Opera Simplified @opera-simplified - Tumblr Blog

Hello, I’m @infinitelytheheartexpands, and welcome to @opera-simplified!

This is a sideblog I’m developing to pick back up on the Opera Simplified series I ran from March-November 2018 when I was at @justplainsavannahd. It’s pretty much exactly what it sounds like: operas explained and (hopefully) simplified. There are scripts. There are guides to the basics of each opera covered. It’s a lot of fun.

On the off-chance any of you remember the previous series, there will be a few changes from then to now, including:

While scripts are still the primary modus operandi, I’ll be looking into the possibility of integrating additional elements— stay tuned!

There’ll be a bigger emphasis on exploring the ‘world’ beyond the story of every opera, so watch for more background information on every post.

Since I’m a major believer in a) humor and b) meta things making just about everything better, this time around, there’ll probably be more use of both humor and meta references/jokes/authorial self-inserts into each installment.

Also, please feel free to suggest operas, provide (constructive) feedback whether positive or negative, and interact with all these posts!

Love y’all; let’s get started!

-Savannah

edit: yeah, this is basically an inactive archive at this point. sorry, everyone.

#opera #opera tag #opera simplified #welcome aboard!#so yeah this is a thing that’s coming back

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Opera Simplified #7: Les Huguenots—Part I

Les Huguenots

(The Huguenots)

Opera Simplified #7

The Basics:

Music: Giacomo Meyerbeer

Libretto: Augustin Eugène Scribe and Émile de Saint-Amand Deschamps

Premiere: February 29, 1836; Salle Le Peletier (Opéra national de Paris), Paris, France.

Based on: No direct source material except history, although some scenes (but not the overall plot) are likely very loosely based on scenes from Prosper Mérimée’s 1829 novel Chronique du règne du Charles IX (Chronicle of the Reign of Charles IX).

Setting: The French province of Touraine (Acts I-II) and Paris, France (Acts III-V); August 1572.

Characters:

Marguérite de Valois, Princess of France, sister of King Charles IX, and soon-to-be Queen of Navarre—soprano

Urbain, her favorite page—soprano*

Valentine de Saint-Bris, her favorite lady-in-waiting—soprano*

Raoul de Nangis, a Huguenot nobleman—tenor

Marcel, his servant and formerly grandfather’s ward, also a seasoned soldier—bass

Le Comte de Saint-Bris, Valentine’s father, leader of the Catholic noble faction, and governor of the Louvre—bass-baritone

Le Comte de Nevers, Valentine’s fiancé, a Catholic nobleman—baritone

Tavannes, also a Catholic nobleman—tenor

Cossé, another Catholic nobleman—tenor

Thoré, yet another Catholic nobleman—tenor

de Retz, still another Catholic nobleman—baritone

Méru, there are way too many extra Catholic noblemen in this opera—baritone

Maurevert, *sigh* ditto except he’s a Special Plotting One in Act III—baritone

Léonard, Nevers’ valet—tenor**

Bois-Rosé, a Huguenot captain—tenor

A nightwatchman—bass

A Catholic student—tenor

Two ladies-in-waiting—sopranos

Two Catholic girls—soprano and mezzo-soprano

Two Roma girls—soprano and mezzo-soprano

Three monks—tenor and two basses

Henri de Bourbon, the Huguenot King of Navarre and Marguérite’s eventual husband—silent

*Note: While Urbain and Valentine were intended to be sung by sopranos, both roles have a history of being cast with mezzo-sopranos, although this is much more extensive in the case of Urbain than of Valentine.

**In some productions and recordings, Léonard is turned into a trouser role mezzo.

A Note Before I Recommend Recordings: The performance and recording history of this opera is…exceedingly complicated. A lot of this is due to a combination of there being LOTS of revisions and cuts over the years, including large chunks of music cut before the premiere, parts of which have since been restored. A critical edition was prepared approximately a decade ago; however, the score/libretto still has not been made available to the general public (possibly because there are some differences in the scenes from original to premiere) and no full recording—either audio or visual—has been made of said edition (although someone did splice together a recording from multiple recordings that comes very close and which was instrumental in the making of this Opera Simplified.)

Further adding to the problem is that while several productions in the last decade have been either audio or visual recorded, all of them use different pieces of the critical edition and none of them are complete or add up to a complete reading. As such, yours truly is working with as much material as she can but this Opera Simplified is not and cannot be truly complete.

[Last note: this also means that while I have done my very best to provide clips that are as complete as possible, a) the level of completeness of any given excerpt may vary and b) some of the clips will overlap.]

Recommended Video Recordings:

The Sydney 1990 production is rather heavily cut but great for a first-timer (source: this recording is what made me fall in love with this opera). Also, this is actually a recording of Dame Joan Sutherland’s final ever full staged performance of any opera, so this is opera history.

The Montpellier 1990 production is an excellent and much-less cut traditional option as well.

The Brussels 2011 (Part I; Part II) and Geneva 2020 productions are both somewhat “out there” direction wise (the latter more than the former) but both are excellent shows overall.

The Paris 2018 production is worth a watch if only for Lisette Oropesa as Marguérite (although that cast is for the most part very good).

Recommended Audio Recordings:

If you can find the Diederich Montpellier 1988 recording, a) snap it up ASAP and b) PLEASE SEND IT TO ME because it was online for a while but then it disappeared and it hasn’t been available for streaming ANYWHERE online for over three years now.

The Bonynge 1970 recording is overall quite good, except the Raoul isn’t great.

This audio recording of a Berlin 2016 performance is overall very good (Juan Diego Flórez as Raoul!!!), although I’m still mad at the Deutsche Oper Berlin for not filming this production.

This Vienna 1971 performance is VERY heavily cut but what we have is really good.

And if you love balls-to-the-wall singing and don’t care about pesky things like French language and style or cuts (no judgment here though, we all need some straight up balls-to-the-wall sometimes) this legendary La Scala 1962 recording is nothing to scoff at.

Shoutout to @carlodivarga-s and @monotonous-minutia for being the best readers/idea-bouncer-offers a writer could’ve ever asked for.

The Opera, Very Simplified: “Way out yonder somewheres, the Lord’s great heart must break at seein’ how men treat one another an’ say they’re doin’ it all for His sake.” -Carlisle Floyd, Susannah, Act I, Scene 5

(btw if you haven’t seen or listened to Susannah, go do so asap. Here’s a recording with Cheryl Studer, Samuel Ramey, and Jerry Hadley.)

ACTUALLY, I lied when I said this was the last note. One more note:

If you are reading this Opera Simplified on the date of its publication, you are reading it on August 24, 2022 (at least in Paris time, which is 7 hours ahead of the author’s time zone). This is deliberate, and you will learn the reason why before too long.

THE OPERA (or at least the first three acts of it):

#opera #opera tag #les huguenots #opera simplified #i will get around to bolding character names eventually i am just so tired and i already had to remake this post #meyerbeer #giacomo meyerbeer #augustin eugène scribe #émile de saint amand deschamps

due to a technical error, the first part of this Opera Simplified will have to be reposted. thanks!

Opera Simplified #7: Les Huguenots—Part II

Les Huguenots

(The Huguenots)

Opera Simplified #7

The Basics:

Music: Giacomo Meyerbeer

Libretto: Augustin Eugène Scribe and Émile de Saint-Amand Deschamps

Premiere: February 29, 1836; Salle Le Peletier (Opéra national de Paris), Paris, France.

Based on: No direct source material except history, although some scenes (though not the plot as a whole) are likely very loosely based on scenes from Prosper Mérimée’s 1829 novel Chronique du règne du Charles IX (Chronicle of the Reign of Charles IX).

Setting: The French province of Touraine (Acts I-II) and Paris, France (Acts III-V); August 1572.

Characters:

Marguérite de Valois, Princess of France, sister of King Charles IX, and soon-to-be Queen of Navarre—soprano

Urbain, her favorite page—soprano*

Valentine de Saint-Bris, her favorite lady-in-waiting—soprano*

Raoul de Nangis, a Huguenot nobleman—tenor

Marcel, his servant and formerly grandfather’s ward, also a seasoned soldier—bass

Le Comte de Saint-Bris, Valentine’s father, leader of the Catholic noble faction, and governor of the Louvre—bass-baritone

Le Comte de Nevers, Valentine’s fiancé, a Catholic nobleman—baritone

Tavannes, also a Catholic nobleman—tenor

Cossé, another Catholic nobleman—tenor

Thoré, yet another Catholic nobleman—tenor

de Retz, still another Catholic nobleman—baritone

Méru, there are way too many extra Catholic noblemen in this opera—baritone

Maurevert, *sigh* ditto except he’s a Special Plotting One in Act III—baritone

Léonard, Nevers’ valet—tenor**

Bois-Rosé, a Huguenot captain—tenor

A nightwatchman—bass

Two ladies-in-waiting—sopranos

Two Catholic girls—soprano and mezzo-soprano

Two Roma girls—soprano and mezzo-soprano

Three monks—tenor and two basses

Henri de Bourbon, the Huguenot King of Navarre and Marguérite’s eventual husband—silent

**In some productions and recordings, Léonard is turned into a trouser role mezzo.

This is Part II, aka Acts IV and V. If you haven’t read Part I (Acts I-III), here it is. Go read that first.

THE OPERA (or at least the last two acts of it):

#opera #opera tag #les huguenots #meyerbeer #giacomo meyerbeer #augustin eugène scribe #émile de saint-amand deschamps #opera simplified

Opera Simplified #7: Les Huguenots—Notes for Act V and an Appendix!

Notes:

** For some bizarre reason (possibly a combination of length and the fact that this act does not portray the Catholic Church in a good light at all), it was surprisingly common performance practice for a very long time (although not anymore) that this act would be cut entirely and the opera would end with Raoul getting shot outside Valentine’s house at the end of Act IV. If you’re scratching your head too...yeah.

*** Partly because this scene is often seen as not really necessary for the main plot and partly because it primarily consists of an extremely difficult tenor aria, this scene is frequently cut.

**** The version of the aria given in the main text is the version commonly performed; due to a combination of cuts and censorship of anti-monarchical content, the aria here is much shorter than originally written. Below is an English translation of what was to have been an additional verse of the aria and would have been inserted after this line:

RAOUL

When he [Coligny] was alive, they did not dare look upon

this noble face honored by victory without paling—

and in death, they insulted him!

Friends, here is his blood!

Do you still doubt?

And these are Frenchmen!

And these are Christians

who claim their support from Heaven and the royal throne for this!

Roving and full of fury, cursing their torture,

I ran to the Louvre, running through the danger,

to plead with King Charles! What a crime! May he be cursed!…

I saw the King himself shoot down his [Huguenot] subjects,

whom he is supposed to protect, from the top of his balcony!

Everywhere, murder and fire!

Everywhere, furious priests

proclaiming the wrath of Heaven!

And alas, no one, not even

the young girl in prayer

or the baby at its mother’s breast,

escapes their blows!

Will we helplessly watch this blood flow

when it cries out for vengeance?

It is waiting to be avenged! And they will have that vengeance from us!

***** The Louvre Palace was the royal palace of France prior to the building of the Palace of Versailles. It did give its name to the art museum now partially housed within it, but to be clear, Valentine is not telling them to take refuge at an art museum.

****** Props to Olivier Py (director of La Monnaie De Munt’s 2011 production) for apparently being the only director with enough common sense to let Nevers die onstage.

******* The ending of the previous scene is often modified so that this and the previous scene take place in the same setting.

Appendix:

so as you may have guessed, there was a shitton of research and online articles and things used in the making of this very long, very detailed project!

the following are some of the resources used in the making of this Opera Simplified:

-Wikipedia

-Google Translate

-Collins French-English online dictionary

-Wiktionary

-five (5) different libretti:

Google Books previews of Giacomo Meyerbeer: The Complete Libretti

Nico Castel’s word-for-word English translation

this webpage of Eugène Scribe’s original libretto before Deschamps (and others) made changes to it

this French/Spanish libretto

and this French/Italian libretto

-a piano/vocal score and a full orchestral score both available on IMSLP

-this delightful post from my dear @monotonous-minutia

-this post i wrote over two years ago

#opera #opera tag #les huguenots #notes #source appendix #meyerbeer #giacomo meyerbeer #augustin eugène scribe #émile de saint-amand deschamps

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Opera Simplified #7: Les Huguenots—Notes, Act IV

** This aria (not including the recitative, which was always kept in) was cut before the premiere. It is now pretty much always reinstated because come on, you’re going to put on a four-hour opera and NOT give the leading lady an aria??? And it’s quite a lovely aria too.

*** de Besme, real name Charles Dianovitz, was an assistant of the Catholic leader Henry I, Duke of Guise. Of Bohemian (as in “present-day Czech”) origin, he is recorded as being the assassin of Admiral Coligny.

**** The Hôtel de Nesle was a mansion on the outer edge of Paris. Built around the Tour de Nesle, a 13th-century guard tower, the Hôtel was torn down in 1665. (There is apparently a currently operational hotel also called the Hôtel de Nesle; presumably there is no connection beyond the name.)

The wedding of Henri de Bourbon, the Huguenot King of Navarre, and Marguérite de Valois, the Catholic Princess of France, took place on August 18, 1572. However, as we all know, royal weddings are not simple affairs but ARE widely and lavishly celebrated. As such, thousands of Catholics and Protestants poured into Paris in the weeks prior to the wedding, leading to rapidly increasing tension between the faiths. In addition, both parties remained in the city for several days afterwards to continue celebrations such as this one.

This would prove fatal.

***** Saint-Germain l’Auxerrois is a Catholic church located directly across from the Louvre Palace, which was the royal palace at the time this opera takes place. And in fact, the bell of Saint-Germain l’Auxerrois was actually the signal for the beginning of the massacre in real life.

****** Known now as the Cross of Lorraine, the Cross of Anjou was a double-barred cross associated with the (Catholic) Valois family. As anyone who has been following the historical part of this Opera Simplified will realize, the dowager royal family consisted of a marriage between King Henri II de Valois and Caterina de Medici, aka Catherine de Médicis, making all their children, including King Charles IX and his sister Marguérite de Valois, descendants of both families.

******* This line is sometimes altered slightly and given to both Raoul and Valentine.

#opera #opera tag #les huguenots #notes #meyerbeer #giacomo meyerbeer #augustin eugène scribe #émile de saint-amand deschamps

Opera Simplified #7: Les Huguenots—Notes, Act III

** Note: this act was originally supposed to be prefaced with a brief introductory scene taking place inside the Saint-Bris house on the morning of the same day, although the scene was cut prior to the premiere and to my knowledge has never been performed.

In the scene, Valentine inadvertently witnesses her father and Maurevert (whom you’ll meet in just a bit) unsuccessfully attempt to assassinate Admiral Coligny (see notes for Act I) while she is being dressed for her wedding. The two would-be assassins return to the house and Saint-Bris yells at Maurevert for a bit before the latter leaves and then Valentine begs him not to make her marry Nevers. This goes over about as well as you think it does.

*** At the time this opera is set, the Pré-aux-Clercs was a notoriously popular place for duels, and by the 19th century this had captured the public imagination. So much so that just four years before the premiere of Huguenots, Ferdinand Hérold had written a wildly popular opéra comique about the French Wars of Religion and dueling at the time called Le Pré-aux-Clercs. Unlike Les Huguenots, it is a comedy. (Coincidentally or not, Marguérite de Valois is also a character in that opera, which is set in 1582, ten years after the events on which the opera under current discussion is based.)

**** “Dieu le veut!” (“God wills it!”). This is the first instance of that phrase in the opera. Keep it in the back of your head. Those will be the watchwords for the remainder of the opera.

***** The assignment of these lines differs between different libretti, scores, and performances. However, given that Maurevert was the one to initially hint at plans being made, I have decided to assign these lines as what makes the most sense when taking that into consideration.

****** The following solo scene for Marcel was cut before the premiere and no part of it was performed until 2011. The scene has still never been performed in its entirety in performance; the linked audio clip cuts about half the scene. However, because I like this scene and because I have all the text for it, I have decided to include it in its entirety. If you would like to experience this how most performances go, skip this section and go straight to Valentine’s next entrance.

******* This is presumably a reference to Genesis 44, in which Benjamin, the youngest of Jacob’s 12 sons, is the victim of a trap set by Joseph in order to test his once-wicked brothers. However, the reference is presumably simply about being the unknowing victim of a trap; the scheme in this opera is considerably less benign than Joseph’s test.

******** Note: The four seconds are initially unnamed in the libretto but are later identified as Tavannes, Cossé, de Retz, and Méru. The librettists made a mistake here: obviously, Tavannes, Cossé, de Retz, and Méru are all Catholic noblemen, and thus it would be exceedingly unlikely that Raoul could have gotten any of them to be his seconds. The usual resolution is to either ignore that part of this stage direction or (and I like this better) for two of the nobles to pretend to offer themselves as Raoul’s seconds in order to lull him into a false sense of security. My additional headcanon is that the four nobles played round-robin rock paper scissors in order to decide who had to pretend to be Raoul’s seconds.

#opera #opera tag #les huguenots #notes #meyerbeer #giacomo meyerbeer #augustin eugène scribe #émile de saint-amand deschamps

Opera Simplified #7: Les Huguenots—Notes, Act II

** The aria that Urbain sings here, “Non, vous n’avais jamais, je gage” was not written until 1848 for a London production of the opera. Some productions include it, others do not. However, it was in the first production I watched and also it’s just such a fun aria and should always be done, so I have chosen to include it in the main body of the text.

*** Basically what you need to know about the Midianites in this context was that in the book of Numbers, Midianite and Moabite women allegedly caused many of the Israelite men to commit idolatry and various sexual sins. Numbers chapters 25 and 31 cover the bulk of it. Ah, sexism.

**** *narrator voice* it was not in fact a fussy not-actually-important bureaucratic thing or other. keep a pin in this; it will be important later.

(also why the fuck is bureaucratic so hard to spell lmao)

#opera #opera tag #les huguenots #notes #meyerbeer #giacomo meyerbeer #augustin eugène scribe #émile de saint-amand deschamps

Opera Simplified #7: Les Huguenots—Notes, Act I

** Two things:

the overture (or really more of a prelude) here is not the overture Meyerbeer originally wrote, which was apparently more in a traditional overture style and was cut and replaced with this one; however, no recording has been made of the original overture, so I cannot include it here.

more important to know about this overture: yes, the tune here IS “Ein feste Bürg ist unser Gott” (“A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”), a hymn by the one, the only Martin Luther. keep the tune in the back of your head because Meyerbeer uses it as a motif throughout the opera. Yes, it is a Lutheran hymn. Yes, the vast majority of Huguenots were Calvinists. Just roll with it.

*** Admiral Gaspard II de Coligny (1519-1572) was a prominent French nobleman who converted to Protestantism in the late 1550s.

In 1562, the first of the French Wars of Religion broke out and Coligny served as a lieutenant under the Huguenot military general Louis, Prince of Condé. After Condé was executed by Catholics following his defeat, surrender, and capture at the Battle of Jarnac in 1569, Coligny became the de facto leader of the Huguenots. Well liked by King Charles IX of France, he was a voice in the French government on behalf of the Huguenots and of peace. However, this, along with (obviously) his Protestantism, made him many enemies at court.

**** As previously mentioned, Henri de Bourbon was the young Protestant King of Navarre at the time this opera takes place and was about to marry to Marguérite de Valois. Thus, it is a favor to the incoming court to have good relations with Protestant nobles.

***** This hymn, which will recur in different forms throughout the opera, is the first appearance in the opera of the previously-mentioned “Ein feste Bürg”, although in French and obviously not a 100% literal translation.

****** La Rochelle is a seaport in western France (and according to early letters by Meyerbeer, Raoul and Marcel’s hometown). During the French Wars of Religion, it was one of the Huguenots’ chief strongholds, and it declared itself independent from France in 1568. The city was famously sieged several times, most notably for about nine months in the immediate aftermath of the Saint Bartholomew’s Day Massacre. However, the conflict being referenced here is presumably a Catholic naval blockade of the city that took place in 1571, which was fiercely resisted by Huguenot forces and the city’s inhabitants.

#opera #opera tag #les huguenots #notes #meyerbeer #giacomo meyerbeer #augustin eugène scribe #émile de saint-amand deschamps

Opera Simplified #7: Les Huguenots—Before You Go, Some Geographical and Historical Context:

AKA What You Need To Know About The French Wars of Religion:

-If you know anything about 16th century Europe, it’s that the girls (Catholics and Protestants) were FIGHTINGGGG.

-France was no exception.

-Protestantism found its way to France in the 1520s and quickly became popular among nobles, merchants, and ordinary folks alike for various reasons that I will not get into right now because I’m trying to keep this short and also it’s 2 AM when I’m writing this.

-By the time the opera takes place, about 10% of the French population was Protestant, the vast majority of them Calvinists.

-the French Protestants were given the collective nickname Huguenots. Thus the title of the opera.

-anyway-

-Following the sudden death of Henri II de Valois, King of France, in 1559, a series of power struggles began over the royalty and court influence, especially given that increasing numbers of nobles were converting to Protestantism. in 1561, the government passed the Edict of Saint-Germain, which gave Protestants limited freedom of worship in the hopes that there wouldn’t be a civil war.

-but on March 1, 1562, a group of Catholic soldiers murdered about 50 Huguenots attending a church service. this was called the Massacre of Vassy, and oopsie! it started a civil war.

-the first war ended about a year later with the Edict of Amboise. uneasy peace followed.

-in 1567, a bunch of Huguenot nobles decided to overthrow and kidnap King Charles IX in what was called the Surprise of Meaux. however this failed spectacularly and it started a second civil war, which ended the following year with the Edict of Longjumeau (presumably no relation other than place name to Adolphe Adam’s 1836 opera Le postillon de Lonjumeau), which was basically “meh let’s do what the Edict of Amboise did”.

-and then they started a third civil war in 1569 like a bunch of dumbasses

-and then it was ended in 1570 by the Peace of Saint-Germain-en-Laye.

-so for the last two years before the beginning of the opera, there has been yet another more or less uneasy peace.

-here is a map of France at about the time the opera takes place. the province of Touraine (where the first two acts are set) is approximately circled in blue. the little dot with an arrow pointing to it is the approximate location of the Huguenot city of La Rochelle, which is not home to any of the opera’s action but is nevertheless an important city:

-meanwhile, in an effort to reconcile the religious factions, Queen Mother Catherine de Médicis (Caterina de Medici), Henri II de Valois’ widow and King Charles IX’s mother, announced in 1572 that she would be marrying off her 19-year-old daughter Marguérite de Valois to the Huguenot King of Navarre Henri de Bourbon. The wedding was set to be held in Paris on August 18th.

-and btw, if you’re wondering “wait, is Marguérite de Valois related to Élisabeth de Valois? like the one from Don Carlos?” the answer is yes (they were sisters).

-and that’s what you missed on the French Wars of Religion!

#opera #opera tag #les huguenots #notes #background context #meyerbeer #giacomo meyerbeer #french wars of religion #augustin eugène scribe #émile de saint-amand deschamps

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alright peeps, you’re about to get a set of notes posts dropped a full day early because i feel like it so hurray

#anyway that's how we're doing

Opera Simplified #6: I Lombardi alla prima crociata

I Lombardi alla prima crociata (The Lombards at the First Crusade)

Opera Simplified #6

The Basics:

Music: Giuseppe Verdi

Libretto: Temistocle Solera

Premiere: February 11, 1843; Teatro alla Scala, Milan.

Based on: Tommaso Grossi’s epic poem of the same name, available here in Italian.

Setting: Milan, Antioch, and various locations in the desert near Jerusalem; 1095-1099 CE.

Characters:

Arvino, a nobleman, one of the two sons of Lord Folco of Rò—tenor

Viclinda, his wife—soprano

Pagano, his brother—bass

Giselda, Arvino and Viclinda’s daughter—soprano

Pirro, Arvino’s squire—bass

Acciano, Governor of Antioch—bass

Sofia, his wife—soprano

Oronte, their son—tenor

A Prior of the City of Milan—tenor

Recommended Audio Recordings: if you can get over the presence of The Tenor Turned Baritone Who Shall Not Be Named [yours truly opts to skip over the parts featuring That Singer, as luckily there are not many such parts], this 1971 recording also starring Cristina Deutekom and Ruggero Raimondi is quite good (YouTube; Spotify). Another quite good recording, with That One Conductor From The Met Who Shall Not Be Named, June Anderson, Samuel Ramey, Luciano Pavarotti, Richard Leech, and young Patricia Racette and Ildebrando d’Arcangelo in supporting roles is this nice 1996 take (YouTube; Spotify). A third is this live recording from Parma in 2009 (YouTube; Spotify).

Recommended Video Recordings: The Met 1993 production, which has [unfortunately] the same conductor as the 1996 recording but also Ramey, Pavarotti, and the delightful Lauren Flanigan, is great (and also the source of the vast majority of the featured video clips). The 2009 Parma production is pretty good too, as is this 1999 Santiago production (Part I; Part II).

The Opera, Very Simplified: After one of the Folco brothers returns from exile to (allegedly) reconcile with his brother, who himself has been named leader of the Lombard forces for the First Crusade, things could not look more rosy. But when the brother just returned from exile horribly botches an attempt to murder the other brother, that combined with the family’s imminent departure for the Crusade throws the family into chaos, especially when the heiress to the family is captured by the enemy and summarily falls in love with a local prince...and who is the mysterious hermit helping the Lombards at every turn anyway?

A couple more things:

Here’s some quick geographical/historical context going in, courtesy of your history and European studies dual-degree student and series author.

DISCLAIMER: the author of this Opera Simplified would like to make explicitly clear that she roundly condemns both the Islamophobic nature of the Crusades and the Islamophobic sentiments that certain characters in this opera voice. At the same time, she has also written about how this opera was not intended to be Islamophobic, although there are certain potentially uncomfy aspects to the drama on account of the subject matter.

With that in mind,

THE OPERA:

#opera #opera tag #opera simplified #I Lombardi alla prima crociata #I Lombardi #The Lombards at the First Crusade #Verdi #Giuseppe Verdi #Solera #Temistocle Solera #oh look hahahaha I'm back after another extended hiatus lol

Opera Simplified #6: I Lombardi alla prima crociata—Notes, Acts III and IV

** The stage directions actually state that this scene takes place in the Valley of Jehoshaphat, but there is lots of disagreement as to whether said place actually exists. At any rate, at the time Verdi wrote this opera, people generally believed that the Kidron Valley was the Valley of Jehoshaphat, so I have taken that liberty.

*** The term “fountain (or pool) of Siloam” refers to several rock-cut pools located southeast of the walls of the Old City portion of Jerusalem and on the southern slope of the Wadi Hileah. In the Bible (specifically John chapter 9), the water of Siloam was able to heal the blind, among other things.

**** The tomb of Rachel, one of the two wives of Jacob and the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, is located slightly north of Bethlehem and is a spot revered by Christians, Jews, and Muslims alike. Once again, the date provided here (and the date provided in the stage direction for the next scene) is based on historical reality, not anything written in the libretto.

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Opera Simplified #6: I Lombardi alla prima crociata—Notes, Act II

** The Hermit is Pagano. There, I said it. However, all of the characters in this opera apparently have faceblindness towards Pagano because it takes him literally outright saying that he is Pagano for anyone to figure out this foregone conclusion. Ah, Bad Opera Disguises.

Also the date is not actually specified in the libretto; however, given the historical fact behind the action (although once again, looking for historical accuracy in opera is generally a useless endeavor etc etc etc) and that Scenes 2 and 3 of this act take place on the same day, there it is.

*** Just helpfully referring you back to this post.

**** Yet again, this blog does not condone Islamophobia in any way, shape, or form. At the same time, frankly portraying Islamophobia as it is (because hello, we are talking about the Crusades) is not the same as condoning it.

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Opera Simplified #6: I Lombardi alla prima crociata—Inter-Act Exposition Roundup (you’re going to need it)

So, if we are to go by historical fact (although let’s face it, looking for historical accuracy in opera is an entirely useless endeavor) in the absence of any contradicting evidence, about two to three years have passed in between the end of Act I and the beginning of Act II, as Act I takes place in the wake of Peter the Hermit’s efforts to start the First Crusade earlier than the official August 15, 1096 date set by Pope Urban II, while Act II takes place around the time of the Siege of Antioch, which occurred from late 1097 to mid-1098.

So obviously, a lot can happen in two to three years, so here’s the rundown. All of this is eventually explained in some form or other but it can get rather confusing so as the title of this series indicates, I’m here to simplify it for you:

As planned, the Lombard Crusade forces led by Arvino left Milan for the Crusade; both Viclinda and Giselda accompanied Arvino.

Pagano went back into exile in the Holy Land. More on him in just a bit.

At some point on the journey, Viclinda died of unspecified causes (genuine RIP).

Giselda has since been captured by the forces of Acciano, ruler of Antioch. Arvino has thus far been unable to rescue her, although he is preoccupied with the somewhat related goal of taking the city of Antioch for the Crusader forces.

During her unwanted stay in Antioch, Giselda has met and fallen in love with Acciano’s son Oronte, although she has never told him as such. Oronte, for his part, has fallen in love with her.

Giselda has also become close friends with Oronte’s mother and Acciano’s wife Sofia, who at an unspecified point in the past secretly converted to Christianity. Thus, one of the main reasons Sofia encourages Oronte and Giselda’s relationship is that she wants her son to convert to Christianity and thinks that if there’s anyone who can get him to convert, it’s Giselda. Spoiler alert: she is eventually proven correct.

And that’s what you need to know going in!

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Opera Simplified #6: I Lombardi alla prima crociata—Notes, Act I

** Verdi and Solera gave each of the four acts a subtitle.

*** For the record, I read the program book, although usually I don’t have enough time before a show to really read everything and process it all mentally, so you know what? Even if you do read the program book, this sort of exposition can be insanely helpful.

**** If you didn’t already read the thing I put above the cut, here it is. The thing about Peter the Hermit is included.

***** Some productions divide Scene 1 into two scenes at this point. For example, the Met production has a scene change during the nuns’ chorus and the second scene takes place inside the Church of Sant’Ambrogio.

****** The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, located in Jerusalem, is generally considered to sit on the two holiest sites in Christianity: the site of the crucifixion of Christ and the empty tomb associated with the Resurrection. At the time this opera takes place, the Holy Sepulchre (tomb) itself was open to the air; the church, following extensive damages, was being gradually reconstructed and consisted of an open-air court and five small chapels.

Also hey, Internet spell-check, “Sepulchre” is a word so screw you.

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Opera Simplified #6: I Lombardi alla prima crociata—Before You Go, Some Geographical and Historical Context:

Please, please, please read this before you read the actual opera portion of this Opera Simplified. It will make things so much easier for everyone. I’ll even link this post when specific stuff covered in this post gets mentioned in the opera.

First off, what is Lombardy, where is Lombardy, and who the fuck are the Lombards?

Lombardy is a region in northwestern Italy, currently one of Italy’s 20 administrative region, although at the time this opera is set, it was a semi-autonomous collection of communes (city-states) formally under the rule of the Holy Roman Empire. Milan, where the first act of this opera takes place, is the capital of the region.

Here’s a map of what the region currently looks like, which I think would be less confusing than a map of the region according to how it was at the time the opera takes place:

The term “Lombard” is just the term for anyone from the region of Lombardy.

* Dating from the Roman Empire, Rò (Rho), which gives our central family its title, is a municipality located around 14 kilometers/9 miles northwest of Milan. At the time this opera takes place, it was a capopieve, or the central seat of a Catholic parish, and was part of a commune with several other cities in the region.

And the Crusades—specifically the First Crusade?

Oh boy, this is above my historian pay grade.

I kid; I am not getting paid at all for my academic studies as an American university student dual-degreeing in history and European studies whose historical track is leaning towards European history between the 17th and early 20th centuries. As such, my knowledge of the Crusades is not incredibly intricate but I’d like to believe it’s pretty good, so here’s the incredibly short version:

Let’s start, like with many good historical explanations, with a map:

If you would like to look at the map in greater detail, you can here.

Anyway, the First Crusade:

Declared in late 1095 by Pope Urban II, the First Crusade was supposed to begin on August 15, 1096, but various peasants and petty nobles around Europe got a bit of a leg up on the people in charge, largely due to the extreme charisma of Peter the Hermit, a priest from Amiens who decided he wanted to get started ASAP.

There are a...wide variety of reasons why the First Crusade happened, and as already stated this is not my area of expertise. However, during the century immediately preceding the First Crusade, there had been much upheaval in the East: the Great Schism of 1054 was unprecedented in the way it shook Christianity, the Byzantine Empire had suffered some defeats at the hands of the Seljuk Turks, and a significant uptick in pilgrimages to the region (alongside some likely-fabricated stories of abuse of said pilgrims by inhabitants of the region). Add this to already-going-on anti-Muslim efforts such as the Reconquista in Spain, prejudices within Christian European society, bored knights who weren’t fighting enough for their own liking, and desire for economic/political power tied up with religion, among other things, and you have a powder keg. And with Pope Urban II’s famous declaration of “Deus vult!” (”God wills it!”), it exploded. The people of Europe went on crusade, many of them led by the French nobleman Godfrey of Bouillon, who is briefly mentioned in the opera.

The two main real events of the First Crusade focused on in this opera are the sieges of Antioch (1097-1098) and Jerusalem (1099), specifically how both of these sieges end.

Siege of Antioch:

There were technically two Sieges of Antioch, as the first siege failed to take the city’s citadel, but for all intents and purposes, the main Siege of Antioch ended on June 2, 1098, when thanks to a traitorous gatekeeper, the Crusaders were able to get inside the city.

Two real-life personages made their way into the opera:

Yağısıyan (1011-1098), Governor of Antioch who unsuccessfully attempted to unify warring groups in the face of imminent attack by the Crusaders, only for the city to fall and for him to be killed by Crusaders, became Acciano. If you’re wondering how that name change happened, Crusades-era European writers spelled his name several different ways; one was Acxianus, which in Italian becomes Acciano.

Firouz, also spelled Pirus (dates unknown), a man in charge of several of Antioch’s towers who opened the gates of the city to let the Crusaders in on June 2-3, 1098. Little else is certain about him; sources differ on his name and origins, as detailed in this paper. Verdi and Solera (and also possibly Grossi; I have not read the original poem, so I cannot confirm) took advantage of this by making him into the character of Pirro, who does other important things early in the opera but who does in fact ultimately let the Crusaders into Antioch.

Siege of Jerusalem:

After several years of doing their Crusader thing, the Crusaders did in fact take the city of Jerusalem on July 15, 1099. That’s the most important thing for the opera. Upon taking the city, the Crusaders did massacre thousands of Muslim and Jewish inhabitants of the city, but that is not part of the opera.

One more point, this one re: the forgiveness of sins as part of the First Crusade:

yeah! it was a thing! that was one of the main things Pope Urban II used to get more people to sign up.

while this passage (from Charny’s A Knight’s Own Book of Chivalry) is about 250 years after the time period in question, it reflects the general viewpoint in this regard:

“Those who perform deeds of arms more to gain God’s grace and for the salvation of the soul than for glory in this world, their noble souls will be set in paradise to all eternity and their persons will be for ever honored.”

keep that in mind. we’ll come back to this in the opera, I promise.

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