Maskarade (
Masquerade) is an
opera in three acts by
Carl Nielsen to a Danish
libretto by Vilhelm Andersen, based on the comedy
by
Ludvig Holberg.
Announcement of plans to turn Holberg’s classical comedy into an
opera buffa met with dismay in Danish literary circles,
but the opera quickly gained popularity, surpassing that of the
play itself. Nielsen was not entirely satisfied with the opera,
citing structural weakness in the final two acts; but he never got
around to revising the work. The overture and the ballet from the
third act (“Dance of the Cockerels”) are performed frequently as
orchestral excerpts.
Performance history
The first
performance was at Det Kongelige
Theater, Copenhagen
, 11 November 1906. The United States
premiere was conducted by Igor Buketoff, with St Paul Opera, Minnesota
and the first reported New York performance was by
the Bronx Opera Company in 1983.
Roles
| Role |
Voice type |
Premiere cast,
11 November 1906
(Conductor: -)
|
| Jeronimus, a burgher of Copenhagen |
bass baritone |
|
| Magdelone, wife to Jeronimus |
alto |
|
| Leander, son to Jeronimus |
tenor |
|
| Henrik, valet to Leander |
baritone |
|
| Arv, servant to Jeronimus |
tenor |
|
Leonard, a gentlemen from Slagelse |
bass baritone |
|
| Leonora, daughter to Leonard |
soprano |
|
| Pernille, maid to Leonora |
mezzo-soprano |
|
| A Mask Vendor |
baritone |
|
| A Doorman at the Masquerade |
bass |
|
| A Tutor |
bass |
|
| A Night Watchman |
bass |
|
| The Master of the Masquerade |
bass |
|
| Masqueraders, Students, Girls, Officers |
|
Synopsis
- Time: Spring 1723
- Place: Copenhagen
The story revolves around Leander and Leonora, two young people who
meet fortuitously at a masquerade ball, swear their undying love
for each other and exchange rings. The following day, Leander tells
his valet Henrik of his newfound love. He becomes distraught when
reminded by Henrik that his parents have betrothed him in marriage
to a neighbor’s daughter. Things get complicated when Leonard, the
neighbor whose daughter is the other part of this arrangement,
comes complaining to Leander’s father that his daughter is in love
with someone she met at the masquerade the previous night. In the
third act, all is resolved when the various parties slip off to the
night’s masquerade, where all is revealed to everyone’s mutual
satisfaction.
Cultural significance
Maskarade has become something like the Danish national
opera. The masquerade of the title is a place where the characters
can leave behind the oppressed lives they lead in a rigid society;
it represents liberty and the Enlightenment, and even more,
perhaps, a sense of
joie de vivre in a land where weather
(and duty) is often cold and gloomy. The patriarch Jeronimus,
Leander’s father, rails against the masquerade and all it
represents; but a thread of the plot explores how all his authority
and his antipathy toward the masquerade fail to prevent his son’s
(not to mention his own) progress toward freedom and happiness. The
final scene of the opera is colored by a bitter-sweet recognition
of human mortality, and the urgent importance of finding happiness
to brighten it.
Notes
References
- Notes and libretto accompanying the 1998 Decca recording 460
227-2.
- Warrack, John and West, Ewan, The Oxford Dictionary of
Opera, (1992) ISBN 0-19-869164-5
External links
Wikis
Map
Search