Richard Jensen & Grethe Ditlevsen in the pas de six in 3rd act of Napoli

''Napoli, or The Fisherman and His Bride'' is a

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

created in 1842 for

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

Royal Ballet The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded in ...

by Danish

choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

and ballet master

August Bournonville August Bournonville (21 August 1805 – 30 November 1879) was a Danish ballet master and choreographer. He was the son of Antoine Bournonville, a dancer and choreographer trained under the French choreographer, Jean Georges Noverre, and the nep ...

. It tells the story of Teresina, a young Italian girl who falls in love with Gennaro, a

fisherman A fisher or fisherman is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishers and fish farmers. Fishers may be professional or recreati ...

, and culminates in the marriage of the lovers.

Synopsis

Act I (The Market). Teresina's mother, Veronica, who does not want her to marry poor Gennaro, introduces her to two other suitors. These are two older but rich men named Peppo and Giacomo. Teresina, much to her mother's distress, refuses them both and instead goes off to wait for Gennaro. When Gennaro arrives back at port, he and Teresina go to find Veronica and try to convince her that they should wed. Luckily for them, this task proves relatively easy once she sees how true the young couple's love is. Full of happiness Teresina and Gennaro sail off together. Meanwhile, a group of entertainers come and put on a show for the townsfolk. However, a violent storm begins and the festivities come to an abrupt end. When the storm ends, Gennaro is found, but Teresina is not. Thinking she has drowned, Veronica openly mourns for her daughter and blames Gennaro for her death. So stricken by this turn of events Gennaro becomes so agitated that he almost commits

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

, but stops when he sees a statue of the

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

. Soon Fra Ambrosio, the local

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

, appears and gives him a picture of the Madonna telling him to go and find Teresina. Act II (The Blue Grotto). Gennaro looks everywhere for Teresina and eventually finds her in the Blue Grotto, a magical place ruled by Golfo who has turned Teresina into a

naiad In Greek mythology, the naiads (; grc-gre, ναϊάδες, naïádes) are a type of female spirit, or nymph, presiding over fountains, wells, springs, streams, brooks and other bodies of fresh water. They are distinct from river gods, who ...

(Fairy of the Sea). Because of the transformation, Teresina no longer remembers Gennaro. However, through

faith Faith, derived from Latin ''fides'' and Old French ''feid'', is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or In the context of religion, one can define faith as "belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion". Religious people often ...

, Teresina is changed back into a human and has her memory restored. Quickly, Gennaro and Teresina leave the Grotto to return to Naples. Act III (The Wedding). When Teresina and Gennaro return the townsfolk are suspicious because they had thought Teresina was dead. Peppo and Giacamo even try to convince everyone that Gennaro is in league with the

devil A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of t ...

. This rumor is soon disproved and the wedding reception begins.

Characters

* Teresina, a young Italian girl in love with Gennaro * Gennaro, a young Italian fisherman in love with Teresina * Veronica, Teresina's mother * Peppo, a wealthy, old,

lemonade Lemonade is a sweetened lemon-flavored beverage. There are varieties of lemonade found throughout the world. In North America and South Asia, cloudy still lemonade is the most common variety. There it is traditionally a homemade drink using le ...

seller who loves Teresina * Giacomo, an older, but rich, macaroni seller who loves Teresina * Fra' Ambrosio, a monk * Golfo, the sea demon ruling the blue grotto

Music

Several composers contributed to the score:

Edvard Helsted Edvard (or Eduard) Mads Ebbe Helsted (8 December 1816 – 1 March 1900) was a Danish composer. He was born in Copenhagen and died in Fredensborg. He is buried in Asminderød Cemetery. See also *List of Danish composers A list of notable ...

and

Holger Simon Paulli Holger Simon Paulli (22 February 181023 December 1891) was a Danish conductor and composer. Paulli composed an opera, thirteen ballets, an overture, and pieces for violin and lieder. Biography Paulli was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. He was a st ...

composed Acts I and III; Niels W. Gade created the blue grotto atmosphere for Act II, including a popular melody of the time, ''La Melancholie'', composed by the violin virtuoso François Prume. Bournonville asked

Hans Christian Lumbye Hans Christian Lumbye (; 2 May 1810 – 20 March 1874) was a Danish composer of waltzes, polkas, mazurkas and galops, among other things. Beginnings As a child, he studied music in Randers and Odense, and by age 14 he was playing the trumpet in a ...

, later to become the famous

Tivoli Gardens Tivoli Gardens, also known simply as Tivoli, is an amusement park and pleasure garden in Copenhagen, Denmark. The park opened on 15 August 1843 and is the third-oldest operating amusement park in the world, after Dyrehavsbakken in nearby Klam ...

composer, to provide the music for the concluding

galop In dance, the galop, named after the fastest running gait of a horse (see Gallop), a shortened version of the original term galoppade, is a lively country dance, introduced in the late 1820s to Parisian society by the Duchesse de Berry and popul ...

that follows Paulli's

tarantella () is a group of various southern Italian folk dances originating in the regions of Calabria, Campania and Puglia. It is characterized by a fast upbeat tempo, usually in time (sometimes or ), accompanied by tambourines. It is among the mo ...

. Bournonville recounts in his memoirs how, during a monotonous carriage journey, he spent hours humming what became the first three sections of the tarantella in Act III. The tarantella became the inspiration for the creation of the ballet. In Act I,

Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards f ...

's slander aria from ''

The Barber of Seville ''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( it, Il barbiere di Siviglia, ossia L'inutile precauzione ) is an ''opera buffa'' in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was base ...

'' is used as the basis for Peppo's slander scene; the folk tune ''Te voglio ben assai'' is used in Act I to highlight the young lovers' feelings; the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...

" O Santissima" is used in Act II to underscore the power of Christianity over Golfo's demonry.

Genesis and criticism

The ballet was choreographed after Bournonville had visited

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

(''it'': Napoli), where he had been impressed by the local colour and the vibrancy of a city in constant movement.Royal Danish Ballet The Bournonville Festival -- 'Napoli' Worth the wait
/ref> He strove to include the "brightness and dynamism" of the city in the work, ending the final act with a lively tarantella. The ballet has been criticised for its lengthy

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...

in the first and second acts. The dancing really comes to forefront only in the third act. As the music is not the caliber of a

Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...

Glazunov Glazunov (; feminine: Glazunova) is a Russian surname that may refer to: *Alexander Glazunov (1865–1936), Russian composer ** Glazunov Glacier in Antarctica named after Alexander * Andrei Glazunov, 19th-century Russian trade expedition leader * An ...

, this can be a challenge. However, the piece has also been praised for its "local colour," the exceptional male solos, and is sometimes referred to as Bournonville's "signature work."Review/Ballet; A 2d Cast in Bournonville's 'Napoli'
/ref>)

References

{{August Bournonville Ballets by August Bournonville 1842 ballet premieres Collaborations in classical music Ballets premiered at the Royal Danish Theatre