Cleopatra (Rossi)
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| Title: | Cleopatra |
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Title page of the libretto, Turin 1876 |
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| Shape: | Melodramma in four acts |
| Original language: | Italian |
| Music: | Lauro Rossi |
| Libretto : | Marco D'Arienzo |
| Literary source: | Shakespeare: Antony and Cleopatra |
| Premiere: | March 5, 1876 |
| Place of premiere: | Teatro Regio Turin |
| Playing time: | approx. 1 ¾ hours |
| Place and time of the action: |
Alexandria and Rome, around 32 BC Chr. |
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Cleopatra is an opera (original name: "melodramma" or "tragedia lirica") in four acts by Lauro Rossi (music) with a libretto by Marco D'Arienzo based on William Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra . It was premiered on March 5, 1876 in the Teatro Regio Turin .
action
The opera takes place at 32 BC. The setting of the first, second and fourth acts is Alexandria in Egypt. The third act takes place in Rome.
first act
Pleasant place in Cleopatra's palace
On the right side of the spectator a magnificent oriental pavilion, underneath a sumptuously arranged table; on the left in the background the Isis Temple with its gates wide open; in the background between the pavilion and the temple the Nile, the waters of which are illuminated by the light of the rising moon.
Scene 1 . Diomede, Cleopatra's advisor, is concerned about her love affair with the Roman triumvir Marco Antonio . He foresees the fall of the empire. Priests come out of the temple and tell of a terrible prophecy of the goddess (choir of priests: "Più vittime adorne di bende e di fior"). Diomede decides to keep this a secret from the people and to continue to exude confidence. He wants to speak to Cleopatra again.
Scene 2. Cleopatra and Antonio pass by in a ship with some slaves and sing about their love (Antonio / Cleopatra: “Amiam!… Gl'istanti volano”). Diomedes and the priests watch them anxiously.
Scene 3. A slave tells Diomede of a planned attack by the Queen against him. Diomede sends him away and lets himself go to his thoughts. Despite everything, he still loves Cleopatra (Diomede: “Di tradimento cinge il viver mio!”).
Cleopatra and Antonio approach from the right; princes and princes precede them; slaves and guards follow. They all wear garlands of flowers on their heads. Cleopatra and Antonio sit in the middle of the table, the princes and princes on the sides. The guards line up in two rows. The slaves pour wine; some of the slaves begin a sensual dance, others scatter flowers on the tables.
Scene 4. During the feast everyone praises the gods Bacchus and Cupid (chorus: “L'ore che fuggono passiam festanti”). Antonio and Cleopatra embrace and swear eternal love.
Scene 5. Proculejo, a Rome ambassador, interrupts the ceremony to present Antonio with a letter from his fellow triumvir, Ottavio Cesare. He asks Antonio to return to Rome. If he refuses, he will be charged with high treason and Rome will attack Egypt. Nonetheless, Antonio tears up the letter and resolutely declares that it will stay. The ambassador regards this as a declaration of war. Cleopatra believes that with Antonio by her side, she can face Rome. The celebration continues (Antonio: “All 'astro io libo dell' oriente”).
Second act
A room in Cleopatra's palace
Through the open end of the room you can see the port of Alexandria and the city with its monuments. On the sides there are two statues of Antonio and Cleopatra. Cleopatra made herself comfortable on oriental pillows. With her are her confidante Carmiana, some slaves who fan her air with ibis feathers and her retinue of wise men, philosophers, princes and singers. Next to Carmiana is a slave with a basket full of flowers.
Scene 1. Antonio has gone to Rome and should be back today. Cleopatra, however, waits in vain. The others try to cheer them up (chorus: “Lieto un raggio di viva speranza”). Carmiana hands her the flower basket, but Cleopatra rejects it. She sends the others out.
Scene 2. Cleopatra grumbles at the oracle for wrongly predicting Antonio's return. There is still no sign of his ship to be seen on the horizon. She wants the "bold flight of the wind" to be able to reach Antonio (Cleopatra: "Io de 'venti vorrei l'audace volo").
Scene 3. Diomede interrupts Cleopatra's thoughts and accuses her of authorship of a failed assassination attempt against him. She apologizes for being persuaded to do so by an ominous god. Diomedes admits that he has suffered profoundly from her behavior since the beginning of her relationship with Antonio. Cleopatra realizes that she treated him unfairly (Diomede / Cleopatra: “Dal primo istante che a questo core”). When she tells of a report that Antonio had turned to another woman in Rome, Cleopatra angrily decides to travel to Rome immediately and poison her rival. Diomede should accompany them. In vain he warns that this would endanger the throne of Egypt (Cleopatra / Diomede: "Come spettro inaspettato").
Third act
Room in the house of Ottavio Cesare
Maids help Cesare's sister Ottavia put on the wedding dress. Two of them take care of their hairstyle by parting their hair with the iron of a lance and braiding six braids.
Scene 1. The maids look forward to the upcoming wedding of their mistress with Antonio (chorus: “Di gemme fulgide t'adorna il crine”). Ottavia, however, hardly dares to step in front of the altar. She fears that his thoughts will continue to dwell on Cleopatra (Ottavia: "Mentre le dolci immagini").
Scene 2. Cesare and Antonio enter. Antonio assures Ottavia of his love. Both ask them to go to the temple with them (Cesare / Antonio / Ottavia: “Muovi, o suora, muovi all 'ara”).
Scene 3. After Ottavio and Antonio have left the room with their entourage, Cesare triumphs. This wedding plays into the hands of his thirst for power, as he no longer has to limit himself to the West (Cesare: “Non basta a me l'impero d'Occidente”).
Broad street in Rome
In the background the temple of Juno Jugo with open gates. The wedding procession comes in the following order: At the head of the entourage are five young men, each of whom is holding a pine torch. They are followed by a young man who holds up Hymenaios' burning torch made of white thorn bush. Behind that we have the relatives and friends Cesares and Antonios, then the princes, the soldiers, the lictors and the people. Ottavia follows, supported by two young girls, behind whom a third carries an open box with jewels, rings and other jewelery. Antonio and Cesare appear behind. A group of young slaves, some of whom are carrying various women's items. - The soldiers split into two groups in front of the temple. The slaves and the people behave in the same way. The rest of the entourage enter the temple and the bride and groom are received by the high priest at the entrance.
Scene 4 (3). The crowd cheers the bridal couple (chorus: "O sposi, al sacro tempio il piè movete").
Scene 5 (4). Cleopatra and Diomede meet the bridal procession. Diomede finds it difficult to keep the Queen from interrupting the ceremony. But when the newlyweds step out of the temple, the five people confront: Cleopatra is ready to renounce her revenge against Ottavia if Antonio returns to her; Antonio rejects them; Ottavia and Cesare watch them both with suppressed anger; Diomede warns Cleopatra of the danger she is facing (Cleopatra / Antonio / Ottavia / Cesare / Diomede: “Dunque, indegno, all 'amor mio”). Cleopatra tries in vain to pull Antonio to her. Finally she reaches for her dagger and pounces on Ottavia under wild threats against Rome. Antonio steps in and Diomede pulls Cleopatra away with him.
Fourth act
Place in Alexandria; two magnificent obelisks on the sides
Scene 1. Diomede tells the Egyptian people of the course of the Battle of Actium , in which Antonio fought alongside Cleopatra against Cesare's troops. After it initially looked like a victory for the Egyptians, a betrayal changed the situation: Cleopatra had fled the battlefield with her ship and left Antonio in the lurch. Then the Romans were able to achieve victory. Egypt's fame is destroyed.
Scene 2. After the people have dispersed, Antonio enters the square in extreme despair and complains about Cleopatra's betrayal (Antonio: “In ripensar le vittime”). Festive sounds approach and voices call for the winner to be received.
Scene 3. Antonio learns from the soldiers that Cleopatra is ready to negotiate peace with Cesare. Now he sees no other way out than to kill himself and die with honor as a Roman (Antonio: "Sogni di gloria, sogni d'amore").
Ground floor hall in Cleopatra's palace
The hall is decorated with the greatest oriental luxury. A lovely landscape can be seen through the open background. A small closed door on one side.
Scene 4. Cleopatra lies on a purple bed, surrounded by her confidante Carmiana, some slaves and other entourage. When asked about public opinion, Carmiana replies that after she escaped from battle, she was believed to be a traitor. Cleopatra admits that she just couldn't take the horrors of war any longer. She no longer has any hope that Antonio could forgive her, but with the help of her seductive skills she wants to win over the victor, Cesare.
Scene 5. When Cesare arrives for the negotiations, he is immediately taken with Cleopatra's appearance. She offers to leave Cyprus and Phenicia to him if he secures her rule over Egypt in return. An agreement seems near.
Scene 6. Proculejo brings the news of Antonio's suicide. Cesare blames Cleopatra and also accuses her of having destroyed Antonio's marriage with his sister. He threatens to depose her and take her to Rome as prisoners. Cleopatra cannot stand this shame. She just wants to die and wonders who might bring her death.
Scene 7. Diomede, having heard her last words, enters and replies: "I". He had sensed her death wish and points to the basket that the slave accompanying him is carrying. Inside there is a snake hidden under flowers. Cleopatra finally realizes Diomedes' deep love for her. Cesare lets a trumpet sound, whereupon the hall fills with princes and Roman soldiers. He asks Cleopatra one last time to follow him to Rome. However, she reaches for the snake and, to the horror of those present, puts it on her neck. She explains to Cesare that with her death she won the freedom of Rome (Cleopatra: “Mirate!… Mirate!… Con lieto sembiante”). A funeral march sounds and Antonio's body is carried in. Cleopatra hopes to see him again soon. In her last words, she urged Cesare to remember her end.
Work history
Cleopatra is the penultimate of the 29 operas by Lauro Rossi , director of the Conservatories in Milan (from 1850) and Naples (from 1871). The libretto is by Marco D'Arienzo and is based on William Shakespeare's play Antonius und Cleopatra . As with Giuseppe Verdi's successful work Aida , published five years earlier, it is an Egyptian subject. The three main actors of the premiere (Patierno, Nannetti and Singer) had already played in Aida . Rossi may therefore have viewed his opera as an unofficial sequel with historical characters.
Filippo Patierno (Marco Antonio), Romano Nannetti (Ottavio Cesare), Gustavo Mariami (Diomede), Massimiliano Severi (Proculejo), Teresina Singer (Cleopatra), Ebe Treves (Ottavia) sang at the premiere on March 5, 1876 in the Teatro Regio Turin and Angelina Rossi (Carmiana). Carlo Pedrotti was the musical director . The set was designed by Riccardo Fontana.
There was another production in the carnival season 1877/78 in the Teatro San Carlo in Naples. Apart from Teresina Singer, none of the singers at the premiere took part.
The work was then forgotten until it was excavated again in July 2008 on the occasion of the Sferisterio Opera Festival in Macerata , the composer's birthplace. The performance took place in the Teatro Lauro Rossi named after the composer. Pier Luigi Pizzi was responsible for the production, stage design and costumes . A newly created critical edition by Bernardo Ticci was used, who removed the original overture and kept only a short orchestral prelude to Diomedes' opening scene. He also dispensed with the first scene of the fourth act, which gave the subsequent scene of Antonio more weight.
The rediscovery received mostly positive reviews. Ekkehart Pluta described Cleopatra in his Opernwelt review as a "mature work that can be used in a repertoire, the complete disappearance of which is difficult to understand from the repertoire". It stands "in the tradition of the melodramma of Donizetti and Verdi and uses elements of the Grand Opéra ", but Rossi is "not an imitator" and has found his own style, especially in the orchestral treatment. “Italian opera at its best” are the “banquet scene in the first act with Antonio's catchy drinking song, scene and aria of Cleopatra in the second act, the brilliant third finale and also the vocal death convulsions of the queen”. Tim Ashley, the critic of the Guardian , reminded Rossi's style more Meyerbeer than to Verdi. He also missed an oriental exoticism inspired by the subject in the Alexandria scenes. Instead, Rossi was more interested in the rituals of the Roman Empire. Classics Today's Robert Levine rated the work "worthy, if not quite a masterpiece." The music sounds as if it had been composed 25 years earlier and owes more to bel canto than to the late Verdi or a Wagnerian influence. The melodies are not the most memorable, but there are some good ensembles and arias. The recording is a rarity worth listening to. Richard Lawrence, the reviewer of the Gramophone , said Rossi couldn't stand comparison with Verdi. Cleopatra's aria in the second act sounds like second-hand music compared to Aida's “O patria mia”. But there are also some strong dramatic scenes such as Cleopatra's appearance in Rome. Benjamin Künzel from Klassik.com found the opera “not to be despised” and stated that “far more dubious operas of this era have survived just because the respective composer was able to land a lucky hit”. He particularly referred to Marco Antonio's last aria in the fourth act, Cleopatra's scene in the second, and the ensemble in the third act. Apart from Dimitra Theodossiou in the title role, the singers of the new production are "solid" at best.
Recordings
- 24./29. July 2008 - David Crescenzi (conductor), Marchigiana Philharmonic Orchestra, Coro Lirico Marchigiano “V. Bellini".
Alessandro Liberatore (Marco Antonio), Paolo Pecchioli (Ottavio Cesare), Sebastian Catana (Diomede), William Corrò (Proculejo), Dimitra Theodossiou (Cleopatra), Tiziana Carraro (Ottavia), Paola Gardina (Carmiana).
Live from Macerata.
Naxos 8660291-92 (2 CDs), Naxos 2.110279 (DVD).
Web links
- Libretto (Italian), Turin 1876. Digitized in the Internet Archive
- Libretto (Italian), Turin 1878. Digitized from the Library of Congress
- Libretto (Italian) as full text (PDF) at Naxos
- Cleopatra (Lauro Rossi) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna
Remarks
- ↑ An allusion to the robbery of the Sabine women , cf. Pierer's Universal Lexicon .
- ↑ The third scene of the third act of the libretto from 1878 can be found in the appendix to the libretto from 1876. A note explains that it was written explicitly for the singer of Cesare, Romano Nannetti.
- ↑ The founder of marriages, cf. Pierer's Universal Lexicon .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Paul Campion: Information on CD Naxos 8.660291-92 , accessed on April 6, 2018.
- ^ Record of the performance on March 5, 1876 in the Teatro Regio Turin in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna .
- ^ March 5, 1876: “Cleopatra”. In: L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia ..
- ↑ Ekkehard Pluta: A master from Macerata. In: Opernwelt , January 2011, p. 21.
- ↑ Tim Ashley: Rossi: Cleopatra - review. In: The Guardian , April 7, 2011, accessed April 6, 2018.
- ^ Robert Levine: Rossi: Cleopatra / Crescenzi. In: Classics Today, accessed April 6, 2018.
- ^ Richard Lawrence: Rossi Cleopatra - A fascinating opera by a forgotten composer overshadowed by Verdi. In: Gramophone , 6/2011, accessed April 6, 2018.
- ^ Benjamin Künzel: Rossi, Lauro - Cleopatra - Am Nil with Lauro Rossi. In: Klassik.com, July 14, 2011, accessed April 6, 2018.