Floridante

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Work data
Original title: Il Floridante
Title page of the first edition of Il Floridante, London 1721.

Title page of the first edition of Il Floridante , London 1721.

Shape: Opera seria
Original language: Italian
Music: georg Friedrich Handel
Libretto : Paolo Antonio Rolli
Literary source: Francesco Silvani : La costanza in trionfo (1696)
Premiere: December 9, 1721
Place of premiere: King's Theater , Haymarket, London
Playing time: 2 ¾ hours
Place and time of the action: Persia , Mythical Period, around 500 BC Chr.
people
  • Floridante, Prince of Thrace , Orontes' general ( mezzo-soprano )
  • Oronte, King of Persia ( bass )
  • Rossane, his daughter ( soprano )
  • Elmira, Orontes' supposed daughter ( old )
  • Timante, Prince of Tire , prisoner under the name "Glicone" (soprano castrato )
  • Coralbo, a Persian general and governor (bass)
  • Court, Persian officers and soldiers, guards, prisoners, slaves, servants, people

Il Floridante ( HWV 14) is an opera ( Dramma per musica ) in three acts by Georg Friedrich Händel . The plot deals with the imprisonment of a rightful heir to the throne, who however triumphs in the end. The librettist Rolli and Handel dedicated the opera to the Prince of Wales Georg August von Hannover .

Emergence

Floridante was Handel's contribution to the Royal Academy of Music's third season (the so-called First Opera Academy), which began on November 1, 1721 with a resumption of Radamisto from 1720. He completed the score on November 28, 1721, and the first performance took place on December 9 in the King's Theater on Haymarket. With fifteen performances in the first season, Il Floridante was well received, but Giovanni Battista Bononcini overshadowed Handel with his Crispo (revival) and Griselda (new production), which followed in January and February 1722 , which were much more successful. At all, Handel could not achieve Bononcini's popularity with the London audience at this time: his opera Astarto (1720, libretto by Rolli) was performed twenty-four times in one season - that was a record. His works were performed sixty-three times in the first two seasons alone, while Handel's operas were only performed twenty-eight times. From the outset, Bononcini, alongside Handel and the other Italian Attilio Ariosti, was hired as the house composer for the Opera Academy, since it was not possible for a single composer to provide the Royal Academy with enough new operas. Nevertheless, there was no enmity between the musicians: Such feelings and opinions were more likely to arise in the audience and were rumored by them. On the contrary, singers and subscribers were happy about the smooth collaboration; however, the partiality in parts of the aristocratic public occasionally took on comical features:

Some say, compar'd to Bononcini
That Mynheer Handel's but a Ninny
Others aver, that he to Handel
Is scarcely fit to hold a candle
Strange all this Difference should be
Twixt Tweedle-dum and Tweedle-dee!

Some say that compared to Bononcini
, Mr. Handel is just a poor man.
Others claim that Bononcini is hardly worthy
to hold a candle for Handel.
It is strange that such a dispute arises
about Dideldum and Dideldei.

John Byrom: Epigram on the Feuds Between Handel and Bononcini.

The American-born English author James Ralph , in his pamphlet The Touch-Stone: Or, Historical, Critical, Political, Philosophical, and Theological Essays upon the reigning Diversions of the Town (1728), discusses what he believes are the various merits of the academy composers are:

"H ---- l would furnish us with Airs expressive of the Rage of Tyrants, the PAssions of Heroes, and the Distresses of Lovers in the Heroick Styles. B ---- ni sooth us with fighing Shepherds, bleating Flocks, chirping Birds, and purling Streams in the Pastoral: And A ---- o give us good Dungeon Scenes, Marches for a Battel, or Minuets for a Ball, in the Miserere. H ---- l would warm us in Frost or Snow, by rousing every Passion with Notes proper to the Subject: Whilst B ---- ni would fan us, in the Dog-Days, with an Italian Breeze, and lull us asleep with gentle Whispers. "

“Handel provides us with expressive arias about the wrath of tyrants, the passions of heroes and the needs of lovers in a heroic style. Bononcini calms us down with sighing shepherds, bleating flocks, chirping birds and murmuring brooks in the shepherd's tone. And Ariosti gives us good dungeon scenes, marches for a battle, minuets for a ball in the 'Miserere'. Handel warms us in frost and snow by awakening every passion with suitable music. Bononcini, on the other hand, fanned us around with an Italian breeze during dog days and gently lulled us to sleep with a whisper. "

- James Ralph : The Touch-Stone. London 1728.

libretto

The libretto was originally written by Francesco Silvani and used by Marc 'Antonio Ziani for an opera composition that was first performed in Venice in 1696 and later in Ferrara and Livorno : La costanza in trionfo .

Paolo Antonio Rolli. Attributed to Don Domenico Pentini

After Handel had had a falling out with Nicola Francesco Haym (he had already written three librettos for Handel with Teseo , Amadigi di Gaula and Radamisto ), it was now dealt with by the Italian secretary of the Academy Paolo Antonio Rolli . Rolli saw himself not as an arranger, but as a poet. Even if he took Silvani's older Venetian libretto as the basis, hardly a single line of the original survived its revision and has little more in common with the original than the course of the plot. The events are shifted from Norway to Persia and all the people involved are renamed: Gustavo, the king and tyrant of Norway becomes Oronte, the sarmantic Prince Sveno becomes Floridante, Gustavo's daughter Marianne becomes Rossane, Leonilde, Gustavo's supposed daughter, in a German adaptation of Opera itself title heroine becomes Elmira, the Franconian prince Lotario becomes Timante and Flavio becomes Coralbo. Undoubtedly, Rolli's ambition was to surpass the poetry of its source. Although he seems to have succeeded in this, he lacked a far more important quality as a librettist: an instinct for the stage. The ambiguities and inconsistencies in the Floridante's text and the sudden twists and turns in the drama are all due to Rollis, and it seems that he was working in a great hurry. This was hardly hidden from Handel, and so he later returned to working with Haym.

Cast of the premiere:

The work was on the program until May 26, 1722. In the following season there were seven more performances in December 1722, for which Handel expanded the role of Rossane for Anastasia Robinson and added some new arias from his Italian cantata Crudel tiranno amor (HWV 97). Robinson had now taken on the role of Rossane originally conceived for her, as Margherita Durastanti , who was initially ill, could now sing "her" Elmira. Two further performances of this version took place in the 1727 season. Handel made further changes for the seven performances from March to May 1733 when he set up the work for the second academy, the New Royal Academy . The cast of these performances is unknown. That the Durastanti could also have taken over the Elmira in 1733, as Charles Burney and W. B. Squire claim, cannot be true, since it did not return to London until October 1733. With some certainty only Senesino, again in the title role, and Antonio Montagnana as Oronte can be accepted.

At the Hamburg Theater am Gänsemarkt , Floridante came to eleven performances as early as April 28, 1723 under the title Der Thrazische Printz Floridantes , as we know from Mattheson's notes . All arias were sung in the original Italian, while Joachim Beccau had translated the recitatives into German. These performances were under the direction of Handel's childhood friend Georg Philipp Telemann , who had also set Beccau's recitatives to music.

The first modern production in an English text version by Alan Kitching took place on May 10, 1962 in Abingdon at the Unicorn Theater with a reduced orchestration under the musical direction of Frances Kitching. The first performance of the piece in historical performance practice was seen on March 2, 1990 in a concert form in Trinity-St. Paul's United Church in Toronto (Canada) with the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra under the direction of Alan Curtis .

action

Historical and literary background

In the “Argomento” (“preliminary note”) of the printed libretto, Rolli only cites Silvanis La costanza in trionfo as the source of his text . In this, however, no sources are named, nor do the events in the opera recall any historical or literary events. In this respect, Handel's Il Floridante is an exception in his work.

first act

A forest near Tire . Rossane and Elmira eagerly await the return of the Thracian army led by Floridante, which defeated the Tyrians in battle. Elmira in particular is impatient, because her father Oronte had promised her the wedding to Floridante if he returns as the winner: Dimmi, oh spene! (Number 1). Rossane is not jealous of the forthcoming happiness of her sister, since the father has also promised her marital happiness: she is to marry Timante, the Prince of Tire, whom she does not know. Although she never saw him, she is still in love with this stranger, even after he is now one of the losers as a tyrant : Mà un dolce mio pensiero (No. 3).

In the Persian camp in front of Persepolis . Floridante is solemnly received with a march (No. 4), but King Oronte keeps his distance from his victorious general. That is why his bride Elmira greets him first and all the more warmly, which brings Floridante into great joy: Alma mia, sì, sol tu sei (No. 5). Now Rossane comes out to congratulate Floridante. A captive tyrant standing apart, who is none other than Timante, introduces himself by the name “Glicone” and Floridante comes up with the idea of ​​giving the prisoner to his future sister-in-law. Now the king's governor, Coralbo, appears with a letter from the king, which he reads: “Floridante, give Coralbo your command and get away from me. Oronte, King of the Persians. ”At a loss, Floridante, Elmira and Rossane try to understand this command and immediately want to go to the father for clarification. Before that, Rossane celebrates the virtue of her designated brother-in-law: Dopo l'ombe d'un fiero sospetto (No. 6). Elmira and Floridante are torn between anger and fear, assure each other of their love and say goodbye to each other: Ma pria vedrò le stelle (No. 7) and Sventurato, godi, oh core (No. 8).

Royal apartment. Rossane confronts her father to find out the reasons for the break with his best general. In his answer he withdraws behind supposed state interests: Finchè lo strale non giunge al segno (No. 9). As he leaves, he leaves Rossane confused. Now "Glicone" appears, who, when Rossane asked how Timante had fared, reports that her beloved stranger was able to save himself and that he also spoke of his love for her. Rossane tells “Glicone” that she, too, loves the Tyrian prince and walks off. Alone now, Timante philosophizes about his situation and the winding paths of fate: Dopo il nembo e la procelle (No. 11).

Throne room in the palace. Oronte had agreed to an audience with Floridante. When the latter appears, Floridante reveals that he will accept the decision, but still wants to find out what has led to this inexplicable U-turn. He also urges the king to keep his promise to have Elmira as a wife. But he did not receive an answer to his question, nor was Oronte prepared to implement the promise of marriage: Floridante should leave Persia immediately and without Elmira. The latter laments his unjust fate and embraces his desperate Elmira again; They would rather die than be separated: Ah mio caro, se tu parti / Ah mia cara, se tu resti (No. 12).

Second act

Rossane's room. Rossane reports to "Glicone" that Timante was not found on any of the captured ships and that one must therefore assume that he is dead. He comforts her and expresses himself confident, because he had received a portrait from Timante to prove that he was alive. He shows Rossane the picture and adds that Timante is hiding. When he leaves, Rossane is alone with the portrait. Hope makes her happy: Gode ​​l'alma innamorata (No. 14). She goes off too. Now come “Glicone” and the Floridante disguised as a Moorish slave. The prisoner promises Floridante to always stand by him. Now Elmira comes too and tells the two men that Rossane has now decided to flee with them in order to find their Timante. When Rossane asks "Glicone" to come along on the run, he gives up his camouflage. Rossane and Timante are now happy and admit their love for each other. Floridante also adores his Elmira: Bramo te sola, non penso all'impero (No. 15). Floridante and Timante go out to find a hiding place. When footsteps can be heard, Rossane goes too. Oronte and Elmira come. The father explains to the horrified daughter that he has rejected Floridante in order to be able to marry her himself. On her objection that a father could not marry his daughter, Oronte reveals to her that she is not his daughter, but that of his predecessor on the Persian throne, whom he overthrew. Elmira realizes that her father's murderer now desires her to be a wife: Barbaro! t'odio a morte, mà più (No. 16). After Elmira's angry departure, Oronte calmed himself down by telling himself that Elmira's indignation would subside in time. Ma non s'aspetti, no (No. 17).

At the port. That night Elmira waits for her beloved Floridante to dare to escape. When he finally appears, still disguised as a Moor, Oronte joins them. But Elmira doesn't recognize him and whispers to Floridante that he should kill the supposed burglar with a dagger. But Oronte's guards stop him and put him in chains. Oronte is furious about this murder attempt and orders the execution of the slave. Elmira also threatens this fate if she does not consent to marriage with him. Desperate and with contempt for death, she faces the threat: Mà che vuoi più da me (No. 22).

Third act

Rossane's room. From their hiding place, Timante and Rossane saw what had happened to Elmira and Floridante. Rossane is sad and feels helpless. Timante tries to calm her down: Nò, non piangete, pupille belle (No. 23). Coralbo brings in the captured Elmira. When she is asked by Rossane what happened, Elmira forbids her to call her "sister" because she is Elisa and the daughter of King Nino, who was murdered by Oronte. But Rossane wants to stay connected to Elmira as before. These speeches arouse honorable feelings in Coralbo and he encourages Elmira that the people have not yet forgotten the cruel murder of Nino and that she would still be able to assert her rightful claims to the throne against the usurper Oronte: Non lasciar oppressa della sorte perrir quell'alma forte (No. 25).

Now Oronte comes and brings the news of the alleged death of the "Moor". Elmira faints. Oronte has now revealed the secret of the "Moor", has Floridante brought in and orders him to convince Elmira to agree to the forced marriage, otherwise both would be dead. Elmira wakes up from her faint and when she recognizes Floridante, she can't believe her eyes. He tells her what the alternatives are now that she puts Oronte in front of. Both would rather die than do the will of the tyrant: Se dolce m'era già (No. 26) and Vivere per penare (No. 27).

Timante comes to Rossane's room in a hurry to persuade her to flee. But she now sees herself as the rightful heir of the empire and demands of him to storm the dungeons so that they can free Elmira and Floridante together. Timante would prefer to flee, but Rossane presses him with an oath of love: O cara spene del mio diletto (No. 28). Timante is now convinced: Amor commanda, onore invita (No. 29).

Dungeon. Floridante is in chains: Questi ceppi, e quest 'orrore (No. 30) The guards lead Elmira in with a poison cup in hand because Oronte has ordered that she should bring the poison to Floridante herself. But she now wants to drink it herself in order to escape captivity and find a self-determined end. Oronte, who rushes in furiously, snatches the poison cup from her to give it to Floridante. At this moment soldiers storm the dungeon, at their head Timante and Coralbo, who snatch the poison cup from Floridante. They arrest Oronte and Coralbo asks Elisa / Elmira to ascend the throne to which she is entitled. She thanks Coralbo for his words and support and turns to Floridante with the request to accompany her on her further life: Sì, coronar vogl'io col nobil serto d'or (No. 31). Oronte is now clear that he has played out, but still complains to Coralbo about the betrayal of him: Che veggio? che sento? catene, tormento (No. 32).

Throne room in the palace. Elmira crowns Floridante co-ruler and promises peace and justice for the future. She brings Rossane, her "sister", to the throne, who asks for mercy for her guilty father. Elmira delegates the decision of what to do with the usurper Oronte to Floridante. The latter pardons him and gives Timante the rule of Tyros and Rossane as his wife. Elisa proclaims this happy day as an everlasting feast day throughout the country: Quando pena la costanza, spera pur (No. 35).

music

The English music historian Charles Burney was impressed by the lyricism of the work, apart from the fact that the fugue of the overture was based on "upon a convulsive and unpleasant theme" ("on a convulsive and unpleasant theme") . He also writes:

“The partizans for Bononcini seem to have had little foundation for their praise of his plaintive and pathetic songs; as there are generally more airs of that kind in a single act of an opera set by Handel, than in any one of Bononcini's whole dramas. "

"Bononcini's followers have little reason to praise him for his plaintive and pathetic arias, as more airs of this kind are usually set in a single act of an opera than in any of Bononcini's entire drama."

- Charles Burney : A General History of Music. London 1789.

The music for Il Floridante shows Handel's effort to compete with the extraordinary success of Bononcini's operas last season. Despite his “victory” in the Il Muzio Scevola competition, it had become clear that Bononcini's elegant and melodious style corresponded more to the tastes of the London public than Handel's dramatic intensity. Floridante's score therefore contains more short, lively melodies than, for example, the Radamisto .

Anastasia Robinson replaced the sick Durastanti, but she did not correspond to Handel's idea of ​​the role of Elmira.

After Handel had got to the end of the second act with his composition, he received disastrous news: his favorite soprano Margherita Durastanti , who had traveled to Italy after the previous season, was too ill to make the arduous trip to London, and it was clear that she would not be back in time for the planned premiere in early December. Handel had written the role of Elmira especially for her, and this role was actually a perfect fit for her vocal range and the strong dramatic style for which she was famous. He now had to completely revise the role for Anastasia Robinson , an alto with a smaller vocal range, which was originally intended for the Rossane. This was more focused on playing pathetic roles of unhappy lovers, such as the heroine Griselda, an opera by Bononcini (premiere: February 22, 1722). In order to adapt the role of Elmira for the voice and temperament of Robinson, extensive descriptions would have been necessary, which would have been accompanied by a significant change in Elmira's personality. It seems, however, that Handel was unwilling to compromise the unity of the drama, and the three arias he had already composed for Elmira remained virtually unchanged, with only a few minor adjustments to the scope and agility of Robinson's voice. For them the result was undoubtedly not optimal, and perhaps it was this unpleasant experience that led Robinson to write to her Italian friend Giuseppe Riva, Modena's diplomatic representative in London, to use his influence at court to try to convince Lady Darlington, to persuade a mistress of George I to encourage Handel to change the music he had already written for the role of Matilda in his next opera, Ottone :

"[...] that the greatest part of my life has shew'd me to be a patient Grisell by Nature, [...] those songs that require fury and passion to express them, can never be performed by me acording (sic]) to the intention of the composer, and consequently must loose their beauty. "

“[…] That the main part of my life has shown me that I am a 'Griselda' by nature, […] the arias, the anger and passion that she [Matilda] has to express, I cannot express that they are to be reconciled with the composer's intention and so they must lose their beauty. "

- Anastasia Robinson : letter to Giuseppe Riva. London 1722.

Handel then actually made the changes requested by Anastasia Robinson in Ottone .

Due to the numerous adaptations to the unexpected events before the premiere and the later changes in the cast in the revivals, one can speak of four versions of the Floridante , although it is difficult to pin down Handel's original concept. This only works if you follow the genesis of the work.

The manuscript of the opera's final chorus was not rediscovered until the 1930s and completed the autograph in the Royal Collection in the British Museum .

orchestra

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

Discography

  • Hungaroton HCD 31304-6 (1990): Drew Minter (Floridante), István Gáti (Oronte), Katalin Farkas (Rossane), Annette Markert (Elmira), Mária Zádori (Timante), József Moldvay (Coralbo)
Capella Savaria ; Dir. Nicholas McGegan (160 min)
  • DGG Archive Production 477 656-6 (2005): Marijana Mijanovic (Floridante), Vito Priante (Oronte), Sharon Rostorf-Zamir (Rossane), Joyce DiDonato (Elmira), Roberta Invernizzi (Timante), Riccardo Novaro (Coralbo)
Il complesso barocco ; Dir. Alan Curtis (164 min)

literature

Web links

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

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c 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. 143 f.
  2. ↑ James Ralph: The Touch-Stone: Or, Historical, Critical, Political, Philosophical, and Theological Essays upon the reigning Diversions of the Town. London 1728, p. 30.
  3. ↑ Leonilde or Die Siegende Constantin , text: Gottlieb Fiedler, music: Georg Caspar Schürmann , Braunschweig 1704.
  4. ^ Winton Dean, John Merrill Knapp: Handel's Operas 1704–1726. The Boydell Press, Woodbridge 2009, ISBN 978-1-84383-525-7 , p. 388.
  5. ^ Winton Dean: Music in London: Abingdon - Handel's 'Floridante'. In: The Musical Times. London 1962, No. 103, p. 476 ff.
  6. ↑ a b Silke Leopold: Handel. The operas. Bärenreiter-Verlag, Kassel 2009, ISBN 978-3-7618-1991-3 , p. 242 ff.
  7. ^ A b Charles Burney: A General History of Music: from the Earliest Ages to the Present Period. Vol. 4, London 1789, reproduction true to the original: Cambridge University Press 2010, ISBN 978-1-108-01642-1 , p. 282.
  8. ^ Burney p. 282 at Google Books
  9. ↑ handelhendrix.org
  10. ^ Winton Dean, John Merrill Knapp: Handel's Operas 1704–1726. The Boydell Press, Woodbridge 2009, ISBN 978-1-84383-525-7 , p. 435.
  11. ^ William C. Smith: Recently-Discovered Handel Manuscripts. In: The Musical Times. No. 78, London 1937, p. 312 ff.