Trionfo di Afrodite

Trionfo di Afrodite is a cantata by the German composer Carl Orff . The 45-minute long “scenic concert” (Orff) is the last part of the triptych Trionfi , the first two parts of which are the Carmina Burana and the Catulli Carmina .

Concept, creation

From the spring of 1935 to August 1936, Orff had worked out a scenic cantata based on the Middle High German lyrical poem " Carmina Burana ". As a complementary piece, he completed the scenic dance play Catulli Carmina in 1943 , which set the distich Odi et amo by the Roman poet Catullus to music. As a finale, he designed the representation of a wedding celebration with a closing trionfo (= jubilation) of the goddess of love and combined the pieces into a trilogy in the early 1950s . The score of the Trionfo di Afrodite was written between 1949 and 1951. The amalgamation of the three independent works under the title Trionfi , the period of which spanned more than two decades, points to Orff's theater idea.

Libretto, plot

The Latin and ancient Greek text of Trionfo di Afrodite is based on the poems of Catullus, Sappho and Euripides . The plot is an ancient wedding celebration that ends with the appearance of the goddess of love Aphrodite .

premiere

The cantata was premiered in 1953 under the direction of Herbert von Karajan at the Scala in Milan .

occupation

Three sopranos , two tenors , one baritone , one bass
mixed choir
Orchestra : 3 flutes (also piccolo ), 2 oboes (also 2 English horns ), 3 clarinets , 3 bassoons , 1 contrabassoon , 6 horns , 3 trumpets , 3 trombones , 2 tubas , 2 harps , 3 guitars , 3 pianos , strings , percussion (6 timpani , 3 glockenspiels , 1 xylophone , 1 marimbaphone , 1 tenor xylophone, 4 wooden block drums , castanets , triangle , 4 different cymbals , tam-tam , tubular bells , tambourine , 2 small drums (with and without snare string ), 2 large drums , rattles ).

Further use as film music

The unsolicited use of the piece as film music for the final sequence of the bizarre Spanish horror film La cabina by Antonio Mercero in 1972 led to a legal dispute in which Carl Orff made high claims for damages. In the end, however, he liked the film so much that the dispute was settled out of court. Orff has since appeared in the film's credits as the author of the music.

literature

Andreas Liess: Carl Orff. Idea and work. Revised edition. Goldmann, Munich 1980, ISBN 3-442-33038-6 .

Web links

Individual evidence

^ Trionfi - Trittico teatrale . Presentation on the website of the Carl Orff Foundation, with reference to Werner Thomas : Piper's Enzyklopädie des Musiktheater , Volume 4, Munich 1991, p. 581 ff.
↑ Juan Carlos Ortega: La cabina-Mercero (RTVE series: La mitad invisible ), broadcast on October 8, 2011 (Spanish).

[1] Trionfi - Trittico teatrale . Presentation on the website of the Carl Orff Foundation, with reference to Werner Thomas : Piper's Enzyklopädie des Musiktheater , Volume 4, Munich 1991, p. 581 ff.

[Invisible-2] Juan Carlos Ortega: La cabina-Mercero (RTVE series: La mitad invisible ), broadcast on October 8, 2011 (Spanish).