Richard Strauss Opera Ariadne auf Naxos
Plot Synopsis and Character Description of German Lyric Comedy
Dec 11, 2008
Richard Strauss (June 11, 1864 – September 8, 1949) composed Ariadne auf Naxos (Ariadne of Naxos), a two-act German lyric comedy opera. Libretto was written by Hugo von Hofmannsthal in German.
The original work was initially meant to be performed with the play "Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme" by French playwright Molière. It was premiered in Stuttgart, Hoftheater, on October 25, 1912. The setting is Vienna in the 18th century. The opera includes a Prologue and Overture before Acts I and II, and an Intermezzo in Act I.
It is, however, the version of 1916, referred to as an opera-within-an opera, that entered the repertory. This work by Richard Strauss is another exploration of the divine power of music.
Notable arias: "Gibt es kein Hinüber?" (Ariadne) and "Grossmächtige Prinzessin" (Zerbinetta)
Character Roles
- The Composer (soprano)
- The Composer's music master (baritone)
- The Composer's dancing master (Tenor)
- The Nymphs - Naiad (high soprano), Dryad (contralto), and Echo (soprano0
- Bacchus, The Tenor (tenor)
- Zerbinetta, The Coloratura soprano (high soprano)
- Ariadne, The prima donna (soprano)
- The Players - Brighella (high tenor), Harlekin (baritone), Scaramuccio (tenor) and Truffaldin (bass)
The Plot - Synopsis
Overview
Act I is the "Prologue" before the "Performance" which is Act II. A revised version (including the Prologue) was first performed in Vienna, October 4, 1916.
Act I
Prologue: A room in the house of a nobleman
A nobleman, one of the richest in Vienna, has planned a party of an evening's entertainment for his guests: a composer and singer from an opera company have been retained to perform the new opera seria "Ariadne auf Naxos," after which a comedy or burlesque troupe will provide lighter fare.
The composer and his music master are not pleased to be double-billed with vulgar entertainers and refuse to discuss any changes to his opera. When the nobleman offers that the two entertainments are to be performed simultaneously, they are positively scandalized and preparations turn into confusion. They try to make it work, but compromise seems impossible. The saucy commediene Zerbinetta uses her charm to work on the composer and tells him that his heroine, Ariadne, just needs a new boyfriend. Disgusted by her levity, the composer storms out of the room.
Act II
The Performance: A stage Set of a Small Desert Island
The hybrid entertainment begins. Ariadne is abandoned by Theseus (from Greek mythology, a legendary king of Athens). She longs for Theseus and death. The others try to cheer her up. Zerbinetta and her comedy group enter the scene. They try to comfort and cheer up Ariadne but to no avail.
In a dazzling coloratura singing, Zerbinetta asserts that the simplest way to get Ariadne over her broken heart is to find her another man. By the use of a light and comic interlude, all the nymphs – Naiad, Dryad and Echo - pursue Zerbinetta, and announce the arrival of someone on the island, who is actually the god Bacchus. Ariadne and Bacchus fall in love. Briefly, Zerbinetta repeats her philosophy of love. Ariadne and Bacchus sing a passionate love song.
Source:
Martin, Nicholas Ivor. The Da Capo Opera Manual, New York: Da Capo, 1997
Riding, Alan and L.D. Downer. Opera. London: Dorling Kindersley, 2006
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