Intolleranza
Encyclopedia
Intolleranza 1960 is a one-act opera
in two parts (azione scenica in due tempi) by Luigi Nono
. The Italian libretto
was written by Nono from an idea by Angelo Maria Ripellino, using documentary texts and poetry by Julius Fučík
, "Reportage unter dem Strang geschrieben"; Henri Alleg
, "La question (The Torture)"; Jean-Paul Sartre
's introduction to Alleg's poem; Paul Eluard
's poem "La liberté;" "Our march" by Vladimir Mayakovsky
; and Bertolt Brecht
's "To Posterity". The plot concerns a refugee, who travels from Southern Italy looking for work. Along the way, he encounters protests, arrests and torture. He ends up in a concentration camp, where he experiences the gamut of human emotions. He reaches a river, and realises that everywhere is his home. The opera premiered on 13 April 1961 at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice
. It has a running time of approximately 1 hour, 15 minutes.
by its director Mario Labroca. The first performance was conducted by Bruno Maderna
on 13 April 1961 at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice. The stage design was by the famous radical painter Emilio Vedova
, a friend of Nono's. The premiere was disrupted by neo-fascists, who shouted "Viva la polizia" during the torture scene. Nono's opponents accused him of poisoning Italian music. Nono revised the work into a one-act version for a 1974 performance.
Fabrice Fitch has commented that this work has "no plot as such", but rather consists of a series of scenes that illustrate aspects of intolerance. Nono himself interpreted the testimony of his work as follows:
Instead of an overture
, a large-scale a cappella
chorus, "Live and be vigilant", is heard from behind a closed curtain.
1st Scene: In a mining village
A guest worker (Emigrant) the stranger in the Maloches mine is tired. It consumed him to return longing for his homeland, from which he once fled.
2nd Scene: A woman rushes in.
A woman who had given to the stranger in the mining village warmth and peace and love, tried to persuade him to stay. When she realizes that her lover is determined to go, she insults him and swears revenge. Nevertheless, she leaves the migrant.
3rd Scene: In a city
He has reached a city, as a large non-authorized peace demonstration is taking place. The police intervene and arrest some demonstrators, including the refugee, although he was not participating in the rally. His attempt to defend himself remains unsuccessful.
4th Scene: in a police station
Four police officers set to work, to force the prisoners to confess. The man, however, stands firm to his story that the way to his home is through the city and he had therefore nothing to confess.
5th Scene: The torture
All those arrested are brought to torture. The chorus of the tortured cries to the audience, whether it was deaf and would behave just like cattle in the pen of shame.
6th Scene: In a concentration camp
The chorus of prisoners desperately cries for freedom. The four policemen taunt their victims. The hero makes friends with another prisoner from Algeria. Together they plan to escape.
7th Scene: After the escape
He manages to escape with the Algerians from the concentration camp. While originally it had been only the wish of the emigrant to see his home, now only in his heart burns the desire for freedom.
From all sides voices press upon the hero, voices which not only disturb and confuse him, but almost overpower him. The absurdities of contemporary life, such as the bureaucracy - for example, "registration required", "Documents are the soul of the state", "certify, authenticate, notarize" - and sensational newspaper headlines like "mother of thirteen children was a man" increase, and the scene ends with a big explosion.
2nd Scene: a meeting between a refugee and his companion
A silent crowd suffers from the impression of the slogans and the explosion. When a woman begins to speak out against war and disaster, it appears to the emigrant as a source of hope in his solitude. Henceforth, the two want to fight together for a better world.
3rd Scene: Projections of episodes of terror and fanaticism
To the hero appears the woman he has left in the mining village, and confuses him. Together with his companion (compagna) he sends her away. Then the woman transforms herself along with a group of fanatics in ghosts and shadows. In the dream, she sees the migrant, the mine, the mocking slogan "Arbeit macht frei" over the entrance of the camp, and she sees the nightmares of the intolerance he holds with his companion, "Never, never again". The choir sings Mayakovsky's "Our march".
4th Scene: In the vicinity of a village on the banks of a great river
The hero has reached with his companion the great river, which forms the border of his native country. It is flooding, and its level increases more and more. The deluge swallows roads, broken bridges, barracks and crushed houses. Even the migrant and his companion are unable to save themselves. They die an agonizing death.
Final chorus (Coro finale) set to excerpts from Brecht's poem "To Posterity", again without orchestral accompaniment.
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 two parts (azione scenica in due tempi) by Luigi Nono
Luigi Nono
Luigi Nono was an Italian avant-garde composer of classical music and remains one of the most prominent composers of the 20th century.- Early years :Born in Venice, he was a member of a wealthy artistic family, and his grandfather was a notable painter...
. The Italian 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...
was written by Nono from an idea by Angelo Maria Ripellino, using documentary texts and poetry by Julius Fučík
Julius Fucík
thumb|Julius FucikJulius Fučík was a Czechoslovak journalist, an active member of Communist Party of Czechoslovakia , and part of the forefront of the anti-Nazi resistance. He was imprisoned, tortured, and executed by the Nazis.- Early life :Julius Fučík was born into a working-class family in...
, "Reportage unter dem Strang geschrieben"; Henri Alleg
Henri Alleg
Henri Alleg , born Henri Salem, is a French-Algerian journalist, director of the "Alger républicain" newspaper, and a member of the French Communist Party...
, "La question (The Torture)"; Jean-Paul Sartre
Jean-Paul Sartre
Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre was a French existentialist philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary critic. He was one of the leading figures in 20th century French philosophy, particularly Marxism, and was one of the key figures in literary...
's introduction to Alleg's poem; Paul Eluard
Paul Éluard
Paul Éluard, born Eugène Émile Paul Grindel , was a French poet who was one of the founders of the surrealist movement.-Biography:...
's poem "La liberté;" "Our march" by Vladimir Mayakovsky
Vladimir Mayakovsky
Vladimir Vladimirovich Mayakovsky was a Russian and Soviet poet and playwright, among the foremost representatives of early-20th century Russian Futurism.- Early life :...
; and Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht was a German poet, playwright, and theatre director.An influential theatre practitioner of the 20th century, Brecht made equally significant contributions to dramaturgy and theatrical production, the latter particularly through the seismic impact of the tours undertaken by the...
's "To Posterity". The plot concerns a refugee, who travels from Southern Italy looking for work. Along the way, he encounters protests, arrests and torture. He ends up in a concentration camp, where he experiences the gamut of human emotions. He reaches a river, and realises that everywhere is his home. The opera premiered on 13 April 1961 at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
. It has a running time of approximately 1 hour, 15 minutes.
Background and performance history
Intolleranza 1960 was Luigi Nono's first work for the opera stage and is a flaming protest against intolerance and oppression and the violation of human dignity. The year in the title refers to the time of the work's origin. Nono himself said of this work that it "did mark a beginning for me, but in no sense did it constitute a tabula rasa or in response to 'divine inspiration'". It was commissioned for the 1969 Venice BiennaleVenice Biennale
The Venice Biennale is a major contemporary art exhibition that takes place once every two years in Venice, Italy. The Venice Film Festival is part of it. So too is the Venice Biennale of Architecture, which is held in even years...
by its director Mario Labroca. The first performance was conducted by Bruno Maderna
Bruno Maderna
Bruno Maderna was an Italian conductor and composer. For the last ten years of his life he lived in Germany and eventually became a citizen of that country.-Biography:...
on 13 April 1961 at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice. The stage design was by the famous radical painter Emilio Vedova
Emilio Vedova
Emilio Vedova was an Italian modern painter, considered one of the most important to emerge in his country's artistic scene after World War II.Vedova was born in Venice into a working-class family...
, a friend of Nono's. The premiere was disrupted by neo-fascists, who shouted "Viva la polizia" during the torture scene. Nono's opponents accused him of poisoning Italian music. Nono revised the work into a one-act version for a 1974 performance.
Fabrice Fitch has commented that this work has "no plot as such", but rather consists of a series of scenes that illustrate aspects of intolerance. Nono himself interpreted the testimony of his work as follows:
- "Intolleranza 1960" is the awakening of human awareness in a man who has rebelled against the demands of necessity - an emigrant miner - and searches for a reason and a "human" base for life. After several experiences of intolerance and domination, he is beginning to rediscover human relations, between himself and others, when he is swept away in a flood with other people. There remains his certainty in "a time when one wants to be a help to you". Symbol? Report? Fantasy? All three, in a story of our time.
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere cast 13 April 1961 (Conductor: Bruno Maderna) |
|---|---|---|
| A Refugee | 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... |
Petre Munteanu |
| His Companion | 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... |
Catherine Gayer |
| A Woman | contralto Contralto Contralto is the deepest female classical singing voice, with the lowest tessitura, falling between tenor and mezzo-soprano. It typically ranges between the F below middle C to the second G above middle C , although at the extremes some voices can reach the E below middle C or the second B above... |
Carla Henius |
| An Algerian | 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... |
Heinz Rehfuss Heinz Rehfuss Heinz Julius Rehfuss was a Swiss operatic bass-baritone, who later became an American citizen. He was particularly associated with the title roles in Don Giovanni and Boris Godunov, and Golaud in Pelléas et Mélisande.... |
| A Torturer | 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... |
Italo Tajo Italo Tajo Italo Tajo was an Italian operatic bass, particularly associated with Mozart and Rossini roles.Tajo was born in Pinerolo, Piedmont, and studied violin and voice at the Music Conservatory of Turin with Nilde Stichi-Bertozzi. He made his stage debut in 1935, as Fafner , under Fritz Busch... |
| Four Soldiers | actor Actor An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity... s |
|
| Chorus Choir A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus... of Miners, Demonstrators, Torturers, Prisoners, Refugees, Algerians, Farmers |
||
Part One
Opening chorus (Coro iniziale)Instead of an overture
Overture
Overture in music is the term originally applied to the instrumental introduction to an opera...
, a large-scale a cappella
A cappella
A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...
chorus, "Live and be vigilant", is heard from behind a closed curtain.
1st Scene: In a mining village
A guest worker (Emigrant) the stranger in the Maloches mine is tired. It consumed him to return longing for his homeland, from which he once fled.
2nd Scene: A woman rushes in.
A woman who had given to the stranger in the mining village warmth and peace and love, tried to persuade him to stay. When she realizes that her lover is determined to go, she insults him and swears revenge. Nevertheless, she leaves the migrant.
3rd Scene: In a city
He has reached a city, as a large non-authorized peace demonstration is taking place. The police intervene and arrest some demonstrators, including the refugee, although he was not participating in the rally. His attempt to defend himself remains unsuccessful.
4th Scene: in a police station
Four police officers set to work, to force the prisoners to confess. The man, however, stands firm to his story that the way to his home is through the city and he had therefore nothing to confess.
5th Scene: The torture
All those arrested are brought to torture. The chorus of the tortured cries to the audience, whether it was deaf and would behave just like cattle in the pen of shame.
6th Scene: In a concentration camp
The chorus of prisoners desperately cries for freedom. The four policemen taunt their victims. The hero makes friends with another prisoner from Algeria. Together they plan to escape.
7th Scene: After the escape
He manages to escape with the Algerians from the concentration camp. While originally it had been only the wish of the emigrant to see his home, now only in his heart burns the desire for freedom.
Part Two
1st Scene: Some absurdities of contemporary lifeFrom all sides voices press upon the hero, voices which not only disturb and confuse him, but almost overpower him. The absurdities of contemporary life, such as the bureaucracy - for example, "registration required", "Documents are the soul of the state", "certify, authenticate, notarize" - and sensational newspaper headlines like "mother of thirteen children was a man" increase, and the scene ends with a big explosion.
2nd Scene: a meeting between a refugee and his companion
A silent crowd suffers from the impression of the slogans and the explosion. When a woman begins to speak out against war and disaster, it appears to the emigrant as a source of hope in his solitude. Henceforth, the two want to fight together for a better world.
3rd Scene: Projections of episodes of terror and fanaticism
To the hero appears the woman he has left in the mining village, and confuses him. Together with his companion (compagna) he sends her away. Then the woman transforms herself along with a group of fanatics in ghosts and shadows. In the dream, she sees the migrant, the mine, the mocking slogan "Arbeit macht frei" over the entrance of the camp, and she sees the nightmares of the intolerance he holds with his companion, "Never, never again". The choir sings Mayakovsky's "Our march".
4th Scene: In the vicinity of a village on the banks of a great river
The hero has reached with his companion the great river, which forms the border of his native country. It is flooding, and its level increases more and more. The deluge swallows roads, broken bridges, barracks and crushed houses. Even the migrant and his companion are unable to save themselves. They die an agonizing death.
Final chorus (Coro finale) set to excerpts from Brecht's poem "To Posterity", again without orchestral accompaniment.
Recording
- Teldec 4509 97304(2): Chorus of the Stuttgart State Opera; Stuttgart State Orchestra; Bernhard Kontarsky, conductor