L'uccellatrice

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Opera dates
Title: The bird catcher
Original title: L'uccellatrice
Title page of the libretto, Venice 1750

Title page of the libretto, Venice 1750

Shape: Intermezzo in two acts
Original language: Italian
Music: Niccolò Jommelli
Libretto : Carlo Goldoni ?
Premiere: May 6, 1750
Place of premiere: Teatro San Samuele , Venice
Playing time: about 45 minutes
Place and time of the action: Rural region
people
  • Mergellina, bird catcher ( soprano )
  • Don Narciso ( tenor )
  • Lesbino (silent role)

L'uccellatrice (dt .: The Vogelfängerin ) is an opera - Intermezzo in two acts by Niccolò Jommelli (music) with a libretto by an unknown author, perhaps to or from Carlo Goldoni . The premiere took place on May 6, 1750 in the Teatro San Samuele in Venice. On September 25, 1753, an arrangement under the name Il paratajo or French La pipée was played at the Paris Opéra , the text of which came from Charles-François Clément .

History of origin

The original version of the intermezzo L'uccellatrice was written by Jommelli after he had been appointed vice conductor at St. Peter in Rome. The author of the libretto is unknown, although Carlo Goldoni is occasionally mentioned. The work was premiered on May 6, 1750 at the Teatro San Samuele in Venice with Domènech Terradellas ' opera Imeneo in Atene . Francesca Cioffi (Mergellina) and Alessandro Renda (Narciso) sang. There were further performances in 1751 in Leipzig, 1753 in the Teatro Marsigli-Rossi in Bologna, in the Teatro delle Grazie in Vicenza and in Ravenna, in 1760 in the Teatro Cocomero in Florence, on July 20, 1763 in the Canongate Theater in Edinburgh, on February 22, 1770 at the King's Theater on Haymarket in London and in 1772 in Pescia.

On September 25, 1753, a heavily revised version was performed in the Paris Opéra under the name Il paratajo or La pipée in French , the text of which came from Charles-François Clément . This work, together with Pergolesi's intermezzo La serva padrona, played a major role in the Buffonist dispute that ultimately led to the integration of Italian elements into French opera. It was resumed there several times.

Another revision was performed in June 1762 under the name Il matto Don Narciso (German: The Fool Don Narciso ) in Dresden and in 1772 in Filippo Nicolini's Opera Pantomima in Hamburg (the latter without mentioning the composer).

Plot of the original version

In the original version there are only two vocal parts and a silent role. The dude Don Narciso meets the bird catcher Mergellina, whom he takes to be the goddess Diana. He falls in love with her, but is initially only teased by her until she finally returns his love.

first act

In his performance aria ("Chi ha perduto l'amoroso donne belle" - "Who has lost your lover, beautiful ladies") Don Narciso praises his good looks and his charm. To his surprise, he has not yet found a partner. He hopes to find a suitable forest nymph or goddess here in the country, e.g. B. Diana or Venus. When he sees the bird catcher Mergellina, he wonders who she could be. She is too beautiful for a nymph. Since she is clothed, she must be Diana, because Venus does not wear clothes. Mergellina's following aria is about catching birds (“Non fuggirete” - “You will not escape my net”) - for Don Narciso another indication that she is Diana the hunter. While her assistant Lesbino is laying out the nets, Mergellina tries to send Don Narciso away because he is making the birds shy. She recognizes his vanity at first sight and teases him by claiming that her heart beats faster at the sight of him and that she feels both heat and cold at the same time. Don Narciso believes every word and offers her his services as a hunting assistant and as a lover. Mergellina is speechless. This is followed by a love aria by Don Narciso (“V'ho capito, occhi furbetti” - “I understand you, mischievous eyes”). Mergellina allows him to stay. He should hold the leash and watch out. In the following aria, Don Narciso enumerates the birds flying by (“Ecco che viene un calandrino” - “Here comes a brindle ”). When he is supposed to pull the leash at her request, he awkwardly tangles himself in the net. Mergellina triumphs over the captured “blackbird” and raises it (“Uccelletto, bell'uccelleto, prendi, prendi il pignoletto.” - “Little bird, beautiful bird, take the grain”). Don Narciso begs her to release him. In the following duet ("Con me vuoi far l'amore" / "Tu fai la disinvolta" - "You want to love me" / "You behave cheekily") she continues teasing him while he is sure that she is in fell in love with him.

Second act

Mergellina tries unsuccessfully to sell her birds ("Chi vuol comprar la bella calandrina" - "Who wants to buy the beautiful fallow pipit"). She hopes that the apparently wealthy man from the morning will reappear. She could turn the birds on him with a ruse. Don Narciso appears. He compliments her and asks if she loves him. She affirms this and demands a gift as proof of his love in return. Don Narciso offers her incense, fragrances, balms, animal sacrifices and flowers for her (Diana's) altar. To his amazement, she refuses these things. Instead, she wants his diamond ring. Slightly disappointed, he explains to her in his aria “Chi è bello non dona” that good-looking men do not give gifts. Mergellina warns him in her aria “Ma voglio quell'anello” how angry she can get if she does not receive the ring. Don Narciso hesitantly pulls the ring from his finger, but Mergellina is nowhere to be seen - a typical behavior of the insidious goddess Diana. He thinks he can hear barking from a nearby cave and is afraid of the dogs that could destroy his beauty ("Già sento i cani" - "I can hear the dogs"). When the danger seems to be over, he decides to flee as a precaution. But then Mergellina appears again and orders her helpers not to let the “monster” escape. Don Narciso thinks he has turned into an animal. He asks her for pity and gives her the ring. Mergellina takes him. She assures him that he is not an animal, but a kind man - and her love. The piece ends with a playful love duet (“Narcisetto insolentello” / “Furfantella, cara, cara” - “Naughty Narcisolein” / “Dearest crook”), which turns into a call to the hunt.

Plot of the later version Il paratajo / La pipée

The content of the later French version differs significantly from the original version. It contains two additional parts and several new arias. The music historian Hermann Abert described the content in his Jommelli biography from 1908 as follows:

“The old misogynist Argone tries to keep his ward Clarissa from marrying under all circumstances and has made an order to this effect in his will. But Clarissa already has a lover, Floro, who, in agreement with her, does everything to get the old man's will into his hands. He lures the argon by offering him a 'not too expensive' girlfriend who is supposed to free him from his niece Clarissa without depriving him of her dowry. Floro digs a pit (supposedly to dig up a great treasure) into which argon falls. Clarissa's friend Fille pulls him out and immediately he makes her a declaration of love ('A Londra verrai meco, le maschere vedrai, l'opera, il ballo ed ogni bella cosa'), the success of which, however, makes Fille dependent on the payment of a substantial sum of money. At the end of the first act, Argone, Clarissa and Fille unite to form an ensemble, in which Argone informs his niece of his plans for love and is treated as best as possible by the two girls.

In the second act we see Fille offering her birds for sale to the singing of the well-known little song 'Chi vuol comprar la bella calandrina'. When Argone arrives, she snaps at him harshly: she doesn't trust him because he has made Clarissa jealous of her. Clarissa asks her uncle, in view of his close love affair, to hand over the will, but reaps only rudeness. There are also differences between her and Floro; Floro laments the lot of all husbands. Clarissa and Fille now cast out the nets to catch birds, while Floro hides behind a bush. Argone comes and is lured by the two girls into the arbor, where the nets are displayed, and is caught. He can only free himself by handing over the will. Now Clarissa comes out with the news of her secret engagement. After a long reluctance, the outwitted argon is assigned to the fille and the whole thing ends with the words: 'Andiamo in compagnia, staremo in allegria; il tutto bene andò! '"

- Hermann Abert : Niccolo Jommelli as an opera composer

layout

The libretto is peppered with ambiguities, deliberate misunderstandings and teasing. The music is in the light buffo style of the middle of the 18th century. The arias are short. They use simple melodies and harmonies. Most of the recitatives are seccos. Only towards the end, when Don Narciso thinks he has lost the girl, is there an accompaniment with strings. Occasionally there are musical allusions to bird calls.

Recordings and performances in recent times

  • 1981 and since November 2012 (performances of a German-language version in the Mottenkäfig marionette stage in Pforzheim): Southwest German Chamber Orchestra Pforzheim, Schützeichel Wind Ensemble Mannheim. Holly van Hecke (Mergellina), Takamichi Teshima (Don Narciso).
  • 1999 ( Paratajo, live from Barga, revision by Giorgio Ubaldi, recitatives replaced by dialogues): Giorgio Ubaldi (conductor), Orchestra of the Barga Opera. Cristina Curti (Clarina), Thomas Andersson (Argone), Silvia Testoni (Fillis), Maurizio Sciuto (Floro). Bongiovanni CD 2252.
  • 6-7 April 2003 (semi-staged performance at the Palazzina Liberty in Milan and CD): Vanni Moretto (conductor), Orchestra da Camera Milano Classica. Emanuela Galli (Mergellina), Luciano Grassi (Don Narciso). Dynamic CDS 436.
  • unknown (video of a staged performance from the Teatro Accademico in Castelfranco Veneto ): Marco Bellussi (conductor), Piccola Orchestra Veneta. Elena De Simone (Mergellina), Filippo Pina-Castiglioni (Don Narciso).
  • June 20, 2015 (student staged performance at the Conservatorio San Pietro a Majella in Naples): Carlo Gargiulo (conductor), San Pietro a Majella. Marianna Capasso (Mergellina), Vincenzo Tremante (Don Narciso).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Mariateresa Dellaborra (translation: Eva Pleus): text accompanying the CD Dynamic CDS 436, 2003
  2. ↑ Text accompanying the critical edition of the Intermezzo by Mariateresa Dellaborra , accessed on December 19, 2015.
  3. ^ Performance dates from May 6, 1750 in Venice in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna
  4. ↑ L'uccellatrice (Niccolò Jommelli) in Corago information system of the University of Bologna . Retrieved December 19, 2015.
  5. ^ Uccellatrice. Work information from Opera Scotland , accessed December 19, 2015.
  6. ↑ a b c Marita P. McClymonds:  Uccellatrice, L '. In: Grove Music Online (English; subscription required).
  7. ↑ Anna Mondolfi, Helga Spohr (transl.): Jommelli, Niccolò. In: Music in the past and present. Bärenreiter-Verlag 1986 ( Digital Library Volume 60), p. 39011 (cf. MGG Vol. 7, p. 146).
  8. ^ Il matto Don Narciso (anonymous) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna
  9. ^ Hermann Abert: Niccolo Jommelli as an opera composer. M.Niemeyer, 1908, p. 415. Digitized in the Internet Archive
  10. ↑ The bird catcher. Announcement of the performance in Pforzheim. ( Memento from December 23, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Pforzheimer Zeitung from November 9, 2012 (PDF), accessed on December 19, 2015.
  11. ↑ The bird catcher at the Mottenkäfig marionette stage , accessed on July 4, 2018.
  12. ^ A b Niccolò Jommelli. In: Andreas Ommer: Directory of all opera complete recordings. Zeno.org , volume 20.
  13. ^ Jommelli: L'Uccellatrice - Vanni Moretto. CD information at Allmusic . Retrieved December 19, 2015.
  14. ↑ Discography of the singer Elena De Simone , accessed on December 20, 2015.
  15. ↑ Cristina Patturelli: Review of the performance in Naples 2015 on drammaturgiacinematografia.unina.it (Italian) , accessed on December 20, 2015.