In 1673, the wife of Emperor Leopold I of Austria died and the royal court went into mourning. Lacking a male heir, the pressure was, therefore, on Leopold to find a new wife to ensure the succession, and he quickly decided upon the eminently suitable Archduchess of Austria, Claudia Felicitas, a young intelligent, learned woman with an interest in music, who also happened to be his cousin, which for a Habsburg was certainly not a barrier.

Inevitably, of course, such a decision brought with it plenty of politicking and court intrigue, and Prince Lobkowicz, a senior advisor to the emperor, had an alternative candidate, who just happened to be a woman with whom he had close family ties. He thus actively worked against Claudia Felicitas, reporting that she was particularly ugly and ill-suited to becoming the wife of an emperor. Moreover, the rules relating to the period of mourning on the death the empress meant that Leopold could not marry for at least a year, giving Lobkowicz sufficient time for his poisonous words to bear fruit.

Leopold, however, circumvented the problem by moving the court to Graz, where he cancelled the period of mourning and married Claudia. Although it proved to be a happy marriage, the new empress died of smallpox three years later without an heir.

It surely was not by chance, therefore, that the opera chosen as part of the marriage celebrations was “Gl’incantesimi disciolti” by the composer Antonio Draghi (1634/5-1700) to a libretto by Nicolò Minato (1627-1698); a story that reflects the machinations within the court leading up to the marriage of the royal couple, albeit in an analogous form.

The narrative revolves around the character of Fortune, who is in love with Affection, a member of the imperial family and dedicated to a life of virtue. He is also in love with her and Good Advice urges him to fight for her. However, there is also Selfishness, who, supported by Lies and Envy, is pursuing Fortune, although she has no interest in him. Lies is able to ensnare Fortune, who, unable to resist, laments her fate. Even Good Advice and Affection are paralyzed by Lies’ intervention. Fortunately, Reason appears, drives away Lies and Selfishness and restores Affection’s sight and Good Advice’s speech, and the two lovers are united in marriage.

For the performance, Minato’s libretto was translated into German so that the wedding guests could follow the drama and was performed under the title “Das Verwunschene Glück.” Another interesting intervention was the inclusion of an aria written by the emperor himself, entitled “Chi non vede mal si fide.”

A Small, Ornate Performance Space with Mannequins Centre Stage

The Styriarte Festival’s new production, with a new German translation of the libretto by Thomas Höft, was presented in a small, beautifully decorated, baroque hall in the city’s Schloß Eggenberg, where Claudia Felicitas stayed prior to her wedding; unfortunately, the original venue for the opera, the Karlau Palace, was transformed into a prison in the late 18th century.

At the end of the hall, a small, raised platform was erected for the performance, with a space for the orchestra in front, which was split into two parts with steps in between leading up to the stage. The singers were positioned towards the back on either side with six mannequins on stands in between, leaving only a small space for four dancers to perform. It was fairly crowded, and one wondered how it would be possible to fit six singers and four dancers onto a stage.

This, however, did not prove to be a problem. The singers, for the most part, only stepped forward when actually singing, and then kept close to the side of the platform, leaving the central section of the stage for the dancers. Their dance routines, performed by Mareike Franz, Anca Huma, Klara Beyeler and Anne-Marie Warburton and choreographed by Franz, were expertly designed to use the full space without hindering the performance of the singers. Their contemporary routines were lively yet graceful with a hint of the baroque aesthetic and were not just restricted to the ballet music; they also accompanied the singers with sensitive, imaginative movements that captured the spirit of the music and the drama.

It was the colorful mannequins, designed by Lilli Hartmann, that had the greatest visual impact, transforming the performance from a concert with dance into a staged performance. Each puppet, standing about three to four feet in height, was designed to represent one of the characters; Glück (Fortune), for example, had blond hair with flowers and white dress while Lüge (Lies) was dressed in black imprinted with a white snake. As the character sang, a dancer would take the relevant mannequin from its stand and then incorporate it into the dance. The effect was very impressive, especially during the recitatives, in which the puppets convincingly interacted with each other. Their distinctive, animated faces, which reflected the characters’ personalities, also added to their dramatic impact.

Michael Hell’s Convincing Reconstruction & Interpretation

Although the vocal parts for the opera still exist, the score itself was in need of substantial reconstruction: the manuscript contains only the bass line and cues for the ritornellos, while Johann Heinrich Schmelzer’s original ballet music has been lost entirely. Michael Hell, the musical director for the production, undertook some excellent work in making it ready for performance, recreating the instrumental parts, incorporating other suitable pieces of ballet music by Schmelzer, and introduced sonatas by Giovanni Valentini and Anton Bertali, a sinfonia and sonata by Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber and a ciaccona by Philipp Jakob Rittler.

Directing the Ārt House 17 ensemble from the harpsichord, Hell elicited a lively yet refined reading, which was beautifully attuned to the movements of the dancers and the voices of the singers. He was particularly adept in promoting the dramatic thrust of the work and capturing the rhythmic strength of the melodies. He also pitched in with a couple of beautiful flute solos

Hell’s inspired reconstruction and his excellent musical direction came together to create a fine musical stage work that successfully brought Draghi’s ‘wedding opera’ back to the stage.

Johanna Rosa Falkinger’s Excellent Interpretation of Glück

The singers sang, reading from scores, and were dressed in a manner suitable for a concert presentation. Towards the end of the performance, they did occasionally involve themselves physically in the drama but generally they restricted themselves to singing from the side.

The standout performance undoubtedly came from soprano Johanna Rosa Falkinger in the role of Glück (Fortune). She produced a sensitive, emotionally convincing reading that captured her character’s changing fortunes. Recitatives were carefully crafted to bring out their meaning, while her arias enabled her to show off her beautiful vocal timbre and fine technique, which she used successfully to bring Glück alive. Her final aria, “Goldene Spären sich vor euch drehen,” was particularly impressive, which she embellished with a range of attractive ornamentations, including passages of elegantly fashioned coloraturas and delicate trills.

Tenor Julian Habermann caught the attention with a sympathetic, articulate, sweet-sounding portrayal of Zuneigung (Affection). He projected his voice well and delivered his recitatives clearly and expressively. Arias were sung with a refined and elegant air and decorated with light embellishments.

Soprano Sophie Daneman possesses an attractive, bright, versatile voice, which she used inventively to create a well-rounded interpretation of Lüge (Lies), in which she displayed an instinctive sensitivity in decorating the line. Although on occasions her voice did lose a little focus, the overall effect was very positive.

The character of Selbstsucht (selfishness) was represented by a colorful and imaginatively designed mannequin with red skin and a bag full of odd-looking objects hanging around his neck. Tenor Markus Schäfer, singing the part, produced an equally colorful performance with plenty of expressively strong coloraturas and engaging embellishments as well as passages of mimicking. It was all very lively and exuberant, but occasionally his vocal control faltered and, in his desire to express himself forcefully, his voice, now and again, lost a degree of lyricism.

Mezzo-soprano Anna Manske, cast as Neid (Envy), was also parted in the small role of Vernunft (Reason). She possesses a well-supported, colorful voice that sat nicely alongside the other voices to create many pleasing contrasts, notably so in the duet “Nur zu, nur zu, nur zu, wir wagen’s” with Schäfer, in which they aligned their ornamentations seamlessly to create beautiful harmonic tones. She also used her colorful palette to fashion expressively strong recitatives, which were delivered clearly and articulately.

Baritone Dietrich Henschel’s strong vocal presence enabled him to create a compelling interpretation of Gute Rat (Wisdom), which was reflected in his imposing, military-inspired mannequin. His voice has a coloring and depth that gave weight and meaning to his words, which ensured that his recitatives were forceful, clear and expressive. There was also an agreeable pace to his delivery that was able to draw in the listener. His voice contrasted sharply with that of Habermann’s, both in the duets and recitatives, and clearly highlighted their relationship and their very different personalities.

At the end of the opera, Envy and Selfishness, having been ejected by Reason, reappear on stage. After all, they are ever-present in the human condition: banishment can only be temporary!

It was a marvelous performance of a forgotten opera, one that showed off its composer, Antonio Draghi, in a positive light. I am not sure, however, whether the staging would work in a theatre, but in the baroque surroundings of the Schloß Eggenberg, the dancing mannequins proved to be a wonderful spectacle.