DOCSLIB.ORG

Magic Flutes & Enchanted Forests: the Supernatural in Eighteenth

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Magic Flutes & Enchanted Forests: the Supernatural in Eighteenth Magic Flutes & Enchanted Forests: The Supernatural in Eighteenth-Century Musical Theater (review) Leonardo J. Waisman Notes, Volume 66, Number 3, March 2010, pp. 540-542 (Review) Published by Music Library Association DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/not.0.0270 For additional information about this article https://muse.jhu.edu/article/376416 [ This content has been declared free to read by the pubisher during the COVID-19 pandemic. ] 540 Notes, March 2010 EIGHTEENTH CENTURY AND BEYOND Magic Flutes & Enchanted Forests: The Supernatural in Eighteenth- Century Musical Theater. By David J. Buch. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2008. [xxvii, 450 p. ISBN 9780226078090. $50.] Music ex- amples, illustrations, appendices, bibliography, index. “Magic-heroic-amatory, with a touch of tioning acceptance” of the eighteenth- the tragic” (di stile magico-eroico-amoroso, toc- century philosophes’ determined opposition. cante il tragico): Antonio Salieri’s choice of Buch has found that, notwithstanding these terms to describe his own opera, Armida, re- thinkers’ rationalistic strictures, the mar- veals the complexity of eighteenth-century velous and the supernatural enjoyed great style and genre definitions (later in the popularity on the eighteenth-century stage. same phrase the composer equates “style” In different genres and occasions it could and “genre”). It is much to David Buch’s either buttress the social status quo (when credit that he has undertaken, with a large used by characters in authority) or function measure of success, to unravel one of the as allegorical social critique (when it was threads that make up this tangled web. the powerless who wielded the magic Although the book resulted from Buch’s wand). interest in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, it is by The bulk of the book is devoted to fol- no means the story of Mozart’s precursors, lowing up the manifestations of the mar- culminating in a glowing account of how velous in operatic libretti and ballet plots of the genius from Salzburg outdid them all. the seventeen and eighteenth centuries, Although Mozart gets a chapter of his own, identifying in their musical settings a spe- Buch’s writing never suggests that he repre- cific musical grammar and vocabulary. The sents the ideal towards which previous com- area covered includes German-speaking posers were groping. Interestingly enough, lands, France, and Italy (this last, alas, more the high points of the volume occur in the selectively). Casual references are also made fairly slim preface and three-page post- to England; as usual, Spain is ignored, in script. These two constitute a conceptual spite of its strong theatrical tradition. One frame enclosing the 358 pages devoted to cannot complain, however, about such limi- substantiating the strong hypothesis made tations: the amount of material that Buch at the beginning, and providing the basis has examined and organized is absolutely for the even stronger corollary that the staggering. writer springs at the reader in the last para- An introductory chapter, “Precedents graphs. Buch postulates the continued exis- and Sources of Magic and the ‘Marvelous,’ ” tence, coherence and temporal develop- presents the main classical and Renaissance ment of a cluster of themes revolving sources, mainly mythology and epic ro- around the idea of “the marvelous” that mances, before sketching the main lines of constitute “a forgotten chapter in the his- seventeenth-century literary and musical tory of music” (p. x), to which “not a single handling of the fantastic. Perrault’s fairy book has been devoted” (p. xvi). Although, tales, Italian commedia dell’arte, court and by and large, Buch is correct about the public opera, court ballet and tragédie pointed ignorance of his subject in the lyrique are the main lodes where Buch scholarly literature—inadequately replaced, mines for magic and the supernatural. A for example, by Sturm und Drang in Ratner’s central concept here is that “music in and list of topics (Leonard Ratner, Classic of itself connoted a magical presence by Music: Expression, Form and Style [New York: virtue of its inherent allegorical nature” Schirmer Books, 1980], 21)—he inexplica- (p. 23); therefore no special style or vocab- bly neglects Reinhold Hammerstein’s sub- ulary is needed to represent the marvelous. stantial study, Die Stimme aus der anderen In apparent contradiction to this statement, Welt: Die Darstellung des Numinosen in der the author lists several specific devices, Oper von Monteverdi bis Mozart (Tutzing: some of them employed all over Europe, Hans Schneider, 1998). He attributes much others more characteristic of Italian and of the responsibility for musicology’s silenc- French genres: especially elegant instru- ing of the magical genre to the “unques- mental music, the use of trombones or Book Reviews 541 flutes, special tonal areas such as C minor, arsenal for musical depictions of this terri- unusual modal changes, descending octave bilità, which the author links to the emerg- leaps in the voice, rapid scales and re- ing aesthetic concept of the sublime. peated notes in the strings, accompanied More than half of the chapter on recitative, and low-pitched string accompa- German musical theater is given over to niments are some of the basic items devel- fairy-tale operas, with a substantial section oped before 1700 to express the marvelous. on Der Stein der Weisen (Vienna, 1790), the As it turns out, not many other musical collective piece which includes some con- signs were added to this stockpile in the tributions by Mozart, as Buch himself next hundred years, covered in the follow- revealed some years ago. Two of the traits ing five chapters. Buch assigns exceptional most emphasized for the genre are the importance to the musical theater and bal- hegemonic influence of opéra comique and lets produced by the Académie royale de the “romantic” style, consisting of text set- musique. It is there, around 1750, that he tings with few repetitions. The author’s in- places the most momentous development terpretations of Don Giovanni and Die in the history of the marvelous: the defini- Zauberflöte are informed by his preceding tive breaking up of the older association be- survey of topics and genres, although not tween music and the supernatural that fos- limited by it. They represent a fresh but not tered the expansion and codification of a heterodox view of the two masterworks dedicated musical language. The large in- against the background of the large canvas strumental, choral, and vocal forces em- painstakingly designed and filled out in the ployed, and the creation of scene com- previous chapters. plexes, were operative in enriching this In the hyperconcentrated postscript, a tradition. Chapter 3 reviews the French portentous derivation is postulated: in tak- comic genres. The element of parody ing up the practice of representing the seems to be one of the main contributions transcendental, “the composer took on made by the writers and musicians of the the attributes of the magus, casting sonic fair theaters, the Théâtre italien, and the spells,” and eventually “assumed the cre- puppet shows. The emergence of the aristo- ative force associated with the divine” cratic fairy story, which Buch differentiates (p. 359). The tradition of the terribile, devel- from the older fairy tale, and the rise of the oped for the representation of the mar- Gothic in the final decades of the century velous, could end up supplying not only are also credited with further inputs to the the techniques (Buch includes Haydn, repertory. Mozart and Beethoven as beneficiaries) but Chapters 4 and 5 deal with Italian opera, also the romantic construction of the com- seria and buffa. Conventional music- poser as a demiurge. Or, from a different historical wisdom has it that the Arcadian angle, it was the combination of the galant reformers succeeded in banishing the fan- and the terribile that gave rise to the classic- tastic and the supernatural from serious romantic musical style. opera. Buch acknowledges the decreased If, upon reading the final pages of incidence of magic in the genre, but ex- Buch’s book, the reader is left thrilled, plains that storms, battles and sacrifice pondering major issues of Western musical scenes were effective substitutes, inviting history, he experiences quite a different similar musical responses; festive genres feeling while perusing the main body of the ( feste teatrali, pastorals, ballets) were not af- book. The author’s method for proving his fected by the new austerity; and imaginary main point is basically enumeration. Many ghosts and fake magic were set to the same pages seem to be filled with lists of titles, kind of music as their “real” counterparts. authors, plot summaries, and descriptions He deals rather briefly with the Italian late- of musical devices that are necessarily repe- baroque composers, concentrating instead titious: the point is precisely that those ele- on Handel before arriving at the nodal ments are present in hundreds of operas point in this part of his narrative: the and ballets. This means that reading Franco-Italian synthesis launched around through the book becomes rather tedious. midcentury, which included, as a major de- If the author is to be thanked for the parture, the emphasis on terrifying events: wealth of information provided, he might tempests, furies, infernal scenes. Blasts of have made it easier on the reader by writ- the brass are added to the already familiar ing a more terse account of the processes 542 Notes, March 2010 involved, highlighting the main points by Tonal Space in the Music of Antonio centering upon a limited number of works, Vivaldi. By Bella Brover-Lubovsky. and gathering the rest of his useful, de- Bloomington: Indiana University tailed information for hundreds of pieces Press, 2008. [xix, 357 p. ISBN in suitable appendices. Including this im- 9780253351296. $44.95.] Music exam- mense number of operas within the main narrative also means exposing oneself un- ples, illustrations, bibliography, necessarily to oversights and errors.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • A Countertenor's Reference Guide to Operatic Repertoire
    A COUNTERTENOR’S REFERENCE GUIDE TO OPERATIC REPERTOIRE Brad Morris A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF MUSIC May 2019 Committee: Christopher Scholl, Advisor Kevin Bylsma Eftychia Papanikolaou © 2019 Brad Morris All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Christopher Scholl, Advisor There are few resources available for countertenors to find operatic repertoire. The purpose of the thesis is to provide an operatic repertoire guide for countertenors, and teachers with countertenors as students. Arias were selected based on the premise that the original singer was a castrato, the original singer was a countertenor, or the role is commonly performed by countertenors of today. Information about the composer, information about the opera, and the pedagogical significance of each aria is listed within each section. Study sheets are provided after each aria to list additional resources for countertenors and teachers with countertenors as students. It is the goal that any countertenor or male soprano can find usable repertoire in this guide. iv I dedicate this thesis to all of the music educators who encouraged me on my countertenor journey and who pushed me to find my own path in this field. v PREFACE One of the hardships while working on my Master of Music degree was determining the lack of resources available to countertenors. While there are opera repertoire books for sopranos, mezzo-sopranos, tenors, baritones, and basses, none is readily available for countertenors. Although there are online resources, it requires a great deal of research to verify the validity of those sources.
    [Show full text]
  • Rinaldo and Armida on a Chariot Drawn by Dragons Pen and Brown Ink, Over Traces of an Underdrawing in Pencil, on Buff Paper, with Framing Lines in Brown Ink
    Luigi SABATELLI (Florence 1772 - Milan 1850) Rinaldo and Armida on a Chariot Drawn by Dragons Pen and brown ink, over traces of an underdrawing in pencil, on buff paper, with framing lines in brown ink. Signed Luigi Sabatelli fece at the lower left. 424 x 699 mm. (16 1/4 x 27 1/2 in.) [image] 480 x 754 mm. (18 7/8 x 29 3/4 in.) [sheet] In his posthumously published autobiography, Luigi Sabatelli recalled of his youthful period in Rome in the 1790s that he became well known for his finished drawings in pen and ink. The sale of these scenes from Greek, Roman and Florentine history, as well as episodes from Homer, Dante, Shakespeare, Milton and the Old Testament, earned him some one hundred zecchini over four years. His highly finished pen drawings, and the engravings derived from them, were greatly admired by his contemporaries, and many of these independent drawings were sold to collectors. Sabatelli’s bold and inventive draughtsmanship reveals the influence of Michelangelo, as well as the Anglo-Swiss artist Johann Heinrich Fuseli. A talented printmaker in his own right, Sabatelli also provided finished drawings for other engravers. Among his engraved designs are the series of Pensieri diversi, published in Rome in 1795, and The Plague of Florence, inspired by Boccaccio’s Decameron and published in 1801. A superb example of the vigour of Luigi Sabatelli’s pen draughtsmanship, and what has been aptly described as the artist’s ‘virtuoso calligraphy’, this very large drawing may be dated to the artist’s years in Rome, between 1789 and 1794, and in particular towards the end of that period.
    [Show full text]
  • Antonio Salieri Stefanie Attinger, Krüger & Ko
    Aufnahme / Recording: World Premiere Recordings 28./29.1.07; 29./30.9.07; 28./29.10.07 Gesellschaftshaus Heidelberg, Pfaffengrund Toningenieur und Schnitt / Sound engineer and editing: Eckhard Steiger, Tonstudio van Geest, Sandhausen Musikalischer Berater und Einführungstext / Music consultant and critical editions: Timo Jouko Herrmann English Translation: Für weitere Informationen / For further information: Dr. Miguel Carazo & Association Mannheimer Mozartorchester - Tourneebüro Foto / Photo: Classic arts gmbh · Bergstr. 31 · D-69120 Heidelberg Rosa-Frank.com Tel.: +49-(0) 6221-40 40 16 · Fax: +49-(0) 6221-40 40 17 Grafik / Coverdesign: [email protected] · www.mannheimer-mozartorchester.de Antonio Salieri Stefanie Attinger, Krüger & Ko. Vol. 1 & 2007 hänssler CLASSIC, D-71087 Holzgerlingen Ouvertüren & Ballettmusik Mit freundlicher Unterstützung von Prof. Dr. Dietrich Götze, Heidelberg Overtures & Ballet music Außerdem erschienen / Also available: Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Symphony No. 1 C Minor op. 11 / String Symphony No. 8 (Version with winds) / String Symphony No. 13 (Symphonic Movement) Heidelberger Sinfoniker / Thomas Fey CD-No. 98.275 Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Symphony No. 4 „Italian“ / String Symphonies Nos. 7 & 12 Heidelberger Sinfoniker / Thomas Fey CD-No. 98.281 Eine große Auswahl von über 700 Klassik-CDs und DVDs finden Sie bei hänssler CLASSIC unter www.haenssler-classic.de, auch mit Hörbeispielen, Downloadmöglichkeiten und Künstlerinformationen. Gerne können Sie auch unseren Gesamtkatalog anfordern Mannheimer Mozartorchester unter der Bestellnummer 955.410. E-Mail-Kontakt: [email protected] Thomas Fey Enjoy a huge selection of more than 700 classical CDs and DVDs from hänssler CLASSIC at www.haenssler-classic.com, including listening samples, download and artist related information. You may as well order our printed catalogue, order no.: 955.410.
    [Show full text]
  • The Italian Girl in Algiers
    Opera Box Teacher’s Guide table of contents Welcome Letter . .1 Lesson Plan Unit Overview and Academic Standards . .2 Opera Box Content Checklist . .8 Reference/Tracking Guide . .9 Lesson Plans . .11 Synopsis and Musical Excerpts . .32 Flow Charts . .38 Gioachino Rossini – a biography .............................45 Catalogue of Rossini’s Operas . .47 2 0 0 7 – 2 0 0 8 S E A S O N Background Notes . .50 World Events in 1813 ....................................55 History of Opera ........................................56 History of Minnesota Opera, Repertoire . .67 GIUSEPPE VERDI SEPTEMBER 22 – 30, 2007 The Standard Repertory ...................................71 Elements of Opera .......................................72 Glossary of Opera Terms ..................................76 GIOACHINO ROSSINI Glossary of Musical Terms .................................82 NOVEMBER 10 – 18, 2007 Bibliography, Discography, Videography . .85 Word Search, Crossword Puzzle . .88 Evaluation . .91 Acknowledgements . .92 CHARLES GOUNOD JANUARY 26 –FEBRUARY 2, 2008 REINHARD KEISER MARCH 1 – 9, 2008 mnopera.org ANTONÍN DVOˇRÁK APRIL 12 – 20, 2008 FOR SEASON TICKETS, CALL 612.333.6669 The Italian Girl in Algiers Opera Box Lesson Plan Title Page with Related Academic Standards lesson title minnesota academic national standards standards: arts k–12 for music education 1 – Rossini – “I was born for opera buffa.” Music 9.1.1.3.1 8, 9 Music 9.1.1.3.2 Theater 9.1.1.4.2 Music 9.4.1.3.1 Music 9.4.1.3.2 Theater 9.4.1.4.1 Theater 9.4.1.4.2 2 – Rossini Opera Terms Music
    [Show full text]
  • Armida Abducts the Sleeping Rinaldo”
    “Armida abducts the sleeping Rinaldo” Neutron autoradiography is capable of revealing different paint layers piled-up during the creation of the painting, whereas different pigments can be represented on separate films due to a contrast variation created by the differences in the half-life times of the isotopes. Thus, in many cases the individual brushstroke applied by the artist is made visible, as well as changes made during the painting process, so-called pentimentis. When investigating paintings that have been reliably authenticated, it is possible to identify the particular style of an artist. By an example - a painting from the French painter Nicolas Poussin (1594–1665), belonging to the Berlin Picture Gallery - the efficiency of neutron autoradiography is demonstrated as a non- destructive method. Fig. 1: Nicolas Poussin, Replica, “Armida abducts the sleeping Rinaldo”, (c. 1637), Picture Gallery Berlin, 120 x 150 cm2, Cat No. 486 The painting show scenes from the bible and from classical antiquity. In 1625 the legend of the sorceress Armida and the crusader Rinaldo had inspired Poussin to a painting named “Armida and Rinaldo”, now owned by the Dulwich Picture Gallery in London, that has been identified as an original. In contrast, the painting from the Berlin Picture Gallery “Armida abducts the sleeping Rinaldo” (Fig. 1) shows a different but similar scene, and was listed in the Berlin Gallery’s catalogue as a copy. To clarify the open question of the ascription a neutron radiography investigation was carried out. In Fig. 2, one of the autoradiographs is depicted. Fig. 2: Nicolas Poussin, “Armida abducts the sleeping Rinaldo”, 1st neutron autoradiography assembled from 12 image plate records: in order to investigate the whole picture, two separated irradiations were carried out and finally recomposed.
    [Show full text]
  • Les Talens Lyriques the Ensemble Les Talens Lyriques, Which Takes Its
    Les Talens Lyriques The ensemble Les Talens Lyriques, which takes its name from the subtitle of Jean-Philippe Rameau’s opera Les Fêtes d’Hébé (1739), was formed in 1991 by the harpsichordist and conductor Christophe Rousset. Championing a broad vocal and instrumental repertoire, ranging from early Baroque to the beginnings of Romanticism, the musicians of Les Talens Lyriques aim to throw light on the great masterpieces of musical history, while providing perspective by presenting rarer or little known works that are important as missing links in the European musical heritage. This musicological and editorial work, which contributes to its renown, is a priority for the ensemble. Les Talens Lyriques perform to date works by Monteverdi (L'Incoronazione di Poppea, Il Ritorno d’Ulisse in patria, L’Orfeo), Cavalli (La Didone, La Calisto), Landi (La Morte d'Orfeo), Handel (Scipione, Riccardo Primo, Rinaldo, Admeto, Giulio Cesare, Serse, Arianna in Creta, Tamerlano, Ariodante, Semele, Alcina), Lully (Persée, Roland, Bellérophon, Phaéton, Amadis, Armide, Alceste), Desmarest (Vénus et Adonis), Mondonville (Les Fêtes de Paphos), Cimarosa (Il Mercato di Malmantile, Il Matrimonio segreto), Traetta (Antigona, Ippolito ed Aricia), Jommelli (Armida abbandonata), Martin y Soler (La Capricciosa corretta, Il Tutore burlato), Mozart (Mitridate, Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Così fan tutte, Die Zauberflöte), Salieri (La Grotta di Trofonio, Les Danaïdes, Les Horaces, Tarare), Rameau (Zoroastre, Castor et Pollux, Les Indes galantes, Platée, Pygmalion), Gluck
    [Show full text]
  • Quaderni D'italianistica : Revue Officielle De La Société Canadienne
    Maiilyn Migiel Secrets of a Sorceress: Tasso's Armida Armida appears in Canto 4 of Torquato Tasso 's Gerusalemme liber- ata. Her mission? To disseminate confusion in the Christian camp. This she accomplishes with expert techniques. She is both sorceress and seductress, hke the characters of classical and Renaissance lit- erature on whom her character is modelled: Circe, Medea, Alcina, and so forth. But though Armida is introduced as a sorceress and has infernal and magical connections through her uncle Idraote, she does not rely on her magic in order to entice the Christian soldiers into accompanying her and therefore abandoning their cause. Magic is not what keeps Rinaldo, the Christian warrior with whom she falls in love, in her power; nor is Armida' s magic effective when Rinaldo abandons her in Canto 16. Thus it seems that Armida' s magical powers come to be viewed as a function of youth and sexual charm, which can fade. But even youth and sexuality, important as they are to Armida's temporary victory, do not fully explain the tenacity of her hold on her Christian opponents. Armida's power over the Chris- tian warriors is particularly strong precisely because neither magic nor sexuality is her primary tool, and because her victims remain unaware of the source of her power. As I propose to show here, Armida's initial triumphs over the Christians and the fascination she exercises as a character derive from the unthreatened superiority of her gaze and from her control of the linguistic medium, in particular from the irrefutability of the story she narrates about her origins.
    [Show full text]
  • Competing Philosophies in Calderon's El Mayor Encanto, Amor
    Bulletin of Spanish Studies, Volume LXXXVII, Number 2, 2010 The Figure of Circe and the Power of Knowledge: Competing Philosophies in Caldero´n’s El mayor encanto, amor JONATHAN ELLIS Oklahoma State University At first, Caldero´n’s mythological play follows the well-known story of Homer’s Odyssey. On their way home from the Trojan War, Ulises1 and his crew stop at the island of the witch Circe. Most of the Greeks search the island and arrive at the palace of Circe as their leader waits at the beach. Rather than be wary, they choose to indulge their desires and baser natures. As we know, Circe transforms all but one of them into beasts with a potion. However, from this point on Caldero´n begins to introduce significant changes into the story known from both Homer and Ovid. When Ulises confronts Circe, she gives him also a potion, but he does not drink, having learned of its danger and having learned how to render it useless.2 Defeated, Circe cries out, ‘¿Quie´n cielos airados, / quie´nma´s ha sabido que yo?’ (1515a).3 This early passage is key, indicating that she recognizes knowledge to be the basis of her power with which she attempts to control all of nature, the elements and men. However, 1 I have retained the Spanish spelling of the names throughout, in order to clearly distinguish between Caldero´n’s characters and those of Classical literature. 2 In Homer, Odysseus is aided by Hermes who provides the moly root as protection against the effects of Circe’s potion.
    [Show full text]
  • Les Talens Lyriques Announces 20-21 Season with First Modern Performances of Salieri’S Armida
    Les Talens Lyriques announces 20-21 season with first modern performances of Salieri’s Armida 31 December 2020, 28 February, 3 April 2021 London: Wigmore Hall concerts 16 January, 19 February 2021 Vienna: Festival Resonanzen & Theater an der Wien 10-13 May 2021 Paris: St. John Passion staged with Calixto Bieito 11-12 June 2021 Würzburg: Mozartfest Centenary with Idomeneo Also touring to: Dortmund, Heidelberg, Linz, Innsbruck, Ferrara, Bologna, Genoa, Bilbao, Brussels, Liège, Caen, Rouen, Qatar Christophe Rousset and Les Talens Lyriques announce their 2020-21 season championing heroines, with the first modern performances of Salieri’s breakthrough success Armida, 250 years after the work’s premiere. A recording of Armida to be made during the season is complemented by the release of Mozart’s Betulia liberata on Aparté this autumn. In June 2021, Les Talens Lyriques join the centennial Mozartfest Würzburg with performances of Idomeneo. Rousset and Les Talens Lyriques express their love of the French Baroque, pairing ballets by Lully and Pascal Collasse to tell of the birth and life of Venus. On tour in Europe, Les Talens Lyriques make multiple visits to Germany and Austria, and give three concerts at London’s Wigmore Hall in Spring 2021. At home in Paris, Les Talens Lyriques are joined by Calixto Bieito for a staged production of Bach’s St. John Passion at the Théâtre du Châtelet. Further recordings from the ensemble include a DVD of Stefano Landi’s La Morte d’Orfeo from the Dutch National Opera’s 2018 production, and a solo disc of Armand-Louis Couperin’s harpsichord works from Christophe Rousset.
    [Show full text]
  • CHAN 3156 Georges Bizet (1838 –1875)
    Rebecca Evans • Barry Banks • Simon Keenlyside • Alastair Miles London Philharmonic Orchestra Brad Cohen CHAN 3156 Georges Bizet (1838 –1875) highlights from The Pearl Fishers © Lebrecht Music & Arts Library Photo Music © Lebrecht Opera in three acts Libretto by Eugène Cormon and Michel Carré, English translation by David Parry Zurga, head fisherman Simon Keenlyside baritone Nadir, fisherman Barry Banks tenor Leïla, priestess of Brahma Rebecca Evans soprano Nourabad, high priest of Brahma Alastair Miles bass Geoffrey Mitchell Choir London Philharmonic Orchestra Phillip Thomas assistant conductor Brad Cohen Georges Bizet 3 Time Page Time Page from Act I 8 No 4b, Romance 1 Prelude 1:54 [p. 70] ‘Again her voice will haunt me’ 3:11 [p. 74] 2 No 1a, Introduction 9 No 5, Air and Chorus ‘At the break of day with the waves at play’ 3:32 [p. 70] ‘Brahma the god, sovereign of the world’ 5:31 [p. 75] Chorus Leïla, Chorus, Nadir 3 No 1b, Scene and Chorus ‘My friends, you must delay your dances’ 4:03 [p. 70] from Act II Zurga, Chorus, Nadir 10 No 7, Recitative and Cavatina 4 No 1c, Recitative and Chorus reprise ‘I am alone here in the night’ 6:50 [p. 76] ‘Stay here and live with us, Nadir’ 2:14 [p. 71] Leïla Zurga, Nadir, Chorus 11 No 8, Chanson 5 No 2a, Recitative ‘My love was weeping while she was sleeping’ 1:53 [p. 76] ‘At last I have found you again!’ 2:37 [p. 72] 12 No 9, Duo Zurga, Nadir ‘Leïla! Leïla!’ 6:49 [p. 76] 6 No 2b, Duet Nadir, Leïla ‘Then from the holy shrine’ 7:11 [p.
    [Show full text]
  • Torquato Tasso, La Gierusalemme Liberata, 1590 Special Collections Featured Item for January 2005 by Tim Eggington, Former Rare Books Librarian
    Tim Eggington Section name Librar y Torquato Tasso, La Gierusalemme liberata, 1590 Special Collections featured item for January 2005 by Tim Eggington, former Rare Books Librarian Tasso, Torquato,1544-1595. La Gierusalemme liberata di Torquato Tasso / con le figure di Bernado Castello ; e le annotationi di Scipio Gentili, e di Giulio Gustavini. In Genova : [appresso Girolamo Bartoli], 1590. Item held in the Reserve Collection, University of Reading Library Special Collections First published in 1581, Gierusalemme liberata is one of the most celebrated literary works of the late Renaissance. Following the epic ancient tradition, it recounts the capture of Jerusalem by the crusaders in 1099. Gierusalemme liberata strongly influenced the writings of later authors such as Spenser and Milton, among many others. It also provided the subject for operas by composers such as Monteverdi (Il Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda,1624), Handel (Rinaldo, 1711) and Rossini (Armida, 1817). Published during Tasso’s lifetime, this rare edition is particularly admired for its 20 full-page illustrations. These were engraved by Giacomo Franco and Agostini Carraci after designs by Bernardo Castelli. Bound in contemporary vellum, Reading’s copy also includes various indications of its provenance. One of them reveals the book to have resided in ‘Napoli Ottobre 1726’. ©University of Reading 2007 Page 1 Born in Sorrento, Tasso is remembered principally for his two masterpieces, Aminta (1573) and Gierusalemme liberata (1581). For much of his career Tasso resided at the court of the Duke of Ferrara, seven years of which were spent in confinement for apparent insanity. Tasso was particularly troubled about the reception of his works and the fate of his manuscripts, over which he lost control while confined.
    [Show full text]
  • Adaptation of Handel's Castrato Airs for Bass: a Lecture Recital, Together with Three Recitals of Selected Works of J
    57? NS/d Ho, ADAPTATION OF HANDEL'S CASTRATO AIRS FOR BASS: A LECTURE RECITAL, TOGETHER WITH THREE RECITALS OF SELECTED WORKS OF J. S. BACH, W. MOZART, M. RAVEL, G. FINZI, R. SCHUMANN, A. CALDARA, G. HANDEL, H. WOLF, H. DUPARC, C. IVES AND S. BARBER AND AN OPERATIC ROLE BY VERDI DISSERTATION Presented to the Graduate Council of the North Texas State University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS By Terry L. Fern, B. M., M. M. Denton, Texas May, 1986 Fern, Terry Lee, Adaptation of Handel's Castrato Airs for Bass, A Lecture Recital Together With Three Recitals of Selected Works of J. S. Bach, W. Mozart, M. Ravel, G. Finzi, R. Schumann, A. Caldara, G. Handel, H. Wolf, H. Duparc, C- Ives and S. Barber and an Operatic Role by Verdi. Doctor of Musical Arts (Vocal Performance), May, 1986, 31 pp., 5 illustrations, bibliography, 52 titles. The lecture recital was given on April 18, 1977. The subject was Adaptation of Handel's Castrato Airs for Bass, and it included a discussion of conventions peculiar to Handelian opera seria, concerns regarding adaptation of Handel's castrato airs and a comparison of adaptation practices in eighteenth- and twentieth-century presentations of Handel's operas. Three coloratura castrato airs and two virtuoso bass airs were performed at the conclusion of the lecture. In addition to the lecture recital, one operatic role and three recitals of solo literature for voice, piano and chamber ensemble were publicly performed. These included the role of "Samuele" in A Masked Ball, by Verdi, performed in English on March 19, 1975 with the Opera Theatre of North Texas State University, a program presented on November 24, 1975,of solo literature for voice, piano, and chamber ensemble, including works by J.
    [Show full text]