Frank Beermann: Otto Nicolai The Templar Highlights

Otto Nicolai: 

 Otto Nicolai

The Templar (Il templario) Overture 
In this performance Frank Beermann conducts the Robert-Schumann-Philharmonie.

Overture to the melodramma "Il templario" (The Templar) by German composer Otto Nicolai (1810-1849). Better known for his Singspiel "Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor" (The Merry Wives of Windsor) based on Shakespeare's play, Nicolai chose another classic of English-language literature as the basis of Il templario, Walter Scott's famous novel "Ivanhoe." Many 19th-century composers chose to adapt this novel for the opera house, including Rossini (Ivanhoé), Arthur Sullivan (Ivanhoe) and Heinrich Marschner (Der Templer und die Jüdin).

Interesting fact: Otto Nicolai founded the Philharmonische Academie in 1842 - now it is known as the Vienna Philharmonic (Wiener Philharmoniker).



Otto Nicolai - Il templario (1840) 
Selected highlights

English: German conductor and composer Otto Nicolai (1810-1849). Photograph of an unidentified painting. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

History: German composer, Otto Nicolai (1810-1849), known primarily for his joyous "The Merry Wives of Windsor", was educated upon the notion that Italian opera was inferior to German works, however, his application for the post of an organist at the Prussian Embassy at the Vatican helped the young man to reevaluate this prejudice, and, as soon as his tenure had expired, Nicolai set out to write an Italian opera. It was Nicolai's successful conducting of the 1838-1839 Carnival Season performances at the Teatro Regio that prompted an opera commission for a work based on Sir Walter Scott's "Ivanhoe". The composer himself set out to dramatize the novel, while an employee of a tobacco monopoly, Roman Marini, wrote the verses themselves. The resulting work which premiered in Turin on the 11th of February, 1840, was received with rapturous enthusiasm.

Narrative: Scott's story, set in England around the year 1194, presents us with a rich tapestry of political events on the foreground of which unravels the tragedy of our quartet of heroes: Cedrico the Saxon (bass) dreams of the restoration of the Anglo-Saxon rule in England occupied by the Norman forces by marrying his ward, Rovena (soprano), to the scion of a collateral line of the royal house. To realize this aim, he goes as far as disinheriting his own son, Vilfredo d'Ivanhoe (tenor), who loves Rovena and whose attempts to restore his former stature (successful in the long run) occupies most of the opera. It is at this time that a young Jewish woman, Rebecca (contralto), who has saved and subsequently fallen in love with Vilfredo in Palestine, seeks sanctuary in the Castle of Cederico. Her stay is cut short by the arrival of Briano di Bois-Guilbert (baritone), a Templar Knight in love with Rebecca. He captures and takes her to the Templar Preceptory where he courts unsuccessfully for her love. The arrival of the Grand Preceptor (baritone) thwarts Briano plan, as the former, in an attempt to minimize the danger to the order, accuses Rebecca of witchcraft. The final scene is occupied by the occurrence of an ordeal in the form of a duel which is carried out between Briano and Vilfredo. A most rich story of striking realism. Only the final scene which features not one but two deaths from "heartbreak" - both Briano and Rebecca (whose love Vilfredo refuses) die in quick succession - is a weak dramatic moment, though its brevity cannot destroy the effectiveness of the rest of the work.

Music: Nicolai's main inspiration comes from the idioms of Donizetti and Mercadante: the basic framework of the opera is unashamedly Italian, thus, arias end logically in cabalettas, ensembles are mostly set in the usual two or three movements, the melodies are often repeated for effect; like Mercadante, however, Nicolai plays with the forms, for example, the stretta to the Act I finale and Briano's first cabaletta refuse to be constrained by any full repeats, allowing the melody to be developed through interconnecting musical episodes. The music itself is refreshingly potent, emulating almost perfectly the Mercadante of "Il giuramento", and hardly an act passes without a moment of interest: thus, even the conventional Act I features not one but four strong opening cavatinas which establish beautifully the characters' emotions. Even more importantly, the music is further empowered by the strengths of the four main characters who are all real, almost breathing individuals. While Rovena and, indeed, Vilfredo are the classic noble soprano-tenor pair, the dysfunctional couple of Rebecca and Briano are the composer's most moving creation: Rebecca is a clear successor to Halevy's Rachel and Donizetti's Leonore, and her tragic standing is described through a perfectly elegant, tender vocal line; the would-be baritone "villain" is allowed unexpected psychological depth and musical power, and it is actually Briano, not Vilfredo, who is the title hero of the opera. Quite possibly a masterpiece rediscovered.

Recording: Thankfully, the 2009 CPO recording is a winning representation of the opera. Frank Beermann, leading the extremely competent Chemnitz Opera Chorus and the fresh Robert-Schumann-Philharmonie, produces a suitably dramatic reading, reminding one a bit of Scimone. The cast is uniformly young, sincere and inspiring.

Kouta Rasanen - Cedrico,
Stanley Jackson - Vilfredo,
Judith Kuhn - Rovena,
Andreas Kindschuh - Luca di Beaumanoir,
Hans Christoph Begemann - Briano,
Tiina Penttinen - Rebecca,
Andre Riemer - Isacco di York (tenor), Rebecca's father.