Proserpine

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Opera dates
Title: Proserpine
Original title: Proserpine
Ulpiano Checa: The Rape of Proserpine (1888)

Ulpiano Checa: The Rape of Proserpine (1888)

Shape: Opera in one act
Original language: Swedish
Music: Joseph Martin Kraus
Libretto : Johan Henrik Kellgren , Gustav III.
Literary source: Philippe Quinault : Proserpine
Premiere: June 1, 1781
Place of premiere: Ulriksdal Castle near Stockholm
Playing time: approx. 2-3 hours
Place and time of the action: Sicily, mythical time
people

Proserpin (German: Proserpina ) is an opera in one act (VB 19) by Joseph Martin Kraus (music) with a libretto by Johan Henrik Kellgren based on a draft by Gustav III. The plot is loosely based on Philippe Quinault's Proserpine from 1680 and the myth of the robbery of Proserpine . The opera premiered on June 1, 1781 in Ulriksdal Palace near Stockholm.

action

The opera is set in Sicily. There the young man Atis fell in love with the goddess Proserpin , a daughter of Jupiter and the fertility goddess Ceres , and because of her cast out his fiancée Cyane . Pluto , the god of the underworld, also falls in love with Proserpine. He kidnaps her into his realm after he has found her whereabouts with the help of Cyane. In Sicily everyone looks in vain for her. Atis' grief over her loss is so great that he throws himself into the flames of Mount Etna to put an end to his life. Cyane follows him into the underworld. She is hoping for an accommodation from Pluto, who had promised her to reunite with Atis for her betrayal. In fact, she can leave the underworld with him and inform Ceres about her daughter's new place of residence there. Since Ceres neglects her tasks on earth due to her grief and the harvests are deteriorating, Jupiter has an understanding. He lets his messenger Mercurius announce that Proserpine will live alternately with him and on earth in the future. In the final scene he descends personally from heaven and ensures a general reconciliation.

Scene 1. Atis and a group of Sicilian soldiers celebrate Jupiter's victory over the rebellious giants who dared to attack the sky (chorus: “Jupiter, Gudarnes Gud vare era!”). A festival in honor of the fertility goddess Ceres is planned. Everyone hopes that she will soon come back to Sicily, where her daughter Proserpin lives (Sicilian chorus: "Kom snart, kom snart igen välgörande Gudinna!").

Scene 2. Atis suffers from his hopeless love for the goddess Proserpine (Aria Atis: “En grym Volcan min själ förtär”). It was because of her that he left his former lover, Cyanes.

Scene 3. Cyane begs Atis to return to her (duet Cyane / Atis: “Ack, kom min Atis, kom tilbaka”). Atis refuses and flees.

Scene 4. Cyane does not have the strength to develop feelings of revenge against Atis, whom she still loves despite everything.

Scene 5. Pluto appears with his entourage, whom he sends away shortly afterwards. Since he also loves Proserpine (Aria Pluto: “Ack kärlek, kärlek dina skott”), he asks Cyane for support in winning her over. As a reward she should get Atis back. After some hesitation, Cyane reveals Proserpin's whereabouts.

Scene 6. Proserpine and her nymphs dance to praise the beauty and peace of nature (choir: “Frid och vackra dagar himlen återger” - Proserpin's aria with choir: “Ack, hvad behag ett hjerta njuter”). The nymphs disperse to collect flowers.

Scene 7. Pluto emerges from between the trees. He calls the gods of the underworld who surround Proserpine, who is left alone (duet Proserpine / Pluto with chorus: “O heaven, heaven mig försvara!” - chorus: “Kom! Kom frugta ingen fara”). Pluto tries to calm her down, confesses his love to her and promises that nothing will happen to her. The gods lead them on Pluto's chariot, which then sinks into the depths.

Scene 8. Proserpin's nymphs search in vain for their mistress on their return (chorus nymphs: “Proserpine, Proserpine! Vi ropa dig”). One of the nymphs sees Proserpin's mother Ceres in the clouds. The nymphs flee because they do not want to see her pain over the loss of their daughter.

Scene 9. Looking forward to seeing her daughter again soon, Ceres gets off her car (Aria Ceres: “Jag ager denna pant utaf den ömhet quar”). Worried about the unexpected silence, she summons the nymphs and forest gods.

Scene 10. When the nymphs and forest gods tell her what happened, she sends everyone to look for her daughter (choir with recitative: “Ceres, Ceres hvilken smärta”).

Scene 11. Ceres begs her former lover Jupiter (Proserpin's father) for help (Aria Ceres: “O, Joefur! I hvars ömma bröst”).

Scene 12. Nymphs, forest gods and Sicilians search for Proserpine together with torches, but she does not answer her calls (chorus: “Proserpin, Proserpin, vi ropa dig”).

Scene 13. Atis also suffers from the loss of his loved one. After searching the entire island in vain, he wants to throw himself into Etna to put an end to his life (Aria Atis: “För lifvet jag fasar”).

Scene 14. A group of bacchants , Silenians , fauns and satyrs emerge from the forest. As followers of Bacchus , they abhor mourning. They take Atis in order to carry it on with them (aria Bacchant with chorus: “Här lifvas allt af Bacchi lagar” - ballet - “Af den dyrkan Bacchus njuter”), but have to leave without having achieved anything.

Scene 15. Atis single-mindedly climbs the heights of Mount Etna and throws himself into the flames.

Scene 16. Cyane arrives too late to save Atis. She complains full of guilt about the loss of her lover (Arie Cyane: "Ack, förskräckliga brott!"). Her last hope is Pluto, who promised her reward for her betrayal. She descends into the underworld.

A dark and desolate wasteland with the Temple of Ceres in the background

Scene 17. Ceres, nymphs and Sicilians complain about Proserpin's absence (Ceres and choir: “Gudar! Värdens ej försaka” - “Kommen åter, sälla dagar”). The fertility of the earth is now also suffering from Ceres' grief. She sends the others away because she can no longer bear their homage.

Scene 18. Ceres, who feels mocked by the gods, tries to stifle her tears (Aria Ceres: “Mörka öknar! Låt mig dölja i ert sköte mina tårar”).

Scene 19. Atis and Cyane rise from the abyss and tell Ceres that Proserpine is now living in Pluto's realm and reciprocating his love. They try to console her with the fact that Proserpine was a great honor (Terzett Ceres / Cyane / Atis: "Hvad större qual kan väl en moder").

Scene 20. Mercurius, the messenger of the gods, descends from heaven in a cloud. He announces that Jupiter has decided to show justice and mercy. From now on, Proserpine should alternately live with Pluto and with her mother.

Scene 21. Heaven opens and Jupiter descends with the heavenly gods. Pluto, Proserpine and the gods of the underworld come up from the abyss. After mother and daughter are happily reunited, Ceres also forgives Pluto. Jupiter once again calls for reconciliation (Aria Jupiter: "Gå, Pluto, gå, at din maka njuta"), and everyone praises his mild and just commandment together (chorus: "Gudar och menskjor och skuggor beprisen Jupiters milda och rättvisa lay! ").

layout

The music of the opera testifies to the "almost fanatical admiration for Gluck" (according to Hans Åstrand) of the composer, who rejected the old doctrine of affect and the formal aesthetics of the Enlightenment and Da Capo arias and fugues in his pamphlet Something from and about music for 1777 had mocked. Åstrand described the work as “a youthful attempt to create a soulful, ancient symbolic drama with a constantly compassionate and lively orchestral accompaniment”. The individual music numbers are often linked to one another without a break. Fourteen choirs face only ten arias, which are designed in the more modern, large two-part form or as a three-part “reprise aria”. Kraus avoids classic da capo arias. In the final part of the opera and for the more intimate parts he uses “Singrondos” or song-like three-part “Quasirondos”, as the musicologist and Kraus biographer Richard Engländer called these forms.

With the exception of two four-bar passages, the more than twenty recitatives are all composed as an accompaniment. They are tied into the dramatic plot and often abruptly interrupt the other pieces. The orchestral accompaniment is characterized by frequent changes in dynamics, with the quieter varieties "p", "pp" and "ppp" being preferred over the forte. Richard Engländer said that Kraus was a "piano fetishist". Expressive chromatics are often found in the quiet parts in particular. In addition to the expression, he also wanted the orchestra not to cover the vocal part. When the singers are used, a pianissimo is regularly noted in the orchestral parts. The varied harmonics and the often gloomy orchestration correspond to the music style of Sturm und Drang . Typical for Kraus are short expressive Largo parts within the arias, which are opposed to violent emotional outbursts.

One of the most successful passages is the nocturnal search for Proserpine in the twelfth scene. Richard Engländer described it as "a notturno lugubre of compelling power in the claire-obscure of the torches".

orchestra

According to the score, the orchestral line-up of the opera includes the following instruments:

Music numbers

The opera contains the following musical numbers in the autograph manuscript (the numbers in Bertil van Boer's catalog raisonné in square brackets ; the texts there also differ slightly):

  • Overture: Largo in C major alla breve
  • No. 1. Choir (Sicilians): "Jupiter, Gudarnes Gud vare era!" (Scene 1)
  • No. 2. Recitative (Atis): "Så frögdom oss åt våra glada dar"
  • No. 3. Choir (Sicilians): "Kom snart, kom snart igen välgörande Gudinna!"
  • No. 4. Recitative (Atis): “You Gudamagt, som sorg och glädje delar, förlåt en cheap klagoröst!” (Scene 2)
  • No. 5 [4a]. Aria (Atis): "En grym Volcan min själ förtär"
  • No. 6 [5]. Recitative (Atis): “Och vore jag olycklig blott, men ack! jag äfven brottslig blifvit "
  • No. 7 [6]. Duet (Cyane, Atis): "Ack, kom min Atis, kom tilbaka" (scene 3)
  • No. 8 [7]. Duettino (Cyane, Atis): “Com! oh old förlåtit är "
  • No. 9 [8]. Recitative (Cyane, [Pluto]): "Han flyr ... Och jag bedrag lämnas ..." (scene 4)
  • No. 10 [9]. Aria (Pluto): "Ack kärlek, kärlek dina skott til heaven, jord och afgrund hinna" (scene 5)
    • [No. 10.] Recitative: Cyane, listen, hunt vet den oförrätt (Pluto, Cyane)
  • No. 11. Choir ([Proserpin], nymphs): "Frid och vackra dagar himlen återger" (scene 6)
  • No. 12. Aria with choir (Proserpine, Nymphs): "Ack, hvad behag ett hjerta njuter"
    • [No. 13.] Recitative (Proserpine): "Snart Ceres comma lär"
    • Ballet (music is missing in the score)
  • No. 13 [14]. [Scene and] recitative (Proserpine): "Täcka blommor, fältets heder" (scene 7)
    • Recitative (Pluto, Proserpine): “Afgrundsgudar skynden eder! Hvad creepy roast jag hear! "
  • No. 14 [-]. Duet with choir (Proserpin, Pluto, gods of the underworld): "O heaven, heaven mig försvara!"
    • [No. 15]. Chorus (gods of the underworld): “Com! Kom frugta ingen fara "
    • [No. 16]. Recitative (a nymph): “Hvad grymma klagorop! till mina ögon "
  • No. 15 [16a]. Chorus (nymphs): “Proserpine, Proserpine! vi ropa dig "(scene 8)
  • No. 16 [-]. Recitative (first nymph, nymphs): “Hon hoppas här sin dotter återse” - [No. 16b]. "Ack här blir vår smärta ny"
  • No. 17. Recitative (Ceres): "Jag hela verlden lycklig gjort" (scene 9)
  • No. 18 (according to autograph) [17a]. (Ceres): "Jag ager denna pant utaf den ömhet quar" - "Hvad denna hugkomst mig förnöjer"
  • No. 18 (according to printed notes). Recitative (Ceres): "Men, hvad kan detta dröjsmål båda?"
  • No. 19. Choir with recitative (Ceres, one of the nymphs, nymphs, forest gods): "Ceres, Ceres hvilken smärta" (scene 10)
  • No. 20. Aria (Ceres): “O, Joefur! i hvars ömma bröst jag fordom tändt en ljuflig låga "(scene 11)
  • No. 21. Choir (nymphs, forest gods, Sicilians): "Proserpine, Proserpine, vi ropa dig" (scene 12)
  • No. 22. Recitative (Atis): "Förgäfves all vår möda var" (scene 13)
  • No. 23 [22a]. Aria (Atis): "För lifvet jag fasar, med gruflighet rasar en eld i mitt bröst"
  • No. 24 [23]. Recitative (a bacchant): "Hvem är väl du, som dig beklagar uppå den ort där nöjet rår?" (Scene 14)
  • No. 25 [24]. Aria (a Bacchant) with choir: "Här lifvas allt af Bacchi lagar" - "Ja lydom villigt Bacchi lagar"
  • No. 26 [25]. Recitative (first bacchant): "Men räds, om du hans nåd försmår"
  • No. 27 [26]. Balletto (instrumental): "De fatta uti honom och vilja föra honom med sig"
  • No. 28 [27]. Aria (Faun) with choir: "Af den dyrkan Bacchus njuter mister Astrild ej sin rätt" - "Lycklig dårskap yra nöjen"
  • No. 29 [28]. Recitative (Atis): "Nej, ingen gudamagt en kärlek kan förstöra" (scene 15)
  • No. 30 [29]. Aria (Cyane): “Ack, förskräckliga brott! hvilken grymhet jag öfvat "(scene 16)
    • [No. 30]. Recitative (Cyane): "Dock än uti mitt bröst jag hoppet vågar Nära"
  • No. 31. Choir (Ceres, Nymphs, Sicilians, general choir): “Gudar! värdens ej försaka den förtryckta dygdens roast "(scene 17)
  • No. 32 [-]. Choir (general choir): "Kommen åter, sälla dagar"
  • No. 33 [32]. Recitative (Ceres): “Gån! mig er dyrkan ej behagar "(scene 18)
  • No. 34 [32a]. Aria (Ceres): “Mörka öknar! låt mig dölja i ert sköte mina tårar "
  • No. 35 [33]. Recitative (Ceres, Cyane, Atis): "Men ... djupet öpnar sig och jag Cyane skådar" - "Gudinna vet ... men först jag dig besvär" - "Värdig var at blifva Plutos brud"
  • No. 36 [34]. Trio (Ceres, Cyane, Atis): "Hvad större qual kan väl en moder" (scene 19)
  • No. 37 [35]. Recitative (Mercurius, Ceres): "Gudinna låt din själ af glädens strålar lifvas" (scene 20)
    • [No. 36]. Recitative (Ceres, Proserpine, Pluto): “Min dotter! Ack, min mor! "
  • No. 38 [37]. Aria (Jupiter): "Gå, Pluto, gå, at din maka njuta" (scene 21)
  • No. 39 [-]. Choir (general choir, heavenly, earthly and subterranean gods): "Gå, Pluto, gå, at din maka njuta"
  • No. 40 [38]. Choir: "Gudar och menskjor och skuggor praise Jupiter's milda och rättvisa lay!"

Work history

The Swedish statesman Hans Axel von Fersen took over the management of the Royal Opera in Stockholm on June 16, 1780. Four days later he commissioned the German composer Joseph Martin Kraus , who had been living in Stockholm without a permanent position since 1778, to compose the opera Proserpin based on a design by King Gustav III. The Swedish poet Johan Henrik Kellgren was to be the librettist . There had previously been an artistic controversy between Kraus and Kellgren, and Kraus had publicly attacked the latter for his fondness for the Rococo style of the 1760s. Therefore, Kraus' protector, the royal secretary Christoffer Bogislaus Zibet , had to mediate between the two. The work was intended as a test piece to put Kraus' talent as a composer to the test. A performance on the Stockholm main stage without prior revision was not planned. The story is based on the ancient myth about the robbery of Proserpina and Philippe Quinault's Proserpine from 1680. The composition was written between June 1780 and March 1781.

The premiere took place on June 1, 1781, presumably in concert in Ulriksdal Palace near Stockholm in front of the king and the court. Kraus himself was the musical director. It was a great success for both the composer and the librettist Kellgren. Kraus was then appointed assistant "Kapellmästare" of the Swedish court and sent on a multi-year trip through Europe for further training. Kraus wrote about the performance in a letter dated June 14, 1781:

“Finally my work was performed in front of the king at the royal pleasure palace in Ulrichsthal, since I was then given permission to do it myself. The court was extremely pleased with it, and the way in which the King explained his satisfaction to me was beyond my expectation. Immediately after the music was over, the king talked to me for a quarter of an hour: first of all he gave me a really nice compliment, asked me about this and that, and measured me from head to toe with his big eyes, and I took myself in my old, praiseworthy manner the freedom to gape at the great monarch through and through, and that - as I learned later, he just liked. Since something is still to be changed in the division of poetry, the opera cannot of course be given before autumn; but then I can also hope for a nice present. "

- Joseph Martin Kraus

The plan to perform the piece regularly at the royal opera, however, was not carried out. The manuscript remained in the library of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music in Stockholm.

The next performance was on May 31, 1980 in Drottningholm Palace . Here u sang a. Iwa Sörenson (Proserpine), Birgit Nordin (Ceres) and Dorrit Kleimert (Cyane).

In 2006 there was a co-production of the Schwetzinger Festival with the State Theater Mainz and the Wuppertaler Bühnen , in which the work was performed in a German version by Johannes Weigand in a production by Georges Delnon and costumes by Marie-Thérèse Jossen. The musical direction was Christoph Spering in Schwetzingen and Evan Christ in Wuppertal . An audio recording was made of the Schwetzingen performance.

In 2013 the work was performed in a production by Elisabeth Lindon with equipment by Herbert Murauer at the Potsdam Sanssouci Music Festival in Swedish. The action was moved here in the milieu of an upper-class family of the 18th century.

Recordings

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The CD recording takes a little over 2 hours, but is shortened.
  2. ↑ a b c d e Hans Åstrand: Proserpine. Opera in an act by Joseph Martin Kraus. In: Supplement to the CD Musica Sveciae MSCD 422-3, pp. 27–31.
  3. ^ A b c Richard Engländer : Something from and about Proserpina. In: Proserpina. Program of the Wuppertaler Bühnen, 2006.
  4. ↑ a b c d Bertil van Boer :  Proserpine. In: Grove Music Online (English; subscription required).
  5. ↑ a b c d information on the work on levandemusikarv.se, accessed on November 20, 2018.
  6. ↑ a b Proserpine. In: Amanda Holden (Ed.): The Viking Opera Guide. Viking, London / New York 1993, ISBN 0-670-81292-7 , p. 539.
  7. ^ Bertil van Boer : The Travel Diary of Joseph Martin Kraus: Translation and Commentary. In: The Journal of Musicology. 8 (2), doi: 10.2307 / 763571 , pp. 266-290.
  8. ↑ Frieder Reininghaus : Erotic confusion drama. Joseph Martin Kraus' “Proserpina” at the Schwetzingen Festival. In: Deutschlandfunk , April 29, 2006, accessed on November 23, 2018.
  9. ^ Proserpine. Program of the Wuppertaler Bühnen, 2006.
  10. ↑ a b c Joseph Martin Kraus. In: Andreas Ommer: Directory of all complete opera recordings (= Zeno.org . Volume 20). Directmedia, Berlin 2005.
  11. ↑ Udo Badelt: Northern Lights. Schulz: Peter's wedding; Kraus: Proserpine; Potsdam / Music Festival. In: Opera world . August 2013, p. 50.
  12. ↑ Performance information from June 23, 2013 of the Potsdam Sanssouci Music Festival , accessed on November 23, 2018.