- Antigonae
"Antigonae" ("Antigone"), written by
Carl Orff , was first presented on 9 August 1949 under the direction ofFerenc Fricsay in the Felsenreitsschule,Salzburg ,Austria . Antigonae is in Orff's words a "musical setting" for theGreek tragedy bySophocles of the same name. However, it looks and feels like anopera .Orff used the German translation of Sophocles' play by
Friedrich Hölderlin (1770-1843). The original play was written in442 BC and the German translation copies faithfully the mood and movement of Greek tragedy.The music
With this work Orff drew a line in his musical output, setting up a demarcation between pre-"Antigonae" and post-"Antigonae" style. Hölderlin's translation into lines of ecstatic German inspired the declamatory technique Orff uses for the first time in much of "Antigonae". It pre-dates a similar style of the minimalist school by about 50 years. In this way Orff creates unusual sound effects that captures both the
drama tic and psychological setting of the original Greek tragedy with emotional color ranging from the ecstatic to the orgiastic.Frequently an
ostinato in the orchestra builds up an almost unbearable tension which is resolved only in the final bars of the piece. Orff frequently uses the technique calledSingstimmen , which is half way between singing and speaking, somewhat like Schönberg'sSprechgesang , but still within the tonal language of work.The sense of antiquity is often enhanced when the text is treated psalmodically in a manner resembling
Gregorian Chant . Another early device found in Antigone is themelisma , where many notes are assigned to a single syllable, which is found as well in the music of other ancient and modernculture s.The structure of the work, its heavy emotional content, its novel fabrics of sound, all demand more of the listener than required in the usual opera performance. While "Antigone" has never been as popular as, say, "Rigoletto", it has set new standards for the orchestra, the singers and the committed listener.
Roles
ynopsis
The opera begins in the early morning following a battle in Thebes between the armies of the two sons of
Oedipus :Eteocles andPolynices . King Kreon (Creon ), who ascended thethrone of Thebes after both brothers are killed in battle, decrees that Polynices is not to be buried. Antigonae, his sister, defies the order, but is caught. Kreon decrees that she be buried alive in spite of the fact that she is betrothed to his son,Haemon . The gods, through the blind prophetTiresias , express their disapproval of Kreon's decision, which convinces him to rescind his order, and he goes to bury Polynices. However, Antigonae has already hanged herself rather than be buried alive. When Kreon arrives at the tomb where she was to be interred, his son, Haemon, attacks him and then kills himself. Now, when Kreon's wife, Eurydice, is informed of their death she, too, takes her own life. At the end of the play, and the opera, Kreon is the only principal left alive.Instrumentation
"Antigonae" is scored for 6
piano s (also played withdrum stick andplectrum ), 4harp s, 9double bass es, 6flute s doubling6 piccolo s, 6oboe s doubling 3English horn s, 6trumpet s with mutes, 7-8timpani , and percussion (steinspiel[ lithophone ] ,xylophone , wood drum [i.e.log drum ] , 2 bells, 3glockenspiel s, 4 pairs of finger cymbals, 3 Turkish cymbals (i.e. suspended cymbals), 3 pairs Turkish cymbals [i.e. crash cymbals] , small anvil, 3 triangles, 2bass drum s, 6tambourine s, 10 "trough xylophones" (Orff Schulwerk instruments, probably referring to xylophones without resonating tubes) of various sizes, 6 pairs ofcastanet s, and 10 large Javanesegong s).References
* [http://www.amadeusonline.net/almanacco.php?Start=0&Giorno=9&Mese=08&Anno=1949&Giornata=&Testo=&Parola=Stringa Amadeus Almanac, accessed 3 July 2008]
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