''Prometeo'' (''Prometheus'') 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 Luigi Nono, written between 1981 and 1984 and revised in 1985. Here the word "opera" carries the generic Italian meaning of "works", as in work of art, and not its usual meaning. Indeed, Nono scornfully labels ''Prometeo'' a "tragedia dell'ascolto", a tragedy of listening. Objectively it can be considered a sequence of nine cantatas, the longest lasting 23 minutes. The Italian libretto, by

Massimo Cacciari Massimo Cacciari (; born 5 June 1944) is an Italian philosopher, politician and public intellectual. Biography Born in Venice, Cacciari graduated in philosophy from the University of Padua (1967), where he also received his doctorate, writing a ...

, selects from texts by such varied authors as

Aeschylus Aeschylus (, ; grc-gre, Αἰσχύλος ; c. 525/524 – c. 456/455 BC) was an ancient Greek tragedian, and is often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier Greek ...

Walter Benjamin Walter Bendix Schönflies Benjamin (; ; 15 July 1892 – 26 September 1940) was a German Jewish philosopher, cultural critic and essayist. An eclectic thinker, combining elements of German idealism, Romanticism, Western Marxism, and Jewish mys ...

and

Rainer Maria Rilke René Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke (4 December 1875 – 29 December 1926), shortened to Rainer Maria Rilke (), was an Austrian poet and novelist. He has been acclaimed as an idiosyncratic and expressive poet, and is widely recogni ...

and presents the different versions of the

myth Myth is a folklore genre consisting of Narrative, narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or Origin myth, origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not Objectivity (philosophy), ...

of Prometheus without telling any version literally.

Vocal and orchestral forces

''Prometeo'' in its final form (1985) is scored for: * 5 vocal soloists (2 sopranos, 2 altos, 1 tenor) * 2 speakers (one male, one female) * choir (12 singers) * 4 orchestral groups, each consisting of:

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

piccolo The piccolo ( ; Italian for 'small') is a half-size flute and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. Sometimes referred to as a "baby flute" the modern piccolo has similar fingerings as the standard transverse flute, but the so ...

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

bassoon The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuo ...

horn Horn most often refers to: *Horn (acoustic), a conical or bell shaped aperture used to guide sound ** Horn (instrument), collective name for tube-shaped wind musical instruments *Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various ...

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the Standing wave, air column ...

, 4

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

viola The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

* 7 glasses * 6 instrumental soloists:

bass flute The bass flute is a member of the flute family. It is in the key of C, pitched one octave below the concert flute. Despite its name, its playing range makes it the tenor member of the flute family. Because of the length of its tube (approximate ...

/piccolo/C flute, contrabass clarinet/clarinet in B/ clarinet in E, trombone/ tuba/ euphonium, viola, cello, double bass * 2 conductors. Sounds from the vocalists and instrumentalists are electronically manipulated. The duration of the final version is given as 135 minutes.

Nine sections

The work's nine sections are: * Prologo * Isola Prima * Isola Seconda * Interludio Primo * Tre Voci (a) * Isola Terza – Quarta – Quinta * Tre Voci (b) * Interludio Secondo * Stasimo Secondo

Performance history

At the premiere of the first version, at the Church of

San Lorenzo San Lorenzo is the Italian and Spanish name for Lawrence of Rome, Saint Lawrence, the 3rd-century Christian martyr, and may refer to: Places Argentina * San Lorenzo, Santa Fe * San Lorenzo Department, Chaco * Monte San Lorenzo, a mountain on t ...

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

on 25 September 1984, Claudio Abbado was the conductor, with the

Chamber Orchestra of Europe The Chamber Orchestra of Europe (COE), established in 1981, is an orchestra based in London. The orchestra comprises about 60 members from across Europe. The players pursue parallel careers as international soloists, members of chamber groups and ...

, a choir from the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg, and the following vocal soloists: Ingrid Ade, Monika Bair-Ivenz,

Bernadette Manca di Nissa Bernadette Manca di Nissa (born 27 September 1954) is an Italian operatic contralto who has sung leading roles in the principal opera houses of Italy as well as internationally. She has appeared at La Scala in Milan, La Fenice in Venice, Teatro ...

, Susanne Otto, and Mario Bolognesi. It is not clear whether a Conductor II was deployed. The revised and final ''Prometeo'' premiered at

Teatro alla Scala La Scala (, , ; abbreviation in Italian of the official name ) is a famous opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the ' (New Royal-Ducal Theatre alla Scala). The premiere performan ...

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 ...

on 25 September 1985, conducted by

Peter Hirsch Sir Peter Bernhard Hirsch HonFRMS FRS (born 16 January 1925) is a figure in British materials science who has made fundamental contributions to the application of transmission electron microscopy to metals. Hirsch attended Sloane Grammar S ...

. Nono banned all photography of the production in an attempt to stop what he called "artistic consumerism." ''Prometeo'' had its first international premieres in France and Germany in 1987. The performances at Festival d'Automne in Paris and Alte Oper Frankfurt featured Ensemble Modern and conductors Friedrich Goldmann and David Shallon. The work was later also presented as part of the

Berliner Festspiele The Berliner Festspiele (German for Berlin Festivals) are a series of festivals, art exhibitions, and other cultural events organized all year long by a common organization in Berlin. Events are held at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele, a pre-ex ...

in September 2011 under Matilda Hofman (Conductor II) and

Arturo Tamayo Arturo Tamayo Ballesteros (born 3 August 1946) is a Spanish conductor and music teacher. Life Tamayo studied music at the Real Conservatorio Superior de Música de Madrid, while studying Law at the Complutense University of Madrid. He finally ...

(Conductor I);

Cyndia Sieden Cyndia Sieden (born September 10, 1961) is an American coloratura soprano on the opera and concert stages. Biography Cyndia Sieden was born in 1961 in California, USA, and received her first vocal instruction there. A significant early milesto ...

, Silke Evers, Susanne Otto, Noa Frenkel, and Hubert Mayer were the vocal soloists, with the

Konzerthausorchester Berlin The Konzerthausorchester Berlin is a German symphony orchestra based in Berlin. The orchestra is resident at the Konzerthaus Berlin, designed by the architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel. The building was destroyed during World War II, and was rebuil ...

. Its South American premiere took place at Argentina's

Teatro Colón The Teatro Colón (Spanish: ''Columbus Theatre'') is the main opera house in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is considered one of the ten best opera houses in the world by National Geographic. According to a survey carried out by the acousti ...

, in November 2013.

Recordings

* EMI Classics 5 55209 2 – 1993, live in Salzburg: Ingrid Ade-Jesemann, Monika Bair-Ivenz, Susanne Otto, Helena Rasker, Peter Hall; Solistenchor Freiburg; Ensemble Modern;

Ingo Metzmacher Ingo Metzmacher (born 10 November 1957 in Hanover) is a German conductor and artistic director of the festival KunstFestSpiele Herrenhausen in Hanover. Life Ingo Metzmacher is the son of the cellist Rudolf Metzmacher and the research biolo ...

, conductor * Col Legno WWE2SACD20605 – 2003, live in Freiburg: Petra Hoffmann, Monika Bair-Ivenz, Susanne Otto, Noa Frenkel, Hubert Mayer, singers; Sigrun Schell, Gregor Dalal (speakers); Freiburg Soloists’ Choir,

ensemble recherche The ensemble recherche is a German classical music ensemble of nine soloists, especially dedicated to contemporary music. Founded in Freiburg im Breisgau in 1985, they premiered some 500 works. They were awarded the Schneider-Schott Music Prize ...

, Soloists’ Ensembles of the Freiburg Philharmonic and SWR Symphony Orchestras, Experimentalstudio Heinrich-Strobel-Stiftung of the SWR Freiburg ( André Richard, director);

(1st conductor),

Kwamé Ryan Kwamé Ryan (born 1970 in Toronto, Ontario) is a Trinidadian conductor. Career Early history and education Ryan is the son of Joya Gomez, a school teacher and actress and Selwyn Ryan, a university professor. Having set his sights on a career in c ...

(2nd conductor)

References

{{Authority control Italian-language operas Operas Operas by Luigi Nono 1985 operas 1984 operas Spatial music