''Ariane'' is a one-act

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

Bohuslav Martinů Bohuslav Jan Martinů (; December 8, 1890 – August 28, 1959) was a Czech composer of modern classical music. He wrote 6 symphony, symphonies, 15 operas, 14 ballet scores and a large body of orchestral, chamber music, chamber, vocal and ins ...

to a French

libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) 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 th ...

by the composer drawn from the second, third and fourth acts of the 1943 play ''Le Voyage de Thésée'' by Georges Neveux, who had supplied the text to the composer's earlier opera ''

Julietta ''Julietta'' is an opera by Bohuslav Martinů, who also wrote the libretto, in French, based on the play ''Juliette ou la Clé des songes'' (''Juliette, or The Key of Dreams)'' by the French author Georges Neveux. A libretto in Czech was later pr ...

''.Smaczny, Jan. Ariane. In: ''

The New Grove Dictionary of Opera ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' is an encyclopedia of opera. It is the largest work on opera in English, and in its printed form, amounts to 5,448 pages in four volumes. The dictionary was first published in 1992 by Macmillan Reference, L ...

''. Macmillan, London and New York, 1997.

Performance history

Martinů composed ''Ariane'' in 1958 whilst working on his final opera, '' The Greek Passion'' – he described it in a letter to his family as 'taking a rest' from the larger work. The composition took just over a month. The

bravura In classical music a bravura is a style of both music and its performance intended to show off the skill of a performer. John Alexander Fuller-Maitland, ''A dictionary of music and musicians (A.D. 1450-1889)'p. 271-272/ref> Commonly, it is a vir ...

style of the writing for Ariadne reflects Martinů's admiration of

Maria Callas Maria Callas (born Maria Anna Cecilia Sophia Kalogeropoulos; December 2, 1923 – September 16, 1977) was an American-born Greek soprano and one of the most renowned and influential opera singers of the 20th century. Many critics praised ...

. The opera is in a straightforward lyrical style with deliberate references to the operas of Monteverdi and other early composers. The year of composition had seen the premiere of his three ''Parables'' for orchestra, where the third movement includes "a mysterious figure from eveux'splay, the drummer from Knossos is to be heard: it is his fate to announce weddings or funerals...". Neveux not only wrote the libretto for ''Julietta'' premiered in 1938, but also that of Martinů's 1953 unfinished opera ''Plainte contre inconnu''. Grove describes the music as being in a "warm, mainly tonal lyricism", at times "enlivened by neo-Baroque rhythmic patterns". The first performance took place in 1961 at the

Musiktheater im Revier Musiktheater im Revier (MiR) (Music Theatre in the Ruhr) is the venue for performing opera, operetta, musical theatre and ballet in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. It opened on 15 December 1959; it is listed since 1997 as a protected cultural monument. T ...

in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, as the centre-piece of a triple-bill with '' Mahagonny'' by Brecht and Weill and ''Der Analphabet'' by Ivo Lhotka-Kalinski, two years after the composer's death. The Czech premiere took place on 23 October 1962 in

Brno Brno ( , ; ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 403,000 inhabitants, making ...

alongside Ariadne-themed pieces by

Claudio Monteverdi Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi (baptized 15 May 1567 – 29 November 1643) was an Italian composer, choirmaster and string instrument, string player. A composer of both Secular music, secular and Church music, sacred music, and a pioneer ...

and Jiří Antonín Benda, conducted by Richard Týnský, with Miriam Šupurkovská in the title role. In September that year the opera was broadcast live radio on Czechoslovak Radio Brno, conducted by František Jílek, with Cecilie Strádalová. The Russian premiere was in Moscow in March 2016, conducted by Maria Maksimchuk.Russian premiere of Bohuslav Martinů´s opera Ariadne in Moscow on March 13
accessed 10 June 2016. In 2022 a critical edition by Robert Simon, from the Bohuslav Martinů Institute in Prague, with the full orchestral score, was published by

Bärenreiter Bärenreiter (Bärenreiter-Verlag) is a German classical music publishing house based in Kassel. The firm was founded by Karl Vötterle (1903–1975) in Augsburg in 1923, and moved to Kassel in 1927, where it still has its headquarters; it ...

, including the libretto, a foreword which puts a spotlight on correspondence at the time of its composition, a critical summary of the sources, and reproductions of parts of the autograph.Allison, John. Ariane - The Bohuslav Martinů Complete Edition I/1/12. ''Opera'', January 2023, Vol.74 No.1, p115-6.

Roles

Synopsis

The story is a

surrealist Surrealism is an art movement, art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike s ...

version of the myth of

Theseus Theseus (, ; ) was a divine hero in Greek mythology, famous for slaying the Minotaur. The myths surrounding Theseus, his journeys, exploits, and friends, have provided material for storytelling throughout the ages. Theseus is sometimes desc ...

Ariadne In Greek mythology, Ariadne (; ; ) was a Cretan princess, the daughter of King Minos of Crete. There are variations of Ariadne's myth, but she is known for helping Theseus escape from the Minotaur and being abandoned by him on the island of N ...

, and the

Minotaur In Greek mythology, the Minotaur (, ''Mīnṓtauros''), also known as Asterion, is a mythical creature portrayed during classical antiquity with the head and tail of a bull and the body of a man or, as described by Roman poet Ovid, a being "par ...

. In this version of the myth, the Minotaur and Theseus look alike - and Theseus discerns part of his own personality in the monster; by killing it he destroys his love for Ariadne. ;Prologue – Sinfonia 1 The Watchman learns of the arrival in

Knossos Knossos (; , ; Linear B: ''Ko-no-so'') is a Bronze Age archaeological site in Crete. The site was a major centre of the Minoan civilization and is known for its association with the Greek myth of Theseus and the minotaur. It is located on th ...

of Thésée and his companions from a passing

seagull Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the subfamily Larinae. They are most closely related to terns and skimmers, distantly related to auks, and even more distantly related to waders. Until the 21st century, most gulls were placed ...

. ;Scene 1 Thésée seeks the Minotaur and encounters Ariane. In an ambiguous conversation they seem to fall in love – but Ariane's love may be in fact for the Minotaur. The Old Man announces that the king's daughter is to be married to a stranger. Ariane reveals that she is the king's daughter and Thésée is the stranger – and asks for his name. ;Scene 2 After a second

sinfonia Sinfonia (; plural ''sinfonie'') is the Italian word for symphony, from the Latin ''symphonia'', in turn derived from Ancient Greek συμφωνία ''symphōnia'' (agreement or concord of sound), from the prefix σύν (together) and Φωνή (s ...

, Bouroun is dissatisfied that Thésée's infatuation with Ariane is preventing him from killing the Minotaur. Resolving to do the deed himself, he is killed by the Minotaur (offstage). When the Minotaur appears, he turns out to be Theseus's double, and taunts him – "who dares lift his hand to strike himself a death-blow?". Thésée slays the Minotaur however. ;Scene 3 A third sinfonia separates the scenes. Thésée and his companions desert Ariane, whose lyrical

lament A lament or lamentation is a passionate expression of grief, often in music, poetry, or song form. The grief is most often born of regret, or mourning. Laments can also be expressed in a verbal manner in which participants lament about something ...

closes the opera. The whole opera, including the three miniature sinfonias which introduce and punctuate it, lasts little more than 40 minutes (of which Ariane's lament takes about 9).

References

;Sources *

Grove Music Online ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language '' Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and t ...

*Notes to CD recording of the opera by Supraphon (1988), CD 104395-2 (

Czech Philharmonic Orchestra The Czech Philharmonic () is a symphony orchestra based in Prague. Its principal performing venue is the Rudolfinum concert hall. History The name "Czech Philharmonic Orchestra" appeared for the first time in 1894, as the title of the orche ...

conducted by Václav Neumann). {{DEFAULTSORT:Ariane (Martinu) 1961 operas Operas French-language operas Operas by Bohuslav Martinů One-act operas Operas based on classical mythology Ariadne Cultural depictions of Theseus