Elena (Cavalli)

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Opera dates
Title: Elena
Image from the libretto, Venice 1659

Image from the libretto, Venice 1659

Shape: Opera in a prologue and three acts
Original language: Italian
Music: Francesco Cavalli
Libretto : Giovanni Faustini and Nicolò Minato
Premiere: December 26 (?) 1659
Place of premiere: Teatro San Cassiano , Venice
Playing time: more than 3 hours
Place and time of the action: Laconia (capital of Sparta ) and Tegea , mythical time
people

prolog

  • La Discordia, the discord disguised as peace ( soprano , castrato )
  • Venere / Venus (soprano)
  • Giunone / Juno (soprano)
  • Pallade / Athene (soprano)
  • La Pace, the Peace (soprano, castrato)
  • La Verità, the truth (soprano, castrato)
  • L'Abbondanza, the abundance (silent role)
  • La Ricchezza, the wealth ( silent role )
  • Amore, the love ( silent role )
  • two furies (silent roles)

action

  • Tindaro / Tyndareos , King of Sparta ( bass )
  • Elena / Helena , his daughter (soprano)
  • Menelao / Menelaos , prince in women's clothing under the name Elisa, in love with Helena (soprano, castrato)
  • Teseo / Theseus ( tenor / soprano)
  • Peritoo / Peirithoos ( old , neutered )
  • Ippolita / Hippolyte , amazon princess in men's clothing (soprano)
  • Eurite, Amazon, her lady-in-waiting in men's clothing (soprano)
  • Erginda / Astianassia, Helena's lady-in-waiting
  • Diomede, servant of Menelaus, disguised as an Armenian merchant (tenor)
  • Euripilo, confidante Tindaros (old, castrato)
  • Iro, court jester (tenor)
  • Creonte, King of Tegea (bass)
  • Menesteo, his son (soprano, castrato)
  • Antiloco, confidante Menesteos (tenor / bass)
  • Castore / Kastor , brother Elenas (soprano, castrato)
  • Polluce / Pollux , brother Elenas (soprano, castrato)
  • Nettuno / Neptun (bass)
  • Sea gods, argonauts , hunters ( choir )
  • Slaves (extras)

Elena is an opera in a prologue and three acts by Francesco Cavalli (music) with a libretto by Giovanni Faustini and Nicolò Minato . The first performance took place at the end of 1659, probably on December 26th, in the Teatro San Cassiano in Venice.

action

The scene distribution in the following table of contents corresponds to the printed libretto from 1659. It differs from that of the score manuscript.

prolog

The realm of peace

Discord (La Discordia) disguises itself as peace (La Pace) to cause controversy in heaven. There the three goddesses Venere ( Venus ), Giunone ( Juno ) and Pallade ( Athene ) want to settle their differences on the occasion of the upcoming wedding of Elena ( Helena ) and Menelao ( Menelaos ). Venere asks the supposed peace for a blessing for the couple. Giunone is even ready to forgive her husband Giove ( Jupiter ) for his infidelity - Elena is his daughter from an affair with Leda . The discord insidiously offers the three of them a golden apple, which is to be presented to the most beautiful woman. Immediately there is an argument, because everyone considers themselves the most beautiful. After Venere snatches the apple, Giunone and Pallade withdraw their blessing on Elena, and Pallade also denies her the blessing of virtue. Giunone announces that Teseo ( Theseus ) will kidnap Elena. Venere then declares that he will not receive her as a wife. Pallade adds that Elena will be kidnapped again in a later time. As the dispute escalates, the truth (La Verità) and real peace emerge. They expose the deception of discord, drive it from the throne of peace and chain it with the help of abundance (L'Abbondanza), wealth (La Ricchezza), love (Amore) and two furies .

first act

Seaside of Laconia

Scene 1. Under the protection of the sea god Nettuno ( Neptune ) and some sky gods, his son Teseo arrives with his friend Peritoo ( Peirithoos ) on the coast of Laconia , the capital of Sparta . King Tindaro ( Tyndareos ), Elena's earthly father , rules there . Teseo intends to kidnap her and marry her. Then the two friends want to get Proserpina from the underworld to give Peritoo to wife.

Scene 2. Peritoo and Teseo plan to kidnap Elena in the amphitheater where she is doing her training. Both find it okay to use violence to force women to love.

Hall in the Royal Palace of Tindaro in Laconia

Scene 3. Menelao ( Menelaos ) also languishes for Elena. To get close to her, he disguised himself as an Amazon. His servant Diomede is supposed to offer her to her father as a battle-hardened slave to teach Elena how to wrestle.

Scene 4. The court jester Iro leads Menelao and Diomede to the king.

Scene 5. Diomede explains to Tindaro that he bought the supposed Amazon from pirates who kidnapped her. He offers it to the king as a gift. Tindaro makes her available to his daughter as a combat instructor and has her confidante Euripilo bring her to her apartment.

Scene 6. King Tindaro fell madly in love with the beautiful Amazon immediately. Diomede tries in vain to point out to him that she is extremely dangerous and has nothing feminine about her.

Scene 7. Iro says you have to enjoy love before you are too old.

Amphitheater outside the city

Scene 8. Elena confesses to her lady-in-waiting Erginda how much she longs for love.

Scene 9. Euripilo introduces Elena to Elisa, the new combat instructor. Elena is carried away by the wild beauty of the Amazon and asks her about her experiences in love. Elisa / Menelao answers evasively because he doesn't want to reveal his real feelings for her yet. Elena, bored, demands a lesson.

Scene 10. Elena and Elisa / Menelao fight with each other. Menelao holds back carefully and falls. He justifies his clumsiness by saying that she looks so much like his lover. Teseo and Peritoo take the opportunity to bring Elena into their power. Since Peritoo falls in love with the Amazon at first sight, Menelao is also abducted. Euripilo and Erginda can only watch idly. Euripilo at least recognizes the perpetrators. Erginda envies the abductees for being so loved.

Scene 11. Iro alerts the guards and calls for the attackers to be pursued.

Scene 12. Tindaro orders Diomede and Euripilo to look for the two women. At the same time, Iro should look for them in disguise. After the others have left, Tindaro is surprised that he is more worried about the Amazon than about his daughter.

Forest

Scene 13. On the way, Teseo tells Elena that he wants to take her to Tegea. Elena threatens her father's anger. Both men seek the favor of their loved ones.

Scene 14. Euripilo and Diomede are unsuccessful in their search. They basically consider love to be folly.

Scene 15. Iro, however, has found in his disguise as a madman and a track refers Euripilo and Diomede to the kingdom Tegea on the other side of the Evrotas . Euripilo knows that King Creonte rules there. He instructs Iro to go to Tegea as a spy to do further research. He himself returns home with Diomede.

Scene 16. Iro is chased by two bears and saved by hunters. The hunters and the bears dance.

Second act

Courtyard in front of the rooms of the royal palace of Tegea

Scene 1. Creonte receives Teseo and Peritoo and promises them his protection.

Scene 2. Creonte’s son Menesteo immediately fell in love with Elena.

Scene 3. Elena confides in Elisa / Menelao that she has developed feelings for her kidnapper Teseo.

Scene 4. Menelao is so desperate about it that he just wants to die.

Scene 5. Also Teseos abandoned wife Ippolita ( Hippolyte ), the sister of the Amazons Queen Antiope, is located at the court Creontes. Together with her confidante Eurite, she is looking for her missing husband, to whom Heracles gave her as a wife. Both have put on men's clothes for camouflage. Ippolita is still convinced of Teseo's loyalty.

Scene 6. Peritoo passionately declares his love for Elisa / Menelao. There is nothing left for the so distressed but to pretend to be in return.

Scene 7. Iro has been watching them. He wonders what King Tindaro would say about the Amazon's behavior.

Scene 8. Iro confusedly tells Eurite that Tindaro is on his way here to avenge the kidnapping of his daughter. Eurite thinks Iro is crazy.

Scene 9. Elena rejects Menesteo's vows of love, but gives Teseo hope.

Scene 10. Ippolita patiently waits for her love afflictions to end.

Scene 11. Menesteo tells his friend Antiloco that he wants to murder his rival Teseo.

Scene 12. Ippolita, who overheard the conversation, vows to prevent it.

Scene 13. Eurite informs Ippolita of Teseo's actions in Sparta. Ippolita is enraged by his infidelity.

Scene 14. Menelao doesn't want to hide his feelings towards Elena any longer. When he sees her coming, he pretends to be asleep.

Scene 15. Menelao / Elisa confesses his love to Elena as if in a dream. Confused, Elena wakes him up and demands an explanation. Menelao reveals his true identity to her and explains everything to her. Elena asks him to be patient. She prays to Cupid for advice on her decision.

Sea coast of Tegea

Scene 16. Iro watches the Argonauts disembark on their return from their expedition to the Golden Fleece . With them are Elena's brothers Castore ( Kastor ) and Polluce ( Pollux ). When they learn of the kidnapping of their sister through Iro, they swear revenge. They release their accompanying slaves who dance for joy.

Third act

Lovely royal grove

Scene 1. Elena tells Menelao that she now loves him. Although they should actually flee from their kidnappers, there is still time for a love duet.

Scene 2. Teseo falls asleep, thinking about his beloved Elena.

Scene 3. Ippolita finds the sleeper. Although the opportunity is opportune, she cannot choose to take her revenge as she still loves him. She withdraws.

Scene 4. Ippolita watches Menesteo and Antiloco approach to kill Teseo. She attacks the two, wounds Menesteo and drives the assassins to flight. When Teseo wakes up, he thinks she is the attacker and challenges her to fight. Only now does he recognize his wife. He insultingly asks them to leave.

Scene 5. Ippolita ponders Teseo's harsh words to her.

Scene 6. Antiloco meets Eurite, who is worriedly looking for her friend Ippolita.

Scene 7. Elena and Menelao indulge in feelings of love. They want to run away at the next opportunity.

Scene 8. Peritoo still believes that Elisa / Menelao is reciprocating his feelings. He's now enjoying his wrong game and secretly making fun of Peritoo.

Palace of Creonte

Scene 9. Teseo is convinced that you have to have many women in order to enjoy love. When Ippolita confronts him for his infidelity, he first pretends not to recognize her and then insults her again. He harshly rejects her declaration of love. Eurite advises the desperate to choose another lover.

Scene 10. Menesteo tells Antiloco that he still wants to kill Teseo. His father Creonte hears this and becomes angry about this behavior towards his guests. He has Menesteo and his friend arrested.

Scene 11. In the presence of Menelao, still dressed as a woman, Teseo swears his love to Elena. She answers with tender words, but whispers to Menelao that she actually mean him.

Scene 12. Peritoo warns Teseo about Elena's brothers Castore and Polluce. They are expecting a fight.

Scene 13. Iro leads Castore and Polluce directly to Elena and Menelao. The siblings hug each other. Elena explains to her brothers that Menelao / Elisa were kidnapped with her. The four prepare to flee.

Scene 14. Teseo and Peritoo try to stop the women.

Scene 15. Ippolita wants revenge on Teseo.

Scene 16. Teseo explains his behavior towards Ippolita by saying that she tried to murder him. Creonte, however, reveals the truth: his son and his friend Antiloco are the real culprits. Menesteo admits that he wanted to eliminate his rival and that Ippolita prevented him from doing so. Teseo is so impressed that he immediately falls in love with Ippolita again and begs her forgiveness. Reluctantly she gives in. Teseo now asks Castore and Polluce for forgiveness for kidnapping their sister. When he receives them, he in turn forgives Menesteo and Antiloco. Ultimately, Elena also reveals Menelaus identity and her love for him. Your brothers also forgive this deception. Everyone is satisfied - only Peritoo is deeply ashamed of his loss of love. In the final quartet, the two couples celebrate their luck. Love and fate are no longer hostile to them.

layout

libretto

The text deals with a whole series of classic mythological motifs: including the early life of Helen with her abduction by Theseus , her liberation by her brothers Castor and Pollux and her connection with Menelaus , the wedding of Theseus and the Amazon queen Hippolyte and Theseus' and Peirithoos 'Abduction of Proserpine from the Underworld. In the opera Menelaus Helena does not win in competition with other suitors, but by disguising as an Amazon.

In contrast to other contemporary works, Elena has fewer elements of a tragic comedy and is more inspired by the Commedia dell'arte . Examples of funny situations are the commitment of Menelao, disguised as an Amazon, as Elena's personal wrestling teacher and his homoerotic attraction to the princess and to other men like Peritoo and Tindaro. The character of the court jester Iro is taken directly from the Commedia dell'arte. He not only has a marginal role here, but is also an essential part of the dramatic plot. The Amazon Ippolita, and especially Prince Menesteo, have serious or tragic features in return. The main motif of the plot are the changing desires of the protagonists.

music

The instrumental movement of the opera is predominantly three-part, i. H. for violins I and II as well as basso continuo . In II: 16 two trumpets are provided. There is an additional viola part in the prologue.

The role of Teseo is recorded in two different keys. It is mainly in the C4 clef (tenor), in scenes III: 2 and III.3, on the other hand, in C1 (soprano). The reason for this is unclear. It is possible that the cast of Teseo was changed after the opera was completed and had to be adapted. It is also conceivable that the role was sung by a tenor and by a castrato soprano in different performances and that parts of both versions were included in the performance score and then in the copy. The same applies to the antiloco part, which is mostly notated in C4 (tenor), but partly also in F (bass).

There is a large number of arias, which here are clearly more differentiated than works from previous decades. Ten arias have two-part accompaniment in addition to the basso continuo - in Cavalli's La Calisto of 1651 there were only three. The instrumental pieces are also in two or three parts (in addition to the continuo). There is also a large number of ensemble movements: duets, terzets, quartets and at the end a sextet.

The music of the dances at the end of the first two acts has not been preserved.

Work history

Title page of the libretto, Venice 1659

Cavalli's opera Elena was written in 1659 for the Venetian Teatro San Cassiano . Nicolò Minato wrote the libretto based on a scenario left behind by Giovanni Faustini , who died in 1651 , the brother of the theater impresario Marco Faustini. According to the preface to the libretto, several librettists had previously refused to complete the work. It is one of the earliest explicitly comic operas in Venice.

The title role was sung by a then famous courtesan, the highly paid Lucietta Gamba. There are no other records of her appearing in a Venetian theater. Their real qualities apparently lay in a different area. Giovanni Francesco Busenello , the librettist of Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea , described the specialties of this "singing whore" ("quella puta che canta") in his collection of poems about Venetian prostitutes (published in Rollo delle puttane and in Stanze fatte contro certe dame ) . Her contract with the impresario Marco Faustini was negotiated by her alleged protector Michiel Morosini. Its name resemblance to the dedicatee of the opera, Angelo Morosini, suggests that the Morosini family was involved in the production. For all work - completion of the libretto and score, libretto printing and rehearsals - only about three and a half months were available.

The dedication in the libretto is dated December 26th, 1659. On this day, on which the Venetian carnival season usually started, the world premiere presumably took place.

The stage machines for which this opera offered many possibilities most likely came from Francesco Santurini. The singers were Lucietta Gamba ( prima donna, 677 ducats), Elena Passarelli ( seconda donna, 362 ducats), Anna Caterina Venturi ( terza donna, 180 ducats), Giovanni Cappello (primo uomo, 361 ducats), Niccolò Constantino, Domenico Sciarra, Carlo Vittorio Rotari, Giuseppe Ghini, Michel Angelo Amadore, Alessandro Collacioppi, Giovanni Battista Maggi and Francesco Galli. Kristin Kane assumes that the castrato Cappello took over the role of Menelao and the seconda donna (Passarelli) the musically significant role of Ippolita. It is noticeable that only three women are listed among the twelve singers. The terza donna Venturi may have therefore taken over the other two women's roles, Erginda / Astianassa and Eurite. Since there are a total of fifteen roles in the opera, other combinations were necessary. The castrati roles have a special function. These include Menelao, Teseo, Peritoo, Euripilo, Menesteo, Castore and Polluce as well as presumably the three allegorical figures in the prologue. Natural male voices are Creonte, Nettuno, Tindaro, Iro and Antiloco. This poses problems for modern productions, as replacing the castrati with female singers would confuse the comedy and drama of the plot, which is based on gender confusion. The soprano part of Menelao is also too high for most countertenors today. In his duets with Elena he sings the upper part.

A letter from Carlo Andrea Coradini dated January 24, 1660 suggests low sales.

In addition to a handwritten score, a copy presumably made by his wife from the later years of Cavalli's life, the printed libretto of the premiere production from 1659 and an appendix to the libretto published a little later with an alternative prologue have been preserved, for which, however, no music exists. In it, Venere descends into Hades to warn Proserpina that Teseo and Peritoo want to kidnap her. At Proserpina's request, Venere prevents this by commissioning her son Amore to make Teseo in love with another woman. For her part, Proserpina chooses La Gelosia (jealousy) to attack Peritoo. Two spirits carry La Gelosia away from the underworld.

The first performance in recent times took place on Carnival Tuesday, February 28, 2006 in a concert version in the Barnes Hall of Cornell University. The Cornell Collegium Musicum played under the direction of Kristin Kane, who then did her doctorate on this opera.

In 2013 and 2014, the conductor Leonardo García Alarcón dedicated himself to the work with his Cappella Mediterranea. The premiere was on July 7, 2013 at the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence . There were other performances at the Opéra National de Montpellier , the Opéra royal de Versailles , the Opéra de Lille , in the large auditorium of the Fondation Calouste Gulbenkian in Lisbon, at the Opéra de Nantes, in Angers and at the Opéra de Rennes.

Recordings

literature

  • Kristin Kane: Francesco Cavalli's Elena (1659): A Study and Edition. Cornell University Dissertation , February 2010 ( online ).
  • Eros in musica. Dramaturgy et pratique musicale chez Cavalli. Actes de la journée d'étude. Contributions to the production of Elena in Aix-en-Provence. Venetian Center for Baroque Music, 2013 ( online, PDF )

Web links

Commons : Elena  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Remarks

  1. For Kane, the vocal ranges are only given using the clefs used in the manuscript. The following assignment is used here: C1 = soprano, C3 = alto, C4 = tenor, F = bass.
  2. La Ricchezza is mentioned in the libretto, but is missing in Kane's overview.
  3. The lady-in-waiting named Erginda in the libretto is called Astianassia in the score manuscript.
  4. The role of Creonte is noted in the C4 clef.
  5. Kane apparently mistakenly mentions the name Venturi here. But this was the terza donna and, according to Kane, sang the other two women's roles.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Duration of the shortened recording of Leonardo García Alarcón.
  2. 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 Kristin Kane: Francesco Cavalli's Elena (1659): A Study and Edition. Cornell University Dissertation , February 2010 ( online ).
  3. a b c Alain Perroux: Elena, the almighty song of desire. In: Supplement to the DVD by Leonardo García Alarcón, pp. 44–47 ( online at ISSUU).
  4. Jonathan Glixon, Beth Glixon: Inventing the Business of Opera: The Impresario and His World in Seventeenth-Century Venice. Oxford University Press, 2006, ISBN 978-0-19-515416-0 , doi : 10.1093 / acprof: oso / 9780195154160.001.0001 .
  5. a b Supplement to the DVD by Leonardo García Alarcón at ISSUU.
  6. Jérémy Loroy-Ringuet: conversation with Leonardo García Alarcón, conductor and harpsichordist, musical director of the "second world premiere" of Elena. In: Supplement to the DVD by Leonardo García Alarcón, pp. 44–47 ( online at ISSUU).
  7. ^ Frank Langlois: Elena et les garçons. Review of the 2013 performance in Aix-en-Provence on webtheatre.fr, July 16, 2013, accessed on December 3, 2019.