Don Rodrigo
Encyclopedia
Don Rodrigo is an opera
in three acts by Alberto Ginastera
, the composer's first opera, to an original Spanish
libretto
by Alejandro Casona
. Ginastera composed the opera on commission from the Municipality of the City of Buenos Aires
, Argentina
. The first performance was at the Teatro Colón, Buenos Aires
, Argentina
on 24 July 1964 with Carlo Cossutta
in the title role. The production was directed by Jorge Petraglia and conducted by Bruno Bartoletti
.
On February 22, 1966
, Plácido Domingo
had his international breakthrough by singing the title role of this opera at the US premiere of the work by the New York City Opera
. Other cast members included Jeannine Crader as Florinda, Spiro Malas
as Teudiselo, the king's tutor, and David Clatworthy as Don Julian, Florinda's father. Julius Rudel
conducted, and the opera received 9 performances at New York City Opera. A year later, the production was also shown, still with Plácido Domingo
, on tour at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
in Los Angeles
. Ginastera prepared from the opera a concert work for soprano and orchestra, which received its own first performance in October 1964.
Malena Kuss has published a detailed study of Ginastera's use of motives and of Argentine musical idioms in the opera. Pola Suares Urtubey has published an analysis of the dramatic structure of the opera.
in the 8th century. A note is that Don Rodrigo is also the Spanish
name for Roderic
, the last Visigothic king of Spain
. The three acts of the opera are divided into nine scenes linked by interludes, with labeling of the scenes as follows:
Act I
Act II
Act III
The scenes mirror each other in a format resembling a dramatic palindrome, with Scene 1 mirrored in Scene 9, Scene 2 mirrored in Scene 8, and so on, with Scene 5 forming the dramatic climax and fulcrum of the story.
At the start, Don Rodrigo has avenged an attack on his father. He is then about to be crowned King of Spain. Don Julian, Governor of Ceuta in Africa, introduces the King to his daughter Florinda. Rodrigo promises Don Julian that he will look after her as a daughter if she is permitted to stay at the royal court. At the coronation of Rodrigo, Florinda drops the crown. Although some regard this accident as a baleful sign, Rodrigo then retrieves the crown and places it on his own head. Historically, a chest in the Vault of Hercules has contained a locked mystery, which every King of Spain has respected since ancient times. However, Rodrigo opens the locked chest, where he sees the secret in the form of an Arab flag and a curse. The curse states that he who has opened the chest will be the last of his dynasty and that the Arabs will enslave Spain.
Later, Florinda bathes in a fountain, which Rodrigo sees. He goes to Florinda’s bedroom at night, and forces himself on her. Rodrigo then abandons her. Florinda writes to her father, angrily calling for revenge on Rodrigo.
Don Julian raises a rebellion against Don Rodrigo. At the battle at Guadalete, Don Julian is victorious against Don Rodrigo, which allows the Moors to enter Spain, fulfilling that part of the curse. Rodrigo becomes a penniless vagrant, and eventually finds shelter with a blind hermit. Florinda eventually discovers Rodrigo there. Rodrigo confesses his sins, and finally dies in Florinda's embrace.
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
in three acts by Alberto Ginastera
Alberto Ginastera
Alberto Evaristo Ginastera was an Argentine composer of classical music. He is considered one of the most important Latin American classical composers.- Biography :...
, the composer's first opera, to an original Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
libretto
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
by Alejandro Casona
Alejandro Casona
Alejandro Rodríguez Álvarez, known as Alejandro Casona was a Spanish poet and playwright born in Besullo, Spain, a member of the Generation of '27. Casona received his bachelor's degree in Gijon and later studied at the University of Murcia. After Franco's rise in 1936, he was forced, like many...
. Ginastera composed the opera on commission from the Municipality of the City of Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
. The first performance was at the Teatro Colón, Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
on 24 July 1964 with Carlo Cossutta
Carlo Cossutta
Carlo Cossutta was a prominent Italian dramatic tenor who had a major international opera career that spanned from the mid 1950s through the late 1990s. He began and ended his career at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires where he sang regularly from 1958 through 1998...
in the title role. The production was directed by Jorge Petraglia and conducted by Bruno Bartoletti
Bruno Bartoletti
Bruno Bartoletti is an Italian operatic conductor, particularly associated with the Italian repertory and contemporary works....
.
On February 22, 1966
1966 in music
-Events:*January 3 – Hullabaloo shows promotional videos of The Beatles songs "Day Tripper" and "We Can Work it Out".*January 8 – Shindig! airs for the last time on ABC, with musical guests the Kinks and the Who...
, Plácido Domingo
Plácido Domingo
Plácido Domingo KBE , born José Plácido Domingo Embil, is a Spanish tenor and conductor known for his versatile and strong voice, possessing a ringing and dramatic tone throughout its range...
had his international breakthrough by singing the title role of this opera at the US premiere of the work by the New York City Opera
New York City Opera
The New York City Opera is an American opera company located in New York City.The company, called "the people's opera" by New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, was founded in 1943 with the aim of making opera financially accessible to a wide audience, producing an innovative choice of repertory, and...
. Other cast members included Jeannine Crader as Florinda, Spiro Malas
Spiro Malas
Spiro Malas is an American bass-baritone opera singer.Malas made his operatic debut in 1959 in his native Baltimore and in 1960 he won the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. He made his New York debut at the New York City Opera where he came to the attention of Joan Sutherland and her...
as Teudiselo, the king's tutor, and David Clatworthy as Don Julian, Florinda's father. Julius Rudel
Julius Rudel
Julius Rudel is an American opera and orchestra conductor who emigrated to the United States from Austria at the age of 17 and studied conducting at the Mannes College of Music in New York City. He then forged a 35-year career with the New York City Opera, from 1944 to 1979, and was the Music...
conducted, and the opera received 9 performances at New York City Opera. A year later, the production was also shown, still with Plácido Domingo
Plácido Domingo
Plácido Domingo KBE , born José Plácido Domingo Embil, is a Spanish tenor and conductor known for his versatile and strong voice, possessing a ringing and dramatic tone throughout its range...
, on tour at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion is one of the halls in the Los Angeles Music Center . The Music Center's other halls include the Mark Taper Forum, Ahmanson Theatre, and Walt Disney Concert Hall.The Pavilion has 3,197 seats spread over four tiers, with chandeliers, wide curving stairways and rich décor...
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. Ginastera prepared from the opera a concert work for soprano and orchestra, which received its own first performance in October 1964.
Malena Kuss has published a detailed study of Ginastera's use of motives and of Argentine musical idioms in the opera. Pola Suares Urtubey has published an analysis of the dramatic structure of the opera.
Roles
- Don Rodrigo, King of Spain (tenor)
- Don Julian, Governor of Ceuta (baritone)
- Florinda, daughter of Don Julian (soprano)
- Teudiseld, Don Rodrigo's tutor (bass)
- Fortuna, maidservant to Florinda (mezzo-soprano)
- First maiden (soprano)
- Second maiden (mezzo-soprano)
- Bishop (baritone)
- Blind hermit (baritone)
- First page (tenor)
- Second page (baritone)
- First blacksmith (tenor)
- Second blacksmith (baritone)
- First messenger (tenor)
- Second messenger (baritone)
- Young messenger (contralto)
- Voice in the dream (bass)
- Peasant boy (child)
- Peasant girl (child)
Synopsis
The setting is Toledo, SpainToledo, Spain
Toledo's Alcázar became renowned in the 19th and 20th centuries as a military academy. At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 its garrison was famously besieged by Republican forces.-Economy:...
in the 8th century. A note is that Don Rodrigo is also the Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
name for Roderic
Roderic
Ruderic was the Visigothic King of Hispania for a brief period between 710 and 712. He is famous in legend as "the last king of the Goths"...
, the last Visigothic king of Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. The three acts of the opera are divided into nine scenes linked by interludes, with labeling of the scenes as follows:
Act I
- Scene 1: Victory
- Scene 2: Coronation
- Scene 3: Secret
Act II
- Scene 4: Love
- Scene 5: Outrage
- Scene 6: Message
Act III
- Scene 7: Dream
- Scene 8: Battle
- Scene 9: Miracle
The scenes mirror each other in a format resembling a dramatic palindrome, with Scene 1 mirrored in Scene 9, Scene 2 mirrored in Scene 8, and so on, with Scene 5 forming the dramatic climax and fulcrum of the story.
At the start, Don Rodrigo has avenged an attack on his father. He is then about to be crowned King of Spain. Don Julian, Governor of Ceuta in Africa, introduces the King to his daughter Florinda. Rodrigo promises Don Julian that he will look after her as a daughter if she is permitted to stay at the royal court. At the coronation of Rodrigo, Florinda drops the crown. Although some regard this accident as a baleful sign, Rodrigo then retrieves the crown and places it on his own head. Historically, a chest in the Vault of Hercules has contained a locked mystery, which every King of Spain has respected since ancient times. However, Rodrigo opens the locked chest, where he sees the secret in the form of an Arab flag and a curse. The curse states that he who has opened the chest will be the last of his dynasty and that the Arabs will enslave Spain.
Later, Florinda bathes in a fountain, which Rodrigo sees. He goes to Florinda’s bedroom at night, and forces himself on her. Rodrigo then abandons her. Florinda writes to her father, angrily calling for revenge on Rodrigo.
Don Julian raises a rebellion against Don Rodrigo. At the battle at Guadalete, Don Julian is victorious against Don Rodrigo, which allows the Moors to enter Spain, fulfilling that part of the curse. Rodrigo becomes a penniless vagrant, and eventually finds shelter with a blind hermit. Florinda eventually discovers Rodrigo there. Rodrigo confesses his sins, and finally dies in Florinda's embrace.