The Greek Passion (opera)
Encyclopedia
The Greek Passion is an opera
in four acts by Bohuslav Martinů
. The libretto
, by the composer, is based on the novel The Greek Passion
(or Christ Recrucified) by Nikos Kazantzakis
. The opera exists in two versions. Martinů wrote the original version from 1954 to 1957. He offered this original version of the opera in 1957 to the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
, where the music director, Rafael Kubelík
, and the general administrator, John Webster, had approved the score for production. However, following intervention by Sir Arthur Bliss
, the company then demurred on the production and did not stage the work at the time.
The composer then produced a second version of the opera, which received its first performance at the Zurich Opera
, Zürich
on 6 June 1961, after Martinů's death in 1959. The second version received its first UK production at Welsh National Opera
on 29 April 1981, conducted by Sir Charles Mackerras
. The first US production was in 1981, at the Metropolitan Opera
, in a production by the Indiana University
School of Music. However, the first version was later restored under the supervision of Aleš Březina. The restored version was produced at Covent Garden in April 2000. This version received its Czech Republic premiere in January 2005.
Act I
For the upcoming performance of the Passion Play, the priest Grigoris distributes the roles. The shepherd Manolios is selected to act the part of Christ. Katerina, a widow, is chosen to play Mary Magdalene. Panait, her squire, is given the role of Judas. The villagers think of their respective roles and about how they correspond to their lives. At dusk, a group of refugees arrives in Lykovrissi from a village destroyed by the Turks. Another priest, Fotis, leads the refugees. Father Grigoris is concerned about the welfare and safety of his fellow villagers and of possible conflicts. One female refugee dies from hunger, but Father Grigoris blames the death on cholera. He then expels the refugees. Katerina offers them assistance, and Manolios shows them the nearby mountain where the refugees may rest.
Act II
Katerina has fallen in love with Manolios. Ladas wants to relieve the refugees of their possessions. He does so and turns over their fortune to Yannakos. However, on seeing the misery of the refugees, he returns their money.
Act III
Manolios has begun to take on the personality of Jesus Christ. Manolios convinces Katerina that their love must be only spiritual, in the same manner as Jesus and Mary Magdalene. Manolios appeals to the villagers to help the refugees, but the elders refuse. Manolios is gaining a greater spiritual hold over the villagers, and the village elders devise a plan to stop Manolios.
Act IV
At a wedding in the village. Father Grigoris excommunicates Manolios. Manolios defends his actions as being based on the teachings of Jesus Christ. The refugees come down from the mountain in a state of misery. In a subsequent dispute, Panait kills Manolios. The villagers and the refugees mourn Manolios. The refugees then leave the village, in search of a new home.
', ed. Stanley Sadie (London, 1992) ISBN 0-333-73432-7
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
in four acts by Bohuslav Martinů
Bohuslav Martinu
Bohuslav Martinů was a prolific Czech composer of modern classical music. He was of Czech and Rumanian ancestry. Martinů wrote six symphonies, 15 operas, 14 ballet scores and a large body of orchestral, chamber, vocal and instrumental works. Martinů became a violinist in the Czech Philharmonic...
. The 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 the composer, is based on the novel The Greek Passion
The Greek Passion
The Greek Passion or Christ Recrucified is a 1948 novel by Nikos Kazantzakis.-Plot summary:...
(or Christ Recrucified) by Nikos Kazantzakis
Nikos Kazantzakis
Nikos Kazantzakis was a Greek writer and philosopher, celebrated for his novel Zorba the Greek, considered his magnum opus...
. The opera exists in two versions. Martinů wrote the original version from 1954 to 1957. He offered this original version of the opera in 1957 to the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...
, where the music director, Rafael Kubelík
Rafael Kubelík
Rafael Jeroným Kubelík was a Czech conductor and composer.-Early life:Kubelík was born in Býchory, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary, today's Czech Republic. He was the sixth child of the Bohemian violinist Jan Kubelík, whom the younger Kubelík described as "a kind of god to me." His mother was a Hungarian...
, and the general administrator, John Webster, had approved the score for production. However, following intervention by Sir Arthur Bliss
Arthur Bliss
Sir Arthur Edward Drummond Bliss, CH, KCVO was an English composer and conductor.Bliss's musical training was cut short by the First World War, in which he served with distinction in the army...
, the company then demurred on the production and did not stage the work at the time.
The composer then produced a second version of the opera, which received its first performance at the Zurich Opera
Zurich Opera
Oper Zürich is an opera company based in Zurich, Switzerland. The company gives performances in the Opernhaus Zürich which has been the company’s home for fifty years.-History:...
, Zürich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
on 6 June 1961, after Martinů's death in 1959. The second version received its first UK production at Welsh National Opera
Welsh National Opera
Welsh National Opera is an opera company founded in Cardiff, Wales in 1943. The WNO tours Wales, the United Kingdom and the rest of the world extensively. Annually, it gives more than 120 performances of eight main stage operas to a combined audience of around 150,000 people...
on 29 April 1981, conducted by 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...
. The first US production was in 1981, at the Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
, in a production by the Indiana University
Indiana University
Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...
School of Music. However, the first version was later restored under the supervision of Aleš Březina. The restored version was produced at Covent Garden in April 2000. This version received its Czech Republic premiere in January 2005.
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, 6 June 1961 (Conductor:) |
|---|---|---|
| Manolios, a shepherd | tenor Tenor The 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... |
|
| Katerina, a young widow | soprano Soprano A 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... |
|
| Panait, Katerina's lover | tenor | |
| Grigoris, priest of Lycovrissi | bass-baritone Bass-baritone A 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... |
|
| Fotis, priest of the refugees | bass-baritone | |
| Yannakos, a pedlar | tenor | |
| Kostandis, a café owner | baritone Baritone Baritone 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... |
|
| Lenio, betrothed to Manolios | soprano | |
| Ladas, an old miser | spoken | |
| The Patriacheas, an elder | bass-baritone | |
| Michelis, son of the Patriacheas | tenor | |
| Nikolios, a young shepherd | soprano | |
| Andonis, a barber | spoken | |
| An old woman | contralto | |
| A voice in the crowd | baritone | |
| Despinio, a refugee | soprano | |
| An old man, a refugee | bass | |
Synopsis
The setting is Lykovrissi, a Greek village, where a performance of the Passion Play is scheduled to occur around Easter. As the story proceeds, the villagers cast in the play take on the personalities of their religious characters.Act I
For the upcoming performance of the Passion Play, the priest Grigoris distributes the roles. The shepherd Manolios is selected to act the part of Christ. Katerina, a widow, is chosen to play Mary Magdalene. Panait, her squire, is given the role of Judas. The villagers think of their respective roles and about how they correspond to their lives. At dusk, a group of refugees arrives in Lykovrissi from a village destroyed by the Turks. Another priest, Fotis, leads the refugees. Father Grigoris is concerned about the welfare and safety of his fellow villagers and of possible conflicts. One female refugee dies from hunger, but Father Grigoris blames the death on cholera. He then expels the refugees. Katerina offers them assistance, and Manolios shows them the nearby mountain where the refugees may rest.
Act II
Katerina has fallen in love with Manolios. Ladas wants to relieve the refugees of their possessions. He does so and turns over their fortune to Yannakos. However, on seeing the misery of the refugees, he returns their money.
Act III
Manolios has begun to take on the personality of Jesus Christ. Manolios convinces Katerina that their love must be only spiritual, in the same manner as Jesus and Mary Magdalene. Manolios appeals to the villagers to help the refugees, but the elders refuse. Manolios is gaining a greater spiritual hold over the villagers, and the village elders devise a plan to stop Manolios.
Act IV
At a wedding in the village. Father Grigoris excommunicates Manolios. Manolios defends his actions as being based on the teachings of Jesus Christ. The refugees come down from the mountain in a state of misery. In a subsequent dispute, Panait kills Manolios. The villagers and the refugees mourn Manolios. The refugees then leave the village, in search of a new home.
Recordings
- Supraphon 1116 3611/2: John Mitchinson, John Tomlinson, Helen Field; Czech Philharmonic Chorus; Brno State Philharmonic Orchestra; Sir Charles MackerrasCharles MackerrasSir 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...
, conductor - Koch Schwann 3-6590-2: Adrian Clarke, Eric Garrett, Esa Ruuttunen, Greg Ryerson, Richard Angas; Vienna Symphony OrchestraVienna Symphony Orchestra-History:In 1900, Ferdinand Löwe founded the orchestra as the Wiener Concertverein . In 1913 it moved into the Konzerthaus, Vienna. In 1919 it merged with the Tonkünstler Orchestra. In 1933 it acquired its current name...
; Ulf Schirmer, conductor - Supraphon SU 3984-2 (2cd): Vilem Pribyl et al.; Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra; Libor Pesek (1983/2010)
Sources
Greek Passion, The by Jan Smaczny, in 'The New Grove Dictionary of OperaNew Grove Dictionary of Opera
The New Grove Dictionary of Opera is an encyclopedia of opera, considered to be one of the best general reference sources on the subject. It is the largest work on opera in English, and in its printed form, amounts to 5,448 pages in four volumes....
', ed. Stanley Sadie (London, 1992) ISBN 0-333-73432-7