Germania (opera)
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''Germania'' 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 libr ...
tic ''dramma lirico'' consisting of a prologue, two acts, an
intermezzo In music, an intermezzo (, , plural form: intermezzi), in the most general sense, is a composition which fits between other musical or dramatic entities, such as acts of a play or movements of a larger musical work. In music history, the term ha ...
and an epilogue by Alberto Franchetti to an
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...
libretto by
Luigi Illica Luigi Illica (9 May 1857 – 16 December 1919) was an Italian librettist who wrote for Giacomo Puccini (usually with Giuseppe Giacosa), Pietro Mascagni, Alfredo Catalani, Umberto Giordano, Baron Alberto Franchetti and other important Italian co ...
. The opera premiered on 11 March 1902 at the Teatro alla Scala in
Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
. Maehder, Jürgen: "''Germania''", '' Grove Music Online'' ed. L. Macy (Retrieved February 12, 2010), Illica, known for penning the librettos for some of Giacomo Puccini's best loved operas, originally gave the libretto for ''
Tosca ''Tosca'' is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900. The work, based on Victorien Sardou's 1887 French-language drama ...
'' to Franchetti after the latter had obtained the rights to the
Victorien Sardou Victorien Sardou ( , ; 5 September 18318 November 1908) was a French dramatist. He is best remembered today for his development, along with Eugène Scribe, of the well-made play. He also wrote several plays that were made into popular 19th-centur ...
play on which it was based. However, after Puccini expressed interest in it, Franchetti relinquished his rights,Budden, Julian: "''Tosca''", '' Grove Music Online'' ed. L. Macy (Retrieved February 12, 2010), and Illica gave the composer ''Germania'' instead. The composer and librettist, who were long-time close friends, had previously collaborated on the opera '' Cristoforo Colombo'' (1892). The plot of the libretto, which was written in
grand opera Grand opera is a genre of 19th-century opera generally in four or five acts, characterized by large-scale casts and orchestras, and (in their original productions) lavish and spectacular design and stage effects, normally with plots based on o ...
style, was set during
Napoleonic Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...
times and involves a love triangle among students who are working secretly underground for the liberation of a
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
then under occupation by
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
. In composing the music, Franchetti quoted widely from German and student's popular songs and from the work of several German composers in order to create a German color to his work. ''Germania'' premiered under the baton of Arturo Toscanini and featured famed
tenor A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is wide ...
Enrico Caruso, who sang the aria "Studenti udite" on his first recording, in the role of the student Federico. The opera would go on to become Franchetti's most successful work.


Roles


Synopsis


Prologue

:Time and place: in and around Nuremberg, in the year 1806. A group of students are hiding the bookseller and publisher Giovanni Filippo Palm, who is wanted by the police for disseminating the anonymous book 'Germania'. The instigators of the hunt for Palm are Napoleon's occupying forces, who, along with a number of German princes, have been severely criticised in Palm's book. Philosophers, poets and students appeal to the inhabitants of the German territories to rise up against their exploitation and to unite their divided country. The students cannot agree on how to pursue their struggle: with the sword or the pen. Their leader Carlo Worms, an idealist, invokes the words of the philosopher Johann Gottlieb Fichte and is in favour of demanding human rights and freedom of speech and thought in the spirit of Friedrich Schiller. Pitted against him in the debate are the members of a more radical group including Federico Loewe, a friend of Carlo Worms and an adversary in more ways than one, for they are in love with the same woman, Ricke, already betrothed to Loewe. Worms seduces Ricke while Loewe is away. Ricke is desperate because Worms warns her that Loewe and he will have to settle the matter in a duel if she confesses the act to Loewe. She agrees not to reveal her disloyalty even though plagued by her conscience. Meanwhile, a young lad, Jebbel, has accepted a bribe from the police and revealed Palm's hiding place.


Act 1

Loewe, Ricke, her sister Jane, their elderly mother and the student Crisogono, adjutant of Worms, have fled to the Black Forest. When word goes round that Worms has died in battle Ricke looks optimistically to an untroubled future with her husband Loewe. Yet on the very day of their wedding Worms suddenly appears, gravely wounded. Realising that the ceremony is over, he runs off. Shortly afterwards Loewe notices that Ricke has vanished. He discovers a farewell letter from her in which she declares her love for him but also confesses to her affair with Worms. She pleads for forgiveness, but Loewe swears to avenge himself on Worms.


Act 2

:Time and place: years later, an underground meeting of the anti-Napoleon Queen Louise League in Königsberg. Worms is alive. Students from across Germany are assembled, united behind one slogan: GERMANIA! Jebbel, now a young man, appears before the League tribunal and confesses to having betrayed Palm to the police years ago. Many League members call for his execution, but one of their most respected underground figures, Luigi Adolfo Guglielmo Lützow, takes Jebbel's side and enlists him for the impending battle against Napoleon's forces. Suddenly Loewe appears, swearing vengeance against Worms. He challenges him to a duel. Worms is resolved to end the feud by letting Loewe kill him, but before it comes to this the Queen makes an impressive entrance. Together they declare their hopes for a future Germany free of tyranny. This collective vision finds expression in wild fanaticism. Worms, Loewe and the assembled volunteers head off to the
Battle of the Nations The Battle of Leipzig (french: Bataille de Leipsick; german: Völkerschlacht bei Leipzig, ); sv, Slaget vid Leipzig), also known as the Battle of the Nations (french: Bataille des Nations; russian: Битва народов, translit=Bitva ...
outside Leipzig.


Symphonic interlude

The Battle of the Nations.


Epilogue

:Aftermath of the battle. Ricke has been caught up in the fray of events. She discovers Worms dead and finds Loewe gravely wounded. Without shedding tears Ricke tenderly arranges the body of her beloved and lies down beside him. As dusk gathers, her head sinks to his now-still breast as they spend their single, unending wedding night together.


Notes and references


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Germania (Opera) Operas 1902 operas Operas by Alberto Franchetti Italian-language operas Opera world premieres at La Scala Operas set in Germany German patriotic songs