Limelight — May 2017

24 LIMELIGHT MAY 2017 http://www.limelightmagazine.com.au

OKEYNOTES

Backstage with...

I

’d n e v e r h e a r d o f L i s z t ’sSardanapalobefore

beingheadhuntedbymusicologistand

University of Cambridge senior lecturer

DavidTrippett.Alengthychataboutthe

originsoftheprojectandanumberofeditions

ofthepianoscorelaterandIwashooked.

IknowsomeofLiszt’sLieder–theTre Sonetti

di Petrarcaaresublimeandhavefeaturedin

myshowerrepertoire–butthoughIwasaware

ofhiscloserelationshipwithWagner,Ihadn’t

comeacrossLisztasanoperacomposer.

ThestoryisbasedonLordByron’splay

Sardanapaluspublishedin1821(inthesame

volume asIDueFoscari)anddedicatedto

Goethe.Ittellsthestoryofthedownfallof

Sardanapalus,thepacifist,narcissistic,last

King of Assyria who ignores the warnings of

the concubine Myrrha and his vizier Belese

andpardonshisenemies.Whentheybesiege

NinevehduringafloodingoftheEuphrates,it

spellsdoomforSardanapalusandtheAssyrian

nation.Confrontedwithsoldiersathisgates,

Sardanapalus orders his harem to embrace the

pleasuresoflifeandtheywritheinecstasyasthe

palace becomes their funeral pyre. Steamy stuff.

Lisztworkedintermittentlyontheopera,but

itwasn’tuntil1851thatheofficiallyabandoned

hisincompletedraft.DavidTrippettisasage

scholarandwonderfulartistinhisownright.It

wasn’t that he discoveredSardanapalobut rather

that he figured out that the original first act

manuscript,whichhadpreviouslybeendeemed

fragmented and incomplete, actually runs as a

continuouspiecewritteninashorthand–asort

ofCliffsNotesforitsintendedorchestration.

TheprojectisDavid’slabouroflove–heis

so excited about phrases he’s pored over and

deciphered but never actually heard. Soprano

Anush Hovhannisyan, bass-baritone Arshak

SAMUEL SAKKER

InbetweenpreparingthreeproductionsasacompanymemberatLondon’sRoyalOperaHouse,

the Aussie tenor has found time to create the title role in a newly recovered opera by Franz Liszt

Kuzikyan and I took a great deal of time

rehearsing it together, feeling out phrasing,

tempi and interpretation with David’s guidance

andpassion.Iliketothinkwesingersmade

acontributiontothepieceasthere’sabig

distinction between how a phrase looks on paper

andhowitsitsinavoice,nottomentionhowit

canbecolouredtoconveythedrama.Personally

(and my high school music teachers would be

proudofthis)Ididspottheoccasionalmusical

typointhemanyeditionsweweregivenover

thecourseoftherecordingpreparation.

It’sterrificmusic–kindoflikelateDonizetti

or Meyerbeer, with a Wagnerian tessitura that

is reminiscent ofRienzibut with a clear Lisztian

flavourthatpervadestheharmonyandphrases.

It’slush.Lisztwritesforvoicesthatneedagreat

dealofflexibilityandcolourbutalsopower.I

findSardanapalostrangeasacharacter.Asin

theByronhe’sabiteffeminate–evendescribed

asa“manqueen”–butthevocalwritingis

quiteheroic.Itwaschallengingtofindabalance

between the two, especially as there were no

points of reference apart from the manuscript.

Lisztisonrecord,incorrespondencewith

Wagner, explaining that he had completed the

first act of his Italian grand opera and that it

was sitting in his draw whilst he awaited the

secondactlibretto.Theinitiallibrettist,Félicien

Mallefille,wasverylateindeliveringafirstact

and then Liszt deemed it unacceptable. A

secondfirstactlibrettowassuppliedbyan

unknownauthorwhohappenedtobeafriend

of the Italian noblewoman (and revolutionary

against the Hapsburg Empire), Cristina

Triv ulzio di Belgiojoso. It’s most likely that

thelibrettowasneverfinishedbecauseofthe

politicaltensionsoftheAustrianoccupationof

Italyandthat’swhyLisztchosetoabandonthe

project.AnotherreasoncouldbethatLisztread

Wag ner’s essayOpera and Dramain which he

talksabouttheimpendingdeathofItalianopera

• exactly what Liszt was aspiring to create.
  AtthetimewewerepreparingSardanapalo,I
  was working full time at Covent Garden onThe
  Nose,Der RosenkavalierandIl Trovatore.Thework
  isnowtobepublishedasapianoscorewith
  an orchestration on the way. Even unfinished,
  Sardanapalois an important addition to the Liszt
  canonanddeservesahighprofilepremiere.
  I’msoproudtohavebeenthefirstever
  to sing this role and to have such a personal
  connectiontooneofthegreatmaster
  composers.Oh,andifyouwanttoknowwhere
  thestorygetstobeforeLisztgroundtoahalt,
  I’m afraid it’s a case of no spoilers allowed!

Sardanapalus and his

haremwritheinecstasy

asthepalacebecomes

their funeral pyre

The Death of Sardanapalus

by Eugène Delacroix, 1827