How are
you?
Following
the last week, I am going to start my 40th 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 “Revenge”, which were introduced in “The 40th
ACJ Music Academy” on March 26, 2016.
1.
Norma (Bellini)
2.
Il Trovatore (Verdi)
3.
Carmen (Bizet)
4.
Cavalleria Rusticana (Mascagni)
5.
Pagliacci (Leoncavallo)
1.
Norma (Bellini)
This
is a two-act opera by Vincenzo Bellini, with libretto by Felice Romani based on
the play “Norma, ou L'infanticide (Norma, or The Infanticide)” by Alexandre
Soumet. This opera is considered one of the representative “bel canto” operas.
However, until the twentieth century, the opera was almost forgotten, and it
became popular again after Maria Callas took over the title role of the opera.
Norma
is the High-priestess of the Druids, the ancient Celtic mystics who believes in
the immortality of the soul. She fell in love with the Roman proconsul in Gaul,
Pollione, the occupying army, broke the vows of chastity as a priestess, gave birth
to two children and secretly raises them in the hands of a maid. However, Pollione
no longer loves Norma, and falls in love with a younger priestess Adalgisa.
While the Druids are waiting for a divine message to fight with Rome, Norma,
who does not want to fight with Rome, begs the goddess of the moon for peace. However,
when Norma knew Pollione's betrayal, she is resentful and gives a divine
message to the Druids, and attempts to arrest Pollione, who sneaked into the
house to take the young priestess, and make him a sacrifice to pray for the
victory of the war. Norma wants to burn the priestess with Pollione by accusing
her who violated the vows of purity and desecrated the sanctuary. However, at
the last moment, she speaks her name instead of the name of the young priestess
and heads for the flames. Inspired by the courage and sacrifice, Pollione again
feels a hot love for Norma, asks for forgiveness, holds her hand, and goes to the
flames together.
2.
Il Trovatore (Verdi)
It
is a four-act opera by Giuseppe Verdi with an Italian libretto by Salvadore
Cammarano and Leone Emanuele Badare based on the play “El trovador (1836)” by
Antonio García Gutiérrez, who was a Spanish Romantic dramatist.
The
historical background was in the early 15th century, when civil war was fierce
over the succession of the throne in Spain. Between Leonora, a noble lady, who
serves as a lady-in-waiting to the Princess, Manrico is in a rival relationship
with Count di Luna. Neither of them knows the truth but in fact, Manrico and Count
di Luna are brothers. When the father of the Count di Luna, who believed that his
youngest son was sick due to the curse of a gypsy woman, caught her and executed
by burning, the gypsy woman's daughter, Azucena, swears revenge for her mother.
Azucena, who abducted the youngest son, named him Manrico and raised him as her
son. The Count di Luna, who doesn't know that Manrico is his younger brother
and thinks that he is his rival, wants to kill Manrico. When he captured
Manrico's mother, he goes to rescue her and is arrested. Leonora sacrifices her
life to save Manrico, but he is finally executed in the hands of his older
brother, the Count di Luna. Once Manrico is dead, Azucena, the mother of
Manrico, cries, "He was your brother ... I took revenge, Oh mother!"
The Count di Luna finds out that Manrico was his brother, but it is too late.
3.
Carmen (Bizet)
It
is a four-act opera composed by Georges Bizet. The French libretto was written
by Ludovic Halévy and Henri Meilhac, based on a novella of the same title by
Prosper Mérimée.
This
is a story about a beautiful and seductive gypsy woman Carmen with a fiery
character, and today it is one of the most popular operas in the world.
Seville,
a city of Andalusia in southern Spain, where is the stage for the opera, “Carmen”,
was famous for having many gypsies and most of them worked in tobacco factories,
and Carmen was one of them.
Don
José, a soldier from the northern Basque region, who has the opposite sentiment
to the hot blood of Andalusia, falls in love with Carmen at first sight when he
sees her singing “habanera”, who came out of the factory for a break. After
many twists and turns, José lives with Carmen's gypsy group. But before long,
Carmen is fed up with him and is attracted to the star toreador Escamillo. José
pleads to Carmen “Let's start a new life”, but when she doesn't change her mind
to the end, he stabs Carmen with a knife and kills her.
4.
Cavalleria Rusticana (Mascagni)
It
is an opera in one act by Pietro Mascagni with an Italian libretto by Giovanni
Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci, adapted from the short story by Giovanni
Verga. Since 1893, it has often been performed in a so-called Cav/Pag double-bill
with Pagliacci by Ruggero Leoncavallo.
When
the protagonist Turiddu goes to the army, his lover, Lola, marries Alfio, a
carter who carries things in a wagon. In the pain of losing love, Turiddu meets
a peasant's daughter, Santuzza, and gradually gains stability and comfort. But
while Alfio goes to work, Lola seduces Turiddu and insults Santuzza who wants
to stop it. When Turiddu, obsessed with a new passion for his old lover,
forcibly kicks out Santuzza who is begging, she loses her temper with anger and
informs Alfio of Lola's betrayal. Alfio rushes to Turiddu, and asks for a duel.
Turiddu, who foresees his death, asks his mother to take care of Santuzza and
then he dies in Alfio's hands.
5.
Pagliacci (Leoncavallo)
It
is a two-act opera in a prologue, with music and libretto by Ruggero
Leoncavallo, which is his only successful opera. Since 1893, it has been frequently
performed with Cavalleria rusticana by Pietro Mascagni, a double bill known as "Cav
and Pag".
Canio, head of the troupe,
raised orphan Nedda as an actress in the troupe and made her his wife. However,
young and attractive Nedda is popular everywhere and he lives in anxiety. Tonio,
a hunchback actor from the same troupe, loves Nedda, but she refuses him because
she is in love with a young farmer, Silvio, in the town where they are staying
for a while. Tonio, beaten by Nedda with a whip and captured by anger, tells Canio
about Nedda's affair. Canio, who is filled with jealousy, grabs a knife from
the table and stabs Nedda in the stage. As she dies, she calls Silvio for his
help. Silvio attacks Canio, but Canio kills him as well.
You can
listen to all the arias selected in this course from following YouTube link.
1.
Casta Diva, Norma (Bellini)
2.
D’amor sull’ ali rosee, Il Trovatore (Verdi)
3.
L’amour est un oiseau rebelle, Carmen (Bizet)
4.
Voi lo sapete, o mamma, Cavalleria Rusticana (Mascagni)
5.
Vesti la giubba, Pagliacci (Leoncavallo)
Next week,
I will lecture 7th "Opera" course as my 41st lecture.
Thank you.
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