"Dramatic" Overture and the Idea of Tragic Narrative Kieran Philip Hulse
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The "Dramatic" Overture and the Idea of Tragic Narrative Kieran Philip Hulse King’s College, London A dissertation submitted for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY 2011 1 Abstract This thesis consists of four chapters, each chapter presenting a case study of an overture from either the latter half of the eighteenth century or first decade of the nineteenth century, in particular overtures written between the years 1767 and 1809. The aim is to explore the relationship between the overture and the drama that it introduces. I assess whether an overture bears any relation to the ensuing drama and, if so, how the music of the overture is able to foster a sense of drama that is akin to that of the literary-based narrative that follows. In short, this thesis explores ideas of introduction, preparation, and expectation, and is as much concerned with ideas of music as drama and music as narrative, as it is with overtures. The four overtures I have chosen to focus upon each introduce either a tragedy or contain tragic scenes and/or subjects. By focusing my investigation on the idea of tragic narrative, I will be able to look in detail at the relationship between music, narrative and drama, and explore whether literary ideas particular to tragedy can inform the musical narrative of an overture. This thesis, then, is not so much a contribution to the history of the overture, than a contribution to the theory of music as narrative and, in particular, music as tragic narrative. 2 Table of Contents Title Page 1 Abstract 2 Acknowledgments 4 Introduction: Words, Music and the Eighteenth-Century 5 Dramatic Overture Chapter One: Tragic Temporality and Musical Tableaux: 44 Gluck’s Tragic Overture to Alceste Chapter Two: A Tragic Conflict of Characters: Gluck’s 112 Iphigénie en Aulide Overture Chapter Three: Either/Or: Tragic/Comic Narratives 166 in the Don Giovanni Overture Chapter Four: Tragedy, Trauerspiel and Transcendence: 232 Beethoven’s Heroic Egmont Overture Conclusions: The Implications of a Narrative Study of Overture 300 Bibliography 309 3 Acknowledgements I would like to express my gratitude to my supervisor, John Deathridge, for his encouragement and constant guidance throughout this project and am indebted to Cliff Eisen, Daniel Chua and members of staff at King’s College, London for their help and support. Much appreciation is also given to Julian Rushton and Amanda Glauert for examining this thesis, to Michael Seymour for his advice and direction, and to Suzannah Clark and Emanuele Senici for providing me with the confidence and inspiration to pursue this project. I would like to thank the Arts and Humanities Research Council for funding the first three years of this project and for providing a series of informative and useful programmes. Thanks go to Richard Graylin for his help with translations and Paul Thompson for his enlightening comments and for proof reading this thesis. A very special thank you goes to Guy Fenby for his unflagging support in the final stages of this difficult project. Most of all, I would like to thank my Mum and Dad for their inspiration, help, forbearance, and constant words of comfort. I dedicate this thesis to them. 4 Introduction Words, Music and the Eighteenth-Century Dramatic Overture This thesis consists of four chapters, each chapter presenting a case study of an overture from either the latter half of the eighteenth century or first decade of the nineteenth century. My aim is to explore the relationship between the overture and the drama that it introduces. Over the course of the next four chapters, I assess whether an overture can bear any relation to the ensuing drama and, if so, how the music of the overture is able to foster a sense of drama or narrative that is akin to that of the literary-based narrative that follows. In short, this thesis explores ideas of introduction, preparation, and expectation, and is as much concerned with ideas of music as drama and music as narrative, as it is with overtures. Studying the Eighteenth-Century Overture This is not the first study to focus upon the eighteenth-century overture.1 Adam Carse’s book on the eighteenth-century symphony, for example, touches upon the history of the overture and presents a number of case studies. Although Carse concerns himself predominantly with the eighteenth-century sinfonia and 1 For general discussions concerning the eighteenth-century overture see Linda Ardito, A Study of Compositional Procedures in Selected Opera Overtures (1791-1821) (Ph.D. dissertation: City University of New York, 1994), Adam Carse, 18th Century Symphonies: A Short History of the Symphony in the 18th Century (London: Augener, 1951), and Frederick Niecks, 'Historical Sketch of the Overture', Sammelbände der Internationalen Musikgesellschaft, Vol. 7, No. 3 (1906), p. 386- 390. Also see Barry S. Brook, ed., The Symphony, 1720-1840: a Comprehensive Collection of Full Scores in Sixty Volumes (New York; London: Garland, 1979-1986). In particular, series A, Vol. 1 (The Ripieno Concerto/The Eighteenth-Century Overture in Naples), series D, Vol. 7 (The Overture in France, 1790-1810), and Series E, Vol. 1 (The Symphony and Overture in Great Britain). On the dramatic nature of the overture see Basil Deane, 'The French Operatic Overture from Grétry to Berlioz', Proceedings of the Royal Music Association, Vol. 99, No.1 (1972), p. 67-80, Constantin Floros, 'Das "Program" in Mozarts Meisterouvertüren', Studien zur Musikwissenschaft, Vol. 26 (1964), p. 140-186, Daniel Heartz, 'Mozart's Overture to Titus as Dramatic Argument', Musical Quarterly, Vol. 64, No. 1 (1978), p. 29-49, Patricia Howard, Gluck and the Birth of Modern Opera (London: Barrie and Rockliff, 1963), p. 89-99, and Reinhard Strohm, Dramma per Musica: Italian Opera Seria of the Eighteenth Century (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1997), p. 237-251. 5 not the overture, he does draw the reader’s attention to the particularly interesting and close relationship that existed between the overture and the sinfonia.2 The two histories are, indeed, entwined, there being many instances where a symphony or symphonic movement was employed as an overture, and where an overture was performed as if a symphonic, concert work. For example, the overture to Mozart’s opera La finta semplice is a reworking of his Symphony in D, K. 45 (No.7), and his Symphony in D, K.161, K.163 (No. 50) is thought to have been first used as the introduction to his opera Il sogno di Scipione.3 In addition, we know that Mozart amended his Don Giovanni overture so that it could be performed in the concert hall, and that Beethoven struggled with the writing of his Leonore overture because he wanted it to function as an opera overture and as an independent concert piece. Perhaps more intriguing is the recent suggestion that a number of Haydn’s so-called Sturm und Drang symphonies may have been intended originally as theatrical overtures.4 This observation challenges our perception not just of Haydn’s Sturm und Drang symphonies, but also of our understanding of how the symphony evolved and developed. A study of eighteenth-century overtures and their possible connection to literary dramatic models, then, may enrich the way in which we understand some of the more unusual melodic and harmonic features of 2 For a discussion of the relationship between the overture and symphony see Adam Carse, 18th Century Symphonies: A Short History of the Symphony in the 18th Century (London: Augener, 1951). See also Gordana Lazarevich and Douglas Green’s prefatory comments to Barry S. Brook, ed., The Symphony, 1720-1840: a Comprehensive Collection of Full Scores in Sixty Volumes (New York; London: Garland, 1979-1986), p. xl-xlvi, and Neal Zaslaw, Mozart Symphonies: Context, Performance Practice, Reception (Oxford: Clarendon, 1989). 3 Neal Zaslaw, Mozart Symphonies: Context, Performance Practice, Reception (Oxford: Clarendon, 1989), p. 250-251. 4 Stephen C. Fischer, Haydn's Overtures and their Adaptations as Concert Orchestral Works (Ph.D. Dissertation: University of Pennsylvania, 1985), and Elaine R. Sisman, 'Haydn's Theatre Symphonies', Journal of the American Musicological Society, Vol. 43, No. 2 (1990), p. 292-352. See also Barry S. Brook, 'Sturm und Drang and the Romantic Period in Music', Studies in Romanticism, Vol. 9, No. 4 (1970), p. 269-288, W. Dean Sutcliffe, ed., Haydn Studies (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998), p. 120-245, and R. Larry Todd, 'Joseph Haydn and the Sturm und Drang: A Reevaluation', Music Review, Vol. 41 (1980), p. 172-196. 6 Haydn’s dramatic symphonic works, such as those of his Sturm and Drang period. The connection between the overture and the symphony is certainly important, the evolution of one being closely tied to that of the other. It is worth pointing out, however, that towards the close of the eighteenth century the different social functions of the overture and the symphony began to have an impact on the way in which they each were composed and understood, the overture over time becoming a genre independent of the symphony. This increasingly estranged relationship between the overture and the symphony towards the end of the eighteenth century is captured perfectly in Sulzer’s General Theory of the Fine Arts (Allgemeine Theorie der schönen Künst, 1771-1774). Although Sulzer addresses the symphony and the overture under the single heading Symphonie, his discussion focuses primarily on the apparent differences between the concert and theatrical symphony. He stated:5 The symphony is excellently suited to expressions of grandeur, passion, and the sublime. Its purpose is to prepare the listener for profound music, or in a chamber concert, to offer a splendid display of instrumental music. If it is to be successful in the former goal, and an integral part of the opera or church music it precedes, it must express more than grandeur or passion; it must have a character that puts the listener into the mood of the following piece, and differentiate itself by the style that is appropriate for either the church or the theatre.