. Alcione and Céix say goodbye in pain. Céix assures her that he is only leaving for her safety. He asks Pélée to look after her welfare, boards the ship and departs.
Scene 5. Alcione begs her father Neptune to keep storms off the ship. She faints in pain at the departure of her lover. Pélée calls her to her senses again. Both suffer from their feelings.
Fourth act
The Temple of Juno
Scene 1. Alcione begs the goddess to bring her lover back to her.
Scene 2. Doris tells Alcione that the victim is being prepared according to her wishes. Céphise gives her hope to see Céix again soon.
Scene 3. The priestess of Juno and other priestesses begin the sacrificial ceremony, dance around the altar and throw incense into the fire. A gentle symphony puts Alcione to sleep. The latter himself appears in the form of Le Sommeil on a bed of poppy blossoms and vapors, accompanied by the personified dreams. He asks the priestesses to leave the temple while he is carrying out Juno's request.
Scene 4. Alcione dreams of a ship sinking in a storm. The dreams turn into the crew fighting for survival. Morphée takes on the shape of Céix, who is still dying to worry about Alcione.
Scene 5. Alcione decides to follow her lover into the underworld.
Fifth act
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The part of Céix's gardens that borders the sea, shrouded in night shade
Scene 1. Pélée, Céphise and Doris try to talk Alcione out of suicide. Pélée confesses his feelings to her. He confesses that he himself feels guilty for Céix's death, hands her his dagger and tells her to kill him. But Alcione wants to use the dagger to stab himself. Céphise snatches the weapon from her.
Scene 2. Céix's father Phosphore descends from heaven in his star and promises Alcione that heaven will give her Céix back.
Scene 3. In the face of Alcione's happiness, Pélée flees guiltily. Alcione regrets him as a friend of her lover.
Scene 4. At dawn, Céix's body is washed ashore by the waves. Alcione feels betrayed by the gods and stabs himself.
Scene 5. Neptune rises from the sea with his entire court and promises immortality to the lovers. Kingfishers ( Alcedinidae, French: Halcyon ) spring from Alcione's blood and sit on Neptune's throne. Neptune explains that he turned Phorbas into a rock. The happy couple is reunited. At the end of the opera, the sea gods celebrate the resurrection of Céix and Alcione.
layout
Storm music, which André Campra quoted in Les fêtes vénitiennes as early as 1710, proved to be the opera's most successful piece . Even Alain René Lesage them processed at its listed 1,715 parody of André Cardinal Destouches ' Télémaque. This scene became the prototype of the storm music of the 18th century. It consists of an orchestral piece of more than 100 bars with brief interjections by the choir. According to a contemporary report by Everard Titon du Tillet ( Le Parnasse françois, Paris 1732), the bass line (with one of the first use of a double bass in French opera) was accompanied by a continuous drum roll with an only slightly stretched skin membrane. The "extreme contrast between the muffled bass and the screaming, piercing oboes and violins" "expresses all the violence, the wildness and the horror of the troubled sea".
Other popular numbers were the overture, the sailor dance with tambourine , the performance of Le Sommeil and the grand final Chaconne . The four monologues also have musical significance, one of which (Alcione) is composed through and the other three (Céix, Pélée, Alcione) are designed as da capo . The musicologist Herbert Schneider thinks that the ensemble scenes and divertissements lag behind in terms of quality. However, Jérôme de La Gorce pointed out notable duets, trios, and expressive choirs, sometimes including a solo part, in his article for The New Grove Dictionary of Opera . He called Alcione "one of the most beautiful scores in the entire French operatic repertoire".
While Marais' music was well received by the audience, the libretto Antoine Houdar de la Mottes was criticized by contemporaries as "too close to the manner" of Ovid. It was mocked that the opera would shipwreck after the storm scene. Overall, however, the text was seen as "well-written, full of spirit and feelings that almost make one forget one's shortcomings" (François and Claude Parfaict: Histoire de l'Académie royale de musique ).
orchestra
The orchestral line-up for the opera includes the following instruments:
- Flute , two recorders , two oboes , bassoon
- Timpani , tambourine
- Strings
- Basso continuo
Work history
Alcione is considered the most important of Marais' four operas. Antoine Houdar de la Motte's libretto is based on Book 11 of Ovid's Metamorphoses .
The opera premiered on February 18, 1706 in the Palais Royal of the Paris Opera and was initially performed there until April 27. The leading roles were sung by Françoise Journet (16 ?? - 1722, Alcione), M. Muraire (Céix) and Claude-Louis-Dominique de Chassé de Chinais (1698–1786, Pélée). The performance was a great success. The storm music was still played in Marly in 1711 for King Louis XIV .
A revised version was given in the same place a total of 17 times between April 17 and May 14, 1719. It contained additional music that Marais probably composed himself and was printed as an appendix.
A third series of performances (now without the prologue) took place from May 9th to July 11th, 1730 with additional performances on September 28th and October 8th. The leading roles were sung by Marie Pélissier (1707–1749, Alcione), Denis-François Tribou (1695? –1761, Céix) and François Le Page (1709–1782, Pélée).
There were further presentations of the revised work in 1756 - with Marie-Jeanne Fesch dite Chevalier (1722–1789) in the title role - and in 1771. Piper's Encyclopedia of Music Theater also names performances in 1728 and 1741.
A parody of the work of Jean-Antoine Romagnesi was staged in 1741 in the Théâtre-Italien .
After 1771 Alcione disappeared from the repertoire for a long time. Marc Minkowski recorded it on CD in 1990.
The first staged revival took place on March 12, 2008 in the Odeon Theater in Vienna in a production by Philipp Harnoncourt . The choreography came from Virginie Roy-Nigl and the equipment from Ulrike Kaufmann and Erwin Piplits . Lorenz Duftschmid directed the Serapionsensemble and the Ensemble Armonico Tributo Austria. Svetlana Smolentseva (Alcione), Johannes Weiß (Céix) and Steffen Rössler (Pélée) sang the leading roles.
On April 26, 2017, the Paris Opéra-Comique resumed regular operations in the Salle Favart with Alcione after a two-year closure. It was a co-production with the Gran Teatre del Liceu Barcelona, the Château de Versailles Spectacles and the Théâtre de Caen. Directed by Louise Moaty. The choreography was done by Raphaëlle Boitel. The ensemble “Le Concert des Nations” played a specially adapted version of the opera under the musical direction of Jordi Savall . Lea Desandre (Alcione), Cyril Auvity (Céix) and Marc Mauillon (Pélée) sang the leading roles . A video recording was made available on the Culturebox Internet platform .
Recordings
- January 1990 - Marc Minkowski (conductor), Les Musiciens du Louvre , Chœur des Musiciens du Louvre.
Jean-Paul Fouchécourt (Apollon and Sommeil), Vincent Le Texier (Pan and Phorbas), Gilles Ragon (Céix), Jennifer Smith (Alcione), Philippe Huttenlocher (Pélée), Sophie Boulin (Ismène and Matrosin 1), Eva-Maria Mauceau (Doris), Marie-Hélène Chesneau (Céphise), Bernard Deletré (High priest and Neptune), Jean-Louis bindi (leader of the sailors), Véronique gene (priest and Juno Matrosin 2), Pascal Bertin (phosphors).
Studio recording.
Erato 245522-2 (3 CDs). - May 6, 2017 - Jordi Savall (conductor), Le Concert des Nations, Nicolas Lourdelle (director), Louise Moaty (scene), Raphaëlle Boitel (choreography), Alain Blanchot (costumes), Arnaud Lavisse (lighting), Tristan Baudoin (decoration ).
Antonio Abete (Tmole, high priest and Neptune), Lisandro Abadie (Pan and Phorbas), Cyril Auvity (Céix), Lea Desandre (Alcione), Marc Mauillon (Pélée), Hasnaa Bennani (Ismène and sailor 1), Hanna Bayodi-Hirt ( Shepherdess, Sailor 2 and Priestess Junos).
Video.
Internet stream on Culturebox.
Web links
- Alcyone : Sheet Music and Audio Files in the International Music Score Library Project
- Libretto (French), Paris 1706. Digitized from the Library of Congress .
- Full text libretto (French / German, PDF) on the website of the director Philipp Harnoncourt .
- Work data on Alcyone based on MGG with discography at Operone.
- Orchestral suite from Alcione in a recording from 1957. Ensemble instrumental Jean-Marie Leclair, conductor: Jean-François Paillard . Audio samples on Gallica .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g Herbert Schneider : Alcione. In: Piper's Encyclopedia of Musical Theater . Volume 3: Works. Henze - Massine. Piper, Munich / Zurich 1989, ISBN 3-492-02413-0 , pp. 665-666.
- ↑ a b c d e Jérôme de La Gorce: Alcyone. In: Grove Music Online (English; subscription required).
- ↑ a b c Herbert Schneider , Reinhard Wiesend (ed.): The opera in the 18th century (= manual of the musical genres. Volume 12). Laaber, 2001, ISBN 3-89007-135-X , pp. 161-162.
- ↑ Sylvette Milliot, Jérôme de La Gorce: Marin Marais. Fayard, Paris 1991, ISBN 2-213-02777-3 , p. 234. Quoted from Giroud.
- ^ Vincent Giroud: French Opera. A short history. Yale University Press, New Haven / London 2010, ISBN 978-0-300-16821-1 , pp. 33-34.
- ↑ a b c d Spire Pitou: The Paris Opéra. An Encyclopedia of Operas, Ballets, Composers, and Performers - Genesis and Glory, 1661-1715. Greenwood Press, Westport / London 1983, ISBN 0-313-21420-4 , pp. 147-148.
- ↑ Daniela Tomasovsky: "Alcione" in the Odeon: " Yikes , another new idea!" Interview with Philipp Harnoncourt. ( Memento of 25 April 2019 Internet Archive ) In: The press . March 11, 2008.
- ↑ Alcione. Performance dates of the Odeon Theater , accessed on September 19, 2017.
- ↑ Alcione. Performance dates and scenes on the website of the director Philipp Harnoncourt, accessed on September 19, 2017.
- ↑ Data set on the production of the Opéra-Comique at Operabase ( Memento from September 21, 2017 in the Internet Archive ).
- ^ Albrecht Thiemann: Youthful Fantasy. Review of the 2017 Paris performance . In: Opernwelt . June 2017, p. 76.
- ↑ a b Alcione on Culturebox. Video no longer available.
- ↑ Marin Marais. In: Andreas Ommer: Directory of all complete opera recordings (= Zeno.org . Volume 20). Directmedia, Berlin 2005, p. 8997.