|
Hob. # |
Genre |
Name |
Instruments |
Libretto |
|
28:11 |
Dramma eroicomico Heroic comedy |
Orlando Paladino |
3 Sopranos, 4 Tenors, 2 Basses & Chorus 1 Flute, 2 Oboes, 2 Bassoons, 2 Horns or Trumpets, Timpani, Strings, Continuo |
Nunzio Porta after C.F. Badini from a story by Ludvico Ariosto |
It is a great pity to see the literary gems of the past essentially holding second or worse place to the great amount of schlock which masquerades as literature today. The chain reaction from this, which begins with such arcane happenings as epics by Ariosto being virtually forgotten, thus Haydn's Orlando paladino or Vivaldi's Orlando furioso being declared ridiculous because people don't get it, then the final step: being robbed of our great cultural heritage. Ironically, the certainly less-sophisticated-than-us opera-goers of the 16th to 18th centuries got it perfectly well, and found it hilarious. Why else would Vivaldi have composed three versions of the story, or Haydn's version be his by-far-most-popular opera in his lifetime?
In the early 16th century, at the time of Ariosto, chivalry still existed. Knights in armor, the whole thing. With a history dating back to Charlemagne and a huge body of art and literature grown up around them. And while Ariosto's commission was to write some history for his patron D'Este family, the end result, an epic poem in forty-two cantos entitled Orlando furioso might seem like just another kin to Tales of King Arthur, in fact it is a 1700+ page sendup of the whole knight-in-shining-armor scene which makes Monty Python and the Holy Grail pale in comparison. And the literate public at the time, ranging from Queen Elizabeth I, who ordered a translation made forthwith, to Edmund Spenser, who used it as a formal model for The Faerie Queene, and then forward to the many dozens of paintings, operas and plays based on the plethora of story lines available, couldn't get enough of it. Ultimately, it would have been virtually impossible for an educated opera-goer of 1782 to not know the story and all of its associated ironies, sarcasms, allegories and fantasies. Which puts them miles ahead of us, I'm afraid.
We saw, in 1780, that on their trip south, the Russian heir apparent, Prince Paul, and his wife, Maria Fyodorovna, stopped in Vienna and there became acquainted with Prince Nicholas and Haydn. Now, in late 1782 and on their way back home, the Royals were scheduled to stop in Eszterháza and visit the by-now-nearly-completed palace, already a tourist Mecca. On the schedule for the opera house in late 1782 was proposed to be Pietro Guglielmi's setting of a libretto by Carlo Francesco Badini, none other than Orlando paladino! This opera had been set in 1771, and was, by now, an old standard. Carlo Francesco Badini will one day play another role in Haydn's saga, when we meet him again in London in 1791, where he will write the libretto for Haydn's last opera, L'anima del Filosofo.
Haydn wasn't scheduled to write an opera this year, but clearly it wouldn't do to present such old fare to the future Czar and Czarina, and so instead of a touchup, and an insertion aria or two, Haydn wrote a whole new opera! And quite an opera it is, too. Among other luxuries, it has nine soloist roles! Not bad for a little country castle. Not to mention a chorus of shepherds, shepherdesses, specters, savages and Saracens! In the event, the Royal couple had to give Eszterháza a miss, but the new opera was performed anyway, on schedule, on Nicholas' Name Day. And music history received the benefits of their thwarted plans.
Let's take a look at this famous and convoluted plot then. After reviewing the several synopses which I have or could find, I would be hard-pressed to surpass this one, which appears in Wikipedia, possibly (confusingly) credited to the Viking Opera Guide. It certainly serves the purpose here:
|
Role |
Voice type |
|
Alcina, a sorceress |
soprano |
|
Angelica, Queen of Cathay |
soprano |
|
Caronte (Charon), ferryman to the underworld |
bass |
|
Eurilla, a shepherdess |
soprano |
|
Licone, a shepherd |
tenor |
|
Medoro, in love with Angelica |
tenor |
|
Orlando, Paladin of France |
tenor |
|
Pasquale, Orlando's squire |
tenor |
|
Rodomonte, King of Barbary |
bass |
Act I
Scene 1 - A mountainous landscape
The shepherdess Eurilla and her father Licone are alarmed by the appearance of a threatening knight, searching for Angelica and Medoro. Eurilla tells him they have taken refuge in the nearby castle. The knight reveals himself as Rodomonte, King of Barbary, infatuated with Angelica and intent on protecting her from Orlando's jealousy.
Scene 2 - Angelica's tower
Angelica laments that she has to live in hiding to avoid Orlando's mad frenzy. She summons the sorceress Alcina, who offers her protection. Medoro now enters with the unwelcome news that Orlando and his squire Pasquale have been sighted nearby but he is unsure whether to stay or escape.
Scene 3 - A wood
Pasquale is discovered by Rodomonte, who proceeds to challenge him, but is distracted by Eurilla, who says that Orlando is nearby looking for him. Alone with Eurilla, Pasquale explains that his life of adventure is blighted by a constant lack of food (and love).
Scene 4 - A garden with a fountain
Medoro swears his fidelity to Angelica but despite her protests suggests that for her own safety he should leave her for a time. When they have gone, Orlando appears, cursing the obsession that drives him on, convinced that Medoro is the only obstacle to the fulfilment of his love. He sees that Medoro has carved Angelica's name on every tree in the garden and smashes down the trees and fountain.
Scene 5 - A grove
The braggart Rodomonte is still in pursuit of Orlando and narrowly misses him when he arrives to interrogate Eurilla on the whereabouts of Medoro.
Scene 6 - A delightful garden
Angelica's fearful premonitions are interrupted by Pasquale and Eurilla, who warn her of Orlando's approach. Rodomonte joins them, still eager to fight Orlando, and then the peace-loving Medoro, in fear of Orlando's prowess enters. Alcina appears and reassures the lovers, while warning Rodomonte that he cannot defeat Orlando. Orlando bursts in raving, but Alcina magically immobilizes him and imprisons him in an iron cage.
Act II
Scene 1 - A grove
Orlando has been freed from the cage, but not from his madness. Rodomonte is once more about to attack him, but when Eurilla brings news that Medoro and Angelica have fled, Orlando dashes off in pursuit.
Scene 2 - A wide plain by the sea
Medoro seeks refuge by the sea, and at Eurilla's suggestion, conceals himself in a grotto, asking her to tell Angelica of his unhappy fate. Eurilla and Pasquale discover their love for one another as she invites him to follow her to a castle. Angelica laments her suffering. Alcina plans to resolve the lovers' difficulties. As Angelica is about the throw herself into the sea in despair, Alcina's magic transports her to Medoro's presence and they re-affirm their love. They are on the point of seeking a new refuge when Orlando appears, but Alcina intervenes again to allow the lovers to escape. Orlando is distracted by the sudden appearance of two sea-monsters.
Scene 3 - A room in the castle
Pasquale and Eurilla exchange more endearments. Rodomonte enters with Alcina, who invites all to her magic grotto.
Scene 4 - Alcina's enchanted cave
Orlando and Pasquale arrive in search of Alcina, and the paladin furiously insults the sorceress for protecting Medoro. She responds by turning him to stone. Angelica, Medoro, Eurilla and Rodomonte enter, marveling at this sight. Alcina restores Orlando to his human state, but his frenzy is unabated. As Alcina retires to the back of the cave Orlando pursues her and the rock closes in behind him.
Act III
Scene 1 - The Underworld, by the river Lethe, the Elysian Fields beyond
Charon, the infernal ferryman, watches over the sleeping Orlando. Alcina commands him to wash away Orlando's madness with water from the river of forgetfulness, and Orlando wakens confused.
Scene 2 - A room in the castle
While discussing their marriage, Eurilla and Pasquale are interrupted by Orlando, seeking his squire's aid.
Scene 2 - A forest
Angelica is pursued by wild savages. Medoro rushes to her assistance but is wounded. Rodomonte and Orlando engage in a duel.
Scene 3 - A courtyard
Angelica is delirious, believing that Medoro is dead. Alcina assures her that this is not so, but that he is healed of his wounds. Rodomonte and Orlando enter together, now comrades. The waters of Lethe have blanked from Orlando's mind both his love for Angelica and his hatred of Medoro. Angelica and Medoro can now love one another without fear, Pasquale and Eurilla are united, and Orlando may go in search of fresh deeds of valor.
This all looks pretty straightforward, until one analyzes the actions of the characters and wonders at their motivations. Which brings us back to where I started out. Badini/Porta/Haydn knew, as certainly as an artist can know such things, that all of the audience members knew essential facts a priori. Here are a few of those things:
-
Poor Angelica, beset by fear of Orlando, is actually the cause of his madness. Before this part of the story (which comes partly from Canto 23), we have seen this Princess of China toy with and break the hearts of many men. And when she toyed with Orlando, who truly loved her, the result was him losing his reason. We aren't told this, we are supposed to already know it!
-
Angelica is a close friend of the sorceress Alcina. Previously, Alcina attempted to do Angelica a favor by 'curing' her of her inability to fall in love. Unfortunately, Angelica was with Medoro at the time, an ineffectual man at best, and has now fallen madly in love with him. This is why Orlando is chasing her down.
-
Rodomonte is a parody of the Knight-Errant. He sees, he challenges, he defeats, he moves on. Mainly he is looking for Franks and Christians. Orlando is both. Blood and gore and guts follow wherever he leads!
-
Virtually everything in the original Ariosto story is a parody. He is totally subjective, totally iconoclastic. He uses no framework of time, space or accuracy. Although we don't see it in this part of the story, there is a flying horse, a trip to the moon (where everything that has been lost on Earth is stored), men of heroically exaggerated action and women who enslave them with sex and magic.
Just knowing these very few facts going in, and many more which you would be presumed to know in advance, changes the story from an ultimately strange, disjointed and somewhat incomprehensible knight's tale into what it actually is, an outrageous parody of chivalry in general and the Song of Roland (= Orlando) in particular. As always, Haydn's music is fantastic and appropriate, seria where it needs to be, buffa where it can be. There are catalog arias, dry recitatives, accompanied recitatives, fabulous coloratura arias, even some harrowing falsetto for a tenor. It must have taxed the resources of the Eszterháza opera house to the limit!
I know I spend an inordinate amount of time bewailing the lack of appreciation for Haydn's operas. But people heedlessly criticize them because;
a> they don't understand the context, thus they must be junk, and
b> they aren't Mozart, thus they must be junk.
In fact, as so often in the field of art, the fault lies in the critics far more than in the art. If you have time to read even a brief summary of Ariosto, and some critiques of his work, you will be amazed at just how fine this opera suddenly becomes!
Next time, we will see what 1783 has on offer.
Thanks for reading!