Il Parnaso confuso

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Work data
Title: Il Parnaso confuso
Johann Franz Greipel: Performance on January 24, 1765 from left to right: Joseph (harpsichord), Maria Josepha (Euterpe), Maria Elisabeth (Melopomene), Maria Amalia (Apollo), Maria Karolina (Erato)

Johann Franz Greipel: Performance on January 24, 1765
from left to right: Joseph (harpsichord), Maria Josepha (Euterpe), Maria Elisabeth (Melopomene), Maria Amalia (Apollo), Maria Karolina (Erato)

Shape: Azione teatrale
Original language: Italian
Music: First setting by Christoph Willibald Gluck
Libretto : Pietro Metastasio
Premiere: January 24, 1765
Place of premiere: Salon de Bataille from Schönbrunn Palace , Vienna
people

Il Parnaso confuso (German: "The confused Parnassus ") is a libretto for an Azione teatrale in one act by Pietro Metastasio . It was performed for the first time in the setting by Christoph Willibald Gluck on January 24, 1765 for the wedding of the Austrian heir to the throne Joseph with Maria Josepha of Bavaria by the Joseph siblings in the Salon de Bataille at Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna.

action

Title page of the libretto, music by Christoph Willibald Gluck, Vienna 1765

The action takes place in the sacred forest on the slope of Mount Parnassus . The green laurel thicket is broken up by bushes of different colors. At the back on the right you can see part of the mountain. Water flows from the source of the Hippocrene and gathers in the plain. The landscape of the Phocis forms the horizon .

The three muses Melpomene , Euterpe and Erato sit around idly. A zither hangs unused on a laurel branch. After the slow end of the symphonia, the mood changes. Apollo arrives excitedly and urges the muses to hurry because Joseph has connected with the “brightest star in Bavaria” ( “la più lucida stella della bavara reggia” ) and it is their job to celebrate this marriage. The muses are enthusiastic and declare that they are ready. But when Apollon points out that the wedding is already planned for the next morning, Melpomene explains that time is too short and she does not yet have the strength to even start the task. Euterpe and Erato agree. Apollon wonders about these concerns, since they already have a lot of experience in these matters. His examples convince the muses and they gain new courage. Apollo says goodbye to motivate the other muses as well. For example, Terpsichore has to prepare new dances for the celebration.

The muses now begin their deliberations. Melpomene, the muse of tragedy, has a particularly difficult time because the sad subject of her poetry does so poorly at a wedding. She moves away to think about it in peace. In the meantime, Erato and Euterpe argue about the musical accompaniment. When Erato takes out her zither, Euterpe explains that only she herself can find the right notes on it. Erato disagrees and performs a love song. Euterpe is actually impressed with her skills. Erato gives her a small flute so that Euterpe can also give an example of her art. She initially doubts whether this instrument is suitable for the occasion - but it is not the trumpet-like large flute ( "emula della tromba, empie sonora del tragico teatro" ), which is usually used to accompany tragedies , but a smaller one - and whether it is on it Can bring out soft tones on her heated breath. Before she can try it, Melpomene comes back for her advice on choosing the subject of her poetry. The sisters find all the suggestions unsuitable: the marriage of Thetis and Peleus has already been used too often, the subject of Heracles and Hebe is too dry, and the story of the psyche is implausible. A simpler, happier theme would be far more appropriate. After Melpomene leaves, Euterpe can finally perform her own aria, and Erato admires her skills. Since both seem equally gifted, they decide to join forces. Euterpe suggests describing the happy future in it. Since Erato is unable to use her own seductive skills , she would prefer a theme from the realm of Venus (here called “Citera”), from which one “sweet feelings, innocent joys, jokes, charms and laughter” (“ i dolci affetti, / Gl'innocenti diletti, / Gli scherzi, i vezzi, il riso ” ). Euterpe, in turn, does not agree.

Before the Muses can come to an agreement, Apollo comes and calls them to the Ister , because the wedding has been brought forward and the celebration has already begun. The Muses are appalled because they have not yet completed their preparations, and Melpomene expresses her shame about this in an aria. Apollo doesn't want to know anything about it. It's not their fault, after all, but they can't let the couple down now either. Humility and confusion should be enough excuses. In his aria he explains this in more detail: An honest demeanor, trembling speech, shameful blushing are more fruitful than eloquence, provided that the feelings of the heart are revealed. After a final quartet together, they leave to celebrate the happy couple.

history

On the occasion of the remarriage of the Austrian heir to the throne Joseph in early 1765, a series of performances took place in Schönbrunn, which were performed by members of the imperial family and the nobility. The wedding present from Joseph's siblings consisted of a performance of Christoph Willibald Gluck's Serenata Il Parnaso confuso. Maria Amalia played Apollon , Maria Elisabeth the muse Melpomene , Maria Karolina the Erato and Maria Josepha the Euterpe . Her brother Leopold, who later became Emperor Leopold II , conducted the performance from the harpsichord. The stage design came from Jean-Joseph Chamant. The three youngest children then performed a little ballet with the French title Le Triomphe de l'amour , in which Ferdinand and Maria Antonia played a pair of shepherds while Maximilian played Cupid. On the following day, January 25, 1765, a serenata with the almost identical Italian name Il trionfo d'Amore was performed by professional singers . The music of the last two works was by Florian Leopold Gassmann . On January 30th, Gluck's opera Telemaco ossia L'isola di Circe was performed. Of all these pieces, Il Parnaso confuso achieved the greatest success.

Before 1765 Gluck had already composed several other libretti Metastasios - most recently in May 1763 Il trionfo di Clelia for Bologna. But it was only with Il Parnaso confuso that the two of them worked directly on a new work. Metastasio and Gluck had a total of five weeks for the poetry and composition, as can be seen in a letter from Metastasio to Farinelli on January 28, 1765. The dress rehearsal took place on January 19, 1765. Since the performers were not professional singers, Gluck had to pay special attention to their musical abilities. Due to the great success of the performance, Maria Theresa commissioned the two shortly afterwards with a new piece, La corona , which was to be performed with the same cast on Emperor Franz I's name day on October 4th. However, because the Kaiser died unexpectedly on August 18, this work was never performed again. There was no further collaboration between Gluck and Metastasio.

In Il Parnso confuso , Metastasio took up motifs from several earlier works: In La pace fra la virtù e la bellezza , Pallas and Venus argue for the privilege of congratulating Maria Theresa, in Il vero omaggio , Dafne and Eurilla discuss the best way to be the Archduke To celebrate Joseph, in Tributo di rispetto e d'amore , the three Archduchesses ask themselves which foliage for Charles VI's birthday. The most appropriate is that in La Gara two women compete in front of Archduchess Maria Anna for the honor of celebrating the birth of Maria Antonietta, and in Le cinesi three women debate the genre of a drama to be performed. Still, he managed to add new elements. This creates the impression of a live theater for the first time. The wedding seems to take place during the performance of the play itself. In suggestions for themes that Melpomenes rejected by her sisters, Metastasio alludes to two older wedding serenatas by Gluck whose texts were written by other librettists: Le nozze d'Ercole e d'Ebe by an unknown author (1747) and Tetide by Giovanni Ambrogio Migliavacca ( 1760).

Settings

The following composers set this libretto to music:

year composer premiere Performance location Remarks
1765 Christoph Willibald Gluck January 24, 1765, Salon de Bataille at Schönbrunn Palace Vienna "Azione teatrale" GluckWV 1.34, Wq 33;
on the wedding of Joseph II to Maria Josepha of Bavaria ;
Rerun on January 27, 1765; on February 9, 1765 in the Vienna Hofburg ; Edited on June 24, 1775 by Georg Pasterwitz for the millennium of the monastery in the Stiftstheater of the Benedictine monastery Kremsmünster .
1765 Josef Mysliveček 1765, theater of the ducal house Parma Mysliveček's first opera; probably also for the wedding of Joseph II.
1766 Giuseppe Sarti 1766 unsure; possibly together with Ferdinando Bertoni
1778 Giacomo Rust May 17, 1778, court theater Salzburg "Festa teatrale"

The setting by Christoph Willibald Gluck

Despite Gluck's resolution to break with the old model of the opera seria and in particular to avoid secco recitatives and da capo arias , his Serenata still contains some of these elements. They are here on an equal footing with the new types. Already the first Accompagnato recitative is abruptly replaced by a secco. Only two arias are not performed da-capo; the others have embellished repetitions.

Max Arend described the music in his Gluck biography from 1921 as follows:

“In 'Confused Parnassus' we also see the strong influence of Gluck's ideas on Metastasio - of course not in the sense that the fine, graceful homage would receive the incongruous Kothurn of tragedy, but Gluck is all grace and rococo -: the action is dissolved in psychological movement. The stage represents the sacred forest that shadows the slopes of Parnassus. As in older mythology, three appear as muses: Melpomene, Euterpe and Erato. The remarks in the text book on the overture already show us the artistic collaboration with the composer: The end of the second movement - a ⅜ C minor, sleep shaded, extraordinarily beautiful and expressive (Dittersdorf would say 'through and through magic'), semper ligato e pianissimo - is played with the curtain raised. Suddenly the time and key changes, and in the luminous C major (strings, oboes, horns) the light god Apollo appears with the theme of the first movement (¾ Allegro). With majestic excitement - recitative with orchestra - he calls the muses to the work: 'Today Parnassus must not be silent!' Apollo explains to the questioner: 'Amor connects the emperor Joseph with the brightest star of the Bavarian royal castle.' When the words 'And yours is the task of celebrating such a happy wedding', the music falls into the secco recitative, becomes more intimate, simpler. The muses are ready: 'a noi palesa sol, quäl giorno e prescritto al rito nuzial!' They become extremely confused when the answer is: 'The coming dawn!' Because they are completely unprepared. From the following I highlight the delicious rondo of Erato with the dark, gracefully restrained glow: 'di questa cetra in seno'. Split violas with bassoon lead and support the three times recurring melody with pizzicato of the other strings. A color similar to that used by Gluck at the beginning of 'Paris and Helena', when Paris makes an offering to the goddess of love. This rondo is edited individually by Gevaert as a piano reduction with a French translation as part of the Repertoire classique du chant frangais, on which singing lessons at the conservatories in Brussels and Paris have recently been based, which we unfortunately still lack in Germany. Wonderful in its moderate and yet so eloquent grief - note the almost sobbing rhythm! - is the aria in which Melpomene wants to say goodbye to her previous sphere of activity. But Apollo knows how to convince his muses: 'It is more eloquent than the most eloquent lip when the whole heart shows itself in a sincere look' ... "

- Max Arend : Gluck - A biography. Schuster & Loeffler, Berlin 1921, p. 209 f

Recordings and performances in recent times

  • Christoph Willibald Gluck :
    • 1998: Performance at the Baroque Festival of the French Cultural Institute at the Budapest Castle .
    • 2000: CD with the Musicanto Baroque Ensemble under the direction of Adriano Bassi . There sang: Ilaria Torciani (Euterpe), Desirée Restivo (Melpomene), Dan Shen (Apollo), Magdalena Aparta (Erato).
    • 2003: CD with the Queen's Chamber Band under the direction of Rudolph Palmer . The singers were: Mary Ellen Callahan (Euterpe), Julianne Baird (Melpomene), Danielle Munsell Howard (Apollo), Marshall Coid (Erato).
    • 2011: Performance in the Purcell Room London with the Bampton Classical Players under the direction of Benjamin Bayl . Sang: Lina Markeby (Euterpe), Cheryl Enever (Melpomene), Helen Massey (Apollo), Gillian McIlwraith (Erato).
    • 2011: Performance in the Schlosstheater Schönbrunn of the Collegium Musicum Leipzig under the direction of Ingomar Rainer (co-production of the Music Universities Leipzig and Vienna). Sang: Tine Matthiessen (Euterpe), Claudia Chmelar (Melpomene), Jelena Stefanic (Apollo), Christina Kummer (Erato).
    • 2011: Performances in Schloss Hof and in the Zeremoniensaal Schönbrunn with the Mozart Opera Institute under the musical direction of Josef Wallnig and Reinhold Kubik and the scenic direction of Margit Legler .
    • 2014: Performance in English at St John's Smith Square London with the Ensemble CHROMA under the direction of Thomas Blunt . The singers were: Caryl Hughes (Euterpe), Gwawr Edwards (Melpomene), Aoife O'Sullivan (Apollo), Anna Starushkeych (Erato).
    • 2016: Performance of the Nuremberg Pocket Opera as part of the International Gluck Opera Festival Nuremberg in the Sulzbühne in Hans-Kuffer-Park in Berching under the direction of Franz Killer and the direction of Peter Beat Wyrsch . The actors were Heejoo Kwon (Euterpe), Gertrud Demmler-Schwab (Melpomene), Anna Bürk (Apollo), Lea Müller (Erato), Marion Niederländer (Thalia) and Klaus Meile (Prinz).
  • Josef Mysliveček :
    • 2010: Performance in the Castle Theater Krumau with the Ensemble Capella Regia from Prague under the direction of Robert Hugo. Irena Troupová, Eva Müllerová, Markéta Cukrová, Ondřej Šmíd (Apollo) sang.

literature

  • Jacques Joly: Les fêtes théâtrales de Métastase à la cour de Vienne, 1731–1767. Pu Blaise Pascal, 1978, ISBN 978-2845160194 , pp. 383-396 ( preview on Google Books)

Web links

Commons : Il Parnaso confuso  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Digital copies

  1. ^ Libretto (Italian) of the azione teatrale by Christoph Willibald Gluck, Vienna 1765 as a digitized version on Google Books .
  2. Score of the Serenata by Christoph Willibald Gluck as digitized version with the International Music Score Library Project .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Don Neville:  Metastasio [Trapassi], Pietro (Antonio Domenico Bonaventura). In: Grove Music Online (English; subscription required).
  2. Metastasio, Pietro in Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart , p. 50861 ff (cf. MGG vol. 9, p. 229 ff.) Bärenreiter-Verlag 1986 ( digital library volume 60).
  3. a b c d Il Parnaso confuso in Christoph Willibald Gluck. All works at GluckWV-online , accessed on March 31, 2015.
  4. Joly p. 383
  5. ^ La corona in Christoph Willibald Gluck. All works at GluckWV-online , accessed on March 31, 2015.
  6. Joly p. 386
  7. Joly p. 394
  8. ^ A b John Ostendorf: Program booklet on the CD by Rudolph Palmer.
  9. Il Parnaso confuso (Christoph Willibald Gluck) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna , accessed on March 31, 2015.
  10. Rudolf Pečman and Jan Gruna (translator): Metastasio "Drammi per musica" and the opera Myslivecek. In: Josef Mysliveček and his opera epilogue. Brno 1970, p. 107 f. ( online (PDF) )
  11. a b Pure Baroque: Mysliveček's first opus in the Castle Theater in Krumlov on the Czech Radio website , accessed on April 1, 2015.
  12. Il Parnaso confuso (Giacomo Rust) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna , accessed on March 31, 2015.
  13. Max Arend: Gluck - A biography. Schuster & Loeffler, Berlin 1921, pp. 208-211 ( online in the Internet archive ).
  14. a b Christoph Willibald Gluck. In: Andreas Ommer: Directory of all opera complete recordings. Zeno.org , Volume 20, p. 5441.
  15. ^ Il Parnaso confuso (concert). Work information and performance details of the Bampton Classical Opera , accessed March 31, 2015.
  16. Gluck's “confused Parnassus”, very young, in Schönbrunn Palace. Performance review from January 25, 2011 on diepresse.com , accessed on March 31, 2015.
  17. Schönbrunn-Journal 1/2011 (PDF) ( Memento from September 24, 2015 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on March 31, 2015.
  18. ^ Archive 2014 on the website of Ensemble CHROMA ( Memento from April 14, 2015 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on April 7, 2015.
  19. Thomas Molke: Confused history of gods. Review of the performance in Nuremberg 2016. In: Online Musik Magazin, accessed on February 11, 2019.