MÉDÉE
Opera in three acts, text (in French) by François Benoit Hoffmann, after
Euripides. Première at Théâtre Feydeau. Paris, 13 March 1797, with Scio,
Gaveaux. Dessaules. First performed in Berlin. 1800; Vienna, 1814, with
Milder-time with Tucci, Barbieri. Picchi, Petri, conductor Gui (subsequently
Callas was responsible for revivals at la Scala. Venice, Rome, and in 1958 at
Dallas and at Covent Garden). Revived 1958. Cassel, with Gerda Lammers: 1959,
Covent Garden. with Callas, Carlyle. Cossotto, Vickers. Zaccaria: 1962, Paris
Opéra with Rita Gorr: 1968, Venice, with Gencer 1969. Buenos Aires, with
Gwyneth Jones: 1971. Frankfurt, with Silja: 1971, Mantua. with Olivero: 1972.
Vienna, with Rysanek. First performance in England of original Cherubini score,
Durham, by the Palatine Group, 1967: 1984. Buxton Festival, with Rosalind
Plowright, and 1996 by Opera North with Josephine Barstow.
Cherubini, after study in Italy and performance there
and even in England, found success in France in 1788 and remained there for
effectively the rest of his life, writing operas for Paris well into the
Napoleonic period. In spite of the intensely serious nature of the subject and
indeed Cherubini's treatment of it. Médée with its spoken dialogue is
technically an opéra-comique, and it was thus produced with great success in
both Berlin and Vienna, the German-speaking stage providing the composer with some
of his most lasting success.
In 1855, in response to contemporary taste, the German
composer Franz Lachner turned Médée into a through-composed opera, adding
extensive recitative in place of the spoken dialogue, and in this guise, it
continued intermittently in the repertory for more than a century. Recordings,
starting with Callas in the 1950s, were by and large of the Lachner version and
only relatively late in the twentieth century did the original version replace
Lachner's successful but unidiomatic (because highly romanticized) edition.
Jason, rightful heir to the throne of Thessaly, at his coming of age was set
the task of recovering the Golden Fleece by his uncle, the usurper. Pelias. In
the Argo he sailed to Colchis, where with the help of the tunée' ('Dei tuoi
figli la madre tu vedi'), she pleads her love for him-she, who has never before
abased herself in front of anyone, begs for his pity and his love. Her repeated
cries of "Ingratf (Crudel!) would melt the heart of a stronger man than
Jason, and it is quite clear from the succeeding duet that his resistance will
not stand up unaided against Médée's wiles. Together they curse the fatal
Golden Fleece, and he bids her go. She rounds on him: 'Si tel est son malheur
ton épouse en fuyant te percera le coeur! Ingrat!" ("Medea col suo
fuggir il cor strapperà! Crudel!')' The whole scene between Médée and Jason -
her aria and the extended duet-is a splendid example of Gluckian music drama.
Act II The scene
represents Créon's palace on one side of the stage, the Temple of Hera on the
other, and the drama begins straight away in the orchestra. Médée inveighs
against an injustice that would teach her children to hate their mother. Néris,
her confidante, tells her that the mob is gathering and demands her blood, but
Médée does not hesitate. She will stay. At that moment, Créon comes out. urging
her to fly the country-if she remains, even he will not be able to save her. In
a scene of some power Médée pleads her cause with Créon, but he is adamant,
supported by his warriors. Suddenly Médée seems to realize that her case is
hopeless, she begs for one more day and Créon has not the heart to refuse her.
As Créon and his retinue retire to the palace. Médée collapses on the steps.
Néris dare not interrupt her brooding silence: she will weep with her mistress and
be faithful until death. It is beautiful. mournful aria ('Ah. nos peines':
"Solo un pianto') that Néris sings with bassoon obbligato, the only moment
of repose that the drama allows between the entrance of Médée and the final
catastrophe.
Médée is implacable - Créon has granted her a day's
grace, she will know how to use it! Her rival must die. More is Jason not a
father? As her thoughts begin to appal even her. Jason enters. Médée asks to
see her children and rejoices at his evident love for them. In the course of
their duet. Médée pretends that her heart will break if she never sees them
again and Jason agrees to let them stay with her until her departure from
Corinth.
Médée orders Néris to bring her children to her.
Moreover, to fetch as a wedding-present for Dirce the diadem and mantle once
blessed by Phoebus Apollo. Néris is astonished at such generosity but leaves to
fulfil her mistress's command as the wedding music Hauptmann: London. 1865, at
Her Majesty's, with Tietjens, Günz. Santley: 1870. at Covent Garden, with
Tietjens. The spoken dialogue of the original was set to music by Franz Lachner
in 1854 and by Arditi for the London production of 1865 (Lachner's recitatives
have been used for most modern presentations). The opera was heard at la Scala
in 1909 with Mazzoleni, conductor Vitale, but not subsequently revived until in
1953 at the Florence Festival Callas sang it for the first King's daughter
Médée he accomplished his mission and ended by eloping with her. King Aeetes
followed the Argo, but Médée, to delay the pursuit, had her young brother
Absyrtus cut up and thrown into the sea, knowing that Aeetes would collect the
pieces in order that they might be decently buried. Arrived safely in Thessaly.
Médée caused the death of Pelias. but Jason eventually abandoned her, and with
his two sons fled to Corinth.
Act I The
overture's format, content and style perhaps explain why Beethoven held
Cherubini in such esteem - it is a piece of high seriousness and a fitting
precursor of an operatic version of Greek tragedy by one of the composers who
most benefited from Gluck's theories. The curtain rises on the royal court of
Créon at Corinth. Dircé, Créon's daughter, is surrounded by her women, two of
whom lead the others in a graceful serenade to their mistress, whose marriage
to Jason is planned for the next day. Eventually their pleas seem to allay some
of her forebodings and she sings an aria, praying the God of Love to help her
against Médée: 'Hymen, viens dissiper" (O Amore, vieni a me!") - a
rewarding solo of considerable technical difficulty and built on an ample
scale.
Créon enters with Jason and assures him of his
support, even when the people, incensed against Médée, demand the lives of her
children in default of her own. Jason announces that his sailors wish to offer
the Golden Fleece in homage to Dircé. Dirce still fears that Médée will disrupt
her happiness, but Jason in an aria does his best to reassure her:
"Eloigné pour jamais d'une épouse cruelle' ('Or che più non vedrò quella
sposa crudele'). In a beautiful solo, to which Dircé, Jason and the Chorus later
add their voices, Créon invokes the blessings of the Gods on the forthcoming
marriage: 'Dieux et Déesses tutélaires' ('Pronube Dive. Del custodi').
This trio is the end of tranquility throughout the
opera. An unknown woman enters and unveils herself to reveal Médée. The
citizens and Argonauts retire, fearful of what may result from Médée's
presence. Créon threatens her with imprisonment if the next day dawns to find
her still in Corinth, and then all depart, leaving her face to face with Jason.
Médée is confident that the new and the old love
struggle in his breast for supremacy: he can never forget his love for her nor
what she has done for him. In a great aria. "Vous voyez de vos fils la mère infor is heard. Créon. Jason. Dircé, priests, warriors and citizens go
in procession to the Temple of Hera, while Médée curses the wedding hymns to
which she is lis tening. As the procession emerges from the temple, Médée hurls
herself at the altar, seizes a burning brand and runs with it out of sight.
Act III A hill,
surmounted by a temple, on one side of which can be seen Créon's palace. It is
night and there is thunder. A short orchestral prelude of considerable power
leads to the appearance of Médée before the temple. For the first time we see
the sorceress in her true colors as she invokes the Infernal Gods to aid her
purpose, the more so as she feels her resolve weaken at the sight of the
children brought to her by Néris. She cannot bring herself to plunge a dagger
into their defenceless breasts and lament the power they still have over her:
'Du trouble affreux' ('Del fiero duol') but ends the aria with a renewed threat
of vengeance on Jason.
Néris tells of Dirce's grateful reception of Médée's
gift, and Médée gloats over the fate that will be hers once she places the
poisoned jewels on her forehead. Neris begs her to be content with this revenge
and spare her children. At her mistress's command she takes them into the
temple, and Médée is a prey to indecision: she must have a full revenge, but
they are her children as well as Jason's. At last all pity is purged from her
heart. The cry can be heard from those in the temple who are witnesses to Dircé's
horrible death, and Médée sets off like a wild beast to complete her vengeance.
Jason appears in the crowd. Néris reveals Médée's purpose, but before he can
reach the entrance of the temple. Médée emerges, flanked by the three Furies
and brandishing in her hand the knife with which she has killed the children.
As Jason, Néris and the crowd scatter, the temple
burst into flames. It is Médée's ultimate revenge. Médée is a serious work of
art and contains a splendid title role. Teresa Tietjens made it her most famous
impersonation in the 1870s and '80s, and it is one of the several operas of the
classical epoch revived in the middle of the twentieth century for Maria
Callas. Her dramatic intensity and magnificently constructive musical gifts
were peculiarly well suited to this role, and she, a Greek, was assisted in the
London revival of 1959 by a Greek producer. Alexis Minotis, a Greek designer,
John Tsarouchis. and a Greek bass, Nicola Zaccaria.
SISTEMA MUSICA
2008 October
LUCA SCARLINI
MEDEA
Tra cinema e teatro,
la tragica storia
di un mito antico
Medea è il personaggio più difficile da rappresentare nel
grande repertorio dell'antichità, perché il suo destino è quello di rompere un
tabù spezzando il nesso principale di ogni società: la relazione madre-figlio.
Il delitto perpetrato dalla maga della Colchide annulla ogni riconosciuto
legame biologico e sostituisce l'ira al pulsare della maternità. Per questo
essa risulta particolarmente seducente per i drammaturghi e non si contano,
infatti, le versioni teatrali e cinematografiche di questo mito di passione e
vendetta, che ha visto, dopo i due capolavori assoluti di Euripide e Seneca,
tra l'altro in ordine sparso, le realizzazioni, tra loro diversissime, di
Pierre Comeille, Franz Grillparzer, Robinson Jeffers, Maxwell Anderson, Corrado
Alvaro, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Max Rouquette, Arturo Ripstein e di moltissimi
altri tra i maggiori scrittori dell'Occidente. L'opera ha prodotto un catalogo
meno fitto, ma comunque sempre nutrito, tra il notevolissimo Giasone di
Francesco Cavalli (1649), la magnifica Medée di Marc-Antoine Charpentier (1694)
e le ottocentesche versioni di Giovanni Mayr (Medea in Corinto, 1813) e
Giovanni Pacini (1843). La versione per eccellenza è però quella di Luigi
Cherubini, capolavoro oscuro nato dopo gli anni del Terrore giacobino, che qui
sembra far sentire il proprio peso. Un melodramma pervaso da una riflessione
sugli aspetti imponderabili della psiche, presentato a Parigi in francese nel
1797 e poi a Vienna in italiano nel 1802. Il tutto secondo un percorso
complesso di tagli e rimaneggiamenti, che vide inizialmente nella versione
originale una stesura in alternanza di prosa e canto, secondo le regole
dell'opéra comique, con il testo di François-Benoît Hoffmann e poi una aggiunta
di musica per i recitativi da parte di Franz Paul Lachner nel 1854, in
occasione della prima a Francoforte e ulteriori rimaneggiamenti a inizio
Novecento a cura di Carlo Zangarini responsabile di una completa rivisitazione
del libretto. Senz'altro la ricezione del lavoro fu più positiva nel mondo
tedesco, dove tra gli estimatori si contavano personalità come Brahms, Wagner,
Weber, e dove Cherubini ne vantava uno del calibro di Beethoven.
Fin dall'inizio fu chiaro che si trattava di un titolo
per interpreti temperamentose, come lo fu alla prima Julie-Angélique Scio,
cantante-feticcio del compositore fiorentino, che la volle anche in Elisa e ne
les deux journées ou Le porteur d'eau. L'appuntamento di mezzanotte fu però
ovviamente l'incontro con Maria Callas, che a Firenze nel 1953 fece di questo
personaggio una rivelazione per il pubblico del dopoguerra, sullo sfondo delle
scene surrealiste rosso sangue di Lucien Coutaud illuminate lividamente da
André Barsacq, suscitando negli anni seguenti un furibondo dibattito sulla
classicità in cui intervennero intellettuali come Ettore Paratore e Mario Praz,
scesi in campo a difendere una interpretazione e un'idea di cultura, in
occasione delle rappresentazioni romane. Centrale era proprio l'idea di ridare
vita a questo lavoro per molto tempo considerato morto, con una presenza che
rifiutava la dimensione da fregio, per cimentarsi con l'esplorazione di quei
"gorghi freudiani" che Alberto Arbasino esaminò magistralmente,
indagandone i risvolti più sottili, nel suo capitale Anonimo lombardo (1959)
che a questa interpretazione si connette inestricabilmente.
Il primato fu della Callas fino alle sofferte
rappresentazioni alla Scala dirette da Thomas Schippers nel 1961. In seguito il
personaggio fu appannaggio anche di molte altre prime-donne, che sono state
sedotte dalla forza dei contrasti emotivi rappresentati magistralmente da
Cherubini: tra le altre spiccano Leyla Gencer (unica a interpretare anche
Pacini in un ciclo di rappresentazioni al San Carlo), Gwyneth Jones, Sylvia
Sass, Shirley Verrett, Dimitra Theodossiou e Anna Caterina Antonacci,
protagonista di questa edizione.
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