Orpheus (Telemann)
Encyclopedia
Orpheus is an opera
in three acts by the German
composer Georg Philipp Telemann
. It was first performed in a concert version at the Theater am Gänsemarkt, Hamburg
on 9 March 1726
. The anonymous libretto
is based on Orphée by Michel du Boulay, originally set by the French
composer Louis Lully
. Most of the work is in German but it also contains passages in French and Italian drawn from famous operas by Handel
and Jean-Baptiste Lully
. The music to these words is Telemann's own, however. The manuscript score of Orpheus was not rediscovered until the late 20th century.
is in love with Orpheus
, but he rejects her in favour of Eurydice
. The queen plots to kill Eurydice as she is picking flowers in a garden. Orpheus tells his friend Eurimedes he is tired of life at Orasia's court and flees to the countryside. Eurydice is bitten by a snake and dies in Orpheus's arms.
to kill Orpheus. Orasia repents of what she has done when she sees a vision of the dead Orpheus reunited with Eurydice. In despair, she kills herself.
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
in three acts by the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
composer Georg Philipp Telemann
Georg Philipp Telemann
Georg Philipp Telemann was a German Baroque composer and multi-instrumentalist. Almost completely self-taught in music, he became a composer against his family's wishes. After studying in Magdeburg, Zellerfeld, and Hildesheim, Telemann entered the University of Leipzig to study law, but eventually...
. It was first performed in a concert version at the Theater am Gänsemarkt, Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
on 9 March 1726
1726 in music
-Events:*The Academy of Ancient Music is founded in London.*George Frideric Handel becomes a British subject.*Johann Sebastian Bach copies and performs 18 church cantatas written by his cousin, Johann Ludwig Bach....
. The anonymous 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...
is based on Orphée by Michel du Boulay, originally set by the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
composer Louis Lully
Louis Lully
Louis Lully was a French musician and the eldest son of Jean-Baptiste Lully.Nearly disinherited by his father following dissolute behaviour and imprisonment, Louis did not have the brilliant career anticipated for him, not only because of his behaviour but also for lack of talent...
. Most of the work is in German but it also contains passages in French and Italian drawn from famous operas by Handel
HANDEL
HANDEL was the code-name for the UK's National Attack Warning System in the Cold War. It consisted of a small console consisting of two microphones, lights and gauges. The reason behind this was to provide a back-up if anything failed....
and Jean-Baptiste Lully
Jean-Baptiste Lully
Jean-Baptiste de Lully was an Italian-born French composer who spent most of his life working in the court of Louis XIV of France. He is considered the chief master of the French Baroque style. Lully disavowed any Italian influence in French music of the period. He became a French subject in...
. The music to these words is Telemann's own, however. The manuscript score of Orpheus was not rediscovered until the late 20th century.
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, 9 March 1726 |
|---|---|---|
| Orpheus | 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... |
|
| Orasia | 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... |
|
| Eurydice | soprano | |
| Ismene | soprano | |
| Eurimedes | 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... |
|
| Cephisa | soprano | |
| Pluto | bass | |
| Ascalax | castrato Castrato A castrato is a man with a singing voice equivalent to that of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto voice produced either by castration of the singer before puberty or one who, because of an endocrinological condition, never reaches sexual maturity.Castration before puberty prevents a boy's... (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... ) |
|
Act One
Queen Orasia of ThraceThrace
Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the Balkan Mountains on the north, Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea on the south, and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the east...
is in love with Orpheus
Orpheus
Orpheus was a legendary musician, poet, and prophet in ancient Greek religion and myth. The major stories about him are centered on his ability to charm all living things and even stones with his music; his attempt to retrieve his wife from the underworld; and his death at the hands of those who...
, but he rejects her in favour of Eurydice
Eurydice
Eurydice in Greek mythology, was an oak nymph or one of the daughters of Apollo . She was the wife of Orpheus, who loved her dearly; on their wedding day, he played joyful songs as his bride danced through the meadow. One day, a satyr saw and pursued Eurydice, who stepped on a venomous snake,...
. The queen plots to kill Eurydice as she is picking flowers in a garden. Orpheus tells his friend Eurimedes he is tired of life at Orasia's court and flees to the countryside. Eurydice is bitten by a snake and dies in Orpheus's arms.
Act Two
Orpheus descends to the underworld to rescue Eurydice. He charms the king of the underworld, Pluto, with his music. The god allows him to return with Eurydice on condition he does not look back at her until they have reached the land of the living once more. Orpheus fails in this task and Eurydice is lost to him.Act Three
Orasia believes that, with Eurydice gone, Orpheus will love her. But the grieving Orpheus rejects her advances. Orasia is furious and vows revenge. She urges on the followers of BacchusDionysus
Dionysus was the god of the grape harvest, winemaking and wine, of ritual madness and ecstasy in Greek mythology. His name in Linear B tablets shows he was worshipped from c. 1500—1100 BC by Mycenean Greeks: other traces of Dionysian-type cult have been found in ancient Minoan Crete...
to kill Orpheus. Orasia repents of what she has done when she sees a vision of the dead Orpheus reunited with Eurydice. In despair, she kills herself.
Recordings
- Orpheus Dorothea RöschmannDorothea RöschmannDorothea Röschmann is a German opera soprano from Flensburg.-Education and early life:Röschmann studied at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg, under Barbara Schlick at the Akademie für Alte Musik in Bremen, and subsequently in Los Angeles, New York, Tel Aviv, and under Vera Rózsa in London...
(Orasia), Roman Trekel (Orpheus), Ruth ZiesakRuth Ziesak- Biography :Ruth Ziesak studied voice at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts with Elsa Cavelti and Christoph Prégardien. She has been a member of the Municipal Theatre Heidelberg since 1988 and the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in 1990....
(Eurydice), Werner GüraWerner GüraWerner Güra is a German classical tenor in opera, concert and Lied, also an academic teacher in Zurich.- Professional career :...
(Eurimenides), Maria Cristina KiehrMaria Cristina KiehrMaría Cristina Kiehr is a soprano vocalist associated with Baroque music. After receiving her early musical training in Argentina, she moved in 1983 to Europe and studied under René Jacobs at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, specializing in the Baroque repertoire. She performs and records for the...
, RIAS KammerchorRIAS KammerchorThe RIAS Kammerchor is a professional chamber choir of the RIAS in Berlin, founded originally for contemporary music, with an international reputation.-History:...
, Akademie für Alte Musik BerlinAkademie für Alte Musik BerlinAkademie für Alte Musik Berlin is a German chamber orchestra founded in East Berlin in 1982...
, conducted by René Jacobs (Harmonia Mundi, 1998) - Orpheus Markus Volpert (Orfeo), Dorothee Mields (Orasia), Ulrike Hofbauer (Eurydice), Christian Zenker (Eurimedes), Reinhard Mayr (Pluto). L'Orfeo Barockorchester, Michi Gaigg DHM 2011
Sources
- Amadeus Almanac (9 March 1726), accessed 23 January 2009
- Le magazine de l'opéra baroque by Jean-Claude Brenac
- Booklet notes to the above recording.