Royal Opera and the V&A Open Operatic History Exhibit September 2017

Summary: The Royal Opera and the V&A open an operatic history exhibit, Opera: Passion, Power and Politics, in September 2017 in the new Sainsbury Gallery.

The Victoria and Albert Museum's Sainsbury Gallery hosts the Opera: Passion, Power and Politics exhibit: London Informer @london_informer, via Twitter May 23, 2017

In September 2017, The Royal Opera and the V&A open an operatic history exhibit, Opera: Passion, Power and Politics, that presents the dramatic musical art form’s development through the lens of seven premieres in seven European cities from the 17th to the 20th centuries.

Opening day is Saturday, Sept. 30. Closing day is Sunday, Feb. 25, 2018. Daily hours for the exhibit are 10 a.m. to 12 noon and 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

The collaborative venture is staged as the inaugural exhibition in the Victoria and Albert Museum’s new Sainsbury Gallery. The purpose-built subterranean gallery encompasses 1,100 square meters of column-free space and qualifies as one of the UK’s largest temporary exhibition spaces.

The inaugural exhibition in the V&A’s Sainsbury Gallery aims to present the creation of new operas as reflections of urban artistic, political and socioeconomic environments. Opera: Passion, Power and Politics also traces the operatic process, from libretto to score and from design to performance.

The exploration of premieres and their cities begins with L’Incoronazione di Poppea, an Italian opera by Italian composer Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi (May 9, 1567-Nov. 29, 1643). The historic opera treats an episode in the life of Roman Emperor Nero (Dec. 15, 37-June 9, 68). Venetian librettist and poet Giovanni Francesco Busenello (Sept. 24, 1598-Oct. 27, 1659) wrote the Italian libretto.

L’Incoronazione di Poppea premiered during Carnival season 1642. The venue was Teatro Santi Giovanni e Paolo, located on Calle della Testa in the Castello sestiere of Venice.

Operabase, an online database, places Claudio Monteverdi at number 30 in a ranking of 1,281 most popular composers for the five seasons from 2011/2012 to 2015/16. L’Incoronazione di Poppea places at 115 in the list of 2,658 most popular operas.

The exhibition switches to London for the second premiere, Rinaldo by German-born English late-Baroque composer George Frideric Handel (Feb. 23, 1685-April 14, 1759). Set at the end of the First Crusade (1095-1099), the three-act Italian language opera is loosely based upon Gerusalemme Liberata (“Jerusalem Delivered”), an epic poem by Neapolitan poet Torquato Tasso (March 11, 1544-April 25, 1595). London-based Italian librettist and poet Giacomo Rossi wrote the Italian libretto.

Rinaldo premiered Feb. 24, 1711, as the first Italian language opera specifically composed for the London stage. The venue was Queen’s Theatre in the St. James’s area of the City and inner London borough of Westminster.

Operabase places George Handel at number 12 in the ranking of 1,281 most popular composers for the five seasons from 2011/2012 to 2015/16. Rinaldo places at 137 in the list of 2,658 most popular operas.

The exhibition’s third premiere is Le Nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro) by Classical era composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Jan. 27, 1756-Dec. 5, 1791). The four act opera buffa (comic opera) is based upon La Folle Journée, ou le Mariage de Figaro (The Mad Day, or the Marriage of Figaro), a stage comedy by French playwright Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais (Jan. 24, 1732-May 18, 1799). Italian-born American librettist and poet Lorenzo da Ponte (March 10, 1749-Aug. 17, 1838) wrote the Italian libretto.

Le Nozze di Figaro premiered May 1, 1786. The venue was the Burgtheater in Vienna, Austria.

Operabase places Wolfgang Mozart at number 2 in the ranking of 1,281 most popular composers between the 2011/12 and 2015/16 seasons. Le Nozze di Figaro places at number 8 in the list of 2,658 most popular operas.

The exhibition’s fourth premiere is Nabucco by Italian opera composer Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (Oct. 10, 1813-Jan. 27, 1901). The four act opera lirica (lyric opera) concerns the Babylonian exile of Jews as presented in the Old Testament books of Jeremiah and Daniel. Italian librettist and poet Temistole Solera (Dec. 25, 1815-April 21, 1878) wrote the Italian libretto.

Nabucco premiered March 9, 1842. The venue was Teatro alla Scala in central Milan, northwestern Italy.

Operabase places Giuseppe Verdi at number 1 in the ranking of 1,281 most popular composers during the 2011/12 to 2015/16 seasons. Nabucco places at number 17 in the list of 2,658 most popular operas.

The fifth premiere explored by the collaborative exhibition is the revised version of Tannhäuser by German composer Wilhelm Richard Wagner (May 22, 1813-Feb. 13, 1883). The three act opera’s full title is Tannhäuser und der Sängerkrieg auf Wartburg (Tannhäuser and the Minstrel’s Contest at the Wartburg). The four act opera weaves Wagner’s recurring theme of love, death and redemption through German medieval legends concerning Tannhäuser, a renowned Minnesänger (minstrel; love song singer), and the Wartburg Song Contest. Wagner composed the music and wrote the German libretto.

The world premiere of Tannhäuser happened Oct. 19, 1845, in the historic center of Dresden in east central Germany. The venue was the first building for Königliches Hoftheater (Royal Court Theatre), known as Semperoper in honor of Gottfried Semper (Nov. 29, 1803-May 15, 1879) and Manfred Semper (May 3, 1838-Sept. 13, 1913). The father-and-son architects built the opera house’s first and second buildings, respectively.

Tannhäuser underwent a number of revisions. The collaborative exhibition considers the revision that Wagner prepared for the opera’s Parisian premier on March 13, 1861. The venue was Salle Le Peletier, home of Opéra de Paris, France’s primary opera company.

Operabase places Richard Wagner at number 5 in its 2011/12 to 2015/16 ranking of 1,281 most popular composers. Tannhäuser places at 49 of 2,658 most popular operas.

The exhibition’s sixth premiere is Salome by German late Romantic and early modern composer Richard Georg Strauss (June 11, 1864-Sept. 8, 1949). The one-act opera’s source is Salomé, a one-act, French language tragedy about a determined dancer in the New Testament by Irish writer Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde (Oct. 16, 1854-Nov. 30, 1900). German poet and translator Hedwig Lachmann (Aug. 29, 1865-Feb. 21, 1918) wrote the German libretto.

Strauss’ Salome premiered Dec. 9, 1905. The venue was the same city, Dresden, as Tannhäuser’s 1845 world premiere. The building, however, was Semperoper’s second building, which was completed in 1878 as a replacement for the first, destroyed by fire in 1869.

Operabase places Richard Strauss at number 10 of 2011/12 to 2015/16’s 1,281 most popular composers. Salome places at 40 of 2,658 most popular operas.

The seventh and last premiere featured at the V&A is Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District by Russian composer and pianist Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich (Sept. 25, 1906-Aug. 9, 1975). The four-act tragedy’s source is the same named novel by Russian writer Nikolai Semyonovich Leskov (Feb. 16, 1831-March 5, 1895). Shostakovich co-wrote the Russian language libretto with Russian librettist and playwright Alexander Preis (1905-1942). Often shortened to Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, the opera centers on an unhappy 19th-century Russian woman’s tragic affair.

Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk premiered Jan. 22, 1934. The venue was Maly Operny (Maly Opera Theatre) in the historic center of Leningrad (Saint Petersburg), northwestern Russia.

Dmitri Shostakovitch is number 40 on Operabase’s 2011/12 to 2015/16 list of 1,281 most popular composers. Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk places at 97 of 2,658 most popular operas.

An exhibition covering seven premieres in seven different European cities on a timeline spanning 1642 to 1934 traverses a plethora of historical landscapes. The musical and visual expressions that compose Opera: Passion, Power and Politics likely shape a compelling, impressive profile of opera’s enduring appeal across a wide play of European settings.

V&A and The Royal Opera House exhibition Opera: Passion, Power and Politics
Where: Sainsbury Gallery, Victoria and Albert Museum
Cromwell Road, London SW7 2RL
When: Saturday, Sept. 30, 2017, to Sunday, Feb. 25, 2018
Exhibit daily hours: 10 a.m. to 12 noon; 2 to 3:30 p.m.
Exhibition admission: £19 for non-members; free for V&A Museum members

General enquiries: (telephone) +44 (0)20 7942 2000;
(email) contact@vam.ac.uk
Membership enquiries: (telephone) +44 (0)20 7942 2271;
(email) membership@vam.ac.uk

Sponsorship: Société Generale
Sound partners: Bowers & Wilkins
Support: Blavatnik Family Foundation and The Taylor Family Foundation

The Royal Opera and the V&A's opera exhibit runs from Sep. 30, 2017, through Feb. 25, 2018: V&A @V_and_A, via Twitter March 4, 2017

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

The Victoria and Albert Museum's Sainsbury Gallery hosts the Opera: Passion, Power and Politicis exhibit: London Informer @london_informer, via Twitter May 23, 2017, @ https://twitter.com/london_informer/status/867640194341761024

The Royal Opera and the V&A's opera exhibit runs from Sep. 30, 2017, through Feb. 25, 2018: V&A @V_and_A, via Twitter March 4, 2017, @ https://twitter.com/V_and_A/status/838012435885920256

For further information:

Alexi Baker @AlexiBaker. “Opera: Passion, Power and Politics @V_and_A 30 September 2017 - 25 February 2018.” Twitter. March 7, 2017.
Available @ https://twitter.com/AlexiBaker/status/839215761826643974

Brown, Mark. “V&A Opera Exhibition Looks to Put to Rest Prejudice About Art Form.” The Guardian > Arts > Art & Design. March 3, 2017.
Available @ https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/mar/03/v-and-a-opera-exhibition-europe?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

“Composers: Composers Ranked by the Number of Performances of Their Operas Over the Five Seaons 2011/2012 to 2015/16.” Operabase > Opera Statistics.
Available @ http://operabase.com/

London Informer @london_informer. "Opera: Passion, Power and Politics at the Victoria and Albert Museum." Twitter. May 25, 2017.
Available @ https://twitter.com/london_informer/status/867640194341761024

“Opera: Passion, Power and Politics.” Royal Opera House > Exhibitions.
Available @ http://www.roh.org.uk/exhibitions/opera-passion-power-and-politics

“Opera: Passion, Power and Politics.” Victoria and Albert Museum > Exhibitions.
Available @ https://www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/opera

V&A @V_and_A. “400 years, 7 premieres in 7 cities … discover the passion, power and politics of opera’s vivid story.” Twitter. March 3, 2017.
Available @ https://twitter.com/V_and_A/status/837584664747470848

V&A @V_and_A. "Yesterday we were treated to a stirring performance by @ROHchorus in celebration of #OperaPassion. Watch it here: http://ow.ly/lvy5309yGzj." Twitter. March 4, 2017.
Available @ https://twitter.com/V_and_A/status/838012435885920256