Don John of Austria (opera)
Encyclopedia
Ballad opera
The term ballad opera is used to refer to a genre of English stage entertainment originating in the 18th century and continuing to develop in the following century and later. There are many types of ballad opera...
in three acts by Isaac Nathan
Isaac Nathan
Isaac Nathan was an Anglo-Australian composer, musicologist, journalist and self-publicist, who ended an eventful career by becoming the "father of Australian music".-Early success:...
to a libretto
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
by Jacob Levi Montefiore (1819–1885). It is the first opera to be written, composed and produced in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Quote from the opera's title page:
- The plot is taken and many scenes are literal translations from Casimir DelavigneCasimir DelavigneJean-François Casimir Delavigne was a French poet and dramatist.-Biography:Delavigne was born at Le Havre, but was sent to Paris to be educated at the Lycée Napoleon. He read extensively...
's celebrated comedy of "Don John of Austria" (Don Juan d'Autriche).
Performance history
It premiered on 3 May 1847 at the Royal Victoria Theatre, SydneySydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
and enjoyed a successful run of six performances.
It has been produced only twice since: two performances (12 and 14 September 1997) at Spitalfields
Spitalfields
Spitalfields is a former parish in the borough of Tower Hamlets, in the East End of London, near to Liverpool Street station and Brick Lane. The area straddles Commercial Street and is home to many markets, including the historic Old Spitalfields Market, founded in the 17th century, Sunday...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, with The Chelsea Opera Group conducted by Alexander Briger
Alexander Briger
Alexander Briger is an Australian classical conductor. He is the nephew of the conductor Sir Charles Mackerras, and both are descended from the composer Isaac Nathan.-Biography:...
, and performances on 18 and 20 October 2007 –in two acts– at the City Recital Hall Angel Place, Sydney, also conducted by Briger.
Nathan's original orchestration has been lost and Nathan's great-great-great grandson, the conductor
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
Sir Charles Mackerras
Charles Mackerras
Sir Alan Charles Maclaurin Mackerras, AC, CH, CBE was an Australian conductor. He was an authority on the operas of Janáček and Mozart, and the comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan...
, created a new orchestration. Alexander Briger is a nephew of Mackerras, and Nathan's great-great-great-great grandson.
Synopsis
Nathan’s fast-paced opera tells of the rivalry in love of Philip II of SpainPhilip II of Spain
Philip II was King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, while married to Mary I, King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count....
and his illegitimate half-brother Don John.
The libretto follows Delavigne
Casimir Delavigne
Jean-François Casimir Delavigne was a French poet and dramatist.-Biography:Delavigne was born at Le Havre, but was sent to Paris to be educated at the Lycée Napoleon. He read extensively...
's 1835 Don Juan d'Autriche fairly closely, except for the addition of a scene near the end with Agnes alone, where she sings "They tell us that a home of light there is, where praying seraph
Seraph
A seraph is a type of celestial being in Judaism and Christianity...
s glow".
In fact the opera's plot is in many ways an inversion of Fromental Halévy
Fromental Halévy
Jacques-François-Fromental-Élie Halévy, usually known as Fromental Halévy , was a French composer. He is known today largely for his opera La Juive.-Early career:...
's opera La Juive
La Juive
La Juive is a grand opera in five acts by Fromental Halévy to an original French libretto by Eugène Scribe; it was first performed at the Opéra, Paris, on February 23, 1835.-Composition history:...
(libretto by Eugène Scribe
Eugène Scribe
Augustin Eugène Scribe , was a French dramatist and librettist. He is best known for the perfection of the so-called "well-made play" . This dramatic formula was a mainstay of popular theater for over 100 years.-Biography:...
). In the latter, the male lover is precluded from having an affair with his inamorata because she is Jewish, whilst he is a high-born Christian; later it turns out that she was Christian all along, but all ends tragically. In Don John, in a similar situation, it turns out that the 'high-born Christian' is in fact of Jewish descent, and all ends happily.
Roles
- Don John of Austria, illegitimate son of Charles VCharles V, Holy Roman EmperorCharles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...
(tenorTenorThe tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
) - Donna Agnes, secretly a Jew, also known as Miriam, John's beloved (sopranoSopranoA soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
) - Philip II of SpainPhilip II of SpainPhilip II was King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, while married to Mary I, King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count....
, King, legitimate son of Charles/Carlos, disguised as the Count de Santa Fiore, also in love with Agnes (baritoneBaritoneBaritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
) - Don Quexada, former Prime Minister (bass-baritoneBass-baritoneA bass-baritone is a high-lying bass or low-lying "classical" baritone voice type which shares certain qualities with the true baritone voice. The term arose in the late 19th century to describe the particular type of voice required to sing three Wagnerian roles: the Dutchman in Der fliegende...
) - Dorothy, Agnes' servant (mezzo-sopranoMezzo-sopranoA mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...
) - Chorus
- Speaking roles:
- Brother Carlos, formerly Charles V of Spain
- Don Ruy de Gomes, Philip's Prime Minister
- Domingo, Don Quexada's servant
- Antonio, Brother Carlos' servant
- Jerome, Don Quexada's servant
- Don Ferdinand de Valdes, Grand InquisitorGrand InquisitorGrand Inquisitor is the lead official of an Inquisition. The most famous Inquisitor General is the Spanish Dominican Tomás de Torquemada, who spearheaded the Spanish Inquisition.-List of Spanish Grand Inquisitors:-Castile:-Aragon:...
- Lords in Waiting, Officers, AlguazilAlguazilAlguacil , Aguazil or Guazil is a title often to be met in stories and plays, derived from the Arabic "قاضی ", meaning judge, preceded by the article "al"....
s, Monks and Attendants
Recordings
- 1996: "Overture", "The days are gone when Judah's voice"
- 2011: (Complete performance) Steve Davislim (Don John), Cheryl BarkerCheryl BarkerCheryl Barker is an Australian operatic soprano who has had an active international career since the late 1980s. She has sung on several complete opera recordings with Chandos Records, including Dvořák's Rusalka , Janáček's The Makropulos Case , Janáček's Káťa Kabanová , and Puccini's Madama...
(Donna Anna), Grant Doyle (Philip II), Paul Whelan (Don Quaxada), Sally-Anne Russell (Dorothy), Alexander Briger (conductor), Sydney Philharmonia Chamber SingersSydney Philharmonia ChoirsSydney Philharmonia Choirs is Australia’s largest choral organisation. It presents its own annual concert series in the Sydney Opera House and City Recital Hall, as well as acting as chorus for the Sydney Symphony....
, Sydney Symphony OrchestraSydney Symphony OrchestraThe Sydney Symphony Orchestra , commonly known as the Sydney Symphony, is an Australian symphony orchestra based in Sydney...
; ABC ClassicsABC ClassicsABC Classics is the classical music record label within the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It is internationally recognised as Australia's premier classical music label, with a catalogue of more than 500 titles...
Cat. No.: 4764114