Zampa (Hérold)

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Opera dates
Title: Zampa or The Marble Bride
Original title: Zampa ou La fiancée de marbre
Production design, Vienna around 1830

Production design, Vienna around 1830

Shape: Opéra-comique in three acts
Original language: French
Music: Ferdinand Hérold
Libretto : Mélesville
Premiere: May 3, 1831
Place of premiere: Paris, Opéra-Comique
Playing time: about 3 hours
Place and time of the action: Sicily near Melazzo, 16th century
people
  • Zampa, a corsair ( tenor )
  • Alphonse de Monza, Sicilian officer (tenor)
  • Camille, daughter of the Count of Lugano ( soprano )
  • Daniel Capuzzi, Zampas Boatswain ( baritone )
  • Ritta, Camille's servant ( mezzo-soprano )
  • Dandolo, servant to the Count of Lugano (tenor)
  • A female statue
  • Corsairs, soldiers, country people, noblemen, Sicilians

Zampa ou La fiancée de marbre (German: Zampa or Die Marmorbraut ) is an opera-comique in three acts by Ferdinand Hérold based on a libretto by Mélesville . The premiere took place on May 3, 1831, at the reopening of the Opéra-Comique in Paris.

action

Title page of the libretto, Paris 1831

The action takes place in the 16th century near Melazzo in Sicily. Years ago the pirate Zampa had promised marriage to the pious girl Alice di Manfredi, but then abandoned her. The Count of Lugano later adopted Alice. After she died of grief, Lugano had a marble statue erected of her, which is venerated like a saint. When Lugano's daughter Camille is about to marry her dream partner Alphonse de Monza, Zampa appears and demands her hand. After much hesitation, Camille, whose father is in Zampa's hands, agrees, but during the wedding celebrations, Alice's marble statue, now alive, intervenes and demands justice: Zampa is banished to the underworld, and Camille can marry Alphonse.

first act

In the richly decorated castle hall, Camille, the daughter of the Count of Lugano, with her servant Ritta and other entourage, prepare for her wedding to the officer Alphonse de Monza. In addition to other statues, there is also that of Alice in the hall. The eagerly awaited bridegroom Alphonse happily arrives with his friends. Ritta reports that the dreaded pirate Zampa, whom she blames for the death of her husband Daniel Capuzzi, has been captured. For this reason, the count had to leave at short notice. Ritta suggests praying to her patron saint Alice Manfredi that he will return in time for the wedding. Alphonse noticed this name and had the girl's story told to him. He then confesses that Zampa is his younger brother, but that he has not seen him since he was a child. He was also the cause of his own poverty and of the misery of his father, who had to leave his home and eventually died in the prisons of the Spanish Inquisition. Alphonse is called to his comrades and says goodbye.

While Camille and Ritta are continuing the wedding preparations, the completely distraught servant Dandolo appears. He was on his way to Melazzo to fetch the pastor when he was attacked by bandits. Dandolo was just able to escape. Zampa herself comes into the hall. He escaped from captivity and explains to those present that the wedding could not take place. He does not mention his name Zampa. For the time being, everyone thinks he is an unknown robber. He hands Camille a letter from her father who was captured by him and is now being held hostage. After Camille and Ritta have left, Zampa instructs Dandolo to prepare rooms and meals for himself and his twenty companions. Then he calls in his boatswain Daniel (Ritta's husband, who was believed to be dead), who had previously made sure that Alphonse had left the castle under a pretext and is now being kept away from his cronies. Zampa explains his plan to marry Camille in order to secure her fortune. The corsairs come into the hall and the tables are set by the castle servants. They toast to Zampa's health and party lively. Then Daniel sees the statue of Alice and reads its inscription. He reminds Zampa of his past and warns him about a new marriage. Zampa, however, mocks the statue by putting a ring on it. When he tries to pull it off again, the statue's hand closes and threatens him. The pirates are scared. Only Zampa is unconcerned and considers the appearance to be the effects of the wine. But his second attempt to take the ring also ends with a threat from the statue.

Second act

Scene from the second act

The second act takes place on the seashore. Mountains can be seen on the left. There is also a path to Lugano Castle. To the right is a chapel, in front of it a half-ruined grave and to the left of it a Madonna. While singing can be heard from the chapel, Zampa appears and sings about his many female conquests. Concerned Daniel arrives and warns that his escape from prison has since been noticed and that the troops are on their way. Zampa is unimpressed. Camille has since reluctantly agreed to his proposal. Now he wants to accelerate the wedding and goes back to the castle to make further preparations.

Ritta thinks about what happened. She doesn't understand why the Count has not returned and why Camille suddenly agrees to another marriage. That's why she wants to gain the trust of one of the pirates in order to sound him out. At the chapel she meets Daniel. She is pleasantly surprised to see her husband, who was believed dead, alive again. Daniel, on the other hand, is less enthusiastic. He was glad to be rid of her and denied his identity. When Dandolo arrives, Ritta teases Daniel that she has found a new lover in him. Dandolo plays along because he has his own hopes for Ritta. Daniel can't watch this for long. To put an end to the scene, he forces Dandolo to leave with him. Ritta is amazed at their behavior. She hopes for an explanation from the just arriving Alphonse. In the meantime he has been able to free himself from the pirates' hands and has also found out about Camille's new groom. She steps out of the chapel with some other women and is confronted by Alphonse. Fearing for her father, she cannot tell him the truth yet and only asks him to accept the separation. She follows Ritta and the women to the castle.

Dandolo comes back. His thoughts are still occupied with Daniel and Ritta, whose behavior he cannot explain. Alphonse is still thinking of Camille, and so they both talk past each other at first. Dandolo finally tells Alphonse that Pietro, one of the pirates, was sent to Messina with a message. Alphonse wants to intercept them in order to get hold of a remedy against Zampa. Dandolo is therefore supposed to rush to Alphonses regiment to arrest Pietro. Since the people are already gathering for the wedding, Alphonse enters the chapel. Zampa appears to the ringing bells. Fishermen and country folk dance to sing about the upcoming wedding, while Daniel brings about the sad Camille. At this moment the stage darkens a little. Alice's statue rises from the grave next to the chapel and shows Zampa the ring that is still on her finger. Then she sinks back into the grave, which slowly closes. Only Zampa noticed the phenomenon. He turns pale. Still, he doesn't want to postpone the wedding. He offers Camille his hand to lead her into the chapel. The gate opens and Alphonse steps out. Before he can challenge his rival to battle, he recognizes him as his brother, the pirate Zampa. Although the corsairs present are currently unarmed, Zampa does not feel defeated by any means. But then Dandolo arrives with the soldiers and brings Alphonse the intercepted letter. In this, the viceroy declares that Zampa was pardoned to fight the war against the Turks. While Zampa triumphs and lets the people celebrate, Alphonse breaks his sword indignantly. Since Zampa is still holding her father prisoner, Camille cannot prevent the wedding either. The doors of the chapel open. Inside, the bishop, priest and choirboys are already waiting. All kneel down. Zampa and Camille climb the steps to the chapel to the sound of an organ.

Third act

After the wedding, Camille is alone in her room. There is a Madonna next to the bed. In the background a fabric curtain leads to a bed room. On the left is a balcony window. While she is thinking of her lover Alphonse, he serenades her from outside. Then he climbs over the balcony through the window into the room. He has since found out why Camille married Zampa. To free Camille, he has already challenged him to a duel - which Zampa refused. Now all that's left is to flee. However, Camille wants to keep her wedding vow. She trusts that Zampa has promised to grant her her first request. The rendezvous is interrupted by Zampa's arrival. Camille withdraws to her bedchamber and Alphonse hides on the balcony. A serenade organized by Zampa can be heard from outside. He steps into the room with Daniel. Daniel is uneasy about the whole thing. For fear of the marble statue of Alice, he had it destroyed and thrown into the sea, but since then it seems to be angry, and Etna also throws out flames. Since he has now reconciled with his wife Ritta, he now wants to live with her again. So he asks Zampa to say goodbye and leaves the room.

Camille comes out of her room and tells Zampa to keep his promise. She asks him for permission to spend the rest of her days in the monastery of Saint Agnes. Zampa refuses. Alphonse, who heard this from his hiding place, is outraged. When Camille's pleading cannot change Zampa either, she prays to God to give her strength and threatens Zampa with killing herself. Then he tells her his real name: he is the Count of Monza, Alphonses brother. He emerges from his hiding place in disgust with his dagger drawn, but is arrested by the rushing corsairs and sentenced to death by Zampa. He did not recognize Alphonse as his brother. Camille has sunk into the armchair, half passed out. Zampa tries to calm her down, but Camille cannot be calmed down. He continues to refuse her wish to go to the monastery. When he declares his real love for her, she blames him for Alice's death. In desperation, she reaches for the Madonna and begs for help. Then the curtain on the prayer room moves like a gust of wind. The lamps go out. Camille disappears and the marble statue of Alice appears in her place and takes Zampa's hand. Lightning flashes through the room. Zampa draws his dagger, but it breaks on the hard stone. With a clap of thunder the statue sinks and pulls Zampa with it into the depths. At the same time, the people are frightened by an eruption of Mount Etna.

The scene is changing. The marble statue of Alice with her head bathed in light stands on the seashore. The people are on their knees facing her. A boat approaches. Camille's father comes ashore and is greeted happily by her and Alphonse.

layout

Hérold had got to know Mozart's opera Don Giovanni in Vienna in 1815 and recorded his thoughts on it in a notebook. The relationship between Zampa and the title role of this opera is unmistakable. The tonal language is reminiscent of Gioachino Rossini or Carl Maria von Weber with its melodic richness and careful instrumentation , but at the same time appears very French in its elegance and measured design.

The hero tenor part of the Zampa is extremely impressive if it is performed by a suitably skilled singer. The opera contains many successful ensemble numbers, among which the quartet at Zampa's first appearance, the horror of the pirates at the end of the first act, the love duets by Alphonse and Camille and the final chorus should be mentioned.

Instrumentation

The orchestral line-up for the opera includes the following instruments:

Work history

Zampa is one of the better known works of Hérold. With its world premiere, the Paris Opéra-Comique was reopened on May 3, 1831 under the new director Émile Lubbert. The musical director was Henri-Justin-Armand-Joseph Valentino, the director was Louis-Jacques Solomé, the choreography was by Maurice Lefèvre, and the set was designed by Julien Michel Gué. Jean Baptiste Chollet (Zampa), Alphonsine-Virginie-Marie Dubois sang “Mlle. Casimir “(Camille), Marie-Julienne Boulanger (Ritta), Théodore-François Moreau-Sainti (Alphonse), Louis Féréol (Daniel) and Marcel Jean Antoine Juliet (Dandolo).

The performance was a sensational success, and the work was performed 689 times at the Opéra-Comique by 1913. It was particularly popular in France, Italy and Germany in the 19th century. However, Hérold's fellow composers Hector Berlioz and Richard Wagner did not appreciate them. The overture is still played quite often. In 1993 the opera was performed again under the direction of Yves Abel at the Wexford Festival Opera and in 2005 under Herbert Gietzen in the Stadttheater Gießen . In 2008 there was a new production under William Christie at the Opéra-Comique in Paris.

In 1833 the title role was transposed for a baritone for a London performance at the King's Theater . During performances in Italy, the originally spoken dialogues were usually replaced by Italian-language recitatives.

As early as 1832 Johann Nestroy created a parody of the libretto under the name Zampa the Tagdieb .

Web links

Commons : Zampa  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Deutschlandradio Kultur: Manuscript for the broadcast of the recording with William Christie on August 30, 2008.
  2. ^ A b c Marie Briquet, Renate Ahrens (transl.): Herold (family). In: Music in the past and present. Bärenreiter-Verlag 1986 ( digital library volume 60), p. 33800 ff (cf. MGG vol. 6, p. 250 ff).
  3. a b c Elizabeth Forbes:  Zampa. In: Grove Music Online (English; subscription required).
  4. a b c Klaus Hortschansky : Zampa ou La Fiancée de marbre. In: Piper's Encyclopedia of Musical Theater . Volume 3: Works. Henze - Massine. Piper, Munich / Zurich 1989, ISBN 3-492-02413-0 , pp. 25-28.
  5. May 3, 1831: “Zampa”. In: L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia ..
  6. Louis Joseph Ferdinand Hérold. In: Andreas Ommer: Directory of all opera complete recordings. Zeno.org , Volume 20, p. 7106.
  7. Louis Joseph Ferdinand Hérold. In: Andreas Ommer: Directory of all opera complete recordings. Zeno.org , Volume 20, p. 7107.
  8. ^ Zampa or The Marble Bride in the archive of the Stadttheater Gießen , accessed on April 1, 2015.
  9. Not just a Don Juan derivative. Report from August 30, 2008 in Deutschlandradio Kultur , accessed on April 1, 2015.