Andromache (opera): Difference between revisions
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| based_on = [[Euripides]]' ''[[Andromache (play)|Andromache]]'', [[Jean Racine]] ''[[Andromaque]]'', [[Virgil]] ''[[Aeneid]]'', [[Homer]] [[Illiad|The Illiad]] |
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Revision as of 17:13, 26 May 2024
| Andromache | |
|---|---|
| Opera by Herbert Windt | |
| Librettist | composer |
| Language | German |
| Based on | Euripides' Andromache, Jean Racine Andromaque, Virgil Aeneid, Homer The Illiad |
| Premiere | 16 March 1932 |
Andromache is an opera in two acts with words and music by Herbert Windt. The opera is based on the play Andromache.by Euripides, as well as Racine's Andromache, Virgil's Aeneid with background material based on The Iliad by Homer.
Background
In an article published six months before the opera's premiere, Windt acknowledged that he had known the story of Andromache for many years. The appeal of writing an opera on the topic (his first) was based on "my idea of choosing events and characters that were as remote in time as possible, in order to be able to ascribe new contexts and new lives to these actions and characters that are well known in themselves, without changing or alienating the image that we have established too much."[1] Windt understood the challenge of making a modern audience relate to legendary characters:
"In order to bring an old subject to life, to awaken it from its dusty Sleeping Beauty sleep to new life, one must fill it with new life. And that can only happen if one tries to bring this past, which is several thousand years old, and our present closer together and bring them towards one another."[1]
In seeing the connection between Skamander and current times, Windt wrote: "I certainly did not want to write a political play; but if such political events form the basis of a plot such as the present one, then naturally one cannot ignore its politics when adapting it without having brought it into some connection with our present."[1] (Windt joined the Nazi Party in 1931, the year in which he wrote this.)
Roles
- Pyrrhus - about 25 years old[2]
- Andromache - is a little older than Pyrrhus; she is a full-blown beauty. Her costume .(and that of her entourage) differs significantly from that of the Greek women
- Hermione - about 20 years old with red hair. Ambitious, she deserts her cousin Orest to marry Pyrrhus, a marriage based on power, not love
- Orest - about 30 years old, brown hair. He bears the fate of the House of Atreus
- Theano - blonde, like Pyrrhus, age 17; she mirrors her brother's desires and wishes.
- Lamia - a little older than Hermione. She functions more as a confidant than as a servant.
- Phönix - in his late 50s with graying beard. He is always in uniform, aware of the dignity of his position.
- Skamander - a handsome dark-curled six-year-old boy.
- Place: Epirus, in front of the palace of Pyrrhus
- Time: After the Trojan War
| Role[3] | Voice type | Premiere cast, 16 March 1932 Conductor: Erich Kleiber |
|---|---|---|
| Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, son of Achills | tenor | Fritz Wolff |
| Theano, his sister | soprano | Else Fink |
| Andromache, Hector's widow | mezzo-soprano | Margarete Klose |
| Skamander | silent role | Käte Lore Schenk |
| Hermione, daughter of Helena and Menelaus | soprano | Moje Forbach |
| Lamia, servant to Hermione | contralto | Else Ruziczka |
| Orest, son of Agamemnon, cousin of Hermione | baritone | Herbert Janssen |
| Phönix, captain of Pyrrhus’s palace | bass | Walter Beck |
| Servant of Hermione | tenor | Marcel Noë |
| Trojan women, soldiers of Pyrrhus | ||
| Choral director | Alexander Curth | |
| Stage director | Franz Ludwig Hörth | |
| Set design | Emil Preetorius (Grafiker) | |
Synopsis
Music
Writing in 1931, Windt felt his score should enable a wide range of possible mediums: "For me it is self-evident that the greatest possible unity must exist between book and score, if the two are not to run parallel to one another. I therefore had in mind wide and rich possibilities of contrast in keeping with the style of the book and in this respect I pulled out all the stops that were available to me; from the more intimate chamber music style to the pathetic and pompous style of the "big orchestra."[4]
With regards to being modernistic, Windt wrote: "I will never be one of those innovators who want to be "modern" at any price; on the other hand, I am not reactionary enough to underestimate the extensions brought about by modernity and not to use them where I consider them appropriate and justified."[4]
Reception
Although the opera received generally negative reviews, a number of critics recognized Windt's talent.
Fritz Ohrmann, writing in Signale für die musikalische Welt, praised the quality of the performance which he felt was primarily due to Erich Kleiber's musical direction.[3] He noted that "singer and actress" Margaret Klose gave a magnificent performance and gave high praise for Fritz Wolff.[3] But Ohrmann had qualified words for the music. "Herbert Windt has not yet succeeded in creating an untouchable masterpiece on his first attempt. His first musical drama has undeniable, major weaknesses, but these cannot conceal the fact that behind him stands a full-blooded dramatist. But one who is only a promise whose creative powers - I believe - are far from being released because Windt was under the greatest psychological pressure for too long...Windt is the type of late-maturing composer, still internally unfree, who struggles with determination and maximum emotional commitment to realize his far-reaching artistic ideal. His themes do not always appear to have grown naturally, but often seem to have been forced upon him. They therefore lack a good deal of healthy drive. Above all, however, they lack the great breath to be able to swing out into a broad melody...This is how I explain the feverish restlessness of this music, which repeatedly pushes towards passionate outbursts, repeatedly towards new ecstasies and therefore too often lacks wise economy in the application of strong musical expressive powers... in the large ensembles and the effective choirs he demonstrates an extraordinary contrapuntal skill. He is thoroughly versed in the secrets of the diverse modern rhythms and handles the rich color palette of the orchestra with superior confidence.[5]
Hugo Leichtentritt observed: "The singers tried their best without achieving a vocal effect that corresponded to the expenditure of resources. [The singers] were busy in the main roles, but due to the unsingable nature of their roles, they were only able to present themselves in the best possible light in places. The applause was friendly, but hardly reflected any enthusiasm or excitement on the part of the audience."[6]
The unnamed critic in Der Auftakt wrote: "Unfortunately, the musician Windt only succeeds in very rare moments in capturing our attention through his score … What he writes is typical of the old music of excitement, without any structure, without formal consolidation, an exalted gesticulating music that differs from Strauss's Elektra only in its lack of substance and the exhaustion of the means that were revolutionary at the time. Windt uses a huge range of instruments. He wants to translate the mental struggles and convulsions of his characters into sound expression. But it remains a chaos that gives birth to no star."[7]
Writing for De Muziek, Robert Oboussier opined: In style and attitude the work remains within the expressionism laid out by Richard Strauss' "Elektra" and the operas of Franz Schreker. This genre, that in its striving for monumental expression knows no boundaries and whose musical gestures go from one extreme to the other, expires without achieving an objective form and structure, and is completely outside our time...Only in some parts of the [opera]…in the more thoughtful arias and into the choral songs… do we feel that a personality that has something to say in his own form of expression, [and in those moment we recognize] that we are dealing with one serious musician with dramatic and lyrical talent.[8]
Writing as the Berlin correspondent for the New York Times conservative music critic Herbert F. Peyser gave a very negative view of the opera. "One can scarcely imagine a work for the lyric theatre more dismally barren of either popular appeal or artistic reward. A two-and-one-half-hour yelling match carried on against an unmerciful racket of heavy orchestral artillery, darkened stage...From one end of the evening to the other the piece is as static as it is dour. Of action there is as good as none...A chorus of mourning women chants and wails lugubriously...[the lead singers] spout and shriek in jagged declamation yards upon yards of those verbose, mouth-filling speeches which the French call 'tirades.'"[9]
Publication
The vocal score was published by Universal Edition, copyright 1931, plate number U.E. 1118 ((317 pages).
References
- ^ a b c Windt 1931, p. 152.
- ^ Ewers 1932, p. 10-11.
- ^ a b c Ohrmann 1932, p. 274.
- ^ a b Windt 1931, p. 153.
- ^ Ohrmann 1932, p. 272: Herbert Windt im ersten Anlauf noch nicht gelungen. Sein musikdramatisches Erstlingswerk hat unleugbare, ,große Schwachen, die aber nicht verdecken können, daß hinter ihm ein ollblutdramatiker stehtt. Der aber erst eine Verheißung ist. Dessen schöpferische Kräfte —so glaube ich — aber noch lange nicht gelöst sind, weil Windt zu lange unter härtestem seelische Druck stand...Windt ist mir der Typus des Spätreifenden, des heute innerlich noch Unfreien, der mir Verbissenheit und seelischem Höchsteinsatz um die Verwirklichung seines weitgesteckten Kunstideals ringt. So erscheinen seine Themen nicht immer natürlich Gewachsen, sondern oft gewaltsam aufgetrieben. Es fehlt ihnen darum ein gut Teil gesunder Triebkraft. Vor allem aber auch der große Atem, um sich in breitem Melos ausschwingen zu können...So erkläre ich mir auch weiter die fiebernde Unruhe dieser Musik, die immer wieder zu leidens schaftlichen Ausbrüchen, immer wieder zu neuen Ekstasen drängt und darum zu oft die weise Oekonomie in der Anwendung starker musikalischer Ausdruckskräfte vermissen läßt...in den großen Ensembles und den wirkungsvollen Chören beweist er ein ausserordentliches kontrapunktisches Können. In den Geheimnissen der vielgestaltigen modernen Rhythmik weiß er gründlich Bescheid und behandelt die reiche Farbenpalette des Orchesters mit überlegener Sicherheit.
- ^ Leichtentritt 1932, p. 518: Die Sänger mühten sich nach besten Kräften, ohne zu gesanglichen Wirkungen zu kommen, die dem Aufwand an Mitteln entsprechen. [Sie] waren in den Hauptpartien beschäftigt, konnten aber durch das unsangliche Wesen ihrer Partien nur stellenweise sich in das günstigste Licht stellen. Der Beifall war freundlich, hatte aber kaum etwas von Begeisterung und Mitgerissenheit der Hörerschaft an sich.
- ^ Andromache 1932, p. 101-102: Leider gelingt es auch dem Musiker Windt nur in ganz seltenen Momenten, unsere am Drama innen Aufmerksamkeit durch seine Partitur zu fesseln…Was er schreibt, ist typisch die alte Erregungsmusik, ohne jede Gliederung, ohne formale Verfestigung, eine exaltiert gestikulierende Musik, die sich vom Strauß der Elektra nur durch den Mangel an Substanz und die Verbrauchtheit der damals revolutionären Mittelunterscheidet. Windt benützt ein riesiges Instrumentarium. Er will die Seelenkämpfe und Krämpfe seiner Figuren in Klangausdruck umsetzen. Aber es bleibt ein Chaos, das keinen St gebiert.
- ^ Oboussier 1932, p. 372: In stijl en geesteshouding en ook in de muzikale onderdeelen blijft het werk binnen de paden, die het expressionisme van Richard Strauss’ „Elektra” en de opera’s van Franz Schreker afgebakend hebben. Dit genre, dat in zijn streven naar monumentale uitdrukking geen grenzen kent en dat in zijn muzikale gesten van het eene uiterste in het andere vervalt zonder tot een eigen directe objectieve vormenstructuur te geraken, staat volkomen buiten onzen tijd. Alleen enkele deelen … waar deze zich in meer bezonken aria’s uit en in de koorliederen, welke in streng gesloten vormen zijn gehouden, voelen wij, dat een persoonlijkheid, die iets te zeggen heeft, naar een eigen uitdrukkingsvorm zoekt, dat wij te doen hebben met een ernstig musicus met dramatisch en lyrisch talent.
- ^ Peyser 1932, p. X8.
Sources used
- "Andromache: Opern-Uraufführung in der Berliner Staatsoper". Der Auftakt: 101-102. 1932.
- Ewers, Hanns Heinz (1932). "Einführung in das Werk". Blätter der Staatsoper. 12. Jahrgang (Heft 8): 10–11.
- Leichtentritt, Hugo (1932). "Herbert Windt: Andromache (Berlin, Staatsoper)". Die Musik. 24 (7): 517–518.
- Ohrmann, Fritz (1932). "Herbet Windts "Andromache" in der Berliner Staatsoper". Signale für die musikalische Welt. 90 (12): 271–274.
- Oboussier, Robert (1932). "Correspondenties Buitenland: Uit Berlijn". De Muziek. 6: 372.
- Peyser, Herbert F. (April 17, 1932). "Andromache' a Dreary Opera". New York Times: 8.
- Strobel, Heinrich (1932). "Umgruppierung in den Berliner Theatern". Melos. 11. Jahr (Heft 4): 147–148.
- Windt, Herbert (1931). "Andromache". Anbruch. 13 Jahrgang (Heft 6-7): 152–153.
reprinted as:
- Windt, Herbert (1932). "Warum "Andromache"?". Blätter der Staatsoper. 12. Jahrgang (Heft 8): 5–6.