Tanz der Spröden

SYNOPSIS

In front of the “jaws of the abyss”, the threatening entrance to the underworld, Amor and his mother Venus are hatching out piquant plans: their aim is to teach a stiff lesson to all the ungrateful beauties on earth who repeatedly spurn the god of love! Mother and son are firmly counting on the help of the prince of hell, Pluto. While Amor wanders off into the underworld, Venus stays to warn young women neither to forgo the pleasures of love in their youth nor torture the languishing young men with withdrawal of their affections as they will pay for this dearly in later life: if the dart of love only meets its target once their hair has turned grey, they will be the laughing stock of the town! The god of love returns promptly, accompanied by Pluto. Venus now employs all her charms to persuade the prince of darkness to set free a few of the many virtuous maidens who are sweltering in the heat of the underworld as a punishment for exaggerated modesty. They are to be led before the populace as a warning against the withdrawal of affections. Although Pluto initially hesitates, Venus’s charms do not fail to work and he orders his henchmen of the underworld to fetch the scorned and ungrateful maidens. They have hardly returned into the sunshine before they begin to complain stridently of their loveless transformation on earth which ultimately led them into hell. They do not however have much hope of gaining the sympathy of their audience as Pluto soon rudely interrupts their lamentations and chases them back down into the underworld. The final plaintive utterances of the punished maidens are aimed at the female members of the audience: let them not be equally heartless in their dealings with love so that they also disappear ignominiously to continue their pitiful existence in night and darkness.
Amor is certain that the lesson has not failed to have the desired effect on the audience and finally invites the crowd to join in a dance of a more cheerful nature. Who knows, perhaps this may even encourage a few new couples to get together!

COMMENTARY

Orff‘s arrangement of Monteverdi’s Ballo delle Ingrate is in fact a complete adaptation which nevertheless retains the underlying concept of Monteverdi’s composition. On the one hand for example, Orff took the liberty of omitting the original prologue and replacing it with a quotation taken from the Italian composer’s Orfeo: “Abandon all hope, ye who enter!” On the other hand, Orff leaves the epilogue virtually unaltered, thereby retaining the spirit of Monteverdi.
In his introductory text to Ballo delle Ingrate, Monteverdi writes: Al levar de la tela si farà una sinfonica a beneplacito [When the curtain is raised, a sinfonia is played ad libitum.] This prompted Orff to insert and rework pieces in Ballo delle Ingrate originating from other compositions by Monteverdi. The new text was however rhythmically conceived to correspond exactly to the existing music with the exception of the recitatives which were newly composed. As Orff envisaged a chamber music style for this work and developed the recitatives and dialogues in a “Rosenkavalier parlando” style, he adapted the orchestration correspondingly to provide a more intimate atmosphere.
The stage design and costumes for the first performance were conceived in a fantasy Rococo style, although Orff could equally well envisage designs based on the style of Aubrey Beardsley.