Angelica (Metastasio)
| Work data | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Angelica |
First part. |
|
| Shape: | Festa teatrale |
| Original language: | Italian |
| Music: | First setting by Nicola Antonio Porpora |
| Libretto : | Pietro Metastasio |
| Premiere: | September 4, 1720 |
| Place of premiere: | Naples |
| Place and time of the action: | Garden of a country house near Paris at the time of Charlemagne |
| people | |
Angelica is a libretto for a Festa teatrale in two parts by Pietro Metastasio . It was written and set to music for the first time by Nicola Antonio Porpora on August 28, 1720, the birthday of Empress Elisabeth-Christine (the wife of Charles VI ). The performances took place on September 4th and 7th in the palace of Antonio Caracciolo, Prince of Torella, in Naples.
action
In his libretto, Metastasio contrasts the courtly love of nobles with the simpler customs of country folk. The plot is based on motifs from chants 18, 19 and 23 of the Orlando furioso by Ludovico Ariosto and the Orlando innamorato by Matteo Maria Boiardo . The background is the legendary wars between the Christian troops of Charlemagne and the so-called Saracens from Africa and Spain under the Muslim king Agramante.
prehistory
One of Charlemagne's most important captains is Orlando, the Duke of Aglant, who, after a long absence in the Orient, has returned home to take part in the battle, accompanied by the Chinese Princess Angelica. Orlando is in love with Angelica. However, she shows no interest in him, but flees to return to her home country. Orlando and several other knights go in search of her. After a murderous battle between the Christians and the Saracens, two of the surviving Muslim soldiers, Medoro and Cloridano, search in the moonlight for the corpse of their fallen king Dardinello in order to be able to prepare a proper burial for him. After finding them, however, they are discovered and attacked by Scottish knights. Cloridano is killed. Medoro, however, remains seriously injured in the forest and is finally found by the wandering Angelica. The love god Cupid resents Angelica's hard-heartedness towards Orlando and decides to punish her. In this way he ensures that she falls in love with the opposing soldier Medoro in a completely improper manner. At first only overwhelmed by pity, she prepares an ointment from medicinal herbs and nourishes him. The more his wounds heal, the more her own "love wound" opens, and finally she openly confesses her love to Medoro, which he reciprocates. The two carve their declaration of love into the bark of the surrounding trees.
First part
Angelica and Medoro enjoy nature at the hut of the old shepherd Titiro. Thanks to Angelica's ointment, Medoro has already recovered well from his wounds. Titiro suggests they go to a nearby spring where Medoro can continue to recover. After the two have left, Titiro ponders their strange fate.
Meanwhile, Titiro's daughter, the shepherdess Licori, is waiting longingly for her lover Tirsi. When he finally arrives, she complains about her fears that he will tire of her. Tirsi calms her down and assures her of his love. The Frankish knight Orlando comes to them and asks them about the Saracen Mandricardo. However, you did not see him. Since Orlando needs a rest, Licori offers to take him to her father's hut.
In the hut, Medoro and Angelica enjoy their love. When Orlando and Licori arrive, the Saracen Medoro is hiding. Angelica greets Orlando warmly - which amazes him, since she had always rejected him before. Angelica tells him to put down his weapons and rest. After Medoro overheard the conversation jealously for a while, he withdraws because he can no longer bear it. Angelica pretends to be loyal to Orlando, but secretly only thinks of Medoro. She and Licori decide to leave Orlando alone for a while and bathe in the nearby stream. Orlando is reluctant to stay behind.
Licori is puzzled by Angelica's deception and asks her if this is the norm among townspeople. Angelica replies that the art of love also includes deception. Licori disagrees. After she leaves, Medoro comes back and accuses Angelica of her behavior towards Orlando. She feels hurt by his distrust. A duet full of mutual accusations ends the first part.
Second part
Licori talks to Medoro about the sense of fraud in love. Medoro explains to her that sometimes you have to learn to cheat before you can think about love. Licori asks him what she has to do to win Orlando over. Medoro tells her how Angelica made him fall in love with words, looks and especially with tears. Orlando comes and Medoro leaves. Licori tries in vain to charm Orlando. The conversation is overheard by Tirsi, who is appalled by her behavior. After Orlando leaves, Tirsi comes out of hiding and declares his love to Licori. She replies: Since it obviously doesn't bother him that she has just been shamed by Orlando, he doesn't really love her and probably has another mistress for a long time. Tirsi is offended and leaves.
Angelica comes to the weeping Licori. Licori is mad at her and her advice. She has now lost Tirsi and also not been able to win Orlando for herself. Angelica comforts her with the fact that Tirsi will soon calm down and return. Angelica herself intends to flee with Medoro the following night. As a farewell she gives her a gold bracelet. Licori has never seen gold before and recognizes it as the metal her father warned her about. She is satisfied with the gifts of nature.
Since Titiro knows nothing of Orlando's love for Angelica, he tells him about her relationship with Medoro and shows him the two carved trees. Orlando gets angry and swears revenge. After he leaves, Titiro regrets his speech.
Tirsi says goodbye to Licori to accompany Angelica and Medoro on their escape. Licori holds him back, and finally they make up again. Angelica and Medoro therefore wait in vain for Tirsi, whom they actually need as a guide through the unknown area. But time is of the essence and finally they say goodbye to the forest and the cave in which they had found shelter.
Orlando is furious with Angelica and love. Still, he would forgive her if she returned to him.
After the actual plot is over, there is a “license” - a homage to the Empress Elisabeth, who is recorded by the choir to celebrate her birthday.
history
Angelica is Metastasio's first stage work that he had expressly intended to be set to music. He wrote it in 1720 at the age of twenty-two. The original title Orlando was later changed to Angelica . The performances of Porpora's setting for the birthday of Empress Elisabeth-Christine in 1720 were performed by important singers. Metastasio's patron Marianna Benti Bulgarelli (known as "Romanina") sang the role of Angelica . The castrato Carlo Broschi ( Farinelli ) made his debut at the age of fifteen with the role of Tirsi. Other contributors were the soprano Domenico Gizzi as Medoro, the alto Francesco Vitale as Orlando, the Buffo Gioacchino Corrado as Titiro and the mezzo-soprano Maria Antonia Marchesini (“La Lucchesina”) as Licori. Both Farinelli and Gizzi were students of Porpora. Farinelli also took part in the resumption on July 26, 1722, which also took place on the occasion of the Empress's birthday. Metastasio's friendship with Farinelli began with this work and only ended with Metastasio's death in 1782. Since both made their theatrical debut with this production, Metastasio often referred to Farinelli as his “gemello” (twin).
Carlo Vedova edited the libretto as a pastoral with the name Angelica e Medoro . This version was performed on March 10, 1739 in a setting by Giovanni Battista Pescetti at the Theater Royal in Covent Garden in London and published with an English translation.
Also Gaetano Sertor used this libretto as the basis for his own libretto Angelica e Medoro , which, among others, the composer Ferdinando Bertoni (1791), Gaetano Andreozzi (1792), Michele Mortellari (1796), Antonio Tozzi (1805) and Giuseppe Nicolini (1810) was set to music.
Christoph Martin Wieland probably edited the text in 1774 for his libretto Medor und Angelica , which was to be set to music by Ernst Wilhelm Wolf . However, completion was thwarted by the fire in the Weimar court theater. The text has not been preserved.
Settings
The following composers set this libretto to music:
| year | composer | premiere | Performance location | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1720 | Nicola Antonio Porpora | August 28, 1720, Palace of Antonio Caracciolo, Prince of Torella | Naples | "Festa teatrale"; also in 1720 on the name day of the Empress in Vienna; on July 26, 1722 again in Naples |
| 1740 | Giacomo Francesco Milano | 1740 or 1745, private performance | Naples | as Angelica e Medoro |
| 1744 | Ignazio Fiorillo | Mass 1744, Teatro degli Obizzi | Padua | “Dramma pastorale per musica”; also in Wolfenbüttel in 1751 |
| 1746 | Paolo Scalabrini | April 25, 1746, Opera at Gänsemarkt | Hamburg | as Angelica e Medoro , “opera pastorale” in three acts |
| 1747 | Giovanni Battista Mele | 1747, Coliseo del Buen Retiro | Madrid | as Angélica y Medoro |
| 1756 | Francesco Brusa | March 2, 1756, Teatro San Benedetto | Venice | "Serenata per musica" |
| 1758 | Giuseppe Zonca | 1758 | Munich | as Angelica e Medoro |
| 1778 | João de Sousa Carvalho | July 25, 1778, Palazzo Queluz | Lisbon | "Serenata per musica" |
| 1780 | Giuseppe Moneta | March 19, 1780, Porta Rossa | Florence | as Angelica e Medoro , "serenata" |
| 1783 | Domenico Cimarosa and Giuseppe Millico (probably) | probably 1783 | Vienna | as Angelica e Medoro , "cantata pastorale" |
| 1800 | Cinque | around 1800 | as Angelica e Medoro | |
| 1843 | José Valero (presumably) | 1843 |
Recordings and performances in recent times
-
João de Sousa Carvalho :
- 2014: Recorded in Lisbon with the Concerto Campastre conducted by Pedro Castro. The singers were Joana Seara (Angelica), Lidia Vinyes Curtis (Medoro), Fernando Guimarães (Orlando), Maria Luísa Tavares (Licori) and Sandra Medeiros (Tirsi). Naxos 8.573554-55.
-
Nicola Antonio Porpora :
- 2005: Performance under the name Orlando ou le délire ovvero L'Angelica in the Palais Royal d'Aranjuez in Madrid and CD release with the Real Compañia Opera de Camara under the direction of Juan Bautista Otero . The singers were Robert Expert (Orlando), Olga Pitarch (Medoro) and Betsabée Haas (Angelica). The performance took place on the occasion of Farinelli's 300th birthday. Otero edited the libretto heavily in order to bring the plot closer to Ariosto's model and to make it more understandable for today's audience. Among other things, the three supporting roles have been removed.
Web links
Digital copies
- ^ Libretto (Italian) of the opera by Nicola Porpora, Naples 1720. Digitized in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna .
- ^ Libretto (Italian) of the opera by Ignazio Fiorillo, Padua 1744. Digitized in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna .
- ^ Libretto (Italian) of the opera by João de Sousa Carvalho, Lisbon 1778. Digitized in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna .
- ↑ Score of the Serenata by Giuseppe Millico as digitized version with the International Music Score Library Project .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Don Neville: Metastasio [Trapassi], Pietro (Antonio Domenico Bonaventura). In: Grove Music Online (English; subscription required).
- ↑ a b c Domenico Gizzi - Interprete delle Serenate Celebrative L'Angelica e La Galatea. Biography on handelforever.com , accessed February 5, 2015.
- ↑ Some sources (e.g. MGG 1) mention the year 1722 as the date of the first performance of Porpora's setting.
- ↑ a b c d e Don Neville: Angelica. ( Online, PDF )
- ↑ a b c d Juan Bautista Otero: Supplement to the CD Orlando by Nicola Porpora.
- ↑ a b c d Angelica e Medoro (Nicolo Porpora) at operabaroque.fr (French), accessed on February 5, 2015.
- ^ Carlo Broschi, called Farinelli , biography ( memento from February 9, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) on arte.tv , accessed on February 5, 2015.
- ↑ Angelica and Medorus: An opera. Composed by John Baptist Pescetti in the OPAC catalog of the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek , accessed on March 13, 2015.
- ^ List of stage works by Giovanni Battista Pescetti based on the MGG at Operone, accessed on March 13, 2015.
- ↑ Angelica e Medoro (Ferdinando Bertoni) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna , accessed on February 5, 2015.
- ↑ Angelica e Medoro (Gaetano Andreozzi) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna , accessed on February 5, 2015.
- ↑ List of the stage works by Gaetano Andreozzi based on the MGG at Operone, accessed on February 5, 2015.
- ↑ Angelica (Michele Mortellari) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna , accessed on February 5, 2015.
- ↑ Angelica e Medoro (Antonio Tozzi) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna , accessed on February 5, 2015.
- ↑ Angelica e Medoro, ossia L'Orlando (Giuseppe Nicolini) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna , accessed on February 5, 2015.
- ↑ Thomas Bauman: North German Opera in the Age of Goethe. Cambridge University Press 1985, ISBN 0-521-26027-2 . ( online at Google Books)
- ↑ Angelica (Nicola Porpora) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna , accessed on February 5, 2015.
- ↑ Angelica e Medoro (Jacopo Francesco Milano) at Opening Night! Opera & Oratorio Premieres , Stanford University, accessed February 5, 2015.
- ^ L'Angelica (Ignazio Fiorillo) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna , accessed on February 5, 2015.
- ^ List of the stage works by Ignazio Fiorillo based on the MGG at Operone, accessed on September 29, 2014.
- ↑ Angelica e Medoro (Paolo Scalabrini) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna , accessed on February 5, 2015.
- ↑ Angelica e Medoro (Giovanni Battista Mele) at Opening Night! Opera & Oratorio Premieres , Stanford University, accessed February 5, 2015.
- ^ L'Angelica (Francesco Brusa) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna , accessed on February 5, 2015.
- ↑ Angelica e Medoro (Giuseppe Zonca) at Opening Night! Opera & Oratorio Premieres , Stanford University, accessed February 5, 2015.
- ↑ L'Angelica (João de Sousa Carvalho) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna , accessed on February 5, 2015.
- ↑ Angelica e Medoro (Giuseppe Moneta) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna , accessed on February 5, 2015.
- ↑ Pedro Castro: Enchanting for the Queen. CD information on operalounge.de, accessed on May 2, 2019.