Daphne (Strauss)
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| Title: | Daphne |
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Richard Strauss Fountain, Garmisch-Partenkirchen |
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| Original language: | German |
| Music: | Richard Strauss |
| Libretto : | Joseph Gregor |
| Premiere: | October 15, 1938 |
| Place of premiere: | Dresden |
| Playing time: | approx. 1 ¾ hours |
| Place and time of the action: | Greece, mythical time |
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Daphne - Bucolic Tragedy in One Act (Opus 82, TrV 272) is the 13th opera by the composer Richard Strauss . The textbook was written by Joseph Gregor . The first performance took place on October 15, 1938 in the Dresden Semperoper under the direction of Max Hofmüller (1881–1981).
action
Place and time: Greece, on the banks of the Peneios river, in mythical prehistoric times
Stage: Stony river bank, dense groups of olive trees, on the right the house of the fisherman Peneios, in the background the Olympus massif
Dusk. The shepherds return to the river with their flocks. They are preparing for a fertility festival in honor of the god Dionysus. Daphne, the almost childlike daughter of the fisherman Peneios, laments the dawning night ( Oh stay, beloved day ... ). Leucippus, a young shepherd, presses Daphne and impetuously confesses his love for her. Confused, she rejects him. Gaea brings her daughter into the house. Despite her mother's requests, Daphne refuses to attend the festival. Leucippus asks the maids of the house for a woman's garment so that he can be disguised with the women near Daphne.
Peneios gathers the shepherds around him for a festival. Olympus still shines in the evening light. God Apollo stopped his sun chariot when he saw Daphne on earth and appears in the form of a shepherd. Peneios asks the stranger to the feast and tells Daphne to take care of the guest. Daphne is fascinated by the mysterious stranger ( How much do you know about my soul. ). She lets herself be seduced into a kiss, but then flees from the arms of the ever more urgent God to the festival ( you sneak into my dream! ).
At the festival, Leukippus hands the unsuspecting Daphne a cup of wine and invites her to dance. Apollo jealously lets a storm come up, the shepherds frightened rush to their flocks. Daphne, Leukippus and Apollo stay behind. Leucippus reveals himself, asks for Daphne's love in the name of the god Dionysus, he challenges the jealous god to a duel for Daphne. Apollo kills Leucippus. When Apollo sees Daphnes' childlike grief for his friend and rejected lover, he realizes his own guilt. He asks the other gods to accept Leucippus into Olympus. Daphne herself is transformed into an evergreen tree ( let her bloom in the circle of her friends ... ) so that the innocent child of nature can become one with her forever.
Work history
Sources of the substance
The plot of the opera is based on one of the oldest and most frequently set subjects in music history. The libretti of the first ever verifiable opera (composer Jacopo Peri ) and the first German opera ( Heinrich Schütz ) already use the legend of the nymph Daphne , who is transformed into a laurel tree to protect against the reenactment of the god Apollo . The legends from Greek mythology were u. a. Narrated by the poets Ovid and Plutarch .
Emergence
While they were working together (1934) on the opera Die Schweigsame Frau , Strauss asked his librettist Stefan Zweig for a new opera book. However, the political circumstances in Germany under the racial laws made further collaboration with the poet, who had meanwhile emigrated, impossible. Zweig himself suggested the Viennese theater historian Joseph Gregor as a lyricist to Strauss. After a discarded Semiramis book, Strauss decided in 1935 in favor of the Peace Day designs (based on an idea by Zweig) and Daphne, which is said to have been inspired by Gian Lorenzo Bernini's sculpture Apollo and Daphne . Gregor wrote three complete Daphne texts; after a never really harmonious collaboration, Strauss opted for the third version, which he himself decisively modified in the last scene (other sources name the conductor Clemens Krauss as the source of ideas). The original legend has been changed in parts, Daphne is no longer a nymph, but the daughter of fishermen, the figure of the god Apollo is morally upgraded. The composer dedicated the opera to the Dresden opera director Karl Böhm , who had already conducted the premiere of the Schweigsamen Frau and on October 15, 1938 also directed the first performance of Daphne .
reception
The Dresden premiere (based on an idea of the composer combined with the opera Peace Day, this practice was not continued) was widely recognized throughout Europe, but without ever achieving the effect of Strauss' earlier works. Until the theater was interrupted due to the war, u. a. Performances in Berlin, Munich, Vienna and Milan. Even after the war, Daphne never really became a repertory piece, despite some remarkable performances, often with great cast. One can only speculate about the reasons, occasionally the dramaturgically weak libretto is mentioned as the cause, a deficiency that was more than made up for by Strauss' music.
layout
orchestra
3 large flutes (3rd also piccolo), 2 oboes, English horn, 2 A clarinets, C clarinet, basset horn, bass clarinet (A), 3 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, large ones Drum, cymbals, triangle, tambourine, 2 harps, 16 first violins, 16 second violins, 12 violas, 10 cellos, 8 double basses. On the stage: organ, alphorn
music
Despite the large orchestra, the Daphne is sparingly instrumented over long stretches. The composer's typical tonal language usually sounds calm, without the expressionistic outbursts of earlier works. If you compare Daphne with Elektra, which is similar in terms of subject , the dialogue scenes lack a little inspiration and depth, individual scenes lack the sharpness, the choirs seem artificial. In addition to these flaws, the title character ignites the composer's whole fire again, he equips the character with a wonderful wealth of melodic and instrumental ideas. The three solo scenes of Daphne, the (wordless) love scene with God, the music of transformation and the lyrical finale of the opera are among the most beautiful things the composer has created. Daphne's metamorphosis probably also symbolizes Strauss' own desire to "isolate himself from (the) reality in a mythic idyll" (Schreiber).
Discography (selection)
- GA 1944: Böhm; Reining (Daph.), Alsen (Pen.), Friedrich (Apo.), Dermota (Leuk.); Vienna Philharmonic (Walhall)
- GA 1949: Grüber; Cunitz, Anders, Fehenberger, Fischer, Greindl; Orchestra of the Northwest German Radio (NWDR) Hamburg (Line Music)
- GA 1950: Jochum; Kupper, Fehenberger, Hopf, Fischer, Hann; Orchestra of the Bavarian State Opera Munich (Line Music)
- GA 1964: Böhm; Güden, Schöffler, King, Wunderlich; Wiener Symphoniker live (Deutsche Grammophon)
- GA 1972: Stein , Coertse , Grobe, Cox, Lilowa , Wiener Staatsopernorchester live, CD: MC017
- GA 1982: Haitink; Popp, Moll, Goldberg, Schreier; Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (EMI)
- GA 2005: Bychkov; Fleming, Botha, Wittmoser, Kleiter, Youn, Ifrim, Schade, Larsson, Robinson, Reinhart, Schulte; WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne (Decca)
- GA 2005: (DVD) horizontal bar; Anderson, Ferrari, Eberle, Mac Allister; Teatro La Fenice Orchestra (Dynamic)
literature
- Ulrich Schreiber: Opera Guide for Advanced - Volume 3 . Bärenreiter, Kassel 2000, ISBN 3-7618-1436-4 .
- Kurt Wilhelm: Richard Strauss personally . Henschel, Berlin 1999, ISBN 3-89487-326-4 .
Web links
- Daphne : Sheet music and audio files in the International Music Score Library Project
- Plot and libretto by Daphne (Strauss) on Opera-Guide landing page due to URL change currently not available
- Discography about Daphne at Operadis
- Detailed information from Richard Strauss Verlag, Vienna
- Cast list for the premiere in the Deutsche Fotothek
Individual evidence
- ^ Frank Andert: Golden theater souvenirs. (PDF; 233 kB) Part 53. In: Kötzschenbrodaer stories. January 2012, accessed January 10, 2012 .
Guntram (1894) | Fire distress (1901) | Salome (1905) | Elektra (1909) | Der Rosenkavalier (1911) | Ariadne on Naxos (1912/16) | The woman without a shadow (1919) | Intermezzo (1924) | The Egyptian Helena (1928) | Arabella (1933) | The silent woman (1935) | Peace Day (1938) | Daphne (1938) | The love of Danae (1940) | Capriccio (1942) | The Donkey's Shadow (1949, unfinished)