Ariane et Barbe-Bleue (Opera)
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| Title: | Ariane et Barbe-Bleue |
| Original language: | French |
| Music: | Paul Dukas |
| Libretto : | Maurice Maeterlinck |
| Premiere: | May 10, 1907 |
| Place of premiere: | Opéra-Comique , Paris |
| Playing time: | approx. 2 ½ hours |
| Place and time of the action: | In Barbe-Bleues Castle |
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Ariane et Barbe-Bleue is an opera by Paul Dukas from 1907 . The text comes from Maurice Maeterlinck 's drama of the same name (1901), with minor changes by the composer.
action
The plot of the opera is based on the well-known folk tale about Duke Bluebeard , who goes out to watch the bride and - according to the version of the Brothers Grimm - woos three daughters of a man one after the other. When he leaves, he gives everyone the keys to the spacious lock and allows them to look around and open all rooms - except for one. The first two sisters cannot resist the temptation to look behind the door and, after the great wealth that was amassed in all the other rooms, see a horrific find: the lifeless bodies of their predecessors, beheaded swimming in a blood tub. Bluebeard discovers the two older sisters and punishes them with the same fate for their disobedience. The third daughter also unlocks the forbidden door, but puts the limbs of her sisters together again so that they heal. When Bluebeard returns home, the third daughter is able to outsmart him and put the two sisters in a basket that Bluebeard has to carry to the daughters' parents, while the third daughter is under observation. But as soon as the duke wants to set down the basket, the sisters call out to him that he should go on. Finally, the duke dragged himself to death with his burden.
In the version of Dukas' opera, the third daughter is given a proper name, Ariane. Maurice Maeterlinck brings the fairy tale of Bluebeard together with the Ariadne myth in his libretto . Ariadne is Theseus' lover in Greek mythology, who, with the help of the thread named after her, through which he finds his way out of the labyrinth, helps him to win over the Minotaur who devours human sacrifices; However, she is left sleeping by Theseus on the island of Naxos , where she is found by Dionysus / Bacchus , who reunites with her. Maeterlinck also incorporates the experience of his life at the side of his strong-willed companion, the singer Georgette Leblanc, into the character of Ariane. The action is outwardly rather undramatic; it consists rather in processes of an internal nature, which are portrayed in a very differentiated manner by the orchestra. Ariane is characterized from the start as standing above the events, her heroic equanimity suggests the enigmatic attitude of Mélisande in Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande .
In contrast to the wet nurse who accompanies her, Ariane does not value the flood of sapphires , pearls and diamonds that pour out of each of the six gates in the huge vestibule of the castle. Only in the last, the seventh chamber, does she see her premonitions fulfilled: Ariane's five predecessors, all of the individual fates of women who can be recognized by their names as female characters from Maeterlinck's earlier dramas, are trapped in a dungeon and languish toward death. Ariane has to find out how passive the women are; she seeks and finds an exit from the dungeon, from which she leads the women into daylight. At the same time Bluebeard comes back from his trip. The angry male villagers no longer want to watch the Duke take their wives away from them and only need a push to storm the castle. When Ariane is asked to decide whether to kill the badly wounded Bluebeard or leave him alive, she decides not to leave him to the ultimate control of the villagers. She feels that Bluebeard has already died at the moment of his defeat. She finally offers the five women freedom - but they are unable to tear themselves away: they are already inextricably linked with Bluebeard. Ariane is the only one who can free herself from his power; she wishes the five women luck (“Soyez heureuses”) and leaves.
layout
In contrast to Béla Bartók's opera Duke Bluebeard's Castle (1911), Dukas does not focus on the conflict between Bluebeard and his wife, but rather on the emancipation of Ariane as a woman. The tonal language of the thoroughly composed piece, a mixture of romantic and impressionistic sound media, with clear references to Wagner's music drama , is characterized above all by the orchestral, sensitively nuanced adaptation of the music to the characters and moods to be represented.
Instrumentation
The orchestral line-up for the opera includes the following instruments:
- Woodwinds : three flutes (2nd and 3rd also piccolo ), two oboes , English horn , two clarinets , bass clarinet , three bassoons , double bassoon or double bass Sarrusophone
- Brass : four horns , three trumpets , three trombones , tuba
- Timpani , percussion (4 players): bass drum , cymbals , triangle , tambourine , stirring drum , bells, celesta , bell in B flat , tam-tam
- two harps
- Strings
Work history
The opera's premiere took place on May 10, 1907 at the Paris Opéra-Comique . Félix Vieuille sang the title role. Directed by Albert Carré and set by Jucien Jusseaume.
Representatives of the Second Viennese School were enthusiastic about the work. However, the work never became particularly popular and remained Dukas' only opera. Only recently have there been more performances again, e.g. B. at the Hamburg State Opera (1997; musical direction Ingo Metzmacher ), at the Zurich Opera House (2005; musical direction: John Eliot Gardiner , staging: Claus Guth ), in the Konzerthaus Wien (concert performance , May 2006; musical direction: Bertrand de Billy ) and at the Frankfurt Opera (2007; musical direction: Paolo Carignani / Erik Nielsen, staging: Sandra Leupold ).
Web links
- Ariane et Barbe-bleue : Sheet music and audio files in the International Music Score Library Project
- Action by Ariane et Barbe-Bleue (Opera) on Opera-Guide target page due to URL change currently not available
- www.impresario.ch - Reviews of the Zurich performance
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Theo Hirsbrunner : Ariane et Barbe-Bleue. In: Piper's Encyclopedia of Musical Theater . Volume 4: Works. Massine - Piccinni. Piper, Munich / Zurich 1991, ISBN 3-492-02414-9 , pp. 73-76.