How are you?
Following
the last week, I am going to start my 39th lecture.
I had
conducted music lectures at Art Collage JANG in Seoul, South Korea every
Saturday from March 2015 to December 2017.
I am going
to introduce the lecture by the lecture’s order every Saturday.
Please
refer to the following link for my previous lectures.
Today's
lecture is five operas featuring “Political Strife/Religion”, which were
introduced in “The 39th ACJ Music Academy” on March 19, 2016.
1.
L'incoronazione di Poppea (Monteverdi)
2.
Giulio Cesare in Egitto (Handel)
3.
I Puritani (Bellini)
4.
Boris Godunov (Mussorgsky)
5.
Prince Igor (Borodin)
1.
L'incoronazione di Poppea (Monteverdi)
It
is a two-act opera composed by Claudio Monteverdi, with a libretto by Giovanni
Francesco Busenello, based on the historical events described in “The Annals of
Tacitus”. The opera’s main character is Poppaea Sabina, the second wife of the
emperor Nero in the Roman Empire.
After
returning from his overseas expedition, Ottone is excited about seeing his
beloved Poppea soon. But when he finds two guards standing outside the house,
he realizes that Emperor Nero has captured her and feels sad. The next morning,
before Nero leaves, Poppea reaffirms Nero's promise that he will abolish
Ottavia and make her his wife. Arnalta, aged nurse and confidante of Poppaea, tells
Poppaea that Ottavia knows Nero's injustice.
Ottavia
is angry with her husband's affairs, but Seneca, a philosopher and Nero's tutor,
advises Ottavia to accept her fate and keep quiet. Nero tells Seneca to abolish
Ottavia and marry Poppea, but Seneca opposes it and Nero is angry. Poppea tells
Nero that Seneca must be killed because he is a hindrance to their love.
Ottone
approaches Poppea and asks for reconciliation, but she laughs at him and Drusilla,
who crushed on Ottone, gives attention to his obsession to Poppea.
When
a slave arrives at Seneca's garden to announce his death sentence, Seneca takes
his own life. Nero is pleased with his death, while Ottavia orders Ottone to
kill Poppea.
Ottone
asks Drusilla to help him, and she gives her clothes to disguise him. Poppea is
thrilled with Seneca's death, and Ottone, disguised as Drusilla, sneaks in and
tries to kill Poppea, but fails and runs away.
Drusilla
is arrested for Poppea's assassination attempt and she admits it to protect Ottone.
When Nero sentenced her to death, Ottone confesses his sin and says that the
conspirator behind it is Ottavia.
Nero
expels Ottone and Drusilla accompanies him. Nero also deports Ottavia as an
assassin and declares Poppea to be his bride that day. Ottavia leaves Rome and Poppea
becomes Empress.
2.
Giulio Cesare in Egitto (Handel)
It is a three-act opera composed by George Frideric Handel with the libretto by Nicola Francesco Haym. The opera is set in 48 B.C., when Giulio Cesare and Cleopatra first met. Cesare,
who was in early fifties at the time, defeated Pompeo, conquered the world, and
was about to enter the path of sole dictatorship, and Cleopatra, who was just
over twenty, was fighting with his younger brother Tolomeo for the Egyptian
throne. History describes Cleopatra as an incarnation of the desire for power,
but her desire for the power was directly linked to her survival in the context
of being assassinated if she is being pushed out of the royal war.
Cleopatra
immediately recognizes Cesare as a concrete helper to sit her on the throne and
actively seduces him. She disguises as a maid, approaches Cesare, and Cesare
falls in love with her.
The
two enjoy a secret love and are found by Tolomeo's close person, and then Cleopatra
reveals her identity and Cesare jumps into the sea. Tolomeo attempts to subdue
his sister Cleopatra's supporters and execute her for treason, but Cesare, who
thought to be dead, returns with his army, defeats Tolomeo, and raises
Cleopatra to the throne.
3.
I Puritani (Bellini)
It
is an opera composed by Vincenzo Bellini, representing Italian bel canto opera
with Rossini and Donizetti. Count Carlo Pepoli wrote a libretto based on Jacques-François
Ancelot's "Têtes Rondes et Cavalieres".
The
opera is set in Plymouth in 1645. But Plymouth here is not the place where
English Puritans arrived to New World by
the Mayflower, but the port city of the mainland of England.
In
the English Civil War between 1644 and 1645, as the Puritan Republicans, led by
Oliver Cromwell, triumphed, their ideology soon became political ideology, and
then Cromwell soon executed the king and took over power. The story of the
opera begins with the preparation of the wedding of Elvira, daughter of a
puritan, Lord Gualtiero Valton, who imprisoned the queen, the wife of executed king.
Originally,
Lord Valton tried to marry his daughter to Riccardo, but, after realizing that
his daughter’s real love is Arturo of the Royalists, not the Puritans, he allows
his daughter’s marriage. However, Arturo, who realized just before the wedding
that the queen was imprisoned in Valton's castle, rescues the queen and runs
away with her for the duty to keep faithful to the Stuart dynasty.
When
the bridegroom disappears on the wedding day, Elvira, who doesn't know the exact
reason, falls into despair and goes mad.
Arturo,
who came back to the castle to meet Elvira, is arrested and sentenced to death,
but pardoned just before execution. Elvira, who met Arturo, regains her spirit,
and finally marries him.
4.
Boris Godunov, (Mussorgsky)
It
is a four-act Russian opera with a prologue composed by Modest Mussorgsky. The
Russian-language libretto was written by the composer, based on the drama “Boris
Godunov” by Aleksandr Pushkin, and Nikolay Karamzin's “History of the Russian
State”.
Moscow,
1598. Shortly after Ivan the Terrible’s firstborn son passed away, the queen’s
brother, Boris Godunov, was accused of assassinating Ivan the Terrible's
youngest son, Dmitriy. Boris hides himself in the monastery, rejecting the plea
of people to be crowned but eventually accepts the crown, and the coronation
takes place at the Kremlin square.
The
Chudov Monastery in 1603. Pimen, a venerable monk, recalls the past as he
writes the last chapter of the chronology. A young monk, Grigoriy, who was
sleeping at his side and awaked from a nightmare, is amazed by Pimen's story:
"Emperor Boris ordered Dmitriy's assassination, and if Dmitriy is alive,
he would be the same age as you."
Meanwhile,
at an inn near the Russian and Lithuanian border, the drunken vagrant
Varlaam sings "So it was in the city of Kazan" in praise of Ivan the Terrible's siege of Kazan. Grigoriy comes here and runs away in fear of arrest.
Varlaam sings "So it was in the city of Kazan" in praise of Ivan the Terrible's siege of Kazan. Grigoriy comes here and runs away in fear of arrest.
Kremlin
Palace. Boris' daughter Kseniya is weeping because of her dead fiance, and her nurse
and Fyodor comfort her with humorous songs. Boris suffers extreme anxiety and
psychological pain when the fiancé of his daughter died, the nobles plan revolution,
and the people turn their backs due to the famine and pestilence. In addition,
he agonizes for killing the prince of previous king.
At
this time, Prince Shuysky arrives and reports that "the pretender Dmitriy
is trying to attack Moscow with the Polish army," and once again portrays
the dead prince, Boris sees Dmitriy in the hallucinations and creates a mad scene.
In
the castle of Sandomierz in Poland, the daughter of the Polish commander, Marina,
appears. She is in love with Grigoriy, pretending Dmitriy.
To
a fake Dmitriy enthusiastically confessing love to her, Marina deliberately
stimulates Dmitriy's pride, saying, “I want to be the Emperor of Moscow rather
than love”, and makes him decide the war. In the forests near Novgorod, Varlaam
and Misail, stir up the people, saying, "Overthrow the demon Boris and
crown the orthodox prince Dmitriy."
Meanwhile,
at the Kremlin, the aristocratic congress is discussing the defense against Dmitriy's
attack. In this place, Boris enters in delirium. When Monk Pimen tells the
story of a blind man who “worshiped the grave of Prince Dmitriy and
miraculously opened his eyes,” shocked Boris calls his son to preach the basics
of his rule and dies in deep repentance.
5.
Prince Igor (Borodin)
It
is an opera in four acts with a prologue, written and composed by Alexander
Borodin. However, he completed part of the opera during his life, including the
prologue's first chorus and the “Dance of the Polovtsian Maidens”.
The
rest was jointly organized and supplemented by Rimsky-Korsakov and his pupil,
Alexander Glazunov, to become the current work.
The
story that Igor, the Duke of Novgorod, fought against the nomadic Polovtsians
and defended their territory during the founding of Russia in the 12th century fits
well with Borodin's patriotic and nationalist passion.
When
Igor leaves the cathedral after praying
to win the battle with the Polovtsians, the eclipse suddenly emerges and the
people appeal to withdraw the battle because it is an ominous sign. However,
Igor leaves his wife Yaroslavna to her brother Galitsky and goes to the battle along
with his son Vladimir.
Yaroslavna
is full of worries about her husband, but Galitsky, who wants to take the place
of the prince, tries to urge the remaining people to rebel against him while
living an extravagant and prodigal life when Igor is away. In that situation,
news is reported that Igor and his son were defeated in the battle and captured
by the Polovtsians.
Igor's
son Vladimir falls in love with the daughter of enemy Polovtsian Khan, and the
two promise love. Igor is deeply disappointed to know it. But Khan treats Igor
as a dear guest, not a prisoner, and feasts to entertain him. At that time, a Polovtsian,
baptized by Russian Orthodox, offered a secret escape to Igor.
But
Khan's daughter, who overheard the plan, begs Vladimir to take her or live with
her here. Vladimir escapes with his father, but is eventually caught and
marries Khan's daughter, and Igor succeeds in his escape and arrives at his
castle. Sorrowful Yaroslavna recognizes him coming on a horse from afar and
greets Igor, and the two appear before the cheering people.
You can
listen to all the arias selected in this course from following YouTube link.
1.
Signor, deh, non partire!, L'incoronazione di Poppea (Monteverdi)
2.
V'adoro pupille, Giulio Cesare in Egitto (Handel)
3.
Qui la voce sua soave, I Puritani (Bellini)
4.
Ukh! tyazhelo! Day dukh perevedu, Boris Godunov, (Mussorgsky)
5.
Polovtsian Dances, Prince Igor (Borodin)
Next week,
I will lecture 6th "Opera" course as my 40th lecture.
Thank you.
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