La corona (metastasis)
| Work data | |
|---|---|
| Title: | La corona |
Last scene. |
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| Shape: | Azione teatrale |
| Original language: | Italian |
| Music: | First setting by Christoph Willibald Gluck |
| Libretto : | Pietro Metastasio |
| Premiere: | scheduled for October 4, 1765 |
| Place and time of the action: | Entrance to the Calydonian Forest |
| people | |
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La corona (German: The Victory Wreath ) is a libretto for an Azione teatrale in one act by Pietro Metastasio . It was composed in 1765 by Christoph Willibald Gluck for the name day of Emperor Franz I on October 4th and was to be performed by his daughters in the Salon de Bataille (today's ceremonial hall ) at Schönbrunn Palace. However, the performance did not take place because the emperor died on August 18th.
action
The libretto is based on a Greek myth, the hunt for the wild Calydonian boar , which devastated the landscape around Kalydon and killed many of the residents. The Princess Atalanta injures the animal before it is killed by Meleagro, the initiator of the hunt. Meleagro offers her the victory wreath, which she refuses. Finally they lay him down at the feet of the celebrated father Franz I.
«Che la promossa da Meleagro celebre caccia del portentoso cinghiale Calidonio raccogliesse in Etolia tutto il fior della Grecia, parte ambizioso di gloria, parte sollecito dell 'evento; che dalla valorosa Atalanta ricevesse il primo colpo la fiera; e che fosse poi questa da Meleagro atterrata; sono le notissime poetiche memorie, dalle quali nascono i verisimili del presente Drammatico Componimento. »
“That the hunt for the legendary Calydonian boar, promoted by the famous Meleagro, gathered the entire elite of Greece, partly eager for fame, partly attracted by the event; that the wild beast received the first blow from the brave Atalanta; and that this was then brought down by Meleagro; are the well-known poetic memories from which the foundations of the current dramatic piece were born. "
Scene 1. In front on the right side there is a hunting lodge, on the left old ruins can be seen, behind it a small temple of the hunting goddess Diana with a statue of the same who holds a laurel wreath in her right hand. The rest of the scene shows the expanse of the Calydonian forest. Atalanta, her sister Climene and their friend Asteria, the sister of Meleager, are talking about the upcoming hunt. Atalanta, a follower of Diana, is determined to take part. Since Climene does not manage to change her mind, she and Asteria want to come along. There is an argument. Atalanta points out to Climene that as a follower of the goddess Minerva, she was not trained to hunt. Asteria, on the other hand, is still too young. You decide to let Meleagro make the decision.
Scene 2. Meleagro is added. In his opinion, hunting the boar is too dangerous for all three women. They are too valuable for Greece to take such a risk. In addition, they already have enough virtues and gifts. Since they rule over men, only glory remains for them to prove themselves worthy of them. Asteria and Climene are touched by his speech, but Atalanta stands firm. Only when Meleagro threatens to cancel the entire hunt because of her does she give in and wish him success.
Scene 3. After Meleagro leaves, Climene and Atalanta decide to watch the hunt from a nearby tower.
Scene 4. Asteria feels set back and sings of her courage in an aria. Atalanta admires her and predicts a glorious future for her. She finally persuades them to come to the tower. But when the calls of the hunters can be heard from a distance, Asteria can no longer hold herself and runs towards them. Atalanta follows her so as not to leave her alone.
Scene 5. Climene had already preceded a bit and is missing the other two. Although she doesn't know how to handle it, other friends give her a spear and follows.
Scene 6. Asteria comes back because she lost her arrows. She tells Climene that Atalanta has wounded the boar and is now being pursued by him.
Scene 7. Atalanta returns too. She lets Climene give her the spear to face the boar again.
Scene 8. Meleagro appears. He has meanwhile dealt the boar the death blow. Because he saw Atalanta hurt him, he presented him with the laurel wreath from the statue of Diana. Atalanta doesn't think that's justified. Since he had just saved her life, the crown belongs to him himself. However, Meleagro is of the opinion that the first blow was fatal. In a duet, they both argue about it for a while. Climene finally proposes a Solomonic solution: The wreath should be used sensibly, because today is the name day of ... Meleatro interrupts them enthusiastically, and Atalanta also already understands: They will put the wreath “at the feet of their own God” ( “Del nostro Nume deponiamolo al piede " ). Together they hand it over to Emperor Franz and ask him for his protective love.
history
Metastasio and Gluck received the commission for La corona shortly after the performance of their joint work Il Parnaso confuso on January 24, 1765. This serenata was performed by four daughters of Maria Theresa and Franz I for the wedding of the heir to the Austrian throne Joseph with Maria Josepha of Bavaria achieved a great success. The new work was to be performed in the same room - the Salon de Bataille at Schönbrunn Palace - by the same performers. Maria Amalia was to take on the role of Atalanta, Maria Elisabeth the Meleagro, Maria Josepha the Climene and Maria Karolina the Asteria. The short hunter choir should be carried out by other family members. Metastasio delivered the finished manuscript on April 29, 1765 and submitted it for printing. Gluck probably started composing immediately afterwards. It ended in early June. Maria Theresa intended to perform the play as a surprise for the emperor. Therefore, the preparations were made in secret. She had originally planned to perform in the palace theater, but Metastasio thought the smaller Salon de Bataille would be more suitable for the voices of the non-professional singers. In addition, the stage architect knew the spatial conditions from the previous performance, and the necessary structures were already in place. However, due to the unexpected death of the emperor on August 18 in Innsbruck, the planned performance did not take place, and the work was put aside. It was Metastasio's last work to be performed by members of the court themselves. Gluck later used the music of the Sinfonia in the overtures to Paride ed Helena (1770) and the second version of Cythère assiégée (1775). It was not until the autumn of 1966 that the Austrian broadcasting company produced La corona . The first scenic performance took place on November 13, 1987 at the originally planned location in Schönbrunn.
The theme of the hunt for the Calydonian boar is based on the fourth chapter of the eighth book of Metamorphoses by Ovid . It was chosen personally by Maria Theresa - presumably because of the emperor's enthusiasm for hunting. Metastasio had already processed motifs from it for Il sogno in 1756 . While the hunt itself did not play a role in the older play, here it becomes the focus of the dramatic plot. In the course of this there are two confrontations between the characters involved. The first discussion is about which of the three girls can take part in the hunt. This heroic rivalry has an equivalent in the Antigone of Sophocles . The subject of gender rivalry is only touched upon briefly, but not elaborated further. Asteria first protests against the fact that heaven has reserved the most beautiful heroic acts for men. In her subsequent aria, however, she limits herself to expressing her desire for fame. After a minimally dramatic plot, there is finally a second "argument" in which Atalanta and Meleagro try to award the other the prize.
La corona does not match the originality of the previous serenatas. The plot and the characters do not take on any deeper form. An example of this is the personality of Asteria, who first refuses to obey Meleagro, but then gives in to Atalanta's wishes. Due to the linear development, the work is nevertheless typical of the poetry of Metastasio.
As in Il Parnaso confuso , Gluck does not consistently break with the old model of the opera seria in his setting . Here, too, most of the arias have embellished repetitions. His sense of humor is noticeable in the distribution of roles: the only male role is sung by the highest soprano , while the youngest girl (Asteria) is designed as a low alto .
Settings
The following composers set this libretto to music:
| year | composer | premiere | Performance location | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1765 | Christoph Willibald Gluck | planned for October 4, 1765 in the Salon de Bataille at Schönbrunn Palace , but not listed | Vienna | "Azione teatrale" |
| 1815 | De Mora | 1815 |
Recordings and performances in recent times
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Christoph Willibald Gluck :
- 1966: concert performance by the Austrian Radio, Studio Innsbruck.
- 1983: Record recording (together with Gluck's La danza ) with the Warsaw Chamber Opera Orchestra and the Bavarian Radio Choir under the direction of Tomasz Bugaj . The singers were: Alicia Slovakiaiewicz (Atalanta), Halina Gorzynská (Meleagro), Lidia Juranek (Climene), Barbara Nowicka (Asteria).
- 1987: Stage premiere in the ceremonial hall (Salon de Bataille) of Schönbrunn Palace.
- 2004: CD with the Queen's Chamber Band under the direction of Rudolph Palmer . The singers were: Julianne Baird (Atalanta), Danielle Munsell Howard (Meleagro), Mary Ellen Callahan (Climene), Patrice Djerejian (Asteria).
literature
- Jacques Joly: Les fêtes théâtrales de Métastase à la cour de Vienne, 1731–1767. Pu Blaise Pascal, 1978, ISBN 978-2845160194 , pp. 396-410
- Max Arend: Gluck - A biography. Schuster & Loeffler, Berlin 1921, p. 211 ( online in the Internet archive )
Web links
Digital copies
- ^ Libretto (Italian) as digitized version at the Munich Digitization Center . In: Opere del signor abate Pietro Metastasio , Volume 11, Herissant, Paris 1782, pp. 119 ff.
Individual evidence
- ^ A b 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 c d e f La corona in Christoph Willibald Gluck. All works at GluckWV-online , accessed on March 31, 2015.
- ^ A b John Ostendorf: Program booklet on the CD by Rudolph Palmer.
- ↑ a b Joly p. 403
- ↑ a b Joly p. 406
- ↑ Joly p. 407
- ↑ a b Christoph Willibald Gluck. In: Andreas Ommer: Directory of all opera complete recordings. Zeno.org , Volume 20, pp. 5475 f.
- ↑ Lionel Salter: Review of the CD Gluck La Corona & La Danza on Gramophone , 3/1988, accessed on August 16, 2018.