King Arthur (opera)
| Work data | |
|---|---|
| Original title: | King Arthur, or The British Worthy |
| Original language: | English |
| Music: | Henry Purcell |
| Libretto : | John Dryden |
| Premiere: | 1691 |
| Place of premiere: | London, Queen's Theater, Dorset Garden |
| Playing time: | approx. 1¾ hours |
| Place and time of the action: | Britain, in the fabulous Middle Ages |
| people | |
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in speaking roles:
in singing roles:
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King Arthur, or The British Worthy is a semi-opera by Henry Purcell (1659–1695) based on a play by John Dryden (1631–1700) in English , in five acts with a prologue .
Origin and reception
The libretto of the work, subtitled "The British Worthy" ( The British Hero ), is by John Dryden , its music was written by Henry Purcell .
In today's understanding, King Arthur is not formally an opera , as the main characters of the plot do not sing, but are exclusively cast as speaking roles and the music only has an accompanying function or is used dramatically. The singing parts, however, are left to the secondary characters, who appear, sometimes in the manner of “masques” , in scenes that are only loosely linked to the actual plot. The work is therefore considered a "semi-opera", a typical form of English baroque opera of the 17th century.
Even if the music here is subordinate to the plot and the libretto of Dryden, King Arthur contains some of the most inspired and beautiful songs and theater pieces that Purcell composed with dance rhythms and harmonies that were bold for their time. The most famous part of the opera is the so-called frost scene in the third act, in which it is shown how the power of love (Cupid) is able to thaw any heart, no matter how cold. The aria of Cold Genius contained therein , who is said to have been modeled on a character from Jean-Baptiste Lully's Isis , is one of the most admired works of baroque opera. One of the most popular interpretations of Purcell's aria “What power art thou”, notated for bass, comes from the countertenor and new wave icon Klaus Nomi , who made it popular as a “Cold Song”.
Although the work is again more frequently represented on the repertoire, in today's productions the work is usually only performed in a dramaturgical way , with Dryden's text generally being shortened, changed or omitted entirely.
action
The background to the plot of the five-act act is the battles between the British King Arthur and the Saxons; apart from that of the magician Merlin, there are no roles in the play from other legends of Camelot . Other characters in the piece include Cupid , Honor (the personified "honor") and Venus as well as the Nordic deities Wotan (Odin) , Thor and Freya . The plot is presented more like a revue than fully developed dramatically and revolves mainly around Arthur's efforts to rescue his fiancée, the blind Princess Emmeline of Cornwall, from the arms of his archenemy, the Saxon King Oswald of Kent.
first act
Arthur, the Christian British king, is threatened by the Saxons under King Oswald and would have been defeated long ago if the wise magician Merlin had not protected him. So Arthur was able to recapture most of his empire, although the Saxon king was supported by the magician Osmond, the ghost Grimbald and the air ghost Philidel. In addition, Oswald's love for Emmeline makes Arthur and Oswald enemies. A violent battle breaks out; the Saxons are defeated and flee.
Second act
Merlin succeeds in pulling Philidel over to the British side. Meanwhile, Grimbald, disguised as a shepherd, tries to mislead the British. Philidel rescues Arthur and his warriors from the moor they got into.
Third act
Grimbald disguised himself as a woman and kidnapped Emmeline with Osmond and Oswald. While the British swear to free the prisoner and Arthur complains about the loss of his lover, Oswald harasses her. Nevertheless, with all of his magic, he and Osmond fail to win Emmeline's favor. In the meantime, she has received a balm from Philidel that frees her from her blindness. As in a dream, Arthur and Emmeline can see each other.
Fourth act
Again Grimbald tries to lead Arthur into an enchanted forest with mermaids, satyrs and nymphs and to spoil him there. But even disguised as Emmeline, he can't do anything. Arthur destroys the forest and captures Osmond.
Fifth act
Arthur also defeats Oswald, who challenged him to a duel, and gives him his life. While Merlin proclaims general peace, Emmeline rushes to Arthur. Everyone joins in a song of praise for Britain. St. George, the island's patron saint who once freed the land from dragons and barbarism, is praised.
Sequence of musical numbers
The method of counting and naming corresponds to that of the Zimmerman directory :
- 1) 1st Music
- 2) 2nd Music
- 3) Air
- 4) Overture
- 1st act
- 2nd act
- 12) Prelude and Aria, "Hither this way bend"
- 13) Aria, Ritornello , "Let not a moon-born Elf"
- 14) Dialogue and Chorus, "Come follow me"
- 15) Dance, Aria and Chorus, "How blest are Shepherds"
- 16) Symphony and Duet (dialogue), "Shepherd, leave decoying"
- 17) Chorus and Hornpipe , "Come Shepherds"
- 18) 2nd Act Tune
- 3rd act
- 19) Prelude and Aria, "What ho"
- 20) Prelude and Aria, "What power art thou"
- 21) Aria, "Thou doting fool forbear"
- 22) Aria, "Great love"
- 23) Aria, "No part"
- 24) Prelude, Chorus and Dance, "See, see"
- 25) Aria, Ritornello and Chorus, "Tis I, that have warn'd ye"
- 26) Prelude and Duet, "Sound a Parley"
- 27) Aria, Ritornello and Chorus, "Tis I, that have warn'd ye"
- 28) 3rd Act Tune (Air)
- 4th act
- 29) Duet, "Two Daughters"
- 30a) Passacaglia
- 30b - d) Aria, Ritornello and Chorus, "How happy the Lover"
- 30e - i) Dialogue and Chorus, "No, no joy"
- 31) 4th Act Tune
- 5th act
- 32a) Prelude (Trumpet Tune)
- 32b - c) Aria, "Ye Blust'ring Brethren"
- 33) Symphony
- 34) Duet and Chorus, "Round thy coasts"
- 35a) Aria, "You say tis love"
- 35b - c) Aria and Chorus, "This not my passion"
- 35d - e) Aria and Chorus, "But one soft moment"
- 36) Duet, "For folded flocks"
- 37) Aria and Chorus, "Your hay is mown"
- 38) Aria, "Fairest Isle"
- 39) Chorus, "St George"
- 40) 5th Act Tune ( Chaconne )
literature
- William H. Cummings: Purcell. London: S. Low, Marston, Searle & Revington 1881.
- Edward J. Dent: Foundations of the English Opera. Cambridge: Cambridge UP 1928.
- John Hawkins: A General History of the Science and Practice of Music. [London 1776]. London: Novello Elver & Co. 1875. Faks. Ed. v. Othmar Wessely. Vol. 1.2. Graz: Academic Printing and Publishing Company 1969.
- Peter Holman: Henry Purcell. Oxford: OUP 1994.
- Curtis A. Price: Henry Purcell and the London Stage. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 1984.
- Curtis A. Price (Ed.): Purcell Studies. Cambridge: CUP 1995.
- Roger Savage: "The Theater Music." In: The Purcell Companion. Edited by Michael Burden. London: Faber & Faber 1995, 313-383.
- Ulrich Schreiber: “Half operas: a whole thing? Henry Purcell and the Beginnings of English Opera. ”In: Neue Zeitschrift für Musik 148 (1987), 4–7.
- Michael Burden (Ed.): The Purcell Companion. London: Faber and Faber 1995.
- Franklin Bersher Zimmerman: Henry Purcell (1659-1695). His Life and Times. London: MacMillan 1967. 2rev. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania 1983.
Editions
Sheet music editions
- The Works of Henry Purcell. ( Purcell Society Edition - PSE ), Vol. 26.
- "King Arthur" (Easy Band Series 4, Kees Schoonenbeek)
Text sources
- Digitization of the complete text from The Works of John Dryden, Now First Collected in Eighteen Volumes (Scott, 1821), Vol. 8, p. 107ff in the Google book search
libretto
Web links
King Arthur : Sheet Music and Audio Files in the International Music Score Library Project