Piramo e Tisbe
| Opera dates | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Pyramus and Thisbe |
| Original title: | Piramo e Tisbe |
Title page of the libretto, Vienna 1770 |
|
| Shape: | Intermezzo tragico |
| Original language: | Italian |
| Music: | Johann Adolph Hasse |
| Libretto : | Marco Coltellini |
| Literary source: | Ovid , Metamorphoses |
| Premiere: | November 1768 |
| Place of premiere: | Vienna |
| Playing time: | about 2 hours |
| Place and time of the action: | Ancient Babylon |
| people | |
Piramo e Tisbe (German: Pyramus and Thisbe ) is an operatic intermezzo (original name: "intermezzo tragico") in two acts by Johann Adolph Hasse based on an Italian libretto by Marco Coltellini , which takes up the love story between Pyramus and Thisbe , as Ovid did describes in his Metamorphoses . It was premiered in November 1768 in Vienna . A revised version was given in Laxenburg in 1770 .
action
The Babylonian lovers Piramo and Tisbe have been promised each other since childhood. Now a dispute has broken out between the two families, and Tisbe's father plans to marry her off to another man.
first act
A papered room in the Tisbe house
First Scene. Tisbe longs for her lover Piramo. He appears and they hug each other. Since the house is guarded, Piramo has laboriously worked at night to create a secret entrance. He also persuaded his friends to mediate with their parents. If that should fail, a royal order will bring them to reason if necessary. Piramo leaves when they hear Tisbe's father approach.
Second scene. Tisbe's father was asked by various friends, noblemen and a royal decree to approve the connection between the two. Now he asks his daughter if she still loves Piramo despite the family feud. When she says yes, he accuses her of ingratitude. Tisbe agrees to forego Piramo if necessary - but she can never accept another man. However, the father remains tough. Everything has already been prepared for the wedding. Even if he were to leave the country on the orders of the king, he would never give up his hatred of the Piramos family.
Third scene. After the father leaves, Piramo returns. The two complain about the cruel fate. Not wanting to come to terms with it, they decide to flee that night. They want to meet at the edge of the forest at the tomb of Ninos . Plagued by bad premonitions, they separate.
Second act
An ancient forest of cypress trees and tall, sad trees that shade the tomb of Ninos that protrudes on one side. A night lit by the moon.
First Scene. Tisbe was the first to arrive at the tomb and eagerly awaits the arrival of Piramos. When she hears the roar of a lion, she flees in fear, losing her veil and a box of precious stones that she had taken with her. A lion, still covered with blood from his last meal, appears to the sound of a short symphonia, tears and soils the veil, drinks briefly from a spring and then withdraws again.
Second scene. Piramo also comes to the meeting point. At first he thinks he was the first to arrive and is glad that Tisbe doesn't have to wait for him in solitude. After a while he discovers the scattered gemstones and the bloody veil of Tisbes. He believes she was attacked and killed by a wild animal. Nevertheless, it does not bring himself to look for her, since the sight of the corpse would distort her beautiful image in his heart. In his grief he stabs himself and falls half dead at the foot of the tomb.
Third scene. At dawn Tisbe returns and sees the dying Piramo who explains his deed to her. Since Tisbe doesn't want to live without him, she stabs herself too. You die in a deep embrace.
Last scene. Tisbe's father comes angry with a retinue of armed men and sees them both. At first he thinks they fell asleep while making love, but then he sees the sword and the blood. He is appalled that his severity has had such consequences and stabs himself too.
history
Piramo e Tisbe is Hasse's penultimate opera. He wrote it during his time in Vienna, where he had turned in 1763 after his release from Dresden. The commission for the play, which was to be performed in a private theater, he received in 1768 from a French lady of society. The premiere took place in November 1768, according to Corago possibly in the Burgtheater . A revised version was performed several times in Laxenburg in 1770 in the presence of the imperial family. Two "Balli" (ballet interludes), which were performed at the end of the two acts and whose music was probably composed by Hasse, also come from this period. There were other contemporary performances in Potsdam (summer 1771), Hamburg (1774), Berlin (around 1775 and 1782) and Dresden (1775).
The librettist was Marco Coltellini , an Italian tenor and publisher who was open to innovations in music theater and whose works were also set to music by Gluck (Telemaco) , Mozart ( La finta semplice ) and Haydn (L'infedeltà delusa) .
In May 2010 the work was performed in concert at the Salzburg Whitsun Festival with the Ensemble Europa Galante under the direction of Fabio Biondi . Vivicagenaux (Piramo), Desirée Rancatore (Tisbe) and Emanuele d'Aguanno (father) sang .
In June 2012 there was a staged performance at the Potsdam Sanssouci Music Festival . Andrea Marchiol was the musical director. Directed by Igor Folwill . David Hansen and Vince Yi (Piramo), Bénédicte Tauran (Tisbe) and Carlo Vincenzo Allemano (father) sang .
In 2016 the work was performed by the Ensemble Teatro Barocco under the direction of Emanuel Schmelzer-Ziringer in the library of Altenburg Abbey . They made music on original instruments according to the written records of the composer in a reduced line-up. The staging came from Bernd R. Bienert , who was based on the baroque performance practice and the style of gestures and the stage design of Hasse's time. Megan Kahts (Tisbe), Maria Taytakova (Piramo) and Peter Widholz (father) sang . In 2017, this production was also shown at the former location from 1770, the Laxenburg Palace Theater.
layout
In terms of style, Piramo e Tisbe differs significantly from Hasse's earlier works. The traditional form of the da capo aria was broken up, reprises were shortened and the simpler three-part song form was used. The two main characters Piramo and Tisbe each have four arias and three duets together. Two arias are planned for Tisbe's father. Although the roles were originally sung by amateurs, they are sophisticated. In contrast to Hasse's other operas, this intermezzo mainly contains orchestral accompaniment instead of the usual secco recitatives . Because the arias and duets often lead into the following recitative without a final cadence, it appears to have been through-composed in a modern way for the time . However, Hasse continued to forego a musical and dramatic arrangement of the text in line with his ideal of “noble simplicity” and sensitivity. Hasse himself considered Piramo e Tisbe to be one of his best works, as he wrote in a letter dated November 19, 1768 to his composer friend Giammaria Ort . The work impresses with its rich orchestration and strong chromatics . The use of the keys is also of particular importance within the structure of the work.
Recordings
- Capella Clementina, conductor: Helmut Müller-Brühl ; Barbara Schlick (Piramo), Suzanne Gari (Tisbe), Michel Lecocq (father). Schwann CD: 3-1088 2, Schwann LP: VMS 4527, 1984
- La Stagione Frankfurt, conductor: Michael Schneider ; Barbara Schlick (Piramo), Ann Monoyios (Tisbe), Wilfried Jochens (father). Capriccio CD: 60 043-2, 1993/1995
- San Rocco Academy Orchestra (live from Venice), conductor: Mario Merigo; Svetlana Svorodova (Piramo), Marina Bolgan (Tisbe), Emanuele Giannino (father). Mondo Musica, 1997/2000
Web links
- Piramo e Tisbe (Hasse, Johann Adolph) : Sheet music and audio files in the International Music Score Library Project
- Libretto (Italian), 1770. Digital copy from the Berlin State Library .
- Libretto as full text ( German and Italian ) on operone.de
- Performances (1770–1830) of Piramo e Tisbe in the DFG opera project
- Work data on Piramo e Tisbe based on the MGG with discography at Operone
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Sven Hansell: Piramo e Tisbe. In: Grove Music Online (English; subscription required).
- ↑ a b c d e f Britta Schilling, Michael Schneider: Supplement to the CD Piramo e Tisbe. Capriccio CD: 60 043-2.
- ↑ a b Piramo e Tisbe (Johann Adolf Hasse) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna
- ↑ Piramo e Tisbe in the program of the Salzburg Festival , accessed on October 22, 2015.
- ↑ Thomas Molke: Review of the performance at the Potsdam Sanssouci Music Festival 2012 , accessed on October 22, 2015.
- ↑ Article of July 14, 2012 about the performance of the Potsdam Sanssouci Music Festival , accessed on October 22, 2015.
- ^ Teatro Barocco: "Piramo e Tisbe" in Altenburg Abbey. In: Tanzschrift, June 28, 2016.
- ↑ Press report of the Kronen Zeitung , June 10, 2017.
- ↑ a b c Johann Adolf Hasse. In: Andreas Ommer: Directory of all opera complete recordings. Zeno.org , volume 20.