Ezio (Handel)

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Work data
Original title: Ezio
Title page of the libretto, London 1732

Title page of the libretto, London 1732

Shape: Opera seria
Original language: Italian
Music: georg Friedrich Handel
Libretto : unknown
Literary source: Pietro Metastasio , Ezio (1728)
Premiere: January 15, 1732
Place of premiere: King's Theater , Haymarket, London
Playing time: 3 hours
Place and time of the action: Rome , 451
people
John Walsh : title page of the first edition (1732)

Ezio ( HWV 29) is an opera ( Dramma per musica ) in three acts by Georg Friedrich Händel . It is his third and last opera based on a text by Pietro Metastasio . The material deals with the story of the Roman general Flavius ​​Aëtius , who defeated Attila , king of the Huns, in the battle of the Catalaunian fields in 451 . The plot of the opera continues after his return to the court of the Western Roman emperor Valentinian III. one where both compete for the love of the patrician daughter Fulvia. Valentiniano suspects Ezio of a failed assassination attempt and wants to have him killed. However, contrary to the historical events, the murder is not carried out and Ezio can appear to save his emperor from popular anger. As a thank you, Valentiniano renounces Fulvia in favor of Ezio.

Emergence

The composition can no longer be dated precisely, since the last pages of the autograph , where Handel usually noted the date when the work was completed, have been lost. He probably wrote his opera Ezio in November / December 1731, after he had started another opera, Titus l'empéreur ( HWV A 5 ) on a libretto after Jean Racines Bérénice , but broke it off after the first three scenes and instead followed the Ezio turned to. Before that, Handel had opened the third season of the second Opera Academy on November 13, 1731 with a resumption of Tamerlano , followed by Poro and Admeto .

Ezio premiered as the fourth new opera for the New Royal Academy. However, only four more performances followed. The English music historian Charles Burney (1726–1814) wrote of these ongoing failures :

“It is painful to dwell on this part of his life, which was one continued tissue of losses and misfortunes. He produced thirty operas between the year 1721 and 1740; yet, after the dissolution of the Academy, in 1729, none were attended with the success that was due to their intrinsic and superior merit, though some of the best were posterior to the period. Neglect and opposition conspired to rob him at once of health, fame, and fortune. "

“It is indeed sad to dwell on this period of his life which has been a constant web of accidents and annoyances. He completed thirty operas between 1721 and 1740. In the meantime, after the abolition of the Academy, none of them received in 1729 the approval which it would have deserved according to its inner and excellent value; although some of the best were written later. Contempt and hostility had conspired to suddenly rob him of health, fame and prosperity. (Translation by Johann Joachim Eschenburg , Berlin 1785) "

- Charles Burney : An Account Of The Musical Performances. London 1785.

Handel introduced three new singers to his stage this season: the tenor Giovanni Battista Pinacci was one of the most accomplished tenors in Europe, and his wife, the contralto Anna Bagnolesi , had joined him on the trip to London. Both played the main roles in the Ezio . Antonio Montagnana , a real bass (as opposed to Boschi , who was actually a baritone ) with the amazing vocal range of more than two octaves and equally high virtuosity, was at the height of his career when he came to London in 1731, and Handel wrote for him In the following seasons many roles in older operas were re-introduced in order to use his extraordinary vocal abilities in their revivals. In the Ezio , however, the audience had to wait until the second act, when they heard an aria from him in which he could show all his skills.

King George continued to show his support for Handel by attending four of the five performances: He was only absent from the premiere. It was even accompanied by the Royal Family for the second performance on January 18 and the last on January 29. Even so, the work was unsuccessful, so the "Opera Register" (incorrectly attributed to Francis Colman ) was noted:

“In Jan ry Ezio - a New Opera; Clothes & all ye scenes New. but did not draw much Company. "

“In January: Ezio - a new opera; Costumes and all sets were new. But it didn't attract a large audience. "

- “Opera Register.” London, January 1732.

Ezio was never performed again during Handel's lifetime.

Cast of the premiere:

libretto

Handel set three texts by Metastasio to music: next to Ezio it was Siroe (1728) and immediately before Poro (1731). However, in the following years he also brought four pasticci on stage with music by other composers, based on a text book Metastasios. Pietro Metastasio (1698–1782) was the leading writer for the stage in his time. His numerous dramas and opera libretti met with the undivided approval of the audience at the time, and his fame shone on the European art world. His pronounced feeling for musical issues not only made Pietro Antonio Domenico Trapassi, his real name, the most sought-after librettist for all renowned composers, but also set the style for the opera seria genre . Arrested early on in a classical humanistic education and developing his literary talent at a young age, he worked for most of his life in the primary function of court poet at the Austrian imperial court in Vienna . Ezio wrote Metastasio in 1728.

If we follow the historical accounts of the history of Aëtius, which contradict each other in many details, it can hardly be assumed that Metastasio has preceded his literary work with a source study of the history. However, the report by Prokopios of Caesarea shows so much identity with the libretto - it tells the story of the story of the story in detail - that Metastasio certainly used this representation as a model.

But the poet was not interested in bringing historical material to the stage of its time. Rather, the conflict “ruler - subject” was a popular occasion to depict certain behavior patterns typical of that time; not in the sense of a realistic reflection of life, but in the service of a didactic effect on the viewer. Metastasio's libretto arises from his feudal-absolutist mentality, in which rationalistic-Enlightenment traits are mixed. Ezio is also subject to the typical dramaturgical scheme, which is completed into brilliant form. Intrigue is the engine of the plot, murder is a dramatic moment of tension. The characters are carriers of fixed behavior: Ezio is the virtuous hero and lover, Fulvia the virtuous and faithful lover, Massimo the intriguer, Varo the virtuous and faithful friend, Onoria the spurned lover, Valentiniano the tyrannical ruler. What is remarkable here is that the latter is so drawn from the spirit of aristocratic society that he acts out of ignorance as a victim of intrigue. The virtue of the hero leads him out of his “confusion” - and his desire for Fulvia is also rated as such - in order to ultimately contest the finale as an enlightened, mild ruler. In this sense, the “lieto fine” - the happy ending - proves to be a formal element born out of social necessity and the instructive function of art.

In the foreground of the complex and yet logically clear plot of the six people is love: the virtuous love of the main couple, which prevails against the temptations of intrigue, murder and blind desire. In the interests of the victory of virtue, Metastasios Valentiniano and Ezio need not die. History is subject to the dramatic will.

Handel's interest in Ezio's material, apart from the dramaturgical quality of the libretto , undoubtedly arose from the obvious possibility of drawing parallels between the Valentiniano-Ezio confrontation and the social reality in England at the time. Handel probably came across the libretto during his trip to Italy in the winter of 1728/29, because the first composers had just put it to music: The first of them, Nicola Porpora , had got hold of the textbook and failed with its first performance on November 20, 1728 the official Roman premiere of the piece in Venice in a setting by Pietro Auletta , which then took place on December 26, a month later.

It is not known who arranged Auletta's version of Metastasio's libretto for Handel. Whether Samuel Humphreys , who provided the English translation for the bilingual textbook and at the time held a kind of secretary position at the Haymarket Theater, is also a candidate for editing the textbook cannot be proven. Giacomo Rossi , but possibly Handel himself, could also be considered for this; the latter is indeed indicated by the few changes that have been made. The most important changes were the deletion of four arias and around 900 of 1500 lines of recitative out of consideration for the London public tastes. As was often the case in earlier cases, these abbreviations were sometimes too generous and caused strange jumps and illogical reactions in the course of action: in Ezio z. B. in the third act, when Varo reports Ezio's death only a few moments later after he left the stage. Originally this passage had 17 lines and has now been trimmed to 3 lines.

The most significant cut, however, is the omission of the first introductory scene in Metastasio's libretto: Handel can go straight from the overture to the first scene, Ezio's triumphant arrival after his victory over the Huns , and the usual third (dance) movement of the overture is replaced by the sweeping triumphal march. The instrumental introduction thus becomes part of the opera's history for the first time. Also noteworthy is the complete lack of ensembles - there are no duets or choirs apart from the short lines at the very end. Metastasio's rigidly structured libretto, where each scene heads towards a single aria, which is usually the required exit aria , does not allow this.

The artistic result of this restructuring shows a different concept than that metastasios. Handel, although 13 years older than Metastasio, creates his works on an entirely different philosophical foundation. He uses the aristocratic form of the opera seria , but fills it with the spirit of the bourgeois-enlightened ideas and thereby arrives at new musical and dramatic forms of design. Handel's focus is less on the intrigue itself, nor on the entanglements in love, than rather on the confrontation between Ezio and Valentiniano in its historical and social scope, with real human love becoming more and more a means of expressing human quality in the sense that Mozart then did makes it the center of his artistic statement. Handel modified the exposition by Ezio and Valentiniano in particular, as well as the finale of the opera. Through these interventions, on the one hand, the Ezio figure is brought far more into focus, on the other hand, the figure of the tyrant is designed from a new point of view and consequently in a new musical-dramaturgical way. Valentiniano is not the “unsuspecting villain” who rises to the new rulership at the end, but it is precisely in this figure that one of the most interesting figures of the Handel operas is embodied: the ruler, the tyrant, autocratic, selfish, but surrounded by the furies of the unstoppable The fall of his empire, surrounded and "supported" by intrigue and murder, self-murdering, haunted by fear. Such a ruler has no chance of rising again. The new strength borne by Ezio outshines him and his kingdom.

The first re-performance of Ezio in modern times, and thus only the sixth performance of the piece, took place on June 30, 1926 during the Göttingen Handel Festival in a German text version by Franz Notholt under the musical direction of Rudolf Schulz-Dornburg.

The practice of performances of Handel operas in German theaters in Hamburg and Braunschweig was ajar in the 18th century a production of Hall's "Chamber Opera 65," under the title Roman love for the first time on January 30, 1966, conducted by the composer Peter freedom in Handel's hometown Halle (Saale) could be heard: the Italian arias were added melodramatic ritornelles in German to explain the plot, which replaced the recitatives. These were written and composed by Peter Freiheit. The first performance of the piece in historical performance practice was seen in the Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe on February 18, 1995 during the eleventh Handel Festival in Karlsruhe with the German Handel Soloists under the direction of Roy Goodman .

action

The Battle of the Catalaunian Fields between Attila and Aetius (miniature by Jacob van Maerlant, around 1330)

Historical and literary background

The Greek historian Prokopios of Caesarea (in the 3rd book of his eight-part histories ( history of war) (in his De origine actibusque Getarum (history of the Goths) in chapters 34–43 report on the struggle of West Rome against the Huns, on the character of the emperor Valentinian III., his sister Honoria, from the military leader Aëtius, who defeated the Huns under Attila in the battle of the Catalaunian fields, and above all from the Roman senator Maximus, who first destroyed Aëtius for his private revenge and his political ambitions and later had Valentinian murdered in order to become emperor himself. In creating his libretto, Metastasio drew primarily on Prokopius, but also took inspiration from the tragedies Maximien (1662) by Thomas Corneille and Britannicus (1669) by Jean Racine .

The historical facts are presented today in the following way: Valentinian III. (419–455) ruled from 425 to 455 as emperor of the Western Roman Empire . After the division of Rome in the year 395 into eastern and western empires, western Rome approached its rapid decline, which had already taken place in 476 with the overthrow of the last emperor Romulus Augustus by Odoacer . Domestic political difficulties and the falling away of important provinces as well as the growing threat from outside led to the unstoppable weakening of the empire during the reign of the last - already very weak emperors. The crisis reached a climax when the Huns under Attila began to attack Westrom. The son of Galla Placidia and the Emperor Constantius III. , Valentinian III., With Theodosius II's consent, was proclaimed Caesar in October 424 and soon afterwards Augustus . Until his marriage (437), the mother led the government for the boy, after which Aëtius in particular exerted influence on state affairs.

Aëtius, of noble descent to 390 in Durostorum ( Silistra , today Bulgaria on), Danube born, was a long time among the Huns as a hostage and later of Galla Placida to Heermeister in Gaul appointed, where he against Visigoths and Franks to fighting had existed. In 429 Aëtius became the second Imperial General of the West, but soon after had to flee to the Huns and with their help forced his return and his appointment as the first Imperial General with the title Patricius (433). Aëtius was undeniably a pre-eminent figure and exercised real governance in the western empire for nearly two decades. One of his main merits was securing the empire against the Visigoths, who were settled in southern France around Tolosa ( Toulouse ). In 437 he destroyed the empire of the Burgundians on the Rhine and took the rest of them to Savoy .

In 451 Aëtius defeated the Huns under Attila with the help of numerous Germanic contingents, especially from Visigoths, in the famous battle in the Catalaunian fields near Augustobona Tricassium, today's Troyes . A year earlier, Attila had asserted claims on the hand of Valentinian's sister, Justa Grata Honoria, after she had carelessly sent him a ring through an intermediary. Honoria escaped severe punishment only thanks to the influence of her mother, but it was hastened to marry her to a man of no importance. After Theodosius' death in 450, Attila asked for her to be sent and, at the same time, half of the Western Empire as her inheritance. When it was explained to him that Honoria had already been married and, as a woman, had no claims to the government, this rejection was sufficient for the Huns as a reason for war, and they invaded Gaul (451).

Aetius could not prevent the invasion of the Huns in Italy . When their empire fell apart after Attila's death, Valentinian believed that he was influenced by his court eunuch Heraclius and annoyed by the fact that Aëtius urged his son to marry the younger emperor's daughter, Placidia , so that he could do without the powerful man. On September 21, 454 he ordered him to an audience on the Palatine Hill and Aëtius appeared together with his friend, Prefect Boethius. During the conversation the emperor accused him of committing high treason and wounded him with a sword blow. Heraclius completed the murder, and Boethius fell with Aetius. Valentinian justified his actions before the Senate, which approved it, although the murdered man had maintained a very good relationship with the Senate.

Petronius Maximus, prefect of Italy from 439 to 441 and Patricius since 445, is said to have contributed to the overthrow of Aëtius. When Valentinian was doing military exercises with some bodyguards on a parade ground near Rome on March 16, 455, he and Heraclius were murdered by two followers of Aëtius. Both brought Valentinian's diadem to Petronius Maximus, went unpunished and were highly honored. With Valentinian's death the Valentinian-Theodosian dynasty ended after 90 years of existence. He was succeeded on the imperial throne by Petronius Maximus, whom the Senate recognized the day after the emperor's assassination, but he was only to rule for a good two months.

Prokopios's report

“But how Valentinianos found death, I will now report. There lived a Roman senator Maximos, from the house of that Maximos whom the older Theodosius had overthrown and killed as a tyrant, in memory of this the Romans celebrate a festival year after year that bears his name from the defeat of Maximos. This younger Maximos was married to a civilized woman who was well known for her beauty. That is why Valentinianos became passionate about her, and unable to obey her, he devised a nefarious plan and carried it out. He had Maximos bid for him in the palace and started a board game with him, whereby a certain amount of gold was fixed for the loser as a penance. The emperor won the game and had Maximos give him the ring as a guarantee for the agreed amount. He then sent him to his house and told his wife that her husband Maximos would ask her to come to the palace as soon as possible and pay her respects to the Empress Eudoxia . The woman concluded from the ring that the message was coming from Maximos, so she climbed into her sedan chair and allowed herself to be taken to the imperial court. There the servants commissioned by the emperor seized her and took her to a room far away from the women's room, where Valentinianos met her and used violence. After the rape, she returned to her husband's house full of tears and boundlessly bitter about the shame she had suffered, she showered him with curses because he was responsible for the crime. Maximos, however, in deep resentment about what had happened, immediately planned an attack against the emperor, but since he had to see that Aëtios, who had only recently defeated Attila on his invasion of the Roman Empire with a strong army of massagers and other Scythians , over had great power, he could not avoid the knowledge that it stood in his way in his enterprise. For these reasons it seemed to him more advantageous to get Aetios out of the way beforehand, regardless of the fact that the whole hope of the Romans rested on him. Since Maximos was now on friendly terms with the eunuchs in the imperial service, he was able to convince the emperor through their machinations that Aetios was working towards overthrow. Valentinianos only concluded from the position of power and the efficiency of Aëtios that this assertion must be correct, and had the man killed.

Even a Roman became famous at that time for his saying. When the emperor asked him whether he had done the right thing in executing Aetios, he replied that he had no way of knowing whether the ruler had acted well or differently, but that it was absolutely clear to him that the ruler had his right hand I knocked off with my left. After the death of Aetios, Attila plundered the whole of Europe effortlessly, since no one could offer him resistance, and brought both empires into tributary dependence. Later Maximus was able to remove the emperor with little difficulty and establish a tyranny, forcing Eudoxia to marry. His wife had died shortly before. Once, when he was resting by her side, he said that only love for her determined all his actions. "

The plot of the opera corresponds to the libretto by Metastasio.

music

Handel's music removes the figure of Ezio from its stencil-like arrangement in the text book Metastasios. The dynamic of the character in its diversity and contradiction grows from the context of the arias and gives it realistic significance. In this respect, the “lieto fine” moves away from its original condition, it becomes a means of shaping the social optimism of the Enlightenment and the bearer of very conscious ethical value norms. The emperor's inevitable insight into the inevitable circumstances results from the consequence of Handel's leadership in the course of the entire work.

Handel shapes this hero with special intimacy and warmth and ignites the spark of empathy and sharing in us. It speaks for his conscious musical characterization when Handel has endowed Ezio with rhythmic design and melodic guidance with the simplicity and humanity typical of his aria characteristics, from which persuasive power both in trust in the power of love: Pensa a serbarmi, oh cara (No. 3) or Ecco alle mie catene (No. 22) as well as in the battle announcement Se fedele mi brama il regnante (No. 10) shines.

The dynamism and the individuality of every single acting person emerges anew in every detail of the dramatic sequence and can be followed down to the smallest unit of the aria. Only four arias of the work should be mentioned here, which have a significant dramaturgical value insofar as they either directly influence the behavior of the partner: Massimo's aria Se povero il ruscello (No. 8) or a new quality of the character emerges: Valentiniano's aria So chi t'accese (No. 9) and Ezios Se fedele mi brama il regnante (No. 10, both show obvious parallels in their confrontation) or express a change in the behavior of the character itself: Fulvia's aria La mia costanza non si sgomenta (No. 21).

Varo, the typical figure of the friend we often meet at Handel, plays a key role in the opera's plot and personality structure - but in a very specific way. Varo is faithful in his friendship with Ezio and faithful in the service of the emperor. The example of Ezios, however, releases new human potencies in him, which lead to breaking the word against the tyrant. Varo saves Ezio, confirming Ezio's belief in justice. Already in the great pastoral F major aria Nasce al bosco in rozza cuna (No. 19), Varo rises under the influence of Ezio to profess his belief in the possibility of a future ideal ruler who, through his own deeds, through Ezio's victory, ultimately takes on true form.

Under the guidance of Handel's music, the da capo aria is released from any form of paralysis; in its own dynamic and in its position in relation to the overall dramatic concept, it serves the creation of human figures, whose behavior is the result of situations and true feelings.

The most beautiful chants in the Ezio for the four main representatives of the various vocal registers are Massimo's Se povero il ruscello (No. 8) and Tergi l'ingiuste lagrime (No. 28), Fulvia's Quel finger affetto (No. 17), the poignant Accompagnato recitative Che fo? dove mi volgo? (No. 15) and the whole scene Misera dove son (No. 29) with the aria Ah! non son 'io che parla (No. 30), Ezios Ecco alle mie catene (No. 22), Guarda pria se in questa fronte (No. 24), and Se la mia vita dono è Augusto (No. 24) and Varos Gia risonar d'intorno (No. 31) and the already mentioned aria Nasce al bosco (No. 19), which is practically a Magna Carta for every true bass player.

Handel's Ezio autograph begins with the overture “pour l'Opera Titus l'Empéreur”. This is followed by the beginning of the first scene for this opera, which has remained a fragment, from which Handel only took over the overture for the new composition. Friedrich Chrysander's assumption that other parts of the music for Titus l'Empéreur could have been used in Ezio do not provide any more detailed clues from the surviving Titus fragments.

With the intrinsic value of the opera Ezio , the small number of five performances which it experienced under Handel's direction is in a striking disproportion. The leanings of the London public in the 1730s became more volatile and weather-changeable than ever before, and beyond reasonable calculation.

Success and criticism

“Among the operas based on Metastasio's 'Ezio', next to Handel, that of Gluck must now be the strangest and most instructive, all the more since it came into being when the master had already made his new principles known and tested them in 'Orpheus' (1762). […] Of the comparison of this composition with Handel's, only the general results can be given here. Handel's work is delicious, and the combination with that of Gluck increases its value considerably, in part in a quite unexpected way. The bombast and the monotony of Gluck's songs form a strange contrast to the comfortable fullness and diversity, the chaste and yet so joyful beauty of his songs. The strangest perception that comes to mind is that Gluck falls short of Handel here, even in the dramatic and declamatory areas. While the latter strings picture after picture, in key, melody, accompaniment and in general in everything and every one of the others and individually independent, Gluck creates a large number of his chants for different people in exactly the same way and searches for the same with all of them to achieve as exciting an effect as possible, forgetting that such an effect can neither be achieved in such a way, nor should it be achieved in drama. I have compared the emphasis on the words and the formation of the melodies on the basis of the present poetry in all the chants and accompanied recitative, without having encountered a single sentence in Gluck, which has Handel's core quality and the correctness that always comes straight to the center reached its emphasis, even if it offers something that can honorably stand alongside Handel. In purely musical terms, one might be more inclined to understand Handel's superiority, given the popular ideas about these masters; It is significant enough, however, and an assessment based on the opera Ezio will be permitted, since Handel's music was written in the 48th and that of Gluck in the 51st year of life (1763) when both had already entered their new field, one being the oratorical , the other the French-dramatic. What appears valuable in Gluck's opera, the full tone and broader structure of some polyphonic movements, especially in the final scenes, leads us directly to his French works; The previous Italian can only be recognized as having the value of a groping attempt, constrained by circumstances and considerations, to achieve beauty that is not independent. In his case, then, what was said in Handel, but never proved, is entirely true; Gluck's Italian operas ('Orpheus' and 'Alceste' excluded) are really only preliminary stages of his French and overcome by them, while Handel's compositions for the Italian stage are independent, rounded musical formations, moving within drawn boundaries and completed within them, always alongside his oratorios will assert their place. "

- Friedrich Chrysander : GF Handel. Leipzig 1860.

“It might be supposed that the conjunction of the age's greatest opera composer with its most successful librettist, a master of language and a fine poet to boot, would have outstandingly fruitful results. But while all three of their joint operas contain magnificent music, none ranks with Handel's masterpieces of 1724-25 and 1734-35 (though Poro comes near it). The divergence of temperament was too wide. Metastastio, as befits a cleric, wrote with an edifying purpose. As Caesarian poet at the court of the Holy Roman Emperor for half a century, he was to dictate rules of conduct and lay down standards for public and private life and maintenance of the status quo. Already in his early librettos moral issues are liable to take precedence over human values. He moves his characters like pieces on a chessboard, […] so that they run the risk of declining into abstractions. In all this his approach was the antithesis of Handel's. It is no matter for surprise that after setting three of his librettos Handel abandoned him, just as his reputation was reaching its peak of popularity, for the wilder slopes of Ariosto's world of magic and romance. "

“One might assume that forging a connection between the greatest opera composer of the age and its most successful librettist, a master of language and a fine poet, would have extraordinarily fruitful results. But while all three of their joint operas [ Siroe , Poro and Ezio ] contain great music, none of Handel's masterpieces from 1724-25 and 1734-35 (although Poro comes close) is comparable. The divergence of the temperaments of both masters was too great. Metastastio wrote, as befits a clergy, for an edifying purpose. As 'poeta Cesareo' at the court of the Roman-German Emperor Charles VI. For half a century, it was his job to describe rules of conduct and standards for public and private life, as well as the maintenance of the [social] status quo . Even in his early libretti, moral questions take precedence over human values. He moves his pieces like on a chessboard, [...] so that they run the risk of becoming abstract. In all of this, his approach was the antithesis of Handel. It is not surprising that after the production of three of his librettos, Handel turned away from him, just as his reputation was peaking in popularity, to turn to the wilder slopes of Ariosto's world of magic and romance. "

- Winton Dean : Handel's Operas, 1726–1741. London 2006.

orchestra

Two recorders , two transverse flutes , two oboes , two bassoons , trumpet , two horns , strings, basso continuo (violoncello, lute, harpsichord).

Discography

  • German records DS 1051-2 (1993): Christopher Robson (Ezio), Lori McCann (Fulvia), Linda Pavelka (Valentiniano), Barbara Schramm (Onoria), Mark Bowman (Massimo), Johannes Schwärsky (Varo)
Orchestra of the Berlin Chamber Opera ; Dir. Brynmor Llewelyn Jones (157 min, German)
Manhattan Chamber Orchestra; Dir. Richard Auldon Clark (130 min, abridged version)
  • Archive production 477 8073 (2008): Ann Hallenberg (Ezio), Karina Gauvin (Fulvia), Sonia Prina (Valentiniano), Marianne Andersen (Onoria), Anicio Zorzi Giustiniani (Massimo), Vito Priante (Varo)
Il complesso barocco ; Dir. Alan Curtis (187 min)

literature

Web links

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

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Charles Burney: An Account Of The Musical Performances In Westminster-Abbey, And The Pantheon, May ... And June ... 1784, In Commemoration Of Handel. London 1785, pp. * 22 f.
  2. ↑ Charles Burney: Message from Georg Friedrich Handel's living conditions and that of him in London in May and June. 1784 employee memorial servant. Translated from the English by Johann Joachim Eschenburg . Friedrich Nicolai, Berlin / Stettin 1785, p. XXX.
  3. ↑ a b c handelhouse.org
  4. ↑ a b Christopher Hogwood: Georg Friedrich Handel. A biography (= Insel-Taschenbuch 2655). Translated from the English by Bettina Obrecht. Insel Verlag, Frankfurt am Main / Leipzig 2000, ISBN 3-458-34355-5 , p. 176 f.
  5. ^ Editing management of the Halle Handel Edition: Documents on life and work. In: Walter Eisen (Ed.): Händel-Handbuch: Volume 4. Deutscher Verlag für Musik, Leipzig 1985, ISBN 3-7618-0717-1 , p. 196.
  6. ↑ a b c d e f g Karin Zauft: Program booklet Handel: Ezio. State Theater Halle / S. 1979.
  7. ^ A b Bernd Baselt: Thematic-systematic directory. Stage works. In: Walter Eisen (Ed.): Handel Handbook: Volume 1. Deutscher Verlag für Musik, Leipzig 1978, ISBN 3-7618-0610-8 (Unchanged reprint, Kassel 2008, ISBN 978-3-7618-0610-4 ) , P. 363.
  8. ↑ Handelhaus opera database . haendelhaus.de. Retrieved February 5, 2013.
  9. ↑ Handelhaus opera database . haendelhaus.de. Retrieved February 5, 2013.
  10. ↑ Handelhaus opera database . haendelhaus.de. Retrieved February 5, 2013.
  11. ↑ [1] ) and Jordanes
  12. ↑ [2] )
  13. ^ Silke Leopold: Handel. The operas. Bärenreiter-Verlag, Kassel 2009, ISBN 978-3-7618-1991-3 , p. 235 ff.
  14. ↑ a b c d e Wolfgang Seyfahrt : Roman history, imperial time. Volume 2. Akademie Verlag , Berlin 1974, quoted in: Karin Zauft: Program booklet Handel: Ezio. State Theater Halle / S. 1979.
  15. ↑ Procopius: The Vandal War. Otto Veh (ed.), Heimeran- Verlag, Munich 1971, quoted in: Karin Zauft: Handel program : Ezio. State Theater Halle / S. 1979.
  16. ↑ a b c Friedrich Chrysander: GF Handel. Second volume. Breitkopf & Härtel, Leipzig 1860, p. 250 f.
  17. ↑ Winton Dean: Handel's Operas, 1726-1741. Boydell & Brewer, London 2006, Reprint: The Boydell Press, Woodbridge 2009, ISBN 978-1-84383-268-3 , p. 92.