Argo (opera)
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| Title: | Argo |
| Shape: | "Dramma in musica" |
| Original language: | German |
| Music: | José María Sánchez Verdú |
| Libretto : | Gerhard Falkner |
| Literary source: |
Pascal Quignard : Butès, Argonautensage |
| Premiere: | April 27, 2018 |
| Place of premiere: | Rococo theater Schwetzingen |
| Playing time: | approx. 1 ½ hours |
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Argo is an opera (original name: "Dramma in musica") by José María Sánchez Verdú (music) with a libretto by Gerhard Falkner . It was created in 2017/2018 and was premiered on April 27, 2018 in the Rokokotheater Schwetzingen .
action
The opera's content is mainly based on the Argonauts saga , but also contains elements from the Orpheus saga and the Odyssey .
The Argonauts under their leader Jason go to Colchis on the ship Argo to steal the Golden Fleece . In the center of the action is the otherwise incidentally mentioned figure of the butt . The approximately fifty seafarers encounter sirens on the way , from whose seductive singing they have to protect themselves. Orpheus drowns him out with his lyre, Odysseus (whose participation in this voyage is a supplement of the authors) has himself tied to the mast, and the other sailors plug their ears. Only good succumbs to temptation. He jumps into the sea to get to the sirens. The goddess Aphrodite saves him from drowning and will later start a family with him.
The individual scenes have the following names:
- Introduction
- The Argo
- Thalatta
- Singing the sirens
- interlude
- The Lyra of Orpheus
- The island of the sirens
- The Leap of Butes
layout
The composer himself gave some pointers about his ideas:
“Butes 'encounter with the sirens is an image for the search for the unknown, Butes' jump into the water is a symbolic and poetic gesture that opens up various interpretations. This leap in search of the immense original sound of the sirens is a symbol of an inner decision, an adventure in the direction of the new (also comparable to the creative process in art). This, with all its symbolic and iconographic dimensions, is the theme of ARGO. […] The song of the sirens is not music for Quignard and according to early mythological descriptions that speak more of enormous animal noises. This primal sound of the sirens should be presented in its pre-linguistic dimension in the musical material of ARGO. "
The subtitle "Dramma in musica" is reminiscent of the names of the old Baroque operas since Claudio Monteverdi . The dramatic action ideally develops from the music itself and therefore does not need any words. The reviewer of the opera world recognized some “archetypal basic patterns” in the piece, such as the “gender antagonism of the Argonauts and the sirens, the power of song, the sea as a fluctuating medium for departure and the search for a destination”. The jump into the water should be understood as an “outbreak into uncertainty”, “the Mediterranean as a path of hope or death”. The music has “eminent qualities of 'tonal language', even if it seldom increases to sound ruffles or dynamic massages.” The opera begins with “suggestive sound signs” in the form of “rustling and breathing noises, interrupted by simple ones electronic impulses ". In its simplicity, the music appears almost tonal in places . On the other hand, there are highly differentiated "sound mixes" that often run extremely slowly. The vocal part has varied choirs and solos, which "indulge in manifold, occasionally breathtaking exaltations".
orchestra
The orchestral line-up for the opera includes the following instruments:
- Woodwinds : two flutes (including piccolo ), oboe (also English horn ), two clarinets (including bass clarinet and contrabass clarinet), two bassoons (including contrabassoon )
- Brass : two horns , two trumpets , two trombones , double bass tuba
- Timpani , percussion (two players)
- organ
- Strings : six violins 1, four violins 2, four violas , three cellos , two double basses
- Live electronics
Work history
José María Sánchez Verdú's opera Argo was commissioned by the Schwetzingen SWR Festival as a joint production with the Mainz State Theater . It was financed with the help of the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation.
The world premiere took place on April 27, 2018 in the Rokokotheater Schwetzingen in a production by Mirella Weingarten with stage design and costumes by Etienne Pluss. Ulrich Schneider was in charge of the lighting. The composer himself directed the SWR Symphony Orchestra , the SWR Experimental Studio and the choir of the Mainz State Theater . Joachim Haas and Constantin Popp were responsible for the sound direction. Jonathan de la Paz Zaens (Butes), Alin Deleanu (Orpheus), Brett Carter (Odysseus), Martin Busen (Jason) and Maren Schwier (Aphrodite) sang. A recording was made available as an audio and video stream on the Internet.
In the premiere production, a body of water on the stage indicated the Mediterranean Sea. Swinging headlights symbolize the swell. The sirens were represented by oversized "stage horns" that were let down from the Schnürboden and slowly turned to the singing of the electronically alienated women's choir. Some of the winds played in the boxes. The live electronics speakers distributed throughout the room also resulted in an all-round sound. No surtitles were used. The critic of the Deutsche Bühne felt that the electronic sound surfaces were “not without attraction”, but criticized the lack of tension and the often repeated musical elements. The dramatic climax of Butes' jump was also "given away as a scenic gift". The evening was "too abstract and constructed to really touch". The critic of the opera world , on the other hand, understood the “jump” stretched in slow motion “according to the freezing music [...] as a 'realistic' component [which] precisely conveys the agony of such a change for life and death.” Fitted with the “musical minimalism” also the "calm, static images" of the director who jumped in at short notice.
The performances of the co-producing State Theater Mainz took place in May and June 2018 in the small house there.
Web links
- José Maria Sánchez-Verdú: “Argo” in the SWR2 programwith audio and video of the world premiere.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c work information from the music publisher Breitkopf & Härtel , accessed on June 11, 2018.
- ^ A b Hans-Klaus Jungheinrich: Twilight hour. In: Opernwelt , June 2018, p. 18.
- ↑ a b Commissioned by José Maria Sánchez-Verdú: Dramma in musica ARGO. Press release from the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation , accessed on June 12, 2018.
- ↑ José Maria Sánchez-Verdú: "Argo" in the SWR2 program , accessed on June 11, 2018.
- ↑ Georg Rudiger: Limited seduction. Review of the premiere. In: Die Deutsche Bühne , April 30, 2018, accessed on June 12, 2018.