Sunday Classics: Musical storms, part 4: We come to our raging storms from Janáček's "Kátya Kabanová" and Verdi's "Rigoletto"

The storm from Act III of Janáček's Kátya Kabanová, played by the Prague National Theater Orchestra under Jaroslav Krombholc. (Note: Drat! Once again this clip seems troubled. If it doesn't play, use the "share" icon on the right (or click here) to get to the Archive.org website, where it seems to play fine. Sigh. Sorry!)

"Storms are punishment, sent to us
to make us realize the power of the Almighty!"

-- the merchant Dikoj, in Act III of Janáček's Kátya Kabanová

by Ken

As I noted in Friday's preview, the storms we're hearing today are central to the action of their scenes.

Since Janáček's Kátya Kabanová is based on the Russian playwright Alexander Ostrovsky's The Storm, it's hardly surprising that a storm figures prominently in the action. Ostrovsky, I gather, actually has two storms; Janáček makes do with just this one.

TO PROCEED TO THE STORM FROM ACT III OF
JANÁČEK'S KÁTYA KABANOVÁ, CLICK HERE


RIGOLETTO: THE GATHERING STORM

Which brings us to the great tempest of Act III of Verdi's Rigoletto. You may recall that we began this storm series with the cataclysm that opens Verdi's next-to-last opera, Otello. By that time the composer had this remarkably inventive one in his portfolio. Let's start with a multi-listen to the first musical glimmering of impending meteorological violence -- eight performances of this snippet featuring eight "mystery" baritones (if you're trying to identify them, watch out -- there's a trick):

Ettore Bastianini
Renato Bruson
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Nicolae Herlea
Robert Merrill
Heinrich Schlusnus
Leonard Warren
Giorgio Zancanaro

VERDI: Rigoletto: Act III, "Egli è Delitto"

Rigoletto, you'll recall, has just given the hired assassin Sparafucile half of his 20-scudi fee for the murder of the Duke of Mantua, who has already been lured to this dilapidated inn on the outskirts of town by Sparafucile's sister and business partner, Maddalena. The Duke, in fact, is already inside. Sparafucile has asked Rigoletto the man's name, and Rigoletto has offered to supply that as well as his own name.

RIGOLETTO: He is Crime; I am Punishment.
[He leaves; the sky darkens, it thunders.]
SPARAFUCILE: The storm is getting closer.
The night will be darker.
["Bella figlia dell'amore" tune sounded by clarinet]
DUKE: Maddalena? [Trying to embrace her]
MADDALENA [pushing him away]: Wait -- my brother is coming.
DUKE: So?
MADDALENA: Thunder!
SPARAFUCILE [entering]: It's going to rain soon.

Group A

Group B


We'll hear these snippets again, properly identified, in the click-through.

TO PROCEED TO THE STORM FROM ACT III
OF VERDI'S RIGOLETTO, CLICK HERE

SUNDAY CLASSICS' MUSICAL STORMS

Preview: Tonight's musical selections should give you a good idea of Sunday's subject (January 13)
The thunderstorm movement from Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony and Otello's "Esultate" from Verdi's Otello
Stormy weather, part 1 (January 15)
Verdi's Otello, Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony, and Berlioz's Les Troyens, plus Lena Horne singing "Stormy Weather"
Preview: Given the resources at his disposal, Vivaldi's musical storms may be the most remarkable of all (January 27)
The three storm movements from Vivaldi's Four Seasons
With the full symphony orchestra you can create a heckuva storm (aka: Musical storms, part 2) (January 29)
Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony (again), Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique, Grofé's Grand Canyon Suite, Johann Strauss II's Amid Thunder and Lightning polka, Richard Strauss's Alpine Symphony, Grieg's Peer Gynt incidental music, Britten's Peter Grimes, and Rossini's Barber of Seville
Preview: En route to more of our musical storms, we encounter perhaps the most eerily wonderful music I know (February 3)
The Preludes to Acts I and II of Wagner's Siegfried
Storms that set three great operatic scenes in motion (aka: Musical storms, part 3) (February 5)
The openings of Wagner's Die Walküre Act I and Siegfried Act III and of Act III of Puccini's La Bohème
Preview: En route to our final operatic storms, we hear two famous tenor tunes sung by a very famous tenor (February 24)
"La donna è mobile," the Quartet, and the Storm Scene from Act III of Rigoletto
Musical storms, part 4: We come to our raging storms from Janáček's Kátya Kabanová and Verdi's Rigoletto (February 26)
The storms from Act III of both operas, with a close-up look at how Verdi created the Rigoletto one -- plus the whole of Act III

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