Odysseus' homecoming
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| Title: | Odysseus' homecoming |
| Shape: | Opera |
| Original language: | German |
| Music: | August Bungert |
| Libretto : | August Bungert |
| Premiere: | December 12, 1896 |
| Place of premiere: | Dresden Court Opera |
| Place and time of the action: | Ithaca , ten years after the Trojan War |
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Odysseus' Homecoming is the third part of the tetralogy Homeric World by the composer August Bungert .
He also wrote the libretto for it. Its premiere saw this play on 12 December 1896 Ernst von Schuch at the Court Opera in Dresden . This work can be found in Bungert's catalog raisonné as “op. 30/3 ".
action
Prelude to "Telemachos' Exit"
Sea beach near Ithaca
Athena passes by singing. In order to get closer to their plan to marry Penelopeia or to become king of Ithaca, the suitors plan the murder of Telemachus, the son of Penelopeias, together. After some hesitation, Hyperion also joins this plan. With the help of Eumaios, Telemachus equips a ship to look for his father.
first act
grotto
Odysseus sleeps in a grotto. When he wakes up, he no longer recognizes his home. Then Athena appears to him and takes the spell from him and he sees himself with joy and amazement in his now familiar home. Athena asks Odysseus to be very careful and therefore disguises himself as a beggar. On the way to his palace, he realizes with horror what has changed. To his administrator Eumaios he pretends to be Odysseus' messenger and demands to be taken to Penelopeia. When Telemachos is about to be murdered by the suitors, Odysseus rushes to his aid. To the horror of the suitors, Laertes announces the imminent arrival of the King of Ithaca - Odysseus.
Second act
A garden by the sea
You can hear the chorus of girls and suitors.
Metamorphosis - the ballroom in the palace of Odysseus
Penelopeia sits at her loom and laments her fate. As she prays for her husband to return home, Hyperion appears. Penelopeia is shocked to realize that he too wants to marry her in order to become king. When the other suitors rush up and scream for a decision, she promises them this for the next day. She wants to host a competition and she wants to marry the winner. The wedding should be considered the highlight of the victory celebration.
Third act
Courtyard of the Palace of Odysseus
Penelopeia appears and the competition can begin. It is to be carried out with the legendary bow of Odysseus. Telemachos is the first to try, but like him, everyone else's attempts are in vain. Finally, Odysseus (disguised as a beggar) asks for the favor of trying his luck. Since it is his bow, he can solve this task very easily. Odysseus secretly reveals himself to his son Telemachus. When one of the losers throws a footstool at him in anger, this is the welcome occasion for the bloody reckoning. With his companions who have now arrived, Odysseus kills all suitors and remains victor. Then when Penelopeia lies cheering in his arms, the curtain falls.
literature
- August Bungert: Odysseus' homecoming. Music tragedy in three acts (Homeric World; 3). Publisher Leede, Leipzig 1987.