Alessandro Stradella (opera)
| Work data | |
|---|---|
| Original title: | Alessandro Stradella |
Title page of the libretto, Munich 1845 |
|
| Shape: | Romantic opera in three acts |
| Original language: | German |
| Music: | Friedrich von Flotow |
| Libretto : | Friedrich Wilhelm Riese |
| Literary source: | Pittaud de Forges and P. Dupont |
| Premiere: | December 30, 1844 |
| Place of premiere: | Hamburg |
| Playing time: | about 2 hours |
| Place and time of the action: | Italy around 1670 |
| people | |
Alessandro Stradella is a romantic opera in three acts by Friedrich von Flotow . Friedrich Wilhelm Riese wrote the libretto under the name Wilhelm Friedrich. The work had its world premiere on December 30, 1844 in the Stadttheater Hamburg.
action
The opera is set in Italy around 1670.
first act
Small square in Venice with Bassis Villa
The wealthy Venetian Bassi has got it into his head to marry his pretty ward Leonore. The wedding is supposed to take place tomorrow. Leonore, however, is anything but taken with it, as she raves about the famous singer Alessandro Stradella, and this love is mutual. Because Bassi got wind of it, he had all the doors of the house guarded in order to deny Leonore every opportunity to escape.
Fortunately, it's Carnival right now. This fact benefits Alessandro Stradella. Under the protection of a number of masked men, he succeeds in throwing Leonore a rope ladder at the window of her room, on which she can climb into the gondola with him. The two lovers dive into the hustle and bustle of the carnival.
Second act
Stradella's birthplace near Rome
Alessandro Stradella and Leonore have turned their backs on Venice and fled to a country house near Rome. You want to get married and are preparing for the wedding. What the two do not suspect is that Bassi found out where they fled to. In the meantime he has hired the two bandits Malvolino and Barbarino. They are supposed to murder Alessandro Stradella and bring Leonore back to him safely.
After the wedding, the bride and groom have a lavish party. Malvolino and Barbarino - disguised as pilgrims - mingled with the guests. When Alessandro Stradella then recites the romance about the painter Salvatore Rosa , the two villains quickly abandon their plan to kill the singer. The power of music was able to move the whole festival society. Malvolino and Barbarino are allowed to stay in the country house as guests.
Third act
Porch in Alessandro Stradella's house
For many days Bassi hoped in vain for news of Stradella's death. Tired of waiting, he has now set out on his own to see if things are going well. He is angry when he realizes that those he hired have almost become friends of the hated singer. But Bassi doesn't give up. He promises the crooks such a high murder bonus that the two become weak again and want to carry out Bassi's assignment.
When Malvolino and Barbarino ambush the singer, he begins to rehearse a hymn in honor of the Virgin Mary for the church festival on the following day. Again, Stradella's divine tones do not fail to have their effect: The two bandits fall on their knees and reveal that Leonore and Alessandro are hired killers. Now Bassi is getting soft too. He asks his former ward for forgiveness and extends his hand in friendship to the once hated man.
music
Alessandro Stradella is an opera in the style of the French opéra-comique , but differently from this it is thoroughly composed. A medium-sized orchestra is required for the performance, supplemented by a harp. The opera contains many flattering melodies. The most famous aria is Stradella's hymn to the Virgin Mary in the third act, which can already be heard in the andante of the overture and can then be heard again in the orchestral introduction to the third act. The duet of the buffon-like bandits Malvolino and Barbarino “On the left beach of the Tiber”, also in the second act, as well as the trio “Calm, leise, stille, sacht” in the third act, is also appealing. Two ballet performances are planned: a tarantella in the first and a pas de deux in the second act.
Instrumentation
The orchestral line-up for the opera includes the following instruments:
- Woodwinds : two flutes (2nd also piccolo ), two oboes , two clarinets , two bassoons
- Brass : four horns , two trumpets , three trombones
- Timpani , percussion : bass drum , triangle , stirring drum
- Bell in it
- harp
- Strings
Work history
The opera has a historical background. It deals with part of the adventurous biography of the Italian composer Alessandro Stradella , who lived from 1643 to 1682 and who inspired various artists to create works for the stage. On March 3, 1837, the French composer Louis Niedermeyer brought out the opera Stradella in Paris . This was followed shortly afterwards by a vaudeville of the same name by Pittaud de Forges and P. Dupont, which Friedrich Wilhelm Riese used as a template for his libretto.
Sound carrier
- Two CDs: Gala GL 100.733 - with Werner Hollweg, Ferry Gruber, Richard Kogel, Helen Donath, Alexander Malta, Bavarian Radio Choir and Orchestra under the direction of Heinz Wallberg.
- CDWiki
Web links
- Alessandro Stradella : Sheet music and audio files in the International Music Score Library Project
- Libretto, Munich 1845. Digitized version of the Munich digitization center
- Alessandro Stradella (Friedrich von Flotow) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna
- Work data on Alessandro Stradella based on MGG with discography at Operone
Individual evidence
- ^ Robert Didion : Alessandro Stradella. In: Piper's Encyclopedia of Musical Theater . Volume 2: Works. Donizetti - Henze. Piper, Munich / Zurich 1987, ISBN 3-492-02412-2 , pp. 216-217.