|
From Baroque to Romantic
More from
this summer's Salzburg Festival,
reported by GIUSEPPE PENNISI
Whilst Giulio Cesare in Egitto is,
rightly, one of the most celebrated baroque operas, Das Labyrinth is pretty much
unknown because it has been revived after more than two centuries.
Musicologists knew, from the reviews published in a Vienna newspaper, that a follow up to Die
Zauberflöte did exist, that it had been commissioned by Emanuel Schikaneder (impresario and author of the libretto of Mozart's Singspiel as well as first interpreter of Papageno) from Peter von Winter (a reputable
composer at that time but not at all a friend of Wolfgang Amadeus
Mozart). Also it
was known that Das Labyrinth had had eighty performances in Vienna
between 1799 and 1805 and others in various parts of the German speaking world; however, the libretto and score had been lost. As a matter of fact, they had been
searched for for decades in the archives of Austrian theatres but discovered only a couple of years ago in the dusty basement of Berlin's National Theater which had purchased
the material from Schikaneder and staged the opera in 1803.
Even though not very many years had
elapsed between Mozart's death and Das Labyrinth's debut, the
period had been full of events and changes: Masonry (central to Die Zauberflöte)
had been outlawed in the Austrian Empire and in Bavaria, the Napoleonic wars were attempting to
design a new political map of Europe and in the world of German music, romanticism was gradually gaining ground. Thus, even
though Das Labyrinth features the same characters as Die Zauberflöte in a similar
set of adventures, von Winter's pleasant (albeit not exceptional) score is nearly
a bridge between Mozart, on the one hand, and
Marschner, Lortzing, Spohr and finally Weber, on the other. Beethoven's violin and
piano sonatas (especially the Kreutzer sonata) are one of the most
significant landing points of German romantic music. Thus, even though we
are dealing with drastically different works, there is a clear connection
which can be felt when their live performances are given in a row.
I attended the 23 August 2012 opening night of Giulio Cesare in Egitto at the Summer Festival; the production had had two performances in May at the Salzburg Pentecost Festival. As with other operas
by Handel, a production of Giulio Cesare in Egitto has to face
several hurdles. Firstly, the key male roles are written for castrati, a species now
extinct; in the original production of Giulio Cesare in Egitto,
Ceasar was Senesino, the most famous castrato on the London scene. In recent revivals
in the late 1960s and early 1970s -- I remember those at New York City
Opera in 1966 and at Munich's National Theatre in 1970 -- the problem was handled by
lowering the vocal writing by three octaves and using a bass-baritone (Triegle in New York as well as in a long US tour, Fischer-Dieskau in Germany, and Christoff in
several Italian theatres). Secondly, a specialized
baroque orchestra is required; until the early 1980s, the
score was manipulated deeply so that it could be played by regular opera house orchestras. It is by far Handel's most sumptuous,
not only in its stylistic variety and melodic richness but specifically in its use of the
orchestra which includes two pairs of horns, crooked in different keys, and a stage band with harp, theorbo and viola da gamba. This makes possible astounding musical
richness in such scenes as Cleopatra's vision of Parnassus. Thirdly, the sheer length
of the opera (250 minutes of music) and as many as forty-five numbers
(often arias with a double 'da capo') requires
skillful editing to be digested by modern audiences, even because the complicated action of political and sexual intrigues does not take place so much on
stage but is narrated by the eight soloists in their arias. Fourthly, staging the work requires as many as eleven
changes of scene in three acts; from Egyptian harbors, to battlefields, to palaces, to
prisons, to a 'garden of delights' especially tailored for seduction. A
daunting undertaking.
In my 21 March 2011 review, I summarized
how these problems had been handled in some previous productions I have seen and heard. The Salzburg 2012
production was my first experience with a live staging of the entire opera
(nearly five hours with two intermissions). How were the many hurdles
solved? Musically, the guiding star was philological rigor.
Thus, a special orchestra with period instruments -- Il Giardino Armonico conducted by Giovanni Antonini -- was chosen and,
in spite of the strong demands for tickets, one of the smaller
theaters (the Haus für Mozart) was selected to perform the opera. Also,
an international cast was selected (Andreas Scholl, Cecilia
Bartoli, Anne Sofie von Otter, Philippe Jaroussky, Christophe Dumaux,
Ruben Drole, Jochen Kowalski, Peter Kalman) with as many as three
countertenors and a man with an 'alto' voice in a woman's role (Nirena, Cleopatra's lady-in-waiting). Against this rigorous vocal
and orchestral splendor, the staging was extremely
modern, indeed inspired by 'Pop Art'. The sets by Christian Fenouillat and the costumes by Agostino Cavalca drew a fictional
Middle East at war now without any attempt to realism, but with quite a
lot of humor. The Pop Art style was the core of Mosher Leiser and Patrice Caurier's stage direction. Caesar is just a politician forgetting
his worldwide responsibilities to chase a pretty girl, Cleopatra flies on caricature missiles.
Ptolemy looks like a spoilt brat and Achillas a rather clumsy terrorist. In short, the staging has a lot of charm and irony but was not fully appreciated by part of
the audience, whilst the musical part had a triumphal reception with
ovations and accolades, particularly for Cecilia Bartoli, Andreas Scholl
and Anne-Sofie von Otter.
Cecilia Bartoli as Cleopatra in Handel's 'Giulio Cesare in Egitto',
photographed at the Salzburg Whitsun Festival. Photo © 2012 Hans Jörg
Michel. Click on the image for higher resolution
|
Two points are worth mentioning:
Cleopatra's aria V'adoro Pupille,
beautifully sung by Cecilia Bartoli with her sure and perfect emission, and enhanced by ravishing instrumental accompaniment, is almost an anticipation of romantic
opera. Also the recitative, while from the pit a growing
instrumental tension prepares Caesar's aria Al Lampo
dell'Armi, is a real dramatic and musical innovation in Handel's period
and even an anticipation of twentieth century opera with its extensive use of
declamation.
Andreas Scholl (front centre) in the title role of Handel's 'Giulio
Cesare in Egitto', photographed at the Salzburg Whitsun Festival. Photo
© 2012 Hans Jörg Michel. Click on the image for higher resolution
|
Das Labyrinth was performed in the baroque courtyard of the Residence Palace of the Prince-Archbishop. This was just a perfect setting, especially on a night with blue sky and glittering stars (21 August
2012). With a comparatively simple stage set (Raimund Orfeo Voight), and astonishing costumes
(Susanne Bivosky, Elisabeth Binder-Neururer), the stage director Alexandra Leidtke was quite good at
handling the new adventures of the Magic Flute team (Tamino, Pamina, Papageno, Papagena, Sarastro, the Queen of Night and Monostasos). However, times have
changed. Now, women are pretty much in charge. In the
libretto, Pamina and Papagena win back their men tempted by other girls, but the Queen of Night gives up messing in other
couples' affairs and appears to go back, subdued, to Sarastro. Pamina
(Malin Hartelius) is a forceful soprano 'assoluto' with a great deal of agility, not a light texture lyric soprano. Accordingly, Tamino (Michael
Schade) is a tenor 'spinto', almost a 'heldentenor'.
Michael Schade as Tamino and Malin Hartelius as Pamina with (behind)
Julia Novikova as the Queen of Night and members of the Salzburger
Bachchor in Peter von Winter's 'Das Labyrinth' at the Salzburg Summer
Festival. Photo © 2012 Hans Jörg Michel. Click on the image for higher
resolution
|
Sarastro (Christof Fischesser), the Queen
of Night (Julia Novikova), Papageno (Thomas Tatzl), Papagena (Regula Mühlemann) and Monostatos (Klaus Kuttler) retain pretty much the
same vocal features as in the previous (Mozart's) 'installment',
especially Sarastro with his dominant G major. Ivor Bolton conducts the Mozarteum
Salzburg Orchestra with a swift tempo. Although the overture starts with the three chords of Die Zauberflöte and there are
references to Mozart's work (such as Papageno's glockenspiel), we are
clearly in a different pre-romantic world, with the Napoleonic war in the
background. The fairy tale is pleasant and the score
amiable, even if not a masterpiece. After this Salzburg Festival revival, Das Labyrinth has a better chance
for a new lease on life on stage than Ciro in Babilonia
recently revived at the Rossini Opera Festival [Sex and Bigotry, 21 August 2012].
Ute Gfrerer (Old Papagena), Thomas Tatzl (Papageno) and Anton Scharinger
(Old Papageno) in Peter von Winter's 'Das Labyrinth' at the Salzburg
Summer Festival. Photo © 2012 Hans Jörg Michel. Click on the image for
higher resolution
|
With Beethoven's violin and piano sonatas,
German romanticism is in full bloom. The Salzburg Festival
offered the full cycle and entrusted it to a well experienced team,
Leonidas Kavakos on violin and Enrico Pace at the piano. I could only attend the
third and final concert of the cycle in the Great Hall of the Mozarteum [25 August 2012]. It
included the Sonatas No 1, No 8 and No 9 (generally known as
'Kreutzersonate').
Leonidas Kavakos (left) and Enruco Pace at the Salzburg Summer
Festival. Photo © 2012 Wolfgang Lienbacher. Click on the image for
higher resolution
|
Let us focus on this last sonata: Kavakos and Pace rendered beautifully
the visionary lone statement of the violin in the first movement, the gentle and song-like variations in the second movement, and the eight
note fortissimo chord of the finale. A truly romantic outburst.
|
Nessun commento:
Posta un commento