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Amadigi di Gaula

 
Music Encyclopedia: Amadigi (di Gaula)
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Opera in five acts by Handel to a libretto by Haym after A.H. de la Motte (1715, London); J.C. Bach wrote an opera on the same subject (Amadis de Gaule), in three acts to a libretto by de Vismes after P. Quinault (1779, Paris).


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Wikipedia: Amadigi di Gaula
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George Frideric Handel
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Amadigi di Gaula (HWV 11) is an opera with music by George Frideric Handel. The identity of the librettist is not known for certain. Previous consensus had been that John Jacob Heidegger was the librettist, but more recent research has indicated that that the librettist was more likely to be Giacomo Rossi, with Nicola Francesco Haym as another candidate.[1][2] In addition to Handel, André Destouches wrote an opera based on this story, and David Kimbell has compared in detail the treatments of the story by Handel and Destouches.[3] The origin of the story is a 1699 treatment of the knight-errantry romance Amadis de Gaula by Antoine Houdar de la Motte.

The opera received its first performance in London at the King's Theatre in the Haymarket on 25 May 1715. The original cast included the celebrated castrato Nicolo Grimaldi. The opera was a success and received a known minimum of 17 further performances in London through 1717, and a similar number in Hamburg from 1717–1720, with a different title, Oriana.[2] The opera then fell into neglect and was not revived until 1929 in Osnabrück and subsequently in England in 1968, by Unicorn Opera at the Abbey Hall, Abingdon.[4]

The original manuscript of Amadigi has disappeared, along with sections of the music. Only one edition of the libretto is known, dating from 1715. Two published editions of the opera exist, the Händelgesellschaft edition of 1874, and the first critical edition, by J. Merrill Knapp, which Bärenreiter published in 1971.[2] Winton Dean has examined the history of various manuscripts which contain alternative selections for the score.[5]

Contents

Roles

Role Voice type Premiere Cast, 25 May 1715
(Conductor: — )
Amadigi alto castrato Nicolo Grimaldi
Oriana soprano Anastasia Robinson
Melissa soprano Elisabetta Pilotti-Schiavonetti
Dardano alto Diana Vico
Orgando soprano (unknown)

Synopsis

Amadigi, a Paladin, and Dardano, the Prince of Thrace, are both enamoured of Oriana, the daughter of the King of the Fortunate Isles. Oriana prefers Amadigi in her affections. Also attracted to Amadigi is the sorceress Melissa, who tries to capture Amadigi's affections by various spells, pleadings and even threats. Amadigi confronts various spirits and furies, but rebuffs them at practically every turn. One particular vision at the "Fountain of True Love", however, of Oriana courting Dardano upsets Amadigi to the point that he faints. Oriana sees Amadigi prostrate, and is about to stab herself with his sword when he awakens. He immediately berates her for her apparent betrayal of him, and in his turn tries to stab himself.

Still alive, Amadigi continues to resist the advances of Melissa. Melissa then makes Dardano look like Amadigi, to deceive Oriana. Oriana follows Dardano, in the visage of Amadigi, to beg his pardon. Dardano exults in the attention of Oriana, and in an impulsive moment, challenges Amadigi to single combat. In the duel, Amadigi kills Dardano. Melissa accuses Oriana of stealing Amadigi from her, and calls upon dark spirits to assault Oriana, who resists all of Melissa's incantations.

Act III finds Amadigi and Oriana imprisoned by Melissa. The two lovers are willing to sacrifice themselves for each other. Though desiring of revenge, Melissa cannot quite yet kill Amadigi, but torments him by prolonging his confinement in chains. Amadigi and Oriana ask Melissa for mercy. Melissa summons the ghost of Dardano to assist her in her revenge, but the ghost says that the gods are predisposed to protect Amadigi and Oriana, and that their trials are nearly done. Rejected on all levels, by the gods, the underworld spirits and Amadigi, Melissa takes her own life, with one final plea to Amadigi to feel a shade of pity for her. In the manner of a deus ex machina, Orgando, uncle of Oriana and a sorcerer himself, descends from the sky in a chariot and blesses the union of Amadigi and Oriana. A dance of shepherds and shepherdesses concludes the opera.

Selected recordings

Notes

  1. ^ Dean, Winton, "Handel's Amadigi" (April 1968). The Musical Times, 109 (1502): pp. 324–327.
  2. ^ a b c Crow, Todd, Review of "Hallische Händel Ausgabe. Ser. II: Opern; Band 8: Amadigi, opera seria in tre atti" (edition prepared by J. Merrill Knapp) (June 1973). Notes (2nd Ser.), 29 (4): pp. 793–794.
  3. ^ Kimbell, David R.B., "The Amadis Operas of Destouches and Handel" (October 1968). Music & Letters, 49 (4): pp. 329–346.
  4. ^ Sadie, Stanley (ed) (1992). The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, vol. 1 ppp102-3. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-522186-2. 
  5. ^ Dean, Winton, "A New Source for Handel's Amadigi" (February 1991). Music & Letters, 72 (1): pp. 27–37.
  6. ^ Freeman-Attwood, Jonathan, "A Handelian Feast" (March 1992). The Musical Times, 133 (1789): pp. 131–132.

References

  • Dean, Winton; Knapp, J. Merrill (1987), Handel's Operas, 1704–1726, Clarendon Press, ISBN 0193152193  The first of the two volume definitive reference on the operas of Handel

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