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King Roger (, Op. 46) 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 Karol Szymanowski to a Polish
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 himself and
Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz Jarosław Leon Iwaszkiewicz (; also known under his literary pseudonym Eleuter; 20 February 1894 – 2 March 1980), was a Polish writer, poet, essayist, dramatist and translator.Bartłomiej Szleszyński, Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz. 2003 Culture.plJ ...
, the composer's cousin. The score was finished in 1924. The opera received its world premiere on 19 June 1926 at the Grand Theatre, Warsaw, with the cast including the composer's sister, the
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 ...
Stanisława Korwin-Szymanowska, as Roxana. The "Sicilian drama", as he called it,''King Roger'', Op. 46 (1918–1924)
karolszymanowski.pl
originated from Szymanowski's enthusiasm for
Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...
culture as a melting pot of different peoples and religions. He spent much time travelling in that area in 1911 and in 1914, and shared his love of the region with Iwaszkiewicz. In the summer of 1918 at
Odessa ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...
, Szymanowski and Iwaszkiewicz conceived the project, and composed the opera over the period of 1918 to 1924. Szymanowski's lost
novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...
'' Efebos'' dealt with
mystical Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight ...
themes similar to those that inspired this work; Szymanowski labelled it a "Misterium". Jim Samson has placed ''King Roger'' in a musico-
psychological Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...
analysis of Szymanowski's compositional struggles. Alistair Wightman has briefly discussed Szymanowski's stylised treatment of Arabic musical idioms in the score. Stephen Downes has analysed in detail the themes of "duality" and "transformation" expressed in the music of the opera.


Performance history

Since its 1926 premiere, stagings of ''King Roger'' have been relatively rare. Two productions followed closely, the first at Theater Duisburg, Germany, in October 1928, and the second in October 1932 at the Národní divadlo in Prague. The first post-World War II presentation took place in
Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...
in 1949 in the presence of its librettist, conducted by , set design by Renato Guttuso, sang Roger, Clara Petrella sang Roxana, the Shepherd. After that some years passed before the opera was staged again. In 1975, the New Opera Company in London produced the work under the baton of Charles Mackerras. In the USA the opera was first seen in 1981, in a concert version given by the St. Louis Symphony in St. Louis, conducted by
Leonard Slatkin Leonard Edward Slatkin (born September 1, 1944) is an American conductor, author and composer. Early life and education Slatkin was born in Los Angeles to a Jewish musical family that came from areas of the Russian Empire now in Ukraine. His fat ...
. That same year it was presented at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, conducted by Stanisław Wisłocki. Since the late 1980s and into the present century, ''King Roger'' seems to have enjoyed something of a revival with about thirteen productions in many different locations. In 1988, the Long Beach Opera in California, known for its innovative approach to the repertoire, had Murry Sidlin as conductor and James Johnson as King Roger,
Nancy Shade Nancy Shade (born May 31, 1946, in Rockford, Illinois) is an American spinto soprano, best known as a singing-actress. She made her formal debut as Leonora in '' Il trovatore'', in Louisville, in 1967. In 1971, she made her first of many appear ...
as Roxana, and Jonathan Mack as Edrisi. A concert performance was given on 3 March 1990 at the Royal Festival Hall by the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus conducted by Andrew Davis. This was the opening concert of a festival of Szymanowski's works given by the South Bank Arts Centre. David Wilson-Johnson took the title role, with Wieslaw Ochman as the Shepherd, Eilene Hannan as Roxana, Martyn Hill as Edrisi, Matthew Best as the Archbishop and Anne Collins as the Archdeaconess. Sydney Dance Company used the opera as a recorded soundtrack for its ballet of King Roger in the
Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue Performing arts center, performing arts centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive b ...
in 1990. Palermo presented ''King Roger'' again in 1992. Four concert versions were given by the end of the 1990s: the first by Orchestre National de France in Paris, conducted by Charles Dutoit in 1996 and at the London Proms by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra under Simon Rattle in 1998, while the third and fourth performances were presented in Montreal and subsequently, on October 17, 1999, at
Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...
for the New York Premiere with Charles Dutoit and the
Montreal Symphony Orchestra The Montreal Symphony Orchestra () is a Canadian symphony orchestra based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The orchestra’s home is the Montreal Symphony House at Place des Arts. History Several orchestras were precursor ensembles to the curren ...
. In the 21st century, ''King Roger'' was given by the Polish National Opera in 2000 and in the same year also in Amsterdam by the Netherlands Opera, conducted by Hartmut Haenchen. In 2002, Charles Dutoit conducted the Japanese premiere of the work in a concert version with the NHK Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo, as well as in Prague with the Czech Philharmonic in 2007. The Mariinsky Opera Company brought the work to the
Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of Arts festival, arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the ...
in 2008 under
Valery Gergiev Valery Abisalovich Gergiev (, ; ; born 2 May 1953) is a Russian conducting, conductor and opera company director. He is currently general director and artistic director of the Mariinsky Theatre and of the Bolshoi Theatre and artistic director o ...
and directed by Mariusz Treliński. It was presented in Palermo in 2005 and also by the Wrocław Opera in 2007. A subsequent US performance was at the Bard SummerScape festival in 2008. Both the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona and the Opéra National de Paris in Paris, conducted by Kazushi Ono presented it in 2009. In 2011, ''King Roger'' appeared at the Staatstheater Mainz. A new production of the opera was staged in Polish at The
Santa Fe Opera Santa Fe Opera (SFO) is an American opera company, located north of Santa Fe, New Mexico. After creating the ''Opera Association of New Mexico'' in 1956, its founding director, John Crosby (conductor), John Crosby, oversaw the building of the f ...
on 21 July 2012 with Mariusz Kwiecień in the title role. In 2013, ''King Roger'' was presented at the 17th Festival Amazonas de Ópera in Manaus, Brazil, with in the title role. In June 2014, a new production was staged at the Wuppertal Opera House in Germany. Two performances took place in Boston in March 2015 with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Charles Dutoit. The
Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...
, Covent Garden, introduced a new co-production with Opera Australia, conducted by Antonio Pappano, in May 2015. The first performance in Australia was shown by Opera Australia in 2017 in Sydney and Melbourne, conducted by Andrea Molino, with Saimir Pirgu as Shepherd.''King Roger''
, production details, Opera Australia


Roles


Synopsis

:Place: Sicily :Time: 12th century The story concerns the enlightenment of the
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
King Roger II by a young shepherd who represents pagan ideals.


Act 1

''Often known as the "
Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...
" act'' The Shepherd is introduced to King Roger and his
court A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between Party (law), parties and Administration of justice, administer justice in Civil law (common law), civil, Criminal law, criminal, an ...
during
mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...
at the Palermo Cathedral. Despite calls by the Archbishop as well as the crowd for his punishment as a heretic, Roxana, Roger's wife, convinces the King not to kill him. She implores him to pass a fair judgment on the Shepherd. Roger orders the young man to appear at the palace that night, where he will explain himself and submit to the King's judgement.


Act 2

''The "
Orient The Orient is a term referring to the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of the term ''Occident'', which refers to the Western world. In English, it is largely a meto ...
al" act, representing
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
and the
Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...
'' As instructed, the Shepherd appears at the palace gates. Roxana sings a seductive song which is clearly a response to the visitor, causing Roger to grow increasingly agitated. As the Shepherd is led in, he describes his faith in detail and soon almost the entire court joins him in an ecstatic
dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...
. Roger attempts to chain him, but the Shepherd easily breaks free, and leaves the palace with almost all of those assembled following him. At first the King and his Arab advisor, Edrisi are left alone, but soon it is decided that Roger will join the Shepherd.


Act 3

''The " Greco-Roman" act'' In an ancient Greek theater, King Roger and Edrisi rejoin Roxana, who informs her husband that only the Shepherd can free him of his fear and jealousy. A fire is lit, and the Shepherd's followers commence another dance, while the Shepherd is transformed into
Dionysus In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, myth, Dionysus (; ) is the god of wine-making, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, festivity, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theatre. He was also known as Bacchus ( or ; ...
. As the dance ends and the participants leave the stage, Roger is left transformed by the experience, and sings a joyous
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'' d ...
at the arrival of the morning sun.


Recordings


References


Further reading

* Earl of Harewood (Ed.), "''King Roger''", ''Kobbé's Complete Opera Book''. Putnam: London and New York, 1954, pp. 1594–98 * Holden, Amanda (Ed.), "Karol Szymanowski", ''The New Penguin Opera Guide'', New York: Penguin Putnam, 2001.


External links

*
Libretto (in Polish)





Classical Composers.org page on Stanisław Michal Wisłocki


* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20090104053859/http://www.timeout.com/newyork/articles/opera-classical/42091/king-roger Myers, Eric, ''King Roger'' ''Time Out, New York'', 22–30 July 2008. Review of the
Bard College Bard College is a private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. The campus overlooks the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains within the Hudson River Historic District ...
production
''King Roger'', Op. 46 – Karol Szymanowski
Culture.pl
''King Roger'', Op. 46 and the Clash of the Gods
{{Authority control Operas by Karol Szymanowski Polish-language operas Operas 1926 operas Operas set in Sicily Roger II of Sicily Cultural depictions of kings LGBTQ-related operas