Sant'Elena al Calvario

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Work data
Title: Sant'Elena al Calvario
Title page of the libretto from 1731 (music by Antonio Caldara)

Title page of the libretto from 1731
(music by Antonio Caldara)

Shape: Azione sacra
Original language: Italian
Music: First setting by Antonio Caldara
Libretto : Pietro Metastasio
Premiere: March 20, 1731
Place of premiere: Vienna
Place and time of the action: around 326 , on the Calvary
people
  • Sant'Elena ( Helena ), Empress
  • S. Macario ( Makarios I ), Bishop of Jerusalem
  • Draciliano, governor of Judea
  • Eudossa, Roman Christian
  • Eustazio, Palestinian Christian
  • Choir of believers

Sant'Elena al Calvario is a libretto for an azione sacra in two parts by Pietro Metastasio . It is the second of his seven oratorio librettos written in Vienna and has been set to music about 30 times. It was first performed in the setting by Antonio Caldara on March 20, 1731 in the Hofburg Chapel in Vienna.

A German translation of the libretto was published in Augsburg in 1753 and 1766 as a spoken drama with the name Helena, the Holy Empress on the Calvary in the clerical stage of the Augustinian Peter Obladen from Ulm.

action

The libretto is about the pilgrimage of Saint Helena , mother of Emperor Constantine the Great , to Jerusalem, on which, according to legend, she rediscovered the tomb and cross of Christ.

"According to the testimony of Nicolaus von Lira and St. Jerome , the well-known prophecy Isaiae 11, 10. His grave will be glorious, saying nothing else than: The grave of our Redeemer will once be the foresight of the pilgrimage of many believers, even great ones and become mighty world rulers, as those from the wide and wide world will come together to honor the same. For three whole centuries this prophecy has not been proven, and the holy grave remained hidden during such a time: repainted by the faithless Jewry, but by the godless Heyden, who, in order to keep the memory of such a holy container entirely from the hearts of the true believers wipe out, on the same building, and shameful images, erected in honor of their so impure as cursed gods, desecrated. But as soon as the great Constantine freed the promised Orient from the cruel rage of Licinius , a sworn enemy and persecutor of the Christians, Saint Helena, inspired by God and exhorted in her sleep by heavenly faces, set out to visit Calvary . There, with the help of the then Bishop of Jerusalem Macarius , she found not only the grave for which she had long sighed, but also the most holy cross of our redemption. But so that the prophecy Isaiae would be fulfilled, Helena abandoned one and the other to the veneration of the Christian world ... To show the idea of ​​the fulfillment of the above prophecy, I find a desirable opportunity in the tender and heartfelt impressions that were aroused in this great empress when she found the glorious instrument of our redemption. So namely those of all believers must be made, especially at this time, who have been dedicated by the Church to solemnly commit this sacred secret. "

- Pietro Metastasio : Preface from the German translation of the libretto by Peter Obladen

First part

Bishop Macario welcomes Helen to Jerusalem. She is moved to have arrived in the holy land. The Roman governor Draciliano reports the arrival of two groups of people, a group of women with the Christian born Roman Eudossa and a group of men with the newly baptized Eustazio from Palestine . The two groups sing as a choir about the suffering of Christ through which the world was redeemed. Helena asks them about the location of Jesus' tomb. Eustazio explains that this has not been known for a long time, and Eudossa adds that it was kept secret by the pagans and overbuilt with idols. Helena insists that the search for the cross begin. She tells of a dream in which she found a spring in a desert. Eustazio thinks this is a good omen. He believes that God has chosen the imperial family as the donor of his benefits. After Helena's prayer, the first part ends with a choir that emphasizes the importance of the monarchs as positive or negative role models for his subjects.

Second part

The tomb was found and Macario, Draciliano, Eustazio and Eudossa present it to Helena. However, this does not react joyfully as expected by the others, but pale with awe and remembers the suffering of Christ. Macario compares the marble tomb with the Mother of God, since both had kept the Savior closed within themselves. Helene approaches the grave and discovers the crosses of Jesus and his two fellow convicts under the rubble. Eudossa advises patience, as it is not yet possible to know which of them is the cross of Jesus. Since the name tag is no longer attached to the cross, a clear assignment is not possible. A funeral procession is approaching. Macario suggests putting the middle of the three crosses to the test. He asks Helena to stay at the grave to support her project with prayers and leaves with Eustazio. After a while, Eustazio returns and reports that Macario had held the cross over the body and that the dead man had found his way back to life. This dispels all doubts. Now Macario is also returning. He calls on the people to cast off all evil tendencies in the face of the cross. Helena also asks God for forgiveness for her sins. At the end of the oratorio, the choir invites the faithful to follow their example.

layout

The seven Viennese oratorios Metastasios follow those of his predecessor Apostolo Zeno . Simplicity and clarity in the structure are predominant. Metastasio dispensed with divine and allegorical persons within the plot and stuck to the three Aristotelian units of space, time and action. Therefore, many passages are only told in retrospect. His theological interpretations adhere strictly to the exegetical guidelines of the church. In many places he gave evidence in the form of biblical passages and quotations from writings by church teachers. As in his opera libretti, the action is presented in recitatives that lead to da capo arias. Ensemble pieces and choirs are only used sparingly.

Settings

The following composers set this libretto to music:

year composer premiere Performance location Remarks
1731 Antonio Caldara March 20, 1731, Hofburg Chapel Vienna Antonio Caldara - Sant'Elena al Calvario - titlepage of the libretto - Vienna 1731.png
1732 Leonardo Leo 1732 Naples also in Modena in 1733; 1734 in Bologna and in Latin in Prague; 1744 in Venice, 1773 in Kremsmünster Abbey Leonardo Leo - Sant'Elena al Calvario - titlepage of the libretto - Modena 1733.png
no later than 1732 Francesco Bartolomeo Conti 1736, Saint James Parish Church Brno According to Stanford University's world premiere database, the libretto was by Antonio Maria Lucchini . Conti died on July 27, 1732.
1737 Pietro Vincenzo Chiocchetti 1737, Congregazione dell'Oratorio di S. Filippo Neri Genoa
1737 Benedetto Leoni 1737, Congregazione dell'oratorio di S. Filippo Neri Genoa
1746 Johann Adolph Hasse April 9, 1746, court chapel Dresden German version as Saint Helena at the skull site ; also in Dresden in 1753 Johann Adolph Hasse - Sant'Elena al Calvario - german titlepage of the libretto - Dresden 1746.png
1750 Carlo Luigi Grua 1750, Cappella elettorale palatina Mannheim Carlo Luigi Pietragrua - Sant'Elena al Calvario - titlepage of the libretto - Mannheim 1750.png
1753 Johann Ernst Eberlin probably between 1753 and 1763 Salzburg German as Die Heilige Helena Auf dem Schedelberg, Or the invention of Saint Creutzes
1757 Angelo del Seaglies also on October 24, 1759 in Senigallia
1758 Giovanni Battista Costanzi 1758 Macerata
1775 Johann Gottlieb Naumann April 15, 1775, court chapel Dresden
1777 Pasquale Anfossi 1777 Rome 1781 in Bologna; 1786 in Rome; 1790 in Rome; 1822 in Rome Pasquale Anfossi - Sant'Elena al Calvario - titlepage of the libretto - Bologna 1781.png
1777 Pozzo 1777
1778 Lorenzo Baini 1778, Oratorio di San Girolamo della Carità Rome
1779 Fortunato Luciani 1779, Oratorio di San Girolamo della Carità Rome
1780 Nicola Luciani 1780, Collegio Germanico Ungarico Rome
1780 Sante Pascali 1780, Congregazione dell'Oratorio Rome Adaptation of the setting by Pasquale Anfossi from 1777 Sante Pascali - Sant'Elena al Calvario - titlepage of the libretto - Rome 1780.png
1781 Marianna from Martines 1781
1781 Giuseppe Sarti 1781 Florence
1784 Antonio Fontemaggi 1784 Rome
1790 Francesco Bringeri around 1790, San Girolamo della Carità Rome
1790 Pietro Pompeo Sales 1790, court chapel of the elector Ehrenbreitstein
1790 Antonio Tozzi 1790 Madrid
1791 Gaetano Isola 1791 Lisbon
1817 Giovanni Giacomo Lepri 1817
unknown Antonio Bencini unknown Rome
unknown Wilhelm Küffner unknown as Saint Helena
unknown Giuseppe Morosini unknown
unknown Theodor von Schacht (presumed) unknown

Recordings and performances in recent times

Web links

Commons : Sant'Elena al Calvario  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Digital copies

  1. ^ Libretto (Italian) as digitized version at the Munich Digitization Center . In: Opere del signor abate Pietro Metastasio , Volume 6, Herissant, Paris 1780, p. 365 ff.
  2. ↑ a b Peter Obladen: Helena, the holy empress on the Calvarieberge (German translation of the libretto). In: Geistliche Schaubühne. Second improved edition. Matthäus Rieger and Sons, Augsburg and Leipzig 1766. Digitization at the Munich Digitization Center , p. 159.
  3. ^ Libretto (Italian) of the opera by Antonio Caldara, Vienna 1731. Digitized in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna .
  4. ^ Libretto (Italian) of the opera by Leonardo Leo, Modena 1733. Digitized in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna .
  5. ^ Libretto (Italian) of the oratorio by Leonardo Leo, Kremsmünster 1773 as digitized version at the Munich Digitization Center .
  6. ↑ Score of the oratorio by Leonardo Leo as digitized version in the International Music Score Library Project .
  7. ^ Libretto (Italian / German) of the oratorio by Johann Adolph Hasse, Dresden 1746 as digitized version at the Munich Digitization Center .
  8. ^ Libretto (Italian) of the oratorio by Johann Adolph Hasse, Dresden 1753 as digitized version at the Berlin State Library .
  9. ^ Libretto (Italian) of the oratorio by Carlo Luigi Pietragrua, Mannheim 1750 as digitized version at the Munich Digitization Center .
  10. ^ Libretto (Italian) of the oratorio by Pasquale Anfossi, Bologna 1781 as digitized version in the Museo internazionale e biblioteca della musica di Bologna .
  11. ^ Libretto (Italian) of the oratorio by Sante Pascali, Rome 1780 as a digitized version on Google Books .
  12. ^ Libretto (Italian) of the oratorio by Giovanni Giacomo Lepri, Rome 1817 as a digitized version in the Internet Archive .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Don Neville:  Metastasio [Trapassi], Pietro (Antonio Domenico Bonaventura). In: Grove Music Online (English; subscription required).
  2. ↑ Metastasio, Pietro in Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart , p. 50861 ff (cf. MGG vol. 9, p. 229 ff.) Bärenreiter-Verlag 1986 ( digital library volume 60).
  3. ↑ Elizabeth Birnbaum: The Juditbuch in Vienna of the 17th and 18th centuries. Peter Lang, 2009, p. 186 ( online at Google Books ).
  4. ↑ Sant 'Elena al Calvario (Antonio Caldara) at opening night! Opera & Oratorio Premieres , Stanford University, accessed April 29, 2015.
  5. ↑ Sant'Elena al Calvario (Antonio Caldara) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna , accessed on April 29, 2015.
  6. ↑ Sant 'Elena al Calvario (Leonardo Leo) at opening night! Opera & Oratorio Premieres , Stanford University, accessed April 29, 2015.
  7. ↑ Sant'Elena (Leonardo Leo) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna , accessed on April 29, 2015.
  8. ^ Library record of the oratorio by Leonardo Leo at librettodopera.it , accessed on April 8, 2018.
  9. ↑ Michaela Freemanová: Three points of a triangle: Italian, Latin and German oratorios and sepolcros in the early 18th century Central Europe (abstract) , accessed on May 11, 2015.
  10. ↑ Sant 'Elena al Calvario (Francesco Bartolomeo Conti) at the opening night! Opera & Oratorio Premieres , Stanford University, accessed May 12, 2015.
  11. ↑ Record of the oratorio by Pietro Vincenzo Chiocchetti at librettodopera.it , accessed on April 8, 2018.
  12. ^ Library dataset of Benedetto Leoni's oratorio at WorldCat , accessed on May 12, 2015.
  13. ↑ Sant 'Elena al Calvario (Johann Adolf Hasse) at opening night! Opera & Oratorio Premieres , Stanford University, accessed April 29, 2015.
  14. ↑ Sant 'Elena al Calvario (Karl Louis Peter Grua) at Opening Night! Opera & Oratorio Premieres , Stanford University, accessed April 29, 2015.
  15. ↑ Laurenz Lütteken (Ed.) Et al .: Metastasio in the Germany of the Enlightenment. Gulde Druck, Tübingen 2002, ISBN 3-484-17528-1 , p. 229 ( online at Google Books ).
  16. ↑ Sant 'Elena al Calvario (Angelo del Seaglies) at Opening Night! Opera & Oratorio Premieres , Stanford University, accessed April 29, 2015.
  17. ↑ Sant 'Elena al Calvario (Giovanni Battista Costanzi) at Opening Night! Opera & Oratorio Premieres , Stanford University, accessed April 29, 2015.
  18. ↑ Sant 'Elena al Calvario (Johann Gottlieb Naumann) at the opening night! Opera & Oratorio Premieres , Stanford University, accessed April 29, 2015.
  19. ↑ Sant 'Elena al Calvario (Pasquale Anfossi) at Opening Night! Opera & Oratorio Premieres , Stanford University, accessed April 29, 2015.
  20. ^ Record of the oratorio by Pasquale Anfossi (Rome 1790) at librettodopera.it , accessed on April 8, 2018.
  21. ^ Record of the oratorio by Pasquale Anfossi (Rome 1822) at librettodopera.it , accessed on April 8, 2018.
  22. ↑ Library dataset of Lorenzo Baini's oratorio at opac.sbn.it , accessed on May 13, 2015.
  23. ↑ Sant 'Elena al Calvario (Fortunato Luciano) at Opening Night! Opera & Oratorio Premieres , Stanford University, accessed April 29, 2015.
  24. ^ Library dataset of the oratorio by Nicola Luciani at opac.sbn.it , accessed on May 13, 2015.
  25. ^ Library dataset of the oratorio by Sante Pascali at polovea.sebina.it , accessed on May 13, 2015.
  26. ↑ Sant 'Elena al Calvario (Marianne Martínez) at Opening Night! Opera & Oratorio Premieres , Stanford University, accessed April 29, 2015.
  27. ^ Marianne Martinez in the Encyclopedia of World Biography , accessed May 12, 2015.
  28. ↑ Sant 'Elena al Calvario (Giuseppe Sarti) at the opening night! Opera & Oratorio Premieres , Stanford University, accessed April 29, 2015.
  29. ↑ Sant 'Elena al Calvario (Antonio Fontemaggi) at Opening Night! Opera & Oratorio Premieres , Stanford University, accessed April 29, 2015.
  30. ^ Record of the oratorio by Francesco Bringeri at librettodopera.it , accessed on April 8, 2018.
  31. ^ Library dataset of the oratorio by Francesco Bringeri at opac.sbn.it , accessed on May 13, 2015.
  32. ↑ Sant 'Elena al Calvario (Pietro Pompeo Sales) at Opening Night! Opera & Oratorio Premieres , Stanford University, accessed April 29, 2015.
  33. ↑ Sant 'Elena al Calvario (Antonio Tozzi) at opening night! Opera & Oratorio Premieres , Stanford University, accessed April 29, 2015.
  34. ↑ Sant 'Elena al Calvario (Gaetano Isola) at Opening Night! Opera & Oratorio Premieres , Stanford University, accessed April 29, 2015.
  35. ↑ Jean Lionnet:  Bencini, Antonio. In: Grove Music Online (English; subscription required).
  36. ^ Library dataset of the oratorio by Giuseppe Morosini at opac.sbn.it , accessed on May 13, 2015.
  37. ↑ Sant 'Elena al Calvario (Theodor von Schacht) at opening night! Opera & Oratorio Premieres , Stanford University, accessed April 29, 2015.
  38. ↑ Information on the work of Theodor von Schach's opera in the Répertoire International des Sources Musicales , accessed on May 13, 2015.
  39. ↑ With precise articulation. Review of the performance of the oratorio by Johann Adolph Hasse on March 27, 1999 in Hamburg , accessed on May 13, 2015.
  40. ^ Romana Pugliese: Teoria e prassi per Sant'Elena al Calvario. Review of the performance of the oratorio by Johann Adolph Hasse in Faenza 2005 (Italian) , accessed on May 13, 2015.
  41. ↑ Details on the performance of Leonardo Leo's oratorio in Milan in 2008 on the website of the Società del Quartetto di Milano (Italian) ( Memento of May 18, 2015 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on May 13, 2015.
  42. ↑ Opera & Dance, 2007/02 edition , accessed on May 13, 2015.
  43. ↑ musica Dei donum. Details on the radio broadcast of the oratorio by Leonardo Leo , accessed on May 13, 2015.