''Merlin'' is the last of the operas of

Isaac Albéniz Isaac Manuel Francisco Albéniz y Pascual (; 29 May 1860 – 18 May 1909) was a Spanish virtuoso pianist, composer, and conductor. He is one of the foremost composers of the post-romantic era who also had a significant influence on his con ...

. It is in three acts, set to a

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 ...

written in English by Francis Money-Coutts, 5th Baron Latymer. The opera was written between 1897 and 1902, the first of a projected trilogy of

Arthurian According to legends, King Arthur (; ; ; ) was a king of Britain. He is a folk hero and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In Welsh sources, Arthur is portrayed as a leader of the post-Ro ...

operas commissioned by the librettist. After completing ''Merlin'', Albéniz worked on the second part of the trilogy, ''Lancelot'', in 1902–03, but broke off work and did not complete it before his death in 1909. He did not even begin the final part, ''Guinevere''.

Background

Albéniz is best known for his piano works, and especially for the collection ''

Iberia The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, compri ...

'', 12 piano "impressions" published in four books of three pieces each (1906, 1907, 1907, and 1908), which incorporate Spanish folk idioms into highly virtuosic piano playing with a turn in the last two books to the influence of the pianist . At the start of the 20th century, he tried very hard to establish himself as an opera composer. Living in London, he composed three operas in collaboration with Money-Coutts (heir to a banking fortune, and Albéniz's sole patron from July 1894 onward), of which ''Merlin'' was the most ambitious. It was intended as the first part of a huge trilogy of Arthurian legends, loosely based on

Thomas Malory Sir Thomas Malory was an English writer, the author of ''Le Morte d'Arthur'', the classic English-language chronicle of the Arthurian legend, compiled and in most cases translated from French sources. The most popular version of ''Le Morte d'A ...

's ''

Le Morte d'Arthur ' (originally written as '; Anglo-Norman French for "The Death of Arthur") is a 15th-century Middle English prose reworking by Sir Thomas Malory of tales about the legendary King Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, Merlin and the Knights of the ...

''. It has some Wagnerian influence, with several orchestral and choral interludes, and two long preludes. Money-Coutts as the librettist, under the spell of

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...

, produced prose that prompted one critic, reviewing the staged premiere in 2003, to observe:

Money-Coutts's text would take pride of place in any collection of the world's worst opera librettos: it is couched in an achingly archaic Olde Englishe and relentlessly rhymed. It must be hard to sing lines like "When flow'rets of the marigold and daisy are enfolden, and wingless glowmoth stars of love englimmer all the glades" with anything approaching a straight face.

Performance history

The only portion of ''Merlin'' that Albéniz heard performed with full orchestra during his life was the opening prelude. The opera was performed by vocalists with piano accompaniment in 1905, but the full score languished until a truncated version with the text translated into Spanish was staged at the Tívoli Theatre in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

on 18 December 1950. The complete opera with the original English libretto was premiered in concert form at the Auditorio nacional in Madrid on 20 June 1998, and a studio recording with

Plácido Domingo José Plácido Domingo Embil (born 21 January 1941) is a Spanish opera singer, conductor, and arts administrator. He has recorded over a hundred complete operas and is well known for his versatility, regularly performing in Italian, French, ...

singing the part of

King Arthur According to legends, King Arthur (; ; ; ) was a king of Great Britain, Britain. He is a folk hero and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In Wales, Welsh sources, Arthur is portrayed as a le ...

was made in 2000, conducted by Albeniz-specialist conductor José de Eusebio. The success of the recording led to the first staging in its entirety in 2003, 101 years after its completion. It was premiered in Madrid's

Teatro Real The Teatro Real () is an opera house in Madrid, Spain. Located at the Plaza de Oriente, opposite the Royal Palace, and known colloquially as "''El Real''" (The Royal One). it is considered the top institution of the performing and musical arts ...

, with sets and scenography, conducted by José de Eusebio and directed by John Dew. On 11 October 2011, the opera had its first production in Germany, 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.

Roles

Synopsis

The plot is essentially a retelling of Arthurian legend with some dramatic changes for the stage, such as that Ector de Maris replaces Sir Ector as Arthur's guardian and Kay's father.

Recordings

Audio *2000: Carlos Alvarez,

, Jane Henschel, Ana María Martínez,

Madrid Symphony Orchestra Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

conducted by José de Eusebio (Decca 467 096-2) Video *2003: David Wilson-Johnson, Éva Marton,

Stuart Skelton Stuart Skelton (born 1968 in Sydney) is an Australian operatic heldentenor. In 2016 he opened the Metropolitan Opera season with Nina Stemme in Wagner's ''Tristan und Isolde''. Discography Studio concert recordings *2008: Mahler – '' Das Li ...

Carol Vaness Carol Theresa Vaness (born July 27, 1952) is an American lirico-spinto soprano and university professor. Early life and education Vaness was born in San Diego and graduated with her bachelor's degree from California State Polytechnic Universit ...

, Àngel Òdena, Victor Garcia Sierra, Angel Rodriguez, Juan Tomas Martinez, Federico Gallar, Eduardo Santamaria. Madrid Symphony Orchestra conducted by José de Eusebio (2003, BBC/Opus Arte DVD OA 0888 D)

References

Notes Sources * * * *

External links

* {{Authority control 1902 operas Operas Arthurian operas English-language operas Works based on Merlin Operas by Isaac Albéniz Operas set in England