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Orfeo by Monteverdi

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Project seminar
Thursday, 11/09/2023 17:00 - 18:30 HfMT, Orchesterstudio

Orpheus among the scholars: opera as an academic project
Lecture by Prof. Dr. Louis Delpech

Eintritt frei

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The event is part of 'Orfeo - an interdisciplinary project at the HfMT'

Claudio Monteverdi's "Orfeo" (printed in Mantua, 1609) is one of the first operas in European music history, if not the first, and combines the idea of interpreting words through music, presenting a plot through singing - and all this over chords that are notated as basso continuo, i.e. realized improvisationally. In Monteverdi's time, this combination was very new and groundbreaking. It encouraged composers throughout Europe to abandon the old "prima prattica" and turn to the "seconda prattica". The freedom to break away from the strict rules of counterpoint ("prima prattica") in order to interpret a text must have had an immense appeal. In combination with the basso continuo, completely new possibilities for the realization of dramatic music emerged. These led directly to the creation of the opera.

In the winter semester, several specialist groups are working on Monteverdi's L'Orfeo. In addition to the practical work in rehearsals, there is a wide range of seminars and lectures on Orfeo, Monteverdi and his time, some of which are open to the public. Further information about the project can be found here.

The project will culminate in two semi-staged performances on January 12 and 13, 2024 in the Rudolf Steiner House

Direction: Mark Tucker, Isolde Kittel-Zerer and Catharina Lühr

All dates at a glance:
25.10., 16:00 Kick-off with panel discussion
01.11., 16:00 Workshop lecture Tempoorganization with Monteverdi
02.11., 17:00 Project seminar February 24, 1607 - The birth of Orfeo
08.11., 16:00 Workshop lecture Aesthetic contours of language in Italian poems
09.11., 17:00 Project seminar Orpheus among the scholars: opera as an academic project
15.11., 16:00 Workshop lecture Relationship between language and bass/harmony
16.11., 17:00 Project seminar Music about music. Crisis and stylistic division as a resource
22.11., 16:00 Workshop lecture Woodwind/keyboard and string instruments at the time of Monteverdi
23.11., 17:00 Project seminar From the performance to the first edition (1609)
29.11., 16:00 Workshop lecture From the toccata to the "genere concitato"
30.11., 17:00 Project seminar Orfeo statt Euridice: Prehistory and gender aspects
06.12., 16:00 Workshop lecture Plucked instruments at the time of Monteverdi
07.12., 17:00 Project seminar Monteverdi's later operas
14.12., 17:00 Project seminar L'Orfeo after Monteverdi
12.01., 19:30 performance
13.01., 19:30 performance