Opera

Ravel’s “L’Heure Espagnole”: An Enchanting One-Act Comédie Musicale

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Maurice Ravel’s 1911 comic opera in one act, L’heure espagnole, is a hilariously enchanting farce. Its literal title, “The Spanish Hour,” can be more accurately translated as “Spanish Time,” or “How They Keep Time in Spain.” The libretto by Franc-Nohain is based on a 1904 play by the same author. Set in eighteenth century Spain, the plot of L’heure espagnole centers around Concepción, the restless and lusty wife of a preoccupied clockmaker …

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Galina Vishnevskaya Sings Tchaikovsky: “Iolanta’s Aria” and “Lullaby”

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Composed in 1891, Iolanta, Op. 69 was Tchaikovsky’s eleventh and last completed opera. On the evening of December 18, 1892, it shared a double premiere with the ballet, The Nutcracker, at Saint Petersburg’s Mariinsky Theatre. Mahler conducted the Vienna premiere in 1900. Then, the work fell into relative obscurity. Set in one act, Iolanta is based on a story by the Danish writer, Henrik Hertz (1798–1870). Iolanta is a fifteenth century French …

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Weber’s “Euryanthe”: Two Excerpts from a “Grand Heroic-Romantic Opera”

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Listen to the music of Carl Maria von Weber (1786-1826), and you will hear the seeds of Wagner. A contemporary of Beethoven and Schubert, Weber was one of the great innovators at the dawn of the Romantic period.  In contrast to the prevailing Italian bel canto operas of Donizetti and Rossini, he developed a style of opera which was distinctly German. As music director in the opera houses of Prague and Dresden, Weber was …

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Bartók’s “Bluebeard’s Castle”: Entering Terrifying Psychological Recesses

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Béla Bartók’s symbolist opera in one act, Bluebeard’s Castle, begins with a spoken prologue which asks, “Where is the stage, outside us or within us?” What follows is a chilling psychological horror story, based on an account of a French fairy tale by Charles Perrault. The Gothic drama, set in a gloomy castle with seven locked doors, involves only two characters, the mysterious Duke Bluebeard and his young wife, Judith. Here is …

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Wagner’s Tannhäuser Overture: A Meeting of the Sacred and the Profane

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In a January 1841 essay, Richard Wagner set forth his conception of the opera overture. He described this orchestral curtain-raiser as creating “a musical artwork entire in itself and providing a sense of the opera’s argument through the interweaving of thematic materials drawn from the opera to follow.” Wagner’s Overture to the opera, Tannhäuser, completed four years later, follows this model. In the story, based on German medieval legend, the knight, Tannhäuser, is …

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Wagner’s “Siegfried”: “Waldweben” (Forest Murmurs) from Act II

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In the second act of Wagner’s 1876 opera, Siegfried, we are drawn into the mystery and magic of the forest. Gradually, in the opening moments of the Waldweben (“Forest Murmurs”) sequence, our ears become attuned to the hum of nature. A rustling breeze through the vibrant green canopy forms a backdrop for cheerful birdsongs. Time is suspended, and the inner world of the deep forest becomes a serene and wondrous sanctuary. Jeff Counts includes quotations …

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Strauss’ “Salome”: The Grisly Final Scene

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Perhaps, as Alex Ross suggests in the opening pages of his bestselling book, The Rest is Noise, twentieth century music was born with the first scandalous performances of Richard Strauss’ 1905 opera, Salome. Set in one act, the opera was inspired by Oscar Wilde’s French play based on characters from the Gospel of Saint Matthew. The imprisoned Jochanaan (John the Baptist) becomes an object of desire for princess Salome, the teenage stepdaughter of King Herod of …

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