Il Sant'Alessio
| Opera dates | |
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| Title: | Saint Alexius |
| Original title: | Il Sant'Alessio |
Title page of the score, Rome 1634 |
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| Shape: | Dramma musicale in a prologue and three acts |
| Original language: | Italian |
| Music: | Stefano Landi |
| Libretto : | Giulio Rospigliosi |
| Literary source: | Life story of Saint Alexius of Edessa according to the Gesta Romanorum |
| Premiere: | probably February 1632 |
| Place of premiere: | Teatro Barberini, Rome |
| Playing time: | approx. 4 hours |
| Place and time of the action: | Rome, early 5th century |
| people | |
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prolog action
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Il Sant'Alessio (German: Saint Alexius ; spelling in the score: Il S. Alessio ) is an opera (original name: "Dramma musicale") in a prologue and three acts by Stefano Landi (music) with a libretto by Giulio Rospigliosi , later Pope Clement IX. The first version was made in 1631. It was presumably premiered in February 1632 at the Teatro Barberini in Rome, the second version there in the carnival season 1634 on the occasion of a visit by the Polish Prince Karl Alexander.
action
Alessio ( Alexius von Edessa ) secretly leaves his family after his wedding to go on a pilgrimage. After a stay at the shrine in Edessa , a storm takes him back home, where he does not reveal himself to his family. His father Eufemiano considers him a beggar and allows him to live under the stairs of his palace. Alessio lived there for several years without being recognized. A demon from hell goes to earth to put an end to his virtuous life and to lead him back on the worldly path. He persuades Alessio's bride to go on a dangerous journey in search of her husband. His mother also wants to join the trip. However, Alessio manages to talk them out of the plan without revealing his true identity. Alessio remains steadfast when the demon, disguised as a hermit, turns directly to him. A little later an angel announces his imminent death, which he happily accepts. After a voice in the church had pointed out a special event in the house of Eufemiano, the Pope and Emperor went there and found the dead beggar under the stairs. His farewell letter identifies him as the long-missing Alessio. Angels comfort the grieving family with the fact that Alessio was taken to heaven with joy. The city of Rome can look forward to a new saint. The former temple of Hercules is dedicated to him.
The following table of contents is based on the libretto of the second version from 1634. The parts of the text marked in italics are largely verbatim translations of the original scene instructions.
prolog
Roma is surrounded by many slaves on a victory monument. After listening to the eulogies for the Most Serene Prince Alexander Charles of Poland and the general jubilation at the arrival of His Highness, she announced that she would present the life story of St. Alexius, who was loved by her citizens not only because of the fame of His Holiness, but also because of his weaponry was highly valued. To show that her status as Queen of Hearts is more important to her than anything else, she orders the named slaves to be freed from their chains.
After the curtain rises, one sees Roma in a theater on a throne made of weapons and various coats of arms and a choir of slaves at their feet.
As Roma descend from their throne, the slaves celebrate the happiness that awaits them after Alexander's arrival. Then Roma introduce themselves to the audience and tell of the martial skills of their inhabitants and the virtue of Alexius, who scorned his wealth in order to live in poverty unrecognized by his relatives (“Roma son io, ch'il soglio”). The slaves praise her as the queen of their hearts.
first act
In front of the palace of the Roman senator Eufemiano
Scene 1. Eufemiano greets the Roman knight Adrasto after his return from the war. Adrasto regrets that his friend, Eufemiano's son Alessio, who left his family several years ago and has been missing since, is absent. Since he is tearing open an unhealed wound of Eufemiano, he assures him that some time ago he had instructed his servant to search for Alessio. He also heard of a pilgrim who had returned from Palestine, who may have been Alessio. When the servants tried to approach it, however, he had already traveled on. Eufemiano remembers Alessio's secret departure the night after his wedding, which he still cannot explain.
Scene 2. Alessio ponders the vanity of people and the impermanence of worldly things. To free himself from the chains of the world, he turns to God in prayer (Arietta for a voice: “Se l'ore volano”).
Scene 3. Martio and Curtio, two Eufemianos pages, mock Alessio (Arietta for two voices: “Poca voglia di far bene”). They consider him a strange beggar who has found shelter in their master's palace. Alessio humbly listens to the two of them until they drive him away.
In hell
Scene 4. While the suffering of the damned can be seen in the background, singing and dancing demons decide to thwart Alessio's virtue in order to deprive him of his fame (Aria: “Si disserrino l'atre porte”). A lone demon makes his way to Earth to deceitfully test Alessio's steadfastness. The demons call to arms ( Moresca and choir of demons: “Sdegno orribile alla luce”).
Rome
Scene 5. Alessio's mother, his bride, his wet nurse and the two pages mourn his absence. The nurse tries in vain to comfort the others. On their advice, all ask Jesus to support Alessio wherever he may be (choir of domestic servants: “Dovunque stassi”).
A forest
Scene [6] added to introduce a ballet. Curtio has moved to his master's country house to relax. He plans some activities to mock the pilgrim and invites local farmers to dance. Martio realizes that everything is ready so that he can come with the pilgrim the next day (Ballo: “Già veggo, il tutto è lesto”).
Second act
Scene 1. Eufemiano compares his own misfortune with the joy of Adrasto's parents who feel when Adrasto returns home (Sinfonia: “O te felice, o genitor d'Adrasto”).
Scene 2. The demon reveals that he persuaded Alessio's wife to leave town to find her husband. He believes that Alessio will now reveal himself to her in order to keep her from the dangerous journey.
Scene 3. The bride has put on a pilgrim robe and is ready to leave. The nurse watches her unrecognized and tells her mother about it so that she can talk her out of the trip.
Scene 4. Unable to prevent the bride from traveling, the mother wants to join her. Alessio, disguised as a beggar, listens to the conversation. After a short prayer for heavenly help, he interfered and said that he knew from his own experience that such a trip was absurd. The longer they look for him, the further away the person they are looking for will move away from them. In addition, there are mountains and thousands of dangers on the way. While the mother wants to ignore all these arguments, his words remind the bride of Alessio himself. She therefore decides to listen to him, to forego the trip and to live as a spurned wife until her death. She faints in her pain at the thought.
Scene 5. Alessio is deeply moved by the suffering of his family. He gets into a conflict of conscience and thinks about whether he should reveal himself to them.
Scene 6. The demon approaches Alessio dressed as a hermit and advises him to end the sufferings of his family and return to them. Alessio is confused. He suspects that it is an illusion of hell and prays for divine help. An angel descends from heaven. The demon cannot stand its presence and withdraws.
Scene 7. The angel assures Alessio that the hermit was a demon. He should therefore ignore his advice. Alessio is called by God and is on a praiseworthy path. He will die soon and receive great rewards in heaven. Alessio is looking forward to his death.
Scene 8. The demon doesn't want to give up just yet. When Martio, who thinks he is a hermit, tries to mock him, the demon hurts him with his fire. Martio then tries to arrest him. The demon turns into a bear.
Scene 9. Religione appears to assist Alessio in his godly death. She calls on the world to follow his virtue and herself and not fall for deceptive companions. She disappears into the air in a car covered in clouds.
Scene 10. A messenger tells Adrasto and Eufemiano that a heavenly voice had sounded in the Chiesa Maggiore, calling all tormented souls to give them comfort. Eufemiano realizes that he can rely on heaven. After an orchestral ritornello , a hopeful trio (“Questo Egeo ch'è stable campo”), a choir and another ritornello conclude the second act.
Third act
Scene 1. The demon has failed in his task (“Mal si resiste a fermo core”). He falls back to hell, where he is engulfed by a sea of flames and greeted by the other demons.
Scene 2. Adrasto notices a certain unrest among the population. A messenger tells him that there is great sadness in Eufemiano's house. A voice from heaven announced that he who strives for God has been called to the stars in the earthly garment. A friendly voice was then heard in the church: “Eufemiano's roof houses the lowly servant who pleases God.” Pope Innocent and Emperor Honorius then went to this house and found a frozen man there. In this one recognized the missing Alessio. Adrasto makes his way to the palace.
Archways and gardens of Eufemiano's Palace
Scene 3. Eufemiano, the bride and the mother mourn the loss of Alessio, whose body rests under the stairs of the palace. Martio and Curtio beg God's forgiveness for their guilt. A man from the choir reads a letter that Alessio wrote before his death. In it he tells his family about his experiences after leaving. After he made the pilgrimage to Edessa's sanctuary, he wanted to continue traveling, but adverse winds brought him back home. There he was accepted by his father as a beggar without being recognized. The suffering of his family touched him deeply. He hopes they can find peace now.
Scene 4. A group of angels assures the relatives that Alessio's soul was received with jubilation in heaven and is now wearing the crown of stars and the golden robe. So there is no longer any reason to mourn. Eufemiano, mother and bride are comforted.
Scene 5. Religione leaves the house with the Choir of the Eight Virtues through which Alessio achieved his holiness. She asks those present to bring his body to the former temple of Hercules and pray there, because Alessio was more capable than Hercules of overcoming hell. A choir of angels congratulates the city of Rome on its new saint.
layout
Before the genre of the oratorio emerged, saintly legends had been popular subjects for operas. Landis Sant'Alessio also belongs to this genre of sacred opera. Silke Leopold pointed out that this work, like Johann Hieronymus Kapsberger's Apotheosis sive consecratio Sanctorum Ignatii et Francisci Xaverii in 1622 , combines elements of several different genres. Both works combine Jesuit allegories with the tragedy of the Florentine and Matuan favola per musica and the comedy of contemporary Roman operas and the Sacra rappresentazione . In the Alessio there is also a “tragic family drama”.
Landi also applies the contrasting process used by Emilio de 'Cavalieri in his Rappresentatione di Anima, et di Corpo for the text form and the distribution of the voices to content elements such as masters / servants, angels / demons or comedy / tragedy.
The opera has only a few closed musical numbers. There are only three song-like arias or arietas. The duets of the pages, the trio of Alessio's family in the third act, the chorus of the demons in hell and the final choruses of all three acts also offer variety. The trio is sung without instrumental accompaniment and is characterized by strong chromatics . These ensembles and choirs are among the most musically demanding parts of the opera, which otherwise mainly consists of declamatory recitatives. The extensive renunciation of lyrical elements is reminiscent of the ancient guidelines, according to which songs in tragic comedies were only permitted to a limited extent. Accordingly, Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc also praised this opera as an example of a modern revival of ancient theater. Coloratura are reserved for the allegorical figures Roma and Religione.
The dramatic climax of the opera is Alessio's monologue in the fifth scene of the second act. Its declamation is cautious and is based mainly on repeated notes. Alessio confusion expressed in sevenths - Provision , major-minor changes and Phrygian from cadences. The peak of his torments is marked by a scream that was completely atypical for the time on the three-stroke c '' '.
Each of the three acts is introduced by an instrumental “sinfonia”. Due to their length and self-contained structure, these are considered to be the first overtures in music history. That of the first act is in two parts. After a slow introduction, which thirty years later would become the model of the French overture perfected by Jean-Baptiste Lully , there follows a faster contrapuntal section called "canzona" . The overall scheme of this movement anticipates the form of the later church sonata. The prelude to the second act is a three-part “canzona” without a slow introduction, the overall form of which with the sequence fast-slow-fast corresponds to that of the later Italian overture.
The instrumental line-up of the opera consists of a three-part string ensemble and basso continuo with harp , lute , lira da Braccio , theorbo and harpsichord . Instead of the “old-fashioned” violas , Landi uses modern violins and cellos . The part of the harpsichord is listed separately in the score for many of the instrumental numbers.
Music numbers
The score contains the following musical numbers:
- Sinfonia per introduzione del Prologo
prolog
- Ritornello strumentale - "Roma son io, ch'il soglio" (scene 1)
first act
- Arietta ad una voce: "Se l'ore volano" (scene 2)
- Sinfonia
- Arietta a due voci: "Poca voglia di far bene" (scene 3)
- Aria: "Si disserrino l'atre porte" (scene 4)
- Moresca e Coro di Demoni: "Sdegno orribile alla luce" (scene 4)
- Coro di Domestici: "Dovunque stassi" (scene 5)
- Ballo - "Già veggo, il tutto è lesto" (scene 6)
Second act
- Sinfonia - "O te felice, o genitor d'Adrasto" (scene 1)
- Ritornello per l'aria di "Questo Egeo" - "Questo Egeo ch'è stable campo" (scene 10)
- Ritornello strumentale
Third act
- Sinfonia - "Mal si resiste a fermo core" (scene 1)
- Balletto delle Virtù
Work history
Il Sant'Alessio is the second opera by the Roman composer Stefano Landi . He composed it in 1631 for Cardinal Antonio Barberini and / or his brother, Cardinal Francesco Barberini , who later commissioned a whole series of other operas.
The libretto comes from the later Pope Giulio Rospigliosi . It is in the spirit of the Counter Reformation and reproduces the life story of Saint Alexius of Edessa according to the Gesta Romanorum . This makes Il Sant'Alessio the first opera with a historical subject and at the same time the first about the “inner development of a person”. The most important addition of the librettist is the figure of the demon appearing personally as an adversary of Alessio. The comic role of Page Martio is also an invention of Rospigliosis. The text interprets the plot both morally and psychologically. Hugo Goldschmidt praised Landi's music for its "depth of characterization, [...] beauty and convincing truth of the tonal portrayal of human suffering" and considered it more important than "Monteverdi's tonal language". Although the assessment is no longer so exuberant today, Landi's importance for music history is undisputed.
The exact date of the premiere is indicated differently in the sources. The 17th, 18th, 21st or 23rd February 1632 are mentioned. The performance took place in honor of the imperial ambassador Hans Ulrich Fürst von Eggenberg . March 2, 1631 is also conceivable. A performance at this time was apparently prepared. However, there is no contemporary evidence that it actually took place. Landi seems to have reworked the opera before the 1632 performance. The Palazzo Barberini ai Giubbonari and the Palazzo Barberini alle Quattro Fontane are possible venues . As was customary in Rome at the time, all parts, including those of the bride, mother and nurse, were sung by men or boys. At least three castrato soprano participated. Most of the singers were members of the Papal Chapel, and some of them (F. Bianchi, Angelo Ferrotti, Bartolomeo Nicolini, Marc'Antonio Pasqualini) had previously appeared in other operas. Ferrotti presumably sang the role of S. Alessio, the first male title role written explicitly for a castrato soprano. The young Pasqualini played his bride. The boy "Paoluccio" Cipriani sang the Roma allegory. The two pages were probably also represented by boys. Most likely Bartolomeo Nicolini sang the role of the demon. He was praised by JJ Bouchard as "basso di cappella [Sistina] stupendissimo". The costumes were based on ancient statues and medallions. According to a contemporary report, the text intelligibility was as good as a spoken drama. The young singers were so beautiful to look at that furtive sighs could be heard in the hall, and the Cardinals San Giorgio and Aldobrandini waved them “with pursed lips and frequent and loud tongue clicks” to “kiss them”.
For the carnival season 1633/34, Landi revised the opera, adding the figures of religions, Roma slaves and the page Curtio. The occasional reference that the Teatro Barberini was opened with this performance is untenable, as this theater was not built before 1639. A printed score with eight scene engravings by François Collignon has survived from this version , which was later published separately under the title Prospettivi delle sciene della famosissima rappresentatione di S. Alessio . The set was probably designed by Pietro da Cortona and Francesco Buonamici . It has often been mistakenly attributed to Gian Lorenzo Bernini .
There were further contemporary performances in 1645 in Reggio Emilia and in 1647 in Bologna. In the latter production, the final choruses of the three acts were omitted and the hell scene was used as the finale of the second act. Afterwards the work was not played for a long time.
Only in 1974 was there a new production in a historicizing institution by Bernhard Billeter (director: Hannes Müller). Hans Ludwig Hirsch created a further adaptation for the Salzburg Festival in 1977 (director: August Everding , set design: Jean-Pierre Ponnelle ). Alan Curtis created a performance in 1981 under his direction at the Tiroler Landestheater Innsbruck, also an adaptation. It was a co-production of the Rome Opera and the Italian Cultural Institute in Innsbruck. It was directed by Sandro Sequi . The sets were modeled on those from 1634. The two musical arrangements by Hirsch and Curtis, however, met with criticism. In 1988 there was the US premiere at the E. Nakamichi Baroque Festival in the Royce Hall in Los Angeles.
In 1995 the work was performed under the direction of William Christie at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. A studio recording of this production was also released on CD. In 2007/2008 Christie took on the work again. In a production by Benjamin Lazar that is musically and scenically faithful to the original , he conducted performances at the Théâtre de Caen, the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées Paris, the Opéra national de Lorraine of Nancy, and the Grand Théâtre Luxembourg. As at the premiere, the solo vocal line-up consisted entirely of men - nine counter tenors and two basses. The title role was sung by Philippe Jaroussky , his bride Max Emanuel Cenčić and his mother Xavier Sabata . A video recording from Caen has been released on DVD.
In October 2011 the Nuremberg Pocket Opera performed an adaptation of Franz Killer's work under the title Ho (w) ly Trip in a production by Thomas Herr. Florian Neubauer (S. Alessio), Katharina Heiligtag (Roma and Curtio), Eva Marie-Pausch (bride), Gertrud Demmler-Schwab (mother), Christopher Kessner (wet nurse), Johannes Reichert (Martio), Robert sang under the direction of Killer Eller (demon).
Recordings
- 1995 - William Christie (conductor), Les Arts Florissants .
Maryseult Wieczorek (Roma and Religione), Nicolas Rivenq (Eufemiano), Christopher Josey (Adrasto), Patricia Petibon (S. Alessio), Sophie Marin-Degor (bride), Cécile Eloir (mother), Katalin Karolyi (wet nurse), Steve Dugardin (Martio), Mhairi Lawson (Curtio), Stéphanie Révidat (angel), Clive Bayley (demon), Armand Gavrilides (messenger), Bertrand Bontoux (solo).
Studio shot.
Erato CD: 0630 14340 2. - October 2007 - William Christie (conductor), Benjamin Lazar (director), Adeline Caron (stage), Alain Blanchot (costumes), Françoise Denieau (choreography), Christophe Naillet (lighting), Les Arts Florissants , La Maîtrise de Caen .
Terry Wey (Roma and Religione), Alain Buet (Eufemiano), Ryland Angel (Adrasto), Philippe Jaroussky (S. Alessio), Max Emanuel Cenčić (bride), Xavier Sabata (mother), Jean-Paul Bonnevalle (wet nurse), José Lemos (Martio), Damien Guillon (Curtio), Luigi De Donato (demon), Pascal Bertin (messenger), Ludovic Provost (choir soloist), Benjamin Hiraux and Pierre-Alain Mercier (angel).
Video; live from the Théâtre de Caen.
Virgin Classics 5189999-8 (2 DVDs).
Web links
- Sant'Alessio : Sheet music and audio files in the International Music Score Library Project
- Synopsis (Italian), Rome 1632 ?. Digitized from the Beincke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
- Score, Rome 1634. Digitized from the Beincke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
- Work information and libretto (Italian) as full text on librettidopera.it
- Il sant'Alessio (Stefano Landi) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna
- Work data for Il San Alessio based on the MGG with discography at Operone
- Isabella Chiappara: Il Sant'Alessio e il Teatro dei Barberini (Italian) on Sala del Harpsichord
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Silke Leopold : Il Sant'Alessio. In: Piper's Encyclopedia of Musical Theater . Volume 3: Works. Henze - Massine. Piper, Munich / Zurich 1989, ISBN 3-492-02413-0 , pp. 407-409.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h Silke Leopold : The opera in the 17th century (= manual of the musical genres. Volume 11). Laaber, 2004, ISBN 3-89007-134-1 , pp. 99-104.
- ↑ a b c d Margaret Murata, I. Trautmann (transl.): “The light of a thousand days” revealed in a Roman opera. In: Supplement to CD Erato 0630 14340 2, pp. 23–28.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j Margaret Murata: Sant 'Alessio. In: Grove Music Online (English; subscription required).
- ↑ a b c d e Donald Jay Grout, Hermine Weigel Williams: A Short History of Opera. Fourth Edition. Columbia University Press, New York 2003, ISBN 0-231-11958-5 , pp. 64-67.
- ↑ Numeri musicali on librettidopera.it, accessed on January 11, 2018.
- ^ A b c Matthias Brzoska , Michael Heinemann (ed.): The history of music. 2nd Edition. Laaber, Wiesbaden 2004, ISBN 3-932412-60-5 . Volume 1, pp. 280-281.
- ↑ a b c d Amanda Holden (Ed.): The Viking Opera Guide. Viking, London / New York 1993, ISBN 0-670-81292-7 , pp. 553-554.
- ^ Ulrich Schreiber : Opera guide for advanced learners. From the beginning to the French Revolution. 2nd Edition. Bärenreiter, Kassel 2000, ISBN 3-7618-0899-2 , pp. 66-67.
- ^ A b Reclam's Opernlexikon (= digital library . Volume 52). Philipp Reclam jun. at Directmedia, Berlin 2001, p. 2286.
- ^ Kurt Pahlen : The new opera lexicon. Seehamer, Weyarn 2000, ISBN 3-934058-58-2 , p. 337.
- ↑ Carolyn Abbate, Roger Parker: A History of Opera. The last 400 years. Translated from the English by Karl Heinz Siber and Nikolaus de Palézieux. CH Beck, Munich 2013, ISBN 978-3-406-65542-5 , pp. 92-93.
- ↑ Work information on the digitized score in the beincke Rare Book and Manuscript Library , accessed on January 12, 2018.
- ↑ a b Stefano Landi. In: Andreas Ommer: Directory of all complete opera recordings (= Zeno.org . Volume 20). Directmedia, Berlin 2005.
- ↑ Il Sant'Alessio de Landi à Caen - Festival de contre-ténors (French) on concertclassic.com, accessed on January 12, 2018.
- ^ A b Raymond Tuttle: Review of the DVD by William Christie on Classical Net.
- ↑ Peter P. Pachl : From the transience of the soap bubble: a "Ho (w) ly trip" with Stefano Landi and the Pocket Opera Company Nuremberg. In: Neue Musikzeitung , October 14, 2011, accessed on February 11, 2019.