Maometto II

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Opera dates
Title: Mohammed II
Original title: Maometto II
Title page of the libretto, Naples 1820

Title page of the libretto, Naples 1820

Shape: Dramma per musica in two acts
Original language: Italian
Music: Gioachino Rossini
Libretto : Cesare della Valle
Literary source: Cesare della Valle: Anna Erizo
Premiere: December 3, 1820
Place of premiere: Teatro San Carlo Naples
Playing time: about 3 hours
Place and time of the action: Negroponte ( Evia ), 1470
people
  • Paolo Erisso, Venetian governor in Negroponte ( tenor )
  • Anna, his daughter ( soprano )
  • Calbo, Venetian General ( alto )
  • Condulmiero, Venetian General (tenor)
  • Maometto II ( Mehmed II. ), Sultan ( bass )
  • Selimo, his confidante (tenor)
  • Women of Negroponte, Muslim women, Venetian and Muslim soldiers ( choir )

Maometto II (also: Maometto secondo ; Eng .: Mohammed II. ) Is an opera (original name: "dramma per musica") in two acts by Gioachino Rossini (music) with a libretto by Cesare della Valle based on his own verse drama Anna Erizo by 1820. The premiere took place on December 3, 1820 in the Teatro San Carlo in Naples.

action

The following table of contents refers to the original version of the opera from 1820. In the Venetian version from 1822, a. a. the tragic end is replaced by a happy one.

The historical background is the siege of the Venetian colony Negroponte on Euboea by the Ottoman sultan and conqueror of Constantinople Mehmet II . To protect his daughter Anna, Erisso wants to marry her to General Calbo. However, she already loves someone else whom she met in Corinth under the name Uberto. It turns out that the supposed Uberto is actually Maometto. Erisso and Calbo are captured while the rest of the Venetian soldiers try to hold the citadel. When Anna and the other Venetian women fell into Maometto's hands, he recognized her as his lover. He promises Erisso and Calbo freedom if she confesses to him. Anna, however, continues to stand by her people and her father. She wed Calbo at her mother's tomb and gave her father a seal that she had received from Maometto. With this they can turn the fortunes of war and defeat the Ottomans. When Maometto confronts her, she stabs herself.

first act

Brightly lit hall in the palace

Scene 1. Paolo Erisso, the Venetian governor of Negroponte, sits pensively at the table. Generals Calbo and Condulmiero as well as other officers surround him and ask about Negroponte's fate (chorus: “Al tuo cenno, Erisso, accolti”). Erisso reports on the current situation: The city has been besieged by Maometto ( Mehmed II ) for two months . They can still hold out, but many brave men have already fallen. Epidemics and hunger take their toll. Erisso asks everyone to submit their proposals to him - he will bow to the majority. Condulmiero is given the floor first. Since he no longer sees any hope, he advises handing over the city. Calbo, on the other hand, prefers to die fighting. After Erisso praises his rousing words, Condulmiero and the other officers agree, swearing that Maometto will see them dead rather than submissive. Erisso sends everyone home to rest once more before the upcoming decisive battle. If they should lose tomorrow, the survivors should gather in the citadel. All but Calbo withdraw. Erisso asks him to take care of the protection of his daughter Anna, as he knows about his love for her.

Anna Erissos's room lit by a lamp

Scene 2. Anna worries about her father Erisso and has to think about her fresh love all the time (Cavatine Anna: “Ah! Che invan sul mesto ciglio”). Erisso and Calbo enter the room. Erisso introduces her to Calbo as protector and future husband. The wedding should take place immediately. Calbo notices her horror and tells her to be honest if she has any objections. He will support them in any case. Anna admits that she is already in love with Uberto, the lord of Mytilene , whom she met in Corinth while Erisso was in Venice. Erisso tells her that Uberto went to Venice with him and stayed there. So your lover must be a cheat. All three are horrified (beginning of the Terzettone Anna / Erisso / Calbo: “Ohimè! Qual fulmine”). The conversation is interrupted by the roar of cannons and alarm calls. Erisso and Calbo take their swords and hurry away. Anna remains moved.

Negroponte town square

Scene 3. There is a church on the right. A large road runs diagonally in the background, most of which is hidden on the left. Until Erisso's appearance, the music suggests a battle in the distance. Occasional gun and musket fire can be heard. Anna learns from a group of frightened women that a traitor has opened the city gates. She kneels in front of the church and prays with them (“Giusto ciel, in tal periglio”). When a drum can be heard and soldiers appear, Anna and the women run towards them. Erisso and Calbo also reappear. Erisso reports that the enemies have overcome the city walls. Fortunately, Maometto interrupted the advance for fear of an ambush. Erisso orders the Venetian troops to the citadel. The women have to stay behind in the city. The pleading of Anna and the other women cannot change his mind. Instead, he gives Anna a dagger, with which she can kill herself in the worst case. They say goodbye to each other in tears. While Erisso and Calbo go to the citadel, the women withdraw into the church.

Scene 4. Muslim soldiers sing of their power after the bloodbath (chorus: “Dal ferro, dal foco”). At the head of the troops Maometto appears surrounded by Asian military pomp. When some of his people want to go to church, he calls them back. He puts his foot on the ground. His vizier Selimo and the other generals follow suit. All bow. Maometto thanks them (Cavatine Maometto: “Sorgete: in sì bel giorno”). He orders part of the troops to attack the citadel. He himself wants to stay in town with the rest. Selimo is surprised at how well Maometto seems to know the city. Maometto replies that even in his father's time he was incognito here and also in Corinth for educational purposes - the memory of this city makes him sigh. The warriors sent away return after they have arrested the fleeing Venetians (chorus: “Signor, di liete nuove”).

Scene 5. Calbo and Erisso are shown in chains. Maometto announces that he wants to make an example of them. Erisso replies that he knows that he actually has Maometto in front of him. In doing so, he drops his name. Maometto flinches - he knows the name Erisso from his time in Corinth. So the prisoner is the father of his mistress at the time. He promises everyone freedom if they can get the citadel's crew to surrender. Erisso is unable to make a decision because of the memory of his daughter and asks Calbo to answer for him. Calbo refuses to hand over the citadel (trio Erisso / Calbo / Maometto: "Giusto ciel, che strazio è questo!"). Maometto orders her to be tortured.

Scene 6. When Erisso and Calbo are about to be taken away, Anna and the other women from the church rush towards them in horror. Anna recognizes her former lover in the cruel enemy of her country (finale: "Ritrovo l'amante"). Everyone is deeply affected. Anna draws her dagger and threatens to kill herself if Maometto does not promise to spare her father and her "brother" (Calbo). Maometto actually lets Erisso's and Calbo's shackles loosen. He assures Anna that he still loves her and that he wants to live with her. Anna doesn't answer. She is torn between him and her father, who can hardly stand the shame.

Second act

Magnificent pavilion Maomettos with oriental luxury items

Scene 1. Anna, overwhelmed by grief, has sat down on a divan. The background of the pavilion opens and shows the town square of the first act. A group of Muslim girls surround her, offer her presents and sing about love (choir “È follia sul fior degli anni”). Anna, indignant, sends her away.

Scene 2. Maometto enters. He understands her conflicts of conscience and offers her marriage and the throne. Her brother and father should also be given power. You have a choice, but remember that it is already in his power. Anna rejects his proposal indignantly and bursts into tears (Duet Anna / Maometto: "Anna ... tu piangi?"). There is noise from outside. The back of the pavilion opens and reveals the town square, where soldiers with drawn swords rush around in disorder. Selimo reports that the force that was supposed to attack the citadel was repulsed by the Venetians. Maometto immediately sends him back to carry out another attack. He assures Anna that nothing will happen to her relatives as long as he has the slightest hope that she will hear him. As proof of his love, he gives her an imperial seal that gives her authority over the soldiers. Then he calls his soldiers to fight and leaves at their head to the sound of military music (Aria Maometto: "All'invito generoso" - choir: "Dell'araba tromba"). Anna has an idea how to restore her honor.

Grave vault below the temple with the tomb of Erissus' wife in the foreground

Scene 3. Erisso and Calbo go into hiding while hoping their people can hold the citadel. Erisso kneels in front of his wife's grave and laments his daughter's infidelity. Calbo, however, defends Anna. When she fell in love with Maometto, she had not known his true identity, and now she only went with him out of compulsion. Her heart is not capable of any treacherous act (Aria Calbo: "Non temer: d'un basso affetto").

Scene 4. Anna appears in the tomb. Since her father initially rejects her, she swears at her mother's grave that she is on his side. Then she gives him Maometto's seal. She wants to save Erisso and Calbo, even though she knows it will cost her life. To do this, she wants to marry Calbo on the spot - the mother's grave is supposed to confirm the marriage instead of a priest. Erisso brings the two hands together in tears and thus carries out the wedding (Terzett Anna, Erisso, Calbo: “In questi estremi istanti”). Then Calbo and Erisso move away with the seal.

Scene 5. Anna has stayed behind at her mother's grave and encourages herself for the second part of her plan, while the prayers of the other women sound from outside (“Alfin compiuta è una metà dell'opra”). The women descend into the vault and tell Anna about the further course of the fighting: Maometto was about to conquer the citadel when Erisso and Calbo suddenly appeared. The tide turned on that. Thousands of the barbarians died and their ruler fled. Now the defeated barbarians are looking for her to take revenge for her betrayal. The women tell them to flee with them. Anna, however, is relieved to have done her duty and awaits death. At that point a group of Muslim soldiers penetrated the vault. Anna asks her to strike. The soldiers are so impressed that they pause. Anna remembers her mother one last time and dedicates her soul to her (“Madre, a te che sull'Empiro”).

Scene 6. Maometto and Selimo join them. Disappointed in Anna, Maometto demands his seal back. She tells him that she gave it to her father and husband, Calbo. Then she stabs herself. Dying, she falls on her mother's grave.

layout

Instrumentation

The orchestral line-up for the opera includes the following instruments:

Music numbers

The opera contains the following musical numbers:

first act

  • No. 1. Introduction: "Al tuo cenno, Erisso, accolti" (scene 1)
  • No. 2. Cavatine (Anna): “Ah! che invan sul mesto ciglio "(scene 2)
  • No. 3 scene: "Pietoso ciel / Figlia / Che veggio!" (Scene 2)
    • Terzettone (Anna, Erisso, Calbo): “Ohimè! qual fulmine "(scene 2)
    • Prayer (Anna, choir): "Giusto ciel, in tal periglio" (scene 3)
  • No. 4. Choir: "Dal ferro, dal foco" (scene 4)
    • Cavatine (Maometto): "Sorgete: in sì bel giorno" (scene 4)
  • No. 5th scene: "Compiuta ancor del tutto" (scene 4)
    • Choir: "Signor, di liete nuove" (scene 4)
    • Trio (Erisso, Calbo, Maometto): "Giusto ciel, che strazio è questo!" (Scene 5)
    • Finale: "Ritrovo l'amante" (scene 6)

Second act

  • No. 6. Choir: "È follia sul fior degli anni" (scene 1)
  • No. 7th scene: “Tacete. Ahimè! Quai detti iniqui ascolto! "(Scene 1)
    • Duet (Anna, Maometto): "Anna ... tu piangi?" (Scene 2)
  • No. 8 scene: "Ma qual tumulto ascolto?" (Scene 2)
    • Aria (Maometto): "All'invito generoso" (scene 2)
    • Choir: "Dell'araba tromba" (scene 2)
  • No. 9 scene: “Seguimi, o Calbo. Fra 'muti sepolcri "(scene 3)
    • Aria (Calbo): "Non temer: d'un basso affetto" (scene 3)
  • No. 10th scene: "Oh, come al cor soavi" (scene 3)
    • Trio (Anna, Erisso, Calbo): "In questi estremi istanti" (scene 4)
  • No. 11. Scene and Finale II: "Alfin compiuta è una metà dell'opra" (Scene 5)
    • Women's choir: “Sventurata! fuggir sol ti resta "(scene 5)

music

The Rossini biographer Richard Osborne describes Maometto II as "one of his grandest pieces of musical architecture". The first act looks like a large exposition to the second act. It is divided into five large numbers that merge into one another, the third of which is known as the “Terzettone” (“oversized Terzett”) and is divided into several subsections. The second act closes with a group of three large blocks, the trio “In questi estremi istanti”, a scene with a choir and the four-part finale.

The opera is richly and colorfully orchestrated. As usual, the drums are used imaginatively by Rossini. In addition, there is the differentiated use of the reinforced brass ensemble, which already has a major significance in the first scene, where it creates a dim mood and is later used with a marching rhythm to underline the patriotic decision of the commanders. Elsewhere, like at the beginning of the terzettone, timpani and brass are also used in declamation. The orchestral recitatives in this opera are also carefully worked out. One of the most haunting passages when Anna dedicates her soul to her mother before Maometto's appearance is designed as a recitative (“Madre, a te che sull'Empiro”, second act, scene 5).

An overture is missing in the first version. It was only added for the performance in Venice in 1822. Instead, there is a short prelude to the opening choir, dominated by winds.

Particularly noteworthy music numbers are:

  • Cavatine (Anna): “Ah! che invan sul mesto ciglio "(first act, scene 2)
  • Terzettone (Anna, Erisso, Calbo): “Ohimè! qual fulmine "(first act, scene 2)
  • Prayer (Anna, choir): "Giusto ciel, in tal periglio" (first act, scene 3)
  • Cavatine (Maometto): "Sorgete: in sì bel giorno" (first act, scene 4)
  • Trio (Erisso, Calbo, Maometto): "Giusto ciel, che strazio è questo!" (First act, scene 5)
  • Choir: "È follia sul fior degli anni" (second act, scene 1)
  • Duet (Anna, Maometto): "Anna ... tu piangi?" (Second act, scene 2)
  • Aria (Maometto): "All'invito generoso" (second act, scene 2)
  • Aria (Calbo): "Non temer: d'un basso affetto" (second act, scene 3)
  • Trio (Anna, Erisso, Calbo): "In questi estremi istanti" (second act, scene 4)
  • Women's choir: “Sventurata! fuggir sol ti resta "(second act, scene 5)

Work history

At the beginning of 1820 Rossini had prepared the performance of the Italian premiere of Spontini's opera Fernand Cortez . This work subsequently influenced his own style, especially with regard to the treatment of the choir and the brass section. In total, there is almost a year between the premiere of his previous opera Bianca e Falliero and that of Maometto II. He was still composing his Messa di Gloria until March . From May he turned to his new opera.

The libretto for the opera is by Cesare della Valle, Duca di Ventignano. He had put it together from his own verse drama Anna Erizo from 1820. The occasional comment that this is based on Voltaire's 1741 tragedy Mahomet, ou Le fanatism has since been refuted. The plot of the libretto described the Rossini biographer Richard Osborne as "pathetic and predictable". Since Cesare della Valle had the reputation of being afflicted with the “evil eye”, the legend spread that Rossini composed most of the opera with his little finger spread and the index finger of his left hand to protect himself with this devil's horn symbol .

The soprano Isabella Colbran (Anna), the contralto Adelaide Comelli / Chaumel (Calbo), the tenors Andrea Nozzari (Paolo Erisso), Giuseppe Ciccimarra (Condulmiero) and Gaetano Chizzola () sang the premiere on December 3, 1820 in the Teatro San Carlo in Naples. Selimo) and the bass Filippo Galli (Maometto II). The performance was not a great success - possibly because the audience noticed Rossini's more developed style than in previous works.

In 1822 Rossini revised the work for the Venice carnival season. He added an overture and a new trio. He also exchanged the originally tragic ending with the final rondò "Tanti affetti" from La donna del lago . The premiere of this version took place on December 26, 1822 in the Teatro La Fenice . Here, too, Isabella Colbran sang Anna and Filippo Galli sang Maometto. The other performers were John Sinclair (Paolo Erisso), Rosa Mariani (Calbo), Luciano Mariani (Condulmiero) and Gaetano Rambaldi (Selimo). The audience received the performance coolly. The Colbran did not sing as well as expected and was whistled one evening. The opera was soon removed from the theater's repertoire.

In 1823 the Maometto was first performed in a German translation by Johann Christoph Grünbaum in Vienna. In 1824/1825 there were a total of fifteen performances at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan. In 1826 the opera was given in Lisbon and Messina, and in 1827 in Barcelona and Palma.

In 1826 Rossini created a French revision of the opera under the title Le siège de Corinthe , which is generally regarded as an opera in its own right. Only this version had greater success. Two years later it was translated back into Italian for Parma as L'assedio di Corinto .

More recently, after a studio recording from 1983 , Maometto II was only brought back to the stage in 1985 at the Rossini Opera Festival Pesaro .

Recordings

Web links

Commons : Maometto II  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Title spelling of the critical edition
  2. ↑ Maometto II. Comments on the critical edition by Patricia B. Brauner, Philip Gossett and Claudio Scimone , accessed on February 8, 2016.
  3. ↑ Maometto II - Numeri musicali on librettidopera.it , accessed on January 19, 2016.
  4. ^ A b c Richard Osborne:  Maometto II. In: Grove Music Online (English; subscription required).
  5. ↑ a b c d e Richard Osborne: Rossini - life and work. Translated from the English by Grete Wehmeyer. List Verlag, Munich 1988, ISBN 3-471-78305-9 .
  6. ^ A b c d Charles Osborne : The Bel Canto Operas of Rossini, Donizetti, and Bellini. Amadeus Press, Portland, Oregon, 1994, ISBN 978-0-931340-71-0 .
  7. ↑ Maometto II - Brani significativi in the work information on librettidopera.it , accessed on February 11, 2016.
  8. ↑ a b c d e f g Herbert Weinstock : Rossini - A biography. Translated by Kurt Michaelis. Kunzelmann, Adliswil 1981 (1968), ISBN 3-85662-009-0 .
  9. ^ Denise P. Gallo: Gioachino Rossini: A Research and Information Guide. 2nd Edition. Routledge, New York 2010, p. 287 ( online in the Google book search)
  10. ^ Record of the performance on December 3, 1820 in the Teatro San Carlo in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna .
  11. ^ A b Maometto secondo (Gioachino Rossini) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna . Retrieved February 8, 2016.
  12. ^ Record of the performance on December 26, 1822 in the Teatro La Fenice in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna .
  13. ↑ a b c Maometto II. In: Reclams Opernlexikon. Digital library volume 52. Philipp Reclam jun., 2001, p. 1609.
  14. ↑ a b c d e f g Gioacchino Rossini. In: Andreas Ommer: Directory of all opera complete recordings. Zeno.org , volume 20.
  15. ↑ Record by Alberto Zedda (1988) in the discography for Maometto II at Operadis.
  16. ^ Recording by Gustav Kuhn (2008) in the discography for Maometto II at Operadis.
  17. ↑ Information on Antonino Fogliani's CD near Naxos, accessed on October 15, 2018.