T he 2011 Boston Early Music Festival (BEMF) opened yesterday with a production of the fully-staged North American premiere of the Baroque Italian opera, ‘Niobe, Regina di Tebe’ by Steffani. The work received its first performance in 1688 in Munich. Here it is restored with new choreography (dances by Melchior d’Ardespin from the original are no longer extant) and libretto by Luigi Orlandi now with a new English translation by Ellen Hargis.T he opera is nominally Ovid’s story from classical Greece, but with Enlightenment characteristics.
E nlightenment-era people still were born into social positions with predestined obligations such as kinship and feudal duty, or even, as in the case of Niobe and Anfione in ancient times, royal privileges and duties to Theban subjects and kingdom. Human nature being what it is, even royalty could become frustrated with the lack of freedom, and with social positions and obligations that didn’t change throughout a person’s life.
O ut of chronic frustration come greed, pride, the wish for longevity or godlike immortality, and other motivations, which lead to bad, catastrophic decisions. In this case, at the end Niobe’s kids, the Niobids, have all been killed by lightning bolts hurled by the gods, who are hopping mad on account of all the vanity below; Niobe’s husband, the king Anfione, has committed suicide on account of the loss of his kids, his wife and his kingdom; and Niobe is turned to stone. It is about as bad a day as can be had by anybody in any Century.
D uring Niobe’s final aria at the end, the antiphonal utterances of two or three viole at a time—arrayed as the orchestra is across the entire width of the theater—add an especially dramatic, morbid effect.
G ià mi rende di Pietra.T he music establishes more of an orchestral underpinning than is usual... one cannot call it ‘accompaniment’. The vocal lines ride on the luxurious magic carpet of 20+ period instruments with natural inflections. [A four-piece off-stage viol consort adds a dramatic sense of acoustic distance and emotional depth at various times during the opera, complementing the sound from the larger chamber orchestra positioned between Row #1 and the stage.] The voices occupy their mid-ranges mostly, enabling each singer to project the text with crisp melismas and complexities that add to the emotion they are conveying. The naturalistic writing of the rhythms for the voices makes the dramaturgy that much more credible. The orchestral rhythms and phrasing are complementary to and sympathetic with the vocal parts: we are hearing one thing, a unity of voice and instruments, not accompanied voice. Really wonderful.
Funeste Imagini
Già mi tormentano;
Stigie Voragini
Già mi spaventano:
Vinta al fin dall’empia sorte...
[Now I am turned to Stone.
Funereal images
Torment me now;
Stygian abysses
Frighten me now.
I am vanquished in the end by bitter Fate...]”
— Niobe, Act III, Scene XII [Agostino Steffani, tr., Ellen Hargis]
T he singers’ knowledge of the language and their sensitivity to phrasing and dynamics are truly remarkable. They and their coaches have clearly approached this work with extraordinary enthusiasm and depth of interest, to master all of the dramatic, musical, technical, and physical challenges that this opera presents.
T he BEMF cast members are superb in their parts—large voices that just won’t quit, countertenors too—all are compelling individually and wonderfully balanced, and the orchestra superb as well. The sets and costumes are sumptuous, and the production values: first-rate, as BEMF routinely achieves. Congratulations all around!
F our more performances of Niobe remain this week (Tue, June 14, 7pm; Wed, June 15, 7pm; Fri, June 17, 7pm; Sun, June 19, 3:30pm). Not to be missed!
- BEMF opera reviews webpage
- BEMF Niobe press webpage
- Donnington R. Opera and its Symbols: The Unity of Words, Music and Staging. Yale Univ, 1992.
- Holman P. Rediscovering Steffani. Early Music 2004;32:619-21.
- Robinson P. Opera, Sex and Other Vital Matters. Univ Chicago, 2002.
- Timms C. 'What did Handel learn from Steffani’s operas?' in Studies in Seventeenth-Century Opera, ed. B. Glixon. Ashgate, 2010.
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