OVATIONS! 2011/12

Musical excerpts from the Kentucky Opera 2011/12 Ovations Magazine.

Learn more and listent to excerpts from this season performance of Carmen.

WHO’S WHO (The Merry Widow)

HANNA GLAWARI – the widow of the title, whether or not she is merry depends on the outcome of the story; since it is operetta, we know it’s a happy ending. Hanna had been recently widowed leaving her a very wealthy woman. But her money needs to stay in Pontevedro (her fictitious home country) or the country will go bankrupt. She must re-marry a Pontevedrin or all will be lost.

(Vilia)

COUNT DANILO – a cavalry lieutenant, attaché to the legation from Pontevedro and a former flame of Hanna. He is the key to Hanna’s money staying in Pontevedro but he does not want to be viewed as a fortune-hunter. Even though he loves spending time with the grisettes at Chez Maxim’s, Danilo realizes that he truly loves Hanna and they re-unite.

(I’m off to Chez Maxim’s)

VALENCIENNE (BARONESS ZETA) – the young (and a bit foolish) wife of Baron Zeta, she plays the flirt with Camille but does not succumb to his pleas to run off with him.

(I’m a highly respectable wife)

CAMILLE DE ROSILLON – an aristocratic Parisian who is in love with Valencienne and tempts her to leave her husband.

(Home)

THE MUSIC OF The Merry Widow

Lehár was a unique composer in that he also orchestrated his own scores – very unusual! His orchestral sensibilities leaned towards Debussy, Puccini and Strauss (Richard – although Johann was the master of the waltz, also not lost on Lehár). And while many operetta orchestras were smaller in size than the traditional symphonic orchestra, Lehár utilized the full complement in his lush orchestrations. But he was also sensitive to the sounds of the violin as a solo instrument (he was an excellent violinist) and often used the solo violin in combination with other instruments to heighten his love-themed waltzes.

(THE MERRY WIDOW waltz).

Lehár also incorporated local color into his compositions through dance numbers; for THE MERRY WIDOW he utilized the Slavic dances like the mazurka, polonaise and kolo to represent the Pontevedrian characters while the Parisians were represented by the galop and the can-can. And while the waltz is very much Viennese, Lehár’s take was more sensuous and tender than previous incarnations. And since Lehár also had an extensive background as a military band conductor, military marches also play a role in defining his characters with military ties; Danilo is often preceded by a military march.

(Silly Silly cavalier)

WHO’S WHO (The Marriage of Figaro - OVATIONS! page 4)

FIGARO – hero of The Barber of Seville who is now the valet to Count Almaviva.  As the title implies, he is scheduled to be married to Susanna but the Count’s philandering ways threaten to get in the way.

SUSANNA – the maid to Countess Almaviva and Figaro’s intended.  She aids the Countess in her quest to win back the affections of the Count through a comedy of mistaken identities.

COUNT ALMAVIVA – also from The Barber of Seville (aka Lindoro, drunken soldier, and Don Alonso), he has since married Rosina (now Countess Almaviva) but his wandering eye falls upon Susanna.  He has since degenerated from the youthful romantic exuberant tenor of BARBER to the lecherous baritone in FIGARO.  It will take some clever maneuvering but he finds his way back to Rosina in the end.

COUNTESS ALMAVIVA (ROSINA) – the object of the Count’s affections from The Barber of Seville but is now a cast-off wife.  She longs to regain the Count’s love and does so by switching roles (and clothing) with Susanna.

CHERUBINO – an adolescent male page (played by a mezzo soprano in what is often referred to as a “pants role”) who is in love with every woman he meets.  Cherubino is often the victim of the Count’s anger as he is in the wrong place at the wrong time on more than one occasion.

MARCELLINA – Dr. Bartolo’s former middle-aged housekeeper who has hired the Doctor to represent her in a case involving Figaro.  Figaro claimed he would marry her should he default on a loan (which he did), so Marcellina insists that Figaro is obligated to marry her.  The only problem is that Marcellina is actually Figaro’s long lost mother.

DOCTOR BARTOLO – also from The Barber of Seville, Dr. Bartolo is still smarting from being thwarted by Figaro in his plans to marry Rosina. He teams up with Marcellina to stop Figaro’s wedding but discovers he’s closer to Figaro than he knows.

THE MUSIC OF The Marriage of Figaro

(The Marriage of Figaro OVATIONS! Page 12)

To understand the music in the opera, it’s important to understand the orchestra and the instrumentation available to Mozart.  So here are a few things to keep in mind. 

Opera houses in Europe were typically smaller than today’s modern houses – The Marriage of Figaro premiered at the Burgtheater in Vienna with a total seating capacity of 1175.  This means that the orchestra was a smaller size with limited instrumentation – of course many instruments had not been modified or even invented in 1786.  Woodwinds were all wood (no saxophones) – this includes flutes.  And brass instruments did not have valves and percussion only involved tympani. 

Recitatives (sung speech/dialogue that moves the story forward in between arias and ensembles) were typically accompanied by the harpsichord, still a very popular instrument even with the invention of the piano (approximately 1700).  But the piano available in 1786 was much smaller and only had one string per hammer (modern pianos have 3 strings per hammer). 

Did you know that the piano is considered a percussion instrument?  Even though it has strings, the mechanism of sound is a hammer striking the string (think dulcimer).  While the harpsichord has a plucked method of sound – quills pluck the strings – so it’s a considered a string instrument.

Now that you understand the challenges of the 18th century orchestra, it makes Mozart’s skills as a master of composition and orchestration even more impressive.  Take a moment to listen to the overture and pay homage to the composer and the musicians of the orchestra.

Perhaps the most brilliant juxtaposition of the themes is in the finale. From the off-stage chorus singing the Toreador song to the Carmen leitmotif theme underscoring Don José’s madness, Carmen’s fate is sealed and is punctuated by two thundering F#s in octaves.

Viva! Viva!