Beethoven's Ninth Symphony
making of...
adriana lecouvreur
aida
aroldo
ballo in maschera
battaglia di legnano
la bohe
carmen
cavalleria rusticana
contes d'hoffmann
don carlo
fanciulla del west
fedora
la forza del destino
idomeneo
madama butterfly
manon lescaut
oberto
otello
pagliacci
parsifal
queen of spades
samson et dalila
simon boccanegra
stiffelio
symphony no.9
il tabarro
tosca
la traviata
turandot
verdi requiem
die walke
Related
Match These Taylor Swift Songs to Her Ex-Boyfriends
From MetroLyrics to You: Our Classic Christmas Playlist
5 Totally Underrated Christmas Songs
plus
synopses/libretti
some lyrics
Verdiana!
Pucciniana!
Tenorissimo!
OperaResource
1998-2001
All rights reserved.
BEETHOVEN'S NINTH SYMPHONY
Friedrich von Schiller's Ode to Joy in Beethoven's setting for
four soloists, chorus
and orchestra has taken on a special meaning as a fanfare for
peace, tolerance and
liberty all over the world.
Photos
Beethoven's drafts for his opus 125 - the last in the cycle of
symphonies - date back
to the year 1815 or 1816. For decades he had been wanting to
set Schiller's hymn to
music, but it was only after the first three movements of the
9th Symphony were
almost completed that he decided to compose a choral finale
for the last movement
based on parts of the poem.
In the conventions of the 1820s it was nothing less than
revolutionary to end a
symphony in this manner - and at just over an hour the work
was also unusually
long. At its first performance, in Vienna on May 7, 1824, the
audience was typically
enthusiastic, while the critics, as so often before, found the
composer's unique
ideas too novel and daring.
Beethoven himself could not hear the clamour and the shouts of
'Bravo', as he was
completely deaf by this time.
AN DIE FREUDE - ODE TO JOY
O Freunde, nicht diese Te!
Sondern lasst uns angenehmere anstimmen
und freudenvollere!
Freude, scher Gterfunken,
Tochter aus Elysium,
Wir betreten feuertrunken.
Himmlische, dein Heiligtum!
Deine Zauber binden wieder
Was die Mode streng geteilt;
Alle Menschen werden Brer
Wo dein sanfter Flel weilt.
Wem der grosse Wurf gelungen
Eines Freundes Freund zu sein,
Wer ein holdes Weib errungen,
Mische seinen Jubel ein!
Ja, wer auch nur eine Seele
Sein nennt auf dem Erdenrund!
Und wer's nie gekonnt, der stehle
Weinend sich aus diesem Bund.
Freude trinken alle Wesen
An den Brten der Natur;
Alle Guten, alle Ben,
Folgen ihrer Rosenspur.
Kse gab sie uns und Reben,
Einen Freund, geprt im Tod;
Wollust ward dem Wurm gegeben,
Und der Cherub steht vor Gott!
Froh, wie seine Sonnen fliegen
Durch des Himmels prht'gen Plan,
Laufet, Brer, eure Bahn,
Freudig, wie ein Held zum Siegen.
Seid umschlungen, Millionen.
Dieser Kuss der ganzen Welt!
Brer! er'm Sternenzelt
Muss ein lieber Vater wohnen.
Ihr stzt nieder, Millionen?
Ahnest du den Schfer, Welt?
Such ihn er'm Sternenzelt!
er Sternen muss er wohnen.
(the four-line verse is the 'alla marcia' section: the tenor
solo)
text anne lawson
OperaResource - Verdiana -
Pucciniana - Tenorissimo r-ds.com