The goddess of reason
The Goddess of Reason is the last operetta written by Johann Strauss himself , premiered on March 13, 1897 in the Theater an der Wien under the direction of Alexandrine von Schönerer .
Alexander Girardi was not there because of differences with the management. Johann Strauss stayed away from a world premiere for the first time.
The operetta was performed 36 times in a row. For the 25th performance on April 6, 1897, Johann Strauss also contributed the overture .
The operetta was long forgotten and was performed again in concert in December 2009 in Žilina ( Slovakia ) at the instigation of the Johann Strauss Society of Great Britain and the Vienna Institute for Strauss Research . The recording made on this occasion was released in 2011 as a double CD by Naxos .
The text book is by Alfred Maria Willner and Bernhard Buchbinder . The action takes place at the time of the French Revolution .
At the instigation of Adele Strauss, the operetta was re-released in 1909 by Felix Salten under the title Reiche Mädchen on December 30, 1909 in the Raimund Theater in Vienna . A few weeks earlier, the librettist Alfred Willner had reworked the textbook and offered it to Franz Lehár , with whom he lived in the same house. He set it to music and under the title The Count of Luxembourg it became a success that continues to this day. Rich girls , on the other hand, are forgotten.
Historical background
The title of the operetta has a historical background. In the course of the French Revolution, among other things, the new form of belief, cult of reason, was introduced. This movement was directed against the previous religious, Christian-oriented tradition and thus in France above all against the Catholic Church . The movement was relatively short-lived and peaked from late 1793 to mid-1794. One of the highlights of this movement was the so-called Feast of Reason on November 10, 1793 in the Notre Dame church in Paris . The festival was organized by Pierre-Gaspard Chaumette . The highlight was the entry into the church of a naked woman known as the goddess of reason . The title of the operetta is derived from this event or this naming.
History of origin
On July 11, 1896, the illustrated Wiener Extrablatt reported for the first time on Johann Strauss' new operetta project. At this point the first three numbers of the score had already been completed. However, Strauss was not yet familiar with the entire book. When he had the complete textbook in front of him at the beginning of August, he was dissatisfied with its contents. He believed that anti-Christian material could not prevail in what was then conservative Catholic Austria and wanted to get out of the project again. After being advised of the legal consequences of a breach of contract, he finally continued working on the work and completed the operetta in the months that followed. Still disgruntled and probably also fearing that the work would be a success, he was excused at the premiere because of a cold. In his place, Adolf Müller conducted the premiere . Strauss was informed by telephone about their progress. The subsequent reviews ranged from exuberant enthusiasm to complete disdain. There was a lot of approval and enthusiasm, especially from the Strauss supporters, who predicted a great future for the work. But there was also the harsh criticism that Strauss feared. After 36 performances, the operetta then disappeared from the program.
action
Jaquelin is a cartoonist who previously lived in Paris with the singer Ernestine. During the French Revolution he had to flee the capital for political reasons. At the beginning of the plot he is in the masquerade of a theater director in an army camp near Chalons. He wants to get passports for himself and Ernestine, who is still in Paris, to leave the country. But Ernestine initially has other plans. She wants to play the goddess of reason and therefore at least stay in Paris for the time being. In the meantime, three secret police , known as Jacobins , set out to pursue Jaquelin. Then a comedy of confusion begins because the Comtesse Mathilde suddenly appears in Chalons and pretends to be Ernestine, who has actually played the role of the goddess of reason . In this masquerade, the Comtesse is supported by the landowner Bonhomme. The Comtesse soon falls in love with Captain Robert. When the real Ernestine actually shows up, there is initially tension between her and the Comtesse. Then they decide to keep their reversed roles for the time being. Soon after, a colonel named Furieux appears, looking for the goddess of reason who has disappeared from Paris . He considers the Comtesse, who pretends to be this goddess, to be his target. When he learns the truth and recognizes in the Comtesse a person who has been written out for arrest, it becomes dangerous for her. With the help of Bonhomme, the Comtesse is able to save herself from arrest. At the same time, Ernestine reveals herself to be the real goddess of reason . Colonel Furieux now wants to take action and arrest the Comtesse and her lover, Captain Robert. However, he can no longer implement this plan because, on the one hand, the news of an upheaval in Paris, where Robespierre was overthrown, arrives. Second, Chalons is captured by German troops. With that all persecuted are free. The Comtesse, who is also the niece of the German general, the Duke of Braunschweig , marries her Robert with his blessing. Ernestine and Jaquelin also get together again and Bonhomme also gets a girlfriend, to whom he then becomes engaged.
Music numbers
The following information has been taken from the CD from Naxos listed under the Sound Carrier section .
overture
No. 1 Please, Mr. Officer (women's choir)
No. 2 performance song: I've just inspected the team (Colonel Furieux)
No. 3 Come here, come here! Happy sounds, military (choir)
No. 3a performance song: the saber on the side, the heart in the right place (Captain Robert)
No. 4 performance song: I sat comfortably in my castle (Bonhomme)
No. 5 Terzettino: We are the Jacobins (The Jacobins)
No. 6 performance song: One song, one song (Comtesse)
No. 7 Story: Robespierre the loose teaser through reason rules alone (Jaquelin)
No. 8 Finale I: O believe us charming child (all)
No. 8a performance song: I was just appointed as director by the Convent (Ernestine) (part of Finale I)
No. 9 Duet: Where am I? Oh is it a dream? (Captain Robert, Comtesse)
No. 9a Solo Waltz: Beautiful, wild youth (Bonhomme)
No. 10 Duet: You are in my garden (Ernestine, Comtesse)
No. 11 Vow scene: Please, Mr. Officer (all)
No. 12 Duet: When I was still Grisette (Jaquelin, Ernestine)
No. 13 Finale II: Well then ... It's me ... I don't deny (all)
No. 14 Introduction to the third act (orchestra)
No. 15 Introduction and solo waltz: Up, three times up, gentleman! (Comtesse, choir)
No. 16 song: over fields, over hedges (Ernestine)
No. 17 Duet: Are the spouses still young in years (Susette, Furieux)
No. 18 Quartet: Forward, take hold, just always daring (Comtesse, Ernestine, Bonhomme, Robert)
No. 19 Finale III: The masterpiece of creation is the hussar (All)
Musical re-use
As with his other operettas, Johann Strauss created several independent works based on motifs from this operetta. These are marked in the catalog raisonné with the opus numbers 471 to 476. The individual works are as follows:
- Today is today , Opus 471 (only piano editions 2-handed and 4-handed)
- Just don't muck , Polka francaise, Opus 472 (only piano edition 2-handed)
- Where our flag flies , March, Opus 473
- The gables nod , Polka-Mazurka, Opus 474 (only piano edition 2-handed)
- Freshly dared , Gallop, Opus 475 (only piano edition 2-handed)
- Quadrille , Quadrille, Opus 476 (only two-handed piano edition)
Sound carrier
In 2011 the label Naxos released a CD recording of the operetta. The Slovak Sinfonietta Orchestra plays under the direction of Christian Pollack . The soloists were Veronica Groiss, Manfred Equiluz, Kirlianit Cortes, Franz Födinger, Isabella Ma-Zach, Wolfgang Veith, Eva Maria Kumpfmüller and Andreas Mittermeier.
Web links
- Overview of the plot, the characters and the singers involved in the premiere
- The goddess of reason in the operetta lexicon
Individual evidence
- ↑ Marcel Prawy : Johann Strauss . Verlag Ueberreuter, Vienna, 1991, ISBN 3-8000-3393-3 , p. 186
- ↑ Naxos 8.660280-81, booklet p. 20
- ↑ https://www.johann-strauss.at/vernunft/info.shtml
- ↑ http://www.aeiou.at/js-frau.htm
- ^ Anton Mayer: Franz Lehár - The merry widow. The seriousness of the easy muse. Edition Steinbauer, Vienna 2005. pp. 104/105, ISBN 3-902494-05-0
- ↑ Alexander Weinmann: Directory of all works by Johann Strauss father and son. Musikverlag Ludwig Krenn, Vienna undated (1956), p. 118.