Amadigi

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Work data
Original title: Amadigi di Gaula
Title page of the libretto, London 1715

Title page of the libretto, London 1715

Shape: Opera seria
Original language: Italian
Music: georg Friedrich Handel
Libretto : probably Giacomo Rossi or Nicola Francesco Haym
Literary source: Philippe Quinault , Amadis (1684) and Antoine Houdar de la Motte , Amadis de Grèce (1699)
Premiere: May 25, 1715
Place of premiere: King's Theater , Haymarket, London
Playing time: 2 ½ hours
Place and time of the action: Britain , in mythical times
people
  • Amadigi , a Gallic prince ( mezzo-soprano )
  • Oriana, his bride, daughter of the King of the Happy Isles ( soprano )
  • Melissa, a sorceress (soprano)
  • Dardano, Prince of Thrace ( Old )
  • Orgando, Oriana's uncle (soprano)
  • Oriana's companions, guards, soldiers, ghosts, showmen

Amadigi di Gaula ( HWV 11) is an opera ( opera seria ) in three acts by Georg Friedrich Handel , based on the knight legend Amadis de Gaula , which is based on the Arthurian legends.

Creation & libretto

The author of the libretto cannot be verified, but it is assumed that it is a work by Giacomo Rossi , as was previously the case with Rinaldo , Il pastor fido and Lucio Cornelio Silla . The material goes back to the Amadis novel from the 14th century. The models for the librettist were then the tragédie lyrique Amadis de Grèce (1699) by Antoine Houdar de la Motte (music: André Cardinal Destouches ) and Amadis (1684) by Philippe Quinault (music: Jean-Baptiste Lully ). The fact that the poet Nicola Francesco Haym turned a tragédie lyrique into an opera seria for Handel with the libretto for Teseo (1712), also from a model by Philippe Quinault , has recently led to the assumption in musicology that he would be the librettist of Amadigi , although here the 5-act structure, unlike in Teseo , was not adopted by combining the original first two acts into the new first, as well as acts three and four of the French model into the new second act .

As can be seen in the preface to the libretto written by the then opera director Johann Jacob Heidegger , Amadigi was created during Handel's stay in the residence of the Earl of Burlington in Piccadilly, London . In this dedication preface addressed to the Earl of Burlington, Heidegger thanks for

"[...] that Generous Concern Your Lordship has always shown for the promoting of Theatrical Musick, but this Opera more immediately claims Your Protection, as it is compos'd in Your own Family."

“[...] the generous support which your Lordship has always given to the promotion of theater music; but this opera here requires your special support, as it was written in your house. "

- Johann Jacob Heidegger : Amadigi di Gaula. London 1715.

Handel was in the habit of dating the nude endings during the composing process. Since in this case the autograph is lost, the exact date of origin of the work is missing. The musicologist John Merrill Knapp suspects that the imminent return of the famous old castrato Nicolini , who returned to London at the beginning of 1715 after a three-year absence, could have been the reason for the composition. According to this, Handel's work can be dated from February to April 1715.

Handel composed the part of Amadigi for Nicolini.

As in the Rinaldo of 1711, the stage machinery and special effects, such as a functioning fountain, were such an important part of the production in the Amadigi that the Daily Courant was forced to issue the following cautious report on May 25:

“And whereas there is a great many Scenes and Machines to be mov'd in this Opera, which cannot be done if Persons should stand upon the Stage (where they could not be without Danger), it is therefore hop'd no Body, even the Subscribers, will take it Ill that they must be deny'd Entrance on the Stage. "

“Since a lot of sets and machines have to be moved in this opera, which cannot happen when people are on the stage (which would not be possible without endangering them), one hopes that no one, not even the subscribers, will take offense that they are not allowed on stage. "

- Daily Courant. London 1715.

As a result of the coronation of George I on October 20, 1714 as King of Great Britain and Ireland, the name of the previous Queen's Theater was changed to King's Theater . The world premiere of Amadigi took place here.

Cast of the premiere:

Despite the illness of the actress of the Oriana, Anastasia Robinson , already after the premiere, six performances were given this season. Maybe Caterina Galerati took over her role. The visual aspect of the production was so popular that a revival of L'Idaspe fedele (music: Francesco Mancini ) with the costumes and various sets from Amadigi , including the fountain scene, was scheduled for August 27th . Between February and July 1716, Amadigi was reassigned to the program for six performances; During this time there was a benefit performance for Anastasia Robinson (March 3rd) and one for the orchestra (June 20th). Another five performances took place in the 1716/17 season; instead of Diana Vico, the former castrato Antonio Bernacchi took over the role of Dardano. (The next new opera, Radamisto , was not composed by Handel until 1720 for the newly founded Royal Academy of Music .)

Almost at the same time a parody of Amadigi was made. However, it came out before Handel's premiere on February 23, 1715 at the Drury Lane Theater . But John Gay's "pastoral farce" What d'ye Call it was not as successful as his beggar opera later , although even then it drew its best nourishment from the oddities of Italian opera. Also in the theater in Lincoln's Inn Fields produced by John Rich , a burlesque, Amadis, or The Loves of Harlequin and Columbine . But it was not published until January 24, 1718.

Handel's Amadigi has also been documented in Hamburg (1717, 1719 and 1720) a total of 17 performances under the title Oriana , with musical additions by Reinhard Keizer and under his direction. The arias and duets were sung in Italian, while the recitatives, including two Accompagnati , were translated into German by Joachim Beccau . This had also introduced three new characters (Ergastus, Dorinde and their "funny servant" Diego) and six new scenes in the plot.

The first modern production took place on January 17th, 1929 in Osnabrück in a German text version by Hans Dütschke and under the musical direction of Fritz Berend. The first performance of the piece in historical performance practice was seen in Urbino (Italy) on July 21, 1985 with the Concerto Italiano under the direction of Rinaldo Alessandrini .

action

Historical and literary background

Amadis of Gaul is the hero of a chivalric novel which - together with its many extensions and sequels - was one of the most popular readings in Western Europe during the Renaissance . The original author of this story, which is based on the material of the Celtic Arthurian legends, was Henry of Castile (1230–1304). This then made probably Vasco de Lobeira around 1370 a prose novel , the approximately 150 years later the basis for a series of Amadisromanen was. Lobeira's novel has not survived; the oldest surviving adaptation is the version by the Spaniard Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo : Los quatros libros de Amadis de Gaula from 1508. With its four volumes, this was the starting point for a “serial novel” by various authors over many decades. Montalvo added another volume later. In the following decades, seven additional volumes were published, in which the family history of the Amadis descendants was presented and embellished in detail. Finally, in the ninth book of the novel, Amadis de Grecia (1530), by Feliciano de Silva , the adventures of Amadis of Greece, a great-grandson of the Gallic hero, play an important role. The Amadis novels had been just as popular since the 16th century as the medieval Roland song , which Handel would later serve as a source of material for Orlando (1733), Ariodante (1735) and Alcina (1735). Both the Gallic and his great-grandson, the Greek Amadis, flow into the Amadis figure in La Motte's libretto. Amadis' bride Oriana is part of the original story, while the Thracian prince Dardanus is taken from the ninth book, Amadis de Grecia . The name of the sorceress Melissa is borrowed from the literary processing of the Roland song : In Ludovico Ariostos Orlando furioso (1516) she is the good sorceress.

first act

The hero Amadigi and Dardano, Prince of Thrace, waited for dark to flee from the realm of the sorceress Melissa. When he set out to escape, Dardano learns that Amadigi loves the Princess Oriana, whom he adores. But he vows to hide his feelings and goes off to find a cheap escape route. Amadigi conjures the night to favor his escape, but suddenly Melissa's garden shines in a bright light and a host of evil spirits prevent his departure. Melissa appears and tries to win Amadigi's heart, first through the arts of seduction and then through threats, who does not reciprocate her affection. The tests that the hero must pass in order to get to the beloved Oriana now begin. Melissa is holding her captive in a tower. He is able to penetrate the flames while Dardano calls on the sorceress for help. Oriana and Amadigi are finally united. They promise each other eternal love and loyalty until the two jealous ones bring the idyll to an abrupt end. Melissa summons demons and furies who kidnap Oriana. The sorceress feasts on the spectacle, while Amadigi, who is left alone, overwhelmed by pain, wishes for death.

A masquerade at the King's Theater (ca.1724)

Second act

Amadigi laments his suffering at a spring that flows in the garden not far from the magnificent Melissa's palace. It is the "source of true love" that should reveal to him whether Oriana was loyal to him. But the source is deceptive, it shows him Oriana in the water level, who is hugging his rival and betraying him. He faints. Melissa calls Oriana over to carry out her plan of revenge. At first she believes Amadigi is dead and wants to kill herself. Amadigi awakens, showered her beloved with reproaches and called her "unfaithful, ungrateful and cruel". Oriana, initially speechless, finally defends herself and lets him understand that he will regret having insulted her. The desperate Amadigi wants to put an end to his life. Melissa appears just in time to prevent the act, but Amadigi steadfastly refuses to give in to her wooing. Meanwhile the stage turns into a gruesome cave. Monsters rise from the earth, claps of thunder shake the air; but the bold hero is not deterred. Dardano is heartbroken that Oriana is still resisting him. Melissa promises to make her compliant. She gives him the shape of Amadigis. Blinded by the trickery, Oriana reconciles with “Amadigi” and confesses her love to him. The real Amadigi appears. Dardano, who thinks he is not recognized, runs after him and wants to stab him. When Melissa returns, she reports that the Prince of Thrace has found death in a duel with Amadigi. Oriana is not intimidated by Melissa's renewed threats, she scoffs at her magical powers and claims not to be afraid of the pain. Melissa, who is left alone, wants to call all the furies of hell against the "traitors".

Third act

Oriana is brought in by the demons. Melissa threatens her with death; in this way she hopes to make herself compliant with Amadigi. The two lovers appeal to their pity, but the sorceress only thinks of revenge and conjures up the shadow of Dardano. The spirit appears and announces that now the gods are protecting the two faithful lovers and that Melissa's magical powers can no longer harm them. Melissa tries to give Oriana the fatal blow, but her hand is held back by more force than hers. Before she stabs herself, Melissa tries one last time to soften Amadigi's heart. After her death, the magician Orgando, Oriana's uncle, promises the end of the trials and the union of the two lovers. Oriana and Amadigi swear eternal loyalty to each other, shepherds and shepherdesses dance and sing.

music

Like its predecessors Rinaldo (1711) and Teseo (1713), Amadigi is a magical opera in which a ruthless sorceress plays one of the main roles: Here it is Melissa who loves the hero Amadigi. Comparable to Armida in Rinaldo , Medea in Teseo and Alcina , the greatest frustrated sorceress in a Handel opera, Melissa is also musically characterized in an outstanding manner. Although she is selfish and ready to commit murder anytime to achieve her goals, she also has a tragic side. She laments her powerlessness, which makes it impossible to win over the man she loves. This creates great musical moments.

In his General Music History , the surviving musician and music critic Charles Burney writes that, in his opinion, Amadigi is one of the most beautiful early opera compositions by his friend, his master:

"A production in which there is more invention, variety and good composition, than in any one of the musical dramas of Handel which I have yet carefully and critically examined."

"A production that contains more ingenuity, variety and good compositions than in some of Handel's other critical musical dramas that I have heard."

- Charles Burney : A General History of Music. London 1789.

The significant performance success of Amadigi proves Burney right in his judgment.

Handel took over large parts of the work from the previously written and (if at all) only performed once short opera Lucio Cornelio Silla . The autograph for Amadigi has not survived. According to Victor Schœlcher's manuscript catalog in the British Library , a manuscript was sold by the music dealers Calkin and Budd for five guineas in 1844 . This manuscript was found in the estate of the church musician Frederick Smee and was auctioned in London in 1879. Whether this was actually the missing original or a copy of the elder Smith is questionable. It is considered likely that the autograph was lost during Handel's lifetime. The music has been handed down to us through numerous copies, which is due to the fact that Amadigi was initially not printed. We have received eleven copies from the period up to 1720 alone.

The opera consists of an overture in French style and 27 arias (with later additions), as well as two duets , three accompaniments , three symphonies and the final chorus intended for the soloist ensemble. For the benefit performance on June 20, 1716 in favor of Handel's orchestra, the latter added a new overture (the so-called Orchestra Concerto ), which was later included in the collection of the Concerti grossi op. 3 as No. 4 (F major, HWV 315 ) . A second instrumental symphony mentioned in connection with this occasion, which was also added, was probably the 2nd movement of the overture to Teseo . This season, Ms. Robinson again received a benefit performance (February 16, 1717), to which "... a new additional scene" and several arias were added and ballet soloists were used.

orchestra

Two recorders , two oboes , bassoon , trumpet , strings, basso continuo (violoncello, lute, harpsichord).

Discography

  • Erato 2564 67701-6 (1989): Nathalie Stutzmann (Amadigi), Jennifer Smith (Oriana), Eiddwen Harrhy (Melissa), Bernarda Fink (Dardano), Pascal Bertin (Orgando)
Les Musiciens du Louvre ; Dir. Marc Minkowski (150 min)
  • Naïve Ambroisie AM 133 (2006): Maria Riccarda Wesseling (Amadigi), Elena De la Merced (Oriana), Sharon Rostorf-Zamir (Melissa & Orgando), Jordi Domènech (Dardano)
Al Ayre Español ; Dir. Eduardo Lopez Banzo (158 min)

literature

Web links

Commons : Amadigi di Gaula  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Edition management of the Halle Handel Edition: Documents on life and work. In: Walter Eisen (Ed.): Händel-Handbuch: Volume 4. Deutscher Verlag für Musik, Leipzig 1985, ISBN 978-3-7618-0717-0 , p. 68.
  2. ↑ Christopher Hogwood: Georg Friedrich Handel. A biography (= Insel-Taschenbuch 2655). Translated from the English by Bettina Obrecht, Insel Verlag, Frankfurt am Main et al. 2000, ISBN 3-458-34355-5 . P. 117.
  3. ^ Editing management of the Halle Handel Edition: Documents on life and work. In: Walter Eisen (Ed.): Händel-Handbuch: Volume 4. Deutscher Verlag für Musik, Leipzig 1985, ISBN 978-3-7618-0717-0 , p. 67.
  4. ↑ Christopher Hogwood: Georg Friedrich Handel. A biography. (= Insel-Taschenbuch 2655). Translated from the English by Bettina Obrecht. Insel Verlag, Frankfurt am Main et al. 2000, ISBN 3-458-34355-5 , p. 118.
  5. ^ A b c d e Winton Dean, John Merrill Knapp: Handel's Operas 1704–1726. The Boydell Press, Woodbridge 2009, ISBN 978-1-84383-525-7 , pp. 287 ff.
  6. ^ Friedrich Chrysander: GF Handel. First volume, Breitkopf & Härtel, Leipzig 1858, p. 424.
  7. ^ Silke Leopold: Handel. The operas. Bärenreiter-Verlag, Kassel 2009, ISBN 978-3-7618-1991-3 , p. 215 f.
  8. ^ Charles Burney: A General History of Music: from the Earliest Ages to the Present Period. Vol. 4, London 1789, reprint true to the original: Cambridge University Press 2010, ISBN 978-1-108-01642-1 , p. 255.
  9. ^ The Autograph Score of Handel's Opera "Amadigi". In: The Musical Times. Vol. 21, London 1880, p. 311.
  10. ^ Charles Burney: A General History of Music: from the Earliest Ages to the Present Period. Vol. 4, London 1789, reproduction true to the original: Cambridge University Press 2010, ISBN 978-1-108-01642-1 , p. 257.