| 翻訳と辞書 |
| The King's Henchman ： ウィキペディア英語版 |
The King's Henchman
''The King's Henchman'' is an opera in three acts composed by Deems Taylor to an English language libretto by Edna St. Vincent Millay. The libretto is based on both legend and historical figures documented in the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' including Edgar the Peaceful, Elfrida of Devon, and Dunstan. It tells the story of a love triangle between King Eadgar, his henchman Aethelwold, and Aelfrida, daughter of the Thane of Devon. It premiered on 17 February 1927 at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City in a performance conducted by Tullio Serafin.
==Background and premiere==
Shortly after becoming General Manager of the Metropolitan Opera in 1908, Giulio Gatti-Casazza had set a goal of producing at least one new English language opera by an American composer each season. These were often selected via a competition from works that had already been composed or partially composed. However, the competition for the 1927 season had thrown up no winner, and Otto Kahn, chairman of the board of directors of the Metropolitan Opera, approached Taylor directly with the offer of a commission. Taylor accepted immediately and set about finding a librettist.〔Phillips-Matz (1984) p. 94〕
At the suggestion of his wife, Taylor approached the American poet Edna St. Vincent Millay who had won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry two years earlier. Millay accepted on the condition that her name not be mentioned as the librettist until she had completed the work. Taylor left the choice of story to her, and she initially started working on a setting of the fairy tale Snow White with the provisional title ''The Casket of Glass''. However, ill health and an incipient nervous breakdown led her to abandon the unfinished libretto and start afresh. She decided to base the story on figures in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, a subject that had fascinated her when she was in college, and began working on it in November 1925.〔Pegolotti (2003) pp. 141-145〕
At the premiere, Lawrence Tibbett, in his first major role at the Met, sang the role of King Eadgar, Edward Johnson sang Aethelwold, the King's henchman, and Florence Easton sang Aelfrida, the woman who comes between them. The large-scale production (twenty-two individual roles plus a chorus) was directed by Wilhelm von Wymetal with sets designed by Joseph Urban. The premiere was a great success both with the critics and the audience. There were over fifteen minutes of ovations at the end, and the composer and librettist were called back for five curtain calls.〔''Youngstown Vindicator'' (February 18, 1927) pp. 1 & 11〕〔Downes (18 February 1927) p. 1〕 The opera's reception prompted the Met to commission another work from Taylor, ''Peter Ibbetson'', which premiered there in 1931. Millay's libretto was published separately as a book and sold out four editions in its first twenty days.〔''New York Times'' (20 October 1950)〕 A 1927 painting depicting a scene from Act 2 by the American artist N. C. Wyeth was commissioned by Steinway & Sons and is now in the Kelly Collection of American Illustration.〔Brandywine River Museum. (''The King's Henchman'' ). N.C. Wyeth Catalogue Raisonné〕
抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』
■ウィキペディアで「The King's Henchman」の詳細全文を読む
スポンサード リンク
| 翻訳と辞書 : 翻訳のためのインターネットリソース |
Copyright(C) kotoba.ne.jp 1997-2016. All Rights Reserved.
|
|