I masnadieri

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Work data
Title: The robbers
Original title: I masnadieri
Title page of the libretto, Milan 1850

Title page of the libretto, Milan 1850

Shape: Melodramma tragico in four acts
Original language: Italian
Music: Giuseppe Verdi
Libretto : Andrea Maffei
Literary source: The robbers by Friedrich Schiller
Premiere: July 22, 1847
Place of premiere: London , Her Majesty's Theater
Playing time: about 2 hours
Place and time of the action: Germany, 18th century
people
  • Amalia ( soprano )
  • Carlo (Karl) Moor ( tenor )
  • Francesco (Franz) Moor ( baritone )
  • Massimiliano (Maximilian) Graf Moor ( bass )
  • Arminio (Hermann), valet (tenor)
  • Moser, a pastor (bass)
  • Rolla (roller), companion of Carlo Moors (tenor or baritone)
  • Ladies, young people, robbers, servants ( choir )

I masnadieri ( The Robbers ) is an opera (original name: "Melodramma tragico") in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi on a libretto by Andrea Maffei based on Schiller's drama The Robbers . The opera premiered on July 22, 1847 in London under the baton of Verdi.

action

first act

Costumes for the first act

First picture. Pub on the Saxon border

The first scene begins after a foreplay. Carlo Moor, the eldest son of Count Massimiliano, joined a band of robbers after a falling out with his father. He is tired of this life and hopes for his father's forgiveness so that he can return home and see his bride Amalia again. Instead, he receives a letter from his scheming brother Francesco, who threatens imprisonment in the tower instead of his father's forgiveness if he returns. In his desperation, Carlo finally joins the robbers and lets himself be elected captain. The robbers pledge allegiance to him.

Second picture. Castle of Count Moor in Franconia

Francesco, Carlos' younger brother, triumphs in a scene followed by an aria that he has succeeded in killing his brother with a forged letter. He also plans to get rid of his old father, Count Massimiliano. Arminio is supposed to help him by lying to the old count that Carlo was killed in a battle near Prague .

Third picture. A bedroom in the castle

Amalia, the Count's niece, watches over the sleeping Massimiliano and, in one scene, laments and Cavatine the banishment of her fiancé. Meanwhile the old Count dreams of Carlo, whom he has long forgiven. In the final that follows, Francesco and Arminio appear. After the news that Carlo fell in a battle and was still lamenting his father's lack of willingness to reconcile, Massimiliano despaired and passed out. Francesco, who, like Amalia, believes in his death, triumphs that he is now Lord.

Second act

First picture. Grounds at the castle chapel

Amalia, who has sneaked away from a banquet, prays in front of a tomb with Massimiliano's name carved on it to find consolation in the supposedly dead person. Meanwhile, drinking songs can be heard from inside the castle. Arminio, plagued by remorse, arrives and tells her that both Carlo and the old count are still alive. While she thinks of Carlo with love, Arminio hurries away. Francesco steps in and tries to win Amalia over, but is rejected by her. He then threatens to hold her back by force and make her his mistress . She snatches his dagger from him to stab him with. Francesco escapes and swears revenge.

Second picture. Bohemian forests near Prague

Rolla was taken prisoner, but was freed from the gallows by Carlo at the last moment after the robbers attacked the powder tower. The robbers cheer. After the robbers have dispersed in the forest, Carlo laments his criminal life and the loss of Amalia in a scene and romance. In the subsequent Finale II, the robbers rush in frightened and report that they are surrounded by soldiers. Carlo orders that they should unite to strike a breach and fight for their lives.

Third act

First picture. Grounds near the Count's castle

The robbers were able to escape the soldiers and camp near the castle. Amalia, who escaped Francesco, hears the voices of the robbers and believes she is lost. At that moment Carlo steps in, who reveals himself to her, but keeps silent about what has become of him. Both confess their love.

Second picture. In the forest by the ruins of a castle dungeon

After a choir of robbers, the final III begins. Carlo enters and is greeted by the robbers. They retire and Carlo considers putting an end to his life. Arminio appears to bring food through the bars to the old count, who has been imprisoned by his son Francesco after his faint and has been declared dead. Carlo hears his father's voice and is startled. After he freed his father from the dungeon, he learns of Francesco's monstrous deeds. Carlo swears vengeance with the robbers.

Fourth act

First picture. Suite of rooms in the castle

Captured by a nightmare, Francesco rushes into the room and sings in horror, “Tradimento! ... Risorgono i defunti ... "(" Betrayed ... The dead rise! ... ") When Arminio enters, Francesco tells his dream of the Last Judgment , in which he is forever condemned for being guilty of his father. Pastor Moser, who approaches, accuses him of patricide and fratricide. When Francesco hears from Arminio that a wild horde is approaching the castle and screams announce that the bulwark has already been destroyed, he demands absolution from Moser . She refuses this, as does God's forgiveness.

Second picture. In the forest by the ruins of the castle dungeon

Carlo asks his father, who did not recognize him, for his blessing. Finale IV begins with the appearance of several robbers, a large scene and a trio. Francesco was able to escape while the robbers drag Amalia in. She turns to Carlo for help. Carlo desperate, reveals himself to his father and confesses to being the captain of the robbers. Amalia still wants to stay with Carlo and confesses her love. The dying old count also raises his voice again. At this moment the robbers storm Carlo, remind him of his oaths and accuse him of treason. Amalia asks Carlo for her death. Carlo stabs her to death so as not to bind her to his dishonorable life and leaves the robbers to face the courts.

layout

Instrumentation

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

libretto

The plot of the opera largely follows the literary model, with the librettist Maffei creating a rhymed version of the arias and reducing the number of characters. In the band of robbers, for example, the various roles such as Spiegelberg, Schweizer and Grimm were summarized in the form of the Rolla (roller) or taken on by the choir as a representative. Maximilian's servant Daniel also disappeared and was merged with Arminio (Hermann) into one person.

Musical classification

Stylistically, the work still belongs to Verdi's early phase, but according to the Verdi biographer Julian Budden already shows "a growing mastery of melodic invention". The melodies develop from short rhythmic figures that "enable variations and further developments". The vocal part of Amalia, which was tailored to Jenny Lind's vocal volume, is similar to that of Gilda in Rigoletto in the upper and middle soprano range. The role of the intriguer Francesco comes to the fore in the second image of the first act during his first appearance in his scene with a subsequent aria and gives "fleeting premonitions" of the Iago in Otello .

Work history

The opera was commissioned for the Royal Opera House on Haymarket , which had been directed by the impresario Benjamin Lumley since 1842 . After Verdi's opera Ernani was performed in London in 1845, this work became a hit with the public, despite its criticism by the London critics. Lumley then contacted Verdi for the first time. He spent a long time looking for a suitable material, also thinking of King Lear , a project that he planned over and over again but never carried out. Verdi also dealt with Lord Byron's The Corsair , for which he has already made some musical sketches. However, when Verdi met the librettist and Shakespeare translator Andrea Maffei during a recreational stay in Recoare , he persuaded him to study Macbeth and Schiller's drama Die Räuber , for which Maffei wrote the libretto. The robbers were actually supposed to be premiered in Florence, but since no suitable tenor was available there, Verdi decided I masnadieri for London and his opera Macbeth for Florence.

Verdi had made his commitment to London dependent on a first-class cast. In fact, the famous Jenny Lind was part of the premiere cast as Amalia. At the premiere on July 22nd, 1847 and the second performance, Verdi himself conducted "with a stick in hand".

After the premiere, the audience was delighted, while the critics expressed reservations.

literature

  • Julian Budden: Verdi's London Opera. Supplement to the CD, Philips 1974.
  • Heinz Wagner: The great manual of the opera. 2nd edition, Florian Noetzel Verlag Wilhelmshaven 1995, p. 738.

Discography (selection)

Web links

Commons : I masnadieri  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Rein A. Zondergeld : I masnadieri. In: Piper's Encyclopedia of Musical Theater. Volume 6: Works. Spontini - Zumsteeg. Piper, Munich / Zurich 1997, ISBN 3-492-02421-1 , p. 417.
  2. ^ A b c Budden: Verdi's London Opera. 1974, p. 32.
  3. ^ Budden: Verdi's London Opera. 1974, p. 26.
  4. ^ Budden: Verdi's London Opera. 1974, p. 30.