OttorinoRespighi (1879 ? 1936)

La belladormente nel bosco (Sleeping Beauty)

Musicalfairy-tale in three acts (1921 - 1933)

The 1689fairy-tale of Charles Perrault, La belle au bois dormant (SleepingBeauty), inspired Tchaikovsky to his famous ballet exactly two hundred yearslater and in 1901 provided the subject of an opera for Engelbert Humperdinck.Both these works were conceived for adult performers. Respighi"s opera on thesame subject calls for an ensemble of puppets and is addressed to young audiences.It became so successful in his own lifetime that, with his ballet Laboutique fantasque, it heads the group of his most frequently performedstage works.

In the 1920sVittorio Podrecca"s puppet company I Piccoli was very famous, and notonly in Italy. After attending a performance in Londonan enthusiastic George Bernard Shaw seemed to prefer Podrecca"s wooden actorsto real ones and Respighi too expressed the opinion that it was a joy to workwith actors one could pack away into a box after rehearsal, so that they couldnot bother one with complaints and gossip, as their flesh and blood colleaguesdo.

On 13th April, 1922, La bella addormentata nel bosco was given itsfirst performance at the Teatro Odescalchi in Rome.The conductor was Respighi"s pupil Renzo Massarani and the production, whichheld the stage in Podrecca"s company for over twenty years, toured to Turkey,Greece, Egypt, Bulgaria, Russia, Canada, Australia and Japan. For London performances the soprano Cissie Vaughan, a pupil ofAdelina Patti and Ruggero Leoncavallo, was engaged. She presumably sang theparts of the Nightingale / Blue Fairy, the actual principal role of the opera,rather than that of the Princess.

In November 1933Respighi completed a new version of his children?s opera, now called Labella dormente nel bosco, at the request of the Teatro di Torino, andconducted the first performance on 9th April, 1934. This was acted in mime bysome hundred children, while singing and speaking parts were heard from theorchestra pit, as they had been in the earlier performances in Rome. Since the manuscript of the first version has beenlost, there is no chance of comparing it with its revision, but it is knownthat for the original orchestration Respighi had commissioned his pupil Vincenzodi Donato. The 1933 manuscript score used for this recording can, therefore, beconsidered the composer"s authentic version, as revised and orchestrated byhimself for a larger symphonic ensemble rather than for the reduced forces ofPodrecca"s theatre.

Respighi conductedhis fairy-tale opera in an RAI Torino broadcast of 13th April, 1934. Furtherproductions followed from the same station in 1937, under the direction ofArmando La Rosa Parodi, and in 1939, under Alfredo Simonetto. Again for RAI Torino,Elsa Respighi prepared aversion of La be/1a dormente nel bosco for aconcert broadcast of 13th June, 1967, under the direction of Arturo Basile.This version contained a number of unpardonable cuts and a newly composed andrather questionable rock"n roll finale by Gian Luca Tocchi. This performancehas been preserved on a pirate LP by Anna Records. In other words, La belladormente nel bosco has never been seen on the operatic stage, although sucha staging would be valuable, with music and singing parts that are ofconsiderable interest. There may be reservations about the libretto of GianBistolfi, but appropriate staging can easi1y overcome any such difficulties. Intoday"s repertoire there are many operas, serious and comic, that have librettifar worse than Bistolfi"s.

The music of Labella dormente nel bosco, which Respighi described as an innocent mockeryof contemporary melodrama, is quite a revelation, containing a synthesis of thecomposer"s stylistic versatility while revealing his musical sense of humour,which ranges from the most forthright to the most refined parody. The composerclearly had it in mind to pay homage to musicians then in fashion, to Wagner,Massenet and Debussy (not only with Mr Dollar"s Cakewalk), Puccini andStravinsky. It is obvious that such subtleties cannot reach every audience,especially the younger, but unprepared listeners may find pleasure,nevertheless, in the opera"s appealing and generally romantic fairy-tale score.Contemporary critics discovered, welcomed and even overrated the composer"s fewmarks of homage to Wagner in the Prince"s journey to the castle (Siegfried"s Rhejnfahrt),in the Green Fairy"s melodrama (Freia"s motif rather than Erda"s) and inthe waking scene of the Princess (Brünnhilde"s), not to mention the suggestionof Die Meistersinger in the Doctor"s scene. In addition to other marksof homage, particularly those to Puccini (as clearly in the final love-duet),since Respighi never talked in detail about his work, we can presume that theremay also be quotations and references, the result rather of intuition thanintention from an eclectic mind. What is important in this apparentlylightweight piece is that its goal has been fully reached in a score thatdisplays incredible spontaneity, sensibility, melody and thoroughly virtuosicinstrumentation.

To write Labella dormente nel bosco Respighi had interrupted his work on his comicopera Belfagor. It is suggested that the perceptive listener might welldiscover in this less pretentious work some premonitions of Belfagor andothers, like the Frog"s scene at the beginning, that already take us to theforest of La campana sommersa.

La belladormente nel bosco can beheard in the present recording in its complete form, except in the case of thefinale, from which a minuet of 37 bars has been omitted. The present writerfound it appropriate to take seriously the courtiers" chorus invitation tocelebrate spring-time as in nouveau style by moving forward directly tothe concluding Fox-trot, thus finally ignoring the seventeenth century music. Ashort-score fragment of a Tango, preceding the Fox-trot, has been found and thepresent writer would have been delighted to orchestrate it, had it beencomplete. As far as the inclusion of occasional chorus applause and cheering,cats" miaowing, gong-striking and a few changes in some of the spoken dialogueis concerned, the present recording called for even more of such extratheatrical effects.

The opera requiresa modest orchestra of seven wind instruments, strings and percussion, withadditional piano, celesta and spinet (or harpsichord). Like Richard Strauss in Ariadneauf Naxos, where four wind instruments are doubled, Respighi achievesincredible things with a small ensemble. The fifteen singing and two speakingparts were originally taken by no more than ten performers, as on thisrecording. This does not mean that the casting of the Blue Fairy / Nightingaleshould be underestimated: the role is a challenging one, for a coloraturasoprano. The two lyric parts of the Princess and the Prince also make theirdemands, particularly in the final duet.

Synopsis

Act l

[1] ? [4] Scene1

The scene is setin the countryside, with flowers blooming, by the side of a small lake. It is astarlit night. The year is 1620. The song of the Nightingale competes with thatof the Cuckoo, finally to be disturbed by a group of dancing Frogs. The RoyalAmbassador and a Herald arrive to announce the birth of the Princess and toinvite all Fairies to the imminent christening. The Blue Fairy and hercompanions appear, tel1ing the astounded Ambassador that they wil1 agree to bethe godmothers of the Princess. Singing in chorus, the Fairies fly away andonly the two lonely birds are heard again.

[5] - [8] Scene2

The scene is nowthe Great Hall of the castle. The Court Jester improvises a comic lullaby bythe golden cradle of the baby Princess. The King and Queen appear, accompaniedby the Fairies and the royal guests. The Blue Fairy pays homage to the Princessand is echoed by her companions. A group of Rose Nymphs dances a languorouswaltz. The ceremony, reaching a climax in a solemn march, with the ringing ofbells, is interrupted by the arrival of the angry Green Fairy, who with fireand smoke makes al1 the guests disappear. To the trembling royal couple sheoffers her own christening present, announcing that at the age of twenty thePrincess wil1 prick her finger on a spindle and fall asleep for ever. When shehas disappeared, the King calls the Master of Spindles, ordering him to destroyat once al1 the spinning-wheels in the kingdom. The Blue Fairy does notcountermand this spell at once, but calls an ethereal chorus of singing starsto ensure that a watchful eye will now be kept on the Princess.

Act II

[9] - [12] SceneI

Twenty years havepassed. In a forgotten turret of the castle a tooth1ess old crone sits over aforgotten spinning-wheel, singing a melancholy song of loneliness- The womanleaves the room in search of some wool and the Princess comes in, singing ofthe joys of spring. She greets the suspicious Cat, who introduces her to theSpindle and the three dance together. The old woman returns and, urged by thePrincess, teaches her how to spin, using a spindle that she had kept apart. TheCat does notice this, but it is already too late: the Princess has pricked herfinger and falls slowly asleep. The old woman rushes out to cal1 for help,while the Spindle starts to whirl around the Green Fairy"s victim in triumph.

[13] ? [15] Scene2

In the royalapartments once more four Doctors, armed with huge syringes, tel1 the King thatthe il1ness of the Princess is unknown. After these incompetent physicians havebeen dismissed the Queen joins her husband in a mournful duet. A funeralprocession enters. The Princess, carried in a sedan chair by two white marmots,seems only asleep. Professional mourners are engaged, realising that no kind ofsweet foods, nor those soft melodies of the morbid Strauss, have been of use inrousing the Princess. Finally the Blue Fairy appears. She orders the Princessto be put in an alcove and casts her own spell of sleep over everyone. Shepredicts that the Princess will one day wake through a kiss of love and leaves,as her task is concluded by a legion of humming Spiders that cover the scene withtheir silvery webs.

Act III

[16] ? [18]Scene I

The action takesplace some three hundred years later, around 1940. The scene is a place in thewoods from which the enchanted castle can be seen. A Woodcutter sings, joinedin chorus by his fellows. Prince April appears, accompanied by the Duchess andby a group of huntsmen. In the party are also members of the "Paper-Hunt", arich American society presided over by Mr Dollar Cheques. After a brief attemptat f1irtation with the Duchess, the Prince is intrigued by the mysteriouscastle, all covered with ivy .The Woodcutter tells him the legend of thesleeping Princess lying therein, still waiting for the kiss of April that willbreak the spell. The whole company is urged to return home at once and the Duchess,already jealous, is consoled by Mr Dollar to the point that he offers to buythe sleeping Beauty, whatever she costs. After his arietta the Prince leaveshis horse and, full of desire, approaches the castle.

[19] Scene 2

In the hall inwhich the Princess lies, Prince April ironically greets the motionlesscourtiers he meets, learning from distant echoing voices that it will be love,inspired by the spring, that will help him break the magic spell.

[20] ? [22] Scene3

A great Spidertries to lure him into her web, but the Prince destroys her with hisriding-whip. suddenly the alcove is brightly lit. The sleeping Beauty liesthere on her bed and the Prince"s kiss awakes her and the others under the spell.After a passionate love duet, the Blue Fairy makes a final, triumphantappearance, transforming the old chamber into a splendid throne-room. The royalcouple and the guests rejoice. The "Paper-Hunt" group, that has just entered, managesto bring all the seventeenth century people into a dance with them, a nouveaustyle Fox-Trot.

Adriano (editedby Keith Anderson)