Nina (opera)
| Work data | |
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| Title: | Nina |
| Original title: | Nina ossia La pazza per amore |
Title page of the libretto, Naples 1789 |
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| Shape: | Opera semiseria in two acts |
| Original language: | Italian |
| Music: | Giovanni Paisiello |
| Libretto : | Giuseppe Carpani and Giambattista Lorenzi |
| Literary source: | Nina, ou La folle par amour by Benoît-Joseph Marsollier des Vivetières |
| Premiere: | June 25, 1789 |
| Place of premiere: | Palace of Caserta |
| Playing time: | about 2 hours |
| Place and time of the action: | Italy in the 18th century |
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Nina ossia La pazza per amore (common German titles: Nina or Die Wahnsinnige aus Liebe or Nina or Die Liebesnärrin ) is an opera (original name: "Commedia in prosa, ed in verso per musica") in two acts by the Italian composer Giovanni Paisiello . The opera, which premiered in 1789, is about a woman who loses her mind because of lovesickness.
action
first act
Nina sleeps in the garden while the peasants sing her a lullaby ( introduction Dormi, o cara ). Elisa tells Giorgio about Nina's fate: Nina and Lindoro love each other and were engaged . The count wanted to give Nina to a richer man to wife. In a duel , Lindoro was injured by his rival, so that everyone believes he is dead. Nina has gone mad with grief and despair . The count laments the fate of his daughter ( recitative and aria Oh cara! Oh amata! - È si fiero il mio tormento ). Giorgio urges the Count not to lose hope (Arie Del suo mal non v'affligete ). Nina wakes up and complains about Lindoro, while the count watches her in secret (recitative and aria Questa è l'ora - Il mio ben quando verrà ). The country people share in Nina's fate (Chorus Ah, dove mai s'intese ). Nina sings a self-composed lament with the country folk ( Ensemble Lontana da te ). The count approaches Nina, but she does not recognize him. The sad scene is accompanied by the song of a shepherd (aria Già il sol cala ). Nina continues to complain about Lindoro, while everyone else regrets her ( Finale Come! Ohimè! Partir degg'io ).
Second act
Elisa assures the count that she will continue to take care of Nina (Aria Per l'amata padroncina ). Excited, Giorgio rushes over and reports that Lindoro is still alive ( Cavatina Eccellenza; allegramente ... ). Lindoro comes, the count assures him that Nina still loves him ( duet Son io more o pur deliro ). The count tells Lindoro about Nina's condition. Lindoro waits to meet Nina (Cavatine, recitative and aria Questo è dunque il loco usato - O cara, of fido seggio - Rendila al fido amante ). The country folk cheer Nina up and promise her that she will soon be healthy again (ensemble with choir Cantiam, Nina, cantiamo ). When they meet again, Nina does not recognize her fiancé at first, but then they embrace cheering (duet Oh momento fortunato ). Nina comes to and recognizes Lindoro again, the count now agrees to the marriage (recitative and finale Cara Elisa, ei sa tutto - Mi sento… oh Dio!… Che calma! ).
Orchestral line-up
The line-up of the opera includes the following instruments:
- two flutes
- two oboes
- two clarinets
- two bassoons
- two horns
- Bagpipes (can be replaced by two oboes and a bassoon)
- Strings
Work history
Paisiello wrote Nina on behalf of King Ferdinand of Sicily . The text is based on the French opera Nina, ou La folle par amour by Joseph-Benoît Marsollier de Vivetières (libretto) and Nicolas Dalayrac (music) from 1786. It is said to be based on a true story, which Laurence Sterne for the Figure who is said to have used Maria de Moulines in Tristam Shandy .
The first performance of the original one-act version took place on June 25, 1789 in the Belvedere of the Royal Palace in San Leucio near Caserta. Celeste Coltellini (Nina), Gustavo Lazzarini (Lindoro), Luigi Tasca (Conte), Camilla Guida (Susanna), Giuseppa Trabalza (Giorgio) and Pasquale De Giovanni (Pastore) sang .
In 1790 Paisiello performed a revised two-act version at the Teatro dei Fiorentini in Naples (Nina: Celeste Coltellini, Lindoro / Shepherd: Giacomo David ). In a third version, which was performed for the first time in 1793 (Carnival 1794), the spoken dialogues were replaced by recitatives - possibly not written by Paisiello himself .
Nina was one of the greatest operatic successes of its time and was performed on almost all Italian stages until the 19th century. The title character was a prime role for famous singers like Isabella Colbran and Giuditta Pasta .
meaning
Paisiello's contemporaries already praised the elegance, simplicity and beauty of the music. The opera is poor in action - the duel between Lindoro and his rival takes place before the opera begins - so the music is in the foreground.
The original name of the work, "Commedia", refers to the opera buffa genre . Typical for this are the roles with a couple in love, a father and two servants as well as the musical and dramatic structure. In terms of content, however, Nina differs significantly from a typical buffa opera. The French model belongs to the comédie larmoyante type , in which the comic is no longer emphasized, but the emotional. Before Paisiello, in Italy such materials were usually enriched with buffo elements, the typical intrigues and entanglements, as Carlo Goldoni had done in 1760 in the libretto of Piccini's La buona figliuola (an adaptation of Richardson's novel Pamela ). Nina does without such ingredients, but concentrates exclusively on the title character. It is therefore no longer a buffa, but a prototype of the opera semiseria genre . At the same time, because of her “madness”, the character of Nina is the forerunner of many heroines in Italian operas of the 19th century, such as Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor by Gaetano Donizetti .
Many parts of the music are characterized by the agile, plastic and witty style of the Neapolitan opera buffa , but especially the pathetic, elegiac and elegant parts of Nina reveal a new taste.
A special feature is the shepherd's song, which is accompanied by a kind of bagpipe .
Web links
- Nina, R.1.78 : Sheet music and audio files in the International Music Score Library Project
- Libretto (Italian), Naples 1789. Digitized at Google Books
- Work information and libretto (Italian) as full text on librettidopera.it
- Nina, o sia La pazza per amore (Giovanni Paisiello) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna
- Plot and libretto of it at Opera Guide landing page for URL upgrade currently unavailable
- Manuscripts and performances (1770–1830) by Nina Ossia La pazza per amore in the DFG opera project
- Detailed information about the opera on Bampton Classical Opera (English) ( Memento of 25 October 2012 at the Internet Archive )
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Silke Leopold : Nina ossia La pazza per amore. In: Piper's Encyclopedia of Musical Theater . Volume 4: Works. Massine - Piccinni. Piper, Munich / Zurich 1991, ISBN 3-492-02414-9 , pp. 643-645.
- ↑ Information on the work on librettidopera.it, accessed on August 27, 2017.
- ↑ Supplement to the CD Nina o sia la pazza per amore , Bongiovanni, GB 2054 / 55-2, p. 10