programme

Ercole sul Termodonte
Antonio Vivaldi / Antonio Salvi
wersja koncertowa

Date: 23 January 2009 at 8 p.m.
Place: K. Szymanowski Philharmonic Hall in Krakow

Cast:

Antiope: Vivica Genaux – mezzo-soprano
Ippolita: Maria Grazia Schiavo – soprano
Orizia: Emmanuela Galli – soprano
Teseo: Romina Basso – alto
Martesia: Sefanie Irányi – mezzo-soprano
Alceste: Philippe Jaroussky – counter-tenor
Ercole: Carlo Vincento Allemano – tenor
Telamone: Filippo Adami – tenor
Fabio Biondi – concertmaster, conductor
Europa Galante
Capella Cracoviensis (choir)
Jan Tomasz Adamus – choir preparation

ERCOLE SUL TERMONDONTE
“I spent three carnival seasons in Rome, due to the opera” – Vivaldi wrote with pride in a letter from 16 November 1737. The opera Ercole sul Termondonte, created for the stage of Teatro Capranica for the carnival season of 1723 enters into the so-called Roman triptych. It was written three years after Tito Manlio for Teatro della Pace and a year before the famous Giustino, presented in Capranica.
In Rome, tired with old lyrical models, Ercole sul Termondonte, a powerful and colourful piece was to triumphantly impose a new style of Vivaldi, who achieved heights in his composing art. The skilful composer-impresario built a score of this opera like a “review” of his life’s works, mixing in it carefully chosen arias, enjoying invariable success with new fragments, written especially for the Eternal City. In the libretto of engaging exotic, taken directly from the magical resources of the old Venetian theatre, Vivaldi, a genius creator of melodies and rhythm impossible to imitate, as well as an experienced playwright, allows to voice the most extreme human emotions with unique accuracy and builds extremely complex dramatic situations. From relations of contemporary for him, it seems that the success of Ercole began a true fashion for Vivaldi in Rome. As Quantz, who was in Rome a year later, mentions, when Vivaldi revived the lyrical life of the city with his two new operas, the Roman public has such an “enthusiastic approach to him that it refused to listen to anything that did not remind of that style”. Unfortunately, the entire score of Ercole sul’Termondonte was not preserved and the work is known only through particular arias, which were scattered all over European libraries in various forms. Finding these fragments required extremely arduous reconstruction work, in order to present Vivaldi’s Ercole in all its might and splendour. Vivaldi’s Ercole opera could be almost completely reconstructed in its beginning version thanks to two very significant elements. The most important is the libretto, which survived in integral and authentic form, in the form that was used in the performance at Capranica theatre in Rome in 1723. Furthermore, almost all the arias survived in various sources, found in library resources in Paris, in Munster (currently in Kassel) and Turin; also other documents allowed to collect all the arias and completing the analysis and reconstruction of the work. In composing his operas, Antonio Vivaldi used a confirmed method. When he presented his works in cities far away from him, he used materials he composed in earlier seasons. This can be claimed by following changes that he introduced both to the original texts of the arias, as well as to the music material and to the libretto. Not only did he sometimes force the librettist to make changes in the text of the original, but also added new arias directly to the work, not caring about the difference of the libretto (he erased original texts on the score and wrote down the new libretto). Fabio Biondi, who reconstructed the masterpiece in another form than Alan Curtis’ last recording, decided that the most simple and direct method of reconstruction is to learn the methods of composing and try to use them. Biondi, therefore, reconstructs the style of the work above all, not to copy it, but to refer to it, remind with this deep conviction that an important mission of remembering the great works of past times is being done.

FABIO BIONDI ABOUT ERCOLE SUL TERMODONTE

Vivaldi’s Ercole opera could be almost completely reconstructed in its beginning version thanks to two very significant elements. The most important is the libretto, which survived in integral and authentic form, in the form that was used in the performance at Capranica theatre in Rome in 1723. Furthermore, almost all the arias survived in various sources, found in library resources in Paris, in Munster (currently in Kassel) and Turin; also other documents allowed to collect all the arias and completing the analysis and reconstruction of the work. However, taking into account the fact that the manuscripts concerning this opera are sometimes fragmental, I was forced to integrate it, and details concerning this work I present below.

INTRODUCTION

In composing his operas, Antonio Vivaldi used a confirmed method. When he presented his works in cities far away from him, he used materials he composed in earlier seasons. This can be claimed by following changes that he introduced both to the original texts of the arias, as well as to the music material and to the libretto. Not only did he sometimes force the librettist to make changes in the text of the original, but also added new arias directly to the work, not caring about the difference of the libretto (he erased original texts on the score and wrote down the new libretto).
In the case of some works, scores can be found, which “The Red Priest” usually drew from. In the case of Ercole sul Termodonte the scores, from which Vivaldi most probably borrowed are mainly: Arsila regina di Ponto (Venice 1716), Tito Manlio (Mantua 1719 and Rome 1720), Armida al campo d’Egitto (Venice 1718), La Candace (Mantua 1720), Orlando finto pazzo (Venice 1714), Ottone in villa (Vicenza 1713), Il Teuzzone (Mantua 1719), Artabano rè dei Parti (Venice 1718), that is 8 arias recognised as altered, i.e. such which were adjusted due to the similarity between texts.

ACT I

1. Overture
Overture to Ercole is found in Paris; it contains complete melodies, which constitute the main corpus of the material used in the case of the performance in Rome. It should be noted as a curiosity, that this symphony shows to be the same, like in the case of Arsila regina di Ponto (Venice 1716), a masterpiece from which Vivaldi drew in handfuls in composing Ercole.

2. Choir “Oh figlia di Giove”
“Group of amazons with horns and hunting dogs” – only this definition of the choir was preserved, without music. In order to fill out this important opening scene, I used music materials from the third part of the overture, throwing in a part for two horns and a women’s choir (sopranos and counter-altos). The harmonious structure of the choir and homophonic parts of horns aimed to constitute a very discrete intervention.

3. Aria “Dea di Delo” – Antiope
This aria, which was preserved without orchestration (1 instrumental part, voices and basso) derives from the unique and famous manuscript from Munster arie del Capranica 1723, which allowed to make almost a full reconstruction of this aria. In the form of an “arietta” a co-called aria not having structure in accordance with conventional form a-b-a, certain parts were missing in this aria. Work on reconstruction turned out to be less difficult than I expected, because it was about the same music, as in the case of “Improvviso riede il riso” from Tito Manlio (Mantua 1719). It must be added that Vivaldi often limited to bring in an orchestra to three parts, or mainly first and second unison violins, viola and unison basses. In our case, we added 2 horns and 2 oboes to the string instruments.

4. Duet “Sereno il ciglio” – Antiope and Martesia
There is no doubt that in this case it is about the altered duet “Già il prato” from the opera Arsila regina di Ponto (Venice 1716). The instrumental structure was not changed (string instruments, 2 flutes).

5. Aria “Con aspetto lusinghiero” – Antiope
This aria was entirely preserved.

6. Aria “Certo pensier” – Martesia
This aria was preserved in two different versions. One derives from the manuscript stored in Munster and it is not complete in the scope of orchestra (one instrumental part, voices and basso), while the second version is complete – it is “Certo timor” from Candace (Mantua 1720). Of course the version from Mantua allowed us to find the complete version, for we knew that it was about the original of Ercole from the performance presented in Rome.

7. Trumpet playing (instrumental part)
Intervention in the scope of this instrumental interlude was a problematic case. Because nothing exists that would refer to this piece, I first though that it should be removed, however, from the point of view of the piece’s drama, it is extremely important: it accompanies the moment when Ercole’s ships come to the coast of Temiskira. Eliminating it would cause disruption of the drama’s balance. I decided to alter this interlude, using authentic material composed by Vivaldi and, in order to maintain cohesion with the style of a few other fragments existing in other works of our composer (Tito Manlio, Giustino), I made extrapolations basing on the entries of concerts found in the library in Dresden.

8. Aria “Vedrà l’empia” – Heracles
Derives from the manuscript from Munster, in the form we know: instrumental part, voices and basso. But this aria has a classical structure for Vivaldi – tutti unisoni, which is characteristic for the majority of his arias. This allowed me not to break the structure of the manuscript, at the same time double the violins with two oboes in the tutti part and formulate the viola in basso parts. In this, I thought that anyway it was about the alteration of the aria “vedrà Roma” from Tito Manlio (Mantua 1719).

9. Aria “Quella belta” – Alcest
This aria also derives from the valuable deposit in Munster.
From the precise documents it results that Vivaldi was in Rome for two seasons 1723-1724 as a composer, but also as a virtuoso; he loved violins and viola d’amore equally, and it is not ruled out that he often travelled with both these instruments (the document concerning his stay in Cento in Ferrara can be compared for instance).
Taking into account the particularly dreamy and charming character, the instrumental part I intended for viola d’amore, an instrument used in this form in Tito Manlio (Mantua 1719), imagining to myself the probable participation of maestro in performing his own work. The tone, as well as the structure of the composition, emphasise the beautiful sound colour of this part, full of elevated and melancholy tones.

10. Aria “Occhio che sol” – Theseus
Fortunately, the manuscript from Munster also contains this unique aria. In this case, it was also necessary to restore the parts of second violins and violas. The structure of this fragment suggests interpolation of more counterpoint parts than in the majority of Vivaldi’s other arias; it was possible thanks to the fact that the subject is in the form of a dialogue, and its rhythm encourages exchanges of sentences.

11. Aria “A un cor generoso” – Orizia
Lost aria.

12. Aria “Non saria” – Hippolita
It is about altering the aria “Tu sei dell’alma mia” from Ottone in villa (Vicenza 1713), as in the case of no. 5.
It is confirmed by the fact that it is found in the same incomplete version in sources stored in Munster.

13. Aria “Uno sguardo” – Martesia
This “arietta” also derives from the manuscripts from Munster. The specific organisation of this fragment, its method of entry and choice of parts (voices and basso continuo) forced me to presume that already the original structure had this form. From the manuscripts from the period of seasons, in which Ercole was played, it seems that this was already the decline of the custom of accompanying arias only by basso continuo, although it still survived in a few cases in Rome.

14. Aria “Sento con qual dialetto” – Alcest
This aria is stored in the collections of the library in Paris. It is about the variant of the aria “Nasce dai tuoi diletti” from Armida al campo d’Egitto (Venice 1718).

15. Aria “Lascia sospirar” – Telamon
This aria is probably the same as in Jason Georg Caspar Schürmann’s opera; store in Berlin, and its limited version for voices and basso continuo is found also in Munster. In this edition, this aria was removed.

16. Destroying the bridge (instrumental part)
Similarly like in case no. 6, I preferred to maintain this fragment due to clear reasons of the piece’s dramaturgy. I found the movement Vivaldi’s concerto RV 571 particularly fitting for my purposes and decided to throw in the cymbals. Essentially, in the libretto, there is an guide: “there is a destruction of the bridge to the sounds of trumpets, cymbals and drums”.

ACT II

1. Aria “onde chiare” – Hippolita
I got to the aria in complete version, found in the library in Paris, and there was no need to make any changes in it.

2. Aria “Bel piacer”, “Pur che appaghi” – Antiope
Taking into account the distribution of the aria between particular figures and the number of arias in each act, I decided it was essential in the second act to give Antiope only one aria. Instead of “Bel piacer”, I chose the second aria from the second act intended for this figure – it concerns: “Pur che appaghi”. The aria exists in two versions, but taking into account it key (fa majeur) and its character par excellence heroic, I decided to add two parts for horns. This way they add the larger score greater power in relation to the only aria, in which they are anticipated (“Tender lacci”).

3. Aria “Da due venti” – Hippolita
The complete version of the aria is found in the library in Paris and I didn’t make any changes to it. However, it should be emphasised that we are dealing with the variant of the aria “Son due venti infesti” from Orlando finto pazzo (Venice 1714).

4. Choir “Viva Orizia, viva”
For the choir, as a basis, I used the third part of symphony RV 99. However, I resigned from the intervention of Orizia in the choir, because I gave this figure the lost aria “Torno al campo”.

5. Aria “Torno al campo” – Orizia
Unfortunately, the arias of this figure, performed during the premiere in Rome by the castrato Giovanni Dreyer, disappeared. Taking into account the significance of this figure, her presence on stage requires her to perform two arias. Therefore, I decided to give her this once disappeared aria “Vibra il ferro” by adapting it; this aria is found in the library in Berkeley, in collections of arias composed by “Pretro Rosso” (some of them probably belong to the opera Ipermetra, but not an aria chosen by me). This choice was significantly influenced by the fact that the metrics of the text and drama of the music match each other perfectly.

6. Aria “Pur che appaghi” – Antiope
This aria replaced aria no. 2.

7. Aria “Si bel volto” – Hippolita
This aria has two preserved versions. The first is found in Munster, in a characteristic incomplete form; the second, with identical text (!) comes from the manuscript Candace (Mantua 1720). Of course, it was the second version that turned out to be the basis for the final version of Ercole. Despite all these simplicities, it should be added that the version from Munster is a little shorter than the version from Candace. Finally, I chose the shorter German text, for which I accepted the orchestration anticipated for the long version.

8. Aria “Se ingrata fera” – Theseus
An amazing thing – Vivaldi here uses an aria, which was initially composed not for an opera, but for a serenade titled “Gloria ed Himeneo”. Both texts are very similar and I don’t have any doubts as to whom this aria belongs to.

9. Aria “Se libertà mi rendi” – Orizia
This aria was lost.

10. Aria “Tender lacci” – Telamone
The aria derives from the collections from Munster, in which the incomplete version is found, particularly that which concerns instruments (3 parts). It clearly concerns the copy of the aria “Tender lacci” from Armida al campo d’Egitto (Venice 1718), which takes away all doubts when it comes to the original instrumentation. For support of two horns anticipated by the composer in the original, I added cymbals.

11. Aria “No : non dirai così” – Herakles
The complete version of the aria is found in the library in Paris and I didn’t make any changes to it.

12. Aria “Io sembro appunto” – Alcest
Initially, Vivaldi composed this aria for Ottone in villa (Vicenza 1713) and used it as a “battle horse” in various operas, without making changes in the its text. The manuscript from Munster gives information concerning the used keys, etc., but in this case also, the part for the orchestra is incomplete; basing on numerous existing versions of this aria, I just filled the gaps.

13. Aria “Ei nel volto” – Martesia
There is only one, uniquely simplified version of this aria in the collections in Munster. Therefore, I had to make an intervention on a very complex level. Firstly, the reconstruction concerned tutti (this part existed only for the basso part) depending on the first notes (keys) of voices; then the work encompassed the parts called “supplements” that is second violins and basso, finally the orchestration : I strengthened the violins with a part for oboes, as well as voices with two flutes (see some Tito Manlio pages).

14. Aria “Scorre il fiume” – Theseus
The complete version of the aria is found in the library in Paris and I didn’t make any changes to it.

ACT III

1. Air “Se provasti” – Telamone
This aria was lost.

2. Aria “Non fia della vittoria” – Herakles
The complete version of the aria is found in the library in Paris and I didn’t make any changes to it.

3. Aria “Qual dispersa tortorella” – Theseus
I decided to resign from this aria, which only exists in a version of a manuscript kept in Munster (incomplete orchestration: instrumental parts, voices and basso); a significant number of arias intended for Theseus brought with it a danger of disrupting balance in dividing the material between remaining parts.

4. Aria “Sol perché t’amo” – Alcest
No piece was found, which would contain this text or its adaptation (parody).

5. Aria “Se ben sente” – Martesia
The complete version of the aria is found in the library in Paris and I didn’t make any changes to it.

6. Aria “caderò” – Orizia
We do not have this aria, similarly like the rest of the material concerning this figure. In order to maintain drama, I found an aria, which can worthily replace it: stored in the library in Skara, this aria was written to Artabano rè dei Parti (Venice 1718) and initially intended for a different castrato Francesco Natali. The edition from Skara contains a version for a tenor and it is easy to perform a transcription of it for soprano.

7. Aria “Amato ben” – Hipollyta
One of the most frequently used texts for arie d’amore ; it can be found in various lessons of many manuscripts. The original intended for Ercole can be found in the library in Paris in complete version and I didn’t make any changes to it.

8. Aria “Ti sento, si…” – Theseus
This aria exists in six different versions and together with the aria “Amato ben” ; it is the most frequently used opera aria by Vivaldi. I used an incomplete version of the manuscript from Munster (only voices and basso) as a reference point, to give order to various versions, even if they often coupled one another. Anyway, it seems that Vivaldi was inspired by the show Il Teuzzone (Mantua 1719) to write the version for Ercole presented in Rome.

9. Duet “Spera bell’idol mio” – Alcest, Martesia
The only version of this duet is found in the valuable manuscript in Munster. Called an aria a due, consists of instrumental parts for two voices and basso. Taking into account that the vocal parts (exposition and answer) are practically homophonic, in order to restore the orchestration, I first situated the oboes and violins in unison, then viola with basso, as an image of what we know from other similar texts by Vivaldi.

10. Aria “Scenderò, volerò” – Antiope
This aria can be found in Munster in a version for one voice and basso continuo with an introduction without instruments. This is a work “Anderò, volerò, griderò” from Orlando finto pazzo (Venice 1714), which in a later period will be used for Teuzzone (Mantua 1719), which original is found in the collections of the library in Turin.

11. Aria “Coronatemi le chiome” – Herakles
In the case of this last aria, I didn’t have any point of dramaturgic reference. None of Vivaldi’s guides remained, which could replace it. In this way, at the end of the second score, the main role, that is Herakles, was found without a farewell aria, and this caused imbalance in their distribution. But a true miracle turned out in finding the aria, which was found in the haywire fragments of the pastiche Tito Manlio, which Vivaldi prepared with other composers in Rome (Teatro Pace in 1720). Among these fragments there is one which belongs to the libretto Tito Manlio and which was probably composed and later unused. Due to its vocal and heroic character, this fragment replaces the missing aria perfectly. Overlapping these two texts wasn’t an easy thing, but the general colour gives an impression that this choice allowed to maintain the work’s cohesion.

12. Final choir “Cintia e Giove”
The final choir from Tito Manlio (Rome 1720) closes this musical drama. Vivaldi composed these final choirs against himself for operas shown in north Italy. In Giustino, an opera shown after Ercole, it is clearly felt that Vivaldi was forced to write it for the audience of a different music taste. However, this choir, though far from a masterpiece written with great swing, it is a more detailed record, than the records of choirs of operas shown in Venice. An interesting detail should be noted – the original presence of cymbals in this fragment of the score.

RECITATIVE

The whole material concerning recitatives was lost. This is not a surprise it we take into account that not original record of the show Ercole in Rome exists. The fact that the arias of this opera are dispersed around the libraries in all of Europe, gives evidence of the success this work enjoyed.
However, it would be aberration not to make a complete reconstruction of the score, not to show it as a sequence of arias following one another, but as a whole masterpiece. We know perfectly well that Vivaldi talked about the compositions of recitatives and we also know how much composers were excited when it comes to the usability of deepening the music of the recitatives. At the time, the pieces performed in earlier years in a given country could not be proposed again, in consequence, such effort was often treated as unnecessary. However, from correspondence conducted in the year 1737 between Vivaldi and Marquess, it results that the composer was fond of the recitatives, to which he approached with care full of jealousy, and what is most surprising, the public clearly valued them. This information told me to consider the way of filling this space. First, like an archaeologist from the nineteenth century I searched for Vivaldi’s recitatives, which could be matched to our libretto – unfortunately without success. Sometimes I was able to bend an old verse to a new one, but the question appeared: How is appropriating such different elements to give an impression of cohesion in the end stage? Finally, I came to the conviction that the simplest and most direct method of bringing this operation to a happy end was to learn the methods of composing and try to use them (with all the modesty and respect due to Vivaldi). I hope I won’t be acknowledged as a pert due to the fact that I achieved this; when one knows and like a specific style, even if it cannot be restored, it can be summoned, reminded with the deep conviction, which allows to still like it.

Fabio Biondi