Copernicus (opera)
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| Title: | Copernicus |
| Shape: | “Opéra rituel de mort” in two acts |
| Original language: | French, fantasy language |
| Music: | Claude Vivier |
| Libretto : | Claude Vivier |
| Premiere: | May 8, 1980 |
| Place of premiere: | Théâtre du Monument National, Montreal |
| Playing time: | about 70 minutes |
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Copernicus is an opera (original name: "Opéra rituel de mort") in two acts for seven singers, seven or eight players and a tape by Claude Vivier . It was created in 1978/1979 and was premiered on May 8, 1980 by students of the University of Montreal at the Théâtre du Monument National in Montreal.
action
The opera has no traditional ongoing plot. It consists of a sequence of scenes around a child named after the Greek word for “purity” and the Hindu fire goddess Agni , whose soul is spiritually purified from his dreams with the help of various people after his death. In the “Zwischenreich”, Agni meets many other characters as well as the discoverer Nikolaus Copernicus , whose name the opera bears. As a result, she ultimately loses the fear of life after death and can go into the hereafter.
The composer himself described the content in the following words:
“The central figure is Agni; around them are mythical beings (represented by the six other singers) from the story: Lewis Carroll , Merlin , a witch, the queen of the night , a blind prophet, an old monk, Tristan and Isolde , Mozart , the lord of the waters, Copernicus and his mother. These beings are perhaps Agni's dreams that accompany her during her initiation and finally during her dematerialization. "
According to Louise Bail, the opera has the following structure:
first act
1st picture
“Prelude” - prelude
2nd picture
I. "La Salution" - The greeting
- 1. "Les Neuf Salutations" - The nine greetings
- 2. "L'Apparition de Merlin" - The apparition of Merlin
- 3. “La Chanson d'Agni” - The song Agnis
3rd picture
II. "L'agrégation d'Agni" - The Agnis Association
- 1. “Le Chant de l'agrégation” - The song of the union
- 2. "L'Apparition de la vieille sorcière" - The apparition of the old witch
4th picture
- 3. “La Quête” - The Collection
- a) "L'Appel aux étoiles" - The call to the stars
- b) “La Mélodie des pèlerins” - The melody of the pilgrims
- c) “Le Sommeil enchanteur” - The magical sleep
5th picture
- 4. "Les Visions" - The visions
- a) "L'Appel des visionnaires" - The call of fortune tellers
- b) “La Présentation du voyant aveugle” - The presentation of the seeing angel
- c) “Le Discours du voyant aveugle” - The speech of the seeing angel
- d) "Les voyants" - The sighted
- e) "Jeux d'enfant solitaire" - game of the lonely child
6th picture
- 5. “La Proclamation de la prière” - The proclamation of prayer
- a) “L'Aveugle voit” - The angel sees
- b) “Le Roi fou!” - The mad king
- 6. “Discours du sage et preparation à la méditation” - speech of the wise and preparation for meditation
- a) "Intermède musical" - musical interlude
- b) “Le Discurs du say” - The wise man's speech
- c) “Commentaires des femmes” - comments by women
- 7. “La Solitude d'Agni” - The solitude of Agnis
7th picture
III. “La Méditation” - The meditation
Second act
1st picture
I. “Préparation et l'Ultime èpreuve” - preparation and the final proof
- 1. "L'Entrée (procession de l'assemblée)" - entrance (procession of the assembly)
2nd picture
- 2. “La Grande Transe de initiés” - The great trance of the initiated
3rd picture
- 3. “Le Duo d'amour” - the love duet
- 4. “La Purification” - the purification
4th picture
- a) “Le Maître des eaux” - The master of water
- b) “Des moines solitaires” - The lonely monks
- c) "Agni interroge Mozart" - Agni asks Mozart
5th picture
- 5. “L'Ultime Épreuve” - The final proof
- a) “L'Invitation de Mozart” - Mozart's invitation
- b) “La Traversée du fleuve” - The crossing over the river
- c) “La Joie de la réussite” - The joy of success
6th picture
II. "Les Étoiles" - The stars
- 1. "L'Apparition de l'étoile de Noël" - The appearance of the poinsettia
- 2. “La Grande Prière d'Agni” - The great prayer of Agnis
- 3. “Le Grand Plan contemplatif” - The great contemplative plan
- 4. “L'Ouverture des portes” - The opening of the gates
7th picture
III. "La Sortie: vers la démáterialisation" - The finish: towards dematerialisation
- 1. "Copernicus dirige la procession vers le Royaume" - Copernicus leads the procession to the kingdom of heaven
- 2. “Les Deux Arrêts de la marche” - The two interruptions of the march
- a) “Souvenier I” - Commemoration I
- b) "Souvenier II" - Commemoration II
- 3. “La Dématérialization” - The dematerialization
layout
The libretto, written by Vivier himself, is very mysterious and full of allusions. In it it is reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll , who is also quoted and mentioned by name in the opera. The text language is mainly French, but sentences in other European languages such as German are also used. Vivier uses incomprehensible fantasy language for the “unspeakable” that is mainly based on “tonal color”.
According to Vivier, the child Agni represents himself or the innocent who survived in him despite his wild lifestyle. In the opera Agni is not saved from death itself, but from dying in fear or loneliness with unanswered questions. There is no doubt about life after death here. The consolation Agni receives gives death downright beauty.
For the instrumental line-up and the rhythmic structures of his opera, Vivier used knowledge that he had acquired on a long journey through East Asia. Georg Rudiger described the various techniques in his Opernwelt review as follows: “Floating, tonal soundscapes [meet] glissanding solo voices, cantable phrases with childlike babbling, impulsive attacks on meditative echoes.” There are further echoes of Olivier Messiaen's music or the early baroque Madrigal Opera. The singing parts are just as varied and sometimes seem downright “playful” when, for example, one of the performers whistles “disrespectfully” to someone else's performance. Vivier's musical language, which was neither dissonant nor tonal, was praised by his teacher Karlheinz Stockhausen . The emphasis is on melody and tone color. There are long melodic lines without embellishments. The composer largely dispenses with polyphonic structures. The harmony also obviously serves only the coloring and not the creation of functionally harmonious connections.
The opera begins with a quote from Lewis Carroll, spoken in French:
“Surely your gladness need not be the less for the thought that you will, one day see a brighter dawn than this - when lovelier sights will meet your eyes than any waving trees or rippling waters - when angelhands shall undraw your curtains, and sweeter tones than ever loving Mother breathed shall wake you to a new and glorious day - and when all the sadness, and the sin, that darkened life on this little earth, shall be forgotten like the dreams of a night that is past!
Your affectionate friend,
Lewis Carroll ”
"Surely your joy need not fade under the thought that one day you will see a brighter dawn than this - when sweeter prospects meet your eyes than waving branches or curling water - when angel hands pull your curtains aside and sweeter tones than ever before loving mother said you will awaken to a new and glorious day - and when all the sadness and sin that darkened life on this little earth will be forgotten like the dreams of a night that has passed!
Your affectionate friend
Lewis Carroll "
orchestra
The small chamber opera requires the following instruments:
- oboe
- two clarinets
- Bass clarinet
- Trumpet
- trombone
- violin
- Drums (played by the singers): Balinese gong , three Japanese gongs, bass drum , grand tam-tam , crotales / antique cymbals, tubular bells , cardboard tubes, bell
Technical components and / or amplifiers are also used.
Work history
Claude Vivier's Copernicus was created in 1978/1979. It is a commission from the Conseil des Arts du Canada and the Music Faculty of the University of Montreal . Vivier dedicated it to "mon maître et ami Gilles Tremblay " ("my teacher and friend Gilles Tremblay").
The world premiere took place on May 8, 1980 at the Théâtre du Monument National in Montreal. The performers were students of the University of Montreal under the musical direction of Lorraine Vaillancourt. Directed by Pierre Godin, the production was by Marthe Forget, the decorations by Jacinthe Vézina and the costumes by Meredith Caron. The next day there was a follow-up performance. Vaillancourt also performed the work in 1986, 1988 and 1989 in Montreal and 1989 in Paris.
Since then, Copernicus has been played several times:
- 5th / 6th July 1985: Almeida Theater London - European premiere; Contemporary Chamber Orchestra, conductor: Odaline de la Martinez ; with Alan Ewing, Hugh Hetherington, Linda Hirst, Mary King, Richard Lloyd Morgan, Nicole Tibbels, Pauline Vaillancourt
- 1990: Vancouver - Production by the Vancouver New Music Society
- 2004 (?) De Nederlandse Opera as part of the Holland Festival: First part of a diptych dedicated to Vivier entitled Rêves d'un Marco Polo
- April 14, 2008: Salle Claude-Champagne of the University of Montreal - Atelier de musique contemporaine de l'Université de Montréal (ATMC), conductor: Lorraine Vaillancourt
- June 2008: Theater der Universität der Künste Berlin - conductor: Errico Fresis , director: Tatjana Beyer, stage: Yassu Yabara, costumes: Sayyora Muinova
- October / November 2012: Christ Church Freiburg - Young Opera Company, Holst-Sinfonietta , conductor: Klaus Simon , director: Hendrick Müller , set design: Juliane Hollerbach
- April 2014: Boekmanzaal Amsterdam - De Nederlandse Opera , conductor: Romain Bischoff, director: Marcel Sijm, stage: Sarah Nixon and Janne Sterke, costumes: Esmee Thomassen - a video recording of this production was made
- May 2014: Reaktorhalle Munich - Ensemble Oktopus for modern music, conductor: Konstantia Gourzi , director: Waltraud Lehner , stage: Ulrich Frommhold; Costumes: Katherina Kopp
- June 12, 2016: Libbey Bowl Ojai , California - US premiere; ICE, Roomful of Teeth, Conductor: Eric Dudley
- 6-8 July 2017: Margaret Greenham Theater, Banff , Canada - Banff Center for the Arts, Conductor: Christopher Mokrzewski
- August 2, 2018: Festival Nueva Opera de Buenos Aires, Argentina - Americas Society, conductor: Sebastián Zubieta
- December 2018: Theater de la Ville a l'Espace Cardin, Paris - Ensemble l'Instant Donne, Roomful of Teeth, director: Peter Sellars ; further performances in the Théâtre du Capitole Toulouse and in the Nouveau Théâtre de Montreuil in Paris
- January / February 2019: Old orchestra rehearsal hall of the Berlin State Opera - Conductor: Errico Fresis , Director: Wouter Van Looy, Stage: Sascha van Riel, Costumes: Johanna Trudzinski
Recordings
- 1991 - Lorraine Vaillancourt (conductor).
Jocelyne Fleury (Agni).
Studio recording.
CBC Records Musica Viva MVCD 1047 (1 CD). - 1997 (?) - Reinbert de Leeuw (conductor), Pierre Audi (director), Asko Ensemble, Schönberg Ensemble.
Susan Narucki, Claron McFadden , Tomoko Makuuchi, James Ottaway, Harry van der Kamp , Johan Leysen .
Video; live from the Holland Festival; first part of the diptych Reves d'un Marco Polo .
Opus Arte OA0943D. - September 29, 2000 - Pascal Rophé (conductor).
Simon Fournier, Patricia O'Callaghan, Isabelle Soccoja, Shaunaid Amette, Michiel Schrey, Ian Funk, Patricia Green.
Live from Strasbourg. - 2016 (published) - Klaus Simon (conductor), Opera Factory Freiburg, Holst-Sinfonietta .
Svea Schildknecht (coloratura soprano), Dorothea Winkel (soprano), Uta Buchheister (mezzo-soprano), Barbara Ostertag (alto), Neal Banerjee (tenor), Ji-Su Park (baritone), Floran Kontschak (bass).
Studio recording by SWR.
German Record Critics' Prize : Quarterly Prize 2/2016 (opera).
Bastille musique. - April 15, 2014 - Romain Bischoff (conductor), Marcel Sijm (director), Janne Sterke and Sarah Nixon (stage), Esmée Thomassen (costumes), Calle de Hoog (lighting), Miguel Ángel Gasper (performance).
Katharine Dain (coloratura soprano), Éléonore Lemaire (soprano), Aurélie Franck (mezzo-soprano), Marine Friborg (alto), Jussi Lehtipuu (Baryton-Martin), Jon Stainsby (baritone), Maciej Straburzynski (bass), Claudia Veltman (Agni).
Video; live from the Boekmanzaal Amsterdam; De Nederlandse Opera .
literature
- Louise Bail: Copernicus. La berceuse à Claude Vivier. Contrepoint imaginaire à trois voix. Thèse-recherche présentée comme exigence partial du doctorat en études et pratiques des arts. Université du Québec à Montréal, November 2012 ( Online, PDF ).
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Description of the work by IRCAM , accessed on June 3, 2018.
- ↑ a b c d Isabel Herzfeold: Family constellation: The “Young Opera Company” performs Claude Vivier's opera “Copernicus” in the Christ Church in Freiburg. In: Neue Musikzeitung , November 10, 2012, accessed on June 3, 2018.
- ↑ a b Work information and view score from Boosey & Hawkes , accessed June 1, 2018.
- ^ Louise Bail: Copernicus. La berceuse à Claude Vivier. Contrepoint imaginaire à trois voix. Thèse-recherche présentée comme exigence partial du doctorat en études et pratiques des arts. Université du Québec à Montréal, November 2012 ( Online, PDF ).
- ↑ a b c Georg Rudiger: Your family. In: Opernwelt January 2013, p. 39.
- ↑ a b c d e John Keillor: Description of the work at Allmusic , accessed on June 3, 2018.
- ↑ a b Announcement of the performance of the Berlin State Opera , accessed on June 3, 2018.
- ↑ a b c Jean-Pascal Vachon: Copernicus. In: The Canadian Encyclopedia, July 2, 2006 article, accessed June 3, 2018.
- ↑ Information in the score.
- ↑ a b Performance search at the music publisher Boosey & Hawkes .
- ↑ Performance information from the Dutch National Opera , accessed on June 3, 2018.
- ↑ a b Claude Vivier. In: Andreas Ommer: Directory of all complete opera recordings (= Zeno.org . Volume 20). Directmedia, Berlin 2005.
- ↑ Claude Vivier: Rêves d'un Marco Polo at Presto Classical, accessed on June 3, 2018.
- ^ Bob Gilmore: Claude Vivier: A Biography. University of Rochester Press, Rochester, 2014, ISBN 978-1-58046-485-7 , p. 246 ( limited preview in Google Book Search).
- ↑ CD information on the website of the Opera Factory Freiburg.
- ↑ Information about the video of the DNO on the website of the singer Marine Friborg, accessed on June 2, 2018.