Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
Kaufmann
An Evening
with Puccini
PROGRAMMe
Giacomo Puccini (1858 -1924)
Preludio sinfonico A - Dur
LE VILLI
Ecco la casa Torna ai felici d Prelude and La Tregenda
EDGAR
Orgia, chimera dallocchio vitreo Edgar Prelude to Act III
MANON LESCAUT
Donna non vidi mai
Intermezzo
Ah! guai a chi la tocca! No! pazzo son! Guardate!
TOSCA
E lucevan le stelle Prelude to Act III
MADAMA BUTTERFLY
Intermezzo
Dear Opera
lovers,
RENOIR:
REVERED AND REVILED
FE ATURING THE REMARK ABLE COLLECTION
OF THE BARNES FOUNDATION PHIL ADELPHIA
BELOVED IMPRESSIONIST, INFLUENTIAL MA STER
OR SELF-INDULGENT FANTA SIST? YOU DECIDE.
THE OPERAS
LE VILLI
This hybrid of opera and ballet premiered at Milans Teatro
Dal Verme on 31 May, 1884. It was Puccinis first stage
work. Set during the Middle Ages, Le Villi tells the legend of
the eponymous fairies that, upon witnessing the death of a
heartbroken soul, force the heartbreaker to dance until their
own demise. Roberto has pledged his love for Anna, but whilst
traveling away from home a siren seduces him. Annas despair at
Robertos absence proves her undoing and following her death,
her father calls on the Villi to exact their revenge. Upon hearing
the fate of his betrothed Roberto seeks forgiveness but is destined
to dance in the forest until he dies, his body lain at Annas feet.
The composer was unhappy with the first version of his opera
and revised it twice, in 1888 and again in 1892, premiering it at
Hamburg, with Gustav Mahler conducting.
EDGAR
Loosely based on Alfred de Mussets play La Coupe et les
lvres, Puccinis three-act opera premiered at La Scala on 21
April, 1889. It remained an on-going work-in-progress for the
composer (it was originally conceived in four acts) until he finally
gave up on perfecting it, even declaring the work irredeemable,
although he never blamed his librettist Ferdinand Fontana,
suggesting it was more my fault than his. The story unfolds in
medieval times and like Wagners Tannhuser, it features a knight
torn between the attractions of lustful indulgence and the appeal
of true love. Edgar leaves wanton Tigrana for innocent Fidelia,
but cannot resist his former lovers temptations. His indecision
ultimately leads to the trios undoing and it is only at the point
of her death that Edgar realises what Fidelia truly meant to him.
Orgia, chimera dall'occhio vitreo gives voice to those feelings.
MANON LESCAUT
Adapted from the 1731 novel Lhistoire du chevalier des Grieux
et de Manon Lescaut by the Abb Prvost, with a libretto penned
by no less than five writers (authorship of it was so confusing
that the title page of the original score didnt feature a writing
credit), Puccinis third opera premiered at Turins Teatro Regio
on 1 February, 1893. It was his first major success. Moving from
Amiens and Paris to Le Havre and, finally, New Orleans,Manon
Lescaut charts the emotional journey of young love, giving way
to the realities of life and how easily idealism can be dashed.
Des Grieux adores Manon, even when she elopes with the
ageing Geronte. He keeps track of her and, after upheavals and
hardship, they are together again in the new world, only to be
undone by the hardships of poverty. Donna non vidi mai captures
the impulsiveness of young love, while Ah! non v'avvicinate!... No!
no!... pazzo son is imbued with world-weariness and desperation.
TOSCA
Puccinis first venture into verismo and based on Victorien
Sardous 1887 play of the same name, Tosca unfolds at the
start of the 19th century, as the Kingdom of Naples' control of
Rome comes under threat from Napoleons invading army.
E lucevan le stelle is sung by the painter Cavaradossi in the hour
leading up to what he believes will be his execution. The opera
premiered at Romes Teatro Costanzi on 14 January 1900.
Unlike his first two productions, Toscas opening night was a
magnificent event, attended by Queen Margherita and the Italian
Prime Minister. In the years since, responses to the opera have
been varied. Most infamously, the American critic and musicologist
Joseph Kerman described it as a "shabby little shocker''. Millions of
opera-goers would passionately disagree."
Giacomo Puccini
LA FANCIULLA DEL WEST
Like Madame Butterfly, Puccinis three-act opera was based
on a play by American writer David Belasco. It premiered at
the New York Metropolitan Opera House in 1910. The roles of
Dick Johnson and Minnie were created for Enrico Caruso and
Emmy Destinn who performed under the auspices of conductor
Arturo Toscanini, who described the opera as a great symphonic
poem. Set during the California Gold Rush, we are introduced
to Minnie, the owner of a saloon, who falls in love with Dick,
initially unaware that he is actually the outlaw Ramerrez. The
aria Una parola sola!... Or son sei mesi unfolds at the moment
that Dick reveals who he really is and confesses his love for
Minnie. Although it has not made its way into the pantheon of
the most popular performed operas, La fanciulla del West is
widely admired for its harmonic language and for furthering the
complexity of the Italian operatic form.
TURANDOT
Puccinis final opera was left unfinished, with two scenes
completed by Franco Alfano, based on ideas the composer
had sketched out before his death on 29 November, 1924. It
premiered at La Scala on 25 April, 1926. The story was inspired
by the epic 12th-century poem Haft Paykar by Nizami. Set in
China, at the narratives crux are a series of riddles that will
determine the future of two people. Prince Calaf has fallen in love
with Princess Turandot. To win her hand he must answer three
riddles correctly. A wrong answer to any will result in death. He
succeeds but Turandot refuses to marry him. So he poses a test
for her: if she is able to learn of his name before dawn, he will
willingly die. Nessun dorma is sung in the final act, in the dead of
night, as Calaf ponders his fate.
1858 -1924
10
11
Giacomo Puccini
Ecco la casa
(Le Villi)
Ecco la casa.
Dio, che orrenda notte!
Strane voci m'inseguon.
Le Villi... Evvia!
Son fole!
No, delle Villi me non perseguita
la vendetta fatal!
Tu sol m'insegui, rimorso,
vipera infernal!
Vipera dal veleno infernal!
Torna ai felici d
dolente il mio pensier,
ridean del maggio i fior,
fioria per me lamor!
Or tutto si copr
di lugubre mister,
ed io non ho nel cor
che tristezza e terror!
Ecco la casa
(Le Villi)
Here is her house.
O God, what a horrible night!
Weird voices pursue me.
The Wilis... Away with them!
They are Imaginings!
No, the fatal vendetta of the Wilis
does not pursue me!
Thou alone, remorse, dost plague me
viper of Hell!
Viper of the poison of hell
My anguished thought
returns to those happy days
when May was gay with flowers
and love blossomed for me
Then everything was blackened
by lugubrious mysteries
and now in my heart there is
naught but sadness and terror!
12
E lucevan le stelle
(Tosca)
E lucevan le stelle
ed olezzava la terra
stridea l'uscio dell'orto
e un passo sfiorava la rena.
Entrava ella, fragrante,
mi cadea fra le braccia.
Oh! dolce baci, o languide carezze,
mentr'io fremente
le belle forme disciogliea dai veli!
Svani per sempre il sogno mio d'amore
L'ora e fuggita
e muoio disperato!
E non ho amato mai tanto la vita!
tanto la vita!
E lucevan le stelle
(Tosca)
The stars seemed to shimmer
The sweet scents of the garden,
The creaking gate seemed to whisper,
And a footstep skimmed over the sand.
Then she came in, so fragrant,
And fell into my arms!
Oh! sweet kisses, oh, languorous caresses,
While I, trembling, was searching
For her features, concealed by her mantle.
My dream of love faded away, for good!
Everything's gone now.
I'm dying hopeless, desperate!
And never before have I loved life like this!
And never before have I loved life like this!
13
Encore
16
17
On directing
I first visited the opera house many years ago. I was a student and managed to
get a gallery place. I'll never forget that moment of standing there as the curtain
went up and the performance of Verdi's Otello began. It's one of the reasons why
I chose to shoot the stage from that high angle. I wanted to give a viewer who
had never had the chance to go to La Scala the incredible impression I had when
I first went there.
Did you set up the cameras for this performance?
Yes. On this occasion we had 13 cameras and they were all located specifically
for this performance. Whatever I'm doing, the set-ups always have to cater to
that particular project. With opera, we have to take into account the scenery
as well as the singers. And with this performance everything was put in place to
ensure that we captured the best results on a visual and dramatic level.
We even employed a Cinma vrit aspect with one backstage camera, in order
to follow the artists out on to the stage. But it had to be done discreetly and in a
way that didn't feel mechanical or happen too often. However, I feel it involves
the viewer in what it must feel like for Jonas, having sung Manon Lescaut, to
walk back up to the stage and face an audience of 2000 appreciative faces. We
are able to witness their passion for his wonderful talent and, in turn, we see his
warmth and the sense of gratitude he exudes at their appreciation. It was also
important for me that we saw the human side to Jonas.
He is ranked as one of the great tenors. Where do you think his
appeal lies?
He is a singular talent with a truly wonderful voice. He uses it as a painter
would a palette of vocal colours, only painting with sound and pure emotion.
It's a God-given voice that displays remarkable versatility in terms of emotion
and encapsulating the full dramatic spectrum, as well as possessing the qualities
of a baritone.
Jonas has film star looks and real acting talent, but what makes him special
is his naturalness. He has a down-to-earth quality that can be seen in his
appreciation for his audience, but also in his generosity as a colleague. He's a
lovely man.
18
La Scala
20
21
pera has a long and rich relationship with cinema. There are the countless film
adaptations that run the gamut from the traditional to more radical fare. The
best of them include Powell and Pressburgers glorious The Tales of Hoffman
(1951), Hans-Jurgen Syberbergs experimental Parsifal (1982), Joseph Loseys stunning
Don Giovanni (1979), Francesco Rosis hugely popular Carmen (1984), the many Franco
Zefferelli productions of which 1982s La Traviata is perhaps the finest and Ingmar
Bergmans sublime The Magic Flute (1975).
Opera has also been a mainstay of many a classic film soundtrack. It is unlikely that
the famous helicopter scene in Apocalypse Now (1979) would have had the same impact
if Wagners Ride of the Valkyries had not been accompanying the attack. Nor would
Malones death scene in The Untouchables (1987) be quite as powerful if it werent
played out to the strains of Leoncavallo's Vesti La Giubba. But what of Puccinis contribution
to cinema?
The composers first encounter with the nascent art form was less than auspicious. Al
Jolson, Buddy DeSylva and Vincent Roses popular song Avalon, which the Puccini estate
took to court in 1921 and from which they were awarded royalties due to the tunes
similarity to E lucevan le stelle, first appeared in the forgettable Joe E. Brown and Ginger
Rogers vehicle You Said a Mouthful (1932). It also featured in a range of films over the next
two decades, from the forgotten western King of the Lumberjacks (1940) to such classics
as Its a Wonderful Life (1946), Dark Passage (1947) and East of Eden (1955). As for the
aria that inspired the song, it was best used in Sidney Lumets gritty cop drama Serpico
(1973) and Sylvester Stallones Rocky Balboa (2006), the surprisingly good fifth sequel in
the boxing franchise.
Puccinis swooning romanticism, tempered by a fatalism that gives his work such tragic
weight, has offered directors the perfect soundtrack for accentuating the heightened drama
of a scene; or even offering a counterpoint to the action. Manon Lescauts gorgeous Sola
Perduta Abandonnato was arranged for guitar and helped reinforce a theme of longing in
James Grays Two Lovers (2008). By contrast, Meir Zarchis notorious 1978 rape revenge
shocker I Spit on Your Grave made extraordinary use of the aria in one of the films most
uncomfortable scenes.
The tragedy at the heart of Madame Butterfly became both soundtrack and theme to
Adrian Lynnes hugely popular mainstream thriller Fatal Attraction (1987). In the same
year, La Boheme channelled the blossoming romance certainly more promising than the
operas in Norman Jewisons Moonstruck. La Boheme was also used to stunning effect in
Werner Herzogs epic Fitzcarraldo (1982) and was the source material for Baz Lurhmanns
intoxicating exercise in sensory overload, Moulin Rouge (2001). Madame Butterfly,
meanwhile, has underpinned the passions of Michael Caines adulterer in Woody Allens
Hannah and Her Sisters and Bob Hoskins' minder in Neil Jordans Mona Lisa (both 1986).
More perversely, the opera featured on the soundtrack of Oliver Stones Natural Born
Killers (1994).
Toscas most visible presence in recent cinema was a production of the opera at the open
air theatre in Bregenz, Austria, providing the perfect backdrop for the best scene in the
otherwise disappointing Bond film Quantum of Solace (2008). While a production of
Turandot, this time at the Vienna State Opera, offered up a thrilling set piece in the recent
Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation (2015). That operas most famous aria, Nessun Dorma,
has probably adorned more key scenes in films than any other piece of music. It helped
heighten the wickedly supernatural drama of The Witches of Eastwick (1987), added class
to the on-pitch antics of Bend It Like Beckham (2002), underpinned the high stakes at play
in the otherworldly, monochromatic thriller Suture (1993), and gave voice to the anguish
experienced by Javier Bardems paraplegic in the Oscar-winning The Sea Inside (2004).
The arias finest use on screen was in another Oscar-winner, The Killing Fields (1984),
accompanying a speech by President Nixon and footage showing the plight of Cambodians
under the yolk of Pol Pots brutal regime.
O Mio Babbino Caro, the most popular aria from Puccinis one-act comic opera Gianni
Schicchi, may not be as well known as Nessun Dorma, but its place in film history is secure
thanks to two films. It emphasises the yearning of Jack Nicholsons Mafia hitman, who
desires a love greater than life, in John Hustons brilliant gangster drama Prizzis Honor
(1985). In the same year, the themes that dominate Puccinis best-loved operas and the
breath-taking beauty that marks his work found their cinematic ideal in Merchant Ivorys
E.M. Forster adaptation Room with a View. The Italy we see portrayed in the film just
wouldnt look the same without the music of that countrys most romantic composer.
22
Jonas Kaufmann
24
jochen Rieder
Born 1970, Jochen Rieder initially took up positions as conducting
assistant and Kapellmeister at German State Theaters in Karlsruhe and
Bremen. In 2001, he became a permanent ensemble member of Zurich
Opera, where he remained until 2014.
Over the years, a long and intense musical friendship has been
established with star-tenor Jonas Kaufmann. Together, they have
performed at many of the worlds finest venues. Their joint Australian debut in August 2014,
with concerts at the Sydney Opera House and Melbournes Hamer Hall, was hailed as a
sensation. In Spring 2015, a concert tour included stops at the most prestigious concert
halls of Europe: the Philharmonic Halls of Berlin, Cologne, Hamburg, Munich, the Stuttgart
Liederhalle, Baden-Badens Festspielhaus, Viennas Konzerthaus, the KKL Lucerne and the
Thtre des Champs-Elyses in Paris.
In autumn 2014, You Mean the World to Me which features Jonas Kaufmann and the
Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin conducted by Jochen Rieder, was released by Sony
Classical. Both the CD and accompanying DVD were recorded in the concert hall of Berlins
legendary Nalepa Strasse Broadcasting House. Since the summer 2014, Jochen Rieder has
been active as a freelance conductor focusing on opera as much as on the popular works
of the great orchestral repertoire, symphonic rarities and contemporary music.
Brian Large
Brian Large studied at the Royal Academy of Music, before graduating
from the University of London with doctorates in Music and Philosophy.
He joined BBC2 at its inception in 1965, where he became responsible
for directing regular music and opera programmes. In 1970, he was
appointed chief opera producer. Since then, he has directed operas
at venues around the world. He has received a Peabody Award and
recognition from the Royal Television Society for his filming of the
Chreau/Boulez production of Der Ring des Nibelungen, The Three Tenors World Cup
concert and Stiffelio from Covent Garden. His 1992 film Tosca, shot in the Rome settings
that Puccini stipulated, was screened live in 106 countries and earned him his second
Emmy. The French government named him a Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in
1985 and in 1991 he was appointed Fellow of the Royal Academy and Music.
25
* prima parte
Viola
Simonide Braconi*
Danilo Rossi*
Matteo Amadasi
Giorgio Baiocco
Carlo Barato
Maddalena Calderoni
Marco Giubileo
Gonzalez Cardaba
Olga Joel Imperial
Francesco Lattuada
Emanuele Rossi
Giuseppe Russo Rossi
Luciano Sangalli
Rosaria Mastrosimone
Federica Mazzanti
Fabio Merlini
Eugenio Silvestri
Adriana Stoica
Monica Vatrini
Double Bass
Giuseppe Ettorre*
Francesco Siragusa*
Roberto Benatti
Attilio Corradini
Omar Lonati
Roberto Parretti
Emanuele Pedrani
Claudio Pinferetti
Alessandro Serra
Gaetano Siragusa
Antonio Lipari
Chiara Molent
Daniele Pisanelli
Cello
Sandro Laffranchini*
Alfredo Persichilli*
Massimo Polidori*
Martina Lopez
Jakob Ludwig
Alice Cappagli
Gabriele Garofano
Simone Groppo
Tatiana Patella
Cosma Beatrice Pomarico
Marcello Sirotti
Massimiliano Tisserant
Clare Ibbott
Gianluca Muzzolon
Andrea Scacchi
Piccolo
Giovanni Paciello
Flute
Marco Zoni*
Claudia Bucchini
Enrico Giacomin
Serena Zanette
Oboe
Fabien Thouand*
Augusto Mianiti
Gianni Viero
Cor Anglais
Renato Duca
Clarinet
Mauro Ferrando*
Fabrizio Meloni*
Christian Chiodi Latini
Denis Zanchetta
Pierluigi Capezzuto
Bass Clarinet
Stefano Cardo
Davide Lattuada
Bassoon
Gabriele Screpis*
Valentino Zucchiatti*
Maurizio Orsini
Nicola Meneghetti
Double Bassoon
Marion Reinhard
Cornet
Jorge Monte De Fez*
Danilo Stagni*
Roberto Miele
Stefano Alessandri
Claudio Martini
Stefano Curci
Piero Mangano
Alberto Prandina
Trumpet
Francesco Tamiati*
Gianni Dallaturca
Mauro Edantippe
Nicola Martelli
Trombone
Daniele Morandini*
Torsten Edvar*
Riccardo Bernasconi
Renato Filisetti
Giuseppe Grandi
Tuba
Brian Earl
Javier Castano Medina
Timpani
Brian Barker*
Percussion
Gianni Arfacchia
Giuseppe Cacciola
Antonello Cancelli
Gerardo Capaldo
Francesco Muraca
Harp
Luisa Prandina*
Olga Mazzia*
Dahba Awalom
Piano
Lorenzo Bonoldi
ARTS ALLIANCE PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS IN ASSOCIATION WITH SONY CLASSICAL JONAS KAUFMANN: AN EVENING WITH PUCCINI A BRIAN LARGE FILM
MARK FOSTER MASSIMILIANO SFORZINI ARTIST MANAGENT BRUCE ZEMESKY ALAN GREEN CO-PRODUCERS FRANCESCA ZAMBELLI
ANTONIA FARRUGIA SAVERIA RAIMONDI WRITTEN BY BRIAN LARGE AND THOMAS VOIGT DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY LUCIANO BARESI CONDUCTOR JOCHEN RIEDER
MUSIC BY GIACOMO PUCCINI EDITOR STEVE EVELEIGH PRODUCED BY BARRY CLARK-EWERS DIRECTED BY BRIAN LARGE