Opera Guide for Beginners E-Book

Jasmin Solfaghari

• Herausgeber: Schott Music
• Kategorie: Bildung
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2020

Seitenzahl: 155

Beschreibung

Opera director Jasmin Solfaghari has written a very special kind of opera guide. Three milestones of the opera literature are explained by the narrator "LUNA of the moon" in a most skillful way: "The Marriage of Figaro", "The Freeshooter", and "The Ring of the Nibelung". In the second chapter, LUNA takes the reader backstage and spreads a little light on many secrets of the theater. Finally in chapter three, in order to understand and enjoy the operas more fully, LUNA explains many of the German words from "The Freeshooter" and "The Ring of the Nibelung" not always found in a normal dictionary.  The "Opera Guide for Beginners" is available in hardcover, paperback, or as an e-book. Let yourself be carried off to a world of dragons, weddings, chaos, tears and unbridled passion!

Leseprobe

Solfaghari – Opera Guide for Beginners

Jasmin Solfaghari

Opera Guide for Beginners

The Marriage of Figaro, The Freeshooter, The Ring of the Nibelung

Dedicated to my sons

Leander and Emanuel

In memory of Dr. Ziaeddin Zolfagari, Viola, Rolf, and Karl Kleissler

Bibliographic information of the German National Library The German National Library lists this publication in the German National Bibliography; detailed bibliographic data can be found on the website: dnb.d-nb.de.

978-3-95983-601-2 (Hardcover)

978-3-95983-602-9 (Paperback)

978-3-95983-603-6 (E-Book)

© 2020 Schott Music GmbH & Co. KG, Mainz

www.schott-buch.com

All rights reserved. Reprinting in any form as well as the transfer to other media by television, radio, film, photomechanical reproduction, sound carrier of any type, or for use in lectures, even in parts, only with the approval of the publisher.

Content

Foreword

Introduction

LUNA lights the way through our story and its background

The Marriage of Figaro

The Freeshooter

The Ring of the Nibelung

The Rhinegold – Prologue

The Valkyrie – The First Day

Siegfried – The Second Day

The Twilight of the Gods – The Third Day

LUNA guides us backstage

Bayreuth or Beirut?

How to give a “stage slap”

The Gold and the Ring

What is a “pants role”?

Beverages on stage

How does an exchange of costumes work?

What is stage music?

Spears – Examples

Fire safety in the theater

Fire on stage

Anecdotes

LUNA sheds some light on words and their meanings

A as in “Alkohol” (alcohol)

B as in “beleidigen” (to insult)

D as in “drehen” (to turn)

E as in “Esel” (donkey)

F as in “Feuer” (fire)

G as in “Genuss” (pleasure)

H as in “Hunde” (dogs)

I as in “Inspizient” (stage manager)

J as in “Juliet”

K as in “Kampf” (fight)

L as in “Lachanfall” (fit of laughter)

M as in “Milchtopf” (milk jug)

N as in “Nebel” (fog)

O as in “Ohren” (ears)

P as in “Pferd” (horse)

Q as in “Qual” (agony)

R as in “Rauchen” (to smoke)

S as in “Sprinkleranlage” (sprinkler system)

T as in “Theaterpferd” (stage animal)

U as in “Umzug” (costume change)

V as in “Vogel” (bird)

W as in “Wasser” (water)

Z as in “Zuschauer” (audience)

Index of Illustrations

References

Index

About the Authors

Acknowledgements

Foreword

Often in my career I have been asked by spectators and students: “Which opera should I experience first, as I’m a beginner?” I like to recommend operas I consider to be light, such as The Marriage of Figaro. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and all of his music are always very light and blessed with beautiful melodies, as well as being very easy to listen to. Figaro, additionally, is entertaining and easily accessible for a beginner: musically and visually light and fun. I also suggest that a beginner acquires a specific book about opera in order to better understand the meaning of the plot, and here it is: The Opera Guide for Beginners.

It gives me a great honor and privilege to have been under the direction of one of the finest stage directors of opera and the author of this book, Jasmin Solfaghari. Our collaboration included The Ring of the Nibelung in a production of the Hamburg State Opera in the 90’s, in which I sang Wotan. Honestly – I would never have thought The Ring to be a music-drama fit for beginners, as the story is very complex. However, with the help of Ms. Solfaghari’s narrator LUNA and his explanations, everyone figures it out.

Opera is a musical profession that includes all forms of musical entertainment. In other words, you have singers, orchestra, conductor, and a director who actually stages the story, scenery, costumes, sets, chorus, acting, dancing, ballet, and lighting. I don’t know of any other form of entertainment that is live and includes all of these ingredients. If you go to a play or to a movie, you don’t get live performances with so many professions as you do in opera. The middle chapter of this Guide gives you ideas about how we find practical solutions for nearly every problem. And you get insight into a lot of the various skill-sets just mentioned. Without the support of our colleagues backstage, we singers cannot give our best for you, the audience.

As a teacher I definitely recommend studying the last chapter carefully. Singing is one thing, but you need to understand (and, of course feel) the meaning behind the sung words, especially in the case of Richard Wagner. This index is an immense help for foreigners who want to approach German opera in general.

In conclusion, I would recommend to any person going to an opera for the first time, that they be well rested, to be alert to the new experiences an opera brings to their life.

For me, Simon Estes, all operas are composed by people who received a great talent from God. Now, ladies and gentlemen, dress up in your beautiful gowns and suits, and enjoy one of the greatest moments of your life!

Simon Estes

Opera Singer and Professor, Iowa USA, 2020

Simon Estes inThe Valkyrieat Deutsche Oper Berlin, 1984.

Introduction

During numerous audience discussions in my career as a stage director, I have received many questions from the public about approaches and choices of staging an opera. I sometimes had the feeling that much of the performance practice and history of opera were foreign to them. They told me about their difficulties following the sung text, even in their native German! Supertitles and pre-performance talks by dramaturges are already helpful for the audience. However, I wanted to find a way to perform opera for beginners of all ages. A way to take the audience by the hand and teach them something without their noticing. Above all, I wanted to take away the fear that they can’t enjoy opera without knowing a lot about it.

I often use a storyteller for my opera for beginners’ productions. It’s proven useful as a moderator between the piece on stage and the audience, simplifying complex situations and accompanying the public as their “tour guide” throughout the piece. The opera world is international, so the storyteller should be someone who speaks every language, loves opera very much, and is not unknown. I came up with LUNA, coming from the moon. He could be a mixture of my opera-crazy uncle, the warmhearted prop master of the Freiburg Municipal Theater back in the 80’s, and Fellini’s copyist in the film Orchestra Rehearsal. LUNA – played up until now only by men – has already used his perspective to bring many people in Leipzig, Berlin, and Vienna closer to the opera.

A special kind of opera guide was born. I’ve chosen for you three major milestones of opera literature. The Marriage of Figaro, The Freeshooter and The Ring of the Nibelung. LUNA describes in the first chapter their contents and relationships. In the second chapter, we open up our box of theatrical tricks and give the public a peek or two behind the curtain. During my time in the theater, I’ve always been pleased to see the lively curiosity of people of all ages about what really happens on stage. I love recalling the wide eyes of those taking backstage tours when they witness for the first time the coming together of theatrical magic and stage reality. LUNA enlightens us about the bottom of all this. A large part of my work coaching singers is dealing with their German diction on the one hand and conveying the meaning of the text on the other. Furthermore, as a stage director, I help them combine the musical, linguistical, as well as the contextual aspects of their roles.

In the German edition, I used German dialects to help convey the meaning of the stories. Here, in the English edition I have written a new third chapter containing certain German words and terms from The Freeshooter and The Ring of the Nibelung which might not be so easily found in your everyday dictionary. “LUNA sheds some light on words and their meanings” can also be used for private study. It can also be helpful to many viewers or listeners in understanding certain moments in the often complex plots. LUNA has experienced many stories from the opera world first hand and would like to share them here with the public.

LUNA invites you into the world of dragons, weddings, chaos, tears, and unbridled passion!

For those of you who would like to listen to the music while reading, the musical references are marked with the ♪ symbol.

Jasmin Solfaghari, Berlin 2020

LUNA lights the way through our story and its background

What a long trip … I live hundreds of thousands of miles from you, but I’ve finally made it. Greetings, my name is LUNA and I’m from the moon! You know, actually it’s pretty nice up there. A bit cold. You get a little rusty and inflexible, even lonely, really! Nobody visits me, you can’t even depend on those scientists anymore! NASA only circled the moon a few years ago and then … everybody wants to go to Mars! To keep warm, I’ve gotten used to orbiting the earth every month so that I can see it from all sides. Besides keeping me fit, I’ve made a great discovery on my trip: on earth, you have something that can’t be found anywhere else in the entire universe. Know what I’m talking about? It’s the wonderful world of theater, but most of all – OPERA.

I’d like to share something with you, but please keep it to yourself: whenever I feel like seeing an opera, nothing can keep me out there in space. I look for just the right moment when the sun can’t see me and then … off I go. I sneak into your opera houses. I make myself as small as possible, squeeze through any open window I can find, and slide down onto the gallery. From there, I try to find a good view of the whole stage and hope that nobody sees me.

LUNA.Freeshooter for Children,Leipzig 2015.

The Marriage of Figaro

Before the backstage boss – stage manager – finds me, I’ll tell you about The Marriage of Figaro, or, as they say in the original Italian, Le nozze di Figaro. The music was written by the Austrian Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Lorenzo da Ponte from Italy wrote the text after a play entitled The Mad Day, or The Marriage of Figaro, written by the French playwright Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais. In order to make the plot a bit clearer, I’ve charted out the family relationships.

Who is who?

Act I – An empty room, except for an armchair

We find ourselves in the palace of Count Almaviva near Seville in sunny southern Spain! The story takes place during the 18th century, when counts still had the last word, and the tumultuous dealings happen all on one single day! That’s why the story is called The Mad Day, or The Marriage of Figaro. So what’s this story about? The Count has a very charming wife, the Countess. But he’s still keen on other women as well. The one I’m talking about now is Susanna, who happens to be his wife’s maid. Susanna also finds her boss rather attractive, but is planning on getting married to the Count’s servant Figaro. But don’t think that’s going to be so easy. Figaro has no idea what his boss has in mind and is busy planning where to put the furniture in their newly assigned room (♪ Duettino No. 2 Susanna, FigaroSe a caso madama la notte ti chiama). Since Figaro thinks their new room is situated in a very practical place right next to the Count’s, Susanna decides to fill her fiancé in on what’s really going on: 1. The Count is clearly interested in her and wants to spend her “first night” with her: an ancient right which he has previously declared null and void, but desperately wants to reinstate. Counts were allowed to do such things back then. 2. The Count has intentionally put them in the room next to his in order to be closer to Susanna. 3. Her music teacher Basilio is busy playing the matchmaker in order to get Susanna and the Count together. Figaro is furious. He then remembers, that his boss wanted to send him on a trip to London and now finally understands exactly why (♪ Cavatina No. 3 FigaroSe vuol ballare signor Contino). Can you believe it? Figaro and the Count used to practically be friends. But since Figaro now works for the Count, you can forget about all that. Figaro was the one who helped the Count meet the enchanting future Countess in the first place and even helped steal her away from Doctor Bartolo. But that’s what another opera is all about, The Barber of Seville, set to music thirty years later by Gioacchino Rossini.

Ever since then, there have been a few folks who aren’t too happy with Figaro. But there’s also one who wants to marry him. Her name is Marcellina and she is much older than Figaro. She could be his mother. Figaro borrowed money from her, with the stipulation that he would either pay her back or marry her. Unfortunately, it’s even written down in a contract. Figaro hasn’t paid her back yet and today is the deadline. Dr. Bartolo, who still has a bone to pick with Figaro from way back when, wants to help Marcellina marry Figaro today. Then there’s this other guy, a cute kid who’s in love with anything female. His name is Cherubino. He writes poetry and composes music, likes nice clothes, and is head over heels in love with Barbarina, Susanna, and even the elegant Countess. That sometimes gets him into some tricky situations because the jealous Count keeps finding him where he shouldn’t be. And then there’s this unpleasant guy, a scandalmonger, who eavesdrops at every door and whom Susanna has already mentioned, namely her music teacher Basilio. Cherubino, hidden behind a chair, observes the Count making a move on Susanna (♪ Terzetto No. 7 Susanna, Basilio, CountCosa sento!). While the Count is describing catching Cherubino hiding everywhere he goes, he discovers him yet again. It’s a delightful scene full of situation comedy. The Count reacts quickly and punishes his Page, Cherubino by ordering him off to the army (♪ Aria No. 10 FigaroNon più andrai).

The Count will use any means possible to postpone Figaro’s and Susanna’s wedding, while the betrothed couple are hatching a plot to try and help the young Page.

Act II – Luxurious room with alcoves and three doors

Mozart wrote here a very sweet, longing music in which the Countess is remembering a time when her husband still loved her. She would rather die than live without his love. Unjustly, she also suffers from her husband’s jealousy (♪ Cavatina No. 11 CountessPorgi amor qualche ristoro).

Susanna is a great help to the Countess because she stands by her like a friend. Figaro comes in with a sophisticated plan. It consists of two parts: 1. Through Basilio, he will get a note to the Count that the Countess is awaiting a lover. 2. The Count, on the other hand, will get a tip to meet up with Susanna, but Cherubino will be the one dressed up like Susanna. Cherubino is disguised, the doors are locked and the marvelous fun can begin. The Count knocks. Everything must happen quickly: The Page is locked in the dressing room, the Countess hides the key (preferably in her dress), Susanna lounges. The Count is let in and wonders why his wife’s doors were locked. His first thought is: where is my rival? After finding nothing, he decides to take action. To ensure no tricks are played on him, he leaves with his wife and locks her door from outside. No time to waste. Cherubino opens the locked dressing room from inside and jumps frantically out the window. Susanna, worried about the Page, hides in his place in the dressing room. The passionately jealous Count, now armed with hammer and pliers is about to pry open the dressing room doors. The Countess stammers something about a joke and admits that the young Page is hidden there half-naked.

The Count flips out. In the middle of a huge fight, he finally flings open the dressing room door and out comes … the cool and collected Susanna. Mozart’s disarming comic sense is at its best here. The Count is stupified, while the Countess doesn’t know what’s up or down. She’ll have to explain it to her husband later.

The Marriage of Figaro,Leipzig 2009.

Those responsible for the staging and scenic design should take great pains here to make sure that the layout allows the logic behind all of the “hide and seek” to work while still being believable to the audience.

What now follows, is one of the most amusing and wild finales1 in all of opera history (♪ Finale No. 16Esci ormai garzon malnato!). Everything goes crazy. Everybody is lying and improvising. The gardener totters in with a broken flowerpot of carnations and reveals that the Page jumped out of the window. Figaro confusedly claims that he was the one who jumped out of the window, that his foot suddenly hurts and, with the help of the Countess and Susanna, that the wax seal for Cherubino’s military papers was missing. The scene ends in simply delightful chaos.

Act III – Hall with two thrones, richly decorated for a marriage ceremony

The Count is alone, thinking about the current confusion in his palace. Whom should he even trust? Everybody says something different. Susanna asks the Count for some medicine for his wife and at the same time, makes a date to meet him later that evening in the palace gardens. As she’s leaving the room, the Count overhears Susanna behind the door saying, “Even without a lawyer, we’ve won our case.” The Count is ticked off (♪ Recitativo ed Aria No. 18 CountHai già vinta la causa!/Vedrò mentre io sospiro). The Countess and Susanna, in the meantime, have secretly come up with their own plan. The two women are to exchange clothes, so that the Countess can show up to Susanna’s date with her husband and catch him red-handed. The Countess dictates a little letter to Susanna, suggesting that the Count meet her under a typical Southern European tree, the Parasol Pine.