S t r a us s
Ar i a dnea ufNa x os
Voordemooi s t ekl as s i ekemuzi ekga j enaarKl as s i ek. nl !
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Richard Strauss
1864–1949
Ariadne auf Naxos Opera in one act with a prologue · Libretto: Hugo von Hofmannsthal
Prima Donna/Ariadne ............................................... DEBORAH VOIGT Zerbinetta................................................................... NATALIE DESSAY Composer.................................................... ANNE SOFIE VON OTTER Tenor/Bacchus ................................................................. BEN HEPPNER Major-Domo............................................................ ROMUALD PEKNY Music Master........................................................... ALBERT DOHMEN Officer............................................................. KLAUS FLORIAN VOGT Dancing Master .................................................... MICHAEL HOWARD Wig-Maker.................................................... MATTHIAS HENNEBERG Lackey.............................................................. JÜRGEN COMMICHAU Najade............................................................ CHRISTIANE HOSSFELD Dryade...................................................................... ANGELA LIEBOLD Echo ............................................................................. EVA KIRCHNER Scaramuccio ................................................................ IAN THOMPSON Harlekin....................................................................... STEPHAN GENZ Truffaldino .................................................................. SAMI LUTTINEN Brighella .................................................................. CHRISTOPH GENZ Staatskapelle Dresden Giuseppe Sinopoli
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and offers familiar ‘comfort’. The couple spars verbally until the other three ‘lovers’ reappear and, in a complex pantomime, all four men variously lay siege to her. Eventually she runs off with Harlekin, to the others’ dismay. Najade, Dryade and Echo rush on to announce the arrival of Bacchus and detail his divine ancestry, not to mention his recent involvement with the sorceress Circe. Ariadne emerges from her grotto to hear Bacchus’ offstage railing against Circe, whom he is evidently expecting to re-encounter. Ariadne, equally, is convinced that she is hearing the longed-for messenger of death, and welcomes him when he finally enters. In a long, never-resolved conflict of cross-purposes and confused identities, Bacchus is overwhelmed by Ariadne’s beauty, even though he thinks she is another sorceress, whilst she is concerned only with the details of her presumably imminent deathtransformation. Aflame with passion, Bacchus will hear no more of dying: he is, after all, a god, and the heavens themselves will die before he will let anything happen to her. But as the sky fills with stars, she is still as certain that she is going to her death with him, as he is that he is bewitched by her. The scene slowly changes, and Ariadne’s cave disappears, symbolising transformation. As the lovers are increasingly hidden from sight by a descending canopy, Zerbinetta appears from the wings with her own interpretation of events: men turn up like gods and women fall for it. © Stephen Jay-Taylor, 2009 Cover image: Evelyn DeMorgan: Ariadne in Naxos, 1877 Photo: © The De Morgan Centre, London/The Bridgeman Art Library
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completely disarms the susceptible boy. As the Music Master tells everyone to take their places onstage, the Composer is moved to an impassioned outburst praising music as the ‘holiest’ art of all. But his mood is shattered by a shrill whistle from Zerbinetta summoning her troupe, and he is once again plunged into dejection. THE OPERA A grotto on the island of Naxos. After an overture depicting Ariadne’s emotional torment, the curtain rises on her cave watched over by three nymphs – Najade, Dryade and Echo – who remark on her inconsolability. Ariadne stirs, lamenting her fate and detested life, whilst Zerbinetta and company consider how hard it will be to cheer her up. Ignoring them completely, Ariadne sings of the perfect union she once shared with Theseus, who has now peremptorily abandoned her, and how she longs only for the blessed relief that death itself will bring. Zerbinetta instructs Harlekin to offer comfort, but there is no response from Ariadne, and the commedia troupe is left to muse on their thankless task. Ariadne reflects on the desirability of death, looks forward to greeting Hermes, its messenger, and the process of readying herself. The four male characters of Zerbinetta’s troupe – Harlekin, Scaramuccio, Truffaldin and Brighella – begin dancing as a certain cure for Ariadne’s melancholy, though Zerbinetta sees clearly that it isn’t working.
Compact Disc 1 Prologue 1 Overture (Orchestra) 2 Mein Herr Haushofmeister! (Music Master/Major-Domo/Lackey/Officer/Composer) 3 Du allmächtiger Gott! (Composer/Tenor/Wig-Maker/Zerbinetta/ Prima Donna/Music Master/Dancing Master) 4 Hast ein Stückerl Notenpapier? (Composer/Zerbinetta/ Prima Donna/Dancing Master/Lackey) 5 Ist schon geschehn. Wir sind bereit (Music Master/Major-Domo/ Prima Donna/Dancing Master/Tenor/Zerbinetta/Composer) 6 Nein, Herr, so kommt es nicht (Composer/Zerbinetta/Music Master) 7 Ein Augenblick ist wenig (Zerbinetta/Composer/Music Master/Prima Donna) 8 Sei’n wir wieder gut…Musik ist eine heilige Kunst (Composer/Music Master)
71’12
2’19 5’56 6’12 3’43 8’25 5’18 5’06 3’02
CD 2 She decides on a woman-to-woman approach, attempting to cheer Ariadne – who soon stalks off – by recounting her extensive sexual history of being conquered by men who thought they were gods, which she would find deplorable if it hadn’t all been quite so delicious. Harlekin bounces on to commiserate with Zerbinetta’s forlorn efforts,
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Opera Overture (Orchestra) Schläft sie? (Najade/Dryade/Echo/Ariadne) Wo war ich? Tot? (Ariadne/Echo/Harlekin/Zerbinetta/Truffaldino) Ein Schönes war, hieß Theseus-Ariadne (Ariadne/Najade/Dryade/ Echo/Harlekin/Zerbinetta/Truffaldino/Scaramuccio) 13 Lieben, Hassen, Hoffen, Zagen (Harlekin/Echo/Zerbinetta) 14 Es gibt ein Reich (Ariadne) 15 Die Dame gibt mit trübem Sinn…Wie sie sich schwingen (Harlekin/Scaramuccio/Brighella/Truffaldino/Zerbinetta) 9 10 11 12
Compact Disc 2 1 Größmächtige Prinzessin (Zerbinetta) 2 Hübsch gepredigt! Aber tauben Ohren!…Eine Störrische zu trösten (Harlekin/Zerbinetta/Brighella/Scaramuccio/Truffaldino) 3 Ein schönes Wunder! (Dryade/Najade/Echo) 4 Circe, kannst du mich hören? (Bacchus/Ariadne/Najade/Dryade/Echo) 5 Theseus! Nein! Nein! (Ariadne/Bacchus) 6 Das waren Zauberwörte (Ariadne/Bacchus) 7 Gibt es kein Hinüber? (Ariadne/Bacchus/Najade/Dryade/Echo/Zerbinetta)
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3’44 3’53 3’16 7’00 2’16 6’02 5’00
50’39 11’10 8’01 3’40 6’08 10’35 3’14 7’51
about it, but is forestalled by the bald singer emerging from his dressing-room, trading insults with the wig-master. Zerbinetta emerges en dishabille with an officer, complaining that her troupe’s comedy will wither after such a deadly bore as Ariadne auf Naxos. The Prima Donna appears, imperiously demanding to speak to the Count. The Composer enquires about Zerbinetta, and when he discovers the reason for the commedia dell’arte troupe’s presence, he rails at the philistinism of both patrons and punters alike. Calming down, he recalls his recent flash of inspiration, and then has another. Zerbinetta is joined by her commedia colleagues who play her four lovers. As the Music Master tries to pacify the outraged Prima Donna, Zerbinetta’s Dancing Master sees the sense in going on after the opera, if only in order to provide relief. But the Music Master is adamant: Ariadne is all anyone will remember. The Major Domo reappears and drops a bombshell: the opera seria and the commedia dell’arte must now be performed simultaneously. The protestations of both troupes are dismissed: the fireworks are more important. The Dancing Master, rather taken with the idea, tries in vain to convince the Composer to consent, and the Music Master reminds his pupil of the as-yet unpaid fee on which he is relying. The Dancing Master proposes cuts: better half an opera-seria than none at all. He sets him to work, whilst extolling Zerbinetta’s genius for improvisation which will smooth over any difficulties in performance. The Tenor and the Prima Donna respectively approach the Composer and the Music Master with a view to reducing the other’s roles, whilst the Dancing Master gives a droll resumé of the opera seria’s plot to Zerbinetta. The Composer reproaches her cynical view of tragic passion: Ariadne is the one woman who is faithful unto death. But Zerbinetta is unmoved: in her opinion all Ariadne needs is a new lover. Zerbinetta crudely encapsulates the opera seria’s plot to her ‘four lovers’, but the Composer counters with his own vision of fidelity, prompting Zerbinetta to engage in some tactical flirtation of the ‘I’m just a simple showgirl’ variety that
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and eventually did the rounds, it remained for decades a relative rarity, and really only came into the general repertory from the 1960s onwards. Even now, when it is to be heard frequently in all the world’s major houses, it is clear that its popularity is due almost entirely to the jaw-dropping virtuoso display-piece Grossmächtige Prinzessin with which Zerbinetta punctures Ariadne’s tragic pretensions, a state of affairs that would of course horrify the fastidious Hofmannsthal, but would equally afford Strauss the well-merited opportunity of saying ‘I told you so !’ SYNOPSIS The action takes place in the house of the richest man in Vienna, in a salon readied for stage performance. CD 1 THE PROLOGUE There is a brief prelude setting out the forthcoming clash between high and low forms of musical entertainment, coupled with the bustle of backstage preparations. As the curtain rises, the composer’s teacher, the Music Master, rushes on in pursuit of the Major-Domo. The latter – a speaking role – confirms the shocking rumour that Ariadne auf Naxos is to be followed by a lowbrow sex-farce; and that more important than either will be the fireworks, scheduled for 9 o’clock sharp. A lackey ushers on an officer keen to pay court to Zerbinetta, who, it transpires, is already ‘occupied’. The Composer enters and asks the lackey to find the string players for a rehearsal, but is treated with insolence. He decides to speak to his Prima Donna who is to sing the role of Ariadne, but knocks at Zerbinetta’s dressing-room door by mistake. Getting no reply, he hurls abuse at the lackey, who merely exits sniggering. Suddenly, melodic inspiration strikes, and the Composer decides to instruct the tenor performing Bacchus
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Ariadne auf Naxos Following the stupendously successful premiere of Der Rosenkavalier in January 1911, Strauss, and in particular his librettist, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, decided it would be fitting to give some kind of thank-offering to Max Reinhardt, the man who had rescued the opera’s potentially dull staging from theatrical routine and had breathed dramatic life into all the singers behind the back of the solemnly incompetent, but officially credited, house producer. Since Reinhardt’s Kleines Theater in Berlin – where Strauss had seen both Oscar Wilde’s Salomé and Hofmannsthal’s adaptation of Sophocles’ Elektra in 1903 – could accommodate no more than thirty orchestral players in a makeshift pit to act as accompaniment to stage dramas, the form of the intended offering was effectively predetermined from the outset: a theatrical piece by Hofmannsthal, with incidental music by Strauss, all for Reinhardt to give his famous ‘touch’. Hofmannsthal decided to rework one of the many plays by Molière he had read in connection with creating the world of Der Rosenkavalier, and crafted a suitably abridged and doctored version of the principal narrative of Le bourgeois gentilhomme – a succession of cross-cultural confrontations between the stupid-but-newly-rich M. Jourdain and a variety of supercilious, money-grubbing professionals all of whom he naively interrogates – retitled Der Burger als Edelmann. Strauss would write some incidental music that in the French original had been provided by Lully, and the composer would finally be permitted to extend himself in a new finale, jettisoning Moliere’s cod-Turkish ceremony and Lully’s Ballet des Nations, in favour of a smallscale operatic entertainment, Ariadne auf Naxos. But, as with all Strauss’ post Elektra collaborations with the poet, it became progressively more complicated as the project developed, until the two men were barely on speaking terms, with poor Strauss alternating between bemusement, distaste and
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plain incomprehension at the labyrinthine twists and turns Hofmannsthal’s fecund but preposterously high-flown imagination took. Strauss remained adamant, however, about one thing, notwithstanding Hofmannsthal’s spinsterish horror: the star of the opera was going to be the coquettish, low-art figure of Zerbinetta, for whom he would single-handedly revive the quaint old coloratura tradition in a fearsomely difficult display-piece; high-art Ariadne’s labyrinthine process of psychic transformation at the hands of a similarly transitional-but-uncomprehending Bacchus, which was Hofmannsthal’s intended ‘message’, would simply have to take its chances. Even working with the – by Strauss’ standards – minuscule forces of thirty-seven orchestral players proved to be beyond Reinhardt’s theatre’s capacity and the première was instead entrusted to the smaller of Stuttgart’s two opera houses, on 25th October 1912, with Maria Jeritza in the title-role (instead of Strauss’ hoped-for Emmy Destinn) and the astonishing Margarethe Siems – the first Chrysothemis and Marschallin ! – as Zerbinetta (instead of the intended Frieda Hempel). Strauss himself was quick to identify the reasons for the work’s tepid reception: the play-going audience there for Hofmannsthal’s reworking of the Molière had little interest in Strauss’s opera; and the opera-audience had absolutely no desire to sit through over two hours of spoken drama first. Such hybrids are always fascinating – think of Tom Stoppard’s and André Previn’s Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, originally a collaboration between the London Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Shakespeare Company – but they are also hopelessly impractical and ruinously expensive to mount. Notwithstanding two or three high-profile stagings elsewhere in Germany, and a triumphantly successful one in London in May 1913, conducted by Thomas Beecham, Ariadne Mark I found little favour as a theatrical experiment and failed to enter the repertoire. Hofmannsthal was privately mortified, and within ten weeks of the première was writing to Strauss with a plan to sever the links between play and opera by replacing the Molière with a new operatic prologue that would explain the simultaneous presence
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of a commedia dell’arte troupe and an opera company forced to perform their respective pieces concurrently. The setting would change from Baroque Paris to NeoClassical Vienna, M. Jourdain vanishing in favour of some unnamed philistine moneybags. The prologue would feature a completely new character, that of the supposed composer of the opera-proper, whose unworldly absorption in the world of art and music would stand in the sharpest possible contrast to the matter-of-fact hirelings and money-grubbers around him. There might even be room for a little flirtation between the two worlds…. Strauss, however, whose doubts about the project had been proved right, refused to rise to the bait, and instead insisted on plunging straight into the next joint project, the monumental Die Frau ohne Schatten. But this too was fated from the outset, and though Strauss would pester Hofmannsthal for the finished libretto of their ‘child of sorrow’ for well over two years, it was not forthcoming; and, against the background of the First World War – in which, though past conscription age, Hofmannsthal served as a diplomatic courier for the Austrian government – work on Fr’o’Sch, as Strauss called it, ground to a halt. It was only in 1916, with the first two acts of the magnum opus already composed at white heat in 1914 but still no sign of the text of Act III, that an exasperated Strauss, having also finished Eine Alpensinfonie and with his lifelong workaholic’s desperate need to write something, anything, agreed to the old plan to revise Ariadne. The new forty-minute prologue was dashed off in little more than a few weeks, notwithstanding Hofmannsthal’s utter disgust at discovering that Strauss was setting the composer as a trouser role, in the manner of Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier. The new première took place at the Vienna Court – now State – Opera House on 4th October 1916, with Lotte Lehmann (deputising for an indisposed Marie GutheilSchoder) securing a triumph as the Composer, thus inaugurating her decades-long career as Strauss’ favourite soprano. Though the work was better received this time,
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