''Gustavo III'' is an
opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...
by
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...
to a
libretto
A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...
begun in early 1857 by the Italian playwright
Antonio Somma
Antonio Somma (28 August 1809, Udine – 8 August 1864, Venice) was an Italian playwright who is most well known for writing the libretto of an opera which ultimately became Giuseppe Verdi's ''Un ballo in maschera'' in 1859. While a student, his tr ...
. Never performed as written, the libretto was later revised (or proposed to be revised) several times under two additional names – ''Una vendetta in dominò'' and ''Adelia degli Adimari'' – during which the setting was changed to vastly different locations. Eventually, it was agreed that it could be called ''
Un ballo in maschera
''Un ballo in maschera'' ''(A Masked Ball)'' is an 1859 opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The text, by Antonio Somma, was based on Eugène Scribe's libretto for Daniel Auber's 1833 five act opera, '' Gustave III, ou Le bal masqué''.
The ...
'', the one by which it is known today, but Verdi was forced to accept that the location of the story would have to be Colonial Boston. This setting became the "standard" one until the mid-20th Century. Most productions today locate the action in Sweden.
However, a "hypothetical reconstruction"
[Parker, p. 179] of ''Gustavo III'' under its original name was performed by the
Gothenburg Opera
The Gothenburg opera house ( sv, Göteborgsoperan) is an opera house at Lilla Bommen in Gothenburg, Sweden. The Artistic Director for opera is Henning Ruhe since 2019, while Katrín Hall leads the ballet and dance company.
History
The Gothenbur ...
in
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
during the 2002/03 season.
Composition history
In early 1856 Vincenzo Torelli, secretary to the
Teatro San Carlo
The Real Teatro di San Carlo ("Royal Theatre of Saint Charles"), as originally named by the Bourbon monarchy but today known simply as the Teatro (di) San Carlo, is an opera house in Naples, Italy, connected to the Royal Palace and adjacent t ...
's management approached Verdi with a contract offer, the proposed opera being ''
Re Lear
' (; Italian for ''King Lear'') is an Italian operatic libretto in four acts written by Antonio Somma for the Italian opera composer Giuseppe Verdi. It was based on ''King Lear'', "the Shakespeare play with which Verdi struggled for so many year ...
'', an opera based on
Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
's ''
King Lear
''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare.
It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane an ...
''. It was known to be a subject dear to the composer,
[Budden, pp. 362–363] but this libretto, for which Somma and Verdi had worked for some time, raised concerns for Verdi, not the least of which was finding a suitable cast in Naples, given the practice of a company engaging a group of singers for an entire season and giving them the major roles to sing in all productions, thus forcing a composer to take into account their strengths and weaknesses in the roles he was creating.
Even though it proved to be impracticable to continue with ''Re Lear'', Verdi signed a contract in February 1857 for performances during the 1857/58 carnival season, but, as the year progressed and with time running out, he had misgivings and failed to meet commitments regarding ''Lear''. Finally, in a letter which he wrote to Torelli in September 1857, Verdi confessed that he had "looked through an infinite number of plays.....but not one of them will do for me..."
but he then described an existing libretto which interested him, one which was written by the French playwright and librettist
Eugene Scribe
Eugene may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Eugene (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Eugene (actress) (born 1981), Kim Yoo-jin, South Korean actress and former member of the sin ...
for
Daniel Auber
Daniel-François-Esprit Auber (; 29 January 178212 May 1871) was a French composer and director of the Paris Conservatoire.
Born into an artistic family, Auber was at first an amateur composer before he took up writing operas professionally when ...
's very successful 1833 opera, ''
Gustave III, ou Le bal masqué'':
:"At present I'm scaling down a French drama, ''Gustavo III di Svezia'' (Note: Verdi's translation of the French title), libretto by Scribe, performed at the Opéra twenty years ago. It's vast and grandiose; it's beautiful....It is now too late to find other subjects."
[Verdi to Torelli, 19 September 1857, in Budden p.363]
Verdi turned to the historical subject of King
Gustav III of Sweden
Gustav III (29 March 1792), also called ''Gustavus III'', was King of Sweden from 1771 until his assassination in 1792. He was the eldest son of Adolf Frederick of Sweden and Queen Louisa Ulrika of Prussia.
Gustav was a vocal opponent of what ...
, who was shot while attending a masked ball in Stockholm in 1792 and died thirteen days later.
Anckarström, his assassin, was executed. Although noting it as "a French drama",
Verdi was referring to Scribe's libretto, and this became the source of Somma's libretto.
In his version, Scribe had retained the names of some of the historical figures involved including Gustave, Anckarström (the king's secretary and his best friend),
Ulrica Arfvidsson
Anna Ulrica Arfvidsson (1734–1801) was a professional Swedish fortune-teller during the reign of Gustav III of Sweden. She was commonly known as ''Mamsell Arfvidsson''.
Biography
Background
Ulrica Arfvidsson was the daughter of a caretaker of ...
(the fortune teller), and conspirators
Ribbing Ribbing is a Swedish noble family of medieval origin. which may refer to:
*Adolph Ribbing (1765–1843), Swedish count and politician who took part in the regicide of Gustav III in 1792
*Beata Rosenhane (1638–1674, spouse of Baron Erik Ribbing), ...
and Horn; the conspiracy itself; and the killing at the masked ball. As noted by Budden, Scribe invented much of the rest of the action, including Gustav's romance with the fictional Amélie (Anckarström's wife) and he added characters and situations such as the page boy, Oscar. "It was a simple case of 'cherchez la femme'"
[Budden, p. 364] says Budden, who sees Scribe using the romance as the reason for the murder (rather than the purely political motive behind the actual event) and he describes the plot of Scribe's libretto as "cleverly constructed...in which irony follows irony. It abounds in striking situations and ''coups de théatre''; it offers opportunities for a display of the most intense and varied emotions; and it is full of suspense."
Initial preparation of the ''Gustavo III'' libretto
Throughout the autumn of 1857 correspondence between librettist and composer flowed regularly, and on 19 October, Verdi sent a synopsis to Torelli. He immediately received a reply warning him that "a change of locale would be necessary at the very least and the poet had better be advised of this." While Verdi did not necessarily see a problem in changing location, he did lament the loss of other things: "what a pity to have to give up the pomp of a court like that of Gustavo III. Then too it will be difficult to find another monarch on the lines of that Gustavo. Poor poets, poor composers"
When Somma's verses (to which Verdi had contributed a significant amount, including an initial prose outline) were sent to the composer by late November 1857, the outline of the opera was complete, and Verdi began to create musical sketches of significant scenes. At the same time, word came of the seven requirements imposed by the Naples censorship. These included that (i) "The King must become a Duke"; (ii) "the action must be transferred to a pre-Christian age"; (iii) the conspirators must not hate the Duke because they wanted to take power; and (iv) "no firearms".
Somma had several suggestions, including a possible new title, ''Il duca Ermanno'' with a 12th Century setting, which Verdi rejected; but he did accept the proposed change to
Pomerania
Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to ...
. The pair spent Christmas of 1857 together working on changes. However, Somma insisted that his name be changed on the libretto to "Tommaso Anoni".
''Gustavo III'' becomes ''Una vendetta in domino''
Discussions with the censors eventually resulted in the location being changed to
Stettin
Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin language, Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Po ...
in Pomerania in Northern Germany, the main character becoming a Duke, and the title becoming ''Una vendetta in domino''. A compromise seemed to have been reached. However, as has been noted, "Verdi did not begin preparing the skeleton score for ''Una vendetta'' before composer and versifier decided on the Pomeranian setting"
After an arduous journey, Verdi arrived in Naples in January 1858. He brought with him the skeleton score and this was handed over to Torelli. With the major problems seeming to have been resolved and rehearsals of ''Un vendetta'' about to begin, an attempt to assassinate Emperor
Napoleon III
Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...
in Paris by three Italians led by
Felice Orsini
Felice Orsini (; ; 10 December 1819 – 13 March 1858) was an Italian revolutionary and leader of the ''Carbonari'' who tried to assassinate Napoleon III, Emperor of the French.
Early life
Felice Orsini was born at Meldola in Romagna, then p ...
occurred on 14 January 1858.
After attempting to obtain agreement on the singers during his first ten days in Naples, Verdi finally discovered that the company's management had withheld the news that the censors had refused to approve the libretto some three months before. Now, with the latest news regarding the Emperor, the Naples Chief of Police had ruled the opera's text would have to be entirely re-written. Verdi regarded this as outrageous and, in his letter to Somma, he laid out his objections to their list of demands:
:"1. Transform the hero into some great lord, so that all thought of a sovereign is eradicated.
:2. Transform the wife into a sister.
:3. Change the scene with the fortune-teller, and put it back into a time when people believed in such things.
:4. No ballet.
:5. The murder is to be behind the scenes.
:6. Leave out completely the scene with the drawing of the name."
[Verdi to Somma, 7 February 1858, in Werfel and Stefan, p.207]
In between this correspondence with his librettist, Verdi hit upon an important musical point with Torelli regarding his feelings about the impossibility of changing the character of Gustavo. The composer says that to do so would make everything:
:"false and uninteresting
o that
O, or o, is the fifteenth letter and the fourth vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''o'' (pronounced ), plu ...
that quality of brilliance and chivalry, that aura of gaiety that pervaded the whole action and which made a fine contrast and was like a light in the darkness surrounding the tragic moments, has vanished."
If these kind of changes were to be made, Somma replied later, then he would insist that the title be changed and "another author be credited with the words" The opera would no longer be his.
When the manuscript of ''Una Vendetta'' was returned to him, Verdi found that it been renamed ''Adelia degli Adimari'' and now set in 14th Century Florence. Even worse, he noted that of ''Una Vendetta''s 884 lines, 297 had been changed in ''Adelia''. Although Torelli attempted to get the composer to compromise and meet with the censor on 20 February, Verdi dug in his heels and, in his reply to Torelli, refused to accept any changes: "...I cannot commit the monstrosities that were inflicted here (Naples) on ''Rigoletto'' ", referring to how that opera had been butchered by the censors when it was presented in his absence a few years before. Rejecting any involvement with ''Adelia'', a lawsuit was then set in place by the theatre for breach of contract. In his countersuit, Verdi claimed damages and, in the document which he prepared called "Defense of Maestro Cavalier Giuseppe Verdi" and in which he gave instructions to his lawyer, he laid what he regarded as the absurdity of some of the requirements. These included the substitution of one word of the opening chorus' "Die!" for "He sleeps". In addition, it has been noted that he instructed a copyist to "place the two librettos (''Vendetta'' and ''Adelia'')in parallel columns"
In summary, Verdi rhetorically asks:
:"What the management's drama has in common with mine:
:The title? – No
:The poet? – No
:The period? – No
:The place? – No
:The characters? – No
:The situations? – No!
:The drawing of lots? – No!
:The ball? – No!
:A composer who respects his art and himself could not or would not dishonor himself by accepting as a subject for his music, written on quite a different basis, these absurdities....."
The countersuit was presented to the Commercial Court in Naples on 13 March, and Verdi's efforts were rewarded with the Court's ruling that there was merit to the case and its injunction for the parties to reach agreement. This allowed Verdi to leave Naples with his score in hand, but promising to return to Naples later in the year to stage at least one of his other operas.
''Gustavo III'' is revived
However, while many of the negotiations noted above were proceeding, Verdi became determined to find another location for his opera. In March 1858, after contacting his friend, the sculptor Vincenzo Luccardi in Rome, and requesting information on the performances of a play ''Gustavo III'' currently being presented there, he proposed that Rome stage the work. Verdi sent the libretto of the opera under the name of ''Gustavo III'', which at that point was identical to ''Una vendetta'' but with the original setting and names restored.
When Jacovacci, impresario of the
Teatro Apollo
The Tor di Nona is a neighborhood in Rome's ''rione'' '' Ponte''. It lies in the heart of the city's historic center, between the ''Via dei Coronari'' and the Tiber River. Its name commemorates the Torre dell'Annona, a mediaeval tower which once s ...
(where ''
Il trovatore
''Il trovatore'' ('The Troubadour') is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto largely written by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play ''El trovador'' (1836) by Antonio García Gutiérrez. It was García Gutiérrez's mos ...
'' had been presented successfully) received the libretto, his reaction was encouraging, but he warned the composer that there may be problems with the censor. Verdi was surprised: "In Rome they allow ''Gustavo III'' as a spoken play but won't allow a libretto on the same subject. Very strange!"
At first, Verdi wanted the libretto returned, but Jacovacci's persistence prevailed, and it was found that the censors did not insist on such dramatic changes as originally had been thought possible. However, the censors' prime demand was the requirement that ''Gustavo III'' be set elsewhere than in Europe. Verdi proposed Boston in the 17th century to Somma, alternatively "the Caucasus perhaps?"
[Verdi to Somma, 6 August 1858, in Budden p. 373] His letter began: "Arm yourself with courage and patience. Particularly with patience.....Remember that under present conditions our best plan is to present the opera in Rome.....".
Eventually, when the censors refused to allow a Duke, Somma came up with "Riccardo Conte di Varvich (Warwick)" and then refused to make other changes; that was acceptable to all. Once again, Somma refused to have his name appear on the libretto.
''Gustavo III'' becomes ''Un ballo in maschera''
By 11 September 1858, Verdi wrote to Somma accepting the revised changes in ''Gustavo III'', but renamed it as ''
Un ballo in maschera
''Un ballo in maschera'' ''(A Masked Ball)'' is an 1859 opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The text, by Antonio Somma, was based on Eugène Scribe's libretto for Daniel Auber's 1833 five act opera, '' Gustave III, ou Le bal masqué''.
The ...
''. Until his arrival in Rome in January 1859, Verdi was involved in completing and orchestrating the opera. Basing it as he did on the skeleton score of ''Una vendetta'', Verdi transformed the setting and characters' names to fit the requirements. The score's text required modification to agree with ''Ballo'' and not ''Una vendetta'', orchestration was completed, and musical changes and adjustments were made. Significant changes in the music occurred after 11 September and are also detailed by Gossett.
The first performance of the new opera was presented on 17 February 1859.
By about 1870, after ''Ballo'' had become successful and when
Italian unification
The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century political and social movement that resulted in the consolidation of different states of the Italian Peninsula into a single ...
removed much of regional censorship, Verdi could probably have returned the opera to its original Swedish setting, but he never did so. Until the mid-20th Century, the "standard" location of ''Ballo'' remained in the United States.
Today, ''Ballo'' has become part of the standard repertory and is often performed.
Performance history of ''Gustavo III''
''Gustavo III'' disappeared for close to one hundred and fifty years, but it again made an appearance with the publication of the critical edition of ''Un ballo in maschera'' and the subsequent "hypothetical reconstruction",
based on the unorchestrated original and much of ''Una vendetta'' "grafted"
onto ''Un ballo''s score.
The complete history of ''Gustavo III'' has been outlined by musicologist
Philip Gossett
Philip Gossett (September 27, 1941 – June 12, 2017) was an American musicologist and historian, and Robert W. Reneker Distinguished Service Professor of Music at the University of Chicago. His lifelong interest in 19th-century Italian opera bega ...
in his ''Divas and Scholars'' but, as noted by George Loomis, for the 25% of the score which is lost "Gossett and (Ilaria) Narici (who edited the critical edition) had to use an earlier sketched version at Sant'Agata that spans the entire opera (with some gaps) but consists largely of only the melodic line. Gossett says that the sketched draft nevertheless permits one conversant with Verdi's style to reconstruct the original with a reasonable degree of probability. And the opera's final version often supplies guidance in matters of harmony and orchestration."
''Gustavo III'' was presented by the
Gothenburg Opera
The Gothenburg opera house ( sv, Göteborgsoperan) is an opera house at Lilla Bommen in Gothenburg, Sweden. The Artistic Director for opera is Henning Ruhe since 2019, while Katrín Hall leads the ballet and dance company.
History
The Gothenbur ...
in
Gothenburg
Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...
, Sweden during the 2002/03 season,
Gothenburg Opera's website with performance cast list
/ref> 146 years after Verdi took his libretto for ''Gustavo III'' away from the Teatro San Carlo
The Real Teatro di San Carlo ("Royal Theatre of Saint Charles"), as originally named by the Bourbon monarchy but today known simply as the Teatro (di) San Carlo, is an opera house in Naples, Italy, connected to the Royal Palace and adjacent t ...
in Naples. ''Gustavo III'' was given at the San Carlo in January/February 2004.
Roles
Recordings
References
Notes
Sources
*Baldini, Gabriele, (Ed. and Trans. Roger Parker
Roger Parker (born London United Kingdom, 2 August 1951) is an English musicologist and, since January 2007, has been Thurston Dart Professor of Music at King's College London.
His work has centred on opera. Between 2006 and 2010, while Profess ...
), ''The Story of Giuseppe Verdi'', Cambridge University Press, 1980.
*Budden, Julian
Julian Medforth Budden (9 April 1924 in Hoylake, Wirral – 28 February 2007 in Florence, Italy) was a British opera scholar, radio producer and broadcaster. He is particularly known for his three volumes on the operas of Giuseppe Verdi (publish ...
, "''Un ballo in maschera''", ''The Operas of Verdi'', Volume 2. London: Cassell, Ltd., 1984, pp. 360–423
*Gossett, Philip
Philip Gossett (September 27, 1941 – June 12, 2017) was an American musicologist and historian, and Robert W. Reneker Distinguished Service Professor of Music at the University of Chicago. His lifelong interest in 19th-century Italian opera bega ...
, ''Divas and Scholars: Performing Italian Opera'' Chicago: University of Chicago, 2006
*Gossett, Philip and Ilaria Narici, "Restoring Verdi's ''Gustavo III" essay accompanying the 2002 CD recording.
* Holden, Amanda (Ed.), ''The New Penguin Opera Guide'', New York: Penguin Putnam, 2001.
*Hudson, Elizabeth, "Masking Music: A Reconsideration of Light and Shade in ''Un ballo in maschera''" in Martin Chusid (Ed.), ''Verdi's Middle Period, 1849 to 1859''. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 1997
Loomis, George, "Reconstructing the original: Back to basics for Verdi's ''Ballo''", ''New York Times'', 6 November 2002
Retrieved 2 July 2011
* Parker, Roger, ''The New Grove Guide to Verdi and his Operas'', New York: Oxford University Press, 2007
* Phillips-Matz, Mary Jane, ''Verdi: A Biography'', London & New York: Oxford University Press, 1993
*Werfel, Franz and Paul Stefan (ed. & selected; trans. Edward Downes), ''Verdi: The Man and His Letters'', New York: Vienna House, 1973
External links
Philip Gossett, "Returning Verdi's ''Un ballo in maschera'' to Sweden, ''Scandinavian Review'', Summer 2004
on findarticles.com. Retrieved 6 April 2010
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gustavo III
Operas by Giuseppe Verdi
Italian-language operas
1857 operas
Operas
Operas set in Sweden
Operas based on real people
Operas set in the 18th century
Cultural depictions of Gustav III