Euridice (Peri)
| Work data | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Euridice |
| Original title: | L'Euridice |
Title page of the libretto, Florence 1600 |
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| Shape: | Opera in a prologue and six scenes |
| Original language: | Italian |
| Music: | Jacopo Peri |
| Libretto : | Ottavio Rinuccini |
| Literary source: | Orpheus legend from Greek mythology |
| Premiere: | October 6, 1600 |
| Place of premiere: | Florence |
| Playing time: | Around 1 hour |
| Place and time of the action: | Greek mythology |
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L'Euridice is an opera in a prologue and six scenes by Jacopo Peri ( music ) based on a libretto by Ottavio Rinuccini . The work had its world premiere on October 6, 1600 in the Palazzo Pitti in Florence . It is the oldest completely preserved opera.
orchestra
The orchestra, whose instrumental composition is not specified in the score apart from the basso continuo , played at the premiere behind the stage front and was therefore not visible to the audience. The only instrument indication in the score reads: "Tirsi appears on the scene, playing the following piece on the triple flute (Triflauto)". It is not clear what kind of instrument the "Triflauto" is, possibly a kind of bagpipe with two chanter and a drone whistle . The instrument is not played on the stage, but, as explained in the preface to the score, behind the stage by three flutes.
action
prolog
The prologue is very short. In it the “ tragedy ” appears as an allegorical figure and heralds the next game.
Scenes
A choir of shepherds and nymphs reports of the impending marriage of Euridice to Orfeo . This is followed by a ballet in which Euridicens playmates dance. Orfeo and his friends appear. The messenger Dafne brings Orfeo the news of the sudden death of his beloved. Orfeo expresses his despair in a long lament . The shepherds and some nymphs try to comfort Orfeo. The goddess Venus finally succeeds in persuading the desperate to descend into the underworld in order to plead with its ruler that his beloved be returned. Orfeo turns to Pluton in another lament . In the final scene the lovers are happily reunited. Choirs and dances express joy.
Emergence
The opera was commissioned for the program accompanying the festivities on the occasion of the marriage of King Henry IV of France to Princess Maria de Medici, who was around 20 years his junior . The composer himself sang the orfeo. Euridice was played by the singer Vittoria Archilei .
The performance at the wedding celebrations turned into a mess, because some of the committed singers belonged to the entourage of the scheming Giulio Caccini , including his daughter Francesca . They refused to sing the passages composed for them by Peri; instead they sang the corresponding parts from Caccini's own setting Euridice . After the performance, Caccini hurried to complete his work and get it published before Peri's work. In the preface to the printing of his work, Peri emphasized that it had already been completely composed at the time of the performance.
music
Today Euridice is of musical historical importance because it is the oldest surviving opera in musical history. In the 400 years or so since its creation, listening habits have changed so much that today many listeners perceive the work as "too monotonous". The choir song “Auf zum Singen, zum Tanzen” and the flute interlude in the middle of the work are most likely to appeal to today's listeners. The two lamenti were important for the development of the solo scenes in Italian operas.
literature
- Silke Leopold : Iacopo Peri: L'Euridice. In: Piper's Encyclopedia of Musical Theater. Volume 6. Piper, Munich and Zurich 1997, ISBN 3-492-02421-1 , pp. 692-694.
- Georgios P. Tsomis: "Thus changed, I return ...": The Programmatic Prologue of the First Surviving Opera "Euridice" (1600) by Ottavio Rinuccini and Jacopo Peri. Euripidean, Senecan Poetics and Music as Representation. In: Antike und Abendland 61, 2015, pp. 119–136
- Gerhart von Westerman , Karl Schumann: Knaur's opera guide . Droemers / Knaur, Munich 1969.
Web links
- Euridice : Sheet music and audio files in the International Music Score Library Project
- Libretto (Italian), Florence 1600. Digitized version of the Munich digitization center
- Work information and libretto (Italian) as full text on librettidopera.it librettidopera.it
- L'Euridice (Jacopo Peri) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna
- Work data for L'Euridice based on MGG with discography at Operone
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Ulrich Thieme: The recorder in cantata, oratorio and opera. Part I: The 17th Century. In: Tibia. Magazine for Friends of Old and New Wind Music 2/1986, pp. 80-87; P. 83.
- ↑ Martin Kirn Bauer: Triflauto. In: Grove Music Online (English; subscription required).
- ^ Ulrich Thieme: The recorder in cantata, oratorio and opera. Part I: The 17th Century. In: Tibia. Magazine for Friends of Old and New Wind Music 2/1986, pp. 80-87; P. 84.