Joan of Arc - Scenes from the Life of Saint Joan
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| Title: | Joan of Arc - Scenes from the Life of Saint Joan |
Joan of Arc ( miniature painting by an unknown painter, second half of the 15th century) |
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| Shape: | Plot in three parts and a prelude |
| Original language: | German |
| Music: | Walter Braunfels |
| Libretto : | Walter Braunfels |
| Literary source: | Trial files from 1431 |
| Premiere: | in concert: August 31, 2001 scenic: April 27, 2008 |
| Place of premiere: | in concert: Stockholm staged: Deutsche Oper Berlin |
| Playing time: | approx. 2 ½ hours |
| Place and time of the action: | France, during the Hundred Years War |
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Jeanne d'Arc - Scenes from the life of Saint Joan is an opera (original name: "Action") in three parts and a prelude op. 57 by Walter Braunfels with its own libretto based on the case files of Joan of Arc from 1431. You was made between 1938 and 1942, but was only premiered on August 31, 2001 in concert in Stockholm and on April 27, 2008 staged at the Deutsche Oper Berlin .
action
First part: "The calling"
First scene - poor pastureland
While the glow of a conflagration shines across in the distance, the French people gather in front of a large crucifix and beg God for help from the raging enemy soldiers. Johanna is sitting a little to one side under a tree in which a mysterious light shines. In a vision she sees Saints Catherine and Saint Margaret reaffirming their promise that Johanna has been chosen to free the city of Orléans and to lead the Dauphin to Reims for the coronation . She will find out what to do through a revelation later this day. Johanna trusts the vision and is confident about her future. When the shepherd Colin shows her a helmet found in the moor, Johanna puts it on to his amazement. Her father Jacobus von Arc arrives and asks her to take off her helmet again, as it is only suitable for men. Concerned, he warns her of the imminent danger of war and tells her about a dream in which he saw her fleeing with soldiers. To be on the safe side, she should travel to Vaucouleurs Castle today to see her stepbrother, the knight Baudricourt . Johanna receives a horse and Colin is to go with her. Before saying goodbye, Jacobus blesses his daughter with references to Tobias' journey in the book of Tobit . After he leaves, Johanna stands alone under the tree for a moment. St. Michael appears next to the crucifix and reminds them of their task. He walks slowly away on a cloud, and Johanna follows him with a transfigured look.
Second scene - Spacious room on the first floor of Vaucouleurs Castle
Baudricourt is angry with Johanna, who implores him continuously to let her go to the Dauphin. He has already locked her up and threatened to beat her without changing her mind. Bertrand de Poulengy advises him to give in and inform the Dauphin about her. Maybe he would receive it. Baudricourt has already done so and is waiting impatiently for an answer. Baudricourt's wife, Lison, believes that Joan's forced presence is what caused a pig to miscarry, the chickens to stop laying eggs, and the cow to become sick. At that moment you can hear calls from the courtyard. Johanna is urged by the people to finally go to the king. Baudricourt calls her in to confront her. She explains that she was sent to him by God to be safe here. Although Lison and Colin stand up for her, Baudricourt sticks to his decision. A rider bursts into the courtyard. The royal marshal Gilles de Rais (called "Bluebeard") has come to bring Johanna to the king in Chinon Castle . To his surprise, she immediately recognizes Gilles and hints at his bleak future. Poulengy and Colin want to accompany Johanna to the king. She withdraws briefly to put on knightly clothing and then sets off with the others. Lison is confident that the curse will now be resolved.
Third scene - Large room in Chinon Castle
It's early morning. The Dauphin ( Karl von Valois ) enters from a small adjoining room, brooding over his life . He puzzles over the reason why his own mother does not accept him, and suspects that he might be a bastard. Although he feels a call to rule, he does not want to accept it if he is not the real heir to France. He asks for a divine sign. When a page announces Messrs. Alençon and La Trémouille, he quickly withdraws. The two talk about the dire situation in the country: The residents of Orléans beg for help, but the farm doesn't even have enough money for food, let alone for soldiers. They both laugh roughly when they watch from the window as a soldier falls into the water and drowns. Then Gilles de Rais steps in and demands access to the king. He is convinced that Johanna can work miracles and tells of an experience on the way here: After she was mocked by a soldier, she prophesied that she would die soon. Shortly thereafter, he was thrown from his horse into the river and drowned - Alençon and La Trémouille had observed.
A delegation of the citizens of Orléans under the leadership of Florent d'Illiers reports on the dire situation of the city, which has been besieged by the English for five months and which is now about to be surrendered. The Dauphin asks Bluebeard to name the miracle he has announced. Everyone looks at the ground. Then Saint Michael appears in the form of a young man in black armor. He touches the guards with his sword, who are falling passed out. Then he bows to the dauphin and disappears again. Now Johanna is at the door. Alençon jokingly sits on the throne to take on the role of dauphin. However, she is not deterred and kneels before the real Dauphin. In order to free him from his self-doubts, she explains that he is really the real son of the previous king and that he has the power to win in his heart. First, however, he must free Orléans. Gilles de Rais calls out the window that it's going to Orléans now. People stream into the hall and cheer Johanna. Gilles de Rais announces that he will give all of his possessions for the campaign. Johanna asks the Dauphin for a white flag with two angels in front of the image of the Lord and the inscription "Jesus and Mary". She refuses the sword offered by Karl, because she was promised another "in a consecrated place". Except for La Trémouille, everyone is now convinced of their divine mission and believes in victory.
Interlude
In front of the curtain, La Trémouille complains that the scum of the population is now coming out to follow a peasant girl. Even clever people like Alençon and Bluebeard are addicted to it. Apparently he's the only one who doesn't let himself be dazzled. Johanna will fall and he himself will rise.
Second part: "Triumph"
In front of Reims Cathedral
On the square in front of the cathedral, the people watch the nobles and clergy enter the church for the royal coronation. Everyone is excited about Johanna, who is also supposed to come. Colin and Jacobus are among those waiting. Johanna pushes through the crowd, camouflaged by a cloak, and affectionately greets her father. He, too, is now convinced of their mission and apologizes for his earlier doubts. When the calls of the people increase, she hurries away to carry the flag in front of the future king. That's how it happens. The Archbishop of Reims greets the Dauphin, the gate opens, and Johanna and the Dauphin move in with their entourage. The gate is closed. While ceremonial chants can be heard from the church, La Trémouille and Alençon talk outside about their different views on Johanna. The gates open again and you can see the archbishop anoint the king in the bright candlelight. Gilles de Rais explains to the people that the coronation was only possible through the miraculous activity of the Virgin. The crowd cheers her.
Third part: "The Suffering"
First scene - Compiègne forest
Early in the morning Johanna rests under a large oak tree, in whose leaves the saints are gradually showing. After the unsuccessful attack on Paris, she had doubts about her mission. The saints tell her this, but point out that Jesus was also captured. Johanna should get ready because the hour was near. Colin and Gilles de Rais come over. The latter worries about Johanna, as she always takes on the most dangerous tasks. He couldn't stand it if something happened to her. Nevertheless, Johanna sets out into the forest alone with her flag to scout out the English. They fall out of the thick bushes and arrest Johanna. When he tries to get through to her, Colin is killed. Gilles de Rais tries to follow the English.
Second scene - prison
Although Johanna withdrew, she was not released. The Vicar Inquisitor announced the withdrawal of the excommunication , but at the same time she was sentenced to life imprisonment. Men in black armor chain them to the wall. Johanna is desperate. She believes that through her failure she has betrayed the Mother of God and she sinks down in a faint. Saints Catherine and Saint Margaret appear at her feet, who regret Johanna and explain that their revocation was wrong. In the background, Baudricourt and Lison mourn Johanna's fate. You worry about the future of France. La Trémouille, however, sees its predictions fulfilled. To the king he describes Johanna as an enthusiastic failure.
The king, Alençon, Baudricourt and La Trémouille appear before Johanna like “malicious schemes” and reproach her. In a vision she sees Saint Michael in shining light with her flag, who invites her to follow her to eternal glory. He takes her hand and her chains fall off. As in a dream, she watches her own execution at the stake. Saint Michael explains to her that she must suffer in order for France to live.
Gilles de Rais enters the prison disguised as a Capuchin monk to free Johanna. However, she is determined to fulfill her destiny as she is married to Heaven. Despite his desperation, Gilles de Rais does not give up hope for a new miracle.
Final scene - Courtroom in Rouen with a view of the market square
The court sits under the chairmanship of Bishop Cauchon , who, after Johanna's signature, revokes her boast of the correctness of his approach. Johanna steps in to withdraw the cancellation. She insists on having received her commission from the saints and from God, and wants to affirm this until her death. With that she has spoken her own judgment. The bishop has them carried away at the stake for immediate execution. Gilles de Rais, who witnessed this scene, is still awaiting a miracle. However, when the people outside scream and smoke penetrates through the window, he collapses. The miracle nevertheless takes place: The people report that Joan's heart remained unscathed in the flames and a dove flew up from the ashes to the sky - proof of her innocence. Even the Vicar Inquisitor recognizes: “We have burned a saint!” The opera ends with the choir calling out her name three times.
layout
The opera has three parts with the titles “Calling”, “Triumph” and “Suffering”, with which Braunfels apparently alludes to the life story of Jesus of Nazareth . There are a number of things in common with the genre of the Passion Oratorio , for example a turba choir or a final chorus. The scene with Johanna's capture or the court scene also have direct counterparts in the story of the Passion.
Formally and musically, Braunfels turns away from the tradition of Richard Wagner or Richard Strauss in this late work . The music is not composed through-out, but divided into eight separate sections, which look like individual “miniature operas”. Most of them are introduced by an instrumental prelude that dictates the musical character. Each section has its own themes and an arc of tension, after which the curtain is lowered.
The individual characters are represented musically differently. The generosity and commitment of the young Gilles de Rais describe “a dotted galloping rhythm and noble brass chords” (quotations from Jörg Handstein). At the same time, the "hesitant, harmoniously indefinite subsequent sentence" already points to its unstable character. The choleric Baudricourt is characterized by rough chords. Triplets imbued with chromaticism show his worries at the beginning of his scene. After Joan's happy departure, the same motif appears, optimistically transformed into diatonic form. Baudricourt's rather simple-minded wife Lison is only assigned a "small, harmoniously grotesque fall-third motif". La Trémouille, the most important antagonist of Joanna and her world of faith in the opera, is presented with a “bizarre laugh motif in sixteenths”. The work begins with a fanfare motif that is later assigned to Saint Michael and, as the main motif of the opera, represents Johanna's divine mission and her courage. It forms the "symbolic intersection between the afterlife and worldly events". All of these characteristic motifs are not to be confused with leitmotifs in the Wagnerian sense, but rather serve as identifying marks like in a film score.
A special feature of the opera, which marks Braunfels' departure from Wagner's techniques and also points to cinematic techniques, are the quick cuts within the individual scenes - alternating between solos and choir or various parts of the plot taking place at the same time. In the coronation scene, for example, the focus alternates several times between the liturgical act in the church and the dialogue between Alençon and La Trémouille taking place in the foreground. This technique enables Braunfels to depict the action in a particularly “real” way. In the prison scene, it also allows Johanna's dream vision and reality to penetrate. Both levels thus appear as “two sides of the same reality”.
orchestra
The orchestral line-up for the opera includes the following instruments:
- Woodwinds : three flutes (3rd also piccolo ), two oboes , English horn , alto saxophone in Eb, two clarinets in A and B, bass clarinet in B, two bassoons , contrabassoon
- Brass : four horns in F, E and Eb, three trumpets in C, three trombones , bass tuba
- Timpani , percussion (four players): celesta , glockenspiel , xylophone , bells, cymbals , snare drum , bass drum
- harp
- Piano (also organ )
- Strings
- Incidental music : four trumpets in B flat
Work history
Jeanne d'Arc is the last opera by the composer Walter Braunfels . He composed them between 1938 and 1942 in Überlingen during his time of inner emigration , after he was ostracized by the National Socialists and his works were prohibited from performing. He received inspiration for this work from a German-language publication of the trial files. The Christian religion had been of great importance to Braunfels since he converted from the Protestant to the Catholic faith during the First World War . In Joan's fate he saw parallels with a life of his own. Braunfels wrote the libretto himself, sticking closely to the files. He later recalled that after the premiere of Paul Hindemith's opera Mathis der Maler in Zurich in 1938 he had come to the conclusion that he could write a better text than Hindemith. He received further inspiration from George Bernard Shaw's drama Saint Joan .
The work was premiered in Stockholm on August 31, 2001. Manfred Honeck directed the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Swedish Radio Choir and the Eric Ericson Chamber Choir. Juliane Banse sang the title role . The other contributors were Robert Künzli (St. Michael), Letizia Scherrer (St. Catherine), Annely Peebo (St. Margarete), Gunnar Gudbjörnsson (Karl von Valois), Dankwart Siegele (Archbishop of Reims), Andreas Schulist (Cauchon and Bertrand de Poulengy), Ralf Lukas (Vicar-Inquisitor), Peter Lika (Jacobus von Arc), Ulrik Qvale (Colin), Terje Stensvold (Gilles de Rais), Günter Missenhardt (Duke of La Trémouille), Thomas Cooley (Duke of Alençon) , Per-Arne Wahlgren (Ritter Baudricourt), Annika Hudak (Lison), Wolfgang Klose (Florent d'Illiers), Robert Morvai (English captain) and Gabriele Weinfurter-Zwink (Page). A recording was published on CD.
On December 21 of the same year the Gasteig in Munich gave the German premiere, again with Juliane Banse as Johanna. Gunnar Gudbjörnsson sang the Dauphin, Terje Stensvold the Gilles de Rais and Ralf Lukas the Inquisitor. Manfred Honeck conducted the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Regensburger Domspatzen . The BR 4 radio station broadcast the performance live.
The staged world premiere took place on April 27, 2008 at the Deutsche Oper under the direction of Ulf Schirmer . Anna-Sophie Mahler, Søren Schuhmacher and Carl Hegemann developed the staging based on a concept by the seriously ill director Christoph Schlingensief . The soloists were Mary Mills (Johanna), Paul McNamara (St. Michael), Anna Fleischer (St. Catherine), Julia Benzinger (St. Margarete), Daniel Kirch (Karl von Valois), Nathan Myers (Archbishop of Reims and Florent the Elder) 'Illiers), Peter Maus (Cauchon), Simon Pauly (Vicar-Inquisitor), Ante Jerkunica (Jacobus von Arc), Paul Kaufmann (Colin), Morten Frank Larsen (Gilles de Rais), Lenus Carlson (Duke of La Trémouille), Jörg Schörner (Duke of Alençon), Markus Brück (Knight Baudricourt), Nicole Piccolomini (Lison) and Clemens Bieber (Bertrand de Poulengy). During the performance, videos recorded by Schlingensief of death rites in Nepal were shown. The performance on May 17, 2008 was broadcast live on Deutschlandradio Kultur . In the 2007/2008 review of Opernwelt magazine's critics , the production was named “Rediscovery of the Year”.
At the Salzburg Festival 2013 there was another concert performance under Manfred Honeck with Juliane Banse in the title role, which was broadcast live on Radio Austria 1 .
The second scenic production was presented in 2016 in the State House in Cologne, the alternative venue of the Cologne Opera . Here Lothar Zagrosek directed the Gürzenich Orchestra . At the premiere, Juliane Banse took over the title role at short notice because of illness-related absences, while the director Tatjana Gürbaca acted on stage. The other leading roles were sung by Luke Stoker (Archbishop of Reims), Matthias Klink (Karl von Valois) and Oliver Zwarg (Gilles de Rais).
Recordings
- August 31, 2001 - Manfred Honeck (conductor), Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Swedish Radio Choir, Eric Ericson Chamber Choir.
Juliane Banse (Johanna), Robert Künzli (St. Michael), Letizia Scherrer (St. Catherine), Annely Peebo (St. Margarete), Gunnar Gudbjörnsson (Karl von Valois), Dankwart Siegele (Archbishop of Reims), Andreas Schulist (Cauchon and Bertrand de Poulengy), Ralf Lukas (Vicar-Inquisitor), Peter Lika (Jacobus von Arc), Ulrik Qvale (Colin), Terje Stensvold (Gilles de Rais), Günter Missenhardt (Duke of La Trémouille), Thomas Cooley (Duke of Alençon), Per-Arne Wahlgren (Ritter Baudricourt), Annika Hudak (Lison), Wolfgang Klose (Florent d'Illiers), Robert Morvai (English captain), Gabriele Weinfurter-Zwink (Page).
Recording of the concert premiere from the Berwaldhalle Stockholm.
Awarded the Echo Klassik 2011 as “World Premiere of the Year”.
Premiere Opera 2568-2 (2 CDs); Decca 476 3978. - December 21, 2001 - Manfred Honeck (Conductor), Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra , Choir of the Bavarian Radio Munich, Regensburg Cathedral Choir .
Singer line-up as in the concert premiere on September 1st, 2001.
Recording of the concert German premiere from the Philharmonie in Munich's Gasteig.
Direct broadcast on radio BR 4 . - May 17, 2008 - Ulf Schirmer (conductor), orchestra and choir of the Deutsche Oper Berlin .
Mary Mills (Johanna), Paul McNamarra (St. Michael), Anna Fleischer (St. Catherine), Julia Benzinger (St. Margarete), Daniel Kirch (Karl von Valois), Nathan Myers (Archbishop of Reims and Florent d'Illiers) , Peter Maus (Cauchon), Simon Pauly (Vicar-Inquisitor), Ante Jerkunica (Jacobus von Arc), Paul Kaufmann (Colin), Morten Frank Larsen (Gilles de Rais), Lenus Carlson (Duke of La Trémouille), Jörg Schörner ( Duke of Alençon), Markus Brück (Knight Baudricourt), Nicole Piccolomini (Lison), Clemens Bieber (Bertrand de Poulengy).
Live from the Deutsche Oper Berlin.
Direct broadcast on Deutschlandradio Kultur . - August 1, 2013 - Manfred Honeck (conductor), ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, Salzburg Bach Choir , Salzburg Festival and Children's Theater Choir.
Juliane Banse (Johanna), Bryan Hymel (St. Michael), Siobhan Stagg (St. Catherine), Sofiya Almazova (St. Margarete), Pavol Breslik (Karl von Valois), Thomas E. Bauer (Archbishop of Reims and Florent d ' Illiers), Michael Laurenz (Cauchon and Bertrand de Poulengy), Johannes Stermann (Vicar-Inquisitor), Tobias Kehrer (Jacobus von Arc), Norbert Ernst (Colin), Johan Reuter (Gilles de Rais), Ruben Drole (Duke of La Trémouille ), Johannes Dunz (Duke of Alençon), Martin Gantner (Knight Baudricourt), Wiebke Lehmkuhl (Lison), Domen Križaj (English captain).
Live, in concert from the Salzburg Festival .
Direct broadcast on Radio Austria 1 .
Web links
- Work information and view score of the Universal Edition
- Scenes from the life of St. Joan. Video about the scenic premiere in Berlin 2008 on dctp , September 28, 2008
- Milestone in music history - Late world premiere of Walter Braunfels' opera "Jeanne d'Arc". Interview with the director Carl Hegemann before the scenic world premiere in Berlin in 2008. Report by Deutschlandradio Kultur on April 24, 2008
- Stefan Schmöe: What would Saint Joan look like today? Review of the performance in Cologne 2016. In: Online Musik Magazin
- Detailed table of contents in the Capriccio Kulturforum
Remarks
- ↑ Spelling in the libretto: "Jacobus", in the score edition: "Jakobus".
- ↑ According to the program. According to Universal Edition, Burcu Uyar sang the role of St. Catherine.
- ↑ According to the program. According to Universal Edition, Yosep Kang and / or Felipe Rojas Velozo sang the role of the king.
- ↑ According to the program. According to Universal Edition, Guillaume Antoine sang the role of Archbishop.
- ↑ According to the list of all complete opera recordings by Andreas Ommer, the recording was made on September 1, 2001, d. H. the day after the premiere.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e Jörg Handstein: On the SCENES FROM THE LIFE OF SAINT JOHANNA by Walter Braunfels. In: Deutsche Oper Berlin : Walter Braunfels: Jeanne d'Arc - Scenes from the life of St. Johanna. Program of the scenic world premiere on April 27, 2008, pp. 42–44.
- ↑ Information in the score
- ↑ a b c d Deutsche Oper Berlin : Walter Braunfels: Jeanne d'Arc - Scenes from the life of St. Johanna. Program of the scenic world premiere on April 27, 2008.
- ↑ a b Ekkehard Pluta: Review of the CD by Manfred Honeck. In: Klassik heute, 23 November 2010, accessed on 10 August 2019.
- ↑ a b Walter Braunfels. In: Andreas Ommer: Directory of all complete opera recordings (= Zeno.org . Volume 20). Directmedia, Berlin 2005, p. 2139.
- ↑ Manuel Brug: Braunfels' "Scenes from the life of St. Johanna". Review of the performance in Munich 2001. In: Die Welt , December 27, 2001, accessed on September 21, 2019.
- ↑ a b Oper im Radio 2001 , accessed on August 10, 2019.
- ^ Georg-Friedrich Kühn: Tragic legend of saints. Review of the scenic world premiere in Berlin 2008. Contribution from Deutschlandfunk dated April 28, 2008, accessed on September 21, 2019.
- ^ A b Christoph Zimmermann: COLOGNE / State House: COLOGNE: JEANNE D'ARC - Scenes from the life of St. Johanna. Review of the performance in Cologne 2016. In: Online Merker, February 15, 2016, accessed on September 21, 2019.
- ↑ a b Reference to the radio broadcast of the Berlin performance in the Tamino-Klassikforum, accessed on September 21, 2019.
- ^ A b Walter Braunfels: "Jeanne d'Arc" in the program of Radio Austria 1 , August 1, 2013, accessed on August 10, 2019.
- ↑ Peter P. Pachl : Abuse of power and colorful children's picture sheets. Review of the performance in Cologne 2016. In: Neue Musikzeitung , February 16, 2016, accessed on September 21, 2019.
- ↑ ECHO Klassik 2011 award winners announced on klassikakzente.de, accessed on September 21, 2019.
- ↑ Michael Boldhaus: Kleine Klassikwanderung 48th Review of Manfred Honeck's CD on cinemusic.de, February 27, 2011, accessed on August 10, 2019.