Le rossignol (opera)

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Work data
Title: Le rossignol
Original title: Соловей (Solowei)
Set design by Alexander Benois, 1914

Set design by Alexander Benois , 1914

Shape: Opera in three acts
Original language: Russian
Music: Igor Stravinsky
Libretto : Stepan Stepanowitsch Mitussow
Literary source: The Emperor's Nightingale by Hans Christian Andersen
Premiere: May 26, 1914
Place of premiere: Salle Garnier of the Paris Opera
Playing time: about 45 minutes
Place and time of the action: China , fairytale imperial times
people
  • The nightingale (high coloratura soprano ), coloratura soubrette
  • The cook ( soprano )
  • Death ( old )
  • The fisherman ( lyric tenor )
  • The emperor ( baritone )
  • Chamberlain (baritone)
  • The bonze ( bass )
  • Three Japanese ambassadors (two tenors, one baritone)
  • Courtiers, spirits ( choir )

Le rossignol (Russian: Соловей, Solowei ) is an opera in three acts by Igor Stravinsky with a libretto by Stepan Stepanowitsch Mitussow based on the fairy tale The Emperor's Nightingale by Hans Christian Andersen .

action

first act

At night the fisherman misses the song of the nightingale at work, which makes him forget the whole world around him. The nightingale appears and sings of the beauty of the surrounding flowers, the moon and the sun. The fisherman listens with enchantment, but another group of listeners is also out and about in the forest: an embassy from the imperial court has set out to find the nightingale with the help of the cook. Irritated by the completely unfamiliar surroundings, they confuse the mooing of a cow and the croaking of a frog with the song of the nightingale, but the cook shows them the right, humble-looking bird. The nightingale receives an invitation to sing for the emperor at the emperor's court and accepts.

Second act

Great uproar at the imperial court heralds the arrival of the nightingale. The cook has to give more information about the bird to curious questions. Finally the emperor appears in person before his court with great pomp. The nightingale sings for him, and the emperor is so touched that he wants to thank the nightingale as a present of his golden slipper, which the emperor wears on a chain around his neck. The nightingale refuses, however. Envoys from the Emperor of Japan bring a present to the Emperor of China: a completely artificially constructed nightingale that delights the whole court. The emperor finally notices that the real nightingale has flown away and banishes her from his empire.

Third act

Time has passed. The emperor is dying, and on his deathbed the ghosts of his past deeds come to remind him of what he has done in his life. The emperor unsuccessfully wants to repel and deny them, calls for music, for drums, but the only one who answers his call is the nightingale. She sings to him about the flowers and the sunshine in the garden and thus drives away the evil spirits. Finally she meets Death, who has also heard her singing and is infatuated by it. The nightingale demands that he return his crown to the emperor before she continues to sing. Death hesitates, but leaves the crown to the emperor. The nightingale demands that he return the scepter and sword as well, and she would sing all night. Death enters into this trade too. The nightingale sings of the beauties of the garden and of the beauties of the other garden that lies behind the white wall. She sings about the garden of death, the graves and the dew that falls on the moss. Death withdraws to go to his garden. The emperor wants to say thank you, but the nightingale rejects the highest position offered at court: the emperor's tears are worth more to her. Convinced that the emperor must have died, the court approaches his bedroom door, but the emperor himself opens it and, to their astonishment, wishes all his courtiers a happy good morning. The opera ends with the fisherman's song.

layout

music

Le rossignol is a thoroughly composed opera of amazing brevity. The title role of the nightingale is played by a high, light and very agile coloratura soprano who also knows how to easily take high notes such as a three-stroke D in piano . Death is embodied in this case by an alto. The entire composition is framed by the lyrical song of the fisherman, whose melody remains unchanged as a distinguishing feature and bridges time and space. Almost characteristic of Stravinsky is the extensive renunciation of cantable melodies, which are only allowed for the fisherman's song, the differentiated use of chromatics and harmonious color changes, which are always clearly and precisely staged, especially by woodwinds. The part of the artificial nightingale, which repeats the same figure over and over, is taken over by the solo oboe , the real nightingale is often accompanied by the flute .

libretto

Andersen's fairy tale is only slightly changed by Mitussow and adapted to the dramatic circumstances of the opera stage, but otherwise follows the course of the story. The original Russian language is mostly retained in performances of the work, but there is a French translation.

history

Emergence

Stravinsky began composing the opera in 1908 but was interrupted by Serge Djagilev in 1909, who asked him to write music for his ballet The Firebird in Paris. After his experiences in Paris with Petrushka and Le sacre du printemps , the composer hesitated to resume work on the opera because his compositional style had changed a lot in the meantime. However, he found a solution, since the turbulent imperial court required a completely different musical color than the calm beginning in the garden. The world premiere by Djagilev's Ballets Russes took place on May 26, 1914 in the Salle Garnier of the Paris Opera . At Dyagilev's initiative, the singers for the roles were placed in the orchestra pit , but the roles were danced on the stage, a previously unknown novelty.

reception

For orchestras, the composer reworked the material he had created in 1917 to create the symphonic orchestral work Le chant du rossignol , which is not identical to the opera. Despite the fairytale-like original and the non-full-length playing time of only 45 minutes, the opera is not a work for children's theater , but a highly poetic gem of opera literature.

Recordings / discography