The story takes place in the aftermath of the death of Alexander the Great, who left a vast empire, stretching from Macedonia through Persia to the Indian Ocean. His surviving generals fought for control of the empire and divided it up. Two of the historical characters in Voltaire's play and Spontini's opera, Cassander and Antigonus, were among the rivals competing for parts of the empire. Antigonus was one of Alexander's generals, while Cassander was the son of another of Alexander's generals, Antipater. Alexander's widow, Statira was supposedly killed by Alexander's first wife Roxana shortly after his death, but in Voltaire's play and Spontini's opera, she survives incognito, as a priestess of Diana in Ephesus. The title character Olimpie, daughter of Statira and Alexander, is likely entirely fictional.
It wasn't long after the death of Alexander that people began to glorify and mythologize his life. By the 3rd century it was believed by many that he was a mortal who had been selected by the gods to perform his heroic deeds. Although it is now thought that Alexander died from a fever, for many centuries it was believed he was murdered. The 'Alexander Romance', which first appeared at that time, obscured the true explanation of his death: "the speaking trees of the Amazons were said to have told him of his early death during his last battle. Alexander would die after drinking a poisonous mixture served to him by his valet Iolus upon his return."[1] It is not surprising, that Voltaire and Spontini's librettists Dieulafoy and Brifaut also assume that Alexander was murdered. Cassander's father Antipater was often designated as the leader of a poisoning plot, and Cassander himself was well known for his hostility to the memory of Alexander.
The work and its performance history
Autograph ms of the first page of the overtureSketch by Ignazio Degotti [fr] of the décor for act 1 of the 1819 production
Spontini began composing Olimpie in 1815. It was his third major, 3-act work for the Paris Opera. In it, he "combined the psychologically exact character-drawing of La vestale [of 1807] with the massive choral style of his Fernand Cortez [of 1809] and wrote a work stripped of spectacular effects. In its grandiose conception, it appears the musical equivalent of neoclassical architecture."[2] The Parisian premiere received mixed reviews, and Spontini withdrew it after the seventh performance (on 12 January 1820[3]), so he could revise the finale with a happy rather than tragic ending.[2]
The first revised version was given in German as Olimpia in Berlin, where it was conducted by Spontini, who had been invited there by Frederick William III to become the Prussian General Musikdirector.[4]E. T. A. Hoffmann provided the German translation of the libretto. This version was first staged on 14 May 1821 at the Königliches Opernhaus,[5] where it was a success.[2] After 78 performances in Berlin,[6] it was given productions in Dresden (12 November 1825, with additions by Carl Maria von Weber),[7]Kassel, Cologne,[8] and Darmstadt (26 December 1858).[7]
Olimpie calls for huge orchestral forces (including the first use of the ophicleide).[9] The finale of the Berlin version included spectacular effects, in which Cassandre rode in on a live elephant.[10][11] Thus, like La vestale and Fernand Cortez, the work prefigures later French Grand Opera.
Spontini revised the opera a second time, retaining the happy ending for its revival by the Opéra at the Salle Le Peletier on 27 February 1826.[12]Adolphe Nourrit replaced his father Louis in the role of Cassandre,[13] and an aria composed by Weber was also included.[14] Even in its fully revised form, the opera failed to hold the stage. Audiences found its libretto too old-fashioned, and it could not compete with the operas of Rossini.[2]
The opera was given in Italian in concert form in Rome on 12 December 1885[7] and revived more recently in Florence in 1930, at La Scala in Milan in 1966 (for which a sound recording is available), and at the Perugia Festival in 1979.[8]
Antigone, King of a part of Asia, and Cassandre, King of Macedon, have been implicated in Alexander's murder. They have also been at war with one another but are now ready to be reconciled. Nevertheless, a new obstacle to peace arises in the form of the slave girl Aménais, with whom both the kings are in love. In reality, Aménais is Alexander the Great's daughter, Olimpie, in disguise. Statira, Alexander's widow and Olimpie's mother, has also assumed the guise of the priestess Arzane. She denounces the proposed marriage between "Aménais" and Cassandre, accusing the latter of Alexander's murder.
Act 2
Statira and Olimpie reveal their true identities to one another and to Cassandre. Olimpie defends Cassandre against Statira's accusations, claiming that he once saved her life. Statira is unconvinced and is still intent on revenge with the help of Antigone and his army.
Act 3
A young Éphésienne scattering flowers in act 3, lithograph by Godefroy Engelmann
Olimpie is divided between her love for Cassandre and her duty to her mother. The troops of Cassandre and Antigone clash and Antigone is mortally wounded. Before dying he confesses he was responsible for the death of Alexander, not Cassandre. Cassandre and Olimpie are now free to marry.
[In the original 1819 Paris version, Cassander is the murderer of Alexander and after his victory, "Statira stabs herself on stage and, together with Olympia, she is called to the Lord by the spirit of Alexander, who emerges from his grave (in Voltaire's drama, Olympia is married to Antigonus and throws herself into the blazing pyre in a confession of her love for Cassander)."[1][21]
^Pitou 1990, p. 967. Pitou reports that the premiere performance earned 7,836 francs, 40 centimes, but receipts dropped steadily for each of the subsequent performances. At the seventh performance, only 2,135 francs, 90 centimes, were collected at the box office.
^Müller 1984, p. 7 (in German), 10–11 (in English)
^Ralph Thomas Dudgeon, The Keyed Bugle (second edition), Lanham, Maryland, Scarecrow Press, 2004, page (not numbered): "Keyed Brass Chronology"; Adam Carse, The History of Orchestration, New York, Dover, 1964, p. 239.
^Casaglia 2005a and Everett 2013, p. 138 ("the resident conductor of the Opéra)." Everett gives the date of the premier as 20 December 1819, but Lajarte 1878, p. 94, states that, although 20 December appears on the printed libretto, it is erroneous, and the premier actually took place on 22 December.
^The cast list is from the 1826 libretto and Casaglia 2005c. Everett 2013, p. 183, says that the role of Statira was sung by "Mme Quiney (soprano)" and that of Olimpie by "Caroline Branchu (soprano)", however, the review of the performance in the Journal des débats (3 March 1826, p. 4), reports: "Mlle Cinti a chanté avec plus de goût que d'expressiou [sic] le rôle d'Olympie."
^Autograph letter from Spontini to Valentino (Paris, 1 March 1826), thanking Valentino for conducting the orchestra (BnF catalogue général – Notice bibliographique). Tamvaco 2000, p. 619 states that Valentino conducted the premiere of the original version, possibly an error. Pougin 1880 does not specify whether Valentino conducted the 1819 premiere or the 1826 revision. Everett 2013, p. 183, gives François Habeneck as the conductor.
^According to the CD booklet, the performance was recorded on 31 May and 2 June 2016 and used the 1826 revised version of the score in French. "Presto Classical". Bru Zane. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
Everett, Andrew (2013). Josephine's Composer: The Life Times and Works of Gaspare Pacifico Luigi Spontini (1774-1851). Bloomington, Indiana: AuthorHouse. ISBN9781477234143.
Müller, Christa (1984). "Spontini and his Olympie", translated by Roger Clément. Booklet included with the Orfeo recording conducted by Gerd Albrecht. OCLC18396752
Pitou, Spire (1990). "Olympie". The Paris Opéra: An Encyclopedia of Operas, Ballets, Composers, and Performers. Growth and Grandeur, 1815–1914. New York: Greenwood Press. pp. 963–967. ISBN9780313262180.
Tamvaco, Jean-Louis (2000). Les Cancans de l'Opéra. Chroniques de l'Académie Royale de Musique et du théâtre, à Paris sous les deux restorations (2 volumes) (in French). Paris: CNRS Editions. ISBN9782271056856.
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