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FREE THE DEVILS OF LOUDUN PDF Aldous Huxley | 400 pages | 07 Apr 2005 | Vintage Publishing | 9780099477761 | English | London, United Kingdom The Devils of Loudun by Aldous Huxley Die The Devils of Loudun von Loudun The Devils of The Devils of Loudun is an opera in three acts written in and by Polish composer Krzysztof Pendereckiand then revised in and It has a German libretto by the composer, based on John Whiting 's dramatization of Aldous Huxley 's book of the same name. The work was commissioned by the Hamburg State Operawhich consequently gave the premiere on 20 June Only 48 hours afterwards, the opera received its second performance in Stuttgartfollowed two months later by its American debut mounted by the Santa Fe Opera. Performances of The Devils of Loudun now generally follow this edition. The Devils of Loudunthe first and most popular of Penderecki's operas, is emblematic of the composer's interest in historical events of traumatic nature. However, rather than a narrative of these The Devils of Loudun events, the opera underscores a more general dichotomy between central and local power, [5] and thus provides a political commentary, denouncing The Devils of Loudun iniquities committed by the totalitarian states of the midth century. The opera received mixed reviews mostly written around the same time and within a decade of the work's completion in European countries and the US. Even in the same city, there were different reactions to the work. The world premiere, which was given at the Hamburg State Opera on 20 Junereceived mixed reviews. However, the general consensus among critics was that the work was not a huge success. A critic, who saw The Devils of Loudun world premiere performance of the work in Hamburg, wrote that the various sounds effects i. The The Devils of Loudun performance, which was given only two days after its Hamburg world premiere, was held in Stuttgart, Germany. Critics agreed almost unanimously that the Stuttgart production of the opera was far superior to the Hamburg production. A The Devils of Loudun, who said the presentation was marked by sensation and grandiosity, commented that the music was indescribably boring. For example, a slightly The Devils of Loudun version of The Devils of Loudun was performed The Devils of Loudun West Berlin in A critic admits that the work was convincingly performed but thought The Devils of Loudun compositional originality was completely lacking. In Austriacritics and audience reacted lukewarmly to the premiere of the work in Some thought the music was tedious and lacked the good measure of the sensational, on which the success of Penderecki's opera The Devils of Loudun. Another critic in Graz said that the opera only conveys the story line and does not create much dramatic impact until it becomes musically more interesting in the final act. Even the composer himself did not think the work was performed successfully. In Mayalmost thirty years after the world premiere of the opera, a critic commented that the work was artistically successful, [19] but musically was less successful. The French premiere of the opera in was rather disastrous; the performance was greeted with orange peels, turnips, leeks, cat-calls, and foot-stamping. The British premiere ingiven by the Sadler's Wells The Devils of Loudun, was not a great success either; the British critics were mostly unimpressed with the performance. The staging by John Dexter and the performers were praised, but the music was criticized for lack of drama and the libretto for its failure to arouse pity in the audience. The Devils of Loudun was performed in other European countries, where the reviews were mixed again. The Italian premiere given in Trieste in was praised. The U. The Devils of Loudun critic, who attended the performance, praised its staging but thought its music failed to support the issues or events occurring on stage. Especially, the staging in the U. The opera was recorded in The recording of The Devils of Loudun received mixed reviews as well. One critic wrote that "the music is always striking, its style eclectic, and its images mesmerizing. Peter's Church, The Devils of Loudun wearing a heretic shirt with a rope around his neck as he is escorted by two guards. This dreadful image of the parish priest is followed by another one; in this instance, however, Grandier rests in the arms of a woman. These macabre visions let Sister Jeanne, among other convent nuns, to the belief that they had been possessed by the devil, and thus to eventually confesses her visions to Father Mignon. In the meantime, Father Grandier's unchaste life is disclosed through his relationships with Ninon a widowand Philippe a young woman. Furthermore, Grandier assures his fatal destiny by opposing the decree to demolish the city's fortifications put forth by the King and the powerful Cardinal Richelieu. Jeanne, in a man's voice, responds: Grandier. Act 2: Jeanne's exorcism continues. Following, Grandier denies ever The Devils of Loudun Jeanne, and implores God to help her. Nonetheless, his words prove feeble as Jeanne claims that he had forced the Ursuline nuns to practice black magic. The situation becomes even more convoluted when Philippe informs Grandier that she is bearing his child. Meanwhile, the exorcisms continue now in public at St. Peter's Church, where Grandier is arrested as he enters. Act 3: Grandier is held responsible for the demonical possessions of the Ursuline nuns, accused of conspiracy with the devil, and indicted for blasphemy and unchastity. He is, consequently, sentenced to public torture and death at stake. Grandier's death thus becomes a realization of Jeanne's visions. Finally, Jeanne comes to realize that her unanswered love for Grandier was the cause of her possession. Andrzej Tuchowski states in Krzysztof Penderecki's Music in the Context of the 20th Century Theater that the most interesting aspect of the opera is Penderecki's sensitivity toward what goes on invisibly in the minds of almost all the characters The Devils of Loudun the opera: the psychological state of a socially ostracized individual, that of the society, that of the struggle between them, etc. This multi-layering of the psychological states corresponds to the general tendencies in the 20th-century music theatre, such as valuing the conflicts that occur in the inner world of the characters. Another tendency in the music of the time, according to Tuchowski, was a departure from the past; music started to sound less and less familiar to the ears of the audience. In order to sustain the interest of the listeners in the new foreign-sounding music, it became essential for composers to find a way to The Devils of Loudun with the audience. For his first and experimental opera, Penderecki chose a story about a sensational scandal that happened The Devils of Loudun France long before his time. Surely, the story was stimulating enough to catch the attention of the audience. Moreover, it has a stronger connection with the audience below the surface; in a deeper level, the psychological aspects of the story make allusions to various historical events and tendencies in the society and its people of the time. In The Devils of Loudunthe social outsider, Grandier, struggles alone against intolerance, fanaticismand organized violence of the society. Tuchowski shows various ways that the psychological subtleties of the relationships between value systems i. First of all, there is the conflict between a social outcast The Devils of Loudun the unforgiving society. The opera ends with Grandiers's death, The Devils of Loudun was facilitated by the society's intolerance for an outsider. In the midst of the nuns proclaiming to have been possessed in order to make excuses for their misbehavior, Grandier, who claims to be The Devils of Loudun, stands out as a non-conforming social outcast. He has many qualities that distinguish him from others: his outstanding intelligence and good looks that incur the hatred and jealousy of some local notables; his sexual attractiveness that results in Jeanne's obsessions and accusations; his disobedience to the political powers that proves fatal in the process of his destruction. Most of the time, a non-conforming social outsider must face an atmosphere of intolerance, fanaticism or at least indifference in the society. This common phenomenon The Devils of Loudun ostracizing the non-conforming member of the society works similarly in The Devils of Loudun ; in the end, Grandier's virtues and weaknesses alike, which make him unique, turn finally against him and bring him death. Grandier's death, however, was not a result easily granted. In value systems, anything unjustifiable or unofficial is usually considered void. As afore mentioned, the atmosphere of intolerance provides suitable conditions to eliminate an unwelcome individual. This atmosphere alone, however, is not enough to give permission to eliminate the individual; The Devils of Loudun most important ingredient needed for the removal of the unwanted is the official The Devils of Loudun. In the process of bringing out this official persecutionthe many unclean deeds by the authorities such as usurpation and manipulation of power come to light. For example, the martyrdom and death of Grandier reveals the ethical weakness of any absolute or totalitarian power. In the eyes of the political authorities in the opera, the attractive and politically opposing Grandier could be seen as a threat to their power. The fact that Grandier is an outsider was a perfect reason for the authorities to eliminate him from the society. The society, however, could not murder this unwelcome figure simply out of hatred, because that would be illegal and would have no proper justification.

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