English - Gesualdo (Synopsis)

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5.10.2010

9:00 Uhr

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Gesualdo

gesualdo

Uhr aus weisser Hightech-Keramik und 18 Kt Weissgold. 130 Diamanten im Baguette-Schliff (≈ 6,4 Kt), 12 Baguetteindexe aus schwarzer Hightech-Keramik. Mechanisches Uhrwerk mit automatischem Aufzug. Gangreserve 42 Stunden.

opernhaus zürich Spielzeit 2010/11

www.chanel.com

Marc-André Dalbavie

opernhaus zürich


opernhaus zürich

Background Carlo Gesualdo, Prince of Venosa, caught his first wife Maria d’Avaloswith her lover Don Fabrizio Carafa in flagrante and killed the pair in the Palazzo San Severo, his residence in Naples, after which he withdrew to Castle Gesualdo. Since he had to be prepared for an act of revenge, Gesualdo had all the trees in the area felled so as to be able to see anyone approaching froma great distance away. Years later he married Eleonora d’Este, a member of a powerful family. She bore him a son, Alfonsino; however, this child died before his second birthday. The Prince, known throughout Italy for his madrigal compositions and the murder in equal measure, has devoted himself entirely to music ever since .

Act One Francesca, a pleasant girl from Naples who is to enter the Princess’s service, arrives at Castle Gesualdo. She is received by the manservant Pietro. The Abbé, Gesualdo’s chaplain, and the musician Muzio Effrem, who is also in Gesualdo’s service, foresee that Francesca’s Mediterranean appearance will not fail to have its effect on the Prince. – For Eleonora, Francesca’s life-affirming, direct manner is intolerable. – When Gesualdo asks the Abbé about the new chambermaid, the latter asks the Prince to accompany him to mass in the chapel, where the Princess is waiting for him. Gesualdo retorts that he has his ownway of doing penance. – Gesualdo has to think of his dead son, Alfonsino, whose voice he frequently hears. In this mood, he is surprised by Francesca. During a conversation about singing, they come closer to each other; Gesualdo forces the girl to have intercourse with him. Pietro appears with Castelvietro, another manservant, in order to whip his master.


Act Two Spring has arrived, and Eleonora asks Gesualdo to allow her to travel to Modena to visit her brother, Cardinal Alessandro d’Este. When the Prince stubbornly refuses to grant his permission, the Princess accuses her husband’s depraved way of life for being partially to blame for their child’s death. – Polissena, wife of Emmanuele, Gesualdo’s son by his first marriage, announces to the Prince that she is pregnant. Gesualdo senses that his rule is drawing to an end. – Muzio Effrem brings the Prince the proofs of the Seventh Book of Madrigals; Gesualdo, however, is no longer interested in his music. Instead, he seeks consolation with Francesca, and involves Muzio in the erotic goings-on. – Emmanuele, whom the Prince has sent on a trip throughout his estates to supervise his stewards, has returned to the castle and is asking to speak to his father. He does not accept Pietro’s refusal. Emmanuele bemoans his failed life and accuses Gesualdo of hismother’s murder. While Gesualdo is whipped by Pietro and Castelvietro, he returns in his thoughts to the night of the murder in Naples.

Act Three The summer is drawing to a close. Eleonora is talking to Polissena about the imminent birth of her child, Gesualdo’s potential heir. Francesca also intrudes in the conversation. – The villagers react to the news of Polissena’s pregnancy in their ownway. – Pietro wants to announce Emmanuele to the Prince, but Gesualdo insists on having himself whipped first; this daily procedure serves not only as a penance, but also to combat digestive problems that have afflicted him for years. – Emmanuele, who has been ailing for some time, informs his father that his state of health has deteriorated rapidly. Prompted by Polissena’s suspicion that he has been poisoned by the water from the well, he asks the Prince for permission to go to the north. Gesualdo also refuses to allow him to travel. Instead he suggests sending for doctors. – The Abbé offers Francesca money to leave Castle Gesualdo, but she senses that the Prince will soon die and is unwilling to leave him alone. – Eleonora asks the Abbé for his consolation; the latter informs her that he will soon give Emmanuele extreme unction. – Polissena and Eleonora try to reassure the mortally ill Emmanuele. – Eleonora once again presses her husband to allow her to travel to Modena together with Emmanuele and Polissena – in vain. – The Abbé brings the news of Emmanuele’s death. While Gesualdo gazes out over the countryside he contemplates his own death, for which he now yearns more than ever.


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