March 11, 2019.Ariodante and Telemann.Just two weeks ago we celebrated Handel’s birthday, and a couple days ago we had a chance to listen to (and, unfortunately, watch) his masterpiece, the opera Ariodante, presented by the Lyric Opera of Chicago.At about 3 hours of pure music (four hours with intermissions) it’s a bit long, but it was written when the public didn’t consider an opera performance a semi-religious event to be experienced in motionless silence – this attitude was acquired a century later – and mingled, talked, played cards and enjoyed themselves as much as they could.Were Handel to write it today, he’d probably cut about a quarter of it out, but even as is, with too many repeats, the music is absolutely gorgeous.The libretto is absurd, but most of the operas then (and since then) had silly storylines..The characters, all with Italian names and singing in Italian, are placed somewhere in Scotland where two lovers, a prince and king’s daughter, are almost driven to death and madness by a villainous duke, but of course everything ends well: the duke is punished, and the lover happily marry.The premier took place at the Covent Garden; it was the first opera ever staged in the newly-built theater.The role of protagonist, prince Ariodante, was sung by the famous castrato Carestini, who replaced Senesino, for many years Handel’s favorite, after they parted ways and Senesino joined the competing Opera of the Nobility.The bad Duke Polinesso was sung by a contralto, Maria Caterina Negri.At the Lyric, the genders were reversed: Ariodante was sung by a mezzo, while Polinesso – by a countertenor.Both were wonderful.Alice Coote, a prominent interpreter of Handel’s music, needed some time to warm up, but her famous Act II aria, Scherza infida, was superb (here it is in the performance by the countertenor David Daniels, which probably sounds closer to what Handel had in mind).Iestyn Davies was wonderful as Polinesso: his voice is not very big, but it is very focused, projects well and has a remarkable agility.The rest of the cast was excellent.
Unfortunately, the production, shared by the Lyric with the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence, the Canadian Opera Company, and Dutch National Opera in Amsterdam, was unattractive, silly and in parts, offensive.Placed into a religion-obsessed 1960s Scottish village, it turns the story into a morality play with Polinesso as a rapist-priest and Ginerva, the princess, a victim who rebels, quite awkwardly, at the very end of the opera. Visually boring, its only interesting feature was skillful puppetry which replaced Handel’s ballet numbers.In the absurd finale, while Handel’s glorious music celebrates the marriage of Ariodante and Ginerva, the princess slips away unnoticed and hitches a ride, presumably into a better future.But in the end, this production was just an unfortunate distraction from an otherwise hugely rewarding musical experience.
Georg Philipp Telemann was born on March 14th of 1681.Four years older than Handel (and Bach), he was friends with both.Telemann first met Handel in Halle in 1701 (Handel was only 16 but had already composed several Church cantatas, now lost).In his later years Telemann took up gardening, then in vogue, and received exotic plants from Handel.While in Hamburg, Telemann conducted several of Handel’s operas and even wrote additional music for some of them.And, like Handel, he wrote a piece called Water Music.Not as famous as Handel’s, it still is a marvelous piece.Here it’s performed by the Zefiro Baroque Orchestra.
Ariodante, Telemann 2019
March 11, 2019. Ariodante and Telemann. Just two weeks ago we celebrated Handel’s birthday, and a couple days ago we had a chance to listen to (and, unfortunately, watch) his masterpiece, the opera Ariodante, presented by the Lyric Opera of Chicago. At about 3 hours of
pure music (four hours with intermissions) it’s a bit long, but it was written when the public didn’t consider an opera performance a semi-religious event to be experienced in motionless silence – this attitude was acquired a century later – and mingled, talked, played cards and enjoyed themselves as much as they could. Were Handel to write it today, he’d probably cut about a quarter of it out, but even as is, with too many repeats, the music is absolutely gorgeous. The libretto is absurd, but most of the operas then (and since then) had silly storylines.. The characters, all with Italian names and singing in Italian, are placed somewhere in Scotland where two lovers, a prince and king’s daughter, are almost driven to death and madness by a villainous duke, but of course everything ends well: the duke is punished, and the lover happily marry. The premier took place at the Covent Garden; it was the first opera ever staged in the newly-built theater. The role of protagonist, prince Ariodante, was sung by the famous castrato Carestini, who replaced Senesino, for many years Handel’s favorite, after they parted ways and Senesino joined the competing Opera of the Nobility. The bad Duke Polinesso was sung by a contralto, Maria Caterina Negri. At the Lyric, the genders were reversed: Ariodante was sung by a mezzo, while Polinesso – by a countertenor. Both were wonderful. Alice Coote, a prominent interpreter of Handel’s music, needed some time to warm up, but her famous Act II aria, Scherza infida, was superb (here it is in the performance by the countertenor David Daniels, which probably sounds closer to what Handel had in mind). Iestyn Davies was wonderful as Polinesso: his voice is not very big, but it is very focused, projects well and has a remarkable agility. The rest of the cast was excellent.
Unfortunately, the production, shared by the Lyric with the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence, the Canadian Opera Company, and Dutch National Opera in Amsterdam, was unattractive, silly and in parts, offensive. Placed into a religion-obsessed 1960s Scottish village, it turns the story into a morality play with Polinesso as a rapist-priest and Ginerva, the princess, a victim who rebels, quite awkwardly, at the very end of the opera. Visually boring, its only interesting feature was skillful puppetry which replaced Handel’s ballet numbers. In the absurd finale, while Handel’s glorious music celebrates the marriage of Ariodante and Ginerva, the princess slips away unnoticed and hitches a ride, presumably into a better future. But in the end, this production was just an unfortunate distraction from an otherwise hugely rewarding musical experience.
Georg Philipp Telemann was born on March 14th of 1681. Four years older than Handel (and Bach), he was friends with both. Telemann first met Handel in Halle in 1701 (Handel was only 16 but had already composed several Church cantatas, now lost). In his later years Telemann took up gardening, then in vogue, and received exotic plants from Handel. While in Hamburg, Telemann conducted several of Handel’s operas and even wrote additional music for some of them. And, like Handel, he wrote a piece called Water Music. Not as famous as Handel’s, it still is a marvelous piece. Here it’s performed by the Zefiro Baroque Orchestra.