Free reconstruction of first ever opera La Dafne has world premiere.
The Janacek Opera of the National Theatre Brno concluded the 2010/2011 theatre season in unconventional spirit-with a free reconstruction of La Dafne of 1598, regarded as the first performed in front of her Serene Highness the Archduchess of Tuscany in Florence, where it had been created in the circle of artists meeting in the palace of Count Corsi-Ottavio Rinucci's libretto on a story from Ovid's Metamorphoses has survived to this day. Only a few fragments of the music, by Jacopo Peri and Jacopo Corsi, have been preserved.[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
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The idea of staging this work in a way inspired by the 16th century but also firmly connected with the present was the brainchild of the director and stage designer Rocc."I have been playing with the idea of presenting this opera on stage since 2006 at the latest," says the author of the project. "La Dafne is an interesting theme concerning the beautiful nymph Daphne. It was clear to me that given the absence of surviving materials a period reconstruction would be unthinkable. La Dafne is in a certain sense a lost work. My idea was that we could present a free reconstruction in the spirit of the surviving libretto with an eye to the present day. 400 years ago works were created as co-operative team efforts. On this basic I approached two composers: Vit Zouhar (*1966) and Tomas Hanzlik (*1972, see CMQ 2/2007). Both compose operas on Baroque librettos. They call themselves neo-Baroque minimalist composers."
The authors and producers situated the new title on one of the stages of the Brno National Theatre--in the Mozart Festival Hall of the Reduta Theatre. One of the composers, Tomas Hanzlik, explains: "We knew that the opera would not be classic proscenium-arch type production, but more a celebratory evening. We knew that there would be five singers and a small instrumental ensemble on stage." In the choice of stage design Rocc did not want literally to evoke the environment in which the work was originally presented, but just to allude to the mode of performance in the 16th century. "At that time the audience was not strictly separated from the performers," Rocc explains, "in our case the viewer's contact with the singer will sometimes be really very close." During the performance the audience is directly drawn into the drama.
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"In the course of composition we had a sort of introductory rehearsal to get to know the singers," composer Tomas Hanzlik as he tells us more about how the production emerged. "All the National Opera Brno soloists engaged for Dafne would be able to make good livings from performing early music. They are very flexible. The quartet Andrea Priechodska (Daphne), Jana Wallingerova (Messenger) is augmented by the young German counter tenor Stefan Kunathe (Ovid, Amor)."
At the time when La Dafne was first performed the stagers used improvised simple technology. "We are not modifying the Mozart hall in any way," says the director Rocc, "The atmosphere is provided by the form." The space is using chairs with white covers, and by the balcony of the Mozart Festival Hall there are five small stands for the singers (the soloists also sing as a choir). In front of the stands the "orchestra" is sited, i.e. an organ positive, cello, theorbo and a drum. The action takes place throughout the whole room, and the story line is further conveyed to the audience by the mime Satiro (Sergej Sanza). The lighting has been chosen with a view to the season of the year--candles enhance the light of sunset, directly behind the backs of the performers.
The production had its premiere on the 25th of June, followed by two further performances. In the new season La Dafne will be presented on the 29th and 30th of September 2011.
www.ndbrno.cz/opera/la-dafne
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| Author: | Motalova, Sarka |
|---|---|
| Publication: | Czech Music |
| Geographic Code: | 4EXCZ |
| Date: | Apr 1, 2011 |
| Words: | 643 |
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