Too bad she was a whore (opera)
| Opera dates | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Too bad she was a whore |
| Shape: | Opera in five acts |
| Original language: | German |
| Music: | Anno Schreier |
| Libretto : | Kerstin Maria Pöhler |
| Literary source: |
John Ford : 'Tis Pity She's a Whore |
| Premiere: | 16th February 2019 |
| Place of premiere: | German Opera on the Rhine Düsseldorf |
| Playing time: | approx. 2 ¾ hours |
| Place and time of the action: | Parma in the 16th century |
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It's a shame that she was a whore is an opera in five acts by Anno Schreier ( music ) with a libretto by Kerstin Maria Pöhler based on the tragedy 'Tis Pity She's a Whore (1633) by the Elizabethan author John Ford . It premiered on February 16, 2019 at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf.
action
first act
The twin siblings Giovanni and Annabella secretly love each other fervently. The beautiful Annabella also attracts the looks of other men. The Roman soldier Grimaldi, the hysterical citizen Bergetto and the nobleman Soranzo woo them. The latter is the favorite of Annabelle's father. Giovanni confesses his forbidden incest love to a monk . The clergyman resolves to save the brothers and sisters from perdition.
Second act
Soranzo disposes of his previous lover Hippolita, who had left her husband Richardetto because of him. His scheming servant Vasquez feigns understanding for Hippolita and promises her support against Soranzo. Richardetto, the outcast husband, returns to Parma as a quack with his niece Philotis to take revenge for the insults done to him. The swarmed Annabella rejects all admirers and swears eternal loyalty to her brother Giovanni.
Third act
Annabella is pregnant. She is forced to marry Soranzo. The monk is supposed to betroth them that night. The soldier Grimaldi learns of this plan from Richardetto and resolves to eliminate his rival. In front of the priest's cell, the jealous Grimaldi finally meets Bergetto, who wants to marry Philotis. Grimaldi's poisoned sword hits the wrong person: Bergetto dies, the monk blesses the marriage bond between Annabella and Soranzo.
Fourth act
Annabella and Soranzo's wedding party is splendid. Hippolita appears and, instigated by the servant Vasquez, has mixed poison into a wine goblet that she wants to give Soranzo. But Vasquez hands the vessel over to Hippolita, who then dies in agony. Giovanni wants to flee with Annabella. Soranzo learns of Annabella's pregnancy, curses her and wants to know the name of his rival. Vasquez finally finds out about him from the nurse Putana, whom he then has to be dragged away and tortured.
Fifth act
Giovanni and Annabella swear once more eternal love. Giovanni stabs Annabella and cuts his wrists open. The doomed man appears covered in blood at the wedding feast and confesses the murder of his beloved sister. He kills Soranzo and dies. In the midst of the corpses, Vasquez cursed: "It's a shame she was a whore."
layout
music
Anno Schreier sees himself as a composer without a “musical brand”. Rather, like his famous colleagues ( Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , Richard Strauss , Igor Stravinsky ) he “soaks up” “whatever artistic substance he finds” in order to make something of his own. This eclectic attitude also shapes the music of Schade that she is a whore . The score is extremely rich in quotations and is based on festive music of the Renaissance as well as Hollywood thrillers, but does not shy away from borrowing from Italian hits: "Not only the singer, the music also dresses up" (Anno Schreier).
The music critics, however, were not completely convinced of Schreier's stylistic approach: “His music knows many breaks, but not the one that remains decisive under artistic criteria, in whatever style: the one in which ambivalences arise, in which the ambiguity, The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung praised Schreier's sovereignly implemented eclecticism, he said, “there is hardly a quoted or merely alluding phrase that is not immediately checked for its sustainability”. However, he occasionally exaggerates: “There is no doubt: the horses often get lost with the composer in the hunt for quotes and allusions, and the eloquent objection 'less would have been more' is then occasionally justified, for example in the extensive Rossini parody of the nurses' scene in the fourth act. "
libretto
The libretto was written by the Cologne-based director and author Kerstin Maria Pöhler , who wrote the chamber opera Der Patient in 2005 (premiered at the Regensburg Theater) and caused a sensation in 2011 with her text book for Anno Schreier's opera Die Stadt der Blinden (world premiere at Zurich Opera). In her adaptation of Schade that she was a whore, Pöhler tightened the plot, above all deleted monologues typical of Elizabethan theater and condensed individual characters into an opera-friendly format. The composer shortened seven of the thirty pages of the draft text, which the librettist said she had no problem with: “If every word counts, you have to become a poet.” Nevertheless, Schreier emphasized how important it is to him the lyricist to work together.
history
The Elizabethan drama Sorry She Was a Whore has been adapted in many ways. Luchino Visconti staged an adaptation of the play in 1961 with Romy Schneider and Alain Delon . The Swedish director Vilgot Sjöman filmed the material in 1966 as Syskonbädd 1782 (sibling bed ) , the Italian author Giuseppe Patroni Griffi likewise ( Addio fratello crudele , 1971, with Charlotte Rampling and Oliver Tobias in the leading roles). The British BBC made a television film in 1980 (directed by Roland Joffé ), and a radio play was made in 2018. Peter Greenaway was inspired by the tragedy for his film The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover . The fascination is explained by the explosive subject of incest and the highly dramatic, rousing plot, in which comedy and tragedy mix wildly.
Little is known about John Ford's life. There is evidence that he worked as a lawyer but probably never worked as a lawyer. He only started writing at an advanced age. The play was performed in London's Phoenix Theater on Drury Lane in 1633 and was aimed at a "mixed audience". The language is more poetic and courtly, the plot of brutal and comical scenes should cast a spell on the down-to-earth audience. The privately financed theaters of the time were dependent on both classes, the nobility and the bourgeoisie.
Emergence
For composer Anno Schreier, it is important to have a libretto with a “concentrated plot structure” that gives him “sufficient musical leeway”. He was taken with John Ford's horror story, because the dramatic plot turns into the opposite again and again through the inserted comic scenes and characters. This creates an ambivalence such as that also applies to Claudio Monteverdi's The Coronation of Poppea or Mozart's Don Giovanni . In the program for the premiere, reference is made to other works with “taboo breaks”, such as Richard Wagner's Die Walküre , where Siegmund and Sieglinde indulge in incestuous love, or Richard Strauss' Salome , in which Herod desires his stepdaughter.
reception
The world premiere in February 2019 was largely positively received by the press. The Süddeutsche Zeitung referred to the “undoubtedly handcrafted brilliance”, but criticized Schreier's style of music: “From the Renaissance to the 20th century, he quotes his way through music history, where classically as the higher valid from opera and song he cheerfully with classic as lower valid like dances and hits of all ages. Only the second half of the 20th century is left out of the quotations, which apparently no longer counts in music history for Schreier. "The Westdeutsche Zeitung judged that the work set" standards for contemporary music theater ", but limited:" But Schreer's music has that kind of thing a lot of material in itself that the additional level sometimes leads to overloading and semantic congestion. " Bayerischer Rundfunk paid tribute to Schreier's music with the words:" Purely acoustically, a tank truck explodes every five minutes and in between the violins spread pleasant horror . ”The audience were“ as amazed as they were impressed ”. The opera magazine summarized: “It was fun. Despite the serious topic, the participants succeeded in bringing an opera with wit and a wealth of points onto the stage, modern, timeless and without drifting into the clothes. Great praise and deserved applause. "The Westfälische Rundschau praised Schreier, he indicated" with considerable technical virtuosity and a lot of passion for a pleasurable musical theater perspectives for opera models of our time ". The paper also praised the work's suitability for the stage: “The fact that Schreier always takes the performance of his pieces into account contributes to the success of his works, all of which have a chance of developing into a repertoire piece. Neither scenically nor musically he does not set any obstacles that could put the rehearsal schedule of a theater in trouble. "
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Anno Schreier: An opera of affects. In: Program for the premiere, p. 12.
- ^ A b Lars Wallerang: Even if the music disguises itself. In: RP Online , February 11, 2019, accessed February 27, 2019.
- ↑ Süddeutsche Zeitung , February 18, 2019, p. 11: Incest, adultery: One is enthusiastic
- ↑ Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung of February 21, 2019, p. 12 Do you know how beautiful you are?
- ↑ Süddeutsche Zeitung , February 18, 2019, p. 11: Incest, adultery: One is enthusiastic
- ↑ Christian Oscar Gazsi Laki: It's a shame she was a whore - that's how opera should be. In: Westdeutsche Zeitung , February 17, 2019, accessed on February 27, 2019.
- ↑ Blood and Dada: “It's a shame that she was a whore” in Düsseldorf. Contribution by Bayerischer Rundfunk from February 17, 2019, accessed on February 27, 2019.
- ↑ Detlef Obens: Düsseldorf: World premiere of the opera “It's a shame that she was a whore” - love and intrigue are timeless. In: Opernmagazin, February 18, 2019, accessed on February 27, 2019.
- ^ Düsseldorf celebrates the new creation of an opera by Anno Schreier. In: Westfälische Rundschau , February 17, 2019, accessed on February 27, 2019.