La grotta di Trofonio

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Work data
Title: La grotta di Trofonio
Original language: Italian
Music: Antonio Salieri
Libretto : Giovanni Battista Casti
Premiere: October 12, 1785
Place of premiere: Burgtheater , Vienna
Playing time: approx. 2 hours and 20 minutes
people
  • Trofonio , magician and philosopher ( bass )
  • Aristone , businessman (bass)
  • Ofelia , daughter of Aristone ( mezzo-soprano )
  • Dori , twin sister of Ofelia ( soprano )
  • Artemidoro , fiance of Ofelia ( tenor )
  • Plistene , fiancé of Dori (tenor)
  • Choir of the cave spirits

La grotta di Trofonio ( Eng . The Cave of Trofonius ) is an opera comica in two acts by Antonio Salieri . It is based on a text by Giovanni Battista Casti . The first performance took place on October 12, 1785 in the Burgtheater in Vienna.

After the failure of Salieri's first collaboration with Lorenzo da Ponte , the composer turned to his opponent Casti, who was to write three other librettos for Salieri in addition to the Trofonio :

In all of Casti's opera texts one encounters satirical elements, in La grotta di Trofonio above all the fear of the supernatural, which was particularly rampant at the time of its creation, is alluded to. Salieri responds to the linguistically skilful, but somewhat template-like model Castis with an extremely subtle, colorful music that makes a significant contribution to the development of the musical character of the protagonists. The ingenious use of the woodwinds is particularly noteworthy (for example a cavatina accompanied by only two English horns and a bassoon). Salieri uses distinctive orchestral colors (for example timpani tuned in tritone) and a male choir singing behind the scene ( Coro di spirti dentro la grotta ) to describe the supernatural in an ironic way .

The opera enjoyed great popularity immediately after its premiere: the score was published by Artaria in the year of its premiere , and the work was performed in numerous translations across Europe ( Luigi Cherubini composed a number of interludes especially for a Paris performance ). There are numerous contemporary piano reductions and arrangements for string quartet or wind ensembles. Whole cycles of variations were composed over individual arias of the work, including a. by Giuseppe Sarti and Johann Baptist Vanhal .

After very sporadic performances in recent times (including 1974 in Naples and 1975 in Verona) the work experienced an extremely successful scenic revival in 2005 in Lausanne and Poissy under the direction of Christophe Rousset ; In the same year there was a concert performance at the Wiener Konzerthaus. In 2006 a post-production of the performances under Christophe Rousset was released on CD. As a co-production with Opera Las Palmas / Gran Canaria, the Zurich Opera House opens its 2009/10 season with a new production of the opera. The Overture to Trofonio has been recorded several times on CD and can also be found more often on concert programs.

In a version for harmony music by the composer Timo Jouko Herrmann (* 1978), the work was performed several times by the armonia brass ensemble of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and recorded for radio (MDR).

In 2015 the Bampton Classical Opera gave the first production in English.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Salieri: La Grotta di Trofonio - Christophe Rousset, Les Talens Lyriques. CD information from Allmusic , accessed January 8, 2015.
  2. ↑ La grotta di Trofonio. Retrieved June 3, 2020 .