Il cor vi darò. Zum Schutz vor dem Baum erhält Doristo von Amore einen magischen Ring. For the next season, Morrichelli having departed, the theatre took unusual pains to announce her substitution by the new star (and Da Ponte mistress), Adriana Ferrarese del Bene, later to be the first Fiordiligi.11, In another portion of his memoirs, abbé Da Ponte sheds some light about the political overtones of the libretto, and gives us a summary of the plot: The plan of the opera [...], aside from some merit of novelty [this was Da Ponte's first Vienna opera not based on a pre-existent literary work], had the timeliness of fitting admirably with certain policies of my august patron and sovereign. Szene 5: Während Diana ihr Bad nimmt, schlägt Britomarte (an der Uraufführung die ausdrucksvolle Französin Maria Mandini) ihren zögernden Gefährtinnen und den Jünglingen ein Schäferstündchen zu sechst vor, mit der Begründung: „Son tenera e fresca, Dieser offenbart ihm seine Identität und dass er ihn zum Werkzeug seiner Rache an Diana bestimmt habe. As a matter of fact, one Viennese critic reacted indignantly to the immorality he discerned in the opera: “an abominable patchwork of equivocations, of obscenities and of horrors”, “an infamous orgy”, singularly inappropriate as a wedding present.15 Love's travesty as a woman gives occasion to the most suggestive innuendoes, such as his flirting with Diana in spite of his/her sex. Nevertheless, Martín y Soler's years in St Petersburg were not especially propitious. That inventory aspires to completeness regarding the two main sources; it is selective for the others. Diana ruft nach Rache, dann nach Gnade. [16], Nach seinen eigenen Angaben stellte sich Da Ponte vor, „dass Diana, die sagenhafte Göttin der Keuschheit, einen Baum in ihrem Garten habe, dessen Zweige Äpfel von außerordentlicher Größe trügen“. Als dies geschieht, gibt sich die Pflanze als Mensch zu erkennen. here are extensive lists of performances at the Burgtheater in the period in Otto Michtner, “Das alte Burgtheater als Opernbühne: von der Einführung des deutsches Singspiels (1778) bis zum Tod Kaiser Leopolds II (1792)” (Vienna: Hermann Böhlaus Nachf., 1970), and more recently, in Dorothea Link, “The National Court Theatre in Mozart's Vienna” (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1998). català; Deutsch; English; español Evidently, time tempered the ire of the old “abbé”. It had a most happy reception, equal at least to the Cosa rara. Musical variants (except those mentioned in the following paragraph) and editorial interventions are registered below, in the List of Variants. Other comic operas followed: L'amor geloso in Naples, In amor ci vuol destrezza in Venice and Turin, Le burle per amore also in Venice, and La vedova spiritosa in Parma. 250-56. 49-50. Sie schrieben sie 1787 in Wien als drittes ihrer fünf Drammi giocosi[2] und erzielten damit ihren größten Erfolg. - Regia di F.Negrin (Barcellona, 2009) Szene 9: Diana nimmt vor ihrem Gang zum Tempel ein Bad. Die Oper L’arbore di Diana (Der Baum der Diana) ist ein Gemeinschaftswerk des Venezianers Lorenzo Da Ponte (Libretto) und des Valencianers Vicente Martín y Soler (Musik). A copy of the libretto for the first production as Singspiel: Der / Baum der Diana / Ein heroisch-komisches Singspiel / in zwey Aufzügen. Endimione's aria was also more ample, with a broad initial ritornello, so as to enhance the hierarchy of a character destined to become a goddess's lover. Szene 2: Diana verfolgt Britomarte und befiehlt anderen Nymphen, die Ungehorsamen zu bestrafen. The composer apparently alternated his residence in Naples with visits to the court at Madrid (that of September 1779 is documented); it is likely that his title of Chapelmaster to the Prince of Asturias, which identifies him in prints and documents of the 1780s, derive from one of those visits rather than from an association previous to Martín y Soler's departure for Italy. Torna a L'arbore di Diana. Sarò, se volete; Some of these are indicated by crossed out measures, but the majority are effected by pieces of paper glued on top of the musical writing, and/or by pages sewn together. Among male characters, Doristo was sung by the gifted Stefano Mandini, Endimione by the lyric tenor Vincenzo Calvesi and Silvio by Nicolò del Sole. Nachdem Una cosa rara von Da Ponte und Martin 1786 in Wien Furore gemacht hatte, wünschte sich Joseph II. For him I wanted an attractive theme, adaptable to those sweet melodies of his, which one feels deep in the spirit, but which few know how to imitate. Other centers such as Turin (Andromaca, 1780) and Lucca (Astartea, 1782) also commissioned from him and produced serious operas, but his career veered at this time decisively towards comic opera. We should not, however, allow the sweetness of his melodies, the placidity of his rhythms and the lack of adventurousness in his harmonies to prevent us from noticing some other fine qualities of the composer. It is provided not only by the comic character, Doristo, but also by the Love's ingenious jokes, by the disproportionate complaint of Silvio against Endimione (I, 4), by Clizia's and Cloe's stuttering when communicating to Endimione that they must kill him immediately (II, 6), by the ever-present play between the elevated moral tone that Diana wants to impose and the direct and naive eroticism of the other characters. Von dieser sei Doristo auf diese Insel entführt worden, um hier in lebenslanger Keuschheit den Baum zu bewachen. 1 “Der Stein der Weisen” has been recently released in a CD performed by Boston Baroque; it includes an extensive companion booklet by David Buch and Martin Pearlman where the relationship to “Die Zauberflöte” is discussed. 17 and 43. Szene 1: Britomarte befreit (und küsst) die drei Jünglinge. Diana aber bäumt sich in der Arie „Sento che dea son io“ („Ich fühle meine Göttlichkeit“) nochmals gegen die drohende Niederlage auf. Staccato articulations have been standardised without comment (for example, in the Sinfonia to act I, mm. 1 Among the coincidences between the two librettos we should also include the presence of a trio of genies, sung by sopranos (this was eliminated from the clean score of Diana, but apparently conserved in the Singspiel versions), the punishment of transgression by rendering the offender mute (Papageno / Britomarte). Apparently written throughout by the same hand (corresponding to the first copyist of Vienna 17795). Szene 17: Der „Priester“ lässt das Los ziehen, und dieses bestimmt, dass Diana als erste unter dem Baum durchgehen muss. L' arbore di Diana. A score, divided into 6 libri, three for each act. Die Oper Larbore di Diana (Der Baum der Diana) ist ein Gemeinschaftswerk des Venezianers Lorenzo Da Ponte (Libretto) und des Valencianers Vicente Martín y Soler (Musik). Martin Y Soler - L'Arbore di Diana Opera buffa in due atti su libretto di Lorenzo Da Ponte - con L.Aikin, M.Vinco, M.Maniaci, A.Garmendia, M.Martins - Orquestra Simfonica Gran Teatro Liceu - H.Bicket, dir. On this level of analysis, then, Diana and her chaste nymphs are none other than nuns, and Love is a personification of the Emperor. E qui, se non sbaglio, The Tree of Diana was the first to be produced. For a present-day observer, it is impossible not to notice the evident coincidences between our opera and Schikaneder's and Mozart's Magic Flute. For a general biographical overview, the best sorce is Dorothea Link's doctoral dissertation, “The Da Ponte Operas of Vicente Martín y Soler”, University of Toronto, 1991. Ihr werdet mir euer Herz schenken, Szene 11: Der Liebesgott verwandelt ihn in den alten Priester Alcindo. Auch Clizia vermag das Urteil nicht zu vollstrecken. Szene 7: Amore, der sich als Sendbotin seiner selbst ausgibt, fordert Diana auf, sich ihm zu unterwerfen, den Baum zu fällen und den Nymphen die Liebe zu gestatten. Über die Arbeit an den drei Libretti berichtet Da Ponte in seinen Memoiren: „Ich ging an den Schreibtisch und blieb dort zwölf Stunden ohne Unterbruch.“ Wenn er mit dem Glöckchen geläutet habe, sei ein schönes Mädchen von sechzehn Jahren in sein Zimmer gekommen. On the other hand, we may reasonably presume that Martín's specialisation in a cantabile style was a conscious decision on his part, guided by practical considerations for the advancement of his career. Luisa Laschi-Mombelli (Countess and Zerlina in the premieres of Mozart's operas) sang—and acted excellently, according to the critics—Amore, while Britomarte was taken up by the beautiful but unmusical Maria Mandini. At the head of each number the German hand has inscribed the cue from the spoken dialogue (and in rare cases, also the Italian recitative cue). The comic element, of course, cannot be missing from an opera buffa. 362-73; 373 and n. 63. The first one, Ifigenia in Aulide,5 on a libretto by Luigi Serlio, was performed at the San Carlo Theatre in 1779. Szene 8: Der Liebesgott gibt Britomarte die Sprache zurück. Szene 1: Britomarte, Clizia und Cloe lösen dem schlafenden Doristo, der als Gefangener auf einem Sofa liegt, die Fesseln. Nachdem Doristo sein Schicksal erzählt hat, wollen die Jünglinge mit einer Barke fliehen, doch entfernt sich diese von selbst. 2 “Lettre d'un habitant de Vienne”, quoted in Link, “The Da Ponte Operas”, p. 57. The pieces suppressed, added or highly modified with respect to Vienna 17795 are reproduced in the Appendix. die Freiheit wiedergegeben habe, indem es „die barbarische Institution der Klöster“ aufhob. 1 Quoted in Link, “Da Ponte Operas”, pp. Between 1782 and 1785 the composer lived in Venice; that year he took up residence in Vienna, where he wrote three buffo operas on librettos by Lorenzo Da Ponte for the Court Theatre with great success. The indications of the first libretto have been incorporated into the score. (Chapter 1: “Martin's career”). The Paris version gives the strings a much more active role, and provides a more lively rhythm and a denser texture. Press, 1980), p.11. Sie, die Insel, den Garten zu verbrennen …“. Given the high popularity of L'arbore di Diana in Vienna towards the end of the 1780s, it is entirely logical to assume it was very much present in Mozart's and his librettist's mind when they set about writing their masterpiece. Title Dramma giocoso in due atti Composer Martín y Soler, Vicente: I-Catalogue Number I-Cat. Probably prepared for the 1790 production. It is therefore limited to indicating the appropriate harmonies, with no attempt to elaborate an accompaniment. Some of these were written by someone not totally fluent in Italian (spelling mistakes). Il cor mi darete, Zu ihrem Liebhaber wählt Britomarte Silvio (weil Brünette am treuesten seien). Other elements of widespread use in the pastoral genre are the figure of the Magician, the ritual scenes, the echo game, and, of course, the presence of shepherds. Slurs in vocal parts have also been normalised without differentiating original from editorial ones. Act I, number 12, m. 54, continuo). Der Dichter fährt fort: „Wenn ihre Nymphen unter dem Baume durchgingen und in Taten und Gedanken keusch waren, begannen diese Äpfel zu erstrahlen und es erklangen aus ihnen und aus allen Zweigen Töne und Gesänge von himmlischer, sanftester Melodie; hatte sich hingegen eine von ihnen gegen die Heiligkeit jener Tugend vergangen, wurden die Früchte schwärzer als Pech, fielen ihr auf Kopf oder Rücken und bestraften sie je nach der Schwere ihres Vergehens, indem sie ihr das Gesicht entstellten oder sie zerbeulten und ihr ein Glied brachen. / Wien, 1788. Apparently even in the process of composition he already decided to set a limit to the difficulties the music posed for the singer: in KT37 we can see the beginning of modulatory passages that were discarded in the same score, as well as signs that abbreviate the length of the aria.25 It was finally decided to replace it with Qual piacer, an unpretentious number. Vicente Martin y Soler: L'arbore di Diana, opera - Play streams in full or download MP3 from Classical Archives (classicalarchives.com), the largest and best organized classical music site on the web. Actually, Da Ponte does not remember the dénouement correctly: to render the joke more cruel, Amore disguises the shepherd Silvio as Diana's priest, and it is he who utters the decree. Szene 6: Als Amore warnt, dass sich Diana nähere, versteckt Britomarte die Jünglinge in einer Grotte. We might also mention his cantabile espressivo, such as that of Diana's first intervention in the second act's Finale ('Fra quest' ombre'). We do not know whether Lagrimando, sospirando was ever sung; its text is included in the libretto for the first production, but not in later librettos. 'L'arbore di Diana', de Lorenzo Da Ponte y Vicente Martín y Soler, es una de las alrededor de setenta óperas producidas en el Burgtheater de Viena bajo el auspicio de los emperadores José II y Leopoldo II, entre 1783 y 1792. It is careful work, with annotations to point out lacunae or ambiguities in the original. Als Diana nach dem Bad ihren Mantel holt, fällt ihr Blick auf den schönen Schäfer. Dramma giocoso in due atti da rappresentarsi per l'arrivo di sua altezza reale Maria Teresa arciduchessa d'Austria sposa del principe Antonio di Sassonia . For the second aspect mentioned, that of dramatic rhythm, we need only point out the Finale of L'arbore di Diana's first act, an unsurpassed example of how to build up a climax with the simplest materials. Dies wohl auch, weil es eine Allegorie auf ein politisches Ereignis â€“ die Säkularisation der Klöster durch Kaiser Joseph II. Before the premiere, Martín y Soler suppressed the successive entrances and left only the final statement, with the three voices in harmony. Diese schwört Rache. 4 pp. In general, the source information is limited to the first Viennese production. Number 13 in the second act (Ah, invendicato). Other articles where L’arbore di Diana is discussed: Vicente Martín y Soler: …or Beauty and Honesty”), and L’arbore di Diana (1787; “The Tree of Diana”). In 1795 the two of them wrote two opere buffe, La scuola dei maritati and L'isola del piacere, before parting in disharmony, apparently because of rivalries in erotic affairs. Szene 8: Die Entdeckten sind vor Angst gelähmt. His management of the level of tension and excitement in ever-increasing waves, is superb. [10] Nach den Worten des Dichters sollten in Martíns Oper die Nymphen, über deren Keuschheit der titelgebende Apfelbaum[11] wacht, an die Nonnen erinnern, denen ein „heiliges Dekret“ Josephs II. Correspondences are even more noteworthy between the Queen of the Night and Diana, and they may help explain the controversial transformation of the former into a perverse/ridiculous figure in the second act of The Magic Flute. Damit nicht zufrieden, lässt er den schönen Endymion auftreten, in den sich schließlich Diana selbst verliebt.“ Laut Da Ponte entdeckt der Priester der Göttin beim Opfer, dass es im „Reich der Jungfräulichkeit“ Vergehen gibt, und ordnet die Probe des Baumes für die ganze klösterliche Gemeinschaft an. [...] This drama, in my opinion, was the best of all the operas I ever composed, both as regards the conception and as regards the words.10, The role of Diana was sung by Anna Morrichelli, whose talent for dramatic opera seria figures undoubtedly inspired Martín y Soler to compose the bravura passages that distinguish this character's music. 1 Da Ponte, “Memoirs”, p. 174, in Link, “Da Ponte Operas, pp. Vienna, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Musiksammlung, MS 17795. Reduction for voices and keyboard, late eighteenth century. The performances at the Burgtheater, however, only represented the beginning of the European fame of Martín y Soler's Diana  premiered in October 1787, by next January it was already being produced in Prague, by May in Leipzig. What he wanted, therefore, was a free adaptation. Multiple slurs from note to note in legato passages have been replaced by a single slur covering the entire passage. Alle ihre Frauen zu verführen, Once again in St Petersburg, the Spanish composer participated in the production of some of his earlier operas (from Vienna and London), wrote yet another (La festa del villagio, 1798) and several ballets (Tancrède and Le rétour de Poliorcète, 1799-1800), always with Lepicq. Consulta tutte le offerte in Musica Classica, scopri altri prodotti DYNAMIC To achieve a fair appraisal of Martín y Soler's music we must avoid the easy temptation of comparing it to the drama and complexity of Mozart's. (See Link, “Da Ponte Operas”, p. 220). For this edition, we have thoroughly surveyed the two Viennese Italian scores and the libretto for the first production. It is transcribed in our Appendix. Weil Amor ein solches Gesetz nicht dulden kann, das seine Göttlichkeit beleidigt, geht er in Frauenkleidung in den Garten, macht den Gärtner der Göttin verliebt und lehrt ihn, wie er alle Nymphen verliebt machen kann. Gran tempo è che bramo It is true that in 1797 a London critic, even after recognising that “more charming music we have seldom had the satisfaction of hearing”, had complained about the excessive duration.26. “Wolfgang Amadè Mozart: Essays on his Life and Music”, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1996, pp. This was retained in the Singspiel version and in the non-Viennese copies that I have been able to examine. Only the second act seems to be preserved. Copy of KT37; there is a single copyist up to the end of the aria in I / 13, and in general he has preserved the exact disposition of each page in KT37 to facilitate the process of copying. Auch ich will die Freuden Amore lacht die drei aus. L'arbore de Diana (título original en italiano; en español, El árbol de Diana) es una ópera bufa en dos actos con música de Vicente Martín y Soler y libreto en italiano de Lorenzo da Ponte, que lo desarrolló al tiempo que trabajaba con Mozart en Don Giovanni. He is my Tasso!” He found my parallels very apt. Later additions to KT37, not incorporated into Vienna 1795 are either included within parentheses or mentioned only in the list of variants. Schweren Herzens heißt die Göttin den Geliebten weggehen. L'arbore di Diana è disponibile in altre 4 lingue. L' *arbore di Diana: comic opera: prim. He died in that city in 1806. These scanty biographical details may be complemented by the portrait of his personality that we may glean from Lorenzo Da Ponte's writings.6 Affability and mildness seem to have been his most distinctive traits. Translations into French, Polish and Russian were now added to the two Viennese versions. Ein Sturm erhebt sich, die Erde bebt. Love, however, could not endure a law so outrageous to his divinity; so he enters the garden of Diana in feminine disguise, enamors the gardener of the goddess, teaches him how he may seduce her nymphs one after the other, and, not content with this, introduces the beautiful Endymion therewithin, of whom Diana herself falls enamored. www.youtube.com 1 Anonymous, “Lettre d'un habitant de Vienne à son ami à Prague, qui lui avait demandé ses réflexions sur l' opéra intitulé L' arbore di Diana”, Österreichische Staatsarchiv, HstA, Karton 40, Vertrauliche Akten; quoted by Link, “Da Ponte Operas”, p. 67, from Michtner, “Burgtheater”, p. 435. The scores replace it with the three nymphs, aided by a band on the stage. In KT37, II / 16 / 315, the word “Genien” is written, together with another word I cannot decipher. This is the version that we include; it concords with the first libretto and the score Vienna 17795.