Yvonne, Prinzessin von Burgund
Yvonne, Prinzessin von Burgund | |
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opera in four acts by Boris Blacher | |
![]() Boris Blacher, the opera's composer photographed in 1922 | |
Librettist | Boris Blacher |
Language | German |
Based on | Witold Gombrowicz's 1935 play Iwona, księżniczka Burgunda |
Premiere | 15 September 1973 |
Yvonne, Prinzessin von Burgund (Yvonne, Princess of Burgundy) is an opera in four acts composed by Boris Blacher to a German-language libretto by the composer based on Witold Gombrowicz's 1935 Polish play Iwona, księżniczka Burgunda. The opera premiered on 15 September 1973 at the Opernhaus Wuppertal,[1] directed by Kurt Horres.[2]
The story is set in the royal court of an imaginary country and combines elements of tragic farce, fantasy, and moral criticism. The title role is portrayed by a mute dancer.[3] Pina Bausch danced the title role at the Wuppertal premiere, one of her last performances before establishing her dance company Tanztheater Wuppertal.[4]
Gombrowicz's Iwona, księżniczka Burgunda was published in 1935 but did not receive its first performance until 1957 when it premiered in Warsaw. It has since served as the basis for four operas, of which Blacher's was the first. The others are the chamber opera Yvonne by Ulrich Wagner (b. 1967) with a German libretto, first performed in Krefeld in 1998; Iwona, księżniczka Burgunda by Zygmunt Krauze with a Polish libretto, first performed in Paris in 2004; and Yvonne, Princesse de Bourgogne by Philippe Boesmans with a French libretto, first performed at the Paris Opera in 2009.[4]
Roles
Role | Voice type |
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Yvonne | mute role |
King Ignatz | baritone |
Queen Margarete | mezzo-soprano |
Prince Philipp, heir to the throne | tenor |
Chamberlain | bass-baritone |
Isa, lady-in-waiting | lyric soprano |
Zyprian, Prince Philipp's friend | tenor |
Two aunts of Yvonne | soprano, contralto |
Innozenz, courtier | baritone |
Valentin, lackey | tenor |
Two ladies-in-waiting | soprano |
Grand judge | baritone |
Synopsis
The action is set at an imaginary court at no defined time. The prince is bored by life in ceremonies and chooses as his fiancée Yvonne, an ugly and mute girl. The provocation works, his parents are disgusted, the court is mocking. Yvonne's silence causes even more provocation. All attempts to make her speak are futile. Revealing history, the king and the Kammerherr are murderers, the ceremonies are a posse. Yvonne is silent. In the end, she is killed in a ceremony.[2]
References
- ^ Griffel, Margaret Ross (1990). Operas in German: A Dictionary, p. 340. Greenwood Press.
- ^ a b Boosey & Hawkes. Blacher, Boris: Yvonne, Prinzessin von Burgund. Retrieved 11 July 2013 Template:Icon de
- ^ Sitsky, Larry (2002). Music of the Twentieth-Century Avant-Garde: A Biocritical Sourcebook, p. 75. ABC-CLIO
- ^ a b Kuharski, Allen J. (April 2009). "Ivona Buffa, Ivona Seria: Philippe Boesmans's Yvonne Princesse De Bourgogne, Opera National De Paris, Palais Garnier, February 5, 2009". Slavic and East European Performance, Vol. 29, No. 2. Retrieved online via HighBeam Research 11 July 2013 (subscription required).