عودة عوليس إلى الوطن

عودة عوليس إلى الوطن
Opera من Claudio Monteverdi
Stone image of the head of a man, showing signs of erosion due to age. The most striking feature is the heavily coiled beard and hair. The eyes are looking sightlessly upwards
Head of Odysseus (Ulisse), from the Sperlonga sculptures
مؤلف اللبرِتـّوGiacomo Badoaro
اللغةItalian
مبنية علىHomer's Odyssey
أول عرض1639–1640 Carnival season
Teatro Santi Giovanni e Paolo, Venice

Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria (SV 325, The Return of Ulysses to his Homeland) is an opera consisting of a prologue and five acts (later revised to three), set by Claudio Monteverdi to a libretto by Giacomo Badoaro. The opera was first performed at the Teatro Santi Giovanni e Paolo in Venice during the 1639–1640 carnival season. The story, taken from the second half of Homer's Odyssey,[n 1] tells how constancy and virtue are ultimately rewarded, treachery and deception overcome. After his long journey home from the Trojan Wars Ulisse, king of Ithaca, finally returns to his kingdom where he finds that a trio of villainous suitors are importuning his faithful queen, Penelope. With the assistance of the gods, his son Telemaco and a staunch friend Eumete, Ulisse vanquishes the suitors and recovers his kingdom.

Il ritorno is the first of three full-length works which Monteverdi wrote for the burgeoning Venetian opera industry during the last five years of his life. After its initial successful run in Venice the opera was performed in Bologna before returning to Venice for the 1640–41 season. Thereafter, except for a possible performance at the Imperial court in Vienna late in the 17th century, there were no further revivals until the 20th century. The music became known in modern times through the 19th-century discovery of an incomplete manuscript score which in many respects is inconsistent with the surviving versions of the libretto. After its publication in 1922 the score's authenticity was widely questioned, and performances of the opera remained rare during the next 30 years. By the 1950s the work was generally accepted as Monteverdi's, and after revivals in Vienna and Glyndebourne in the early 1970s it became increasingly popular. It has since been performed in opera houses all over the world, and has been recorded many times.

Together with Monteverdi's other Venetian stage works, Il ritorno is classified as one of the first modern operas. Its music, while showing the influence of earlier works, also demonstrates Monteverdi's development as a composer of opera, through his use of fashionable forms such as arioso, duet and ensemble alongside the older-style recitative. By using a variety of musical styles, Monteverdi is able to express the feelings and emotions of a great range of characters, divine and human, through their music. Il ritorno has been described as an "ugly duckling", and conversely as the most tender and moving of Monteverdi's surviving operas, one which although it might disappoint initially, will on subsequent hearings reveal a vocal style of extraordinary eloquence.

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السياق التاريخي

التأليف

النص

ملف:OdysseyPopeTP1752.jpg
18th-century edition of Homer's Odyssey, the source of the libretto for Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria


التلحين

الأدوار

الدور نوع الصوت الظهور ملاحظات
L'humana Fragilità (Human Frailty) mezzo-soprano Prologue
Il Tempo (Time) god bass Prologue
La Fortuna (Fortune) goddess soprano Prologue
L'Amore (Cupid) god soprano Prologue The role may initially have been played by a boy soprano, possibly Costantino Manelli[1]
Penelope Wife to Ulisse mezzo-soprano Act 1: I, X
Act 2: V, VII, XI, XII
Act 3: III, IV, V, IX, X
The role was initially sung, in Venice and Bologna, by Giulia Paolelli[1]
Ericlea (Eurycleia) Penelope's nurse mezzo-soprano Act 1: I
Act 3: VIII, X
Melanto (Melantho) attendant to Penelope soprano Act 1: II, X
Act 2: IV
Act 3: III
Eurimaco (Eurymachus) a servant to Penelope's suitors tenor Act 1: II
Act 2: IV, VIII
Nettuno (Neptune) sea-god bass Act 1: V, VI
Act 3: VII
The role was probably sung, in Venice and Bologna, by the impresario Francesco Manelli[1]
Giove (Jupiter) supreme god tenor Act 1: V
Act 3: VII
A renowned Venetian tenor, Giovan Battista Marinoni, may have appeared in the initial Venice run as Giove.[2]
Coro Faeci (Chorus of Phaeacians) alto, tenor, bass Act 1: VI
Ulisse (Ulysses or Odysseus)
King of Ithaca
tenor Act 1: VII, VIII, IX, XIII
Act 2: II, III, IX, X, XII
Act 3: X
Minerva goddess soprano Act 1: VIII, IX
Act 2: I, IX, XII
Act 3: VI, VII
The role was initially sung, in Venice and Bologna, by Maddalena Manelli, wife of Francesco.[1]
Eumete (Eumetes) a shepherd tenor Act 1: XI, XII, XIII
Act 2: II, VII, X, XII
Act 3: IV, V, IX
Iro (Irus) a parasite tenor Act 1: XII
Act 2: XII
Act 3: I
Telemaco (Telemachus) son of Ulisse tenor Act 2: I, II, III, XI
Act 3: V, IX, X
Antinoo (Antinous) suitor to Penelope bass Act 2: V, VIII, XII
Pisandro (Peisander) suitor to Penelope tenor Act 2: V, VIII, XII
Anfinomo (Amphinomus) suitor to Penelope alto or countertenor Act 2: V, VIII, XII
Giunone (Juno) goddess soprano Act 3: VI, VII
Coro in Cielo (Heavenly chorus) soprano, alto, tenor Act 3: VII
Coro marittimo (Chorus of sirens) soprano, tenor, bass Act 3: VII

القصة

The action takes place on and around the island of Ithaca, ten years after the Trojan Wars. English translations used in the synopsis are from Geoffrey Dunn's version, based on Raymond Leppard's 1971 edition,[3] and from Hugh Ward-Perkins's interpretation issued with Sergio Vartolo's 2006 recording for Brilliant Classics.[4] Footnotes provide the original Italian.

المقدمة

The spirit of human frailty (l'humana Fragilità) is mocked in turn by the gods of time (il Tempo), fortune (la Fortuna) and love (l'Amore). Man, they claim, is subject to their whims: "From Time, ever fleeting, from Fortune's caresses, from Love and its arrows...No mercy from me!"[n 2] They will render man "weak, wretched, and bewildered."[n 3]

الفصل 1

ملف:PhaecianStoneShip.jpg
Ulisse lies on the shore, as the Faeci ship is turned to stone by Neptune; an illustration of how this dramatic effect could be realised in the opera house.

In the palace at Ithaca, Penelope mourns the long absence of Ulysses: "The awaited one does not return, and the years pass by."[n 4] Her grief is echoed by her nurse, Ericlea. As Penelope leaves, her attendant Melanto enters with Eurimaco, a servant to Penelope's importunate suitors. The two sing passionately of their love for each other ("You are my sweet life").[n 5] The scene changes to the Ithacan coast, where the sleeping Ulisse is brought ashore by the Phaecians (Faeci), whose action is in defiance of the wishes of gods Giove and Nettuno. The Phaecians are punished by the gods who turn them and their ship to stone. Ulysses awakes, cursing the Phaecians for abandoning him: "To your sails, falsest Phaeacians, may Boreas be ever hostile!"[n 6] From the goddess Minerva, who appears disguised as a shepherd boy, Ulisse learns that he is in Ithaca, and is told of "the unchanging constancy of the chaste Penelope",[n 7] in the face of the persistent importunings of her evil suitors. Minerva promises to lead Ulisse back to the throne if he follows her advice; she tells him to disguise himself so that he can penetrate the court secretly. Ulisse goes to seek out his loyal servant Eumete, while Minerva departs to search for Telemaco, Ulisse's son who will help his father reclaim the kingdom. Back at the palace, Melanto tries vainly to persuade Penelope to choose one of the suitors: "Why do you disdain the love of living suitors, expecting comfort from the ashes of the dead?"[n 8] In a wooded grove Eumete, banished from court by the suitors, revels in the pastoral life, despite the mockery of Iro, the suitors' parasitic follower, who sneers: "I live among kings, you here among the herds."[n 9] After Iro is chased away, Ulisse enters disguised as a beggar, and assures Eumete that his master the king is alive, and will return. Eumete is overjoyed: "My long sorrow will fall, vanquished by you."[n 10]

الفصل 2

Stylised drawing taken from a Greek vase, of numerous naked or near-naked figures, some bearing weapons, some being attacked. In the lower right corner a figure carries a large shield; above him an elderly man looks on.
A depiction (circa 330 BC) of the slaying of Penelope's suitors

Minerva and Telemaco return to Ithaca in a chariot. Telemaco is greeted joyfully by Eumete and the disguised Ulisse in the woodland grove: "O great son of Ulysses, you have indeed returned!"[n 11] After Eumete goes to inform Penelope of Telemaco's arrival a bolt of fire descends on Ulisse, removing his disguise and revealing his true identity to his son. The two celebrate their reunion before Ulisse sends Telemaco to the palace, promising to follow shortly. In the palace, Melanto complains to Eurimaco that Penelope still refuses to choose a suitor: "In short, Eurymachus, the lady has a heart of stone."[n 12] Soon afterwards Penelope receives the three suitors (Antinoo, Pisandro, Anfinomo), and rejects each in turn despite their efforts to enliven the court with singing and dancing: "Now to enjoyment, to dance and song!"[n 13] After the suitors' departure Eumete tells Penelope that Telemaco has arrived in Ithaca, but she is doubtful: "Such uncertain things redouble my grief."[n 14] Eumete's message is overheard by the suitors, who plot to kill Telemaco. However, they are unnerved when a symbolic eagle flies overhead, so they abandon their plan and renew their efforts to capture Penelope's heart, this time with gold. Back in the woodland grove, Minerva tells Ulisse that she has organised a means whereby he will be able to challenge and destroy the suitors. Resuming his beggar's disguise, Ulisse arrives at the palace, where he is challenged to a fight by Iro, ("I will pluck out the hairs of your beard one by one!"[n 15]), a challenge he accepts and wins. Penelope now states that she will accept the suitor who is able to string Ulisse's bow. All three suitors attempt the task unsuccessfully. The disguised Ulisse then asks to try though renouncing the prize of Penelope's hand, and to everyone's amazement he succeeds. He then angrily denounces the suitors and, summoning the names of the gods, kills all three with the bow: "This is how the bow wounds! To death, to havoc, to ruin!"[n 16]


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الفقصل 3

Deprived of the suitors' patronage, Iro commits suicide after a doleful monologue ("O grief, O torment that saddens the soul!"[n 17]) Melanto, whose lover Eurimaco was killed with the suitors, tries to warn Penelope of the new danger represented by the unidentified slayer, but Penelope is unmoved and continues to mourn for Ulisse. Eumete and Telemaco now inform her that the beggar was Ulisse in disguise, but she refuses to believe them: "Your news is persistent and your comfort hurtful."[n 18] The scene briefly transfers to the heavens, where Giunone, having been solicited by Minerva, persuades Giove and Nettune that Ulisse should be restored to his throne. Back in the palace the nurse Ericlea has discovered Ulisse's identity by recognising a scar on his back, but does not immediately reveal this information: "Sometimes the best thing is a wise silence."[n 19] Penelope continues to disbelieve, even when Ulisse appears in his true form and when Ericlea reveals her knowledge of the scar. Finally, after Ulisse describes the pattern of Penelope's private bedlinen, knowledge that only he could possess, she is convinced. Reunited, the pair sing rapturously to celebrate their love: "My sun, long sighed for! My light, renewed!"[n 20]

نقد

العروض التاريخية

ملف:Fontana Drawing Giovanni e Paulo 1654.jpg
Floor plan of the Teatro SS Giovanni e Paolo, where Il ritorno was premièred in 1640


العروض الحديثة

A half-clad male figure, heavily bearded and white-haired, half-reclines on a bed as he draws towards him the semi-clothed figure of a statuesque woman. They are looking ardently at each other.
The gods Giunione and Giove, who combine to assure Ulisse of a successful return


الموسيقى



قائمة العناصر الموسيقية

المشهد الأداء First lines[n 21] Notes
Prologue
Prologue L'humana Fragilità, il Tempo, la Fortuna, l'Amore Mortal cosa son io
(I am mortal)
In the libretto prologue the gods are Fato, Fortezza and Prudenza (Fate, Strength and Prudence)[5]
Act 1
1: Scene I Penelope, Ericlea Di misera regina non terminati mai dolenti affani!
(Miserable Queen, sorrow and trouble never end!)
1: Scene II Melanto, Eurimaco Duri e penosi son gli amorosi fieri desir
(Bitter and hard are the lovers' cruel torments)
1: Scene III Maritime scene, music missing from score
1: Scene IV Music only The sleeping Ulisse is placed ashore by the Faeci
1: Scene V Nettuno, Giove Superbo è l'huom
(Man is proud)
In some editions this scene begins with a Chorus of Sirens, using other music.[6]
1: Scene VI Chorus of Faeci, Nettuno In questo basso mondo
(In this base world)
1: Scene VII Ulisse Dormo ancora o son desto?
(Am I still asleep, or am I awake?)
1: Scene VIII Minerva, Ulisse Cara e lieta gioventù
(Dear joyful time of youth)
1: Scene IX Minerva, Ulisse Tu d'Aretusa a fonte intanto vanne
(Go thou meanwhile to the fountain of Arethusa)
Act 1 in the five-act libretto ends here
1: Scene X Penelope, Melanto Donata un giorno, o dei, contento a' desir miei
(Grant me one day, ye gods, content to all my wishes)
1: Scene XI Eumete Come, oh come mal si salva un regio amante
(O how badly does a loving king save himself)
1: Scene XII Iro, Eumete Pastor d'armenti può prati e boschi lodar
(A keeper of cattle can praise meadows and woods)
1: Scene XIII Eumete, Ulisse Ulisse generoso! Fu nobile intrapresa
{Noble Ulysses! You undertook noble deeds)
End of Act 1 (score)
Act 2
2: Scene I Telemaco, Minerva Lieto cammino, dolce viaggio
(Happy journey, sweet voyage)
2: Scene II Eumete, Ulisse, Telemaco Oh gran figlio d'Ulisse! È pur ver che tu torni
O great son of Ulysses, is it true you have come back?)
2: Scene III Telemaco, Ulisse Che veggio, ohimè, che miro?
(What do I see, alas, what do I behold?)
Act 2 in the five-act libretto ends here
2: Scene IV Melanto, Eurimaco Eurimaco! La donna insomma haun cor di sasso
(Eurymachus, in short the lady has a heart of stone)
2: Scene V Antinoo, Pisandro, Anfinomo, Penelope Sono l'altre regine coronate di servi e tu d'amanti
(Other queens are crowned by servants, you by lovers)
2: Scene VI "Ballet of the Moors", music missing from score
2: Scene VII Eumete, Penelope Apportator d'altre novelle vengo!
(I come as bearer of great tidings!)
2: Scene VIII Antinoo, Anfinomo, Pisandro, Eurimaco Compagni, udiste?
(Friends, did you hear?)
2: Scene IX Ulisse, Minerva Perir non può chi tien per scorta il cielo
(He who has heaven as an escort cannot perish)
2: Scene X Eumete, Ulisse Io vidi, o pelegrin, de' Proci amanti
(I saw, O wanderer, the amorous suitors)
Act 3 in the five-act libretto ends here.
In Henze's two-act version Act 1 ends here
2: Scene XI Telemaco, Penelope Del mio lungo viaggio i torti errori già vi narrari
(The tortuous ways of my long journey I have already recounted)
2: Scene XII Antinoo, Eumete, Iro, Ulisse, Telemaco, Penelope, Anfinomo, Pisandro Sempre villano Eumete
(Always a lout, Eumete...)
Act 4 in the five-act libretto ends here
Act 3

3: Scene I
Iro O dolor, o martir che l'alma attrista
(O grief, O torment that saddens the soul)
3: Scene II Scene not set to music because Monteverdi considered it "too melancholy".[7] The souls of the dead suitors are seen entering hell.
3: Scene III Melanto, Penelope E quai nuovi rumori,
(And what strange uproars)
3: Scene IV Eumete, Penelope Forza d'occulto affetto raddolcisce il tuo petto
(The power of a hidden affection may calm your breast)
3: Scene V Telemaco, Penelope È saggio Eumete, è saggio!
(Eumaeus is truly wise!)
3: Scene VI Minerva, Giunone Fiamma e l'ira, o gran dea, foco è lo sdegno!
(Anger is the flame, O great goddess, hatred is the fire)
3: Scene VII Giunone, Giove, Nettuno, Minerva, Heavenly Chorus, Chorus of Sirens Gran Giove, alma de' dei,
(Great Jove, soul of the gods)
3: Scene VIII Ericlea Ericlea, che vuoi far?
(Eurycleia, what will you do?)
3: Scene IX Penelope, Eumete, Telemaco Ogni nostra ragion sen porta il vento
(All your reason is borne away by the wind)
3: Scene X Ulisse, Penelope, Ericlea O delle mie fatiche meta dolce e soave
(O sweet, gentle ending of my troubles)
End of opera

تاريخ التسجيلات

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الهوامش

المصادر

  1. ^ "Ulysses" is the Latin form of the Greek "Odysseus", hero of the Odyssey
  2. ^ Il Tempo ch'affretta, Fortuna ch'alletta, Amor che saetta...Pietate non ha!
  3. ^ Fragile, misero, torbido quest'uom sarà
  4. ^ L'aspettato non giunge, e pur fuggotto gli anni (1.I)
  5. ^ Dolce mia vita, mia vita sei! (1.II)
  6. ^ Falsissimi Faeci, sempre Borea nemico (1.VII)
  7. ^ Di Penelope casta l'immutabil costanza (1.VIII)
  8. ^ A che sprezzi gli ardort de' viventi amatori per attener conforti Dal cenere de' morti? (1.X)
  9. ^ Colà tra regi io sto, tu fra gli armenti qui (1.XII)
  10. ^ Il mio lungo cordoglio da te vinto cadrà (1.XIII)
  11. ^ O gran figlio d'Ulisse, è pur ver che tu torni (2.II)
  12. ^ Eurimaco, la donna insomma ha un cor di sasso (2.IV)
  13. ^ All'allegrezze dunque, al ballo, al canto! (2.V)
  14. ^ Per si dubbie novelle o s'addopia il mio male. (2.VII)
  15. ^ E che sì che ti strappo i peli della barba ad uno ad ono! (2.XII)
  16. ^ Così l'arco ferisce! Alle morti, alle stragi, alle ruine! (2.XII)
  17. ^ O dolor, O martir, che l'alma attrista! (3.I)
  18. ^ Relatore importuno, consolator nocivo! (3.IV)
  19. ^ Bella cosa tavolta è un bel tacer (3.VIII)
  20. ^ Sospirato mio sole! Rinnovata mia luce! (3.X)
  21. ^ Translations based on Geoffrey Dunn and Hugh Ward-Perkins

الحواشي

  1. ^ أ ب ت ث Rosand Vartolo, p. 1
  2. ^ Carter 2002, pp. 101–03.
  3. ^ Dunn 1972.
  4. ^ Rosand Vartolo.
  5. ^ خطأ استشهاد: وسم <ref> غير صحيح؛ لا نص تم توفيره للمراجع المسماة Cascelli
  6. ^ Dunn 1972, p. 17.
  7. ^ Ringer 2006, pp. 200–01.

المراجع

  • Beat, Janet E. in (eds) Arnold, Denis and Fortune, Nigel (1968). The Monteverdi Companion. London: Faber and Faber.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  • Carter, Tim (2002). Monteverdi's Musical Theatre. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-09676-3.
  • Dunn, Geoffrey (translator) (1972). Il ritorno d'Ulisse in Patria: Italian and English libretto. London: Faber Music Ltd. {{cite book}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  • Kennedy, Michael (2006). Oxford Dictionary of Music. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-861459-4.
  • Neef, Sigrid, ed. (2000). Opera: Composers, Works, Performers (English ed.). Cologne: Könemann. ISBN 3-8290-3571-3.
  • March, Ivan, ed. (1993). The Penguin Guide to Opera on Compact Disc. London: Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-046957-5.
  • Ringer, Mark (2006). Opera's First Master: The Musical Dramas of Claudio Monteverdi. Newark N.J.: Amadeus Press. ISBN 1-57467-110-3.
  • Robinson, Michael F. (1972). Opera before Mozart. London: Hutchinson & Co. ISBN 0-09-080421-X.
  • Rosand, Ellen (1991). Opera in Seventeenth-Century Venice: the Creation of a Genre. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-25426-0.
  • Rosand, Ellen (2007). Monteverdi's Last Operas: a Venetian trilogy. Los Angeles: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-24934-9.
  • Rosand, Ellen and Vartolo, Sergio (2005). Preface to recording: Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria: Monteverdi's Five-Act Drama (CD). Leeuwarden (Netherlands): Brilliant Classics 93104.
  • Sadie, Stanley, ed. (2004). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Opera. London: Flame Tree Publishing. ISBN 1-84451-026-3.
  • Warrack, John; West, Ewan (1992). The Oxford Dictionary of Opera. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0198691648.

وصلات خارجية

قالب:Claudio Monteverdi