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''Ernani'' is an operatic ''dramma lirico'' in four acts 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 an Italian
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 ...
by
Francesco Maria Piave Francesco Maria Piave (18 May 18105 March 1876) was an Italian opera librettist who was born in Murano in the lagoon of Venice, during the brief Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy. Career Piave's career spanned over twenty years working with many of th ...
, based on the 1830 play ''
Hernani Hernani may refer to: *Hernani, Eastern Samar, a municipality in Eastern Samar, Philippines *Hernani, Gipuzkoa, a town in Gipuzkoa, Basque Autonomous Community, Spain * ''Hernani'' (drama), a Romantic drama by Victor Hugo *Hernani CRE, a Spanish ru ...
'' by
Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...
. Verdi was commissioned by the
Teatro La Fenice Teatro La Fenice (, "The Phoenix") is an opera house in Venice, Italy. It is one of "the most famous and renowned landmarks in the history of Italian theatre" and in the history of opera as a whole. Especially in the 19th century, La Fenice beca ...
in
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  ...
to write an opera, but finding the right subject took some time, and the composer worked with the inexperienced Piave in shaping first one and then another drama by Hugo into an acceptable libretto. As musicologist Roger Parker notes, the composer "intervened on several important points, insisting for example that the role of Ernani be sung by a tenor (rather than by a contralto as had originally been planned).Parker, p. 71 ''Ernani'' was first performed on 9 March 1844 and it was "immensely popular, and was revived countless times during its early years". It became Verdi's most popular opera until it was superseded by '' Il trovatore'' after 1853. In 1904 it became the first opera to be recorded completely.


Composition history

Following the success of both '' Nabucco'' and '' I Lombardi'', Verdi was approached by many opera companies wanting to commission him to write an opera for their houses. Rather than prepare another for La Scala, he was interested in a commission for two operas for the 1843–44 season (one of which would be ''I Lombardi'') which came from the President of the
Teatro la Fenice Teatro La Fenice (, "The Phoenix") is an opera house in Venice, Italy. It is one of "the most famous and renowned landmarks in the history of Italian theatre" and in the history of opera as a whole. Especially in the 19th century, La Fenice beca ...
in Venice, Marquis Nanni Mocenigo. However, the composer was only willing to accept the terms which he proposed: 12,000 Austrian lire to be paid after the first performance, not the third as proposed by Venice (Verdi recalled what had happened to ''
Un giorno di regno ''Un giorno di regno, ossia Il finto Stanislao'' (''A One-Day Reign, or The Pretend Stanislaus'', but often translated into English as ''King for a Day'') is an operatic '' melodramma giocoso'' in two acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto ...
'' with its one and only performance). Amongst other stipulations, he demanded the right to choose his own subject, his own librettist, and also to pay him directly, as well as refusing to accept the requirement that a full orchestral score be available in advance. In addition, he had the right to choose the singers from the assembled company for that season.Budden (1984), pp. 139–141 David Kimbell notes one additional demand:
He explains
o Mocenigo at La Fenice 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 ), ...
and this was rare at the time—that he began to compose only when the libretto was completed to his satisfaction because "when I have a general conception of the whole poem, the music comes of its own accord"Kimbell, in Holden 2001, pp. 980–981
Once this agreement was settled upon, the next step was to choose a subject, something which took some time. Several subjects came to Verdi's attention: for example, Byron's '' The Corsair'' was considered, but the right baritone was not available. In thinking about an opera about the Venetian
Foscari The House of Foscari () was an ancient Venetian patrician family, which reached its peak in the 14th–15th centuries, culminating in the dogeship of Francesco Foscari (1423–1457). History According to family tradition, they originated from ...
family, he found that it was forbidden by the censor in order to avoid upsetting any of the descendants of that family who were then living in Venice. However, both of these subjects were to become later Verdi operas, ''
Il corsaro ''Il corsaro'' (''The Corsair'') is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi, from a libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, based on Lord Byron's 1814 poem ''The Corsair''. The first performance was given at the Teatro Grande in Trieste on 25 October ...
'' and '' I due Foscari'', the latter opening in Rome later in 1844. An unsolicited manuscript from the unknown Francesco Piave (who was La Fenice's resident poet and stage manager in addition to being a friend of Brenna, the company's Secretary) proposed an opera, ''Cromwell,'' based on
Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...
's play, and on which he had started work. Mocenigo assured the composer of Piave's sense of the theatre and of musical forms, and so they agreed to proceed, although by the time of its approval by the Fenice authorities, it had become ''Allan Cameron'', a story set in the time just prior to the accession of Britain's Charles II. Immediately, Verdi took control and made it clear to Piave what he wanted in the way of a theatrical experience: "...Let's have as few words as possible ....Remember that brevity is never a fault ...But I do insist on brevity because that's what the public wants...."


The idea for ''Hernani''

The ''Cromwell'' libretto arrived from Piave in pieces, and Verdi put it away until he had the complete version to work from. However, when the composer and La Fenice's president met in Venice in late August, Verdi expressed some dissatisfaction at how the libretto had turned out. Then Mocenigo's casual reference to Hugo's successful 1830 drama ''Hernani'' as an idea for a libretto caught Verdi's imagination, as seen in a letter which the latter wrote to Mocenigo in early September which expressed concerns about ''Allan Cameron'' and the way it had turned out, though noting that this was "the fault of the subject and not the poet".Verdi to Mocenigo, in Budden (1984), pp. 141–142 He continues:
But oh, if only we could do ''Hernani'' instead that would be tremendous. I know that it would mean a great deal of trouble for the poet but my first task would be to try and compensate him.... ..all he would have to do would be to condense and tighten up; the action is already there ready made, and it's all immensely good theatre. Tomorrow I'll write at length to Piave setting out all the scenes from ''Hernani'' which seem to me suitable.
At this point he continues with suggestions for the poet. For Verdi, the appeal of Hugo's work – which the latter described as "Romanticism or the Liberalism in literature" – was "the struggle between love and honour", and Budden sums up this appeal as "Within Hugo's scheme each illogical action follows logically from the one that precedes it, giving Verdi the pace, the eventfulness and above all the dramatic unity that he has been looking for."


Setting the play as the opera, ''Ernani''

However, Piave was not at all pleased by this turn of events and felt that an opera based on ''Hernani'' could not be staged for reasons of censorship. For instance, the King's first appearance in the play is from a cupboard where he has been hiding since some time after his arrival and before he meets Elvira. Thus he overhears much of the interaction between Elvira and Ernani before finally revealing himself. Verdi must have realized that no king "would ever be allowed to hide in a cupboard", something which Budden notes. But the La Fenice directorate did approve the concept and the librettist was offered compensation, although he saved his ''Allan Cameron'' in reserve in case of mishap. As it evolved, the opera – originally titled ''Don Ruy Gomez de Silva'' in synopsis form – came more and more "to reflect the unique character of the parent drama" as Verdi wished to stick as closely as possible to the original play. For Budden, this "marks a new outlook in Italian opera", because this would never have occurred to either
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 ...
or Donizetti, for whom plots were interchangeable.Budden (1984), p. 143 Although Verdi had agreed to try to accommodate the contralto Carolina Vietti when the opera was ''Allan Cameron'', he was against making the leading character of Ernani a musico contralto. However, he compromised somewhat and, by the end of October, it appeared that the four voice types were to be soprano (Elvira), contralto (Ernani), tenor (Don Carlo), and baritone (de Silva), but after the acceptance of the libretto by the Venetian police, Verdi was able to hold firm and ultimately get what he wanted: a soprano, a tenor, a baritone, and – although Rosi was not an experienced enough singer – a bass in the role of de Silva. Thus it became a comprimario role, one to be sung by a second-rung singer in the company. But, as Budden notes, Verdi's "difficulties with singers were not yet over". The season opened with ''I Lombardi'' in December 1843. It was a disaster, with terrible singing from the tenor Domenico Conti. Two other operas early in the 1843/44 season were equally poorly received. Having heard one other potential tenor, Vitali, as a possible replacement, the composer presented an ultimatum: either be released from his contract or the company would engage
Carlo Guasco Carlo Guasco (16 March 1813 – 13 December 1876) was a celebrated Italian operatic tenor who sang in Italian and other European opera houses from 1837 to 1853. Although he sang in many world premieres, he is most remembered today for having creat ...
in the role of Ernani. With a premiere set for March, two final glitches were overcome: the bass Rosi had disappeared from consideration as de Silva but was replaced by Meini, who then withdrew because he found the part too low. Verdi then engaged a member of the chorus, the bass
Antonio Selva Antonio Selva (1824 - September 1889) was an Italian operatic bass who had an active international career from the 1840s through the 1870s. He was particularly associated with the works of Giuseppe Verdi. Life and career Born with the name Anton ...
who went on to a distinguished career. And, in spite of complaints from the soprano,
Sophie Löwe Johanna Sophie Christiane Löwe (24 March 1815 – 29 November 1866) was a German opera soprano, active mainly in Vienna and Berlin, and a Princess of Liechtenstein by marriage. She was one of the most famous German opera singers of her time.'' M ...
, that she was not to be front and centre for the finale, she became part of the final trio.


Verdi and theatre

Budden notes the following in regard to the specific relationship between this opera and the work of Victor Hugo:
...from the first the spirit of Hugo is there. Verdi
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was part of that youthful audience to which the play ''Hernani'' is addressed. The bounding energy of Hugo's alexandrines is reflected in the spirit of Verdi's music, which is far more forceful than anything he had written so far. Victor Hugo, one might say, was good for Verdi; and it significant that both the operas that he based on Hugo's plays (the other was of course '' Rigoletto'') were landmarks in his career.
But it is the composer himself who, in a letter to Brenna, the La Fenice secretary and a friend of Piave's, sums up his own sense of theatre, of what works and what doesn't. This was written at a time when Piave was unhappy about the shift from his original libretto to the one for what became ''Ernani''. With this shift came many changes of direction as issues such as casting came into consideration, and Verdi asks Brenna to communicate his feelings to the librettist:
However little experience I may have had, I do go to the theatre
erdi is referring to the opera house Erdi is a Turkish name. Notable people with the name include: * Erdi Öner (born 1986), Turkish footballer * Erdi Bakırcı (born 1989), Turkish footballer * Mária Érdi (born 1998), Hungarian competitive sailor * Péter Érdi (born 1946), Hu ...
all the year round and I pay the most careful attention to what I see and hear. I've been able to put my finger on so many works which wouldn't have failed if the pieces had been better laid out, the effects better calculated, the musical forms clearer, etc....in a word, if either the composer or the poet had been more experienced.
In effect, Verdi is taking control over all aspects of the piece, which includes the condensation of the sprawling play into his four acts. (The first two acts of Hugo's play become act 1 of the opera). Rather than allow the librettist a free hand in composing his verses, "this would have perpetuated in a diminished form the word-music division that Verdi precisely wanted to get away from. The composer's desire to take charge of every aspect of an opera implied that he had the power to decide what weight to give the text and the music, respectively, depending upon the "moment" of the action.


Performance history


19th century

Budden sums up the opening night success of ''Ernani'': nothing "prevented
he opera He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...
from being a tremendous success. With it, Verdi's fame took a new leap which carried it at once across the boundaries of Italy. For better or worse, he was now a world composer ....andwherever there was an Italian opera house, ''Ernani'' arrived sooner or later."Budden (1984), p. 146 However, it was not all smooth sailing: due to Hugo's opposition, the first performances in Paris at the Théâtre des Italiens two years later required a change of title - to ''Il Proscritto'' - and a change of characters' names: "The practice was followed in other cities where the names Victor Hugo and ''Hernani'' smacked of revolution." In Palermo in 1845 it became ''Elvira d'Aragona'' and in Messina in 1847 the title became ''Il proscritto ossia Il corsaro di Venezia''. Overall, ''Ernani'' was staged in one form or another up to the mid-1850s, with "32 theatres ivingthe work in 1844, 60 in 1845, and at least 65 in 1846, not including revivals in houses that had already presented it." The United Kingdom premiere, the first of Verdi's operas to be translated into English, took place at Her Majesty's Theatre in London on 8 March 1845 followed on 13 April 1847 by its US premiere in
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
.


20th century and beyond

''Ernani'' appeared on the roster of the Metropolitan Opera as early as 1903 and has been given many times since then. The opera was revived in a series of new productions at the San Francisco Opera (1982), the Met (1983), the Lyric Opera of Chicago (1984), and at
La 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 ...
(1984). It was given as part of the 1997 season of the
Sarasota Opera Sarasota Opera is a professional opera company in Sarasota, Florida, USA, which was founded as the Asolo Opera Guild and, until 1974, presented a visiting company's productions. Between 1974 and 1979, it set about mounting its own productions in t ...
's "Verdi Cycle". The
Teatro Regio di Parma Teatro Regio di Parma, originally constructed as the Nuovo Teatro Ducale (New Ducal Theatre),Martini, "Before the Teatro Regio", pp. 56 is an opera house and opera company in Parma, Italy. Replacing an obsolete house, the new Ducale achieved pro ...
, another company with the aim of presenting every Verdi opera, gave it in October 2005. Today ''Ernani'' receives numerous performances at opera houses around the world.


Roles


Synopsis

:Time: 1519. :Place:
Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sou ...
,
Aachen Aachen ( ; ; Aachen dialect: ''Oche'' ; French and traditional English: Aix-la-Chapelle; or ''Aquisgranum''; nl, Aken ; Polish: Akwizgran) is, with around 249,000 inhabitants, the 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, and the 28th- ...
, and Zaragoza.


Act 1

''Mountains of Aragon'' The bandits demand the reason for Ernani's gloom (Chorus: ''Evviva! Beviam! Beviam!'' / "To you we drink"; ''Ernani pensoso!'' / "Ernani, so gloomy? Why, oh strong one, does care sit on your brow?"). Ernani replies that he loves Elvira (Recitative: "Thanks, dear friends"; Cavatina: ''Come rugiada al cespite'' / "As the flower turns to the sun"), who is about to be married against her will to old Gomez de Silva (''O tu che l'alma adora''). He asks the bandits to abduct her. ''In Elvira's chamber'' Elvira worries about her upcoming marriage (Scena: "Now sinks the sun and Silva does not return"; Cavatina: ''Ernani, Ernani involami'' / "Ernani, Ernani, save me") as servants deliver Silva's wedding presents to her. She reaffirms her love for Ernani (''Tutto sprezzo che d'Ernani'' / "I scorn everything which does not speak to my heart of Ernani"). King Carlo, disguised as a peasant, enters, but Elvira recognizes him and rejects the love that he offers her. As he attempts to use force, she grasps a dagger, but Ernani suddenly arrives and stops Carlo (Trio: "A friend comes quickly to your aid"). Carlo recognizes Ernani as the leader of the bandits. Ernani replies that Carlo robbed him of his lands and forced him into a life of banditry. As he invites Carlo to fight, Silva appears and sees Ernani (''Infelice!... e tu credevi''... ''che mai vegg'io!'' / "Dreadful sight"; Silva's cavatina: "Unhappy man! You thought this lovely...was yours"). : Silva's cabaletta added'': "Infin che un brando vindice" ''using music originally written for Verdi's first opera, Oberto''">Oberto (opera)">Oberto'' Ernani offers to fight them both when Riccardo approaches and recognises the king. Silva is horrified and apologizes to the king, while Ernani whispers to Elvira to prepare to flee.


Act 2

''A hall in Silva's palace'' Ernani enters disguised as a pilgrim. He asks for shelter, which Silva grants him, and then learns from Silva that he is about to marry Elvira, who believes Ernani to be dead. Ernani reveals his true identity to Elvira and she tells him that she plans to kill herself at the altar (Duet: ''Ah, morir potessi adesso'' / "Ah, if I could die now"). Silva walks in at that moment, discovers the pair, but agrees to keep his word to Ernani and protect him from the king, for which Ernani will owe him a perpetual debt. (Trio: ''No, vendetta più tremenda'' / "No, I want to keep a greater revenge"). Carlo arrives and wishes to know why the castle is barred. Silva refuses to surrender Ernani (Carlo's aria: ''Lo vedremo, veglio audace'' / "We shall see, you bold old man") and Don Carlo's men cannot find Ernani's hiding place. Silva keeps his word, even when the king secures Elvira as a hostage. Silva releases Ernani, and then challenges him to a duel. Ernani refuses to fight, but unites with Silva in his plans to free Elvira from the king. Ernani swears to appear at the summons of Silva, wherever he may be at that time (''Odi il voto o grande Iddio'' / "Oh God, hear the vow"), [''Added for Parma, 26 December 1844: "at Rossini's request, Verdi wrote a grand aria for the tenor ". Ernani gathers his men to him. His aria of vengeance: ''Sprezzo la vita né più m'alletta'' / "Life means nothing to me, only hope of vengeance" concludes the act]''.


Act 3

''In the burial vault of Charles the Great at Aachen'' Carlo visits the grave of the emperor Charlemagne (Carlo Magno), whose successor, the new Holy Roman Emperor, is being elected by delegates from the relevant countries. Carlo resolves to change his life if he is crowned (Cavatina: ''Oh, de' verd'anni miei''/ "Oh, the dreams and deceits of my youth"). Hiding behind the vault, he overhears a gathering of conspirators including Silva and Ernani. Ernani swears to murder Carlo. The conspiracy is foiled when Carlo's attendants enter and surprise the conspirators. The king commands that all the traitorous noblemen be executed. Ernani steps forward, declaring that thus he must die too; he is not the bandit Ernani, but Don Juan of Aragon, whose lands were taken from him. Elvira, who had been brought to Carlo as his intended empress, begs mercy for her lover, and Carlo, whose mood has changed, forgives them both and places Elvira's hand in that of Ernani.


Act 4

''Ernani's Castle'' Elvira and Ernani have just been married, when, in consternation, Ernani hears a bugle call. Silva arrives and silently hands Ernani a dagger. Ernani asks for time to "sip from the cup of love" (''Ascolta, ascolta un detto ancor''/ "Listen, just one word...") but, cursed by Silva as a coward, Ernani keeps his oath and stabs himself in the heart (Trio with Silva: ''È vano, o donna, il piangere, è vano'' / "Your weeping is in vain, woman"). He dies in Elvira's arms, telling her to live.


Orchestration

''Ernani'' is scored for one
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 ...
, one
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 ...
, two oboes, two
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 ...
s, one
bass clarinet The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B (meaning it is a transposing instrument on which a written C sounds as B), but it plays notes an octave bel ...
, two
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 ...
s, four
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 ...
s, two trumpets, three trombones, one
cimbasso The cimbasso is a low brass instrument that developed from the upright serpent over the course of the 19th century in Italian opera orchestras, to cover the same range as a tuba or contrabass trombone. The modern instrument has four to six rotary ...
, one
harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orche ...
, timpani,
bass drum The bass drum is a large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. The instrument is typically cylindrical, with the drum's diameter much greater than the drum's depth, with a struck head at both ends of the cylinder. Th ...
and
cymbal A cymbal is a common percussion instrument. Often used in pairs, cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys. The majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs soun ...
s,
snare drum The snare (or side drum) is a percussion instrument that produces a sharp staccato sound when the head is struck with a drum stick, due to the use of a series of stiff wires held under tension against the lower skin. Snare drums are often used ...
, on-stage band with on-stage bass drum, one offstage horn, six offstage trumpets, and
strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...
.


Music

Noting that the dramatic structure of this opera "brought about a fresh consideration of the fixed forms of Italian opera, in particular an expansion and enrichment of the solo aria and duet together with a more flexible approach to the musical sequences that bind together lyrical pieces", Roger Parker continues by stating that of greatest importance was "Verdi's gathering sense of musical drama's larger rhetoric, his increasing control over the dynamics of entire acts rather than merely of entire numbers. In this respect, the third act of ''Ernani'' sets up an imposing standard of coherence, one that is rarely equalled until the operas of the early 1850s." However, it is writer Gabriele Baldini (whose specialization was in English literature) who in 1980 points to one of the most significant aspects of ''Ernanis dramatic and musical structure, the concept of male vocal archetypes, something which is echoed in Budden's 1984 chapter on this opera. Baldini writes of the musical conflicts inherent in the drama as a result of the use of certain voice types:
A youthful, passionate female voice is besieged by three male voices, each of whom establishes a specific relationship with her. The siege is fruitless. The male voices, or rather registers, meet with various fates, and each is granted a relationship with the woman, although on different levels. This relationship varies in intensity of passion according to the distance between the soprano register and the particular male voice.Baldini (1980), p. 74
Therefore, it is the lowest voice he bass, de Silva which is "farthest away, and thus his relationship is the coldest and most retrained". The baritone
he King, Don Carlo He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...
"manages to draw somewhat closer, although indirectly and ambiguously", but Baldini continues by noting that it the highest male voice he tenor, Ernaniwho "gets near a relationship which if not complete ...is at least reciprocated for long periods". Finally, while Baldini agrees with Parker that it is act 3 of ''Ernani'' which is the strongest - "in my opinion it marks the first occasion on which Verdi enclosed within a fairly extended musical space (about twenty five minutes) a perfect structural unit" - he also echoes Budden and De Van in noting the importance of the opening horn motif and references to the horn which recur throughout the opera and which ends with the final horn call, the fatal summons to Ernani by de Silva.


Recordings

The first complete recording of an opera was the 1904 recording of ''Ernani'', on 40 single-sided discs, by the Gramophone Company in England.Steven Schoenherr, Recording Technology History
Later recordings include:


References


Citations


Cited sources

*Baldini, Gabriele, (trans. Roger Parker) (1980), ''The Story of Giuseppe Verdi: Oberto to Un Ballo in Maschera''. Cambridge, ''et al.'': Cambridge University Press. *
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 ...
(1984), ''The Operas of Verdi, Volume 1: From'' Oberto ''to'' Rigoletto. London: Cassell. . *De Van, Gilles (trans. Gilda Roberts) (1998), ''Verdi’s Theater: Creating Drama Through Music''. Chicago & London: University of Chicago Press. (hardback), *Kimbell, David, in Holden, Amanda (ed.) (2001), ''The New Penguin Opera Guide'', New York: Penguin Putnam. *Melitz, Leo (1921), opera synopsis in ''The Opera Goer's Complete Guide'' *
Parker, Roger 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 Profes ...
(1998), "''Ernani'' in Stanley Sadie, (Ed.), ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'', Vol. 2, pp. 70–73. London: MacMillan Publishers, Inc. *Verdi, Giuseppe, ''Ernani'', full score critical edition, ed. Claudio Gallico, Chicago & Milan: University of Chicago Press & G. Ricordi, 1985. .


Other sources

*
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 ...
(2006), ''Divas and Scholar: Performing Italian Opera'', Chicago: University of Chicago Press. *Martin, George, '' Verdi: His Music, Life and Times'' (1983), New York: Dodd, Mead and Company. * Osborne, Charles (1969), ''The Complete Opera of Verdi'', New York: Da Capo Press, Inc. *
Parker, Roger 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 Profes ...
(2007), ''The New Grove Guide to Verdi and His Operas'', Oxford & New York: Oxford University Press. * Pistone, Danièle (1995), ''Nineteenth-Century Italian Opera: From Rossini to Puccini'', Portland, OR: Amadeus Press. *
Phillips-Matz, Mary Jane Mary Jane Phillips-Matz (January 30, 1926 – January 19, 2013) was an American biographer and writer on opera. She is mainly known for her biography of Giuseppe Verdi, a result of 30 years' research and published in 1992 by Oxford University Press ...
(1993), ''Verdi: A Biography'', London & New York: Oxford University Press. *
Toye, Francis John Francis Toye (27 January 1883 – 13 October 1964) was an English music critic, teacher, writer and educational administrator. After early efforts as a composer and novelist, and service in naval intelligence in World War I, he became music ...
(1931), ''Giuseppe Verdi: His Life and Works'', New York: Knopf *Walker, Frank, ''The Man Verdi'' (1982), New York: Knopf, 1962, Chicago: University of Chicago Press. *
Werfel, Franz Franz Viktor Werfel (; 10 September 1890 – 26 August 1945) was an Austrian- Bohemian novelist, playwright, and poet whose career spanned World War I, the Interwar period, and World War II. He is primarily known as the author of ''The For ...
and Stefan, Paul (1973), ''Verdi: The Man and His Letters'', New York, Vienna House.


External links


Verdi: "The story" and "History"
on giuseppeverdi.it
Libretto on giuseppeverdi.it
Retrieved 3 February 2012

on bedard.com. Retrieved 3 February 2012. {{Authority control 1844 operas Cultural depictions of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor Italian-language operas Opera world premieres at La Fenice Operas based on plays Operas based on works by Victor Hugo Operas by Giuseppe Verdi Operas set in Germany Operas set in Spain Operas