Death in Venice, Op. 88, is an opera in two acts by Benjamin Britten, his last. The opera is based on Death in Venice, a novella by Thomas Mann. The opera's libretto is by Myfanwy Piper. Her husband John Piper designed the sets. It was first performed at Snape Maltings, near Aldeburgh, England, on 16 June 1973.
The often acerbic and severe score is marked by some haunting soundscapes of "ambiguous Venice". The boy Tadzio is portrayed by a silent dancer, to gamelan-like percussion accompaniment.
Contents
Composition history
Britten had been contemplating the novella for many years and began work in September 1970 with approaches to Piper and to Golo Mann, son of the author. Because of agreements between Warner Brothers and the estate of Thomas Mann for the production of Luchino Visconti's 1971 film, Britten was advised not to see the movie when it was released. According to Colin Graham, director of the first production of the opera, some colleagues of the composer who did see the film found the relationship between Tadzio and Aschenbach "too sentimental and salacious". This contributed to the decision that Tadzio and his family and friends would be portrayed by non-speaking dancers. Ian Bostridge has noted themes in the work of "formalism in art and the perilous dignity of the acclaimed artist".
Synopsis
Place: Venice and Munich
Time: 1911
Act 1
Scene 1: Munich
Aschenbach, a famous German novelist, is weary and opens the opera bemoaning the fading of his artistic inspiration. As he walks through the suburbs of Munich, he stops before the entrance to a cemetery. He catches sight of a traveller ("from beyond the Alps by his looks") and, musing on the strange and exotic nature of foreign lands, is impulsively moved to travel south in the hope of refreshing his artistic imagination.
Scene 2: On the Boat to Venice
He takes a boat to Venice, sharing his passage with a group of libidinous youths and their leader, the Elderly Fop. Aschenbach's discovery that the fop is not young, but old and made-up ("How can they bear that counterfeit; that young-old horror. A wretched lot, a wretched boat") repulses him, and he arrives in Venice dispirited.
Overture: Venice
Scene 3: The Journey to the Lido
Aschenbach contemplates his arrival by gondola into the city ("What lies in wait for me here, Ambiguous Venice, Where water is married to stone, And passion confuses the senses?"). He intends to go to the Schiavone, but is taken towards the Lido by the Old Gondolier, who mutters that "Nobody shall bid me; I go where I choose; I go my own way". A brief argument as to their destination ensues, but the novelist soon capitulates and is taken to the Lido.
Scene 4: The First Evening at the Hotel
Aschenbach is greeted by the Hotel Manager, who shows him his room with ingratiating volubility. As the other guests assemble for dinner, Aschenbach watches them pass. His eye is taken by a young Polish boy, Tadzio, in whom he sees unnatural beauty ("Surely the soul of Greece; Lies in that bright perfection; ...Mortal child with more than mortal grace"). Aschenbach is aware of the fatuousness of his thoughts, but allows himself to indulge in his speculations.
Scene 5: On the Beach
Reading on the beach, Aschenbach observes Tadzio playing on the sands. He obtains a wry satisfaction from the discovery that Tadzio has flaws: as a Pole, the boy hates the Russian guests ("He is human after all. There is a dark side even to perfection. I like that").
Act 2
Sitting with a book but distracted by his own thoughts, Aschenbach decides to accept his feeling for the boy as it is: "ridiculous, but sacred too and no, not dishonourable, even in these circumstances".
Scene 8: The Hotel Barber's Shop (i)
Aschenbach visits the Hotel Barber, who lets slip a mention of a sickness in Venice. Aschenbach questions urgently, but the barber denies that the sickness is of any importance.
Scene 9: The Pursuit
As Aschenbach crosses the waters to Venice, he detects the smell of disinfectant. On his arrival, he finds citizens reading public notices warning them to take precautions against infection. The citizens too deny that there is any cause for worry, but Aschenbach finds a graver warning in a German newspaper: "We doubt the good faith of the Venetian city fathers in their refusal to admit to the cases of cholera in the city. German citizens should return as soon as possible." The Polish family appears and Aschenbach determines that they must not find out about the cholera outbreak for fear that they will leave. Aschenbach follows the family to a café, where the mother notices him and moves herself in between Aschenbach and her son. The family moves onward to St Mark's, with Aschenbach still following at a distance. In due course, the family leaves and takes a gondola back to the hotel, with Aschenbach in pursuit and in a state of some excitement: "Tadzio, Eros, charmer, see I am past all fear, blind to danger, drunken, powerless, sunk in the bliss of madness."
Scene 10: The Strolling Players
On the hotel terrace after dinner, the guests assemble to watch the players. Aschenbach questions the Leader of the Players about the rumours of plague, but the actor dismisses his suggestions. Aschenbach notices that Tadzio, like himself, is not laughing at the skit, and wonders "Does your innocence keep you aloof, or do you look to me for guidance? Do you look to me?"
Scene 11: The Travel Bureau
A young English clerk is dealing with a crowd of hotel guests, all urgently trying to leave Venice. As the clerk closes the bureau, Aschenbach asks him about the plague and is told that the city is in the grip of Asiatic cholera. He advises Aschenbach to leave immediately before a blockade is imposed.
Film
In 1981, Tony Palmer made a film of the opera, shot in Venice. The Australian tenor Robert Gard sang the principal role as Peter Pears was too ill, but the other major roles were sung by their creators (John Shirley-Quirk and James Bowman), and the English Chamber Orchestra was conducted by the original conductor Steuart Bedford.