FULL Gjergj Kastrioti Skenderbeu KRYEZOT i ARBERIT (Vasil S. Tole) Pristina 2023 Artur Vera, Klodjan Kacani, Kaltrina Miftari, Dea Xhemajli
Information on the Performance
- Work Title: Gjergj Kastrioti Skenderbeu KRYEZOT i ARBERIT
- Composer: Tole Vasil S.
- Libretto: based on some motifs of the well-known work of Fan S. Noli "Skënderbeu - the ruler of Albania".
- Venue & Opera Company: AMC Hall, Pristina, Kosovo
- Recorded: May 17, 2023
- Type: Concert Semi-staged
- Singers: Artur Vera, Klodjan Kacani, Kaltrina Miftari, Dea Xhemajli
- Conductor: Sieva Borzak
- Orchestra: Orchestra of the Kosovo Philharmonic
- Chorus: Choir of the Kosovo Philharmonic
- Stage Director:
- Costume Designer:
Information about the Recording
- Published by: RTK 1
- Date Published: 2023
- Format: Broadcast
- Quality Video: 4 Audio:4
- Subtitles: nosubs
- Video Recording from: YouTube FULL VIDEO
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THIS PERFORMANCE
In essence, solemn opera is the union of the genre of Dramatic Opera with the Solemn Mass, i.e. Solemn Opera. The opera is conceived in two parts, two acts, which respond to the life and eternity of Gjergj Kastriot in the Albanian world, namely the hero and the era of Arbër in the centuries of European humanism and the anti-Ottoman center. Both the word (narration) and the musical register suit these two parts, which complement each other in a change.
There is a symmetry between the two parts in terms of their subdivisions: four arias (life) sung by Skanderbeg in the first versus 5 chorales in the second (eternity). The difference between them lies in the relationship between individual-era, life-eternity, hero-myth. As a whole, the opera overcomes this difference, which is formal and conceptual, in accordance with the wisdom of the Latin saying et pluribus in unum, one and many, many in one, or, as Fan Noli himself expressed it in another work, but only .
In the first part, from the overture and four arias, four scenes, the hero will appear: from divine inspiration (Saint George appears to our George in a dream and gives him confidence for victory); longing for one’s homeland as an eternal and general feeling, which has taken a feminine place since ancient Greek literature (Odysseus and Ithaca); vocation and motivation for endurance (Embëtha!) and the concept of freedom (I didn’t bring you freedom).
In the four arias, Skanderbeg’s portrait will appear as a figure of centuries of European humanism, centered on Saint Man, with faith in his own strength and the will to build the individual and community destiny according to a new image. Even this part starts with the individual and ends with the community, et pluribus in unum: from the hero’s dream to the freedom I found among you.
The second part follows the well-known models of the requiem/mass with an evocative and soulful character. Through the five choral parts (INTROITUS), KYRIE, SANCTUS, GLORIA, AGNUS DEI), which are five scenes of every solemn mass, the afterlife of the hero is glorified, which is actually his power as a pivot of the convergence of the people who belong to him. The Albanians were kept alive by the figure of Skenderbeu and the language of Arbër.
Together, both parts give the opera a double character: heroic and solemn. The soloist (from Latin solus, alone) in the first part is unum, the hero who is identified through his logos, which can also be understood as an acolyte. The chorus in the second part is pluribus, community, Albanian survival through the centuries, the spirit of the hero in immortality.
This opera unites musically the traditional (which will have more place in the first act, where all Albanian motifs will appear) and the world classic (in the second act, where the polyphony of the requiem or mass will be dominant.
Quoted from kultplus.com