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Operas
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The Fiery Angel (Russian: Огненный ангел — Ognenny angel in transliteration) is an opera in five acts by Sergei Prokofiev to a Russian libretto by the composer, based on the novel The Fiery Angel (1908) by Valery Bryusov.
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Composition and Performance History
Prokofiev encountered Bryusov's novel, during his first visit to the United States, (which was around 1918) and he soon (1919) began sketches for an opera. In 1921, the work was well under way. In March 1922, Prokofiev moved to the town of Ettal in Bavaria, Germany, where he worked on the opera. A piano score was completed a couple of years later, but no orchestration had been worked on. In 1926 Bruno Walter accepted the work for the Städtische Oper. The opera was completed in August 1927, [1][2] too late for the season. Walter cancelled the production. That year Sergei Koussevitzky conducted part of the second act, but the reception was poor.
In 1930, during Prokofiev's new tour of America Giulio Gatti-Casazza of the Metropolitan Opera suggested staging Fiery Angel, but this did not go ahead.
In all, Prokofiev had great trouble staging this opera. Numerous attempts to do so failed. Various reasons have been suggested for each different case, such as Prokofiev allegedly failing to meet deadlines, because the work's peculiar nature estranged people, poor visual action. [3]
Disappointed by its failure but determined to preserve the fruits of his labor, Prokofiev recycled the music into his Symphony No. 3, and extracted some of it into a vocal suite, his opus 37b. Since his death the opera has had better luck, but is still not widely performed.
In a concert setting, the opera was first given on 25 November 1954 at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris. The first staged performance was given on 14 September 1955 at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice. The opera was first staged in the United States at the New York City Opera on 24 September 1965.
Synopsis
The full title of Bryusov's novel gives a good idea of the substance of the opera:
- The Fiery Angel; or, a True Story in which is related of the Devil, not once but often appearing in the Image of a Spirit of Light to a Maiden and seducing her to Various and Many Sinful Deeds, of Ungodly Practices of Magic, Alchymy, Astrology, the Cabalistical Sciences and Necromancy, of the Trial of the Said Maiden under the Presidency of His Eminence the Archbishop of Trier, as well as of Encounters and Discourses with the Knight and thrice Doctor Agrippa of Nettesheim, and with Doctor Faustus, composed by an Eyewitness.
Set in sixteenth-century Germany, the story concerns a young woman named Renata who has fallen in love with a "fiery angel" whom she believes appeared to her during her childhood. She later identifies the "angel" with one Count Heinrich, who takes her as his mistress but then abandons her. She enlists the knight-errant Ruprecht in her efforts to track down her "angel". Though she believes her motives are holy, the presence of Faust, Mephistopheles and assorted demons in the story suggests otherwise. Her obsessive quest leads her and the loyal, lovestruck Ruprecht deep into the realms of the occult. After many bizarre adventures, Ruprecht emerges unscathed, but Renata is condemned by the Inquisition to a fiery death at the stake.
Analysis
The opera treats the dark arts in a largely sarcastic and humorous manner. The music is dark and imposing, and the singing, especially that of Renata, is chillingly histrionic.
Selected recordings
There are only three recordings of The Fiery Angel in existence.
- The first was recorded in 1957, conducted by Charles Bruck with the Orchestra of the Paris Opera. The opera was performed in French with Xavier Duprez and Jane Rhodes in the leading roles.
- The first Russian-language recording was released in 1990, conducted by Prokofiev specialist Neeme Järvi with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, starring Nadine Secunde and Siegfried Lorenz as Renata and Ruprecht with Bryn Terfel, Heinz Zednik and Kurt Moll in Supporting roles.
- Valery Gergiev, who has recorded a wide array of Russian operas with the Kirov Opera, released a recording taped from a series of performances at the Kirov opera, with Sergei Leiferkus and Galina Gorchakova as Ruprecht and Renata.
References
- ^ Phillip Huscher. "Symphony No. 3 in C Minor, Op. 44 Program Notes". Chicago Symphony Orchestra. http://www.cso.org/main.taf?p=5,5,6,1. Retrieved 2008-07-06.
- ^ McAllister, Rita (August 1970). "Natural and Supernatural in 'The Fiery Angel'". The Musical Times 111 (1530): 785–789. doi:. http://www.jstor.org/pss/955299. Retrieved 2008-07-06.
- ^ Morrison, Simon (2002). "Introduction". Russian Opera and the Symbolist Movement. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. ISBN 0520229436. http://www.ucpress.edu/books/pages/9385/9385.intro.php. Retrieved 2008-07-06. "The Fiery Angel was not staged in Prokofiev's lifetime, the principal reason being the paucity of visual action"
Sources
- Frolova-Walker, Marina (2005). "11. Russian opera; The retrieval of the human element: Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk and The Fiery Angel". in Mervyn Cooke. The Cambridge Companion to Twentieth-Century Opera. London: Cambridge University Press. pp. 182–186. ISBN 0-521-78393-3.
- Morrison, Simon (2002). "4. Prokofiev and Mimesis". Russian Opera and the Symbolist Movement. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. pp. 242–307. ISBN 0-520-22943-6.
- "Sergei Prokofiev: Dnevik 1907-1933". http://www.sprkfv.net/journal/three10/dnevnik2.html. Retrieved 2008-07-06.
- van Rijen, Onno. "Prokofiev Works". http://home.wanadoo.nl/ovar/prokwork.htm. Retrieved 2008-06-22.
External links
- The Fiery Angel, Op 37 at Prokofiev.org
- The Fiery Angel by Tony Rothman
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