Bánk bán (opera)
| Opera dates | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Banus Bank |
| Original title: | Bánk bán |
Poster of the premiere |
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| Shape: | Opera in three acts |
| Original language: | Hungarian |
| Music: | Ferenc Erkel |
| Libretto : | Béni Egressy |
| Literary source: | József Katona |
| Premiere: | March 9, 1861 |
| Place of premiere: | National Theater Pest |
| Playing time: | approx. 2 ½ hours |
| Place and time of the action: | Hungary, 1213 |
| people | |
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Bánk bán (English: Banus Bánk ) is an opera in three acts by Ferenc Erkel based on a libretto by Béni Egressy based on the tragedy by József Katona . The premiere took place on March 9, 1861 in the Pest National Theater .
action
In 1213, Andrew II (Hungarian: II. Endre) wages war in distant lands. His wife Gertrud , a foreigner from Merano , takes over government affairs during his absence and uses them to shower her followers with privileges. The Hungarian nobles, dissatisfied with this situation, come together under the leadership of Petur bán to rebel against their foreign rule. Endres Palatine Bánk bán is meanwhile touring the empire, while his wife Melinda serves as the queen's lady-in-waiting.
first act
Ballroom in the Royal Palace of Visegrád
Queen Gertrud celebrates a big party with her people. Her brother Ottó , Duke of Meran, brags to the German adventurer Biberach that he wants to seduce Melinda. The magnificent event annoys the Hungarian nobles. Petur bán, the leader of the rebels, steps in at the head of his men and sings a “Keserű bordal”, a “drinking song of bitterness”. He reminds those present of the misery of the people. Petur has already sent a messenger to Bánk to ask him to come home and save the country. Ottó makes a first attempt to approach Melinda, but is rejected by her. Gertrud and Biberach tease him about it. Biberach, who secretly plans to oust Gertrude from the throne, wants to exploit Ottó's weakness for his own goals. Ottó informed those present that an envoy from the king had reported a great victory for the Hungarian army. Everyone has a "vivat" on the king. Petur informs Bánk, who has since arrived, of the conspiracy. Bánk promises to come to the rebel gathering the following night. Petur gives him the code word: "Melinda". Biberach advises him that his wife's honor at court is in danger. A German and a Hungarian dance (csárdás) follow.
Staircase hall in the royal castle
Once again Ottó tries in vain to win Melinda over by declaring love. He reminds her how friendly she received him when he had to flee to Hungary for political reasons. Biberach uses the opportunity to spin his intrigue further and brings Bánk in, who finds his wife in a seemingly precarious situation. Melinda immediately points out the differences between her proud husband, who never kneeled before her, and the miserably pleading Ottó. She withdraws. Biberach advises Ottó to ask Melinda for forgiveness and claim that he only wanted to test her loyalty to Bánk. He himself will see to it that the Queen will personally show him to Melinda's room. He gives him a love powder for Melinda and a sleeping pill for the queen. With that, Ottó can still come to his night of love.
Bánk ban worries about his wife's honor. In addition, the country is threatened by foreign rule. He begs God for wisdom to make the right decisions. When Biberach advises him to confront the queen, Bánk realizes that she is to blame for all the problems. He wants to go to the king to point out his wife's machinations. But Biberach advises against: One crow will not peck out the other's eyes. The royal couple would rather sacrifice themselves and have them secretly murdered. Bánk realizes that he has to choose another solution.
Ballroom
The Queen says goodbye to her guests. Melinda tells her that she no longer feels safe and asks her to stay. Gertrud allows it, but feels secretly mocked by Melinda's words.
Second act
Courtyard of the Royal Castle with a view of the Danube
Bánk vows to stand by his fatherland in times of need, even if he should thereby endanger himself (aria: “Hazám, hazám, te mindenem!” - “O country, so dear, my fatherland!”). The farmer Tiborc tells him about the reprisals by the queen. Unable to earn his living honestly any longer, soon the only choice left to him is to go among the robbers. He asks Bánk for help. When Bánk notices a scar on Tiborc's forehead and asks about it, Tiborc says that he received it a long time ago when he wanted to defend Bánk in a battle from a Venetian. Bánk realizes that he owes his life to Tiborc.
Biberach informs Bánk that Ottó raped Melinda. She joins them, trembling and begs Bánk to kill her. But he should spare their son. Bánk loves his wife too much to blame her for her misfortune. He asks Tiborc to bring her and the child to safety in his homeland and promises to follow suit soon.
Gertrud's room in the royal palace
Bánk broke into Gertrud's room. The queen wants to be informed about his behavior. The confrontation between the two escalates. Gertrud reminds Bánk that she is his ruler and he is her liege. Bánk is not intimidated, but accuses her of her own offenses. She eventually draws her dagger to get rid of it. However, Bánk succeeds in snatching it from her and kills her. Since Gertrud could still call for help, Ottó and other courtiers appear. The people ask God for help for the country (prayer choir).
In the piano reduction of 1895, an orchestral march follows at this point. An officer then questions those present about the murder, but all deny it. The king also appears, reveals his horror and demands clarification. He threatens revenge.
Third act
On the banks of the Tisza
On their escape, Tiborc and Melinda reached the bank of the Tisza with the child . Night is falling and a thunderstorm is approaching. Melinda broke down mentally. She talks absurdly, seems to no longer understand her situation and sings her son a lullaby about a pair of birds. When the boat finally arrives, she is not ready for the crossing, especially since voices are warning against it. She thinks she hears sounds that lure her to a heavenly land and throws herself into the river with the child.
Throne room. In the background a chamber separated by a floor-length curtain
King II. Endre, who has returned from the war, sits on one of the two thrones in the semi-darkness. The other is vacant. Courtiers and monks ask God for peace for the soul of the dead queen. The king accuses the Hungarian nobles of the act. He has the curtain drawn back to reveal the queen's bier, surrounded by her children and pages. The nobles, however, deny having committed the murder. Then Bánk steps in, throws away his badge of rank and declares that he has committed the deed. Given the crimes of Gertrude, any patriotic Hungarian would have acted like this. When the king tries to arrest him, Bánk insists that only the people can judge him. Endre furiously challenges him to a duel. But then Tiborc appears with some peasants who are carrying in the dead Melinda and the child. Bánk collapses broken. He begs God to let him die too. Everyone kneels, shaken, and the opera ends with a short mourning chorus.
layout
Instrumentation
The orchestral line-up for the opera includes the following instruments:
- Woodwinds : two flutes , two oboes , English horn , two clarinets , two bassoons
- Brass : four horns , two trumpets , three trombones , tuba
- Timpani , percussion : triangle , snare drum , bass drum , cymbal , cymbal , glockenspiel
- Harmonium , harp
- Viola d'amore
- Strings
Music numbers
The version of the piano reduction from 1895 differs significantly from the version usually played today from 1939. There are additional scenes at the beginning and end of the first act and at the beginning of the third act. On the other hand, the scene from the first act in which Bánk is informed about the conspiracy by Petur is missing. The piano reduction contains the following musical numbers:
first act
- foreplay
- Introduction and chorus
- Recitative and drinking song (Petur and choir)
- Recitative and ensemble (Queen, Melinda, Ottó, Petur, Biberach and choir)
- Recitative and choir
- Ballet:
- a) German dance
- b) Hungarian dance (Csárdás)
- Duet, later trio (Melinda, Ottó, Biberach)
- Scene (Ottó, Biberach)
- Scene of the Bánk bán (Bánk, Biberach)
- Finale (Gertrud, Melinda, Ottó, Petur, choir)
Second act
- Introduction and scene of the Bánk (Biberach, Bánk)
- Duet (Bánk, Tiborc)
- Duet (Melinda, Bánk)
- Duet (queen, bank)
- Choir and prayer choir
- march
- Recitative, King's Aria and Finale
Third act
- Introduction and Theis scene
transformation
- Finale (King, Royal Officer, Bánk, Tiborc, Choir)
music
In order to give the opera a Hungarian ambience, Erkel integrated some traditional Hungarian elements such as the advertising dance ( verbunkos ), the csárdás or popular songs such as the lullaby Melindas. The music of foreigners like Ottó or Biberach, on the other hand, is stylistically based on Italian opera. The Hungarian components also include the use of the cymbal , which probably appears here for the first time in an opera.
In Bánk bán, Erkel developed his own style of music, which in some places has the effect of a chamber opera. This includes, for example, the scene on the riverbank in the second act, in whose folk instrumental ensemble a viola d'amore plays along with the cymbal . In the big scenes, on the other hand, a very strong drama unfolds. Overall, the orchestra is of great importance in opera. It not only contributes the musical themes of the individual characters, but also takes an active part in the dramatic plot.
Erkel had already composed the “Drinking Song of Bitterness” at the beginning of the first act before the opera. Mihály Vörösmarty wrote the text .
Work history
As chief conductor of the National Theater Pest, the composer Ferenc Erkel worked hard to develop a national opera. His subjects therefore prefer to deal with topics from Hungarian history and the struggle for independence. Bánk bán, which he tackled after the defeat of the Hungarian Revolution in 1848/1849 , also belongs in this context . The libretto for the opera is from Béni Egressy . It is based on the tragedy of the same name by József Katona (1815), which was banned for several years after 1849. At the center of the plot from the 13th century is the struggle against the disenfranchisement of the Hungarian people. Egressy probably wrote the libretto shortly before his death in 1851. The Austrian writer Franz Grillparzer had already used the same material in his tragedy, A Faithful Servant of His Master , premiered in 1828 .
Erkel composed the music with interruptions between 1850 and 1860. At the premiere on March 9, 1861 in the National Theater Pest, sang under the direction of the composer Louis [Lájos] von Bignio (II. Endre), Zsófia Hofbauer (Gertrud), Albert Telek (Ottó ), József Ellinger (Bánk bán), Cornélia Hollósy (Melinda), Karóly Köszeghy (Petur bán), Mihály Füredy (Tiborc). The opera immediately became a huge success, and Erkel was celebrated nationwide - which could also be interpreted as a political demonstration.
In the next few years there were productions in several other Hungarian cities, including in 1866 in Kolozsvár (today Cluj-Napoca in Romania), Nagyvárad (today Oradea in Romania), Arad (today in Romania), 1872 in Debrecen , 1877 in Székesfehérvár , Pozsony (now Bratislava in Slovakia) and Veszprém , in 1881 in Pécs and 1882 in Sopron . The success in Hungary turned out to be permanent. By 1990 there were 900 performances in Budapest alone. In contrast, Bánk bán was hardly known abroad . There were plans for a performance in Vienna, which probably did not materialize because of the national position of the work.
In 1939 a new version of the opera was created. Kálmán Nádasdy and Gusztáv Oláh wrote a new libretto that was more closely based on Katona's original. Nándor Rékai adapted the music to the new text and deleted several parts of the score. This version prevailed. Jenő Kenessey made other minor changes to the first scene of the third act in 1953. However, the version from 1939 was still played abroad.
The German premiere of the opera took place in Dessau in 1955 - in a German version by Willy Bodenstein and Heinz Röttger . In the same year there were productions in Opava (in Czech) and Novosibirsk (in Russian), in 1958 in the Moscow Nemirovich Danchenko Music Theater (as a guest performance by the Budapest Opera), in 1959 in the Bolshoi Theater (in Russian) and in Helsinki (in Finnish ), 1960 in Ghent (in Flemish) and 1968 at the Collegiate Theater in London (in English).
Recordings
- 1961 (?) - Vilmos Kolmor (conductor), orchestra and choir of the Hungarian National Opera.
László Jambor (II. Endre), Rózsi Delly (Gertrud), László Kulkei (Ottó), József Jovicky (Bánk bán), Júlia Osváth (Melinda), Janos Fodir (Petur bán), György Melis (Biberachai), Györgyc Radnai ).
Studio recording.
Hungaroton HLPX 150-2 (3 CP). - 1969 - János Ferencsik (conductor), Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra, Hungarian Radio and Television Chorus.
Sandor Nagy (II. Endre), Erzsébet Komlóssy (Gertrud), József Réti (petrol), József Simándy (BANK BAN), Caroline Ágai (Melinda), András Faragó (Petur BAN), Laszlo Polocz (Biberach), György Melis (Tiborc ).
Studio recording; abridged version by N. Nádasdy and N. Rékai.
Hungaroton HCD 11376-77 (2 CD), Hungaroton LP: LPX 11376-78, Hungaroton MK 11376-77 (2, MC). - 12./22. September 1993 - Géza Oberfrank (conductor), Budapest Symphony Orchestra, Hungarian Festival Choir.
János Gurbán (II. Endre), Éva Marton (Gertrud), Tamás Daróczi (Ottó), András Molnár (Bánk bán), Ingrid Kertesi (Melinda), Mihály Kálmándi (Petur bán), Csaba Airizer (Biberach), István Gáti (Tiborc ).
First recording of the first version based on the original manuscript.
Alpha Line Studio. - 2002 - Tamás Pál (conductor), Csaba Káel (production), Orchestra for Hungarian Millennium, Hungarian National Chorus, Honvéd Male Chorus.
Kolos Kováts (II. Endre), Éva Marton (Gertrud), Denes Gulyas (Ottó), Attila Kiss (Bánk bán), Andrea Rost (Melinda), Sándor Sólyom-Nagy (Petur bán), Attila Reti (Biberach), Lajos Miller (Tiborc).
Film version: Budapest Film BU-03-19 (DVD).
CD: Warner Classics 2564674364 (2 CD). - 2018 - Balázs Kocsár (conductor), Attila Vidnyánszky (director), Oleksandr Bilozub (stage), Viktória Nagy (costumes), Árpád Könczei (choreography).
Marcell Bakonyi (II. Endre), Ildikó Komlósi (Gertrud), Péter Balczó (Ottó), Levente Molnár (Bánk bán), Zita Szemere (Melinda), Zsolt Haja (Petur bán), Lajos Geiger (Knight of Biberach), Kolos Kováts (Tiborc), Gergely Irlanda (a knight).
Video; live from the Hungarian State Opera Budapest; Combination of first and second version.
Video stream at Operavision.
Web links
- Bánk bán : Sheet music and audio files in the International Music Score Library Project
- Piano reduction of the first version with Hungarian and German text, 1895. Digitized in the Internet archive
- Libretto of the new version as full text (Hungarian) on tarjangz.eu
- Summary at musirony
Remarks
- ↑ This scene is missing in the revised version from 1939.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j Melinda Berlász: Bánk bán. In: Piper's Encyclopedia of Musical Theater. Vol. 2. Works. Donizetti - Henze. Piper, Munich and Zurich 1987, ISBN 3-492-02412-2 , pp. 151-153.
- ↑ a b Stephen Walsh: Bánk Bán. In: Amanda Holden (Ed.): The Viking Opera Guide. Viking, London / New York 1993, ISBN 0-670-81292-7 , p. 311.
- ↑ a b c d e f Dezső Legány: Bánk bán. In: Grove Music Online (English; subscription required).
- ^ March 9, 1861: "Bánk bán". In: L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia ..
- ^ Bánk bán. In: Reclams Opernlexikon (= digital library . Volume 52). Philipp Reclam jun. at Directmedia, Berlin 2001, p. 247.
- ↑ a b c Ferenc Erkel. In: Andreas Ommer: Directory of all complete opera recordings (= Zeno.org . Volume 20). Directmedia, Berlin 2005.
- ↑ Information on the 1993 recording , accessed on April 14, 2017.
- ↑ Bánk bán at Operavision , video available until March 6, 2019, accessed on September 19, 2018.