Ariodante

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Work data
Original title: Ariodante
Title page of the text book London, 1735

Title page of the text book
London, 1735

Shape: Opera seria
Original language: Italian
Music: georg Friedrich Handel
Libretto : Antonio Salvi , Ginevra, Principessa di Scozia (1708)
Literary source: Ludovico Ariosto , Orlando furioso (1516)
Premiere: January 8, 1735
Place of premiere: Theater Royal, Covent Garden , London
Playing time: 3 ¼ hours
Place and time of the action: Edinburgh and environs, last third of the 8th century
people
  • Ariodante, a princely vassal ( mezzo-soprano )
  • Ginevra, daughter of the King of Scotland, engaged to Ariodante ( soprano )
  • Dalinda, servant of Ginevra, secretly in love with Polinesso (soprano)
  • Polinesso, Duke of Albany, Ariodante's rival ( alto )
  • Lurcanio, Ariodante's brother ( tenor )
  • Il Re di Scozia (King of Scotland) ( bass )
  • Odoardo, favorite of the king (tenor)
  • Courtiers and peasants (choir and ballet)

Ariodante ( HWV 33) is an opera ( Dramma per musica ) in three acts by Georg Friedrich Handel and his second after Orlando , based on Ariost's Orlando furioso . Each act also contains dance scenes composed for the famous dancer Marie Sallé and her troupe.

Emergence

At the end of the 1733/34 season, the contract between Johann Jacob Heidegger and Handel for the lease of the King's Theater on the Haymarket had expired. They were not partners: Handel was employed as music director and composer, but the manager was free to lease the theater to a more financially strong company. He did this - and leased it to the “ Noble Opera ”. Handel responded quickly and turned to John Rich , who had been so successful with the beggar opera and with the proceeds from it had built a new theater, the Theater Royal in Covent Garden . The architect entrusted with this project was Edward Shepherd , who had completed the Cannons Palace for the Duke of Chandos . The building looked quite ostentatious from the outside ( "... an expensive Ionic portico." William Kent called it ), but the interior with the usual fan-shaped auditorium corresponded to the Lincoln's Inn Fields Theater. Due to its large stage, it was just as suitable for opera and oratorio performances . Handel recognized the possibilities offered by this theater, and Rich agreed to a program in which his plays and pantomimes would alternate with Handel's operas.

Despite the dire prognoses of the Abbé Antoine-François Prévost d'Exiles, author of the famous novel Manon Lescaut , in his weekly Le Pour et le Contre (The pros and cons) ,

«[…] Et manque de ce fondement il a fait tant de dépenses ruineuses, et tant de beaux operas à pure perte, qu'il se trouve forcé de quitter London pour retourner dans sa patrie. »

"[...] he suffered such great losses and wrote so many wonderful operas, which turned out to be utter failures, that he will be forced to leave London and return to his home country."

- Antoine-François Prévost : Le Pour et le Contre , Paris 1734

Handel stayed in England, but started a spa treatment in Tunbridge Wells ,

"To get rid of that dejection of mind, which his repeated disappointments had brought on him [...]"

"In order to free himself from the dejection that had befallen him because of the recurring disappointments [...]"

- John Hawkins : A General History of the Science and Practice of Music , London 1776

The first personal letter we received from Handel in English dates from this summer. In it he apologizes to Sir Wyndham Knatchbull for not being able to travel from Tunbridge Wells to Ashford :

“Sir At my arrival in Town from the Country, I found my self honored of your kind invitation. I am very sorry that by the situation of my affairs I see my self deprived of receiving that Pleasure, being engaged with Mr. Rich to carry on the Opera's in Covent Garden. I hope, at your return to Town, Sir, I shall make up this Loss [...] ”

“Sir, when I arrived in town after returning from the country, I found that you had done me the honor of inviting me. To my regret, my current business situation prevents me from accepting this invitation as I am working with Mr. Rich on a continuation of the operas in Covent Garden. I hope to be able to make up for this failure on your next visit to the city [...] "

- Georg Friedrich Handel : Letter to Wyndham Knatchbull, August 27, 1734

When the new season started, the aristocratic opera had all the trump cards in hand: It had the best theater, the most subscribers and the best singers from Handel's former troupe. Almost all the other singers had joined Senesino : Antonio Montagnana , Francesca Bertolli and Celeste Gismondi . Only the soprano Anna Maria Strada del Pò remained loyal to Handel. To top it all off, the world's most famous vocal virtuoso: Carlo Broschi, commonly known as Farinelli , was presented at the Haymarket. Lord Cowper had first heard him on his gentlemanly voyage in Venice . Now, as director of the new opera, he could see its effect on the London musicians, as Burney later describes:

“[…] A voice of […] uncommon power, sweetness, extent, and agility […] On his arrival here, at the first private rehearsal at Cuzzoni's apartments, Lord Cooper, then the principal manager of the opera under Porpora, observing that the band did not follow him, but were all gaping with wonder, as if thunder-struck, desired them to be attentive; when they all confessed, that they were unable to keep pace with him, having not only been disabled by astonishment, but overpowered by his talents. [...] There was none of all Farinelli's excellencies by which he so far surpassed all other singers, and astonished the public, as his messa di voce , or swell; which, by the natural formation of his lungs, and artificial economy of breath, he was able to protract to such a length as to excite incredulity even in those who heard him; who, though unable to detect the artifice, imagined him to have had the latent help of some instrument by which the tone was continued, while he renewed his powers by respiration. "

"[...] a voice with [...] unusual strength, gentleness, volume and agility [...] After his arrival here, at the first private rehearsal in the Cuzzoni apartment , Lord Cowper, then director of the opera under Porpora , observed the orchestra did not follow this, but instead sat there, amazed and moved by thunder, and warned her to pay attention. They then confessed that it was impossible for them to keep up with him; they are not only paralyzed with astonishment, but completely overwhelmed by his ability. […] There were no merits of Farinelli in which he did not far surpass all other singers and astonish the audience, like his messa di voce or swell tone. Because of the nature of his lungs and his skillfully frugal breathing, he was able to endure sounds so long that even those who heard him could not believe it; even if they weren't able to recognize the skill and assumed that he was using some instrument the whole time that kept the note sounding while he took his breath. "

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

Most convincing, however, is the praise of Paolo Antonio Rollis , who, as a close friend of Senesino, would most likely have had something to complain about:

“Non voglio però, perchè no'l merita, tacervi che il Farinello mi à sorpreso di tal maniera; ch'io mi sono accorto non aver prima inteso se non una particella del canto umano, ed ora lusingomi sentirne il Tutto. Egli è inoltre d'amabilissimi e accorti costumi, onde con piacer sommo ne godo la conoscenza e la vicinanza. "

“I have to let you know, however, because everyone should know that Farinelli was a revelation to me. I realized that up to that point I had heard only a fraction of what a person can achieve singing, while now I believe that I have heard everything that can be heard. In addition, he has an extremely pleasant and intelligent nature, so that his company and acquaintance gives me the greatest pleasure. "

- Paolo Antonio Rolli : Letter to Giuseppe Riva , London, November 9, 1734

The “Opera of the Nobility” kicked off the season on October 29 with the performance of Pasticcios Artaserse in the Haymarket Theater. The music was by Farinelli's brother, Riccardo Broschi and Johann Adolph Hasse , who had refused to come to England for the aristocratic opera when he learned that Handel was still alive. The audience and even Farinelli's colleagues on stage were overwhelmed and a lady of high standing shouted: "One God and one Farinelli!" , And William Hogarth immortalized this saying in Marriage à la Mode, IV .

Marriage à la Mode, IV, William Hogarth , 1743, Farinelli left

With so much flattery, there was little Handel could counter:

“A Scholar of M r Gates, Beard, (who left the Chappell last Easter) shines in the Opera of Covent Garden & M r Hendell is so full of his Praises that he says he will surprise the Town with his performances before the Winter is over. "

“One of Mr. Gates' students, Beard (who left the choir last Easter), is making a name for himself at the Covent Garden Opera; Handel is very praiseworthy and says he will surprise the city with his performances before winter comes to an end. "

- Lady Elizabeth : Letter to the Countess of Northampton , London, November 21, 1734

The second new discovery that would influence his next three operas was the famous dancer Marie Sallé, who first came into contact with Handel as a 10-year-old child in a Rinaldo performance in June 1717. This "muse of graceful and modest gestures" was employed by Rich for his pantomimes. The London correspondent for the Mercure de France wrote of their London appearances:

«Elle a osé paroître dans cette Entrée sans panier, sans jupe, sans corps et échevelée, et sans aucun ornement sur sa tête; elle n'estoit vêtuë avec son corset et un jupon, que d'une simple robbe de mousseline tournée en draperie, et ajustée sur le modele d'une Statuë Grecque. »

"She dared to appear without a crinoline , skirt or bodice and with her hair down. Besides a corset and petticoat , she wore a simple muslin dress that she had wrapped around her like a Greek statue."

- Mercure de France , Paris, April 1734

For her and her dance troupe, Handel revised Il pastor fido again , this time adding ballet music to each act. As The Daily Post reported, he offered "... a new Dramatic Entertainment (in Musick) call'd, Terpsicore ..." ("... a new form of entertainment (musical) entitled Terpsichore ...") - his only one French style opera ballet.

For his new opera, Handel had decided not to show off with another heroic opera, but to take up a lighter subject by Ludovico Ariosto . Handel began the composition on August 12, 1734 (“ August 12, 1734 | begun ”) and the other dates are also very complete and precise in the autograph : the first act is signed “Agost 28: 1734.” , the second "Fine dell Atto 2 do li 9 di Settembre 1734." and the last "Fine dell Opera October 24th 1734." . So this time, compared to his usual way, Handel worked rather slowly and took more than ten weeks to complete the entire opera. He planned to release the opera as the first work at his new place of work the following winter, but apparently he was not quite clear about the cast when the opera was set to music: he later transferred the role of Dalinda, which was originally for an alto was intended for Cecilia Young , the future wife of the composer Thomas Augustin Arne , in the soprano. The part of Lurcanio, mostly notated in the soprano clef, was also changed and given to tenor John Beard . The ballet interludes are not in the autograph or are only sketched and were only added later by Handel, as autograph drafts show. The Sallé dance troupe may also have arrived late from Paris. For these reasons and in view of the success of Hasses Artaserse, he countered first in November with resumption of Il Pastor fido , Arianna in Creta and in December with Oreste , a pasticcio that he put together from his own works. Furthermore, the premiere was delayed due to the alterations to the theater.

The rival aristocratic opera also found it difficult to attract enough audiences and tried to fight fire with fire by staging an arrangement of Handel's Ottone on the Haymarket stage, with Farinelli in the role of Adalberto. It was the only Handel role Farinelli ever sang.

The first performance of Ariodante took place on January 8, 1735 at the Covent Garden Theater in London and was a success. Handel also had the approval and financial support of the king and queen , who also attended the premiere. Even if there was not enough audience, the opera could be performed eleven times in the premiere season until March 3rd.

Cast of the premiere

For his first season at the Covent Garden Theater, which only opened in 1732, Handel had a predominantly young and excellent ensemble available - first and foremost the soprano Anna Maria Strada, the only one who had remained loyal to Handel. From 1729 to 1737 she sang all female leading roles in his operas. The castrato Giovanni Carestini shone as an Ariodante, an outstanding artist as a singer and as an actor, whom many experts even preferred to Farinelli. Handel himself valued him very much.

Handel had a high opinion of Giovanni Carestini

Carestini (born 1704) began his studies in Milan when he was twelve . In 1724 he made his debut in Rome in Alessandro Scarlatti's La Griselda , at the side of his teacher Antonio Bernacchi (who later taught Farinelli and in the 1729/30 season played the main male role in Handel's Lotario and Partenope ) . Carestini enjoyed great success in Vienna , Venice , Prague , Rome, Naples and Munich before coming to London in the autumn of 1733. Charles Burney writes about him:

“His voice was at first a powerful and clear soprano, which afterwards changed into the fullest, finest, and deepest counter-tenor that has perhaps ever been heard […] Carestini's person was tall, beautiful, and majestic. He was a very animated and intelligent actor, and having a considerable portion of enthusiasm in his composition, with a lively and inventive imagination, he rendered every thing he sung interesting by good taste, energy, and judicious embellishments. He manifested great agility in the execution of difficult divisions from the chest in a most articulate and admirable manner. It was the opinion of Hasse, as well as of many other eminent professors, that whoever had not heard Carestini was inacquainted with the most perfect style of singing. "

“His voice was initially a strong and clear soprano, later he had the fullest, finest and deepest counter-tenor that could possibly ever be heard […] Carestini's figure was tall, beautiful and majestic. He was a very dedicated and intelligent actor, and since he was endowed with a fair dose of enthusiasm for composition coupled with a lively and resourceful imagination, he made everything he sang interesting through good taste, energy, and clever adornments. He had a great ability to make the chest voice wonderful with great clarity, even in difficult areas. In the opinion of Hasse and many other famous teachers, anyone who had not heard Carestini was unaware of the most perfect singing style. "

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

The seventeen year old John Beard was soon to be considered the best English singer of his time, and Cecilia Young was also at the beginning of a great career. Maria Caterina Negri was a mezzo-soprano who specialized in trouser roles and the bassist Gustav Waltz, who came from Germany, took part in many of Handel's operas and oratorios in the years that followed.

libretto

The Roland song was for centuries a popular source for the creation of stage works of all kinds. Here, secondary storylines, such as those of Ariodante and Ginevra, were also the focus of interest. The theater poets of the late 16th century already recognized that this simply constructed, but at the same time exciting and touching episode was an eminently effective material for the stage. Around 1590 several English and German operations, including arose Shakespeare's comedy Much Ado about Nothing ( Much Ado About Nothing ). While Shakespeare resorted to the friendlier short version of the Ariodante story by Matteo Bandello (1554), which was moved from Scotland to Messina, and invented the gorgeous Buffo couple Beatrice and Benedict, the Italian librettists of the Baroque period again followed Ariost's original text. The subject was first set up for the opera stage by Giovanni Andrea Spinola (under the pseudonym Giovanni Aleandro Pisani) and premiered in Genoa in 1655 with the music of Giovanni Maria Costa . The great success of the material, which continued well into the 19th century ( Weber's Euryanthe , Wagner's Lohengrin ), did not begin until 1708, when the Florentine Antonio Salvi (1664–1724) wrote an excellent text with his libretto version Ginevra, Principessa di Scozia which was first performed in the autumn of 1708 in the Villa Medici of Pratolino and then in Florence in 1709 with music by Giacomo Antonio Perti . Handel, who may have been in Florence at the time, may have attended one of these performances or at least obtained the printed libretto. In the following eighteen years, Salvis' original was set to music by at least eleven other composers, who are now less well-known, for example in 1716 as Ariodante in the Teatro San Giovanni Grisostomo in Venice with music by Carlo Francesco Pollarolo and the sensational debut of the 19-year-old Faustina in the role of Ginevra; but also later by Antonio Vivaldi (1736), Georg Christoph Wagenseil (1745) and Ferdinando Bertoni (1753).

As the personal physician of the Medici dukes, Salvi was one of the numerous "part-time", but by no means secondary lyricists of his time. Unencumbered by existential worries, he was able to develop his individual style, which was influenced by the French drama and was characterized by the natural speech of the protagonists and an often moving representation of emotions. Here the opera composers found lively drawn characters instead of clichéd role types, and so it was no wonder that Georg Friedrich Handel, among many others, chose this rural, sensual and thoughtful piece of Salvis as a text template. Handel adopted this text largely unchanged. He shortened the recitative passages and invented a scene in the moonlight that was not included in Salvi's libretto. Of his 41 aria texts, 26 can be found in Handel.

The following year, Handel brought Ariodante to the stage again on May 5 and 7, 1736, because his next opera Atalanta was not yet finished, this time with Gioacchino Conti, called Gizziello , in place of Carestini, who had left for Venice in July 1735 Title role. There was no dancing at these performances. Gizziello had arrived at such short notice before these performances that there was no time to learn Handel's arias. For the first and only time, Handel allowed one of his singers to import arias by another composer into his own opera. All of Ariodante's arias were replaced by those of unknown origin that Conti had probably brought with him from Italy.

There were no other performances of Ariodante in the 18th century. In the 20th century, the opera was first performed eight times by GMD Carl Leonhardt, beginning on September 28, 1926 in Stuttgart in a German text version by Anton Rudolph. On March 24, 1981, the opera was performed in the Piccola Scala in Milan for the first time in the original language and in historical performance practice . It played Il complesso barocco under the direction of Alan Curtis .

action

Historical and literary background

Ludovico Ariosto's epic Orlando furioso ( The mad Roland ), first published in 1516 and then in its final form in 1532 and soon afterwards known throughout Europe, contains within the framework story - the struggle of the Christians against the pagans - numerous independent individual episodes that deal with the deeds traveling knights and their love adventures. One of these episodes (4th - 6th chant) tells of Ariodante and Ginevra. In the “Argomento” (“preliminary remark”) of the London textbook, the 5th song is named as the source. There Dalinda tells her story to the paladin Rinaldo (not to be confused with the crusader and hero of Handel's early opera Rinaldo ), who saved her from muggers - how she made herself an instrument of a crime out of love for the criminal Polinesso. Through this deception, Polinesso, the rejected admirer of Ginevras, who is connected to Ariodante in love, succeeds in convincing him of her infidelity. Desperate, Ariodante throws himself into the sea. In the 6th song, Rinaldo takes care of the solution of the conflict. Ariodante survived and, after learning of Ginevra's desperation, returns to court unrecognized to face his brother Lurcanio, who accused Ginevra of unchastity, in a duel. According to Scottish law, an unchaste woman will be executed if no advocate defeats her accuser in a duel. After Rinaldo interrupts the fight and accuses Polinesso of the slander, a divine judgment comes between the two. Polinesso is fatally hit by Rinaldo, Ariodante reveals himself, Polinesso's plot is exposed and the couple are reunited by the Scottish king. Rinaldo does not appear in the libretto, instead Dalinda tells her story Ariodante, and Polinesso is killed by Lurcanio. Reduced to the literary framework, this is another version of the slandered woman and judgment of God, popular since the Middle Ages. Already in Matteo Maria Boiardo's Orlando innamorato (1483), the unfinished forerunner work, almost all the important characters of the Orlando furioso appear: Rinaldo (Renaud) from the Clermont family is related to Charlemagne , which suggests that the saga was located there . Orlando furioso found a translation into German under the title Die Historia vom Rasenden Roland (1636) about a hundred years after its creation . The translator of chants 1 to 30 was Diederich von dem Werder (1584–1657). The old language is strong and clear and conveys the issue of the work excellently. The following excerpts come from the Ginevra episode; they reproduce the view of the events that the Renaissance poet had, very close to our present-day feeling. From the 4th song, the 60th and 61st stanza :

Il re, dolente per Ginevra bella
(che così nominata è la sua figlia),
ha publicato per città e castella,
che s'alcun la difesa di lei piglia,
e che l'estingua la calunnia fella
(pur che sia nato di nobil famiglia ),
l'avrà per moglie, ed uno stato, quale
fia convenevol dote a donna tale.

Ma se fra un mese alcun per lei non viene,
o venendo non vince, sarà uccisa.
Simile impresa meglio ti conviene,
ch'andar pei boschi errando a questa guise […]

(Ludovico Ariosto, Orlando furioso, fourth song)

Umb the Ginevra the king is deeply saddened /
(This is her name) because he loves her very much and heartily /
To call out / he has ordered / through the whole country /
Whoever will take protection of this matter by the hand /
And erase this disgrace / as falsely poured out /
(Only that he was nevertheless sprouted from a noble class)
Sol they have for a woman / and such a state there /
As such a woman he is evenly.

When there is no one for her within a month /
Even when one is found / and yet does not overcome /
Then she is burned. Who takes hold of this matter /
does much better / than when he wanders around in the forest [...]

(translation: Diederich von dem Werder, 1636)

Dalinda poses as Ginevra. Illustration, Ed. Harington, London, 1634
This article or section needs revision: The table of contents has been removed as it was a verbatim copy of the book cited for reference.
Please help improve it , then remove this check mark.

music

The music of Ariodante corresponds to the size and importance of its subject matter. Compared to other works by Handel, the first thing that strikes you is the great variety of musical forms used. Choirs and dances, the broad space of which in the overall work does not have an “interlude character” but is motivated in the plot, mark not only the end of the second act and the work in general, but also the end of the first act. Here, in the community of the country folk and the royal couple, free of all courtly constraints, a veritable “opera finale” develops. A lovely gavotte of carefree serenity is started by Ginevra and Ariodante as a duet and develops into a happy dialogue between choir and soloists, that is, between people and rulers. The number of altogether four duets is also astonishing, of which three are assigned to the lovers Ginevra / Ariodante, the fourth, adding speech and counter-speech in popular, song-like simplicity, denotes the late finding of Lurcanio and Dalinda.

In this work, Handel developed a particular fondness for the ariosi , that is, for song-like aria forms that are not adherent to the strict formal scheme of the da capo aria and that certainly seemed particularly suitable to function as the language of simple, heartfelt feelings. Ginevra's first musical utterance: “Vezzi, lusinghe, e brio rendano” (No. 1), Ariodante's tender dreams in anticipation of Ginevra's “Qui d'amor nel suo lingua” (No. 5), but also his despair after the unsuccessful suicide attempt “ Numi! Lasciar mi vivere ” (No. 39), all these moments, which are so important for the profiling of the figures, are composed in arioso form. The desperate Ginevra , forsaken by the whole world, begins “Sì, morrò, ma l'onor mio meco” (No. 45), “largo e piano” in three-four time, but after just five bars her tormented soul suddenly breaks into a passionate one Storming the heavens for justice: Handel abruptly changes to an allegro in four-four time, accompanied by wildly chasing string figures, interrupted by long, painful pauses. Nothing of the old aria type can be felt in such forward-looking Mozart chants.

The pastoral character of the work corresponded to Handel's preference for natural scenarios: more than half of the plot takes place outdoors and nowhere is this more evident than in the short Sinfonia (No. 20) of the second act: Here he set the moonrise with a slowly rising string melody above the quiet, nocturnal garden, creating "[...] a Romantic tone poem in miniature" "[...] a romantic tone painting in small format" ( Winton Dean ). A similar dreamy mood prevails at the beginning of the first common scene between Ariodante and Ginevra. The already mentioned lyrical E flat major Arioso ( “Qui d'amor nel suo lingua” No. 5) of Ariodante, accompanied by oboes and strings, is followed by a short dialogue between the two and one of Handel's most beautiful duets: Support in a clear A major the strings with the most delicate piano and pianissimo Ginevra's promise of loyalty ( “Prendi da questa mano il pegno di mia fe” No. 6) and Ariodante's reply - but before the regular end of the duet, the king interrupts the lovers and gives his fatherly blessing. Not letting the action come to a standstill during the aria or duet, but rather moving it forward, was a novel idea compared to the Italian operatic tradition; Handel repeated this technique in the duet, also in A major, between Lurcanio and Dalinda ( “Dite spera, e son contento” No. 48).

The opera has a fixed tonal plan, which is based in G ( major and minor ). Here the arch spans from the French overture in G minor to the final chorus ending in G major. In contrast to the first act, which is characterized by major keys and with the ballet of the nymphs, shepherds and shepherdesses, evokes memories of the happy “Golden Age”, the minor keys predominate in the second act. Deepest despair sounds from the opera's central aria, Ariodante's “Scherza infida, in grembo al drudo” (No. 23), which is left beside himself with pain and anger:

Scherza infida, in grembo al drudo.
lo tradito in morte al braccio
per tua colpa ora men vò.

Ma a Spezzar l'indegno laccio,
ombra mesta, e spirto ignudo
per tua pena io tornerò.

Jokes, unfaithful ones, in the lap of the lover.
I, betrayed, am
now going away into the arms of death through your fault.

But to tear the unworthy bond,
I, a sad shadow and a naked ghost, will
return to your torment.

With the key of G minor and once more a saraband rhythm , Handel decided to depict pain rather than anger. And even in the second stanza, where the anger breaks out in the text, Handel maintains the gesture of saraband and the string accompaniment. A unified affect characterizes the entire aria; the B part, which begins in E flat major, soon returns to the dark sphere of the minor keys. The triplets, with which Ariodante brings out the first word “Scherza”, don't taste joking but bitter. They are the only link between the singing voice and an orchestral composition, which otherwise in its sonic quality associates the edge of the abyss, the open gate of hell, where Ariodante thinks he is standing. Sordinate violins and violas above and the pizzicato of the double basses below enclose pianissimo played bassoons, which again and again draw a lament- typical downward line in overlong notes through the orchestral movement, after they had a short, almost malicious exchange of blows with the violins at the beginning of the opening ritornel with the violins “Motif delivered. When the bassoons return to da capo after they have been silent in the B part, it seems even more threatening than at the beginning. Bassoons as sound metaphors of death also belonged to the fund of the convention. It was not the orchestral line-up as such that was unique, but the way in which the bassoons were used, which did not function as a bass instrument as usual, but received their own voice in the middle between the string instruments, and the combination of this bassoons with the muted and plucked strings. So Handel does not represent the particularity of the situation with an extraordinary form, but with the special orchestral sound and thus shows the inner state of the person.

Ariodante's Passion Chant corresponds to Ginevra's arias “II mio crudel martoro” (No. 30) at the end of the second act and her poignant farewell scene in the third act with the D minor aria “lo ti bacio, o mano augusta” (No. 43). In her calm readiness to die, Ginevra acts here like an anticipation of the Iphis chosen for sacrifice in Handel's late oratorio Jephtha (1752). Ginevra's scene, ending with the F sharp minor aria “Sì, morrò, ma l'onor mio meco” , turns back into the major area with the fanfare symphony (No. 46) and thus already heralds the good outcome . As in the interrupted love duet of the first act, Handel now lets the last outbreak of Ginevra's pain, the arioso “Manca, oh Dei! End La mia costanza ” (No. 49) with the appearance of the king and his entourage - G minor is replaced by F major, which, according to the judgment of the contemporary Handel, Johann Mattheson, is capable of “ the most beautiful sentiments in the world ” to express. The shine of trumpets and horns accompanies the dance and choir finals, in which the woodwinds (two oboes and bassoons) play a delightful interplay with the orchestra as a stage ensemble.

Ariodante was not only characterized by compositional innovations, but also by the inclusion of ballet in its most modern form, represented by the French dancer Marie Sallé (1707–1756). Influenced by the naturalistic acting art of David Garrick and the "pantomimes" of the English dance master John Weaver , she created a new type of dance, committed to naturalness and emotional expression, during her engagements in London - a revolution against the prevailing French ballet, which was frozen in circumscribed forms . For the Sallé, whose art was admired as "silent poetry", Handel wrote the extended dance sequences on the files. In contrast to customary practice, they are not only entertaining interludes, but also integral parts of the plot.

interpretation

With Ariodante , Handel's audience experienced an opera that was less focused on a complicated intrigue than on the touching representation of the most varied of emotions in music and dance. The work is not captivating with gods or similar sensations - there is very little movement on the stage, but this lack of superficial action (despite the shortening of the text) makes Salvi's art of characterization even more conscious. If you listen to the language of the individual characters, you will see that the clearly structured plot serves primarily to present the one big theme in variations: the different types of love. How the cards are distributed in Cupid's game, Salvi demonstrates with admirable economy in the first five scenes: Ginevra and Ariodante are deeply attached to each other and have the blessing of the bride's father - so they are almost at the goal of their wishes, what other operas- Couples are usually only allowed shortly before the final. Polinesso, Dalinda and Lurcanio appear as counter-images, whose love goes unrequited. Polinesso has advertised Ginevra unsuccessfully, Dalinda longs for Polinesso and therefore rejects Lurcanio, who is devoted to her. A happy shepherd game could also start from this constellation.

However, Salvi immediately makes it clear that with Polinesso greed for power and brutal egoism will penetrate the supposed idyll. For the Scottish Duke of Albany (feigned) love is only a means to an end, Dalinda is just a tool that he uses in Machiavellian fashion to achieve his goal. His words at the beginning of the second act sound like a modern political alternative to the code of honor of the knightly world, where he calls his deceptive plan “mia bell'arte”. The destruction of other people viewed as “fine art” - that is pure cynicism that gives Polinesso Mephistophelian traits. Dalinda in her naivete proves that love, her first great love, is blind. She only recognizes Polinesso's true character when he wants to have her, the witness of his deception, murdered.

For Ariodante love is a matter of life and death, whereby he shows himself just as gullible as Dalinda: While she closes her eyes, he unconditionally relies on the "eye-gaze" and is ready without further thought to find his dearly loved one Believing Ginevra to do the worst. The king behaves in a similar way: initially a very loving father, he too believes without looking and without giving his daughter the opportunity to justify what is brought to him. In his heart the reason of state wins - he submits to the traditional, cruel law. He is encouraged by Lurcanio, the representative of reason and law: "... non sei padre, essendo Re ..." ("... that you are acting as a king and not as a father ...") (second act, eighth scene). Not out of love, but to save Ginevras and his honor, he even wants to fight Lurcanio.

Ginevra herself is at the center of all these conflicts, but does not understand the context because no one answers her questions. So she remains passive and even at the cost of death constant in her love for Ariodante and her father. The sudden turn to happiness is all the more surprising for her - and, as if awakened from a bad dream, she and Ariodante promise each other again, as at the beginning of the opera, eternal love and loyalty (Handel also emphasized this circular argument musically by writing the last part of the Overture repeated in the finale as “Ballo”). The viewer knows that Ginevra is serious about this. But have Ariodante and the others learned from what happened, or will a new Polinesso soon sow new mistrust? If you look closely, the happy ending of the opera is also an open ending.

Success and criticism

“The music stands out higher in places than in Ariadne , and is carried by a plot that is more uniform in the Italian sense […] Handel's liveliness and cheerfulness prevail everywhere. Many of the other chants are distinguished by the power and splendor of the melodies, by rich tone changes, by an admirably pure and varied accompaniment. All of this is combined in the smallest of these, the Largo in D minor Io ti bacio of twelve bars in the third act, a first-class piece, a perfect sample of a really modest, deep chant. The facility is surprisingly original. The bass suggests the first four notes, but then remains silent to make way for the song, which repeats the same notes in a different register, accompanied by violins in unison pianissimo; in the fourth bar all four accompanying voices suddenly appear. The first part counts seven, the second five bars; so under construction it is a complete aria. No composer in the world has ever said so much in a solo chant of twelve bars. "

- Friedrich Chrysander : GF Handel , Leipzig 1860

“Of all Handel's operas, Ariodante is perhaps the most accessible to an untutored modern audience […] It falls into none of the usual categories […] Ariodante makes a powerful impact in the theater, thanks not only to the interest of the plot and the vitality of the characters, but to the skill with which Handel binds the constituent elements, including orchestration and stage action, into a musico-dramatic unity […] As in Orlando , he relaxes many of the more restrictive bonds of opera seria . "

“Of all of Handel's operas, Ariodante is perhaps the most easily accessible to an untrained modern audience [...] It does not fall into any of the usual categories [...] Ariodante has a strong impact on the theater, not just because of the interesting plot and the Because of the vitality of the characters, but also thanks to Handel's ability to combine the components, including the orchestration and the action on the stage, into a musical-dramatic unit. [...] As in Orlando , he loosens the conventional fetters of the opera seria . "

- Winton Dean : Handel's Operas, 1726–1741. , London 2006

Structure of the opera

first act

  • Arioso (Ginevra) - Vezzi, lusinghe e brio
  • Aria (Ginevra) - Orrida a l'occhi miei
  • Aria (Dalinda) - Apri le luci, e mira gli ascosi
  • Aria (Polinesso) - Coperta la frode di lana servile
  • Arioso (Ariodante) - Qui d'amor nel suo linguaggio
  • Duetto (Ginevra, Ariodante) - Prendi da questa mano il pegno
  • Aria (Ginevra) - Volate, amori, di due at cori
  • Aria (Il Re) - Voli colla sua tromba la fama
  • Aria (Ariodante) - Con l'ali di costanza
  • Aria (Polinesso) - Spero per voi, sì, begli occhi
  • Aria (Lurcanio) - Del mio sol vezzosi rai
  • Aria (Dalinda) - The primo ardor è so caro
  • Sinfonia
  • Duetto (Ginevra, Ariodante) - Se rinasce nel mio cor
  • Coro - Sì, godete al vostro amor
  • Ballo

Second act

  • Sinfonia
  • Aria (Ariodante) - do the preparatory work
  • Aria (Lurcanio) - Tu vivi, e punito rimanga l'eccesso
  • Aria (Ariodante) - Scherza infida, in grembo al drudo
  • Arioso (Dalinda) - Se tanto piace al cor il volto tuo
  • Aria (Polinesso) - Se l'inganno sortisce felice
  • Aria (Il Re) - Invida sorte avara
  • Aria (Il Re) - Più contento e più felice
  • Aria (Ginevra) - Mi palpita il core
  • Aria (Lurcanio) - Il tuo sangue, ed il tuo zelo
  • Recitativo e Aria (Ginevra) - A me impudica? - Il mio crudel martoro
  • Ballo

Third act

  • Arioso (Ariodante) - Numi! lasciarmi vivere
  • Aria (Ariodante) - Cieca notte, infidi sguardi
  • Aria (Dalinda) - Neghittosi or voi che fate?
  • Aria (Polinesso) - Dover, giustizia, amor
  • Aria (Ginevra) - Io ti bacio, o mano augusta
  • Aria (Il Re) - Al sen ti stringo e parto
  • Aria (Ginevra) - Sì, morrò, ma l'onor mio
  • Sinfonia
  • Aria (Ariodante) - Dopo notte, atra e funesta
  • Duetto (Dalinda, Lurcanio) - Spera, spera, io già mi pento / Dite spera, e son contento
  • Arioso (Ginevra) - Manca, oh Dei !, la mia costanza
  • Sinfonia
  • Duetto (Ginevra, Ariodante) - Bramo haver mille cori
  • Coro - Ognuno acclami bella virtute
  • Ballo
  • Coro - Sa trionfar ognor virtute in ogni cor

orchestra

Two recorders , two transverse flutes , two oboes , bassoon , two horns , two trumpets , strings, basso continuo (violoncello, lute, harpsichord).

Discography (selection)

  • RCA LSC 6200 (1971): Sofia Steffan (Ariodante), Graziella Sciutti (Ginevra), Carole Bogard (Dalinda), Bernadette Greevy (Polinesso), Ian Partridge (Lurcanio), Marius Rintzler (Il Re), Walter Eder (Odoardo); Vienna Academic Choir
Orchestra of the Vienna Volksoper; Dir. Stephen Simon
  • Oriel Music Society OMS 80 (1975): Janet Baker (Ariodante), Lois McDonall (Ginevra), Wendy Eathorne (Dalinda), Della Jones (Polinesso), Alexander Young (Lurcanio), Malcolm King (Il Re), Brian Burrows (Odoardo ); BBC Singers
English Chamber Orchestra ; Gov. Anthony Lewis
English Chamber Orchestra ; Dir. Raymond Leppard (201 min)
  • Harmonia Mundi HMU 907146-8 (1995): Lorraine Hunt (Ariodante), Juliana Gondek (Ginevra), Lisa Saffer (Dalinda), Jennifer Lane (Polinesso), Rufus Müller (Lurcanio), Nicolas Cavallier (Il Re), Jörn Lindemann ( Odoardo); Wilhelmshaven vocal ensemble
Freiburg Baroque Orchestra ; Dir. Nicholas McGegan (202 min)
Les Musiciens du Louvre ; Dir. Marc Minkowski (178 min)
Bavarian State Orchestra ; Dir. Ivor Bolton (180 min)
Les Musiciens du Louvre ; Dir. Marc Minkowski
Il complesso barocco ; Dir. Alan Curtis (DVD)
Il complesso barocco ; Gov. Alan Curtis

literature

swell

Web links

Commons : Ariodante (Handel)  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j Christopher Hogwood : Georg Friedrich Händel. A biography (= Insel-Taschenbuch 2655), from the English by Bettina Obrecht, Insel Verlag , Frankfurt am Main / Leipzig 2000, ISBN 3-458-34355-5 , p. 213 ff.
  2. ^ 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 3-7618-0717-1 , p. 243
  3. ↑ Sir John Hawkins : A General History of the Science and Practice of Music , London 1776, new edition 1963, Vol. II, p. 878
  4. ↑ A General History of the Science and Practice of Music . archive.org. Retrieved February 6, 2013.
  5. ^ Editing management of the Halle Handel Edition: Documents on life and work. , in: Walter Eisen (Ed.): Handel Handbook: Volume 4 , Deutscher Verlag für Musik , Leipzig 1985, ISBN 3-7618-0717-1 , p. 244
  6. ^ Charles Burney : A general history of music:… Vol. 4 , London 1789, reprint of the Cambridge Library Collection, 2011, ISBN 978-1-108-01642-1 , pp. 379 f.
  7. ↑ 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 3-7618-0717-1 , p. 246
  8. ↑ a b c d Bernd Baselt : Thematic-systematic directory. Stage works. , in: Walter Eisen (Ed.): Händel-Handbuch: Volume 1 , Deutscher Verlag für Musik , Leipzig 1978, ISBN 3-7618-0610-8 (Unchanged reprint, Kassel 2008, ISBN 978-3-7618-0610-4 ), P. 408 f.
  9. ↑ Mercure de France, dédié au Roy. Avril. 1734 , Paris 1734, p. 771 f.
  10. ↑ Mercure de France , April 1734
  11. ^ Editing management of the Halle Handel Edition: Documents on life and work. , in: Walter Eisen (Hrsg.): Handel manual: Volume 4 , Deutscher Verlag für Musik , Leipzig 1985, ISBN 3-7618-0717-1 , p. 245
  12. ^ A b Friedrich Chrysander : GF Handel , second volume, Breitkopf & Härtel , Leipzig 1860, p. 369 f.
  13. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Dorothea Schröder: Handel. Ariodante , DG 457271-2, Hamburg 1997, p. 24 ff.
  14. ↑ a b Anthony Hicks : Timeline , in Christopher Hogwood: Georg Friedrich Handel. A biography (= Insel-Taschenbuch 2655), from the English by Bettina Obrecht, Insel Verlag , Frankfurt am Main / Leipzig 2000, ISBN 3-458-34355-5 , p. 495 f.
  15. ^ Charles Burney : A general history of music:… Vol. 4 , London 1789, reprint of the Cambridge Library Collection, 2011, ISBN 978-1-108-01642-1 , pp. 369 f.
  16. ↑ David Vickers: Handel. Arianna in Creta , from the English by Eva Pottharst, MDG 609 1273-2, Detmold 2005, p. 30 ff.
  17. ↑ a b Silke Leopold : Handel. The operas. , Bärenreiter-Verlag , Kassel 2009, ISBN 978-3-7618-1991-3 , p. 220 ff.
  18. ^ A b Winton Dean : Handel's Operas, 1726–1741. Boydell & Brewer, London 2006, Reprint: The Boydell Press, Woodbridge 2009, ISBN 978-1-84383-268-3 , p. 288
  19. ↑ Thomas RP Mielke : Orlando furioso , Structure Taschenbuch Verlag , Berlin 2004, ISBN 3-7466-2062-7
  20. ↑ Orlando furioso. Canto 1 . wikisource.org. Retrieved February 13, 2013.
  21. ↑ a b Waldtraut Lewin : Ariodante , program booklet 14, Landestheater Halle, 1971
  22. ↑ Winton Dean : Handel's Operas, 1726-1741. Boydell & Brewer, London 2006, Reprint: The Boydell Press, Woodbridge 2009, ISBN 978-1-84383-268-3 , p. 290
  23. ^ Silke Leopold : Handel. The operas. , Bärenreiter-Verlag , Kassel 2009, ISBN 978-3-7618-1991-3 , p. 106 f.
  24. ↑ Winton Dean : Handel's Operas, 1726-1741. Boydell & Brewer, London 2006, Reprint: The Boydell Press, Woodbridge 2009, ISBN 978-1-84383-268-3 , pp. 289, 298