The Horn : Profiles Of Famous Operas

Cavalleria Rusticana And Pagliacci - Opera's Ever Popular Double Bill

the horn — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 12:34:00 GMT

Pietro Mascagni (1863-1 945) and Ruggero Leoncavallo (1857- 1919) were two Italian opera composers who achieved lasting success with only one work each . Both wrote numerous other operas which were quickly forgotten, as well as some songs which are occaisionally performed. But the two operas ,Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana (Rustic Chivalry),and Pagliacci, have been staples of the opera repertoire for over a century, are often performed together as they are both relatively brief, and have been vehicles for many legendary opera singers, including Enrico Caruso.

Mascagni and Leoncavallo were part of a late 19th and early 20th century operatic trend called Verismo, or realism. Verismo operas are gritty yet passionate works which deal with realistic situations drawn from everyday life,rather than the mythical subjects of Wagner, or operas about the lives of the aristocracy and ancient times. The young Mascagni won a prize for the best one act opera in 1890 with Cavalleria Rusticana, but never equaled his initial success, to his lifelong regret.

This ever popular one act opera is set in a small village in Sicily at Eastertime, and is the story of a hot-headed young man,Turiddu, who has abandoned his girlfriend Santuzza , who still loves him. He had been in love with another young woman,Lola, but she married a swaggering teamster, Alfio. Turiddu has been carrying on an affair with Lola.

But the jealous Santuzza tries in vain to win Turiddu back, and when he rejects her again, she curses him by wishing a bad Easter to him. She tells Alfio of the affair between Turiddu and Lola, and Alfio swears vengance. Alfio challenges Turiddu to a fight to the death,and kills him. The villagers are horrified. Mascagnis's music is passionate and melodious, and full of Sicilian flavor and local color, with villagers singing Easter hymns and folk songs. The music may not be as profound as Wagner or Mozart, but it goes right to the jugular.

Pagliacci (pal-YAH-chee) is set in a small village in Calabria in Southern Italy. The Pagliacci were groups of iternerant actors in rural Italy who presented tradional Italian Comedia Del'Arte comedies for the residents of small towns. The put on simple plays with stock Italian characters to entertain people. Canio is the head of one of these Pagliacci groups; he performs with his wife Nedda, a poor orphan girl whom he rescued and married. Other members of the troop are the ugly hunchback Tonio, and the clown Beppe.

Before the opera begins, Tonio steps before the curtain to sing the prologue, in which he states that these are actors representing human emotions and life sityations, and not to be afraid of the drama. When the curtain opens, the villagers are welcoming the actors, and we meet the characters. Nedda is unhappy with her life, and feels neglected by Canio,even though he is insanely jealous. Tonio is in love with Nedda, but she angrily rejects the ugly hunchback. She sings an aria in which she envies the birds, and wishes to be as free as they are.

Nedda meets the villager Silvio, and the two have fallen in love, and sing a passionate duet in which they plan to run off with each other. Tonio overhears them, and Canio catches them attempting to run off. But the show must go on,as they say. He sings the famous aria "Ridi Pagliacco" (laugh clown), in which he pours out his grief but determines to go on with the show. He puits his clown costume on and the mae up.

Later that night,the villagers have gathered for the show. Nedda performs a little play which predicts the end; she plays Columbina, receiving a lover, while the jealous Pagliaccio rages. But Canio actually steps out of character and furiously denounces Nedda for her faithlessness, and the villagers are stunned and applaud his realistic acting. But when Silvio comes out of the audience, he stabs him and Nedda to death ! The audience is horrified. Tonio ironically says"La Comedia e Finita !" The comedy is over.

No wonder these two brief operas have been so popular for over a century. They are straightforward and powerful operas which get right to the point, and the music appeals to even to opera neophytes. There are numerous recordings on CD, some separate and some combining bothe operas. Such great singers as Placido Domingo,Luciano Pavarotti, Franco Corelli, Jussi Bjorling, Renata Tebaldi,Maria Callas and others have recorded them, and there are several DVDs available.

The Womaqn Without A Shadow By Richard Strauss - A Phantasmagorical Fairy Tale Opera

the horn — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 12:30:00 GMT

After the whimsical and light-hearted Ariadne Auf Naxos, Richard Strauss and librettist Hoffmannstahl came up with their strangest and most elaborate operatic project ; Die Frau Ohne Schatten,or the woman without a shadow. This is one of the most difficult operas for any one to grasp, being a strange mystical allegory, but it inspired the composer to write some of his most gorgeous and emotionally powerful music.

The opera is set in a fairy tale world ruled by the great god Keikobad, who never appears in the opera but who influences the story. In fact, Keikobad is a god of ancient Persia. The emperor, who lives in a luxurious palace above the city, has recently married a beautiful young woman he found hunting with his falcon. She is the daughter of Keikobad by a human woman. The god has decreed that if she has not born a child by one year of marriage, the emperor will turn to stone and his daughter the empress shall return to him. The shadow is her symbol of fertility, and she has yet to cast one.

The empress has a malevolant nursemaid with magical powers who is devoted to her but hates the emperor and all humans. She longs to return to Keikobad with the empress. At the beginning of the opera, a spirit messenger from Keikobad informs the nurse of the situation. The emperor loves Keikobad's daughter but is a shallow ruler devoted only to hunting and his exotic wife. The voice of the falcon warns the empress that the emperor will turn to stone if she does not aquire a shodow within three days.

The nurse and the empress resolve to descend to earth from the mystical palace and find a shadow. But they must persuade a human woman to give up her shadow and lose her fertility. The come across the humble dwelling of the dyer Barak( not Obama!) and his shrewiish young wife, who is bitterly unhappy with her lot in life and is always complaining bitterly. The two share their humble dwelling with Barak's three disabled brothers who help him with his work; one is hunchbacked, and another is one-eyed etc. Barak wants to have children desperately, but his unhappy wife has not blessed him with any children.

The empress and the nurse come across the dyer''s wife and tempt her to give up her shadow with magic visions . The nurse says tells her that if she gives up her shadow she will have riches beyond her wildest dreams and an endless supply of handsome lovers. She conjures up the image of a handsome young man. But when Barak comes back from work for a meal of fish, the spirits of the unborn children cry and beg to be allowed to be born .

In another scene,the emperor is away hunting at his hunting lodge, and suspects that something is wrong. He laments that he may have to put his wife to death for misleading him while he is off on a hunting trip. Later, in Barak's hut, the empress dreams at night of a vision of her husband turned to stone, and is terrified.

Finally, the nurse has gotten the dyer's wife to reliquish her shadow. Ominous signs; the day has grown dark, and Barak and his brothers are afraid. Finally his wife reveals that she has sold her shadow. The normally gentle Barak is enraged and swears to kill her if she is telling the truth.His brothers attempt to restrain him. But the malevolant nurse triumphantly states that"Higher powers are at play". A massive flood is conjured up and the scene ends in utter chaos. The hut is destroyed.

The final act takes place in the spirit world of Keikobad. Barak and his wife are being held in separate areas, and the two call to each other in fear. Barak consoles her and swears to rescue her and support for ever. The empress and the nurse enter Keikobad's realm. The empress is to be judged by her father, and the fate of the emperor ,Barak and his wife is to be determined.

The empress appears humbly before her all mighty father for judgement. The emperor appears before her, turned to stone. But his eyes still gaze before her, and she sees his terror. A magic fountain appears. These are the waters of life. If she drinks of them, she will have her shadow, but Barak and his wife are lost.

The empress faces an agonizing decision. But in a heart-stopping moment, she cries out- "I will not drink" ! Suddenly , the fountain disappears and the emperor returns to normal, and Barak and his wife are united. Because of her selfless refusal to deprive the dyer's wife of a shadow, Keikobad has forgiven all. The spirits of the unborn children rejoice, and Barak resolves to love his wife forever, and the emperor is freed from his terrible fate. Both couples are now free to have children !

What a strange story ! But when you hear the gorgeous music Strauss wrote for this enigmatic fairy tale, you can surrender yourself to this mystical story. The music shimmers, glows or menaces bu turns. You'll be transfixed.

The opera was premiered at the famed Vienna opera in 1919, but has never been performed too frequently because of the difficulty of the roles, the enormous orchestra required, and the difficulties in staging . But such great singers as Leonie Rsysanek, Birgit Nilsson, Christa Ludwig, and others have become famous for their portrayal of the characters, and such great Strauss conductors as Karl Boehm, Wolfgang Sawallisch and Sir georg Solti have recorded the opera. There are also two DVDs. Unfortunately, the Metropolitan opera was forced to cancel its revival of Die Frau next season, but you should not miss getting to know this strange and profoundly moving opera.

Ariadne Auf Naxos By Richard Strauss - An Opera Within An Opera

the horn — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 12:24:00 GMT

For his next opera after Der Rosenkavalier, Richard Strauss again chose Hugo von Hoffmannstahl as his librettist, and they came up with a rather droll and unusual concept ; an opera within an opera called Ariadne Auf Naxos (Ariadne on Naxos) ,based loosely on the Greek legend of Araidne, who was abandoned on the Isle of Naxos by Theseus , who slew the Monotaur of Crete.

The premise of the opera is that the richest man in Vienna is putting on an opera in his palace for an aristocratic audience (he does not appear in the opera). There will be fireworks after the performance and a banquet before. A talented and idealistic young composer (sung by a soprano) has been comissioned to write the opera under the supervision of his teacher, an older composer. This is the proglogue, and the rest of the opera is the performance.

But the opera is simply to long, and the young composer's teacher informs him that unfortunately, cuts will have to be made to accomodate the audience and make time for the fireworks. The young man is outraged and terribly disappointed. And to add insult to injury, the opera will be performed simultaneously,going back and forth, with a performance by an Italian troop of commedians,led by the flirtatious and charming Zerbinetta, and her partners, actors from the traditional Italian Commedia Del'Arte. The composer is horrified.

The singers , such as the soprano who will sing Ariadne, and the tenor who is to sing the role of the god Bacchus, who rescues Ariadne, complain that their parts are being cut. The rich man's pompous and officious Major Domo oversees the proceedings. The young composer reluctantly agrees to the cuts and alterations in the opera, and sings an aria about music being a "holy art".

The opera begins. Ariadne has been abandoned on the desolate Greek island of Naxos. Three nyads comment on her terrible sadness and dejection. Ariadne longs for Theseus to rescue her and sings a monologue about her longing to die and go to Hades. She cannot bear the loss of Theseus.

The chirpy Zerbinetta and her troop of Italian comedic actors try in vain to cheer her up. They do all manner of comic pratfalls but Ariadne ignores them. Zerbinetta sings a long and difficult aria trying to make Ariadne aware that there are always other men to look for, and that she can always cheer up.

Suddenly, the Nyads become aware that the god Bacchus is coming to rescue Ariadne. They sing the praises of the young god. Finally, Bacchus meets Ariadne. He is gradually able to overcome her grief, and the two go off in triumph. Zerbinetta chimes in ,saying that her advice has finally worked !

For this curious little opera, Strauss used an orchestra of only about 35 musicians or so, unusual for him. The music is by turns witty and luxuriant. The small orchestra is made to sound almost Wagnerian in the triumphant ending where Baccus rescues Ariadne. As in Der Rosenkavalier, tomfoolery is juxtaposed with sublimity.

Many great singers, such as Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Jessye Norman, Tatiana Troyanos, James King, Ben Heppner and others have performed and recorded Ariadne Auf Naxos. And such great Strauss conductors as Karl Bohm, Herbert von Karajan, Sir Georg Solti, and others have conducted and recorded it. It's an unusual and comically esoteric work, but you should find it delightful.