''Gilgameš'' (

Serbian Cyrillic The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet (, ), also known as the Serbian script, (, ), is a standardized variation of the Cyrillic script used to write the Serbian language. It originated in medieval Serbia and was significantly reformed in the 19th cen ...

: Гилгамеш) is an

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 ...

in three acts by Rudolf Brucci. The

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 Arsenije Arsa Milošević is based on the Mesopotamian ''

Epic of Gilgamesh The ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' () is an epic poetry, epic from ancient Mesopotamia. The literary history of Gilgamesh begins with five Sumerian language, Sumerian poems about Gilgamesh (formerly read as Sumerian "Bilgames"), king of Uruk, some of ...

''. It premiered on November 2, 1986 at the Serbian National Theatre in

Novi Sad Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; #Name, see below for other names) is the List of cities in Serbia, second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pannoni ...

Roles

Gilgamesh Gilgamesh (, ; ; originally ) was a hero in ancient Mesopotamian mythology and the protagonist of the ''Epic of Gilgamesh'', an epic poem written in Akkadian during the late 2nd millennium BC. He was possibly a historical king of the Sumer ...

, ''a Sumerian king'' –

baritone A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...

Enkidu Enkidu ( ''EN.KI.DU10'') was a legendary figure in Mesopotamian mythology, ancient Mesopotamian mythology, wartime comrade and friend of Gilgamesh, king of Uruk. Their exploits were composed in Sumerian language, Sumerian poems and in the Akk ...

, ''his friend and brother'' –

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

*Priestess at the temple of

Ishtar Inanna is the List of Mesopotamian deities, ancient Mesopotamian goddess of war, love, and fertility. She is also associated with political power, divine law, sensuality, and procreation. Originally worshipped in Sumer, she was known by the Akk ...

–

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

*Rishat, ''Gilgamesh's mother'' –

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano (, ), or mezzo ( ), is a type of classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A bel ...

, ''Sumerian goddess of love and fertility'' – mezzo-soprano * Siduri Sabitu, ''guardian of entrance to the Garden of Gods'' – soprano * Aruru, ''Sumerian goddess of creation'' – soprano *

Utnapishtim Uta-napishtim or Utnapishtim (, "he has found life") was a legendary king of the ancient city of Shuruppak in southern Iraq, who, according to the Gilgamesh flood myth, one of several similar narratives, survived the Flood by making and occupyi ...

, ''Gilgamesh's ancestor'' –

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

*Utnapishtim's wife – mezzo-soprano *Hunter / Ur-Shanabi / Utnapishtim's Sailor – tenor *First priest – tenor *Second priest – bass * Anu, ''sky god'' / Ea, ''god of water and wisdom'' /

Shamash Shamash (Akkadian language, Akkadian: ''šamaš''), also known as Utu (Sumerian language, Sumerian: dutu "Sun") was the List of Mesopotamian deities, ancient Mesopotamian Solar deity, sun god. He was believed to see everything that happened in t ...

, ''Sun god'' – bass *Scorpion Man – male voice (speaking role) *Scorpion Woman – female voice (speaking role) *

Humbaba Humbaba (Ḫumbaba; , ''Ḫumbāba'', with an optional determinative ), originally known as Ḫuwawa in Sumerian (, ''Ḫuwāwa''), was a figure in Mesopotamian mythology. The origin and meaning of his name are unknown. He was portrayed as an ant ...

, ''a demon'' – robot *Snake – dancer *''People of

Uruk Uruk, the archeological site known today as Warka, was an ancient city in the Near East, located east of the current bed of the Euphrates River, on an ancient, now-dried channel of the river in Muthanna Governorate, Iraq. The site lies 93 kilo ...

, Soldiers, Guard, Priests, Priestesses, virgins in service of Ishtar, dancers''

Sources

*Basso, Alberto (1996). ''Musica in scena: storia dello spettacolo musicale'', Volume 3, p. 457. UTET. *Radović, Branka (2005)
"Two orients in Rudolf Bruci's opera Gilgamesh"
''Muzikologija'', Issue 5, pp. 153–165 (in Serbian with English summary) *Ziolkowski, Eric (September 2007)
"An ancient newcomer to modern culture"
''World Literature Today''

External links

* Libretto of ''Gilgamesh'' in Serbian at ''sr.wikibooks.org'' Operas by Rudolf Brucci Operas Serbian-language operas Works based on the Epic of Gilgamesh 1986 operas Music based on poems Operas based on literature {{opera-stub

Roles

See also

Sources

External links