Il natal di Giove
| Work data | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Il natal di Giove |
Title page of the libretto from 1740 |
|
| Shape: | Azione teatrale |
| Original language: | Italian |
| Music: | First setting by Giuseppe Bonno |
| Libretto : | Pietro Metastasio |
| Premiere: | October 1, 1740 |
| Place of premiere: | Vienna |
| Place and time of the action: | Crete , mythical time. |
| people | |
Il natal (e) di Giove (German: "The birth of Jupiter") is a libretto for an Azione teatrale by Pietro Metastasio . It was performed for the first time in the setting by Giuseppe Bonno on October 1, 1740 on the birthday of Emperor Charles VI. in the private apartments of the imperial residence of the Favorita in Vienna by the Archduchesses Maria Theresa and Maria Anna , the Prince Charles de Lorraine and two members of the court.
An English translation of Francis Olivari's libretto appeared in Dublin in 1797 under the name The Birth of Jupiter .
action
"Nacque Giove, secondo le antiche favole, nel regno di Creta, e furone elette da 'Fati alla cura di lui le due Principesse Melite ed Amaltea. Da 'prodigj mal intesi, e dagli oracoli sinistramente interpretati, che precederonó il giorno del gran natale, si argomentò falsamente che fossero sdegnati gli Dei, e che una vittima illustrious fosse necessaria a placarli. Fu grande l'inganno, ma non inutile; poichè l'angustia, ch'egli produsse, rese molto più viva la gioja della felicità inaspettata, esercitò la virtù degne di tanta gloria, e giustificò la scelta del Cielo. "
“According to the ancient fable, Jupiter was born in Crete. Fate required that he should be brought up under the supervision of the two princesses Melite and Amaltea. From misunderstood omens and misinterpreted oracles preceding the day of his birth, it was wrongly concluded that the heavenly powers were offended and that a noble sacrifice was necessary to appease their anger. The mistake was great, but not useless; for the worry that arose from it made the joy of unexpected happiness much more lively; it strengthened the virtue of those who were worthy of such fame and justified the choice of heaven. "
The following table of contents is based on the English translation of the libretto by Francis Olivari.
Sacred forest near the temple of the goddess Themis
Scene 1. Princess Melite is waiting for Adrasto, the leader of the Korybanten . Adrasto was given responsibility for her and her sister Amaltea by her father ( Melisseus ). Now is looking for Amaltea, who has not yet returned from a walk in the woods. He wants to get the two sisters to safety as soon as possible, since an oracle has asked themis to make a royal sacrifice. This reads literally: “It is in vain that you should offer these ordinary sacrifices to the almighty forces in order to save Crete. Fate has ordained such a great honor to the royal blood. ”(“ Creta a render felice indarno a 'Numi / Queste vittime offrite: Ha destinato / Onor sì grande al regio sangue il fato. ”) Adrasto tells Melite that the planned sacrifice could not yet be offered for the goddess because it had fled. The statue of Themis was then surrounded by a cloud. When they come to a fork in the road from which one path leads to the port and another to the temple, Melite explains that she has decided to follow the will of the gods and offer herself as a sacrifice. She wants to save the country and make her fame immortal. Adrasto tries in vain to talk her out of this idea.
Scene 2. Adrasto talks to the Themis priest Cassandro about Melite's decision. Cassandro admires them for it.
Scene 3. Amaltea comes and asks Cassandro what the goddess thinks. Cassandro refers her to Adrasto, but Adrasto just begins to stutter and doesn't produce a meaningful answer. Cassandro moves away.
Scene 4. Reluctantly, Adrasto tells Amaltea about the oracle and Melite's decision to offer herself as a sacrifice. Amaltea is horrified. She believes she cannot live without her beloved sister Melite and also makes her way to the temple to take Melite's place at the altar. She is determined to die too if the sacrifice has already been made.
Scene 5. Adrasto is impressed by the virtuous behavior of the two sisters, but does not give up hope yet.
The illuminated temple of the goddess Themis
Scene 6. A fire burns on one side of the altar. Acolytes keep the instruments necessary for the victim ready. Cassandro greets Melite, who remains determined to sacrifice herself for the good of the country.
Scene 7. Amaltea and Adrasto join them. Amaltea tries to stop the act of sacrifice and offer herself as a victim. However, Cassandro declares that once the victim has been chosen, it cannot be exchanged. It is also forbidden to bring up two victims on the same day. Melite tries to send her sister away, but cannot bring herself to look at her. That shakes Amaltea even more. Then a miracle happens: the sky is on fire, the temple trembles and a shining cloud descends from heaven.
Scene 8. When the cloud reaches the statue of the goddess, it slowly opens and reveals the goddess Themis. She explains that the virtue of those present has been adequately tested and that the mysteries of fate can now be revealed. Today Crete will gain fame. The god of gods, Jupiter, would honor this soil by his birth. The two sisters were chosen for his upbringing. An eagle awaits them on Mount Ida to lead them to Jupiter.
Scene 9. Cassandro admits that he misread the oracle. But his mistake could have been Heaven intended. Melite is overwhelmed by emotions and hesitates to hug her overjoyed sister. But Amaltea would like to express her joy to the whole world. A joy choir ends the piece.
layout
One year after the end of the Russo-Austrian Turkish War with the Peace of Belgrade , Metastasio was commissioned to mark the birthday of Emperor Charles VI. to write this work. With three female and two male roles, the cast corresponds to that of Metastasios serenatas written for professional voices. In contrast to most of his other works of this type, the action here is divided into two scenes, which take place in the forest and in the temple. The Antigone by Sophocles can be identified as a literary model of Metastasius .
The birthday celebration is combined here with the motif of heroism, which Metastasio also found in many of his in honor of Charles VI. written opera libretti from previous years such as La clemenza di Tito , Temistocle and Attilio Regolo . Charles VI is associated with Jupiter. But the actresses in the main roles, Maria Theresa and her sister Maria Anna , are stylized as ancient heroines. Melite (Maria Theresia) is particularly virtuous because of her free decision to offer herself as a sacrifice. The virtue of her sister Amaltea (Maria Anna) is rather subordinate, as her desire to make sacrifices is based solely on not being able to live without her sister. The apparently inevitable tragic end can only be resolved by the appearance of a Dea ex machina , which gave Metastasio the opportunity to praise the two heroines.
The identification of the characters with the dedicatee and the executor led to the contradiction that the princesses were given the task of bringing up Jupiter, although Jupiter is their father. Metastasio already had a similar problem in La contesa de 'numi of 1729, where Jupiter was equated with the newborn Dauphin. He tried to get around it by assigning two functions to Jupiter at the same time: he is both the prophesied child and already the king of the gods (the father of Maria Theresa and Maria Anna). In addition, he avoided the specific term “birth” at the crucial point and replaced it with the imprecise description “Jupiter is with you” (“Giove è fra voi”).
Settings
The following composers set this libretto to music:
| year | composer | premiere | Performance location | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1740 | Giuseppe Bonno | October 1, 1740, Theater des Favorita | Vienna | "Azione teatrale" for the birthday of Emperor Charles VI. |
| 1749 | Johann Adolph Hasse | August 3 or October 7, 1749, royal castle | Hubertusburg | "Serenata" for the birthday of King August III. |
| 1752 | Plá | 1752 | ||
| 1757 | Gaetano Latilla | 1757, Real Teatro del Buen Retiro | Madrid | contains the aria "Vuoi per semper abbandonarmi" by Farinelli |
| between 1764 and 1774 | Joseph Friebert | between 1764 and 1774 | Passau | also in the Jesuit school in Severomoravský kraj; lost |
| 1766 | Luciano Xavier Santos | June 29, 1766, Palazzo Queluz | Lisbon | "Dramma per musica" |
| 1772 | Andrea Lucchesi | May 13, 1772, court theater | Bonn | “Componimento drammatico” on the birthday of Archbishop Maximilian Friedrich of Cologne |
| 1778 | João Cordeiro da Silva | August 21, 1778, Palazzo Queluz | Lisbon | "Serenata" for the birthday of Joseph, the prince of Beira (Joseph Franz, the son of Peter III. ) |
| unknown | Aloisio Lodovico Fracassini | unknown | lost |
literature
- Jacques Joly: Les fêtes théâtrales de Métastase à la cour de Vienne, 1731-1767. Pu Blaise Pascal, 1978, ISBN 978-2845160194 , p. 228 ff.
Web links
Digital copies
- ^ A b Pietro Metastasio, Francis Olivari: Three dramatic pieces of Metastasio. The dream of Scipio. The Birth of Jupiter. Astrea appeased. Dublin 1797 ( online at Google Books )
- ^ A b Libretto (Italian) of the Serenata by Giuseppe Bonno, Vienna 1740 as digitized version at the Munich Digitization Center .
- ↑ Score of the aria “Vuoi per semper abbandonarmi” by Farinelli (Carlo Broschi) as a digital copy at the International Music Score Library Project .
- ^ Libretto (Italian) of the opera by João Cordeiro da Silva, Lisbon 1778. Digitized in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna .
Individual evidence
- ^ A b c d e Don Neville: Metastasio [Trapassi], Pietro (Antonio Domenico Bonaventura). In: Grove Music Online (English; subscription required).
- ↑ 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).
- ↑ a b Joly p. 228
- ↑ a b Joly p. 230
- ↑ Joly, p. 232
- ↑ Joly p. 229
- ↑ Joly p. 231
- ↑ Joly p. 234
- ↑ Joly, p. 235
- ^ Il natal di Giove (Giuseppe Bonno) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna , accessed on March 19, 2015.
- ^ Il natal di Giove (Johann Adolf Hasse) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna , accessed on March 19, 2015.
- ↑ Le Arie Scelte di Farinelli on handelforever.com , accessed on March 19, 2015.
- ↑ Il natal di Giove (Joseph Friebert) at opening night! Opera & Oratorio Premieres , Stanford University, accessed March 19, 2015.
- ^ List of stage works by Joseph Friebert based on the MGG at Operone, accessed on March 19, 2015.
- ^ Il natal di Giove (Luciano Xavier Santos) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna , accessed on March 19, 2015.
- ^ Il natal di Giove (Andrea Lucchesi) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna , accessed on March 19, 2015.
- ↑ Il natal di Giove (João Cordeiro da Silva) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna , accessed on March 19, 2015.