La Giuditta

An oratorio by Alessandro Scarlatti

March 24, 2023 | Gannon Concert Hall

A dramatic story of one woman’s bravery in the face of tyranny

Performance:
March 24, 2023 at 7:30pm

Pre-performance lecture: Presented at 6:45pm prior to the performance.

Performance runtime: Two hours, including one 20-minute intermission

Gannon Concert Hall
Holtschneider Performance Center at DePaul University
2330 N. Halsted Ave., Chicago, IL 60614

Radiant soprano Emily Birsan, known to Chicago audiences for her riveting performances as Violetta in Lyric Opera’s La Traviata, stars as the courageous heroine Judith who seduces the tyrant Holofernes, murdering him to save her people. In their Haymarket debuts, French mezzo-soprano Sophie Michaux portrays the arrogant general Holofernes and soprano Sarah Brailey appears in the trouser role of the Prince Ozias. Tenor William Dwyer and bass-baritone David Govertsen, well known to Chicago audiences, return to Haymarket as Achior, the Assyrian captain who defies Holofernes, and the High Priest of Bethulia respectively.

Cellist Craig Trompeter, Haymarket’s founder and artistic director, leads a chamber ensemble of strings, continuo, trumpet, and recorders drawn from Haymarket’s acclaimed orchestra of period instruments. La Giuditta marks the return of lute legend Nigel North to Haymarket.

The Cast

Lute-extraordinaire Nigel North returns

You know you're a legend when you're Jeopardy's clue...

Fans of the hit gameshow Jeopardy! may remember this question from the April 15, 2020 episode: "Virtuoso Nigel North is primarily known for playing this instrument which looks like a pear-shaped guitar?" The answer: A lute. 

Nigel North is internationally recognized as the foremost authority on basso continuo for plucked instruments, and is associated with some of the early music movement's most important ensembles, performances, and recordings.

An early pioneer of the lute, North began is musical training in in London in 1969. North was just 15 years old. North maintains an active global performance schedule with solo recitals, recordings, and the world's leading baroque orchestras.

The Instrumental Ensemble

Craig Trompeter, Leader & Cello

Jeri-Lou Zike, Violin

Wendy Benner, Violin

Liz Hagen, Viola

Sue Yelanjian, Bass

Lisette Kielson, Recorder

Patrick O’Malley, Recorder

Nigel North, Theorbo

Andrew Rosenblum, Harpsichord & Organ

Ryan Berndt, Trumpet

Synopsis

Part One

The people of Judea cower at the imminent invasion of the Assyrian tyrant Holofernes. Ozias, Prince of Bethulia, seeks counsel from the leaders of the city. While the High Priest favors heeding the wishes of the people to submit, the brave and beautiful widow Judith is defiant. She believes the Almighty is on the side of Judea and asks Ozias to postpone surrender for five days. She will use her beauty to gain access to the camp of Holofernes and attempt to murder him and save her people. 

Holofernes arrives, boasting that he will easily conquer Judea and enslave its people. He asks his captain Achior, formerly a soldier of Bethulia, why the walls of the city have not already fallen in fear. Achior answers that victory will be granted only according to the wishes of Heaven itself. Achior's response enrages the tyrant, who casts him out of the Assyrian camp and dooms him to die with the people of Bethulia. 

Part Two

Holofernes has been captivated by Judith's great beauty and welcomes her into his camp, where he can adore her as one of his treasures. Judith secretly implores Heaven to lead her to victory. The High Priest alerts Prince Ozias that a stranger has been spotted near the walls of Bethulia. It is Achior, who offers his allegiance to Ozias and reveals that Judith has entered the camp of Holofernes. 

Holofernes declares his trust in Judith and his passion for her. She replies ambiguously that he will find repose by resting his weary head in her arms. She implores him to close his eyes and let her keep watch. When he finally falls asleep, Judith prays for strength, and then beheads him. With severed head in hand, she flees the Assyrian camp and begins her journey back to Bethulia.

It is the fifth day, but news of Judith's triumph has not yet reached Bethulia. Ozias declares Judea shall submit to Holofernes. Achior is offended by the prince's lack of faith. The prince rages, condemning him to die as a traitor. Just in time, Judith returns with the head of Holofernes. Heaven has granted victory to the people of Judea because of Judith’s bravery.

Program Notes

The Story of Judith

The gory violence of the biblical Judith’s beheading of Holofernes was depicted with vivid realism and chiaroscuro by painters including Caravaggio, Artemisia Gentileschi, and Rubens. The drama and sharp colors in the paintings find their musical equivalent in Alessandro Scarlatti’s oratorio, La Giuditta. The story of Judith offered a comforting lesson about divine protection, especially relevant while the Catholic alliance was frequently in conflict with the Ottoman empire, an enemy easily identified with Holofernes. While operas were typically performed during carnival, oratorios were Lenten entertainments designed to encourage devotion. In Rome both operas and oratorios featured all-male casts, with soprano and alto castrati taking roles as male and female characters. 

The Patron

The five-voiced La Giuditta was composed in Naples in 1693 on commission from Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni, author of the libretto. As vice-chancellor of the Church in Rome, Ottoboni lived and entertained in the huge Roman palace known as the Palazzo della Cancelleria. He enjoyed a plentiful income, many pleasures, and many mistresses (it is estimated that he fathered some 60 children). Scarlatti’s oratorio was just one among many excellent musical events he sponsored. 

The Composer

Alessandro Scarlatti (1660-1725), the most prolific Italian aria composer of his epoch, left us some 800 cantatas, 40 oratorios, many instrumental ensemble pieces, and lots of sacred music. In 1706 he bragged to Ferdinando de’ Medici that he had composed his 90th opera. Born in Palermo, he began his career in Rome and by 1683 was composing for illustrious Roman patrons. From 1684, Scarlatti and his large family were anchored in Spanish Naples where he served as maestro of the Royal Chapel and opera composer for both the public theater and the viceroy’s palace. Scarlatti composed quickly and, hoping for a more lucrative position, often fulfilled commissions from Roman and Florentine patrons despite his busy schedule in Naples. Though just about all of the important patrons in Italy and elsewhere commissioned, financed, and collected his music, something about his person prevented them from hiring him permanently.

The Music

Cardinal Ottoboni’s libretto for La Giuditta (now in the Vatican Library) was sent to Scarlatti in February 1693. Surprisingly, Scarlatti’s autograph score, which once belonged to G. F. Handel’s Messiah librettist Charles Jennens, now belongs to the National Historical Park AChive in Morristown, New Jersey. The composer sent it to Ottoboni in March 1693 along with a letter begging the cardinal to make sure that the oratorio would be well rehearsed. With what might have been a touch of snobbery (since the Royal Chapel in Naples could brag of numerous brilliant castrati) he advised that, in addition to singing the notes, the singers should pay attention to his precise tempo markings. Scarlatti always tried to compose for the specific voice and character of each singer, so it is odd that Ottoboni had not told him in advance which singers would perform La Giuditta. It might be that letters between patron and composer about the singers have been lost. The virtuoso solo parts for cello and violin in Scarlatti’s score surely reflect Ottoboni’s patronage of violinists Arcangelo Corelli and Matteo Fornari, as well as star cellist Filippo Amadei, all of whom Scarlatti had worked with closely. For some reason, the “Giuditta sent from Naples” seems not to have been performed until March 21, 1694. Ottoboni supported the Teatro Tordinona, so it might be that singers for the oratorio were drawn from the casts of the 1694 carnival operas, Giovanni Bononcini’s Tullio Ostilio and Il Xerse.

The subject of La Giuditta suited Scarlatti’s talent for dramatic contrast, formal diversity, and arias soaked in melancholy. Immediately, the oratorio opens with a special effect that Scarlatti mentioned in his letter: the sinfonia (i.e., overture) does not conclude with the usual allegro section after the grave. Instead, without a pause, the agitated Giuditta crashes in suddenly with her recitative “Amici, e qual v’ingombra” (“Friends, why are you so overcome with fear?”).  Giuditta’s first aria, “Trombe guerriere” (“Trumpets of war, why are you silent?”), exposes her bravery in agitated baroque concitato (excited) style with trumpeting flourishes against an insistent rhythmic pattern. In contrast, Ozia’s response aria, “Se d’Amor fosse il cimento” (“Were this a conflict of love”), has two drawn-out strophes to exemplify his thoughtful reasoning. Once convinced of Giuditta’s plan, he sings a more lyrical aria, “La speranza del mio seno” (“The hope in my heart, lit by the stars”), wafted along by solo violins and decorative triplet figures for the twinkling light illuminating his hope. Sustained notes allow the singer to show off his beautiful tone for “serene glory.” In contrast, the ascending leaps in the Sacerdote’s bass recitative, “Nell’ estremo periglio” (“The extreme dangers we face”), underline the peril in the plan, while his “Largo” aria, “Quel nume clemente” (“May the compassionate deity”), describes divine guidance in long-breathed vocal phrases; sustained notes and winding melismas are woven into this aria’s dense contrapuntal fabric. Giuditta’s “allegro assai” aria, “Ma so ben qual chiudo in petto” (“I know my plan well”), about her “lofty plan for victory” opens with a concitato ritornello for violins that paints her racing footsteps. The feminine allure she will use to seduce Oloferne is traced in quick melodic decorations which are subsequently pushed aside by fast, sweeping scale figures for her “deathly fury.”  

Oloferne is announced by a martial sinfonia bellica with unusual scoring—a solo trumpet on top and reinforced bass for the “thunder and lightning” that Oloferne claims as his own. But clumsy Oloferne is no match for clever Giuditta, so Scarlatti deliberately undermines him: after the sinfonia bellica, his aria “Lampi e tuoni” (“With lightning and thunder”) merely snarls without thunder.  Oloferne’s captain, Achior, an Ammonite, explains in a plaintive E-minor aria, “Vincerai s’il Ciel vorrà” (“You shall win only if Heaven so desires”), which provokes Oloferne to threaten and dismiss him. Leaving Oloferne’s camp happy to escape the giant’s wrath, Achior sings a lovely tenor aria, “Della Patria io torno in seno” (“Patria, I return to your bosom”), that must exude the warm consolation of homecoming. Its primary melodic figure includes a clever internal return figure, carrying him to Bethulia as Part One closes.

Giuditta opens Part Two by flirting extravagantly with Oloferne, singing about her charms in a sprightly aria, “Se di gigli e se di rose” (“Fresh as lilies and roses”), that overflows with teasing vocal embellishment. Scarlatti signals to us that she is being deceptive by locating the aria in an A minor slippery with chromaticism. Oloferne sings “Vanne, vanne pur” (“Go, we’ll soon be together”) assuredly in his unsuspecting C major, while two solo violins confirm his delight.  Meanwhile, Achior’s sudden presence in Bethulia tests the faith of Ozia and the Sacerdote. Ozia resolves to be hopeful in an elaborate virtuoso aria, “Se la gioia non m’uccide” (“If joy does not kill me”), with showy solo parts for violin and cello. 

The stirring excitement in the oratorio takes place in Oloferne’s tent. Here Scarlatti’s expert manipulation of form and text-painting create musical drama. First Giuditta and Oloferne sing a duet, “Mio conforto / Mia speranza” (“My solace / My hope, through you I shall be victorious”), that might at first sound like a typical love duet. But Scarlatti alerts us to its deception in E minor with a descending bass line that proceeds with snake-like chromaticism. The words that Giuditta sings have a hidden meaning, of course. When both characters sing about the thrill of victory, Oloferne’s immediate goal is sexual consummation, while Giuditta’s is the violent beheading. Scarlatti marked the second or “B” section of the duet “Allegro” to be sure that the performers speed up appropriately when his music paints the intensity of “burning desire.” Interlocking patterns carry their anxious desire through striking harmonic changes before the return of the duet’s first or “A” section. In recitative, Giuditta convinces Oloferne to rest, then begins a gentle C-major prayer disguised as a lullaby, “La tua destra, o sommo Dio” “(Your right arm shall strike down tyrants”), which Scarlatti marked “Adagio e staccato.” Here the detached staccato suggests that she moves delicately on tiptoe. Oloferne interrupts, complaining that her song sounds “funereal.” Giuditta resumes her aria with deeper intention (grave e staccato) but Oloferne interrupts again when she sings about a god who “wounds the tyrant.” Giuditta then reassuringly promises him “soft oblivion.” As Oloferne finally yields to sleep (“Già cedo al sonno”), his melody relaxes into even quarter notes with a sustained-note emphasis for the “sweetness” of sleep, before sliding down a descending chromatic scale over a bizarre series of harmonies whose bass line concludes with a descending chromatic tetrachord (emblem of lament). Giuditta now sings her grave e staccato aria, “La tua destra, o sommo Dio” (“Your right arm shall strike down tyrants”), in its fully scored version with two soft recorders, strings, and continuo. Perhaps the airy recorders bring a heavenly spirit to assist her. 

The full aria prompts our imagining: Giuditta is poised with her sword over the sleeping Oloferne and prays for success. Melodic shapes on the words “destra” and “ferir” seem to predict the carving motion of the sword, while sustained notes convey her strength and courage. The aria begins in C major (no sharps or flats) and stays in related areas until it suddenly cuts into unexpected E major, the very “sharp” realm (for this period) of four sharps just when she sings about slicing off the head. Sharp-key harmonies then paint the motion of her blade. When she searchingly prays for aid, a harmonic “search” moves into flat-side harmonies (D minor and F major), as if she considers just how to chop from another angle. The aria form is highly unusual and closes with even more sustained singing when Giuditta soothes away the worries suggested by instrumental flourishes. Scarlatti keeps us on the edge of our seats until Giuditta narrates the beheading in a spiritoso recitative whose fast bass-line scale figures and surprising harmonic shifts color the moment she cuts off Oloferne’s head. Handing the gory trophy to her maid, Giuditta opens the path toward their city; here a typically Scarlattian “walking” bass escorts them from the bloody murder scene to an arrival at distant F-sharp minor. 

In Bethulia, the Sacerdote and Ozia await news but again make the mistake of losing faith. The Sacerdote explodes at Achior with accusatory rage in “Traditor, con dolci accenti” (“Traitor, with sweet words”), a B-minor aria that drives through a forceful harmonic pattern with large vocal leaps, fast descending scales across his range, and agitated rhythms. Ozia responds with a remarkably moving Largo aria, “Addio, cara libertà” (“Farewell, dear freedom”), that reinterprets the Sacerdote’s rhythmic figures, smoothing them and slowing them down in deep C-minor melancholy. A lyrical cello line precedes Ozia’s tearful “cara libertà” (“dear freedom”) before a contrasting Allegro section flips into B-flat major as he wonders if Heaven might still intervene. The haunting, unaccompanied “cara libertà,” descending from the high soprano G, is heard four times more in the closing Largo. Ozia also sings an angry, fully scored aria, “Sento che questo core avvampa di furore” (“I feel wrath firing my heart”), marked Con spirito with several kinds of vocal virtuosity conveying Ozia’s consuming fear that Achior has betrayed them. But soon Giuditta confirms her success in a recitative that leads to a joyous compound final scene for the five principals (never mind that Oloferne is dead!). They sing a chorus, “Alle palme,” followed by and then interlocking with an exuberant dance-like simile aria. Giuditta sings the first strophe, “Combattuta navicella, al soffiar” (“The small battered ship”), the others respond, then Ozia sings the second strophe “Superata la costanza” (“Constancy overcome by the rage of the spheres”), before a tightly contrapuntal celebration chorus, “Opra sol di quel Dio” (“In a few short moments Heaven alone turns a sea of tears into a sky of contentment”), in sacred style about the efficacy of Heaven’s work concludes the oratorio.

Notes by Professor Louise K. Stein.

Dr. Louise K. Stein currently teaches at the University of Michigan Ann Arbor and is an authority on European, Spanish, and colonial Latin American music of the early modern era, with particular emphasis on theater music and the history of singing, opera, and keyboard music.

Support

Haymarket gratefully acknowledges the following for their support of the 2023 season: The Paul M. Angell Foundation, the Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation, the Cliff Dwellers Arts Foundation, Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, The National Endowment for the Arts, The Illinois Arts Council Agency, Helen and Curtis Pinnell Foundation, the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, and the Walder Foundation.

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