Alzira (opera)
Alzira | |
---|---|
Opera by Teatro San Carlo , Naples |
Alzira is an
The first performance was at the
Composition history
Following his completion of
Verdi had received a synopsis of the opera from Cammarano,[4] the subject of which was not his. But, as Budden notes, Verdi adopted a somewhat passive attitude, impressed as he was at being able to work with this librettist.[2] In a letter of 23 February 1845,[4] Verdi had expressed his optimism that "Voltaire's tragedy will become an excellent melodrama,"[3]: 33–34 with the added hope that if the librettist would "put some passion into your libretto"[3]: 33–34, 43–44 and that he, Verdi, would write music to match. In their early correspondence, it appears that Cammarano had already sent some sample verses because Verdi's 23 February letter also contained his enthusiasm for receiving more: "I beg you to send me promptly some more verses. It's not necessary for me to tell you to keep it short. You know the theatre better than I do."[4] It is quite clear that Verdi's characteristic requirement for brevity appeared this early on in his career.
As far as the libretto went, it was acceptable to Verdi; he was even "highly delighted" with it.[2] However, from Voltaire's play the "intellectual content [was] reduced to a minimum [and] religion and politics, the two raisons d'être of the drama, are scarcely mentioned; and the confrontation of different creeds, different civilizations and different worlds becomes merely another variant of the eternal triangle.[2] In the Spring of 1845 Verdi's health forced a postponement until at least following August, although he was well enough to arrive in Naples by the end of July to oversee rehearsals. In a letter of 30 July, he expresses optimism that the opera will be well received but notes that "if it were to fail, that wouldn't upset me unduly".[5]
Performance history
19th century
The opening performance received a complimentary note of approval in Naples' Gazzetta Musicale: "Beauties so delicately contrived that the ear can hardly take them in".[6] However, the general reaction in Naples was not positive, even worse when Alzira was staged in Rome in November 1845 and, worse still, after the 1846 presentations at La Scala, resulting in the worst press that the composer had seen since the failure of Un giorno di regno in 1840. It was staged in Ferrara as part of the Spring 1847 carnivale season, [7] after which it disappeared from the repertory.
20th century and beyond
Prior to 1940, the opera was not performed very often; however, there was a 1938 concert performance in Berlin with
It was not until January 1968 that it was first given in the US: a concert version was given in Carnegie Hall, New York on 17 January 1968 with Louis Quilico.
In February 1981, it was staged by the
In March / April 1998 it was given in the Stadttheater in Passau; it was included in 2000 in the Sarasota Opera's "Verdi Cycle"; and it was revived at the Teatro Regio di Parma in May/June 2002, with Vladimir Chernov. Periodically, between January and June 2010, it was presented by the Theater St Gallen in Switzerland, with Paolo Gavanelli appearing in some performances.[12]
Alzira received its first professional staging in the UK at the Buxton Festival in 2018.[13]
Roles
Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, 12 August 1845[14] (Conductor: - ) |
---|---|---|
Alvaro, father of Gusmano, initially Governor of Peru | bass
|
Marco Arati |
Gusmano, Governor of Peru | baritone | Filippo Coletti |
Ovando, a Spanish Duke | tenor | Ceci |
Zamoro, leader of a Peruvian tribe | tenor | Gaetano Fraschini |
Ataliba, leader of a Peruvian tribe | bass | Michele Benedetti |
Alzira, Ataliba's daughter | soprano | Eugenia Tadolini |
Zuma, her maid | mezzo-soprano | Maria Salvetti |
Otumbo, an American warrior | tenor | Francesco Rossi |
Spanish officers and soldiers, Americans of both sexes |
Synopsis
- Place: Peru
- Time: 16th century
Prologue: The Prisoner
Peruvian Indians drag the Spanish governor, Alvaro, into the square and are about to execute him. Suddenly Zamoro, an Inca, appears and asks them to release the man; they do so.
Zamoro tells the Indians that he had been captured and tortured by Gusmano, the leader of the Spaniards (Un Inca, eccesso orribile / "An Inca..dreadful outrage!") to the point where everyone believed him to be dead. Otumbo tells Zamoro that Alzira, his beloved, along with her father Ataliba, are being held captive by the Spaniards, and he urges the Indian tribes to revolt: Risorto fra le tenebre / "I emerged into the darkness ...").
Act 1: A Life for a Life
Scene 1: The main square of Lima
Alvaro announces that, due to his age and infirmity, he is relinquishing the governorship and handing it over to his son, Gusmano who states that his first act will be to secure peace with the Incas. Ataliba gives him his support, but advises him that his daughter Alzira is not yet ready to marry Gusmano. He, while understanding (Eterna la memoria / "The eternal memory of a desperate love is weighing her down ..."), urges the older man to try to persuade her (Quanto un mortal può chiedere / "Whatever a mortal man can ask for..")
Scene 2: Ataliba's apartments in the governor's palace
As her father enters, Alzira wakes but is still half dreaming of Zamoro. She recounts a more disturbing dream she has had of Gusmano (Da Gusman sul fragil barca / "I was fleeing from Gusman in a frail boat") but, although he is dead, she still believes that Zamoro loves her: Nell'astro che più fulgido / "On the star that gleams most brightly ... there lives Zamoro". Ataliba continues to try to persuade Alzira to marry Gusmano, without success, until suddenly Zamoro enters. Believing that it is his ghost, Alzira is skeptical, but realizes that he is still alive. They pledge their love together: Risorge ne' tuoi lumi l'astro de' giorni miei! / "The star of my existence has risen again in your eyes!".
Gusmano enters, sees the couple together, and orders that Zamoro be arrested and immediately executed. There follows the sextet Nella polve genuflesso in which each of the characters expresses his/her feelings: "Alvaro begs his son to show mercy; Gusman remains obdurate but uneasy, Alzira. ... ., laments the passing of her short-lived happiness; Zamoro expresses his faith in her constancy; Zuma and Ataliba their despair"[15]
As the Inca invasion of Lima is announced, Alvaro confirms that Zamoro has saved him from certain death; Gusmano orders him to be freed to go out to fight with the invading Incas: "I shall meet you in battle, hated rival".
Act 2: The Vengeance of a Savage
Scene 1: The fortifications of Lima
Zamoro has led a fresh attack against the conquistadores and has been captured. Gusmano condemns him to death, but, over Alzira's protests, forces her to agree to marry Gusmano promising that he will spare Zamoro. Reluctantly, she agrees (Gusmano: Colma di gioia ho l'anima! / "My heart is bursting with joy").
Scene 2: A cave, some distance from Lima
The defeated Incas are downcast, but they hear that Zamoro has escaped, dressed as a Spanish soldier. He soon enters but is in despair: Irne lungi ancor dovrei / " Must I drag out my days as a fugitive, bowed down with shame?". When he hears from his followers that Alzira has agreed to marry Gusmano and that preparations are being made, vows to fight: Non di codarde lagrime / "This is not the time for cowardly tears, but for blood!". He rushes out to the palace
Scene 3: Large hall in the governor's palace
As the wedding of Alzira and Gusmano is about to begin, a Spanish soldier leaps forward and fatally stabs Gusmano. To Alzira's surprise it is Zamoro. Before he dies, Gusmano tells him that Alzira only agreed to the marriage in order to secure his release. He forgives Zamoro, blesses his union with Alzira, and receives a final blessing from his father as he dies.
Orchestration
Alzira is scored for piccolo, two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, one cimbasso, timpani, bass drum and cymbals, snare drum, triangle, offstage band, offstage bass drum, harp and strings.
Music
As both Budden and Parker have observed,[16] Verdi's reference to this opera later in his life as "proprio brutta" ("downright ugly") was as much a reflection on the composer's reaction to the libretto as it was on the music. In one example, Budden notes that Verdi's setting of the act 1 love duet, "he preferred to press swiftly ahead, sustaining a dramatic momentum which the text does not imply".[17]
However, both scholars are also in agreement that there is some interesting music, especially some of the ensembles and, in areas where the composer may have gone beyond the conventional and which are not as successful, "the conventional moments succeed far better than those that challenge accepted norms".[16] The critic Arrivabene's general comment has been noted, but in regard to the overture, he stated that it: "preserves the two-fold character of the opera - savage and warlike on the one hand, tender and romantic on the other. Its form is completely novel and it aroused the greatest enthusiasm".[6]
In another example, Budden comments on the Nella polve genuflesso act 1 sextet and chorus, drawing the reader's attention to the fact that, after all, the libretto was written by Cammarano for a Neapolitan audience, the same one which would have experienced his famous Lucia sextet. However, as written by Verdi "the structure is altogether more varied and elaborate. The opening dialogue between Alvaro and Gusmano is remarkably original with its persistent upward motion from key to key a fifth apart."[15]
Recordings
Year | Cast (Alzira, Zamoro, Gusmano, Alvaro) |
Conductor, Opera House and Orchestra |
Label[8] |
---|---|---|---|
1983 | Ileana Cotrubas, Francisco Araiza, Renato Bruson, Jan-Hendrik Rootering |
Lamberto Gardelli, Münchner Rundfunkorchester and Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks |
Audio CD: Orfeo, Cat: M 057832 |
1989 | , Jan-Hendrik Rootering |
Lamberto Gardelli, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Bavarian Radio Chorus |
Audio CD: Orpheus Cat: C 05 7832 |
1999 | Marina Mescheriakova, Ramón Vargas, Paolo Gavanelli, Slobodan Stankovic |
Fabio Luisi, L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande and the chorus of the Grand Théatre de Genève |
Audio CD: Philips Cat: 464-628-2.[18] |
2012 | Junko Saito, Ferdinand von Bothmer, Thomas Gazheli, Francesco Facini |
Gustav Kuhn, Orchestra Haydn di Bolzano e Trento, (Recording of a concert performance from the Alto Adige Festival at the Grand Hotel Centro Culturale, Dobbiaco, September 2012) |
DVD:C Major Cat:721408[19] |
References
Notes
- ^ Schlitzer, Franco, "Verdi's Alzira at Naples", Music & Letters, 35 (2), April 1954, pp. 125–27.
- ^ a b c d e Budden (1984), p. 227–230
- ^ a b c Toye (1931)
- ^ a b c Black, p. 92–94
- ^ Letter to Andrea Maffei, 30 July 1845, in Budden, p. 230
- ^ a b Opprandino Arrivabene, in Budden, p. 230
- ^ Performance listed on librettodopera.it[permanent dead link] Retrieved 10 April 2013
- ^ a b Recordings on operadis-opera-discography.org.uk
- ^ Opera magazine 1959
- ^ Budden, p. 241–242
- ^ Edward Seckerson, "Live Verdi Festival: La Traviata; Alzira Royal Opera House, London", The Independent (London), 12 July 1996: "There is an exuberance, a lust for local colour, about Verdi's Alzira, but none of it, of course, has very much to do with Peru. Parma, more like. Now, if the singing had been on [the level of the orchestral playing] ... Well, in one sense it was. Unstinting. Rapacious. All thoughts of bel canto banished to the previous night's Traviata".
- ^ "Theater St Gallen production on art-tv.ch, with excerpts from the production (in German)". Archived from the original on 2010-02-04. Retrieved 2010-05-12.
- ^ Ashley, Tim (10 July 2018). "Alzira review – Buxton make a strong case for Verdi's unloved early opera". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 November 2018.
- ^ List of singers taken from Budden, p. 226.
- ^ a b Budden, p. 237
- ^ a b Parker, p. 102
- ^ Budden, p. 231
- ^ Graeme, Roland, "Alzira. Giuseppe Verdi", The Opera Quarterly, Vol. 18, issue 2, 2002, pp. 280–283 Retrieved 18 March 2013.(By subscription)
- ^ "Alzira". Naxos.com. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
Sources
- Baldini, Gabriele (1970), (trans. Roger Parker, 1980), The Story of Giuseppe Verdi: Oberto to Un Ballo in Maschera. Cambridge, et al: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-29712-5
- Black, John (1984), The Italian Romantic Libretto: A Study of Salvadore Cammarano, Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 0-85224-463-0
- ISBN 0-304-31058-1.
- Chusid, Martin, (Ed.) (1997), Verdi's Middle Period, 1849 to 1859, Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-10659-4
- De Van, Gilles (trans. Gilda Roberts) (1998), Verdi's Theater: Creating Drama Through Music. Chicago & London: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-14370-8
- ISBN 0-226-30482-5
- Kimbell, David, in ISBN 0-14-029312-4
- Martin, George, Verdi: His Music, Life and Times (1983), New York: Dodd, Mead and Company. ISBN 0-396-08196-7
- ISBN 0-306-80072-1
- ISBN 1-56159-228-5
- ISBN 978-0-19-531314-7
- ISBN 0-931340-82-9
- ISBN 0-19-313204-4
- Toye, Francis (1931), Giuseppe Verdi: His Life and Works, New York: Knopf
- Verdi, Giuseppe (1994), Alzira, full score critical edition, ed. Jonathan Cheskin, Chicago & Milan: University of Chicago Press, G. Ricordi. ISBN 88-7592-116-4(G. Ricordi).
- Walker, Frank, The Man Verdi (1982), New York: Knopf, 1962, Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-87132-0
- Warrack, John and West, Ewan (1992), The Oxford Dictionary of Opera New York: OUP. ISBN 0-19-869164-5
- ISBN 0-8443-0088-8
External links
- Verdi: "The story" and "History" on giuseppeverdi.it (in English)
- Alzira: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
- Libretto
- Aria database