Booklet.pdf

HANDEL

Ottone Re di Germania

JAMES

BOWMAN

CLARON

M C FADDEN

JENNIFER

SMITH

CATHERINE

DENLEY

DOMINIQUE

VISSE

MICHAEL

GEORGE

THE KING’S

CONSORT

ROBERT KING

CONDUCTOR

T HE FIRST PERFORMANCE of Handel’s Ottone took

and used the Modenese ambassador Giuseppe Riva to get

through to Handel. The quiet approach seems to have

worked, for the composer replaced two of her arias to

provide a softer side to her character. Cuzzoni was making

her debut in London, and she clearly intended to show

her dazzling qualities. She had a good advance press too,

as The London Journal of 27 October 1722 promised:

There is a new Opera now in Rehearsal at the Theatre

in the Hay-Market, a Part of which is reserv’d for one

Mrs. Cotsona, an extraordinary Italian Lady, who is

expected daily from Italy. It is said, she has a much

finer Voice and more accurate Judgment, than any of

her Country Women who have performed on the

English Stage.

Cuzzoni’s voice was clearly better than her looks, for the

diva was described by Horace Walpole as ‘short and squat,

with a doughy cross face’! But the character of Teofane is

a sad, mostly melancholic one and, when she finally

arrived in Britain, Cuzzoni told Handel she would have

none of this, as Mainwaring later recounted:

Having one day some words with CUZZONI on her

refusing to sing Falsa imagine in OTTONE: Oh!

Madame, (said he) je sçais bien que Vous êtes une

véritable Diablesse: mais je Vous ferai sçavoir, moi,

que je suis Beelzebub le Chéf des Diables. With this

he took her up by the waist, and, if she made any

more words, swore that he would fling her out of the

window.

Suffice it to say that Handel, despite his well documented

dictatorial treatment of his musicians in rehearsal, did

not eject his leading lady by this novel means, and his

judgement in retaining the aria was proved correct, for

‘Falsa imagine’ became the hit of the season. Indeed,

Ottone became one of the most popular operas of

Handel’s career, with 34 known performances during his

lifetime, beaten only by the 53 performances of Rinaldo .

place in London on 12 January 1723 at the King’s

Theatre. Handel had finished composing the opera

the previous summer, with the first draft completed on 10

August, but he had to make several revisions before the

first performance took place. The problems lay with his

all-star cast, several of whom professed themselves

unhappy with the nature and character of their roles.

Handel had been fortunate to engage the services of

several fine Italian singers to work for the Royal Academy

of Music, which had been promoting Italian opera in

London since 1720, and his cast for Ottone in 1723

contained three of these—the soprano Margherita

Durastanti as Gismonda, the famous alto castrato

Senesino in the title role, and the bass Giuseppe Boschi,

alongside the English contralto Anastasia Robinson

(playing Matilda), the alto castrato Gaetano Berenstatt as

Adelberto and, as the princess Teofane, the latest young

star from Italy, the soprano Francesca Cuzzoni.

Handel’s text was adapted by Nicolo Haym from the

libretto that Stefano Pallavicino had written for the

Dresden performances of Lotti’s Teofane in 1719. This

commission had celebrated the marriage of the Electoral

Prince Frederick Augustus of Saxony to the Archduchess

Maria Josepha of Austria. Pallavicino had in turn based his

plot on the true story of an earlier royal marriage, that of

Otto II of Germany to the Eastern Princess Theofano,

which had taken place in Rome in 972. To this he added,

for good measure, the suppression of Berengar’s attempt

to usurp Otto’s throne in 950 (aided by Berengar’s wife

Willa—transformed in the new plot into Gismonda) and

the succession of Basil II to the throne of the Eastern

Empire in 976. The disguise of Basilio in the opera as the

brigand Emireno is Pallavicino’s own invention.

Mrs Robinson was unhappy with the role she was

given, complaining that ‘it in no way suits my capacity’,

London went opera mad, and De Fabrice wrote that ‘there

is such a run on it that tickets are already being sold at 2

and 3 guineas which are ordinarily half a guinea, so that

it is like another Mississippi or South Sea Bubble’. Gay

wrote to Jonathan Swift on 3 February that ‘folks, that

could not distinguish one tune from another, now daily

dispute about the different styles of Handel, Bononcini,

and Attilio’ and that ‘Senesino is daily voted to be the

greatest man that ever lived’. Even the Footmen’s Gallery

(from where the rich patrons’ staff were able to watch)

was caught up in the enthusiasm, and threats had to be

made by the theatre management that ‘The next Time

any Disorder is made there, the Gallery will be shut up’.

Barracking seems to have had a rather genteel tone in

those days, for one report mentions a cry of ‘Damn her!

she has got a nest of nightingales in her belly!’.

Despite Cuzzoni’s high fee of £1500, double the

original estimate by the Duke of Portland for the Academy,

the season made a profit, and shareholders were paid a

dividend of 7%. The next year Handel was able to move to

Brook Street, where he lived for the rest of his life, and

after its initial run of fourteen performances the opera

was revived for six more in December 1723, eight in 1726,

two in 1727 and seven in 1733. As ever, for these revivals

he added and replaced arias as he became familiar with

new singers or had to re-cast (in 1726 Matilda became a

soprano and Gismonda a contralto): Robert King’s

performing version follows the score heard in January

1723 at the Haymarket Theatre.

Handel’s orchestral scoring for Ottone was quite

modest, especially if we look to the exotic instrumental

colours and on-stage band of Julius Caesar the next year.

But the simplicity of scoring (just strings, oboes and

bassoon, with recorders in Ottone’s wonderful nocturnal

‘Deh! non dir’) allowed the composer to concentrate on

melodic grace, rather than crowd-pleasing fireworks.

The Argument from Haym’s original 1723 libretto

Otho, Son to the Emperor Otho the Great, being sent by

his Father into Italy, got there Several Victories, not only

over the Grecians, who, at that time, contended with the

Germans for the Possession of it; but likewise over the

Saracens, who continually infested the Sea Coasts. The

former being forced into a Peace, he obtained

Theophane, Daughter to Romano, Emperor of the East,

who long before had been promised him for his Bride.

Basilio was Brother to Theophane, who being drove out

of Constantinople, by the Tyrant Nicephoro, liv’d so long

in Exile, till he was call’d in by Zemisces, to have a part

in the Empire. It is suppos’d that this Prince, during his

Exile, should turn Pirate, taking the Name of Emireno;

and being ignorant of what past in Constantinople,

should chace the Ships which brought Theophane to

Rome, and should be overcome by those of Otho as he

went to meet his Bride. It is likewise suppos’d, that

Adelberto, Son to Berengario, a Tyrant in Italy, by the

instigation of his Mother, here called Gismond a, should

cause Rome to rebel against the Germans, who were not

long e’er they retook it: This Action here attributed to the

Second Otho, in History, is reckoned among those of

Otho the Great. It is also a Fiction, that Theophane

should fall in the power of Adelberto, and that he should

see her and fall in Love with her at the Time he was

incognito in Constantinople. This occasions the greatest

part of the Accidents which are seen in this Drama.

Synopsis and Commentary — Act I

Prince Adelberto, thanks to his mother Gismonda’s

scheming, is about to assume the throne of Italy. Ottone,

king of Germany, is on his way to Rome to dispute

Adelberto’s claim, but has been delayed by the pirate

Emireno in a fierce battle. Ottone has been promised the

hand of the Princess Teofane as the spoil of a previous

victory, and she has arranged to meet him, for the first

time, in Rome. But Teofane, already in Rome, has only a

small portrait to tell her what Ottone looks like.

After the three-section Overture (a serious, dotted

French opening, followed by a fugal section and a gently

lilting Gavotte) Gismonda, in ‘Pur che regni il figlio

amato’, is full of ambition for her son Adelberto, wishing

only that he can reign securely. The aria is dominated

by a menacing, rising unison figure in the orchestra.

Gismonda persuades Adelberto to present himself to

Teofane, impersonating Ottone, and he assures his

mother that Teofane will not recognize him. In

Gismonda’s aria ‘La speranza è giunta in porto’ she

expresses her delight that her plans are about to come to

pass.

Adelberto welcomes Teofane. She is horrified by the

discrepancy between the portrait in her locket and the

person she actually sees before her: she wonders why she

came all this way. Adelberto quickly proposes marriage as

if he were Ottone and sings of his hopes in the touching

aria ‘Bel labbro, formato’: the high sustained string

accompaniment and the rich scoring of the ritornello

(with bassoon high in its tenor register) add poignancy to

a beautiful number. Teofane is confused and extremely

upset: when finally alone she blames the portrait for

deceiving her. Her aria ‘Falsa imagine’ (which had caused

such strife in rehearsal) is accompanied only by the

continuo section, with the strings reserved for the final

playout: its simplicity and memorable melody were, as so

often is the case in Handel, the reasons for its huge

success.

The mood is broken by a lively instrumental sinfonia,

full of rushing string passage work and breaks for the

woodwind, as the real Ottone arrives, having defeated and

captured the pirate Emireno. The movement proved

extremely popular, becoming widely known as ‘The

Concerto in Ottone’: Handel later re-used it at the start of

his Concerto Grosso Op 3 No 6. Emireno hints that he is

really someone more important but refuses to tell Ottone

who he actually is. In the blustering aria ‘Del minacciar

del vento’ (not so dissimilar to Polyphemus’s famous aria

in Acis and Galatea ) the orchestra imitates wind and

storms in music of great character. Ottone sends Emireno

to prison and turns his thoughts towards Teofane and his

new kingdom but is interrupted by his fearsome cousin

Matilda. Matilda tells Ottone of Gismonda’s scheming, of

Adelberto’s designs on Teofane, and that she, Matilda, is

already betrothed to Adelberto. In the melancholic aria

‘Ritorna, o dolce amore’ Ottone yearns for Teofane.

Matilda, alone, resolves revenge on Adelberto for

breaking his word. In the outer sections of ‘Diresti poi

così’ she asks herself if she could speak kindly to Adelberto,

but in the contrasting, lively middle section she speaks of

the rage to which a woman’s heart can quickly turn.

Gismonda is now posing as Adelaide, Ottone’s mother,

and is alone with Teofane. Teofane asks Gismonda

questions about her supposed son, and receives answers

which of course relate to Adelberto, not Ottone. In ‘Pensa

ad amare’ Gismonda lectures Teofane that love demands

more than mere duty from the heart. Teofane does not

like Adelaide’s haughty manner. Adelberto presses ahead

with his suit and leads Teofane to the marriage ceremony.

Gismonda intrudes with the news of Ottone’s arrival in

Rome, forcefully urging the reluctant Adelberto to take

arms against him. Teofane, left alone and now realizing

that Adelberto is an impostor, tells of her torment. Her

aria ‘Affanni del pensier’ is one of the highlights of Act I,

with its minor key, dropping chromaticism and intense

suspensions creating music of powerful effect.

In the very short Sinfonia which follows, Ottone’s

soldiers are represented in combat with Adelberto’s

troops: Ottone captures Adelberto who remains defiant in

defeat. In ‘Tu puoi straziarmi’ the repeated orchestral

figurations give greater emphasis to the captured prince’s

protestations. Although Ottone has still not yet found

Teofane, he ends the Act optimistically, declaring peace

and goodwill to all parties and looking forward to both

kingship and marriage. ‘Dell’onda ai fieri’ would have

ensured that eighteenth-century audiences went out to

the bar in fine spirits!

Teofane has completely misconstrued the previous

scene and accuses Ottone of infidelity with Matilda. He

retorts by accusing her of giving her hand in marriage to

Adelberto. In ‘Alla fama, dimmi il vero’ Teofane suggests

that Ottone is no longer in love with her. Privately, Ottone

cannot understand her reaction and wonders who has

caused her to turn against him. In ‘Dopo l’orrore’ he

hopes that calm will return after the storm in

marvellously Handelian vocal figurations and a splendid

orchestral accompaniment. Here was another hit aria for

Senesino and Handel’s audiences!

Teofane, alone, asks the god of love for pity, and in her

accompagnato ‘O grati orrori’ Handel uses the sustained

string parts to great effect to enhance the sense of total

abandonment and isolation. Teofane’s aria ‘S’io dir

potessi’ sighs with sadness and suffering.

Emireno and Adelberto have escaped from prison

through the underground passage, thanks to a map sent to

them by Matilda. She has also informed them that a boat

awaits them. Emireno sings a jaunty aria ‘Le profunde vie

dell’ onde’, asking heaven to allow him freedom again,

and vowing to avenge the wrongdoings he has suffered.

Emireno goes searching for the boat. Matilda and

Ottone arrive separately, Matilda looking for the entrance

to the tunnel and Ottone searching for Teofane. Adelberto

hides at the tunnel entrance when he realizes that others

are in the garden. He recognizes Ottone and then Teofane.

Teofane recognizes Matilda’s voice and sees Ottone.

Matilda and Ottone meet: Teofane eavesdrops. She hides

in the tunnel entrance, uncomfortably, near Adelberto.

Matilda dissuades Ottone from going near the tunnel

entrance for fear that the escape might be foiled and her

part in it discovered by Ottone. She leads him away.

Ottone’s aria ‘Deh! non dir’ is another jewel, with the

muted strings and recorders mimicking nocturnal bird

calls and engaging in charming dialogue with the soloist.

Act II

Adelberto meets Matilda on his way to prison and she

reproaches him for wooing her when he loved Teofane.

Gismonda takes Adelberto to task for losing the battle with

Ottone. Matilda orders Adelberto to prison, but is secretly

touched by pity for him. In his aria ‘Lascia, che nel suo

viso’ Adelberto asks that he should learn constancy from

Matilda before he is parted from her: the simplicity of the

music makes his plea all the more moving.

Matilda and Gismonda, alone together, vent their

anguish over Adelberto’s fate. Matilda suggests pleading

Ottone for mercy on Adelberto’s behalf. The proud

Gismonda prefers death for herself and her son, but in

‘Ah! Tu non sai’ Matilda insists she will be content only

with Adelberto’s freedom. When alone, Gismonda reveals

that she too feels compassion: her aria ‘Veni, o figlio’ is a

gem (its key and mood looking forward to ‘I know that

my redeemer liveth’), its melody again proving that the

simplest tunes are the often the best.

Ottone and Teofane are about to meet at last, each

fairly certain that they know who the other is, when

Matilda intrudes and throws herself at Ottone’s feet,

pleading on behalf of Adelberto. Teofane hides and

watches as Ottone, though refusing the plea for clemency,

embraces Matilda in pity. Matilda is furious at Ottone and

sings a stormy aria, ‘All’ orror d’un duolo’, summoning

thunderbolts and monsters.

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