The fiery angel (opera)

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Work data
Title: The fiery angel
Original title: Огненный ангел ( Ognenny angel )
Photo by Paolo Monti, 1973

Photo by Paolo Monti , 1973

Shape: Opera in five acts and seven pictures
Original language: Russian
Music: Sergei Prokofiev
Libretto : Sergei Prokofiev
Literary source: The fiery angel by Valery Jakowlewitsch Brjussow
Premiere: November 5, 1954 (concert)
September 14, 1955 (scenic)
Place of premiere: Paris, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées (concert)
Venice, Teatro La Fenice (scenic)
Playing time: approx. 2 ¼ hours
Place and time of the action: Cologne and the surrounding area, around 1534
people
  • Ruprecht / Ronald, a knight ( bass baritone or baritone )
  • Renata, his lover ( soprano )
  • a fortune teller (soprano or mezzo-soprano )
  • Hostess of a hostel ( mezzo-soprano )
  • Mephisto ( tenor )
  • Agrippa von Nettesheim , doctor (high tenor)
  • Johann Faust , Doctor of Philosophy and Medicine (bass baritone)
  • Inquisitor ( bass )
  • Abbess (mezzo-soprano)
  • Jakob / Jacob Glock, bookseller (tenor)
  • a doctor (baritone or tenor)
  • a servant (baritone)
  • Matthäus / Mathias Wissmann, university friend of Ruprechts (tenor or bass)
  • Innkeeper (baritone)
  • Count Heinrich / Enrico (silent role)
  • a boy (silent role)
  • two young nuns (2 sopranos)
  • three skeletons (soprano, tenor, bass)
  • three neighbors (baritone, 2 basses)
  • Nuns (female choir)
  • Retinue of the Inquisitor (male choir)
  • Women's and men's choir behind the scene

The fiery angel (Russian: Огненный ангел, Ognenny angel ) is an opera in five acts and seven pictures by Sergei Prokofjew . The Russian libretto was written by Prokofiev himself. The literary basis is the novel The Fiery Angel (1908) by Valeri Jakowlewitsch Brjussow . On June 14, 1928, parts of the second act were played in the Salle Pleyel in Paris. The entire work was only performed posthumously in concert on November 25, 1954 in French under the title L'ange de feu at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées (Paris). The scenic world premiere took place on September 14, 1955 in Italian under the title L'angelo di fuoco at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice.

action

short version

The knight Ruprecht meets a young woman, Renata, in an inn. She tells how she loved a fiery angel named Madiel in her childhood. At the age of 16 she longed for physical and mental union, whereupon he left her. After Renata grew up, she believes that she has found the angel again as a human reincarnation in the figure of Count Heinrich. However, this leaves her after a year of love and happiness for Renata, whereupon she is tormented by nightmares. Ruprecht, who is in love with Renata, agrees to help her find Heinrich. A fortune teller is called, but she is unsuccessful. Then Ruprecht turns to the philosopher and magician Agrippa. Heinrich actually appears, but again disdains Renata. Thereupon Renata asks Ruprecht to challenge Heinrich to a duel. At the sight of Heinrich, however, she believes to see the fiery angel again. Ruprecht is wounded in a duel, and Renata, in a kind of madness, confesses her love for Ruprecht, but soon rejects him again. Faust and Mephisto, who witnessed this conflict, offer Ruprecht to join them. (This scene with Faust and Mephisto is deleted in some productions.) Renata has since withdrawn to a monastery where she is accused of demonic possession because strange things happened in the monastery after her arrival. She is supposed to be cured with exorcistic acts. However, she and the nuns are seized with a rampant ecstasy, whereupon the Inquisitor condemns them to death at the stake.

first act

Dilapidated attic room in a hostel

A staircase leads from the lower floor into the room. Opposite her is a boarded door. Night.

After his return from America, Ritter Ruprecht asked the landlady to show him his room. Although it is supposedly the best in the hostel, it seems worse to him than anything he had known before in America or Italy. Suddenly he hears a woman screaming in the next room who seems to be being followed by someone. Ruprecht breaks open the door and meets the half-clothed Renata, who rushes at him in terrible fear, presses against him and at the same time tries to ward off terrifying visions. Only when Ruprecht says a Latin prayer does Renata calm down. He carries her to the bed and covers her. Amazingly, she already knows his name. She tells him her story: At the age of eight, she was visited by a fiery angel named Madiel, who played with her and came to her every day in different guises. Years later, Madiel informed her that she must lead an ascetic life as she was destined to be a saint. She starved, went barefoot, whipped herself and healed the sick. However, when she longed for physical love at the age of 16, Madiel angrily disappeared in the form of a pillar of fire. In her solitude, Renata wished herself death. Madiel appeared to her in a dream and promised to return to her as a person. She recognized him in Count Heinrich, who took her to her castle and lived happily with her for a while. But he never admitted to being Madiel. He became moody and left the castle after a year. After several months, she gave up waiting and left too. Night visions have plagued them ever since.

The landlady, startled by the noise, returns with a servant to see that things are going well. Since she took in Renata, whom she now considers a heretic and whore, strange misfortunes have happened. Therefore Renata is not allowed to stay here any longer. After the landlady and servant have left, Ruprecht decides to hold out the pretty woman for a while in order to have fun with her. Renata still raves about Heinrich and asks Ruprecht to imitate his attitude and words. Ruprecht tries to approach her immorally, but apologizes when she fights back violently. Renata explains that she can no longer feel passion for people, but that she has already given everything to her "divine friend". She asks Ruprecht to help her as a protector to find Heinrich again.

The landlady appears again with the servant. With her there is a fortune teller with a hangover, a cage with a toad and other utensils. Other guests join them. After Renata has made sure that the fortune teller is familiar with "chiromancy", "crystal romanticism" and other arts, she wants to be able to predict the future. Since Renata advises him not to haggle, Ruprecht accepts the asking price. After a few sayings and rituals, the fortune teller claims to see blood on Renata's jacket. She scratches Renata's dress and pounces on her. Ruprecht takes up his sword and leads Renata out of the room. The landlady throws the fortune teller out. The servant and one of the guests laugh.

Second act

First picture: Well furnished room

The residents have obviously lived here for a while: odds and ends and books are scattered around. Through the window you can see the city of Cologne with the silhouette of the unfinished cathedral. The day is drawing to a close.

Renata is reading magical formulas in a large leather-bound book. Ruprecht enters the room and watches her. The two have been in Cologne looking for Heinrich in vain for a week. Renata doesn't want to give up under any circumstances and also uses the help of the devil. Since she acts out of love, she believes that after death she will get away with a temporary punishment in purgatory instead of eternal hell. The bookseller Jakob Glock brings two more manuscripts with magical texts and promises a rare book about Kabbalistic studies for the evening , but warns of the Inquisition's spies. Ruprecht, who has meanwhile seriously fallen in love with Renata, tries to suppress his jealousy. For Renata, however, he cannot compete with her fire angel. Disappointed, he sits down on a bench while Renata makes magic.

In the evening there is a knock on the wall several times. Renata explains to Ruprecht that they are small demons and that they mean nothing. Ruprecht speaks to her and receives an answer by knocking. Renata excitedly tries to persuade the knocking person to make statements about Heinrich. In fact, she gets answers to all of her questions, but cannot interpret them correctly. She thinks Heinrich is already at the door. But it was a delusion. Meanwhile, Glock has arrived. Although he has not yet been able to get hold of the book on Kabbalistic studies, he wants to bring them to the great magician and threefold doctor Agrippa von Nettesheim.

Second picture: Indefinite, fantastic place

Agrippa von Nettesheim stands on an elevation. He wears a coat and a crimson hat and is surrounded by three black shaggy dogs. Ruprecht is a little lower across from him. There were thick books, tomes, physical apparatus and two stuffed birds everywhere. Above are three human skeletons that are visible to Agrippa, but not to Ruprecht.

When Ruprecht asks Agrippa for advice, the latter denies dealing with magic and warns Ruprecht against such dazzling work. True magicians are really wise men, priests or prophets. He also keeps his dogs only as friends of pedigree dogs, not to conjure up demons. Although the skeletons rattle their bones and accuse him of lying, Agrippa insists on science as the explanation of all secrets.

Third act

First picture: Street in front of Heinrich's house; in the distance the unfinished Cologne Cathedral

Renata found Heinrich. But he insulted her as a witch and rejected her. She meets Ruprecht on his doorstep and complains to him of her suffering. Ruprecht asks her to forget the past and now to swear allegiance to himself. But Renata wants revenge. She promises Ruprecht to be his if he kills Heinrich. Ruprecht knocks on Heinrich's door. A servant lets him in. Renata stays outside and silently asks Madiel for forgiveness for having mistaken himself about the seducer Heinrich. She begs him to show himself to her again as in her childhood. Then the window on the first floor is thrown open. Heinrich appears in it, like an angel of fire. He is inwardly troubled by Ruprecht's angry speech, who insults him as an insidious seducer and throws him the gauntlet. Renata, on the other hand, believes that Madiel returned in response to her prayer. She now regrets breaking up with him. When Ruprecht comes out of the house and tells her about the upcoming duel, she orders him not to hurt Heinrich, but rather to die himself.

Second picture: Steep bank on the Rhine

Ruprecht was seriously injured in the duel and is unconscious. His friend Matthäus Wissmann takes care of him. Heinrich and his second stand a little apart, wrapped in coats. From the other side Renata observes what is happening attentively without seeing Heinrich. This and the second disappear unnoticed, while Matthäus asks Renata to stay with Ruprecht. Meanwhile, he himself wants to get a doctor. Renata suffers from a heavy remorse. When Ruprecht comes to his senses for a brief moment and complains that she sent him to certain death, she assures him of her love. A female choir mimicking it laughs at it. In his fever, Ruprecht feels persecuted by red-skinned demons. Matthäus returns with a doctor who takes care of Ruprecht trusting the progressive medicine of the 16th century.

Fourth act

Quiet place in Cologne

On the right side a tavern with a small garden, tables and benches; on the left the house of Ruprecht and Renata. Renata hurries out of the house, followed by Ruprecht, who has not yet been fully restored, who leans on a stick.

Renata no longer wants to live with Ruprecht. After his healing, she has sufficiently proven her love and now sees a mortal sin in their relationship. Now she wants to spend the rest of her life in the monastery. Ruprecht begs her to marry him and swears his love for her. Renata accuses him of lying. "The devil" is in him. At this key word, Faust and Mephisto appear and sit down at one of the tables. To support her position, Renata injures herself on the shoulder with a knife and throws it at Ruprecht, who just manages to avoid it. She runs away. Ruprecht hurries after her.

Mephisto orders wine and mutton. When a little boy brings the wine without the food, Mephisto threatens to eat him up himself. Faust has meanwhile grown tired of his companion, who is always in the mood for cruel jokes. Ruprecht returns without having achieved anything, wants to go home first, but then decides to order wine in the tavern. The boy serves him, but again brings Mephisto no meat. This grabs and devours him. Ruprecht jumps up in surprise. The landlord steps out of the house, at first not daring to approach Mephisto, but then brings him a bowl of mutton and begs him to give him back his boy. Laughing, Mephisto points to the other side of the stage, where the host finds the boy unharmed in a garbage can. Then Mephisto turns to Ruprecht, introduces himself and Faust as scholars and asks Ruprecht to show them the city and to accompany them on their journey. In return, he wants to help Renata change her mind. They arrange to meet three kings in the hotel the next morning. Faust and Mephisto say goodbye and leave. The landlord and three neighbors watch them cowardly and threateningly.

Fifth act

Gloomy stone vault in a monastery

Closing image, photo by Paolo Monti , 1973

A large door leads outside. After opening, bright daylight shines in and shows a stone staircase leading up to the outside. Aside from the large door, there are two smaller ones; one is used by the abbess and the nuns, the other by the inquisitor. A little higher under the arches of the vault is a stone gallery.

Renata is lying on the floor in a gray novice costume with outspread arms and prays. The abbess enters and asks her why she is depressed. Since their arrival the monastery has been plagued by inexplicable apparitions and the sisters have seizures. Nuns report that an inquisitor has arrived to cast out Renata's demons. He and his entourage move in through the other door. The women fall fearfully to their knees. The inquisitor asks Renata to prove that her apparitions do not come from the devil. Renata calmly replies that the spirit speaks to her about God and the good and that she encourages chastity. So she believe in him. At that moment there are blows on the wall and on the floor. The sisters groan in fear. Now the inquisitor begins the exorcism. Two young nuns show increasing excitement. The other nuns and the inquisitor turn to them and summon the demon to disappear from the abbey. The two young nuns make strange movements, utter Latin words and fall to the ground. When the inquisitor asks about the presence of the devil, they shout hysterically “Oh yes!” And also confirm that Renata is helping him. After a while, they lose consciousness and are carried out by the Inquisitor's entourage. The inquisitor asks Renata to confess her sins, since it has now been proven that she is in covenant with the devil. She continues to affirm her innocence. Then the candelabra topple over. There are laughing male voices and more blows on the wall. The nuns move away from Renata, spellbound. But six sisters approach her, embrace her and beg her to pray for her. The inquisitor continues the exorcism while the other nuns accuse Renata of bringing evil to the monastery. Now Renata shows signs of a seizure and begs the tormenting “dark one” for mercy. A group of nuns begins a bizarre dance. Renata lashes out like mad. The nuns begin to cry out and worship the devil. Then, unnoticed by them, Mephisto appears in the stone gallery, followed shortly afterwards by Faust and Ruprecht. After an exclamation from Mephistus, all turn to Renata. Ruprecht wants to go down to her, but is held back permanently by Mephisto. Renata and the six sisters now accuse the inquisitor of having sold his soul to the devil himself. Everyone rushes threateningly at him. His entourage tries to protect him. Finally, one of them opens the big door to call for help. The guard appears and pushes the women back. The inquisitor sentences Renata to death at the stake.

layout

Bryusov's novel tells from the perspective of the partly believing, partly enlightened knight Ruprecht his experiences with a mentally ill woman in a series of both realistic and psychological and emotional episodes. The setting is late medieval Germany, which not only forms the historical framework, but is also to be interpreted as an "alienated zeitgeist". The plot of the novel is thus to be understood consistently ambiguous. Prokofiev took up this principle in his opera version and reinforced it. The main topics are diverse. For example, the contrasts between mysticism and science or between open sensuality and chastity are dealt with. In addition, Prokofiev presented his personal future expectations and fears in the characters of Renata and Ruprecht.

Prokofiev used the same declamatory tone of voice in Der feurige Engel as in his 1917 opera The Player , but made more use of orchestral leitmotifs . Conventional arias and other self-contained forms are missing. The protagonist Renata, however, has several extended monologues, which formally correspond to the traditional opera scene. The tonal language is rather gloomy, the orchestral setting extremely varied and expressive, whereby Prokofiev did not go beyond the limits of tonality and the vocal parts can also be sung. His technical procedures include "chromatic tonality, free change between functional-harmonic ties and non-functional structures, ambivalences between major and minor in movement and in the structure of chords". The different "worlds" of the two main characters are presented differently. The themes change constantly in melody and rhythm, but also appear again and again in their original form, giving the impression of “something circling in itself”.

The first two bars of the opera - played by tuba and horns - form the so-called "Ruprecht theme". It quotes the old Russian "Habet-eight fanfare", with which the fair theater was usually opened. It always sounds here when Ruprecht is "abandoned by his good spirits", e.g. B. when he enters his opponent's house to challenge him to a fight, or when Renata breaks away from him. Renata Thema consists of an ascending and descending sequence of three tones in semitone and whole tone steps. Prokofiev underscores this motif as an ostinato for the entire part. The angel Madiel also has its own theme with three falling thirds in “dolcezza pucciniana”. It appears for the first time during Renata's narrative and represents both the vision and the interpersonal relationship. Prokofiev himself stated in an autobiographical sketch that it was assigned to Renata, but the composer Nikolai Myaskovsky , who was a friend of his , more appropriately described it as a love theme.

For Sigrid Neef , the modernity of this opera lies in the fact that “Prokofiev depicts interpersonal sexual relationships and social mechanisms as mutually dependent and mutually pervasive events”. She also pointed to the different motives of the people involved (business acumen, habit, indifference, conviction) and the different types of violence for which society itself should be held responsible, not the individual. Like Alban Berg's opera Wozzeck , Der fierige Engel also shows "the tortured and humiliated human creature". Both works also combine the “rejection of a blind belief in progress”. Ulrich Schreiber called the main character of Renata a “Carmen of the Counter-Reformation” because she “claims the male privilege of choosing a partner” and is perishing as a result.

orchestra

The orchestral line-up for the opera includes the following instruments:

Work history

Prokofiev had completed the composition of his opera Die Liebe zu den Drei Orangen in October 1919 . As early as December he was busy with his next project based on the historical novel The fiery angel , published in 1908, by Valeri Jakowlewitsch Brjussow , a major exponent of Russian symbolism . Prokofiev wrote the Russian libretto himself. In January 1920 he made the first sketches. The conversion of the novel, which was written in the first person, proved extraordinarily arduous. Prokofiev had initially intended to divide the work into three acts and eleven scenes. He let his friend Boris Demtschinski help him with the processing, but still needed (with interruptions) seven years. For the music he used material from his project of a "white quartet", a completely diatonic string quartet, which he abandoned in 1921, the main theme of which he used to portray the monastery and whose secondary theme he assigned to Renata. From 1922 to 1923 he worked in southern Germany near the Ettal Abbey, concentrated on the work - in an atmosphere that suited the plot. In 1926 he orchestrated the opera and also revised the libretto (especially the finale) and parts of the music. He had support from his assistant Georgy Nikolayevich Gorchakov. He completed the work in the summer of 1928.

A Berlin performance scheduled for the 1927/28 season under Bruno Walter failed because he did not receive the sheet music in time. On June 14, 1928, under the direction of Sergei Kussewizki with Grigorj Raisov as Ruprecht and Nina Koshetz as Renata, two fragments of the second act in French (translation: Louis Laloy ) were played in the Salle Pleyel in Paris.

A little later Prokofiev decided to create a suite from the opera's music. However, since the main themes "were very willingly integrated into the exposition of a sonata allegro" (Prokofiev), his 3rd symphony, premiered in 1929, emerged from this .

A performance at the Metropolitan Opera , which had expressed interest in 1930, also failed. Prokofiev had already started a revision for this, in which he wanted to insert two more scenes. After his return to the Soviet Union, the opera was “carefully wrapped up and forgotten” - according to Charles Bruck , the conductor of the later concert premiere. The score was found in a Paris publishing house in 1952.

Prokofiev did not see the world premiere of his opera, which he regarded as his main work during the period of emigration. On November 25, 1954, there was a first concert performance in French under the title L'ange de feu (translation: André Michel) at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris. Charles Bruck was the musical director. It sang Xavier Depraz (Ruprecht), Lucienne Maree / Jane Rhodes (Renata), Irma Kolassi (fortune teller), Jeannine Collard (landlady), Jean Giraudeau (Mephisto), Ronald Dowd (Agrippa of Nettesheim), André Bessieres (Johann Faust) Helga Pilarczyk (Abbess), Paul Finel (Jakob Glock and doctor) and Bernard Cottret (Matthäus Wissmann and innkeeper). French television broadcast the performance. Bruck later also recorded the opera on record.

On September 14, 1955, there was finally the scenic premiere - now in Italian under the title L'angelo di fuoco (translation: Mario Nordio) - at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice as part of the 18th Festival of the Società Internazionale di Musica Contemporanea. Nino Sanzogno conducted here . Directed by Giorgio Strehler , and the set was by Luciano Damiani . The singers were Rolando Panerai (Ronald), Dorothy Dow (Renata), Gabriella Carturan (fortune teller), Mafalda Masini (landlady), Antonio Annaloro (Mephisto), Mario Carlin (Agrippa von Nettesheim), Mario Borriello (Johann Faust), Enrico Campi (Inquisitor), Gabriella Carturan (Abbess), Gino Del Signore (Jakob Glock and doctor), Alessandro Maddalena (servant) and Uberto Scaglione (Matthäus Wissmann and innkeeper).

Prokofiev originally set his original Russian libretto to music. This was pasted over by the publisher Boosey & Hawkes and has since been considered lost. It was not found again until 1977 in London. A piano reduction with the Russian text was published in 1985.

Prokofiev's opera has been staged on stage rather irregularly since its scenic premiere in Venice, but has since found its way into the repertoire. While it was doing well in the West, the Communist countries struggled with the work. In East Berlin it was prematurely discontinued in 1965. The Soviet premiere was not given in a shortened version until 1983 in Perm, although as early as 1978 Prokofiev's biographer Israil Nestjew and Boris Pokrovsky , the chief director of the Moscow Bolshoi Theater , agreed that the composer's early works should also be performed there. One of the main problems opera houses have to face when performing the work is the extremely demanding role of Renata, which is only missing in two scenes and takes up around three quarters of the two hours of playing time.

The following productions are highlighted in the specialist literature:

Newer productions were:

Recordings

  • 1957 - Charles Bruck (conductor), Orchester de l ' Opéra National de Paris , Chœur de Radio France.
    Xavier Depraz (Ruprecht), Jane Rhodes (Renata), Irma Kolassi (fortune teller and abbess), Janine Collard (landlady), Jean Giraudeau (Mephisto), Paul Finel (Agrippa von Nettesheim), André Vessières (Johann Faust and Inquisitor), Gérard Friedman (Jakob Glock and doctor), Bernard Cottret (servant and Matthäus Wissmann).
    Studio recording.
    Adès CD: 14,157-2, Adès (Westminster) LP: COF-7045 (8173-3), Accord 472 723-2 (2 CDs).
  • Jun. 26, 1959 - István Kertész (conductor), Orchestra Filarmonica Triestina, Coro del Teatro Comunale G. Verdi di Trieste.
    Rolando Panerai (Ruprecht), Leyla Gencer (Renata), Anna Maria Canali (fortune teller), Stefania Malagù (landlady), Mario Carlin (Mephisto), Florindo Andreolli (Agrippa von Nettesheim), Mario Borriello (Johann Faust), Enrico Campi (Inquisitor ), Gabriella Carturan (abbess), Raimondo Botteghelli (Jakob Glock and doctor), Flavio Tesin (servant), Antonio Boyer (Matthäus Wissmann), Arturo La Porta (innkeeper).
    Italian version; live from Spoleto.
    Great Opera Performances (GOP) LP: GOP 61 (2 CDs).
  • 1964 - Bruno Bartoletti (conductor), orchestra and choir of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino .
    Renato Cesari (Ruprecht), Floriana Cavalli (Renata), Antonio Annaloro (Mephisto), Gino Orlandini (Johann Faust).
    Live from Florence.
    Fonit Cetra DOC 84 (3 LPs).
  • May / October 1990 - Neeme Järvi (conductor), Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra , Gösta Ohlins Vocal Ensemble, Pro Musica Chamber Chorus.
    Siegfried Lorenz (Ruprecht), Nadine Secunde (Renata), Ruthild Engert-Ely (fortune teller and abbess), Rosemarie Lang (landlady), Heinz Zednik (Mephisto and Agrippa von Nettesheim), Petteri Salomaa (Johann Faust), Kurt Moll (inquisitor) , Gösta Zachrisson (Jakob Glock and doctor), Bryn Terfel (servant and Matthäus Wissmann), Carl Gustav Holmgren (innkeeper).
    Studio recording.
    Opernwelt CD tip: "Reference recording".
    DGG 477 559 6 (2 CDs).
  • September 1993 - Valery Gergiev (conductor), David Freeman (staging), orchestra and choir of the Mariinsky Theater Saint-Petersburg.
    Sergei Leiferkus (Ruprecht), Galina Gorchakova (Renata), Larissa Diadkova (fortune teller), Eugenia Perlassova (landlady), Konstantin Pluschnikow (Mephisto), Vladimir Galouzine (Agrippa von Nettesheim), Sergej Alexashkin (Johann Faust), Vladimir Ognovenko (inquisitor) , Olga Markova-Mikhailenko (abbess), Evgeny Boitsov (Jakob Glock), Valerij Lebed (doctor), Mikhail Kit (servant), Yuri Laptev (Matthäus Wissmann), Yevgenij Fedotov (innkeeper).
    Video, live from Saint Petersburg.
    Opernwelt CD tip: "artistically valuable".
    Philips CD: 446 078 2, Philips VI: 070 198 3, Philips LD: 070 198 1, Arthaus 100390 (1 DVD).
  • February 10, 2007 - Kazushi Ōno (conductor), Richard Jones (production), orchestra and choir of the Théâtre de la Monnaie Brussels.
    Igor Tarassov (Ruprecht), Svetlana Sozdateleva (Renata), Elena Manistina (fortune teller), Beata Morawska (landlady), Leonid Bomstein (Mephisto), Vitalij Tarashchenko (Agrippa von Nettesheim), Ante Jerkunica (Johann Faust), Vladimir Samsonow (inquisitor) , Maria Gortsevskaja (abbess), Lorenzo Carola (Jakob Glock), Zeno Popescu (doctor), Andrej Baturkin (Matthäus Wissmann), Nabila Suliman (innkeeper).
    Live from Brussels.
  • November 15, 2010 - Balázs Kocsár (conductor), Silviu Purcărete (director), Helmut Stürmer (stage and costumes), Debrecen Philharmonic Orchestra, Choir of Csokonai Theater.
    Tamás Busa (Ruprecht), Cristina Baggio (Renata, competitive role, she won the competition as "Best Female Performer"), Marianna Bódi (fortune teller), Erzsébet Erdélyi (landlady), Zsolt Trill (Mephisto), Tamás Cselóczki (Agrippa von Nettesheim) , Zoltán Bátki Fazekas (Johann Faust), Antal Cseh (Inquisitor, competitive role), Ágnes Anna Kun (Abbess), Sándor Böjte (Jakob Glock), András Hajdu (doctor), Máté Fülep (servant), Jenő Schild (Matthäus Wissmann), Imre Ürmössy (innkeeper).
    Video recording of the Armel Opera Competition and Festival from the National Theater Szeged, production of the Csokonai Theater Debrecen.
    Video stream on the Arte Live Web .
  • December 12, 2015 - Wladimir Jurowski (conductor), Barrie Kosky (staging), Rebecca Ringst (stage), Klaus Bruns (costumes), Joachim Klein , Otto Pichler (choreography), Bavarian State Orchestra , Bavarian State Opera Choir .
    Jewgeni Nikitin (Ruprecht), Svetlana Sozdateleva (Renata), Elena Manistina (fortune teller), Heike Grötzinger (landlady), Kevin Conners (Mephisto), Vladimir Galouzine (Agrippa von Nettesheim), Igor Tsarkov (Johann Faust), Jens Larsen (Inquisitor) , Okka von der Damerau (abbess), Christoph Späth (Jakob Glock), Matthew Grills (doctor), Christian Rieger (servant), Tim Kuypers (Matthäus Wissmann), Andrea Borghini (innkeeper).
    Video; live from the Bavarian State Opera in Munich.
    Video stream of the Bavarian State Opera.
  • July 15, 2018 - Kazushi Ōno (conductor), Mariusz Treliński (production), Kaspar Glarner (costumes), Boris Kudlička (equipment), Felice Ross (lighting design), Orchester de Paris , Warsaw Opera Choir .
    Scott Hendricks (Ruprecht), Aušrinė Stundytė (Renata), Agnieszka Rehlis (fortune teller and abbess), Bernadetta Grabias (landlady), Andreï Popov (Mephisto and Agrippa von Nettesheim), Krzysztof Bączyk (Johann Jakob and Inquisitor), Pavlo Glock Tolstoy and doctor), Łukasz Goliński (servant, Matthäus Wissmann and innkeeper).
    Video, live from the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence .
    Video stream at Culturebox.

Web links

Commons : The Fiery Angel (Prokofiev)  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Remarks

  1. ^ "Ronald" in the Italian premiere.
  2. ↑ The vocal range is called a baritone , but due to the deeper vocal range of the Russian singers it corresponds more to a bass baritone . See:
    Oles Semjonowitsch Tschischko: Певческий голос и его свойства. Музыка, Leningrad 1966, p. 33
    VocTeacher author collective: Учитель вокала. ООО Mazay Communications, 2013, chap. 3.2. ("Классификация мужских голосов" - The voice fans: men, online )
    Alexei Petrovich Ivanov: Об искусстве пения. Профиздат, Moscow 1963, p. 25 ("схематическое изображение" - schematic representation)
    Alexandra Borisovna Barasch: Поэма о человеческом голосе. Композитор, Moscow 2005, ISBN 5-85285-640-1 , p. 63
  3. ^ "Enrico" in the Italian premiere.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag Sigrid Neef : L'angelo di fuoco. In: Piper's Encyclopedia of Musical Theater . Volume 5: Works. Piccinni - Spontini. Piper, Munich / Zurich 1994, ISBN 3-492-02415-7 , pp. 71-74.
  2. ^ A b c d e f g h i Sigrid Neef : Handbook of Russian and Soviet opera. Henschelverlag Art and Society, Bärenreiter 1989. ISBN 3-7618-0925-5 , pp. 353–361.
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j The fiery angel. In: Harenberg opera guide. 4th edition. Meyers Lexikonverlag, 2003, ISBN 3-411-76107-5 , pp. 675-676.
  4. ↑ a b c d e Reclam's Opernlexikon (= digital library . Volume 52). Philipp Reclam jun. at Directmedia, Berlin 2001, pp. 871-875.
  5. ↑ Information in the score edition. Boosey & Hawkes, 1957.
  6. ↑ Information in the piano reduction. Russian edition, 1981.
  7. ↑ a b c d e f g h i Richard Taruskin :  Fiery Angel, The. In: Grove Music Online (English; subscription required).
  8. ↑ a b c d e f Ulrich Schreiber : Opera guide for advanced learners. The 20th century III. Eastern and Northern Europe, branch lines on the main route, intercontinental distribution. Bärenreiter, Kassel 2006, ISBN 3-7618-1859-9 , pp. 56–60.
  9. ↑ June 14, 1928: "Ognennyi angel". In: L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia ..
  10. ↑ November 25, 1954: "Ognennyi angel". In: L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia ..
  11. ↑ Sept. 14, 1955: "Ognennyi angel". In: L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia ..
  12. ^ Richard Erkens: Cabinet piece. Review of the performance in Rome 2019. In: Opernwelt , July 2019, p. 47.
  13. ↑ a b c d e f Sergej Sergejewitsch Prokofjew. In: Andreas Ommer: Directory of all complete opera recordings (= Zeno.org . Volume 20). Directmedia, Berlin 2005.
  14. ↑ III Annual Opera Competition and Festival ARMEL on opera-centre.ru, accessed on March 29, 2018.
  15. ^ “The fiery angel” at STAATSOPER.TV , accessed on July 31, 2020.
  16. ↑ Information on the performance in Aix-en-Provence 2018 at Culturebox, accessed on December 28, 2018.