Silvana (opera)
Encyclopedia
Silvana is an opera
by Carl Maria von Weber
, first performed in Frankfurt am Main on 16 September 1810. The libretto, by Franz Carl Hiemer, is a reworking of an earlier, unsuccessful opera by Weber, Das Waldmädchen. Weber also reused music from the same piece in Silvana.
Weber used a melody from a discarded aria
for the opera to compose the popular Seven Variations on a theme from Silvana for clarinet
and piano
. He used the same melody for the theme-and-variations first movement of his Sonata no. 5 in A major (from the Six sonates progressives for piano and violin obbligato, J 99-104).
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...
by Carl Maria von Weber
Carl Maria von Weber
Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber was a German composer, conductor, pianist, guitarist and critic, one of the first significant composers of the Romantic school....
, first performed in Frankfurt am Main on 16 September 1810. The libretto, by Franz Carl Hiemer, is a reworking of an earlier, unsuccessful opera by Weber, Das Waldmädchen. Weber also reused music from the same piece in Silvana.
Weber used a melody from a discarded aria
Aria
An aria in music was originally any expressive melody, usually, but not always, performed by a singer. The term is now used almost exclusively to describe a self-contained piece for one voice usually with orchestral accompaniment...
for the opera to compose the popular Seven Variations on a theme from Silvana for clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
and piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
. He used the same melody for the theme-and-variations first movement of his Sonata no. 5 in A major (from the Six sonates progressives for piano and violin obbligato, J 99-104).
Roles
- Dryada (contraltoContraltoContralto 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...
) - Graf Gerold (tenorTenorThe 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...
) - Guntram von Bornhofen (baritoneBaritoneBaritone 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...
) - Ratto (bassBass (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...
) - Rheingraf Boland von Sternberg (baritone)
- Silvana (soprano)
Recordings
- Complete recording of the opera, conducted by Gerhard MarksonGerhard MarksonGerhard Markson is a German conductor. His most recent post was Principal Conductor of the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, but his term ended in May 2009.- Biography :...
(on the Marco Polo label). Markson has also recorded, for the same label, the only complete recording of Weber's first complete opera, Peter Schmoll. The overture, unique among Weber's operas in that it is not based on tunes from different numbers of the opera, is the least frequently performed among his opera overtures. It is a fine work, nevertheless, and Neeme Järvi has made an excellent recording of it in his collection of Weber overtures (on Chandos).
Source
- Holden, Amanda, (Ed.) The New Penguin Opera Guide, New York: Penguin Putnam, Inc., 2001 ISBN 0 140 29312 4