Armida abbandonata (Jommelli)
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| Title: | Armida abbandonata |
Title page of the libretto, Naples 1770 |
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| Shape: | Dramma per musica in three acts |
| Original language: | Italian |
| Music: | Niccolò Jommelli |
| Libretto : | Francesco Saverio De Rogati |
| Literary source: | Torquato Tasso : The Liberated Jerusalem |
| Premiere: | May 30, 1770 |
| Place of premiere: | Teatro San Carlo , Naples |
| Playing time: | about 3 hours |
| Place and time of the action: | Armida's castle, at the time of the First Crusade around 1100 |
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Armida abbandonata (German: "The abandoned Armida") is an opera seria (original name: "dramma per musica") in three acts by Niccolò Jommelli (music) with a libretto by Francesco Saverio De Rogati after the 16th and 18th cant of Torquato Tasso's epic The Liberated Jerusalem . The premiere took place on May 30, 1770 at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples.
action
The action takes place at the time of the First Crusade around 1100.
The crusader Rambaldo fell in love with Armida, the princess of Damascus, and changed sides. The knight Tancredi tracks him down in their magic castle, but is captured. Another princess, Erminia of Antioch, loves Tancredi. She followed him and tried to save him. Armida herself only loves the crusader Rinaldo, whom she made in love with with the help of her magic. The two knights Dano and Ubaldo are equipped with magical aids in search of him. Since Tancredi refuses to renounce the Crusaders, Armida lets magical monsters attack him. Dano and Ubaldo arrive just in time to save him. Tancredi manages to convince Rinaldo that he has to leave Armida. However, she can change his mind shortly afterwards.
Erminia persuades Armida to release Tancredi if he names his accomplices. Armida worries about the hostile forces that have invaded her castle. With the help of a magic shield, Dano and Ubaldo can bring Rinaldo to their senses again. Ubaldo frees Tancredi, who refused to betray his comrades. Erminia joins them. After the knights' successful escape, Armida swears vengeance, destroys her magical realm and flies away with Rambaldo in a chariot pulled by winged dragons.
Shortly before the fugitives reach the camp, they learn that an enchanted forest is hindering the progress of the crusade. According to a prophecy, only Rinaldo can solve the problem. Tancredi informs him about the secrets of the forest. There Rinaldo meets seductive nymphs. He penetrates to a clearing with an enchanted myrtle - the symbol of Armida's power. This itself tries to stop him and conjures up monsters. Nevertheless, Rinaldo can fell the myrtle. The ghost will pass instantly. Meanwhile, Ramboldo has returned ruefully to the Companions and has received their forgiveness. All go back to the crusader camp.
first act
The interior of Armida's castle with a drawbridge
Scene 1. Tancredi tries to overpower the renegade Rambalo in battle. Erminia appears in the armor of the fighter Clorinda, who is admired by Tancredi, and forces the fighting apart. Rambaldo runs away. At the same moment the sky darkens and the bridge is raised. Tancredi thinks he failed.
Scene 2. Rambaldo has used the darkness to get reinforcements. After another short fight, they manage to overpower Tancredi. Erminia persuades Tancredi to give her his sword. He insists that he does not give up out of cowardice, but rather for the sake of her (the supposed Clorinda) to hold back his anger (Aria Tancredi: "Non è viltà").
Scene 3. Erminia tells Rambaldo her life story: After a lost battle, she fell into the hands of Franconian Boemondo ( Bohemond of Taranto ). It was on this occasion that she met Tancredi and fell in love with him. Since they were separated, she has been disguised as Clorinda in search of until she finally reached Armida's castle. Rambaldo promises her safety. When she asks him for Tancredi's freedom, however, he says that Armida must decide. Erminia warns him that this must be done quickly - otherwise there is a risk that Armida will fall in love with Tancredi. Rambaldo is on his way.
Scene 4. Erminia, who has lost her country, her kingdom, her father and her lover, accuses heaven and the gods of having abandoned her (Aria Erminia: “Da quel primiero istante”).
Lovely garden inside Armida's palace with fountains and statues of geniuses and nymphs among flowers; in the background part of the palace
Scene 5. The knights Dano and Ubaldo are looking for the knight Rinaldo on behalf of Goffredo. They hide when they notice a group of nymphs.
Scene 6. The seductively dressed nymphs take care of the sad-looking Rinaldo. However, he feels harassed by them and tries in vain to send them away (Chaconne Rinaldo: “Ma lasciatemi alfin”). Rinaldo is jealous of Rambaldo, apparently now Armida's favorite. Armida assures him that she only loves him. Rambaldo is only useful to them as an ally. Rinaldo doesn't believe her and threatens to leave her (Aria Rinaldo: “Resta, ingrata; io parto”).
Scene 7. After Rinaldo leaves, Rambaldo appears with the news that he has captured Tancredi. Armida sends him after Rinaldo of all people to convince him of her undying love. Now Rambaldo feels betrayed, but despite his deep disappointment he cannot refuse her any wish (Aria Rambaldo: “Non ti sdegnar”).
Scene 8. The captured Tancredi faces death calmly. Armida assures him, however, that he has nothing to fear. He could either stay and enjoy life or swear an oath against Goffredo and go unhindered. When Tancredi resolutely rejects such a betrayal, Armida swears vengeance and summons her monsters before she withdraws (Aria Armida: “Se la pietà”).
Scene 9. Tancredi begins the fight against the monsters. Fortunately, his friends Ubaldo and Dano appear at this moment. The latter received a magic bow from an old man, with the help of which he can easily banish the monsters. The two inform Tancredi of their mission to free Rinaldo from Armida's clutches. Tancredi wants to join them. Dano and Ubaldo set out to destroy the magic of the place (Aria Dano: "Odo che un zefiro").
Scene 10. Rinaldo initially thinks Tancredi is another rival for Armida's favor before recognizing him. Tancredi is appalled by Rinaldo's effeminate appearance. But he soon succeeds in convincing him to leave Armida. Rinaldo only has to wait a short time for the friends to break the magic of the palace.
Scene 11. Knowing Armida's power over his heart, Rinaldo hopes that he won't see her again before we leave (Accompagnato: “Sensi d'onor, di gloria”). But she finds him and awakens his love again (Accompagnato: "Addio - M'ascolta"). He renounces the “false laws of honor” and swears his love for her (duet Rinaldo, Armida: “Ah! Tornate”).
Second act
Garden in the palace
Scene 1. Erminia accuses Rambaldo of failure because Tancredi is still not free. Rambaldo explains the situation to her and advises her to speak to Armida personally.
Scene 2. Erminia begs Armida for mercy for Tancredi. Although she is still angry with him, she finally lets Erminia's tears soften her. She gives him her seal to show to the guards. However, Tancredi has to name his accomplices. Erminia hurries away happily (Aria Erminia: “Cercar fra i perigli”).
Scene 3. Armida is concerned about the unknown forces threatening her power. Rinaldo can temporarily calm her with his oaths of love (Aria Rinaldo: "Caro mio ben").
Scene 4. Rinaldo has barely left when Armida's worries stir again. Rambaldo also reports of enemy fighters who have penetrated the palace. He had involved them in a fight, but they suddenly disappeared "like fog in the wind". Armida tells Rambaldo to move Rinaldo to a safer place. Rambaldo suffers from his unrequited feelings for Armida (Aria Rambaldo: "Troppo da me pretendi").
Scene 5. Armida is deeply worried (Accompagnato and Aria Armida: “Misera me!” - “Ah! Ti sento”).
Scene 6. With urgent references to his duty and Goffredo's forgiveness, Dano and Ubaldo try in vain to persuade Rinaldo to leave. Only when they show him their magic shield does Armida's magic fade. Dano and Ubaldo make their way to the nearby lake, where a boat is waiting for them. Ubaldo goes to the dungeon to free Tancredi (Aria Ubaldo: "L'arte e l'ingegno").
Underground dungeon in Armida's castle
Scene 7. Tancredi, who is kept in chains, fears that his companions have abandoned him. Erminia appears, explains to him that she has escaped in Clorinda's armor and informs him of Armida's promise of mercy. Tancredi is unwilling to betray his friends, however. Although he acknowledges Erminia's efforts, he cannot return her love because he feels bound to Clorinda.
Scene 8. Ubaldo frees Tancredi from the dungeon. Together with Erminia they go to the lake shore (Arie Tancredi: “Fral'orror di notte oscura”).
Place in the magnificent Armidas palace, with arcades and columns, surrounded by the lake, on which a boat is ready for Rinaldo's departure
Scene 9. Rinaldo and Dano anxiously wait for Tancredi and Ubaldo to arrive.
Scene 10. Armida makes one last attempt to prevent Rinaldo from leaving. He explains his motives to her. In spite of the erupting feelings of love, this time he succeeds in resisting her. Armida has to let him go, but swears that her spirit will always follow him until he falls in battle. At the moment of his death he would call for her in vain (Accompagnato Armida: “Io già ti lascio”). Rinaldo gets ready to follow Dano, who is already leaving (Cavatine Rinaldo: “Guarda chi lascio”).
Scene 11. Tancredi, Ubaldo, and Erminia finally come to the boat. Rinaldo hesitates only briefly at the sight of Armida, desperately sunk on a rock.
Scene 12. After the knights leave, Rambaldo finds Armida dejected. He hopes that she will now turn to him. She calls the Furies of Hell to vengeance against Rinaldo (Accompagnato and Arie Armida: "Misera Armida" - "Odio, furor, dispetto" - "Ecco, Aletto e Megera"). The sky darkens and an earthquake destroys their palace. A chariot drawn by winged dragons rises from the ground. Armida and Rambaldo get in.
Third act
Lakeshore on the edge of a dense forest; smoke on the other side, where Armida's majestic palace previously stood
Scene 1. The five fugitives meet a group of Goffredo's fighters who hand Rinaldo a letter from the general. In it he assures him of his forgiveness and declares that, according to a prophecy, only Rinaldo has the power to knock down the forest that is hindering the crusade. Rinaldo agrees to take on this task. Ubaldo goes to the camp to inform Goffredo of this.
Scene 2. Tancredi tells Rinaldo that he had previously tried unsuccessfully to penetrate the forest. He is protected by a wall of fire and hundreds of armed men. Rinaldo can only defeat him if he ignores these and other horror images. There is also a tree of life in it, from which blood flows when injured. Tancredi leads Rinaldo to the forest (Aria Tancredi: "Vieni ove onor ti chiama").
Scene 3. While Dano and Erminia wait for the two of them to return, Rambaldo comes out of the forest. He asks for forgiveness for his actions, which he deeply regrets.
Scene 4. Tancredi returns and gives Rambaldo his forgiveness. Everyone goes to a hill to watch the progress of Rinaldo's adventure. Rambaldo is ready to atone for his betrayal with his blood (Aria Rambaldo: "L'onor tradito").
Lovely forest with a lake; the famous myrtle in the middle of a clearing to which a golden bridge over a river leads
Scene 5. Rinaldo has reached the middle of the forest without hitting the wall of fire or any monsters (Accompagnato: “Questa è la selva?”). He crosses the bridge, which immediately falls into the river. The lovely area and the singing birds charm his heart for a moment (Aria and Accompagnato Rinaldo: "Giusto cielo" - "Ma che più tardo?"). Nymphs try to persuade him to return to his lover (chorus: “Torna pure al caro bene” - “Questo cielo”). Rinaldo ignores them. He takes up his sword to cut the myrtle.
Scene 6. The myrtle opens. This shows Armida, who tries to stop Rinaldo (Aria Armida: "Ah! Non ferir!"). Rinaldo cannot be influenced. Armida disappears again. In their place monsters appear and attack Rinaldo (chorus: “Sconsigliato!”). The sky is also darkening and lightning flashes. Nevertheless, Rinaldo manages to beat the myrtle. Immediately the appearances pass and the forest shows itself in its normal form.
Scene 7. Rambaldo begs Rinaldo for forgiveness (“Ah! Perdona il mio trasporto”), which Rinaldo grants him. Rinaldo and Tancredi promise to help Erminia get her throne back. All go back to the crusader camp.
layout
The material of the abandoned Armida was used in many operas. The librettists often used older texts as a basis, which they revised to a greater or lesser extent. In this case, however, it is an autonomous text by De Rogati, which may only be traced back to its own spoken theater version. Earlier Armida operas usually ended with the destruction of Armida's palace. De Rogati, on the other hand, added the magic forest scenes for the first time and in this way was given the opportunity to create further effective tableaus. Later Armida operas were based on this innovation. Haydn's Armida of 1783 is a high point of development .
Such a variety of theatrical effects was not yet common in Naples at the time. Jommelli knew her from his work for the theater in Ludwigsburg, where the French style was cultivated with ballets and choirs. There are also various mixed forms of recitatives, accompaniments, cavatins and arias. The Magic Forest scenes (III.5 and 6) contain two different choirs: the seductive voices of the nymphs with flute and string accompaniment and the demons sung by deep male voices with oboes, horns and strings.
A special feature of the libretto is that the dramatic development does not result from intrigue, as in Pietro Metastasio's texts , but from the internal conflicts of the protagonists. The power of the initially far superior Armida gradually declines. The fact that Tancredi defeats the monsters she has summoned and that enemy knights invade her realm leads to her feeling of uncertainty in the first act, which is intensified by the further events until Rinaldo finally breaks her power with the felling of the myrtle. Jommelli's music follows this dramatic development exactly and is unique in comparison to other contemporary operas. The composer did not limit himself to formal elements, but also interpreted the text in a painterly motif and harmony.
orchestra
The orchestral line-up for the opera includes the following instruments:
Music numbers
The opera contains the following musical numbers:
- Sinfonia
first act
- Aria (Tancredi): "Non è viltà" (scene 2)
- Aria (Erminia): "Da quel primiero istante" (scene 4)
- Chaconne (Rinaldo): "Ma lasciatemi alfin" (scene 6)
- Aria (Rinaldo): “Resta, ingrata; io parto "(scene 6)
- Aria (Rambaldo): "Non ti sdegnar" (scene 7)
- Aria (Armida): "Se la pietà" (scene 8)
- Aria (Dano): "Odo che un zefiro" (scene 9)
- Accompagnato: "Sensi d'onor, di gloria" (scene 11)
- Accompagnato: "Addio - M'ascolta"
- Duet (Rinaldo, Armida): “Ah! tornate "
Second act
- Aria (Erminia): "Cercar fra i perigli" (scene 2)
- Aria (Rinaldo): "Caro mio ben" (scene 3)
- Aria (Rambaldo): "Troppo da me pretendi" (scene 4)
- Accompagnato: "Misera me!" (Scene 5)
- Aria (Armida): “Ah! ti sento "(scene 5)
- Aria (Ubaldo): "L'arte e l'ingegno" (scene 6)
- Aria (Tancredi): "Fral'orror di notte oscura" (scene 8)
- Accompagnato: "Io già ti lascio" (scene 10)
- Cavatine (Rinaldo): "Guarda chi lascio" (scene 10)
- Accompagnato: "Misera Armida" (scene 12)
- Aria (Armida): "Odio, furor, dispetto" (scene 12)
- Accompagnato: "Ecco, Aletto e Megera" (scene 12)
Third act
- Aria (Tancredi): "Vieni ove onor ti chiama" (scene 2)
- Aria (Rambaldo): "L'onor tradito" (scene 4)
- Accompagnato: "Questa è la selva?" (Scene 5)
- Aria (Rinaldo): "Giusto cielo" (scene 5)
- Accompagnato: "Ma che più tardo?" (Scene 5)
- Choir: "Torna pure al caro bene" (scene 5)
- Choir: "Questo cielo" (scene 5)
- Aria (Armida): “Ah! non ferir! "(scene 6)
- Accompagnato: "Si adopri alfine" (scene 6)
- Choir: "Sconsigliato!" (Scene 6)
- Accompagnato: "Ecco cade la pianta" (scene 6)
- "Ah! perdona il mio trasporto "(scene 7)
Work history
Niccolò Jommellis wrote his opera Armida abbandonata after his return from Stuttgart in 1769, where he had worked for many years as court conductor. Although he officially worked for the Portuguese court, for which he was to compose two operas each year, he now lived in Naples. Until his death in 1774 he wrote six more operas for Italy, of which Armida is the first. The reason for the composition was the name day of King Ferdinand IV. Jommelli took over the job instead of Antonio Sacchini , who was unable to do so due to illness .
The libretto for the opera is by Francesco Saverio De Rogati . The content is based on Canto 16 and 18 from Torquato Tasso's epic The Liberated Jerusalem .
A first-class cast was available for the premiere on May 30, 1770 at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples. It sang Anna Lucia De Amicis (Armida), Giuseppe Aprile (Rinaldo), Apollonia Marchetti (Erminia), Arcangelo Cortoni (Tancredi), Pietro Santi (Rambaldo) Gerlando Speciali (Dano) and Tommaso Galeazzi (Ubaldo). On the same evening the two ballets La forza d'Amore and La vedova di spirito by the choreographer Onorato Viganò were given. Aprile and Cortoni followed Jommelli from Stuttgart to Naples. Despite the widely acclaimed singers, Jommelli's current style with its chromaticism, complex rhythmic structures and dense instrumentation did not go down well with the Neapolitan audience. The effect of the carefully worked out recitatives was lost in the high noise level of the theater. 14-year-old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart attended one of the rehearsals in 1770. On May 29th he wrote that the opera was well composed and that he liked it. In a letter dated June 5, 1770 to his sister Maria Anna, however, he remarked that the music was “beautiful, but much too clever” and “too old-fashioned for the theater”. The Neapolitan court poet Saverio Mattei , on the other hand, asked himself in his Elogio del Jommeli o sia Il progresso della poesia, e musica teatrale (Colle 1785) which opera ever had as much success as this one, because the applause not only for individual numbers but for the entire work applied.
In 1771 and 1780 ( according to Grove Music Online also 1788) the work was played again in Naples. There were also performances in Lisbon (1773) and Florence (1774).
The whereabouts of the autograph is unknown. However, several copies of the full score and individual arias from various European countries have survived. There are more copies of this opera than of any other work by Jommelli. A facsimile reprint of a copy obtained in the Conservatorio di musica San Pietro a Majella Naples was published in 1983 by Garland, New York, as volume 91 of the Italian opera series , 1640-1770.
Recordings
- July 24 - August 2, 1994 - Christophe Rousset (conductor), Les Talens Lyriques .
Ewa Małas-Godlewska (Armida), Claire Brua (Rinaldo), Véronique Gens (Erminia), Gilles Ragon (Tancredi), Laura Polverelli (Rambaldo), Cécile Perrin (Dano), Patricia Petibon (Ubaldo).
Studio recording.
Fnac CD: 592326, ambroise AMB 9983 (2 CDs).
Web links
- Armida abbandonata : Sheet music and audio files in the International Music Score Library Project
- Armida abbandonata (Niccolò Jommelli) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna
- Work data for Armida abbandonata based on the MGG with discography at Operone
- Libretto (Italian), Naples 1770. Digitized in the Internet Archive
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g h Sabine Henze-Döhring : Armida abbandonata. In: Piper's Encyclopedia of Musical Theater . Volume 3: Works. Henze - Massine. Piper, Munich / Zurich 1989, ISBN 3-492-02413-0 , pp. 212-214.
- ↑ a b c d e f Marita P. McClymonds: Armida abbandonata. In: Grove Music Online (English; subscription required).
- ^ Ulrich Schreiber : Opera guide for advanced learners. From the beginning to the French Revolution. 2nd Edition. Bärenreiter, Kassel 2000, ISBN 3-7618-0899-2 , p. 285.
- ↑ Supplement to CD AMB 9983.
- ^ Record of the performance on May 30, 1770 in the Teatro San Carlo, Naples in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna .
- ↑ Leopold Mozart to Maria Anna Mozart in Salzburg, Naples, June 5, 1770, with supplement from Wolfgang Amadé Mozart to Maria Anna (Nannerl) Mozart, Naples, June 5, 1770 in the Digital Mozart Edition (PDF).
- ^ Armida abbandonata (Niccolò Jommelli) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna .
- ^ Niccolò Jommelli. In: Andreas Ommer: Directory of all complete opera recordings (= Zeno.org . Volume 20). Directmedia, Berlin 2005.