The Fiery Angel By Prokofiev - The Weirdest And Creepiest Opera Ever Written
The great Russian composer and pianist Sergei Prokofiev (1891- 1953) is best known for such works as the"Classical Symphony, Peter and the Wolf, his concertos for piano or violin, ballet scores such as Romeo and Juliet and symphonies etc, but he wrote seven highly original operas, none of which achieved widespread popularity during his lifetime, although they are being performed more than ever before in the present day.
His operas include the monumental,four hour long adaption of Tolstoy's War and Peace, the zany, nonsensical "Love For Three Oranges", based on old Italian farces, "The Gambler", based on a novel by Dostoyevsky ,his first, "Betrothal In a Monastary", based on an old Spanish play, and the opera in question, "The weird and profoundly distuurbing occult masterpieve,"The Fiery Angel", based on a novel by the Russian writer Valey Bryusov.
Prokofiev wrote the opera during the 1920s, but was never able to get it performed during his lifetime due to complicated adverse curcumstances, and it did not receive its world premiere until two years afer he died in 1953, in Venice. He recycled music from the opera into his powerful symphony no 3.
This creepy and sinister opera takes place in 16th century Germany,in and around Cologne, during the Inquisition, and deals with madness, halucination, black magic, demonology and hopelessy unrequited love. A young woman named Renata is an insane religious mystic who has been haunted since childhood by visions of an angel of fire called Madiel, who befriended her, like a child's imaginary playmate, and gave her magic powers of healing.
When she became a teenager, she was filled with physical longing to be united with the fiery angel, but it abandoned her, and said she would eventually find him in human form. When the opera opnes in an inn near Cologne where Renata is staying, Ruprecht, a wandering knight who has just returned from colonial America has taken a room there. He hears Renata in one of her horrible panic attacks, where she is screaming in terror at demons who are tormenting her. Is it all in her mind,or are there real demons involved? The opera leaves this uncertain.
Ruprecht offers help and she calms down. She tells him the whole weird story of how she met Madiel, and Ruprecht is drawn to the beautiful but creepy young woman. He makes a pass at her but she resists him , and he apologizes and swears never to bother her again that way. A fortune teller comes in to entertain the guests, but she is horrified by sinister omens.
Renata and Ruprecht have now moved into a dwelling in Cologne, and the two engage in magic spells to try to determine if Madiel's human incarnation, a certain count Heinrich is in town.. Demons are knocking on the walls. Renata and Ruprecht have purchased books of black magic and demonology which have been banned by the Inquisition.
Ruprecht has received permission to se the great sorceror,philosopher and physician Agrippa Von Nettesheim, a sorceror and alchemist who actually existed. Ruprecht asks him to reveal his magical secrets, but he discourages him, saying that he is not a sorceror, but merely a philosopher. But the skeletons on the wall of his magical study say"You're lying" as they rattle their bones !
Later, Renata is extremely excited to learn that Heinrich is in town. She tells Ruprecht that he had abandoned her and ruined her life, and that he must challenge him to a duel. Heinrich is a silent role. Ruprecht does so, but soon after, Renata changes her mind and begs him not to kill him, even if he loses his life in the duel or is seriously hurt. Ruprecht is as horrified as he is confused. he can't back down from challenging Heinrich to a duel.
Later, Ruprecht has been babdly woulnded by the swordfight, and a friend calls a doctor for help. Renata is overcome with remorse, and hopes for his recovery. Ruprecht still loves her, but a physical relationship or marriage is out of the question according to the demented Renata. Ruprechts begs her to marry him, but she cuts herself with a knife in disgust , to mortify the flesh.
Later, the gloomy Ruprecht is sitting at an inn in Cologne. Faust and Mephistopheles come in, and tell him of their travels all over Europe and elsewhere. Mephistopheles gets angry with a small boy who assists the innkeeper when he fails to deliver the wine he ordered with dinner, and swallows him whole! The innkeeper is horrified and says that he can't operate his business without the boy to help, and the boy reappers unharmed. Faust expresses his disgust, and how fed up he is with the bizarre pranks of the demon. Several villagers make the cross and realize something sinister is going on, behind the scene.
In the last scene, Renata can no longer take the temptation of Ruprecht and the flesh. She has entered a nunnery and become a postulant. But weird and sinister things are going on, and the other nuns are showing signs of demonic possession, and the nunnery seems to be under the influence of demons ! They are acting in a bizarre manor, and the mother superior is terrified. She has summoned a high official of the church to perform an exorcism on Renata., who claims that she is pure, but tempted by demons which she rejects.
The inquisitor enters, and a horrible scene follows. He performs the exorcism, but the nuns are becoming possessed and the situation goes horribly out of control. Total chaos takes over the abbey. The nuns say that Renata is holy and the inquisitor is the devil ! The inquisitor continues, but finally in desperation, he declares that Renata is guilty of carnal knowledge with the devil, and is to be tortured and burned at the stake ! The opera ends in complete horror ! Faust ,Mephistopheles and Ruprecht look on the scene of terror passively.
Whew! What a terrifying story. Was everything in Renata's tortured mind, or were real demonic forces at work? Who knows? Prokofiev's music is searingly powerful, with some of the most harsh and ear-rendering dissonances you will ever hear. Stephen King couldn't have come up with anything weirder and more sinister than this. The opera will leave you gasping.
There have been three recordings of the opera, the world premiere recording with cast,,orchestra and chorus of the Paris Opera, sung ina French translation, which has been relaesed on CD recently, but may be hard to find. The renowned Estonian conductor Neeme Jarvi made the first modern digital recording in the 90s, with the Gothenburg Symphony of Sweden,and an international cast, on Deutsche Grammophon, and there is a live recording from the Kirov Opera in St.Petersburgh on Philips with the great Prokofiev specialist Valery Gergiev conducting and an all Russian cast, which has also been available on DVD. These may be hard to find, but I have both of the DG and Philips recording, and got to know the opera many years ago on LP. Try it - but beware of nightmares !