Hamlet (opera)
Encyclopedia
Hamlet is an opéra
in five acts by the French composer Ambroise Thomas
, with a libretto
by Michel Carré
and Jules Barbier
based on a French adaptation by Alexandre Dumas, père
and Paul Meurice
of Shakespeare's play Hamlet
.
came to Paris to give a season of Shakespeare in English at the Odéon
. On 11 September 1827 the Irish actress Harriet Smithson
played the part of Ophelia in Hamlet. Her mad scene appeared to owe little to tradition and seemed almost like an improvisation, with several contemporary accounts remarking on her astonishing capacity for mime. Her performances produced an extraordinary reaction: men wept openly in the theater, and when they left were "convulsed by uncontrollable emotion." The twenty-five-year-old Alexandre Dumas, père
, who was about to embark on a major career as a novelist and dramatist, was in the audience and found the performance revelatory, "far surpassing all my expectations". The French composer Hector Berlioz
was also present at that opening night performance and later wrote: "The lightning flash of that sublime discovery opened before me at a stroke the whole heaven of art, illuminating it to its remotest depths. I recognized the meaning of dramatic grandeur, beauty, truth." Even the wife of the English ambassador
, Lady Granville, felt compelled to report that the Parisians "roar over Miss Smithson's Ophelia, and strange to say so did I". (The actress's Irish accent and the lack of power in her voice had hindered her success in London.) It wasn't long before new clothing and hair styles, à la mode d'Ophélie and modeled on those of the actress, became all the rage in Paris.
Not everything about the performance or the play was considered convincing. The supporting players were conceded to be weak. The large number of corpses on the stage in the final scene was found by many to be laughable. But Hamlet's interaction with the ghost of his father, the play-within-the-play, Hamlet's conflict with his mother, Ophelia's mad scene, and the scene with the gravediggers were all found to be amazing and powerful. The moment in the Play Scene when Claudius rises up and interrupts the proceedings, then rushes from the stage, provoked a long and enthusiastic ovation. The journal Pandore wrote about "that English candour which allows everything to be expressed and everything to be depicted, and for which nothing in nature is unworthy of imitation by drama". Dumas felt the play and the performances provided him "what I was searching for, what I lacked, what I had to find — actors forgetting they were on stage [...] actual speech and gesture such as made actors creatures of God, with their own virtues, passions and weaknesses, not wooden, impossible heroes booming sonorous platitudes".
The composer Berlioz was soon totally infatuated with Miss Smithson. His love for her, initially unrequited, became an obsession and served as inspiration for his music. His Symphonie fantastique
(Fantastic Symphony, 1830) portrays an opium-induced vision in which the musician's beloved appears as a recurrent musical motif, the idée fixe, which like any obsession "finds its way into every incredible situation [movement]". The Fantastic Symphony's sequel Lélio, ou Le retour à la vie
(Lélio, or the Return to Life, 1831) contained a song Le pêcheur ("The Fisherman"), a setting of Goethe's ballad
Der Fischer, the music of which included a quotation of the idée fixe that is associated with a siren who draws the hero to a watery grave. His Tristia, Op. 18
, written in the 1830s although not published until 1852, included "La mort d'Ophélie" ("The death of Ophelia"), a setting of a ballade by Ernest Legouvé
, the text of which is a free adaptation of Gertude's monologue in Act 4, scene 7. Berlioz married Smithson in 1833, although their relationship ultimately fell apart.
Although Harriet Smithson's stardom faded within a year and a half of her debut there, the Parisian fascination with the character of Ophelia continued unabated. Besides in music, it also manifested itself in art. Auguste Préault's relief Ophélie (1844) depicted a young woman wading into water with her hair let down and swirling in the current.
, who had become a personal friend of Berlioz and Smithson, had achieved international fame with his historical novels and dramas. With the heightened interest in Shakespeare, and in particular Hamlet, that had been aroused by Smithson's performances at the Odéon, he decided to prepare a new French translation of the play to be presented at his Théâtre Historique. An earlier verse translation of Hamlet into French by Jean-François Ducis
, first performed in 1769, was still being given at the Comédie-Française
, and Dumas knew the leading role by heart. The Ducis play bore very little resemblance to the Shakespeare original. There were far fewer characters: no ghost, no Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, no players, no gravediggers. There was no duel, and Hamlet did not die at the end. Modifications such as these were necessary to gain performances in the French theaters of his time. Ducis had told the English actor-impressario David Garrick
that a ghost which speaks, itinerant players, and a fencing duel were "absolutely inadmissible" on the French stage. Dumas realized that Ducis' play was not the same as the original: Pierre Le Tourneur had published a relatively faithful prose translation, not intended for performance, in 1779. Nevertheless, moral propriety and politesse dictated that only such highly sanitized versions like that of Ducis could be performed on stage. The French referred to these performing editions as imitations, and most knew that they were highly modified versions of the original. All the same, Ducis was at first accused of polluting French theaters with Shakespeare; only much later was he indicted for mutilating the original.
Dumas could not speak or read English well. He needed help, so he selected a younger writer by the name of Paul Meurice
from among his coterie of protégés and assistants. Meurice had earlier collaborated with Auguste Vacquerie
on Falstaff, a combination of Parts I
and II of Shakespeare's Henry IV
, which had been presented at the Odéon in 1842. The Dumas-Meurice Hamlet was performed at Dumas' Théâtre Historique in 1847 and had an enormous success. (With some alterations the Comédie-Française took it into repertory in 1886, and it continued to be performed in France until the middle of the 20th century.)
The Dumas-Meurice version was more faithful to Shakespeare and restored much of what was missing from the Ducis version, including Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, the ghost, the duel, and the gravediggers. Still, by modern standards, it was a rather free adaptation of the original. Fortinbras was dropped, and the entire opening scene with the sentinels on the ramparts of the castle was excised. A love scene between Hamlet and Ophelia was added to the first act. Claudius does not send Hamlet to England, so Rosencrantz and Guildenstern do not die. Notably, at the end of the play, as Getrude, Claudius, and Laertes are dying, the ghost of Hamlet's father reappears and condemns each of the dying characters. To Claudius it says: Désespère et meurs! – "Despair and die!"; to Laertes: Prie et meurs! – "Pray and die!"; and to the Queen: Espère et meure! – "Hope and die!". When the wounded Hamlet asks: Et quel châtiment m'attend donc? – "And what punishment awaits me?", the ghost responds: Tu vivras! – "You shall live!", and the curtain falls.
Dumas explained these "improvements" to Shakespeare's play by insisting that the original violated plausibility, transgressed decency, and destroyed the dramatic balance. "Since Hamlet is not guilty to the same degree as the others, he should not die the same death as the others." Four dead bodies would constitute "the most unpleasant effect." Since the ghost appears at the beginning of the play, "it must necessarily reappear to be present at the end."
When adapting a play for opera, it was imperative to shorten and simplify. Traditionally grand opera
conveys plot in broad brushstrokes; the audience is not particularly interested in its intricacies, or its detours and complexities. An uncut version of Shakespeare's play had more than 30 characters and could run for over four hours. The libretto reduced the total number of characters to fifteen (counting the four mime players required for the Play scene), and also reduced the number of subplots. Dumas had cut the scene with the sentinels Bernardo and Francisco. Gone also were Voltimand, Cornelius, Osric, and Reynaldo. Like Dumas, Fortinbras was omitted, thus there was no need to mention an invasion from Norway. Dumas omitted the subplot of Hamlet's voyage to England, so Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were also omitted, removing most of the black humor of the play. Polonius' accidental murder in Act 4 was excised, and his singing part reduced to only eight measures.
This simplification of characters and subplots focused the drama on Hamlet's predicament and its effects on Ophélie and left the opera with essentially 4 main characters: Hamlet and Ophélie, Claudius and Gertude. This constellation of roles preserved the tetradic model and the balance of male and female parts which had become established in French grand opera
at the time of Meyerbeer's Robert le diable
in 1831. The libretto originally specified for these roles one soprano (Ophélie), one mezzo-soprano (Gertrude), one tenor (Hamlet), and one baritone or bass (Claudius).
Other plot changes, such as making Läerte less cynical and more positive towards Hamlet early on, not only simplified the story but heightened the tragedy of their duel in the Gravediggers Scene. Making Gertrude a co-conspirator alongside Claudius, enhanced the dramatic conflict between Hamlet and Gertrude when Hamlet attempts to coerce a confession from her in the Closet Scene. Making Polonius a co-conspirator, as revealed in the Closet Scene, strengthened Hamlet's motivation in rejecting his marriage to Ophélie. This crucial change facilitated the transformation of Shakespeare's Ophelia into the opera's Ophélie, a creature who dramatically is almost entirely drawn from the 19th-century, whose madness stems not from the actions of a man who creates an intolerable situation, but rather from a man whose withdrawal leaves an emptiness she is unable to fill. Musically, of course, the Mad Scene was one of those audience-pleasing creations which drew upon well-established operatic tradition.
Another change, the addition of Hamlet's drinking song for the Players in Act 2, created another opportunity for an audience-pleasing musical number. It also led to a shortening of his instructions to them before the song and could be justified dramatically as a cover for his ulterior motive in asking them to enact the mime play. In the final scene, in another simplification of the plot, Laërte, Polonius, and Gertrude survive. As in the Dumas' play, the ghost returns at the end, but unlike in Dumas, the ghost merely banishes Gertrude to a convent for her role in the conspiracy. Finally, exactly as in Dumas, Hamlet lives and is proclaimed King.
of at least one 5-act opera per season. The inclusion of a ballet was also obligatory. The fourth and final act, which included the Mad Scene and the Gravediggers Scene, was simply split into two. To confer more weight to the new fourth act, the ballet was added between the choral introduction of the Mad Scene and Ophélie's recitative and aria.
In 1863 the director of the Opéra, Émile Perrin
, wrote in a letter to a minister of state that Thomas had nearly finished writing the music. Later the press conjectured as to the reason for the delay of the opera, suggesting that Thomas had yet to find his ideal Ophélie. Thomas' opera Mignon
(1866), an adaptation of Goethe's novel Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre, had been the composer's very effective response to Gounod's earlier Goethe adaption, the opera Faust
, which had premiered in 1859. Mignon had been performed at the Opéra-Comique
, and Thomas was under pressure to provide a similar success at the Opéra, in particular as several of his earlier productions there had done poorly.
When Gounod's Shakespeare adaptation, the opera Roméo et Juliette
, appeared at the Théâtre Lyrique
in 1867, it provided additional impetus for Thomas to finish working on his own adaptation of Hamlet. According to accounts in the press, it was that same year, at his publisher Heugel's office in Paris, that Thomas met the Swedish soprano Christine Nilsson, who had just been engaged at the Opéra. Thomas finally consented to the scheduling of the premiere. Consistent with this press report, parts of the soprano role were altered around this time with Nilsson's capabilities in mind. Thomas replaced a dialog with the women's chorus in the Mad Scene in Act 4 with a Swedish Ballade. This Ballade resembles the first movement of Grieg's Op. 63 (Two Nordic Melodies), and its use was suggested to Thomas by Nilsson.
A tenor suitable for the role of Hamlet could not be found, but an outstanding dramatic baritone, Jean-Baptiste Faure
, was available, so Thomas decided to transpose the part, originally written for a tenor, to baritone. In the event, Faure "achieved a tremendous personal triumph as Hamlet."
(Salle Le Peletier) on 9 March 1868. Among the noted singers in the original cast were Jean-Baptiste Faure
as Hamlet and Christine Nilsson as Ophelia. The opera was staged at the Royal Italian Opera, Covent Garden (later the Royal Opera House
, Covent Garden) in 1870. Hamlet was Thomas's greatest success, along with Mignon
, and was further staged in Leipzig, Budapest, Brussels, Prague, New York City, Saint Petersburg, Berlin, and Vienna within five years of the Paris premiere.
The changes to Shakespeare's version of the story led to criticism of the opera in London. For instance, in 1890 quote a critic with the Pall Mall Gazette wrote:
.
However, since 1980, interest in the piece has increased, and the work has enjoyed a notable number of revivals, including Vienna (1992–1994, 1996), Opera North
(1995), Geneva
(1996), San Francisco Opera
(1996), Copenhagen
(1996 and 1999), Amsterdam
(1997), Karlsruhe
(1998), Washington Concert Opera (1998), Tokyo
(1999), Paris (2000), Toulouse (2000), Moscow (2001), Prague (2002), Opera Theatre of Saint Louis
(2002), London (2003), and Barcelona (2003, DVD available). The latter production (first shown in Geneva) was presented at the Metropolitan Opera
in 2010. The Washington National Opera
's 2009-2010 season will also featured a production of Hamlet.
The royal Danish court is celebrating the coronation of Queen Gertrude who has married Claudius, brother of the late King Hamlet. Claudius places the crown on Gertrude's head. All leave, and Prince Hamlet, son of the late King and Gertrude, enters. He is upset that his mother has remarried so soon. Ophélie enters, and they sing a love duet. Laërte, Ophélie's brother, enters. He is being sent to Norway and gives his farewells. He entrusts Ophélie to the care of Hamlet. Hamlet refuses to join Laërte and Ophélie as they leave to join the banquet, and goes off in another direction. Courtiers and soldiers, on their way to the banquet, enter the hall. Horatio and Marcellus tell the soldiers that they have seen the ghost of Hamlet's father on the ramparts of the castle the previous night and go off to tell Hamlet.
Scene 2: The Ramparts
Horatio and Marcellus meet Hamlet on the ramparts. The Ghost appears, Horatio and Marcellus leave, and the Ghost tells his son that Claudius murdered him with poison. The Ghost commands Hamlet to take vengeance on Claudius, but Gertrude must be spared. The Ghost withdraws. Hamlet draws his sword and swears to avenge his father.
Ophélie, reading a book, is concerned at Hamlet's new indifference. Hamlet appears in the distance, but leaves without speaking. The Queen enters. Ophélie says she would like to leave the court, but the Queen insists she should stay. Ophélie leaves the garden and King Claudius enters. Gertrude suspects that Hamlet now knows about the murder of his father, but Claudius says he does not. Hamlet enters and feigns madness. He rejects all overtures of friendship from Claudius, then announces he has engaged a troupe of actors to perform a play that evening. Claudius and Gertrude leave, and the players enter. Hamlet asks them to mime the play The Murder of Gonzago and then sings a drinking song, playing the fool, so as not to arouse suspicion.
Scene 2: The Play
The King and Queen and the other guests assemble in the castle hall where the stage has been set up. The play begins, and Hamlet narrates. The play tells a story similar to the murder of Hamlet's father. After the "poison" is administered, the "assassin" places the "crown" on his head. Claudius turns pale, rises abruptly, and commands the play to stop and the actors to leave. Hamlet accuses Claudius of the murder of his father, and snatches Claudius' crown from his head. The entire assembly reacts in a grand septet with chorus.
In the Queen's chambers Hamlet delivers the monologue "To be or not to be", then hides behind a tapestry. Claudius enters and prays aloud of his remorse. Hamlet, deciding Claudius' soul may be saved, if he is killed while praying, delays yet again. Polonius enters and in his conversation with Claudius reveals his own complicity. The King and Polonius leave, Hamlet emerges, and Gertrude enters with Ophélie. The Queen tries to persuade Hamlet to marry Ophélie, but Hamlet, realizing he can no longer marry the daughter of the guilty Polonius, refuses. Ophélie returns her ring to Hamlet and leaves. Hamlet tries to force Gertrude to confront her guilt, but she resists. As Hamlet threatens her, he sees the Ghost, who reminds him he must spare his mother.
After Hamlet's rejection, Ophélie has gone mad and drowns herself in the lake.
Hamlet comes upon two gravediggers digging a new grave. He asks who has died, but they do not know. He sings of remorse for his ill treatment of Ophélie. Laërte, who has returned from Norway and learned of his sister's death and Hamlet's role in it, enters and challenges Hamlet to a duel. They fight, and Hamlet is wounded, but Ophélie's funeral procession interrupts the duel. Hamlet finally realizes she is dead. The Ghost appears again and exhorts Hamlet to kill Claudius, which Hamlet does, avenging his father's death. The Ghost affirms Claudius' guilt and Hamlet's innocence. Hamlet, still in despair, is proclaimed King to cries of "Long live Hamlet! Long live the King!".
A hall in the castle of Elsinore.
1. Introduction, march and chorus. The court celebrates the Coronation of Gertrude, widow of King Hamlet; and her marriage to his brother, Claudius (Courtiers: Que nos chants montent jusqu'aux cieux – "Let our songs rise to the skies"). The new king, Claudius, stands before his throne on a dais, surrounded by the nobles of the court. His court chancellor, Polonius, is nearby. Queen Gertrude enters, approaches the dais, and bows to the King (Courtiers: Salut, ô Reine bien-aimée! – "Greetings, O beloved Queen!"). Polonius hands the King a crown, which he takes and places on her head (The King: Ô toi, qui fus la femme de mon frère – "O you who were my brother's wife"). Gertrude comments in an aside to Claudius that she does not see her son Hamlet. Claudius admonishes her to bear herself as a queen. The courtiers sing of their joy as they celebrate the King and Queen's glorious marriage (Courtiers: Le deuil fait place aux chants joyeux – "Mourning gives way to joyful songs"). The King and Queen leave the hall followed by the courtiers.
2. Recitative and duet. Prince Hamlet, son of the late King and Gertrude, enters the empty hall. As Hamlet enters, before he begins singing, the low strings in the orchestra play Hamlet's Theme:
He laments that his mother has remarried scarcely two months since his father's death (Hamlet: Vains regrets! Tendresse éphémère! – "Futile regrets! Ephemeral tenderness!").
Ophélie enters. Her entrance is accompanied by Ophélie's Theme. According to the German musicologist Annegret Fauser, Ophélie's music contrasts with Hamlet's very regular 8-bar phrase: the 4-bar theme accentuates her nervous character by the use of dotted-note rhythms, a chromatic melody line, and high-range woodwind instruments. The excerpt below ends with 3 bars of florid solo flute music which foreshadows Ophélie's coloratura
singing later in the opera.
She is worried that Hamlet's grief will blight their happiness (Ophélie: Hélas! votre âme – "Alas! your soul") and is concerned that, since Claudius has given Hamlet permission to leave, Hamlet will flee the court. Hamlet protests he cannot make promises of love one day, only to forget them the next. His heart is not that of a woman. Ophélie is distraught at the insult, and Hamlet begs forgiveness.
The duet affirms their love (Hamlet, Ophélie: Doute de la lumière – "Doubt that the light"). The text of the duet is based on Shakespeare's "Doubt thou the stars are fire", which is part of a letter from Hamlet to Ophelia which Polonius reads to Gertrude and Claudius. The melody of the vocal line in Hamlet's first phrases has been called the Theme of Hamlet's Love for Ophélie and appears several more times in the opera, with particular poignancy near the end of the Mad Scene (see below).
The three themes which have been introduced in this number are the most important elements which Thomas uses for creating compositional and dramatic unity in the opera. They reoccur, usually in modified form, whenever significant situations relevant to the ideas they represent present themselves, although without having, in the Wagnerian sense, a leitmotivic function.
3. Recitative and cavatina of Laërte. Ophélie's brother, Laërte, enters. He tells Hamlet and Ophélie that the King is sending him to the court of Norway, and he must leave that very night (unlike in the play where, as Matthew Gurewitsch of Opera News has said, he embarks for "the fleshpots of Paris"). In his cavatina, Laërte asks Hamlet to watch over his sister while he is gone (Laërte: Pour mon pays, en serviteur fidèle – "For my country, in faithful service"). (In the play Laertes warns Ophelia to be wary of Hamlet's intentions.) Fanfares are heard as servants and pages pass at the back. Laërte asks Hamlet and Ophélie to come with him to the banquet, but Hamlet declines. The couple separates, as Laërte and Ophélie leave for the banquet, and Hamlet goes off in the other direction. More fanfares are heard as lords and ladies enter on their way to the banquet (Lords and Ladies: Honneur, honneur au Roi! – "Honor, honor to the King!"). They are followed by a group of young officers.
4. Chorus of Officers and Pages. The officers sing of their hope that the call of pleasure will dispel their current ennui (Officers: Nargue de la tristesse! – "Scoff at sorrow"). Horatio and Marcellus enter in haste, looking for Hamlet. They tell of having seen the ghost of the late King upon the ramparts the previous night. The skeptical officers respond: "An absurd illusion! Lies and sorcery!" Undeterred, Horatio and Marcellus leave to find and warn the young prince. The officers, with the lords and ladies, finish the chorus and depart for the banquet. (Again, this scene is unlike the play in which Horatio, who has not seen the ghost himself but has merely heard of it from the sentinels, reports the news of the ghost's appearance to Hamlet directly, and not to a group of soldiers. For some reason Matthew Gurewitsch finds this change somewhat odd: "Horatio and a sidekick blab the dread news of the Ghost's appearance to a squadron of frolicking young officers, who are totally unimpressed.")
Scene 2
The ramparts. At the back, the illuminated castle. — It is night. The moon is partially obscured by dense clouds.
Prelude. The five-minute prelude sets the sinister atmosphere of the scene.
5. Scene at the ramparts. Horatio and Marcellus enter (Horatio: Viendra-t-il? – "Will he come?") and are soon followed by Hamlet (Hamlet: Horatio! n'est-ce point vous? – "Horatio! is that you?"). Horatio and Marcellus tell Hamlet that they have seen his father's ghost on the previous night at the stroke of twelve. Fanfares are heard emanating from the banquet hall within the castle, and soon thereafter the bells begin to toll midnight. The ghost appears, and they express their fear.
Invocation. Hamlet addresses the Ghost (Hamlet: Spectre infernal! Image venerée! – "Infernal apparition! Venerated image!"). The ghost gives a sign indicating that Horatio and Marcellus should withdraw, and Hamlet orders them to do so. The ghost speaks: Écoute-moi! – "Listen to me!". He identifies himself and commands Hamlet to avenge him. Hamlet asks what is the crime he must avenge, and who has committed it? Sounds of music from within the castle, fanfares, and distant cannon are heard, and the Ghost responds: "Hark: it is he they are honoring, he who they have proclaimed King! ... The adulterer has defiled my royal residence: and he, to make his treason more complete, spying upon my sleep and taking advantage of the hour, poured poison on my sleeping lips. ... Avenge me, my son! Avenge your father! ... From your mother, though, turn your anger away, we must leave punishment in the care of heaven." The ghost withdraws, his parting words: Souviens-toi! – "Remember me!" Hamlet draws his sword and proclaims his intention to obey the ghost's command (Hamlet: Ombre chére, ombre vengeresse, j'exaucerai ton vœu! ... je me souviendrai! – "Beloved shade, avenging shade, I shall fulfill your command! ... I shall remember!"). The English musicologist Elizabeth Forbes has written: "Even the composer's detractors, and there have been many, are agreed that Thomas' music for this scene is masterly; he catches the chilling, gloomy atmosphere perfectly...." In his review of the recording with Thomas Hampson as Hamlet, Barrymore Laurence Scherer says "Thomas captures Hamlet's shadowy malaise in both vocal line and somber accompaniment.... The intimacy of the recording provides Thomas Hampson with ample opportunity to make the most of the relationship between words and music..." The orchestral music which accompanies his vow to avenge his father's murder is another example of a theme which reoccurs multiple times at key points in the drama.
Scene 1
The castle gardens.
6. Aria of Ophélie. Ophélie is in the garden with a book in her hand. She laments Hamlet's distance, feeling his look is something like reproach (Ophélie: Sa main depuis hier n'a pas touché ma main! – "His hand has not touched mine since yesterday"). She reads from her book, at first silently, then aloud (Ophélie: "Adieu, dit-il, ayez-foi!" – "'Adieu, he said, trust me!'"). Hamlet appears on the other side of the garden (Theme of Hamlet's Love), sees her and tarries. Again she reads aloud from her book (Ophélie: "En vous, cruel, j'avais foi! Je vous aimais, aimez moi!" – "'In you, O cruel one, I believed. I loved you! Love me too!'"), then looks at Hamlet. However, he remains silent, then rushes away. Ophélie says ruefully: Ah! ce livre a dit vrai! – "Ah! This book spoke the truth!" and continues her aria (Ophélie: Les serments on des ailes! – "Promises have wings!").
7. Recitative and arioso. The Queen comes into the garden hoping to find Hamlet. She sees Ophélie's distress and presses her for information as to its cause (The Queen: Je croyais près de vous trouver mon fils – "I thought to find my son with you"). Ophélie says Hamlet no longer loves her and begs permission to leave the court. In the Queen's arioso, one of the finest numbers in the score, she rejects Ophélie's request, saying that the barrier between Ophélie and Hamlet comes from another source (The Queen: Dans sons regards plus sombre – "In his sombre expression"). She argues that Ophélie's presence may help cure Hamlet of his madness. Ophélie says she shall obey and leaves.
8. Duet. The King now comes into the garden (The King: L'âme de votre fils est à jamais troublée, Madame – "Your son's soul is ever troubled, Madame"). The Queen suggests Hamlet may have discovered the truth, but Claudius believes he suspects nothing.
An extended version of this very short duet appears in the piano-vocal score. Only the initial phrases of this passage are found in the full score, and the section which begins with the Queen's phrase Hélas! Dieu m'épargne la honte – "Alas! may God spare me the shame" is marked as a possible cut. The scoring of the remainder of the duet was thought lost. The original manuscript with the full score of the duet was recently found at the Bibliothèque nationale de France
in Paris. The music is included as an appendix in the recording with Thomas Hampson as Hamlet (see Recordings).
Recitative. At the conclusion of the duet Hamlet enters and addresses Claudius as Sire. Claudius asks Hamlet to refer to him as Father, but Hamlet responds that his father is dead. Claudius offers his hand, in Hamlet's father's name, but Hamlet only responds: "His is cold and lifeless." Claudius calls Hamlet "My son...", but Hamlet angrily responds: "My name is Hamlet!" He starts to walk away. Gertrude asks if he seeks the young and beautiful Ophélie, but Hamlet responds that youth and beauty will vanish in a single day. Claudius suggests Hamlet may wish to travel abroad, to France and Italy, but Hamlet responds he'd rather travel, like the clouds, among the stars, amid bolts of lightning. There is a distant sound of festive music, and the King admonishes him to hold up his head. Hamlet announces he has summoned an itinerant troupe of actors to provide entertainment. Claudius agrees to this, and then says to Gertrude, "He knows nothing!", as he and Gertrude turn to leave. In an aside, Hamlet asks his father to be patient.
9. Recitative and chorus of comedians. Marcellus and Horatio enter with the Players (tenors and basses). Marcellus announces: Voici les histrions mandés par vous, Seigneur. – "Here are the actors you sent for, my lord." The players sing a chorus (Players: Princes sans apanages – "Princes without privelege"). In an aside Hamlet reveals his true purpose (Hamlet: C'est en croyant revoir se dresser sa victime que plus d'un meurtrier a confessé son crime – "In believing he sees his victim rise up, more than one murderer has confessed his crime"). He asks the players to enact the play The Murder of Gonzago, saying he shall tell them when to pour the poison.
10. Chanson Bacchique. Hamlet sings a song in praise of wine (Hamlet: Ô vin, dissipe la tristesse – "O wine, dispel the sorrow"). This drinking song, which is not found in Shakespeare's version, has been the object of much negative criticism. In a florid cadenza
it rises to a high G (G4
). (An easier version with a lower high note, E flat (E4 flat
), is also included in the score). At its conclusion everyone leaves.
Scene 2
The Great Hall of the castle, festively lit. The royal throne is on the right, a platform for the courtiers on the left; at the back, a small theatre, curtains closed.
11. Danish march, recitative and prologue. The King and Queen enter, followed by Polonius, Ophélie, Hamlet, Horatio, Marcellus, and the court. Hamlet asks Ophélie if he may sit at her feet (Hamlet: Belle, permettez-nous – "Lady, permit me"). She responds that his expression frightens and chills her. Hamlet sits, his eyes fixed on the King and Queen. Everyone takes their places, and the curtains of the small theatre are opened. The play is introduced with a short orchestral passage featuring a saxophone
solo. In an aside Hamlet asks Marcellus to watch the King (Hamlet: Voici l'instant! fixez vos regards sur le Roi, et, si vous le voyez pâlir, dites-le moi! – "Now! Fix your gaze on upon the King, and, if he should turn pale, tell me!").
12. Pantomime and finale. On the small stage an aged king wearing a crown enters slowly on the arm of a queen whose features and costume are similar to those of Queen Gertrude. Hamlet, whose eyes never leave the face of King Claudius, narrates the action of the mimed play (Hamlet: C'est le vieux Roi Gonzague et la Reine Genièvre – "This is the aged King Gonzago and Queen Guinevere"). The play proceeds as follows: With protestations of love Guinevere leads Gonzago to a lonely spot. The drowsy king soon falls asleep in her arms. The villain enters. She holds out a cup, he seizes it, and pours the fatal potion, then takes the crown and places it on his head.
At this point Hamlet interrupts his narrative and addresses Claudius directly (Hamlet: Sire, vous pâlissez – "Sire, you grow pale!"). Angered and fearful, the King rises (The King: Chassez, chassez d'ici ces vils histrions! – "Expel, expel these vile minstrels!"). Hamlet, feigning madness, accuses Claudius of the murder of his father (Hamlet: C'est lui qui versait le poison! – "He's the one who poured the poison!"). Hamlet approaches the King, pushing aside the courtiers who surround him, and snatches the crown from Claudius' head (Hamlet: A bas, masque menteur! vaine couronne, à bas! – "Down with the lying mask! Down with the empty crown!").
The King, pulling himself together, solemnly declares: Ô mortelle offense! Aveugle démence, qui glace tous les cœurs d'effroi! – "O fatal insult! Blind lunacy, which chills every heart with dread!" Ophélie cries out, and the Queen declares her outrage (The Queen: Dans sa folle rage, il brave, il outrage – "In his mad rage, he defies, he offends"). These utterances of the King and the Queen begin a grand ensemble passage, "a magnificent septet", at the end of which, Hamlet collapses. The King rushes out, followed by the Queen, and the entire court.
A chamber in the Queen's apartments. At the back are two full-length portraits of the two kings. A prie-Dieu
. A lamp burns on a table.
13. Entr'acte and monologue. Hamlet is alone and seated on a couch. He agitatedly chastises himself for his failure to act (Hamlet: J'ai pu frapper le misérable – "I could have killed the scoundrel.") This leads to a calmer, more introspective section (Hamlet: Être ou ne pas être – "To be or not to be"), which follows the Shakespeare original closely, although greatly shortened. He hears someone approaching (Hamlet: Mais qui donc ose ici me suivre? Le Roi!... – "But who then dares to follow me here? The King!..."). He hides behind a tapestry (arras).
14. Recitative and bass aria. The King enters. He muses to himself (The King: C'est en vain que j'ai cru me soustraire aux remords. – "In vain have I thought to escape my remorse."). The King kneels at the prie-Dieu and prays aloud (The King: Je t'implore, ô mon frère! – "I implore you, O my brother!"). Hamlet overhears and fears Claudius' remorse could yet save his soul. He therefore delays yet again, deciding that Claudius must be dispatched in drunken revels at the court. The King rises. Thinking he has seen a ghost, he calls out for Polonius. Polonius comes rushing in. The King tells him he has seen the ghost of the dead king. Polonius tries to calm the King and warns him to beware lest a word betray them both. The King rushes out followed by Polonius. Hamlet emerges from behind the tapestry (Hamlet: Polonius est son complice! le père d'Ophélie! – "Polonius is his accomplice. Ophelia's father!"). He regrets having overheard this terrible revelation.
15. Trio. Ophélie enters with the Queen. (The Queen: Le voilà! Je veux lire enfin dans sa pensée – "There he is! I must know what is on his mind"). The Queen tells Hamlet, the altar awaits him, here is his betrothed. Hamlet looks away, without replying. The Queen persists, and Hamlet, thinks of Polonius' perfidy (Hamlet: Sur moi tombent les cieux avant que cet hymen funeste s'accomplisse! – "May the heavens fall upon me before such an ill-fated marriage can be solemnized!"). Ophélie asks what he means. He responds: Non! Allez dans un cloître, allez, Ophélie. – "No! Go to a nunnery, go, Ophélie."). The Queen asks whether he has forgotten all Ophélie's virtues. He replies he now feels nothing in his heart. Ophélie despairs (Ophélie: Cet amor promis à genoux – "The love that on your knees you swore"). She returns her ring to him (Theme of Hamlet's Love), and Hamlet weeps. The Queen turns to Ophélie saying he weeps, he remembers, he loves you. Hamlet cries out again (Hamlet: Non! Allez dans un cloître, allez, Ophélie – "No! Go to a nunnery, go, Ophélie"). Each continues to express conflicting feelings in an extended ensemble. Ophélie leaves, hiding her tears.
16. Duet. The Queen warns Hamlet that he has offended his father, and she may be powerless to save his life (The Queen: Hamlet, ma douleur est immense! – "Hamlet, my grief is great!"). Hamlet asks, who has offended his father? She denies any understanding of his meaning. Hamlet blocks her attempt to leave, tries to force her to confront her guilt (Hamlet: Ah! que votre âme sans refuge pleure sur les devoirs trahis – "Ah! Let your defenseless heart weep over duties betrayed"). Hamlet leads his mother to the two portraits and points to the portrait of his father (Hamlet: Ici la grâce et la beauté sereines – "Here are grace and serene beauty"), then to the other portrait (Là, tous les crimes de la terre! – "There, all crimes of the earth!"). The Queen begs for mercy, kneeling before Hamlet (The Queen: Pardonne, hélas! ta voix m'accable! – Forgive me, alas! Your voice devastates me!"). The Queen collapses on a couch. The light dims; the Ghost appears behind the couch, one arm extended toward Hamlet (Ghost: Mon fils! – "My son!"). Hamlet pulls back in confusion. The Ghost warns Hamlet (Ghost: Souviens-toi... mais épargne ta mère! – "Do not forget... but spare your mother!"). The Ghost vanishes; the doors close themselves. Hamlet asks his mother not to think he is mad; his rage has calmed. He tells her to repent and sleep in peace, then leaves. She collapses at the foot of the prie-Dieu.
Elizabeth Forbes states that the final duet of Act 3 represents the climax of the act and the pivotal scene of the entire opera, and the act as a whole "is by far the finest of the opera, musically as well as dramatically."
17. Entr'acte and Ballet. A short musical interlude of about two minutes, which features a soft, legato
clarinet solo, introduces the fourth act.
Ballet: La Fête du printemps (Celebration of Spring). Divertissement.
A. Country dance. A party of young Danish peasants enters, and a spring country festival ensues (Peasants: Voici la riante saison – "The fun season is here").
B. The ballet proper, which lasts approximately a quarter of an hour, consists of the following sections: Pas des chasseurs – Pantomime – Valse-Mazurka – Scène du bouquet – La Freya – Strette finale. Although a ballet was required by the Opéra
, it represents a serious anti-climax, in particular since it comes so soon after one of the high points of the opera, the "Closet Scene" of Act 3, where the composer had met the dramatic requirements posed by Shakespeare's play with music that was completely equal to the subject. Moreover, the ballet music which Thomas provided was uninspired. As such, this section is often omitted. The music is included as an appendix to the recording with Thomas Hampson as Hamlet (see Recordings).
"Mad Scene"
18. Ophélie's Scene and Aria.
Recitative. The music begins with Ophélie's Theme. The peasants see a young girl approaching (Peasants: Mais quelle est cette belle et jeune demoiselle – "But who is this fair young maiden"). Ophélie enters, dressed in a long white gown and with her hair bizarrely adorned with flowers and creepers (Ophélie: A vos jeux, mes amis, permettez-moi de grâce de prendre part! – "My friends, please allow me to join in your games!"). Ophélie's opening recitative is interrupted by florid cadenza
with an ascending run up to a trill
on a forte
A (A5
).
Andante. Ophélie tells the peasants that, should they hear that Hamlet has forgotten her, they should not believe it (Ophélie: Un doux serment nois lie – "A tender promise binds us to each other"). The orchestral part features a string quartet accompaniment marked "espressivo".
Waltz. This section, marked "Allegretto mouvement de Valse", begins with a short orchestral introduction. Ophélie offers a sprig of wild rosemary to a young girl and a periwinkle to another (Ophélie: Partegez-vous mes fleurs – "Share my flowers"). It concludes with an even more elaborate cadenza ending with an extended trill on F (F5
), which finishes with a downward octave leap, and a quick passage ascending to the final staccato
high B flat (B5 flat
). In a more difficult alternative version, the trill on F finishes with an upward leap to forte high D (D6
) and a quick passage descending to middle B flat (B4 flat
), followed by an upward octave leap to a final forte high B flat (B5 flat
) which is held.
Ballade. In the mournful Ballade, Ophélie sings about the Willis (water sprite) who lures lovers to their death, dragging them under the water until they drown (Ophélie: Et maintenant écoutez ma chanson. Pâle et blonde, dort sous l'onde profonde – "And now listen to my song. Pale and fair, sleeping under the deep waves"). (The Ballade replaces Shakespeare's "Tomorrow is St. Valentine's Day", the bawdy words of which were probably considered inappropriate at the Opéra.) It includes a quantity of coloratura singing, and, in the words of Matthew Gurewitsch, is "interwoven with a wordless wisp of a refrain, spun out over the nervous pulse of a drum, like birdsong from some undiscovered country." The Ballade concludes with a coloratura passage that finishes with a run up to a high E (E6
) and a fortissimo trill
on A sharp (A5 sharp
) leading to the final high B (B5
).
19. Waltz-Ballet. A short choral passage (Peasants: Sa raison a fui sans retour – "Her reason has fled, never to return") introduces an orchestral reprise of the waltz music first heard before the Ballade.
20. Finale. The final section begins with a soft woodwind chord followed by harp arpeggios with a wordless choral accompaniment à bouches fermées (similar to the Humming Chorus from Madama Butterfly
) which repeats the theme from Pâle et blonde. Ophélie sings: Le voilà! Je crois l'entendre! – "There he is! I think I hear him!". As she leans over the water, holding onto the branches of a willow with one hand, and brushing aside the rushes with the other, she repeats some of the words and the melody (Theme of Hamlet's Love) from her love duet with Hamlet in Act 1 (Ophélie: Doute de la lumière – "Doubt that the light illumines"). One sees her momentarily floating in her white gown, as the current carries her away. (The action follows Gertrude's description of Ophelia's death in Shakespeare's Act IV, scene 7.)
The opera's initial success at the Opéra was undoubtedly mostly due to the spectacular vocal effects of the "Mad Scene" as executed by the original Ophélie, Christine Nilsson.
21. Song of the Gravediggers. Two gravediggers are digging a grave (First Gravedigger: Dame ou prince, homme ou femme – "Lady or prince, man or woman"). Hamlet's Theme is heard in the orchestra, and he appears in the distance and slowly approaches (both Gravediggers: Jeune ou vieux, brune ou blonde – "Young or old, dark or fair"). They drink and sing of the pleasures of wine. Hamlet asks for whom the grave is intended. The gravediggers do not remember. (After this shortened version of the gravediggers scene, the action diverges radically from that of the Shakespeare play.)
22. Recitative and arioso. Hamlet, realizing that Ophélie has gone mad, but still unaware that she is dead, begs forgiveness for his ill treatment of her (Hamlet: Comme une pâle fleur – "Like a delicate flower").
Scene and recitative. Laërte appears in the distance, enveloped in a cape (Hamlet: Mais qui marche dans l'ombre? Horatio? – "Who walks in the shadows? Horatio?"). Hamlet calls out to him, and Laërte answers and comes nearer (Laërte: Vous avez frémi, Prince? ... Oui, je suis de retour; c'est moi! – "Were you afraid, Prince? ... Yes, I have returned; it is I!"). Knowing of Ophélie's death, Laërte seeks revenge, and challenges Hamlet to a duel. They fight, and Hamlet is wounded.
23. Funeral march and chorus. A funeral march is heard (Hamlet: Écoute! Quel est ce bruit de pas? – "Listen! What noise is that?"). He asks Laërte: "Who has died?" Laërte, in an aside, is amazed that Hamlet still does not know. The funeral procession appears, led by a choir of men and women (Choir: Comme la fleur, comme la fleur nouvelle – "Like a flower, like a fresh flower"). Ophélie's body is carried in; the King and Queen, Polonius, Marcellus, Horatio and the courtiers follow behind.
24. Finale. Hamlet finally realizes who has died (Hamlet: Ophélie! ... Morte! glacée! Ô crime! Oh! de leurs noirs complots déplorable victime! – "Ophélie! ... Dead! Cold! A crime! Oh! Lamentable victim of their black conspiracy!"). He kneels beside the body of Ophélie: "I have lost you!" As the grieving Hamlet prepares to kill himself, his father's Ghost appears, visible to everyone. The King cries out "Mercy!", and the Ghost responds: "The hour has passed! You, my son, finish what you have begun!" Hamlet cries: "Ah! Strengthen my arm to run him through. Guide my strike!" He hurls himself upon the King. The King falls. The Queen cries out "Dieu!" as the others exclaim: "The King!" Hamlet responds: "No! The murderer! The murderer of my father!" The Ghost affirms: "The crime is avenged! The cloister awaits your mother!" The King dies with the words: Je meur maudit! – "I die accursed!" The Queen begs God for forgiveness, as the Ghost declares: "Live for your people, Hamlet! God has made you King." Hamlet, in despair, sings: Mon âme est dans la tombe, hélas! Et je suis Roi! – "My spirit is in the grave, alas! And I am King!" Everyone else proclaims: "Long live Hamlet! Long live the King!" and the opera ends.
Alternative endings
A shorter version of the Finale, in which Hamlet dies, and the Ghost does not appear, is called "le dénouement du Theâtre de Covent Garden" ("the ending for Covent Garden"). Thomas may have written it in the belief that the English would not accept an adaptation in which Hamlet lives. There is no evidence, however, that it was performed in Thomas' lifetime, either at Covent Garden or anywhere else. It appears in some German vocal scores and is included as an appendix to the recording with Thomas Hampson as Hamlet.
There is an additional ending prepared by Richard Bonynge
for a performance in Sydney, Australia
in 1982 in which Hamlet dies of his wound suffered in the duel with Laërte. This ending appears in the recording with Sherrill Milnes
as Hamlet, conducted by Bonynge.
Video
web site (see this work page). The web page also includes an arrangement by Georges Bizet
of the ballet music from Act 4, La Fête du printemps, for piano 4 hands (Paris: Heugel & Cie., n.d., plate H. 4997–5002, 5007), as well as the complete libretto in French (edited by Calmann Lévy, published: Paris: Lévy Frères, 1887).
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 five acts by the French composer Ambroise Thomas
Ambroise Thomas
Charles Louis Ambroise Thomas was a French composer, best known for his operas Mignon and Hamlet and as Director of the Conservatoire de Paris from 1871 till his death.-Biography:"There is good music, there is bad music, and then there is Ambroise Thomas."- Emmanuel Chabrier-Early life...
, with a 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 Michel Carré
Michel Carré
Michel Carré was a prolific French librettist.He went to Paris in 1840 intending to become a painter but took up writing instead. He wrote verse and plays before turning to writing libretti. His libretto for Mirette was never performed in France but was later performed in English adaptation in...
and Jules Barbier
Jules Barbier
Paul Jules Barbier was a French poet, writer and opera librettist who often wrote in collaboration with Michel Carré...
based on a French adaptation by Alexandre Dumas, père
Alexandre Dumas, père
Alexandre Dumas, , born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie was a French writer, best known for his historical novels of high adventure which have made him one of the most widely read French authors in the world...
and Paul Meurice
Paul Meurice
Paul Meurice was a French novelist and playwright best known for his friendship with Victor Hugo.- Biography :...
of Shakespeare's play Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
.
Ophelia mania in Paris
The Parisian public's fascination with Ophelia, prototype of the femme fragile, began in the fall of 1827, when an English company directed by William AbbotWilliam Abbot
William Abbot , was an English actor.He was born in Chelsea, London, and made his first appearance on the stage at Bath in 1806, and his first London appearance in 1808. At Covent Garden in 1813, in light comedy and melodrama, he made his first decided success...
came to Paris to give a season of Shakespeare in English at the Odéon
Odeon Theatre
The Odeon Theatre is a theatre in Bucharest, Romania, located on Calea Victoriei, and is one of the best-known performing arts venues in Bucharest. As an institution, it descends from the Teatrul Muncitoresc CFR Giuleşti, founded 1946; it moved to its current location, the Sala Majestic, in 1974...
. On 11 September 1827 the Irish actress Harriet Smithson
Harriet Smithson
Henrietta Constance Smithson was an Anglo-Irish actress, the first wife of Hector Berlioz, and the inspiration for his Symphonie Fantastique....
played the part of Ophelia in Hamlet. Her mad scene appeared to owe little to tradition and seemed almost like an improvisation, with several contemporary accounts remarking on her astonishing capacity for mime. Her performances produced an extraordinary reaction: men wept openly in the theater, and when they left were "convulsed by uncontrollable emotion." The twenty-five-year-old Alexandre Dumas, père
Alexandre Dumas, père
Alexandre Dumas, , born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie was a French writer, best known for his historical novels of high adventure which have made him one of the most widely read French authors in the world...
, who was about to embark on a major career as a novelist and dramatist, was in the audience and found the performance revelatory, "far surpassing all my expectations". The French composer Hector Berlioz
Hector Berlioz
Hector Berlioz was a French Romantic composer, best known for his compositions Symphonie fantastique and Grande messe des morts . Berlioz made significant contributions to the modern orchestra with his Treatise on Instrumentation. He specified huge orchestral forces for some of his works; as a...
was also present at that opening night performance and later wrote: "The lightning flash of that sublime discovery opened before me at a stroke the whole heaven of art, illuminating it to its remotest depths. I recognized the meaning of dramatic grandeur, beauty, truth." Even the wife of the English ambassador
Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Earl Granville
Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Earl Granville GCB PC , known as Lord Granville Leveson-Gower from 1786 to 1814 and as the Viscount Granville from 1814 to 1833, was a British Whig statesman and diplomat....
, Lady Granville, felt compelled to report that the Parisians "roar over Miss Smithson's Ophelia, and strange to say so did I". (The actress's Irish accent and the lack of power in her voice had hindered her success in London.) It wasn't long before new clothing and hair styles, à la mode d'Ophélie and modeled on those of the actress, became all the rage in Paris.
Not everything about the performance or the play was considered convincing. The supporting players were conceded to be weak. The large number of corpses on the stage in the final scene was found by many to be laughable. But Hamlet's interaction with the ghost of his father, the play-within-the-play, Hamlet's conflict with his mother, Ophelia's mad scene, and the scene with the gravediggers were all found to be amazing and powerful. The moment in the Play Scene when Claudius rises up and interrupts the proceedings, then rushes from the stage, provoked a long and enthusiastic ovation. The journal Pandore wrote about "that English candour which allows everything to be expressed and everything to be depicted, and for which nothing in nature is unworthy of imitation by drama". Dumas felt the play and the performances provided him "what I was searching for, what I lacked, what I had to find — actors forgetting they were on stage [...] actual speech and gesture such as made actors creatures of God, with their own virtues, passions and weaknesses, not wooden, impossible heroes booming sonorous platitudes".
The composer Berlioz was soon totally infatuated with Miss Smithson. His love for her, initially unrequited, became an obsession and served as inspiration for his music. His Symphonie fantastique
Symphonie Fantastique
Symphonie Fantastique: Épisode de la vie d'un Artiste...en cinq parties , Op. 14, is a program symphony written by the French composer Hector Berlioz in 1830. It is one of the most important and representative pieces of the early Romantic period, and is still very popular with concert audiences...
(Fantastic Symphony, 1830) portrays an opium-induced vision in which the musician's beloved appears as a recurrent musical motif, the idée fixe, which like any obsession "finds its way into every incredible situation [movement]". The Fantastic Symphony's sequel Lélio, ou Le retour à la vie
Lelio
Lélio, ou le Retour à la Vie Op. 14b is a work incorporating music and spoken text by the French composer Hector Berlioz, intended as a sequel to his Symphonie fantastique...
(Lélio, or the Return to Life, 1831) contained a song Le pêcheur ("The Fisherman"), a setting of Goethe's ballad
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
Der Fischer, the music of which included a quotation of the idée fixe that is associated with a siren who draws the hero to a watery grave. His Tristia, Op. 18
Tristia (Berlioz)
Tristia Op. 18 is a musical work consisting of three short pieces for orchestra and chorus by the French composer Hector Berlioz. Apart from its title, it has nothing to do with the collection of Latin poems by Ovid . The individual works were composed at different times and published together in...
, written in the 1830s although not published until 1852, included "La mort d'Ophélie" ("The death of Ophelia"), a setting of a ballade by Ernest Legouvé
Ernest Legouvé
Gabriel Jean Baptiste Ernest Wilfrid Legouvé was a French dramatist.-Biography:Son of the poet Gabriel-Marie Legouvé , he was born in Paris. His mother died in 1810, and almost immediately afterwards his father was removed to a lunatic asylum. The child, however, inherited a considerable fortune,...
, the text of which is a free adaptation of Gertude's monologue in Act 4, scene 7. Berlioz married Smithson in 1833, although their relationship ultimately fell apart.
Although Harriet Smithson's stardom faded within a year and a half of her debut there, the Parisian fascination with the character of Ophelia continued unabated. Besides in music, it also manifested itself in art. Auguste Préault's relief Ophélie (1844) depicted a young woman wading into water with her hair let down and swirling in the current.
French versions of the play
By the early 1840s Alexandre DumasAlexandre Dumas, père
Alexandre Dumas, , born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie was a French writer, best known for his historical novels of high adventure which have made him one of the most widely read French authors in the world...
, who had become a personal friend of Berlioz and Smithson, had achieved international fame with his historical novels and dramas. With the heightened interest in Shakespeare, and in particular Hamlet, that had been aroused by Smithson's performances at the Odéon, he decided to prepare a new French translation of the play to be presented at his Théâtre Historique. An earlier verse translation of Hamlet into French by Jean-François Ducis
Jean-François Ducis
Jean-François Ducis was a French dramatist and adapter of Shakespeare.-Biography:Ducis was born at Versailles....
, first performed in 1769, was still being given at the Comédie-Française
Comédie-Française
The Comédie-Française or Théâtre-Français is one of the few state theaters in France. It is the only state theater to have its own troupe of actors. It is located in the 1st arrondissement of Paris....
, and Dumas knew the leading role by heart. The Ducis play bore very little resemblance to the Shakespeare original. There were far fewer characters: no ghost, no Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, no players, no gravediggers. There was no duel, and Hamlet did not die at the end. Modifications such as these were necessary to gain performances in the French theaters of his time. Ducis had told the English actor-impressario David Garrick
David Garrick
David Garrick was an English actor, playwright, theatre manager and producer who influenced nearly all aspects of theatrical practice throughout the 18th century and was a pupil and friend of Dr Samuel Johnson...
that a ghost which speaks, itinerant players, and a fencing duel were "absolutely inadmissible" on the French stage. Dumas realized that Ducis' play was not the same as the original: Pierre Le Tourneur had published a relatively faithful prose translation, not intended for performance, in 1779. Nevertheless, moral propriety and politesse dictated that only such highly sanitized versions like that of Ducis could be performed on stage. The French referred to these performing editions as imitations, and most knew that they were highly modified versions of the original. All the same, Ducis was at first accused of polluting French theaters with Shakespeare; only much later was he indicted for mutilating the original.
Dumas could not speak or read English well. He needed help, so he selected a younger writer by the name of Paul Meurice
Paul Meurice
Paul Meurice was a French novelist and playwright best known for his friendship with Victor Hugo.- Biography :...
from among his coterie of protégés and assistants. Meurice had earlier collaborated with Auguste Vacquerie
Auguste Vacquerie
Auguste Vacquerie was a French journalist and man of letters.-Biography:Vacquerie was born at Villequier on 19 November 1819. He was from his earliest days an admirer of Victor Hugo, with whom he was connected by the marriage of his brother Charles with Léopoldine Hugo...
on Falstaff, a combination of Parts I
Henry IV, Part 1
Henry IV, Part 1 is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written no later than 1597. It is the second play in Shakespeare's tetralogy dealing with the successive reigns of Richard II, Henry IV , and Henry V...
and II of Shakespeare's Henry IV
Henry IV, Part 2
Henry IV, Part 2 is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed written between 1596 and 1599. It is the third part of a tetralogy, preceded by Richard II and Henry IV, Part 1 and succeeded by Henry V.-Sources:...
, which had been presented at the Odéon in 1842. The Dumas-Meurice Hamlet was performed at Dumas' Théâtre Historique in 1847 and had an enormous success. (With some alterations the Comédie-Française took it into repertory in 1886, and it continued to be performed in France until the middle of the 20th century.)
The Dumas-Meurice version was more faithful to Shakespeare and restored much of what was missing from the Ducis version, including Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, the ghost, the duel, and the gravediggers. Still, by modern standards, it was a rather free adaptation of the original. Fortinbras was dropped, and the entire opening scene with the sentinels on the ramparts of the castle was excised. A love scene between Hamlet and Ophelia was added to the first act. Claudius does not send Hamlet to England, so Rosencrantz and Guildenstern do not die. Notably, at the end of the play, as Getrude, Claudius, and Laertes are dying, the ghost of Hamlet's father reappears and condemns each of the dying characters. To Claudius it says: Désespère et meurs! – "Despair and die!"; to Laertes: Prie et meurs! – "Pray and die!"; and to the Queen: Espère et meure! – "Hope and die!". When the wounded Hamlet asks: Et quel châtiment m'attend donc? – "And what punishment awaits me?", the ghost responds: Tu vivras! – "You shall live!", and the curtain falls.
Dumas explained these "improvements" to Shakespeare's play by insisting that the original violated plausibility, transgressed decency, and destroyed the dramatic balance. "Since Hamlet is not guilty to the same degree as the others, he should not die the same death as the others." Four dead bodies would constitute "the most unpleasant effect." Since the ghost appears at the beginning of the play, "it must necessarily reappear to be present at the end."
Preparation of the libretto
The librettists for the opera of Hamlet, Michel Carré and Jules Barbier, were experienced: they had already provided librettos for Thomas' Mignon and also for Gounod's Faust. They chose Dumas' version of the play as the basis for their libretto. This was the version with which French audiences of the day were most familiar, and the one against which the opera would be compared and judged.When adapting a play for opera, it was imperative to shorten and simplify. Traditionally grand opera
Grand Opera
Grand opera is a genre of 19th-century opera generally in four or five acts, characterised by large-scale casts and orchestras, and lavish and spectacular design and stage effects, normally with plots based on or around dramatic historic events...
conveys plot in broad brushstrokes; the audience is not particularly interested in its intricacies, or its detours and complexities. An uncut version of Shakespeare's play had more than 30 characters and could run for over four hours. The libretto reduced the total number of characters to fifteen (counting the four mime players required for the Play scene), and also reduced the number of subplots. Dumas had cut the scene with the sentinels Bernardo and Francisco. Gone also were Voltimand, Cornelius, Osric, and Reynaldo. Like Dumas, Fortinbras was omitted, thus there was no need to mention an invasion from Norway. Dumas omitted the subplot of Hamlet's voyage to England, so Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were also omitted, removing most of the black humor of the play. Polonius' accidental murder in Act 4 was excised, and his singing part reduced to only eight measures.
This simplification of characters and subplots focused the drama on Hamlet's predicament and its effects on Ophélie and left the opera with essentially 4 main characters: Hamlet and Ophélie, Claudius and Gertude. This constellation of roles preserved the tetradic model and the balance of male and female parts which had become established in French grand opera
Grand Opera
Grand opera is a genre of 19th-century opera generally in four or five acts, characterised by large-scale casts and orchestras, and lavish and spectacular design and stage effects, normally with plots based on or around dramatic historic events...
at the time of Meyerbeer's Robert le diable
Robert le diable (opera)
Robert le diable is an opera by Giacomo Meyerbeer, often regarded as the first grand opera. The libretto was written by Eugène Scribe and Casimir Delavigne and has little connection to the medieval legend of Robert the Devil. Originally planned as a three-act opéra comique, "Meyerbeer persuaded...
in 1831. The libretto originally specified for these roles one soprano (Ophélie), one mezzo-soprano (Gertrude), one tenor (Hamlet), and one baritone or bass (Claudius).
Other plot changes, such as making Läerte less cynical and more positive towards Hamlet early on, not only simplified the story but heightened the tragedy of their duel in the Gravediggers Scene. Making Gertrude a co-conspirator alongside Claudius, enhanced the dramatic conflict between Hamlet and Gertrude when Hamlet attempts to coerce a confession from her in the Closet Scene. Making Polonius a co-conspirator, as revealed in the Closet Scene, strengthened Hamlet's motivation in rejecting his marriage to Ophélie. This crucial change facilitated the transformation of Shakespeare's Ophelia into the opera's Ophélie, a creature who dramatically is almost entirely drawn from the 19th-century, whose madness stems not from the actions of a man who creates an intolerable situation, but rather from a man whose withdrawal leaves an emptiness she is unable to fill. Musically, of course, the Mad Scene was one of those audience-pleasing creations which drew upon well-established operatic tradition.
Another change, the addition of Hamlet's drinking song for the Players in Act 2, created another opportunity for an audience-pleasing musical number. It also led to a shortening of his instructions to them before the song and could be justified dramatically as a cover for his ulterior motive in asking them to enact the mime play. In the final scene, in another simplification of the plot, Laërte, Polonius, and Gertrude survive. As in the Dumas' play, the ghost returns at the end, but unlike in Dumas, the ghost merely banishes Gertrude to a convent for her role in the conspiracy. Finally, exactly as in Dumas, Hamlet lives and is proclaimed King.
Composition
Very little is known concerning the details of the composition of the music. Thomas may have received the libretto around 1859. The original libretto was in four acts, but the requirements of the authorities at that time specified the premiere at the Paris OpéraParis Opera
The Paris Opera is the primary opera company of Paris, France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the Académie d'Opéra and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and renamed the Académie Royale de Musique...
of at least one 5-act opera per season. The inclusion of a ballet was also obligatory. The fourth and final act, which included the Mad Scene and the Gravediggers Scene, was simply split into two. To confer more weight to the new fourth act, the ballet was added between the choral introduction of the Mad Scene and Ophélie's recitative and aria.
In 1863 the director of the Opéra, Émile Perrin
Émile Perrin
Émile-César-Victor Perrin was a French painter, mainly known as a theatre director and impresario, born in Rouen on 9 January 1814, died 8 October 1885. His son-in-law was Camille du Locle....
, wrote in a letter to a minister of state that Thomas had nearly finished writing the music. Later the press conjectured as to the reason for the delay of the opera, suggesting that Thomas had yet to find his ideal Ophélie. Thomas' opera Mignon
Mignon
Mignon is an opéra comique in three acts by Ambroise Thomas. The original French libretto was by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré, based on Goethe's novel Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre. The Italian version was translated by Giuseppe Zaffira. The opera is mentioned in James Joyce's The Dead,...
(1866), an adaptation of Goethe's novel Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre, had been the composer's very effective response to Gounod's earlier Goethe adaption, the opera Faust
Faust (opera)
Faust is a drame lyrique in five acts by Charles Gounod to a French libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré from Carré's play Faust et Marguerite, in turn loosely based on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust, Part 1...
, which had premiered in 1859. Mignon had been performed at the Opéra-Comique
Opéra-Comique
The Opéra-Comique is a Parisian opera company, which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with, and for a time took the name of its chief rival the Comédie-Italienne at the Hôtel de Bourgogne, and was also called the...
, and Thomas was under pressure to provide a similar success at the Opéra, in particular as several of his earlier productions there had done poorly.
When Gounod's Shakespeare adaptation, the opera Roméo et Juliette
Roméo et Juliette
Roméo et Juliette is an opéra in five acts by Charles Gounod to a French libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré, based on The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. It was first performed at the Théâtre Lyrique , Paris on 27 April 1867...
, appeared at the Théâtre Lyrique
Théâtre Lyrique
The Théâtre Lyrique was one of four opera companies performing in Paris during the middle of the 19th century . The company was founded in 1847 as the Opéra-National by the French composer Adolphe Adam and renamed Théâtre Lyrique in 1852...
in 1867, it provided additional impetus for Thomas to finish working on his own adaptation of Hamlet. According to accounts in the press, it was that same year, at his publisher Heugel's office in Paris, that Thomas met the Swedish soprano Christine Nilsson, who had just been engaged at the Opéra. Thomas finally consented to the scheduling of the premiere. Consistent with this press report, parts of the soprano role were altered around this time with Nilsson's capabilities in mind. Thomas replaced a dialog with the women's chorus in the Mad Scene in Act 4 with a Swedish Ballade. This Ballade resembles the first movement of Grieg's Op. 63 (Two Nordic Melodies), and its use was suggested to Thomas by Nilsson.
A tenor suitable for the role of Hamlet could not be found, but an outstanding dramatic baritone, Jean-Baptiste Faure
Jean-Baptiste Faure
Jean-Baptiste Faure was a celebrated French operatic baritone and an art collector of great significance. He also composed a number of classical songs.-Singing career:Faure was born in Moulins...
, was available, so Thomas decided to transpose the part, originally written for a tenor, to baritone. In the event, Faure "achieved a tremendous personal triumph as Hamlet."
Performance history
The work was premiered at the Paris OpéraParis Opera
The Paris Opera is the primary opera company of Paris, France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the Académie d'Opéra and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and renamed the Académie Royale de Musique...
(Salle Le Peletier) on 9 March 1868. Among the noted singers in the original cast were Jean-Baptiste Faure
Jean-Baptiste Faure
Jean-Baptiste Faure was a celebrated French operatic baritone and an art collector of great significance. He also composed a number of classical songs.-Singing career:Faure was born in Moulins...
as Hamlet and Christine Nilsson as Ophelia. The opera was staged at the Royal Italian Opera, Covent Garden (later the Royal Opera House
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
, Covent Garden) in 1870. Hamlet was Thomas's greatest success, along with Mignon
Mignon
Mignon is an opéra comique in three acts by Ambroise Thomas. The original French libretto was by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré, based on Goethe's novel Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre. The Italian version was translated by Giuseppe Zaffira. The opera is mentioned in James Joyce's The Dead,...
, and was further staged in Leipzig, Budapest, Brussels, Prague, New York City, Saint Petersburg, Berlin, and Vienna within five years of the Paris premiere.
The changes to Shakespeare's version of the story led to criticism of the opera in London. For instance, in 1890 quote a critic with the Pall Mall Gazette wrote:
"No one but a barbarian or a Frenchman would have dared to make such a lamentable burlesque of so tragic a theme as Hamlet."The opera fell into neglect after Thomas' death and World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
However, since 1980, interest in the piece has increased, and the work has enjoyed a notable number of revivals, including Vienna (1992–1994, 1996), Opera North
Opera North
Opera North is an English opera company based in Leeds. The company's home theatre is the Leeds Grand Theatre, but it also presents regular seasons in several other cities, at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham, the Lowry Centre, Salford Quays and the Theatre Royal, Newcastle...
(1995), Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
(1996), San Francisco Opera
San Francisco Opera
San Francisco Opera is an American opera company, based in San Francisco, California.It was founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola and is the second largest opera company in North America...
(1996), Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
(1996 and 1999), Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
(1997), Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe
The City of Karlsruhe is a city in the southwest of Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border.Karlsruhe was founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, when Germany was a series of principalities and city states...
(1998), Washington Concert Opera (1998), Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
(1999), Paris (2000), Toulouse (2000), Moscow (2001), Prague (2002), Opera Theatre of Saint Louis
Opera Theatre of Saint Louis
Opera Theatre of Saint Louis is a summer opera festival held in St. Louis, Missouri. Typically four operas, all sung in English, are presented each season, which runs from late May to late June. Performances are accompanied by the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, which is divided into two...
(2002), London (2003), and Barcelona (2003, DVD available). The latter production (first shown in Geneva) was presented at the Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
in 2010. The Washington National Opera
Washington National Opera
The Washington National Opera is an opera company in Washington, D.C., USA. Formerly the Opera Society of Washington and the Washington Opera, the company received Congressional designation as the National Opera Company in 2000. Performances are now given in the Opera House of the John F...
's 2009-2010 season will also featured a production of Hamlet.
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere cast, 9 March 1868 (Conductor: François George-Hainl François George-Hainl François George-Hainl, born Issoire 16 November 1807, died Paris 2 June 1873 was a French cellist and conductor.His father who worked as both cobbler and amateur fiddler and gave him his first lessons. Hainl progressed so fast on the cello and worked so hard that he was soon able to join the... ) |
|---|---|---|
| Claudius, King of Denmark, brother of the late King Hamlet |
bass Bass (voice type) A bass is a type of male singing voice and possesses the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, a bass is typically classified as having a range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C... |
Jules-Bernard Belval |
| Gertrude, Queen of Denmark, widow of King Hamlet and mother to Prince Hamlet |
mezzo-soprano Mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above... |
Pauline Guéymard-Lauters |
| Hamlet, Prince of Denmark | baritone Baritone Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or... |
Jean-Baptiste Faure Jean-Baptiste Faure Jean-Baptiste Faure was a celebrated French operatic baritone and an art collector of great significance. He also composed a number of classical songs.-Singing career:Faure was born in Moulins... |
| Polonius, court chancellor | bass | Ponsard |
| Ophélie, daughter of Polonius | soprano Soprano A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody... |
Christine Nilsson |
| Laërte, son of Polonius | tenor Tenor The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2... |
Collin |
| Marcellus, friend of Hamlet | tenor | Grisy |
| Horatio, friend of Hamlet | bass | Armand Castelmary |
| Ghost of the late King Hamlet | bass | David |
| First gravedigger | baritone | Gaspard |
| Second gravedigger | tenor | Mermant |
| Chorus: lords, ladies, soldiers, servants, players, Danish peasants | ||
Act 1
Scene 1: The Coronation HallThe royal Danish court is celebrating the coronation of Queen Gertrude who has married Claudius, brother of the late King Hamlet. Claudius places the crown on Gertrude's head. All leave, and Prince Hamlet, son of the late King and Gertrude, enters. He is upset that his mother has remarried so soon. Ophélie enters, and they sing a love duet. Laërte, Ophélie's brother, enters. He is being sent to Norway and gives his farewells. He entrusts Ophélie to the care of Hamlet. Hamlet refuses to join Laërte and Ophélie as they leave to join the banquet, and goes off in another direction. Courtiers and soldiers, on their way to the banquet, enter the hall. Horatio and Marcellus tell the soldiers that they have seen the ghost of Hamlet's father on the ramparts of the castle the previous night and go off to tell Hamlet.
Scene 2: The Ramparts
Horatio and Marcellus meet Hamlet on the ramparts. The Ghost appears, Horatio and Marcellus leave, and the Ghost tells his son that Claudius murdered him with poison. The Ghost commands Hamlet to take vengeance on Claudius, but Gertrude must be spared. The Ghost withdraws. Hamlet draws his sword and swears to avenge his father.
Act 2
Scene 1: The GardensOphélie, reading a book, is concerned at Hamlet's new indifference. Hamlet appears in the distance, but leaves without speaking. The Queen enters. Ophélie says she would like to leave the court, but the Queen insists she should stay. Ophélie leaves the garden and King Claudius enters. Gertrude suspects that Hamlet now knows about the murder of his father, but Claudius says he does not. Hamlet enters and feigns madness. He rejects all overtures of friendship from Claudius, then announces he has engaged a troupe of actors to perform a play that evening. Claudius and Gertrude leave, and the players enter. Hamlet asks them to mime the play The Murder of Gonzago and then sings a drinking song, playing the fool, so as not to arouse suspicion.
Scene 2: The Play
The King and Queen and the other guests assemble in the castle hall where the stage has been set up. The play begins, and Hamlet narrates. The play tells a story similar to the murder of Hamlet's father. After the "poison" is administered, the "assassin" places the "crown" on his head. Claudius turns pale, rises abruptly, and commands the play to stop and the actors to leave. Hamlet accuses Claudius of the murder of his father, and snatches Claudius' crown from his head. The entire assembly reacts in a grand septet with chorus.
Act 3
Closet SceneIn the Queen's chambers Hamlet delivers the monologue "To be or not to be", then hides behind a tapestry. Claudius enters and prays aloud of his remorse. Hamlet, deciding Claudius' soul may be saved, if he is killed while praying, delays yet again. Polonius enters and in his conversation with Claudius reveals his own complicity. The King and Polonius leave, Hamlet emerges, and Gertrude enters with Ophélie. The Queen tries to persuade Hamlet to marry Ophélie, but Hamlet, realizing he can no longer marry the daughter of the guilty Polonius, refuses. Ophélie returns her ring to Hamlet and leaves. Hamlet tries to force Gertrude to confront her guilt, but she resists. As Hamlet threatens her, he sees the Ghost, who reminds him he must spare his mother.
Act 4
The Mad SceneAfter Hamlet's rejection, Ophélie has gone mad and drowns herself in the lake.
Act 5
Gravediggers SceneHamlet comes upon two gravediggers digging a new grave. He asks who has died, but they do not know. He sings of remorse for his ill treatment of Ophélie. Laërte, who has returned from Norway and learned of his sister's death and Hamlet's role in it, enters and challenges Hamlet to a duel. They fight, and Hamlet is wounded, but Ophélie's funeral procession interrupts the duel. Hamlet finally realizes she is dead. The Ghost appears again and exhorts Hamlet to kill Claudius, which Hamlet does, avenging his father's death. The Ghost affirms Claudius' guilt and Hamlet's innocence. Hamlet, still in despair, is proclaimed King to cries of "Long live Hamlet! Long live the King!".
- [In the much shorter "Covent Garden" ending the ghost does not appear, and, after Hamlet finally attacks and kills Claudius, he embraces Ophélie's body and dies. This version has apparently never been used until recently].
Detailed description with commentary
Prelude. The opera begins with a brief prelude approximately three and a half minutes in length. The music commences with soft timpani rolls, proceeds to string tremolandi, horn calls, and anguished string motifs, and "evokes the hero's tormented mind as well as the cold ramparts of Elsinore."Act 1
Scene 1A hall in the castle of Elsinore.
1. Introduction, march and chorus. The court celebrates the Coronation of Gertrude, widow of King Hamlet; and her marriage to his brother, Claudius (Courtiers: Que nos chants montent jusqu'aux cieux – "Let our songs rise to the skies"). The new king, Claudius, stands before his throne on a dais, surrounded by the nobles of the court. His court chancellor, Polonius, is nearby. Queen Gertrude enters, approaches the dais, and bows to the King (Courtiers: Salut, ô Reine bien-aimée! – "Greetings, O beloved Queen!"). Polonius hands the King a crown, which he takes and places on her head (The King: Ô toi, qui fus la femme de mon frère – "O you who were my brother's wife"). Gertrude comments in an aside to Claudius that she does not see her son Hamlet. Claudius admonishes her to bear herself as a queen. The courtiers sing of their joy as they celebrate the King and Queen's glorious marriage (Courtiers: Le deuil fait place aux chants joyeux – "Mourning gives way to joyful songs"). The King and Queen leave the hall followed by the courtiers.
2. Recitative and duet. Prince Hamlet, son of the late King and Gertrude, enters the empty hall. As Hamlet enters, before he begins singing, the low strings in the orchestra play Hamlet's Theme:
He laments that his mother has remarried scarcely two months since his father's death (Hamlet: Vains regrets! Tendresse éphémère! – "Futile regrets! Ephemeral tenderness!").
Ophélie enters. Her entrance is accompanied by Ophélie's Theme. According to the German musicologist Annegret Fauser, Ophélie's music contrasts with Hamlet's very regular 8-bar phrase: the 4-bar theme accentuates her nervous character by the use of dotted-note rhythms, a chromatic melody line, and high-range woodwind instruments. The excerpt below ends with 3 bars of florid solo flute music which foreshadows Ophélie's coloratura
Coloratura
Coloratura has several meanings. The word is originally from Italian, literally meaning "coloring", and derives from the Latin word colorare . When used in English, the term specifically refers to elaborate melody, particularly in vocal music and especially in operatic singing of the 18th and...
singing later in the opera.
She is worried that Hamlet's grief will blight their happiness (Ophélie: Hélas! votre âme – "Alas! your soul") and is concerned that, since Claudius has given Hamlet permission to leave, Hamlet will flee the court. Hamlet protests he cannot make promises of love one day, only to forget them the next. His heart is not that of a woman. Ophélie is distraught at the insult, and Hamlet begs forgiveness.
The duet affirms their love (Hamlet, Ophélie: Doute de la lumière – "Doubt that the light"). The text of the duet is based on Shakespeare's "Doubt thou the stars are fire", which is part of a letter from Hamlet to Ophelia which Polonius reads to Gertrude and Claudius. The melody of the vocal line in Hamlet's first phrases has been called the Theme of Hamlet's Love for Ophélie and appears several more times in the opera, with particular poignancy near the end of the Mad Scene (see below).
The three themes which have been introduced in this number are the most important elements which Thomas uses for creating compositional and dramatic unity in the opera. They reoccur, usually in modified form, whenever significant situations relevant to the ideas they represent present themselves, although without having, in the Wagnerian sense, a leitmotivic function.
3. Recitative and cavatina of Laërte. Ophélie's brother, Laërte, enters. He tells Hamlet and Ophélie that the King is sending him to the court of Norway, and he must leave that very night (unlike in the play where, as Matthew Gurewitsch of Opera News has said, he embarks for "the fleshpots of Paris"). In his cavatina, Laërte asks Hamlet to watch over his sister while he is gone (Laërte: Pour mon pays, en serviteur fidèle – "For my country, in faithful service"). (In the play Laertes warns Ophelia to be wary of Hamlet's intentions.) Fanfares are heard as servants and pages pass at the back. Laërte asks Hamlet and Ophélie to come with him to the banquet, but Hamlet declines. The couple separates, as Laërte and Ophélie leave for the banquet, and Hamlet goes off in the other direction. More fanfares are heard as lords and ladies enter on their way to the banquet (Lords and Ladies: Honneur, honneur au Roi! – "Honor, honor to the King!"). They are followed by a group of young officers.
4. Chorus of Officers and Pages. The officers sing of their hope that the call of pleasure will dispel their current ennui (Officers: Nargue de la tristesse! – "Scoff at sorrow"). Horatio and Marcellus enter in haste, looking for Hamlet. They tell of having seen the ghost of the late King upon the ramparts the previous night. The skeptical officers respond: "An absurd illusion! Lies and sorcery!" Undeterred, Horatio and Marcellus leave to find and warn the young prince. The officers, with the lords and ladies, finish the chorus and depart for the banquet. (Again, this scene is unlike the play in which Horatio, who has not seen the ghost himself but has merely heard of it from the sentinels, reports the news of the ghost's appearance to Hamlet directly, and not to a group of soldiers. For some reason Matthew Gurewitsch finds this change somewhat odd: "Horatio and a sidekick blab the dread news of the Ghost's appearance to a squadron of frolicking young officers, who are totally unimpressed.")
Scene 2
The ramparts. At the back, the illuminated castle. — It is night. The moon is partially obscured by dense clouds.
Prelude. The five-minute prelude sets the sinister atmosphere of the scene.
5. Scene at the ramparts. Horatio and Marcellus enter (Horatio: Viendra-t-il? – "Will he come?") and are soon followed by Hamlet (Hamlet: Horatio! n'est-ce point vous? – "Horatio! is that you?"). Horatio and Marcellus tell Hamlet that they have seen his father's ghost on the previous night at the stroke of twelve. Fanfares are heard emanating from the banquet hall within the castle, and soon thereafter the bells begin to toll midnight. The ghost appears, and they express their fear.
Invocation. Hamlet addresses the Ghost (Hamlet: Spectre infernal! Image venerée! – "Infernal apparition! Venerated image!"). The ghost gives a sign indicating that Horatio and Marcellus should withdraw, and Hamlet orders them to do so. The ghost speaks: Écoute-moi! – "Listen to me!". He identifies himself and commands Hamlet to avenge him. Hamlet asks what is the crime he must avenge, and who has committed it? Sounds of music from within the castle, fanfares, and distant cannon are heard, and the Ghost responds: "Hark: it is he they are honoring, he who they have proclaimed King! ... The adulterer has defiled my royal residence: and he, to make his treason more complete, spying upon my sleep and taking advantage of the hour, poured poison on my sleeping lips. ... Avenge me, my son! Avenge your father! ... From your mother, though, turn your anger away, we must leave punishment in the care of heaven." The ghost withdraws, his parting words: Souviens-toi! – "Remember me!" Hamlet draws his sword and proclaims his intention to obey the ghost's command (Hamlet: Ombre chére, ombre vengeresse, j'exaucerai ton vœu! ... je me souviendrai! – "Beloved shade, avenging shade, I shall fulfill your command! ... I shall remember!"). The English musicologist Elizabeth Forbes has written: "Even the composer's detractors, and there have been many, are agreed that Thomas' music for this scene is masterly; he catches the chilling, gloomy atmosphere perfectly...." In his review of the recording with Thomas Hampson as Hamlet, Barrymore Laurence Scherer says "Thomas captures Hamlet's shadowy malaise in both vocal line and somber accompaniment.... The intimacy of the recording provides Thomas Hampson with ample opportunity to make the most of the relationship between words and music..." The orchestral music which accompanies his vow to avenge his father's murder is another example of a theme which reoccurs multiple times at key points in the drama.
Act 2
Entr'acte. The second act begins with a musical interlude of about two minutes, which sets the scene in the garden. After some emphatic introductory orchestral chords and horn calls, harp arpeggios lead into the main section which employs the Theme of Hamlet's Love, initially played by horn and strings, followed by solo horn accompanied with clarinet and flute figures reminiscent of bird calls.Scene 1
The castle gardens.
6. Aria of Ophélie. Ophélie is in the garden with a book in her hand. She laments Hamlet's distance, feeling his look is something like reproach (Ophélie: Sa main depuis hier n'a pas touché ma main! – "His hand has not touched mine since yesterday"). She reads from her book, at first silently, then aloud (Ophélie: "Adieu, dit-il, ayez-foi!" – "'Adieu, he said, trust me!'"). Hamlet appears on the other side of the garden (Theme of Hamlet's Love), sees her and tarries. Again she reads aloud from her book (Ophélie: "En vous, cruel, j'avais foi! Je vous aimais, aimez moi!" – "'In you, O cruel one, I believed. I loved you! Love me too!'"), then looks at Hamlet. However, he remains silent, then rushes away. Ophélie says ruefully: Ah! ce livre a dit vrai! – "Ah! This book spoke the truth!" and continues her aria (Ophélie: Les serments on des ailes! – "Promises have wings!").
7. Recitative and arioso. The Queen comes into the garden hoping to find Hamlet. She sees Ophélie's distress and presses her for information as to its cause (The Queen: Je croyais près de vous trouver mon fils – "I thought to find my son with you"). Ophélie says Hamlet no longer loves her and begs permission to leave the court. In the Queen's arioso, one of the finest numbers in the score, she rejects Ophélie's request, saying that the barrier between Ophélie and Hamlet comes from another source (The Queen: Dans sons regards plus sombre – "In his sombre expression"). She argues that Ophélie's presence may help cure Hamlet of his madness. Ophélie says she shall obey and leaves.
8. Duet. The King now comes into the garden (The King: L'âme de votre fils est à jamais troublée, Madame – "Your son's soul is ever troubled, Madame"). The Queen suggests Hamlet may have discovered the truth, but Claudius believes he suspects nothing.
An extended version of this very short duet appears in the piano-vocal score. Only the initial phrases of this passage are found in the full score, and the section which begins with the Queen's phrase Hélas! Dieu m'épargne la honte – "Alas! may God spare me the shame" is marked as a possible cut. The scoring of the remainder of the duet was thought lost. The original manuscript with the full score of the duet was recently found at the Bibliothèque nationale de France
Bibliothèque nationale de France
The is the National Library of France, located in Paris. It is intended to be the repository of all that is published in France. The current president of the library is Bruno Racine.-History:...
in Paris. The music is included as an appendix in the recording with Thomas Hampson as Hamlet (see Recordings).
Recitative. At the conclusion of the duet Hamlet enters and addresses Claudius as Sire. Claudius asks Hamlet to refer to him as Father, but Hamlet responds that his father is dead. Claudius offers his hand, in Hamlet's father's name, but Hamlet only responds: "His is cold and lifeless." Claudius calls Hamlet "My son...", but Hamlet angrily responds: "My name is Hamlet!" He starts to walk away. Gertrude asks if he seeks the young and beautiful Ophélie, but Hamlet responds that youth and beauty will vanish in a single day. Claudius suggests Hamlet may wish to travel abroad, to France and Italy, but Hamlet responds he'd rather travel, like the clouds, among the stars, amid bolts of lightning. There is a distant sound of festive music, and the King admonishes him to hold up his head. Hamlet announces he has summoned an itinerant troupe of actors to provide entertainment. Claudius agrees to this, and then says to Gertrude, "He knows nothing!", as he and Gertrude turn to leave. In an aside, Hamlet asks his father to be patient.
9. Recitative and chorus of comedians. Marcellus and Horatio enter with the Players (tenors and basses). Marcellus announces: Voici les histrions mandés par vous, Seigneur. – "Here are the actors you sent for, my lord." The players sing a chorus (Players: Princes sans apanages – "Princes without privelege"). In an aside Hamlet reveals his true purpose (Hamlet: C'est en croyant revoir se dresser sa victime que plus d'un meurtrier a confessé son crime – "In believing he sees his victim rise up, more than one murderer has confessed his crime"). He asks the players to enact the play The Murder of Gonzago, saying he shall tell them when to pour the poison.
10. Chanson Bacchique. Hamlet sings a song in praise of wine (Hamlet: Ô vin, dissipe la tristesse – "O wine, dispel the sorrow"). This drinking song, which is not found in Shakespeare's version, has been the object of much negative criticism. In a florid cadenza
Cadenza
In music, a cadenza is, generically, an improvised or written-out ornamental passage played or sung by a soloist or soloists, usually in a "free" rhythmic style, and often allowing for virtuosic display....
it rises to a high G (G4
Scientific pitch notation
Scientific pitch notation is one of several methods that name the notes of the standard Western chromatic scale by combining a letter-name, accidentals, and a number identifying the pitch's octave...
). (An easier version with a lower high note, E flat (E4 flat
Scientific pitch notation
Scientific pitch notation is one of several methods that name the notes of the standard Western chromatic scale by combining a letter-name, accidentals, and a number identifying the pitch's octave...
), is also included in the score). At its conclusion everyone leaves.
Scene 2
The Great Hall of the castle, festively lit. The royal throne is on the right, a platform for the courtiers on the left; at the back, a small theatre, curtains closed.
11. Danish march, recitative and prologue. The King and Queen enter, followed by Polonius, Ophélie, Hamlet, Horatio, Marcellus, and the court. Hamlet asks Ophélie if he may sit at her feet (Hamlet: Belle, permettez-nous – "Lady, permit me"). She responds that his expression frightens and chills her. Hamlet sits, his eyes fixed on the King and Queen. Everyone takes their places, and the curtains of the small theatre are opened. The play is introduced with a short orchestral passage featuring a saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
solo. In an aside Hamlet asks Marcellus to watch the King (Hamlet: Voici l'instant! fixez vos regards sur le Roi, et, si vous le voyez pâlir, dites-le moi! – "Now! Fix your gaze on upon the King, and, if he should turn pale, tell me!").
12. Pantomime and finale. On the small stage an aged king wearing a crown enters slowly on the arm of a queen whose features and costume are similar to those of Queen Gertrude. Hamlet, whose eyes never leave the face of King Claudius, narrates the action of the mimed play (Hamlet: C'est le vieux Roi Gonzague et la Reine Genièvre – "This is the aged King Gonzago and Queen Guinevere"). The play proceeds as follows: With protestations of love Guinevere leads Gonzago to a lonely spot. The drowsy king soon falls asleep in her arms. The villain enters. She holds out a cup, he seizes it, and pours the fatal potion, then takes the crown and places it on his head.
At this point Hamlet interrupts his narrative and addresses Claudius directly (Hamlet: Sire, vous pâlissez – "Sire, you grow pale!"). Angered and fearful, the King rises (The King: Chassez, chassez d'ici ces vils histrions! – "Expel, expel these vile minstrels!"). Hamlet, feigning madness, accuses Claudius of the murder of his father (Hamlet: C'est lui qui versait le poison! – "He's the one who poured the poison!"). Hamlet approaches the King, pushing aside the courtiers who surround him, and snatches the crown from Claudius' head (Hamlet: A bas, masque menteur! vaine couronne, à bas! – "Down with the lying mask! Down with the empty crown!").
The King, pulling himself together, solemnly declares: Ô mortelle offense! Aveugle démence, qui glace tous les cœurs d'effroi! – "O fatal insult! Blind lunacy, which chills every heart with dread!" Ophélie cries out, and the Queen declares her outrage (The Queen: Dans sa folle rage, il brave, il outrage – "In his mad rage, he defies, he offends"). These utterances of the King and the Queen begin a grand ensemble passage, "a magnificent septet", at the end of which, Hamlet collapses. The King rushes out, followed by the Queen, and the entire court.
Act 3
"Closet Scene"A chamber in the Queen's apartments. At the back are two full-length portraits of the two kings. A prie-Dieu
Prie-dieu
A prie-dieu is a type of prayer desk primarily intended for private devotional use, but also often found in churches of the European continent. It is a small ornamental wooden desk furnished with a sloping shelf for books, and a cushioned pad on which to kneel. Sometimes, instead of the sloping...
. A lamp burns on a table.
13. Entr'acte and monologue. Hamlet is alone and seated on a couch. He agitatedly chastises himself for his failure to act (Hamlet: J'ai pu frapper le misérable – "I could have killed the scoundrel.") This leads to a calmer, more introspective section (Hamlet: Être ou ne pas être – "To be or not to be"), which follows the Shakespeare original closely, although greatly shortened. He hears someone approaching (Hamlet: Mais qui donc ose ici me suivre? Le Roi!... – "But who then dares to follow me here? The King!..."). He hides behind a tapestry (arras).
14. Recitative and bass aria. The King enters. He muses to himself (The King: C'est en vain que j'ai cru me soustraire aux remords. – "In vain have I thought to escape my remorse."). The King kneels at the prie-Dieu and prays aloud (The King: Je t'implore, ô mon frère! – "I implore you, O my brother!"). Hamlet overhears and fears Claudius' remorse could yet save his soul. He therefore delays yet again, deciding that Claudius must be dispatched in drunken revels at the court. The King rises. Thinking he has seen a ghost, he calls out for Polonius. Polonius comes rushing in. The King tells him he has seen the ghost of the dead king. Polonius tries to calm the King and warns him to beware lest a word betray them both. The King rushes out followed by Polonius. Hamlet emerges from behind the tapestry (Hamlet: Polonius est son complice! le père d'Ophélie! – "Polonius is his accomplice. Ophelia's father!"). He regrets having overheard this terrible revelation.
15. Trio. Ophélie enters with the Queen. (The Queen: Le voilà! Je veux lire enfin dans sa pensée – "There he is! I must know what is on his mind"). The Queen tells Hamlet, the altar awaits him, here is his betrothed. Hamlet looks away, without replying. The Queen persists, and Hamlet, thinks of Polonius' perfidy (Hamlet: Sur moi tombent les cieux avant que cet hymen funeste s'accomplisse! – "May the heavens fall upon me before such an ill-fated marriage can be solemnized!"). Ophélie asks what he means. He responds: Non! Allez dans un cloître, allez, Ophélie. – "No! Go to a nunnery, go, Ophélie."). The Queen asks whether he has forgotten all Ophélie's virtues. He replies he now feels nothing in his heart. Ophélie despairs (Ophélie: Cet amor promis à genoux – "The love that on your knees you swore"). She returns her ring to him (Theme of Hamlet's Love), and Hamlet weeps. The Queen turns to Ophélie saying he weeps, he remembers, he loves you. Hamlet cries out again (Hamlet: Non! Allez dans un cloître, allez, Ophélie – "No! Go to a nunnery, go, Ophélie"). Each continues to express conflicting feelings in an extended ensemble. Ophélie leaves, hiding her tears.
16. Duet. The Queen warns Hamlet that he has offended his father, and she may be powerless to save his life (The Queen: Hamlet, ma douleur est immense! – "Hamlet, my grief is great!"). Hamlet asks, who has offended his father? She denies any understanding of his meaning. Hamlet blocks her attempt to leave, tries to force her to confront her guilt (Hamlet: Ah! que votre âme sans refuge pleure sur les devoirs trahis – "Ah! Let your defenseless heart weep over duties betrayed"). Hamlet leads his mother to the two portraits and points to the portrait of his father (Hamlet: Ici la grâce et la beauté sereines – "Here are grace and serene beauty"), then to the other portrait (Là, tous les crimes de la terre! – "There, all crimes of the earth!"). The Queen begs for mercy, kneeling before Hamlet (The Queen: Pardonne, hélas! ta voix m'accable! – Forgive me, alas! Your voice devastates me!"). The Queen collapses on a couch. The light dims; the Ghost appears behind the couch, one arm extended toward Hamlet (Ghost: Mon fils! – "My son!"). Hamlet pulls back in confusion. The Ghost warns Hamlet (Ghost: Souviens-toi... mais épargne ta mère! – "Do not forget... but spare your mother!"). The Ghost vanishes; the doors close themselves. Hamlet asks his mother not to think he is mad; his rage has calmed. He tells her to repent and sleep in peace, then leaves. She collapses at the foot of the prie-Dieu.
Elizabeth Forbes states that the final duet of Act 3 represents the climax of the act and the pivotal scene of the entire opera, and the act as a whole "is by far the finest of the opera, musically as well as dramatically."
Act 4
A pastoral spot surrounded by trees. At the back, a lake dotted with verdant islets and bordered with willows and rushes. The day breaks and floods the scene with cheerful light.17. Entr'acte and Ballet. A short musical interlude of about two minutes, which features a soft, legato
Legato
In musical notation the Italian word legato indicates that musical notes are played or sung smoothly and connected. That is, in transitioning from note to note, there should be no intervening silence...
clarinet solo, introduces the fourth act.
Ballet: La Fête du printemps (Celebration of Spring). Divertissement.
A. Country dance. A party of young Danish peasants enters, and a spring country festival ensues (Peasants: Voici la riante saison – "The fun season is here").
B. The ballet proper, which lasts approximately a quarter of an hour, consists of the following sections: Pas des chasseurs – Pantomime – Valse-Mazurka – Scène du bouquet – La Freya – Strette finale. Although a ballet was required by the Opéra
Paris Opera
The Paris Opera is the primary opera company of Paris, France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the Académie d'Opéra and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and renamed the Académie Royale de Musique...
, it represents a serious anti-climax, in particular since it comes so soon after one of the high points of the opera, the "Closet Scene" of Act 3, where the composer had met the dramatic requirements posed by Shakespeare's play with music that was completely equal to the subject. Moreover, the ballet music which Thomas provided was uninspired. As such, this section is often omitted. The music is included as an appendix to the recording with Thomas Hampson as Hamlet (see Recordings).
"Mad Scene"
18. Ophélie's Scene and Aria.
Recitative. The music begins with Ophélie's Theme. The peasants see a young girl approaching (Peasants: Mais quelle est cette belle et jeune demoiselle – "But who is this fair young maiden"). Ophélie enters, dressed in a long white gown and with her hair bizarrely adorned with flowers and creepers (Ophélie: A vos jeux, mes amis, permettez-moi de grâce de prendre part! – "My friends, please allow me to join in your games!"). Ophélie's opening recitative is interrupted by florid cadenza
Cadenza
In music, a cadenza is, generically, an improvised or written-out ornamental passage played or sung by a soloist or soloists, usually in a "free" rhythmic style, and often allowing for virtuosic display....
with an ascending run up to a trill
Trill (music)
The trill is a musical ornament consisting of a rapid alternation between two adjacent notes, usually a semitone or tone apart, which can be identified with the context of the trill....
on a forte
Forte
Forte/Forté may refer to:*Forte, but often ;. A person's strong point e.g. Preparing gourmet cuisine is his forte. The term is derived from the French fort meaning strength, which does not include an acute accent. The latter pronunciation is likely due to a confusion as a false cognate with the...
A (A5
Scientific pitch notation
Scientific pitch notation is one of several methods that name the notes of the standard Western chromatic scale by combining a letter-name, accidentals, and a number identifying the pitch's octave...
).
Andante. Ophélie tells the peasants that, should they hear that Hamlet has forgotten her, they should not believe it (Ophélie: Un doux serment nois lie – "A tender promise binds us to each other"). The orchestral part features a string quartet accompaniment marked "espressivo".
Waltz. This section, marked "Allegretto mouvement de Valse", begins with a short orchestral introduction. Ophélie offers a sprig of wild rosemary to a young girl and a periwinkle to another (Ophélie: Partegez-vous mes fleurs – "Share my flowers"). It concludes with an even more elaborate cadenza ending with an extended trill on F (F5
Scientific pitch notation
Scientific pitch notation is one of several methods that name the notes of the standard Western chromatic scale by combining a letter-name, accidentals, and a number identifying the pitch's octave...
), which finishes with a downward octave leap, and a quick passage ascending to the final staccato
Staccato
Staccato is a form of musical articulation. In modern notation it signifies a note of shortened duration and separated from the note that may follow by silence...
high B flat (B5 flat
Scientific pitch notation
Scientific pitch notation is one of several methods that name the notes of the standard Western chromatic scale by combining a letter-name, accidentals, and a number identifying the pitch's octave...
). In a more difficult alternative version, the trill on F finishes with an upward leap to forte high D (D6
Scientific pitch notation
Scientific pitch notation is one of several methods that name the notes of the standard Western chromatic scale by combining a letter-name, accidentals, and a number identifying the pitch's octave...
) and a quick passage descending to middle B flat (B4 flat
Scientific pitch notation
Scientific pitch notation is one of several methods that name the notes of the standard Western chromatic scale by combining a letter-name, accidentals, and a number identifying the pitch's octave...
), followed by an upward octave leap to a final forte high B flat (B5 flat
Scientific pitch notation
Scientific pitch notation is one of several methods that name the notes of the standard Western chromatic scale by combining a letter-name, accidentals, and a number identifying the pitch's octave...
) which is held.
Ballade. In the mournful Ballade, Ophélie sings about the Willis (water sprite) who lures lovers to their death, dragging them under the water until they drown (Ophélie: Et maintenant écoutez ma chanson. Pâle et blonde, dort sous l'onde profonde – "And now listen to my song. Pale and fair, sleeping under the deep waves"). (The Ballade replaces Shakespeare's "Tomorrow is St. Valentine's Day", the bawdy words of which were probably considered inappropriate at the Opéra.) It includes a quantity of coloratura singing, and, in the words of Matthew Gurewitsch, is "interwoven with a wordless wisp of a refrain, spun out over the nervous pulse of a drum, like birdsong from some undiscovered country." The Ballade concludes with a coloratura passage that finishes with a run up to a high E (E6
Scientific pitch notation
Scientific pitch notation is one of several methods that name the notes of the standard Western chromatic scale by combining a letter-name, accidentals, and a number identifying the pitch's octave...
) and a fortissimo trill
Trill (music)
The trill is a musical ornament consisting of a rapid alternation between two adjacent notes, usually a semitone or tone apart, which can be identified with the context of the trill....
on A sharp (A5 sharp
Scientific pitch notation
Scientific pitch notation is one of several methods that name the notes of the standard Western chromatic scale by combining a letter-name, accidentals, and a number identifying the pitch's octave...
) leading to the final high B (B5
Scientific pitch notation
Scientific pitch notation is one of several methods that name the notes of the standard Western chromatic scale by combining a letter-name, accidentals, and a number identifying the pitch's octave...
).
19. Waltz-Ballet. A short choral passage (Peasants: Sa raison a fui sans retour – "Her reason has fled, never to return") introduces an orchestral reprise of the waltz music first heard before the Ballade.
20. Finale. The final section begins with a soft woodwind chord followed by harp arpeggios with a wordless choral accompaniment à bouches fermées (similar to the Humming Chorus from Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. Puccini based his opera in part on the short story "Madame Butterfly" by John Luther Long, which was dramatized by David Belasco...
) which repeats the theme from Pâle et blonde. Ophélie sings: Le voilà! Je crois l'entendre! – "There he is! I think I hear him!". As she leans over the water, holding onto the branches of a willow with one hand, and brushing aside the rushes with the other, she repeats some of the words and the melody (Theme of Hamlet's Love) from her love duet with Hamlet in Act 1 (Ophélie: Doute de la lumière – "Doubt that the light illumines"). One sees her momentarily floating in her white gown, as the current carries her away. (The action follows Gertrude's description of Ophelia's death in Shakespeare's Act IV, scene 7.)
The opera's initial success at the Opéra was undoubtedly mostly due to the spectacular vocal effects of the "Mad Scene" as executed by the original Ophélie, Christine Nilsson.
Act 5
The graveyard near Elsinore.21. Song of the Gravediggers. Two gravediggers are digging a grave (First Gravedigger: Dame ou prince, homme ou femme – "Lady or prince, man or woman"). Hamlet's Theme is heard in the orchestra, and he appears in the distance and slowly approaches (both Gravediggers: Jeune ou vieux, brune ou blonde – "Young or old, dark or fair"). They drink and sing of the pleasures of wine. Hamlet asks for whom the grave is intended. The gravediggers do not remember. (After this shortened version of the gravediggers scene, the action diverges radically from that of the Shakespeare play.)
22. Recitative and arioso. Hamlet, realizing that Ophélie has gone mad, but still unaware that she is dead, begs forgiveness for his ill treatment of her (Hamlet: Comme une pâle fleur – "Like a delicate flower").
Scene and recitative. Laërte appears in the distance, enveloped in a cape (Hamlet: Mais qui marche dans l'ombre? Horatio? – "Who walks in the shadows? Horatio?"). Hamlet calls out to him, and Laërte answers and comes nearer (Laërte: Vous avez frémi, Prince? ... Oui, je suis de retour; c'est moi! – "Were you afraid, Prince? ... Yes, I have returned; it is I!"). Knowing of Ophélie's death, Laërte seeks revenge, and challenges Hamlet to a duel. They fight, and Hamlet is wounded.
23. Funeral march and chorus. A funeral march is heard (Hamlet: Écoute! Quel est ce bruit de pas? – "Listen! What noise is that?"). He asks Laërte: "Who has died?" Laërte, in an aside, is amazed that Hamlet still does not know. The funeral procession appears, led by a choir of men and women (Choir: Comme la fleur, comme la fleur nouvelle – "Like a flower, like a fresh flower"). Ophélie's body is carried in; the King and Queen, Polonius, Marcellus, Horatio and the courtiers follow behind.
24. Finale. Hamlet finally realizes who has died (Hamlet: Ophélie! ... Morte! glacée! Ô crime! Oh! de leurs noirs complots déplorable victime! – "Ophélie! ... Dead! Cold! A crime! Oh! Lamentable victim of their black conspiracy!"). He kneels beside the body of Ophélie: "I have lost you!" As the grieving Hamlet prepares to kill himself, his father's Ghost appears, visible to everyone. The King cries out "Mercy!", and the Ghost responds: "The hour has passed! You, my son, finish what you have begun!" Hamlet cries: "Ah! Strengthen my arm to run him through. Guide my strike!" He hurls himself upon the King. The King falls. The Queen cries out "Dieu!" as the others exclaim: "The King!" Hamlet responds: "No! The murderer! The murderer of my father!" The Ghost affirms: "The crime is avenged! The cloister awaits your mother!" The King dies with the words: Je meur maudit! – "I die accursed!" The Queen begs God for forgiveness, as the Ghost declares: "Live for your people, Hamlet! God has made you King." Hamlet, in despair, sings: Mon âme est dans la tombe, hélas! Et je suis Roi! – "My spirit is in the grave, alas! And I am King!" Everyone else proclaims: "Long live Hamlet! Long live the King!" and the opera ends.
Alternative endings
A shorter version of the Finale, in which Hamlet dies, and the Ghost does not appear, is called "le dénouement du Theâtre de Covent Garden" ("the ending for Covent Garden"). Thomas may have written it in the belief that the English would not accept an adaptation in which Hamlet lives. There is no evidence, however, that it was performed in Thomas' lifetime, either at Covent Garden or anywhere else. It appears in some German vocal scores and is included as an appendix to the recording with Thomas Hampson as Hamlet.
There is an additional ending prepared by Richard Bonynge
Richard Bonynge
Richard Alan Bonynge, AO, CBE is an Australian conductor and pianist.Bonynge was born in Sydney and educated at Sydney Boys High School before studying piano at the Royal College of Music in London. He gave up his music scholarship, continuing his private piano studies, and became a coach for...
for a performance in Sydney, Australia
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
in 1982 in which Hamlet dies of his wound suffered in the duel with Laërte. This ending appears in the recording with Sherrill Milnes
Sherrill Milnes
Sherrill Milnes is an American operatic baritone most famous for his Verdi roles. From 1965 until 1997 he was associated with the Metropolitan Opera....
as Hamlet, conducted by Bonynge.
Recordings
Audio- Sherrill MilnesSherrill MilnesSherrill Milnes is an American operatic baritone most famous for his Verdi roles. From 1965 until 1997 he was associated with the Metropolitan Opera....
(Hamlet); Joan SutherlandJoan SutherlandDame Joan Alston Sutherland, OM, AC, DBE was an Australian dramatic coloratura soprano noted for her contribution to the renaissance of the bel canto repertoire from the late 1950s through to the 1980s....
(Ophélie); James Morris (Claudius); Gösta WinberghGösta WinberghGösta Winbergh was a Swedish tenor and Mozart admirer.Winbergh was born in Stockholm. He is often mentioned as among Sweden's and, indeed, the world's finest tenors, included with Jussi Björling and Nicolai Gedda....
(Laërte); Barbara ConradBarbara Smith ConradBarbara Smith Conrad is an American operatic mezzo-soprano of international acclaim. Born Barbara Smith, she was raised in Center Point near Pittsburg, Texas. In 1957, Barbara Conrad became the focus of a racial controversy revolving around her role in a student opera at The University of Texas at...
(Gertrude); John Tomlinson (Ghost); Keith Lewis (Marcellus); Philip Gelling (Horatio); Arwel Huw Morgan (Polonius); Peyo Garazzi (First Gravedigger); Joseph Rouleau (Second Gravedigger); Orchestra and Chorus of Welsh National OperaWelsh National OperaWelsh National Opera is an opera company founded in Cardiff, Wales in 1943. The WNO tours Wales, the United Kingdom and the rest of the world extensively. Annually, it gives more than 120 performances of eight main stage operas to a combined audience of around 150,000 people...
; Richard BonyngeRichard BonyngeRichard Alan Bonynge, AO, CBE is an Australian conductor and pianist.Bonynge was born in Sydney and educated at Sydney Boys High School before studying piano at the Royal College of Music in London. He gave up his music scholarship, continuing his private piano studies, and became a coach for...
(conductor). (Issued 1983 on LP; 1992 on CD: Decca 433 857-2). . - Thomas Hampson (Hamlet); June AndersonJune AndersonJune Anderson is a Grammy Award-winning American coloratura soprano. Originally known for bel canto performances of Rossini, Donizetti, and Vincenzo Bellini, she was the first non-Italian ever to win the prestigious Bellini d'Oro prize...
(Ophélie); Samuel RameySamuel RameySamuel Edward Ramey is an American operatic bass with a long, distinguished career.During his best years, he was greatly admired for his range and versatility, having possessed a sufficiently accomplished bel canto technique to enable him to sing the music of Handel, Mozart, Rossini, yet power...
(Claudius); Gregory KundeGregory KundeGregory Kunde is an American operatic tenor particularly associated with the French and Italian repertories....
(Laërte); Denyce GravesDenyce GravesDenyce Graves is an American mezzo-soprano opera singer.-Early life:Graves was born on March 7, 1964, to Charles Graves and Dorothy Graves-Kenner. She is the middle of three children and was raised by her mother on Galveston Street, S.W., in the Bellevue section of Washington...
(Gertrude); Jean-Philippe Courtis (Ghost); Gérard Garino (Marcellus); François Le Roux (Horatio); Michel TrempontMichel TrempontMichel Trempont is a Belgian operatic baritone whose repertoire extends from the 18th century to the creation of contemporary works. His brother was Pol Trempont , operatic tenor and one time director of the Théâtre de Mons.-Life and career:After studies with Rogatchewsky, Trempont made his debut...
(Polonius); Thierry Félix (First Gravedigger); Jean-Pierre Furlan (Second Gravedigger); Ambrosian Opera Chorus; London Philharmonic OrchestraLondon Philharmonic OrchestraThe London Philharmonic Orchestra , based in London, is one of the major orchestras of the United Kingdom, and is based in the Royal Festival Hall. In addition, the LPO is the main resident orchestra of the Glyndebourne Festival Opera...
; Antonio de AlmeidaAntonio de Almeida (conductor)Antonio de Almeida was a French conductor and musicologist of Portuguese-American descent.He was born Antonio Jacques de Almeida in Neuilly-sur-Seine near Paris....
(conductor). (Issued 1994 on CD: EMI Classics 7 54820 2) .
Video
- Simon KeenlysideSimon KeenlysideSimon Keenlyside CBE is a British baritone who has had an active international career performing in operas and concerts since the mid 1980s.-Early life and education:...
(Hamlet); Natalie DessayNatalie DessayNatalie Dessay is a French coloratura soprano. She dropped the silent "h" in her first name in honor of Natalie Wood when she was in grade school and subsequently simplified the spelling of her surname outside France...
(Ophélie); Béatrice Uria-Monzon (Gertrude); Alain Vernhes (Claudius); Daniil Shtoda (Laërte); Markus Hollop (Ghost); Gustavo Peña (Marcellus); Lluís Sintes (Horatio); Celestino Varela (Polonius); Joan Martín-Royo (First Gravedigger); Francesc Garrigoza (Second Gravedigger); Symphony Orchestra and Chorus of the Gran Teatre del LiceuLiceuThe Gran Teatre del Liceu , or simply Liceu in Catalan and Liceo in Spanish, is an opera house on La Rambla in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain...
, Bertrand de BillyBertrand de BillyBertrand de Billy is a French conductor.He was born in Paris.After his career as an instrumental musician, de Billy began his conducting career in Paris. He later moved to Germany and built up his career as an opera conductor. He was the general music director at the Anhaltisches Theater in...
(conductor); Patrice Gaurier & Moshe Leiser (stage directors); Jean-Michel Criqui (revival director); Toni Bargalló (video director); Christian Fenouillat (set design); Agostino Cavalca (costume designer); Christophe Forey (lighting); Grand Théâtre de GenèveGrand Théâtre de GenèveGrand Théâtre de Genève is an opera house in Geneva, Switzerland.As with many other opera houses, the Grand Théâtre de Genève is both a venue and an institution. The venue is a majestic building, towering over Place Neuve, officially opened in 1876, partly destroyed by fire in 1951 and reopened in...
(production). (Live video recording October 2003 issued on DVDDVDA DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
: EMI classics 7243 5 99447 9 1) .
Scores
The vocal score, published in 1868 in Paris by Heugel & Cie. (plate H. 3582), is available for download from the International Music Score Library ProjectInternational Music Score Library Project
The International Music Score Library Project , also known as the Petrucci Music Library after publisher Ottaviano Petrucci, is a project for the creation of a virtual library of public domain music scores, based on the wiki principle...
web site (see this work page). The web page also includes an arrangement by Georges Bizet
Georges Bizet
Georges Bizet formally Alexandre César Léopold Bizet, was a French composer, mainly of operas. In a career cut short by his early death, he achieved few successes before his final work, Carmen, became one of the most popular and frequently performed works in the entire opera repertory.During a...
of the ballet music from Act 4, La Fête du printemps, for piano 4 hands (Paris: Heugel & Cie., n.d., plate H. 4997–5002, 5007), as well as the complete libretto in French (edited by Calmann Lévy, published: Paris: Lévy Frères, 1887).
Other sources
- Bailey, Helen Phelps (1964). Hamlet in France; from Voltaire to Laforgue. Genève: Droz. .
- Ducis, Jean-François (1770). Hamlet: Tragédie. Paris. .
- Dumas, Alexandre; Meurice, Paul (1849). Hamlet, Prince de Danemark. En vers, par MM. A. Dumas et P. Meurice, etc. Paris. .
- Le Tourneur, Pierre (1776–1782). Shakespeare traduit de l'Anglois [in prose]. Paris: Chez La Veuve Duchesne [et al]. .
- Le Tourneur, Pierre (1779). Shakespeare traduit de l'anglois. 5: Le Roi Léar; Hamlet. Paris: Chez La Veuve Duchesne [et al]. .
External links
- HAMLET OPERA at the Princeton Department of Music website. Hamlet, an opera by Carson Kievman, commissioned by Joseph PappJoseph PappJoseph Papp was an American theatrical producer and director. Papp established The Public Theater in what had been the Astor Library Building in downtown New York . "The Public," as it is known, has many small theatres within it...
for the New York Shakespeare FestivalNew York Shakespeare FestivalNew York Shakespeare Festival is the previous name of the New York City theatrical producing organization now known as the Public Theater. The Festival produced shows at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, as part of its free Shakespeare in the Park series, at the Public Theatre near Astor Place...
.