Guiseppe Verdi (1813-1901)
Complete Ballet Music
Münchner Rundfunkorchester/Ivan Repušić
rec. 2022-24, Stuttgart, Germany
Reviewed from download
BR Klassik 900341 [117]

In nineteenth-century Italian operas, a ballet was not part of the composition, but was performed either between the acts or after the opera – and was usually a work created by a ballet composer with little or no connection to the operatic work in question. The strict convention at the Paris Opéra, however, was that an extended dance interlude was to be included by the composer as a divertissement in the third act of a grand opéra (in addition to the short ballet usually scheduled for the second act). In the case of works originally written for the Paris Opera, the ballet was included in the French-language libretto from the outset and for all the works that already existed, a piece of ballet music had to be adapted later on. As a result, Gioachino Rossini (1792–1868) adapted his Mosè in Egitto (1818) into Moïse et Pharaon (1827) and Maometto II (1820) into Le siège de Corinthe (1826); and Guillaume Tell, which was originally written for Paris and premiered at the Opéra (Académie Royale de Musique) on August 3, 1829. This is also the case for Gaetano Donizetti’s (1797 – 1848 works)  with his La favorite (December 2, 1840), Dom Sébastien, Roi de Portugal (November 13, 1843) and the reworking of his Poliuto (1838) into Les martyrs (April 10, 1840). Italian opera composers were hardly ever enthusiastic about the French preference for extensive dance interludes in the third act; as it cannot always have been easy for them to invent and develop ballet music, and it usually lacked a close, dramatic relationship to the action of the opera. 

Verdi, like his fellow Italian composers before him, faced up to the difficult task and tried to accept it as an artistic challenge. The notes in the CD brochure referring to Verdi say “With catchy melodies, lively, pointedly accentuated rhythms, chromatic effects and vivid gestures, and above all with the incredibly colourful scoring of his dance compositions, he succeeded in giving new impetus to contemporary ballet music.” Even in the works of well-known ballet composers such as Léo Delibes (1836 – 1891) and Pyotr I. Tchaikovsky (1840 –1893), references to Verdi can be heard. In terms of quantity, Verdi wrote the most opera ballets for the Paris Opéra: between 1847 and 1894, he composed a total of seven divertissements, some of them extensive – for Jérusalem (1847), Les vêpres siciliennes (1855), Le trouvère (1857), Macbeth (1865), Don Carlos (1867), Aida (1871/1880) and Otello (1894) and we hear  all of these on the album.

Jérusalem was the first stage work that Verdi originally composed for a premiere at the Paris Opéra. Unable to present a new work due to his tight schedule, he revised his I Lombardi alla prima crociata, which had been performed at Milan’s Teatro alla Scala in 1843. Jérusalem was first performed at the Opéra (Salle Le Peletier) on November 26, 1847. Its ballet music is one of the most extensive Verdi ever wrote, second only to the music for Les vêpres siciliennes. 

The piece has four varied and colourfully orchestrated movements. The pas de quatre starts gently with a lyrical melody but then livens up, changes in pace continue, before ending in a lively galop. The second movement pas de deux begins more dramatically before a jaunty, lively tune takes over. We return to some of the melody from the first but, of course, the dance-like feeling remains. The third movement is for a solo dancer, it’s gentle and slow before speeding up to produce an animated effect. The final movement is melodic and rhythmic – something that I imagine ballet dancers would enjoy.

Verdi’s second work composed for a Paris premiere – Les vêpres siciliennes – was performed at the Opéra (Académie Impériale de Musique) on June 13, 1855. The ballet music Les quatre saisons (The Four Seasons), composed during rehearsals in April 1855, was linked to the action on stage. During a masked ball in the palace of the governor of Sicily, it serves as a moment of delay before a planned but ultimately foiled assassination attempt on the host, heightening the dramatic tension. The ballet, choreographed by Lucien Petipa, was also performed separately from the opera and became a popular work in the repertoire. The first movement Les quatre saisons L’hiver – winter – is lively and full of orchestral colours. The second Le printemps – spring – is a far more relaxed affair, melodic and tuneful. Next L’été – summer – regains some pace and we can hear some lovely motifs played by woodwind supported by the strings. Finally we reach L’automne – autumn – a dramatic, upbeat piece with lots of engaging melodies. The whole work is great ballet music.

With his next opera ballet, a dance sequence created for the reworking of Il trovatore (Rome, January 19, 1853), Verdi also sought to create a close musical-dramaturgical link with the action on stage. The divertissement between the soldiers’ chorus and the trio in the third part, which partly uses musical material from the gypsy scenes of the second part, was again choreographed by Petipa. Le trouvère had its French premiere on January 12, 1857 at the Paris Opéra (Salle Le Peletier). This ballet music by Verdi also proved its worth as independent dance music in the ballroom. It consists of seven short movements. The first is Pas des Bohèmiens – it’s lively, familiar and fast. The next movement, Gitanilla, references the Gypsy Scenes from the Opera. Next we have Ensemble, a short piece rapidly played and then the dance like Sevillana. Echo du soldat – the soldier’s echo – has a military type feeling and beat to it. The longest movement in the piece is La Bohèmienne which opens in grand style, followed by playful music from the woodwind section interspersed with a melody on the strings before the grand music returns. Towards the end of movement the pace speeds up and lots of waltz type music is heard. Finally the seventh movement is a fast upbeat Galop.

For his reworking of Macbeth (the original version had been performed at the Teatro alla Pergola in Florence on March 14, 1847), Verdi composed a rather extensive three-movement ballet score for the second scene of the third act, at the premiere in the Théâtre-Lyrique in Paris on April 21, 1865; however, the audience was less than enthusiastic – the music was too much at odds with the dance tastes of the time, which favoured lightweight, virtuoso diversions. Verdi, however, was convinced by the concept and insisted on retaining it in the new Italian production in Milan (1874), which met with unexpected success. A dramatic first scene is marked and played Vivacissimo, the second scene is much gentler and softer but towards the end the mood deepens and the dynamics increase. The third scene is once again marked Vivacissimo but this time in the style of a waltz; it’s lively and engaging ballet music.

In the third act of Don Carlos – the opera was first performed at the Paris Opéra (Théâtre Impérial de Musique) on March 11, 1867 – a ballet de la Reine entitled La Pérégrina  is performed in the gardens of Queen Elisabeth to celebrate the coronation anniversary of King Philip of Spain the following day. Although it met with a remarkably cool reception, the music found its way into ballrooms and domestic (dance) salons, mainly in arrangements. It has two movements, the first twice as long as the second. Once again, we hear in both movements colourful, at times dramatic and at others lyrical, ballet music.

For the premiere of Aida on December 24, 1871 in Cairo, there were no requirements for the design of the dance interludes, so Verdi probably came closest to his ideal of linking the dances as directly as possible to the action of the opera. The first of the three dance scenes, Danza sacra delle sacerdotesse – the sacred dance of the priestesses – is characterised by a sacred, oriental-sounding melody. The lively, cheerful theme of Danza dei piccoli schiavi mori – the dance of the little Moorish slaves (flute, oboe and clarinet in unison) – resounds to the sound of triangle, timpani and cymbal beats. The Ballabile in the ensuing triumphal scene is played by the full orchestra. 

Verdi’s shortest ballet music was composed in August 1894 for the reworking of Otello (the original version was performed at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan on February 5, 1887), the first performance of which took place at the Paris Opéra on October 12, 1894. The short, mostly oriental-sounding sections of the ballet music inserted in the sixth scene of the third act come one after the other, as a lively contrast.  The music involves lively, fast dances in Turkish and Arabian styles, then more graceful music followed by a Venetian sailors’ dance called La muranese, which is, however, a typical Neapolitan tarantella. Finally, we hear a warriors’ dance.

The CD brochure is excellent in its detail and filled with useful information. The text was written by Guido Johannes Joerg and translated by David Ingram; and I am grateful to them both as I have used their words extensively in compiling my review. The standard of musicianship from the orchestra is also first class. If you love ballet music – this is one for you; it’s engaging from start to finish.

An extensive exploration in four parts of Verdi’s life has been compiled for MusicWeb International by Rob Farr; the first part can be found here.

Ken Talbot

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Contents
Otello (1894) Acte III, scène 6
Macbeth (1864) Atto III, scena 2
Jérusalem (1847) Acte III, scène 1
Don Carlos (1867) Acte III, scène 2
Aida (1871/1880) Atto I, scena 2, Atto II, scena 1, Atto II, scena 2
Le trouvère (1857) Acte III, scène 2
Les vêpres siciliennes (1855) Acte III, scène 5