Work of the Week – Carl Orff: Trionfi

A monumental event: the Hamburg State Opera will stage Carl Orff's triptych Trionfi on 21 September 2024. The production will be directed by Calixto Bieito and conducted by Kent Nagano.

The Carmina Burana with their mighty O Fortuna choirs are undoubtedly one of the most famous musical works of the modern era. However, the performance as a ‘Trittico teatrale’, i.e. as a combination of the three works Carmina Burana, Catulli Carmina and Trionfo di Afrodite, is a rarity on the world's stages. With Trionfi, Carl Orff created a trilogy that searches for new forms of expression for music theatre and moves between the poles of opera, oratorio and cantata. 

Trionfi by Carl Orff: an XXL version of Carmina Burana

The title of the triptych refers back to the so-called Trionfi, the pageants and masquerades in the Italian republics and principalities of the Renaissance: heroes and gods of antiquity and their entourages were traditionally presented in these processions. In Orff's Trionfi, however, it is not a mythical figure that is at the centre of the action, but the world-dominating driving force of love itself is shown in its most diverse facets. In a sense, this driving force is explored by going back to the beginnings of our occidental history: from the Middle Ages back to Roman antiquity, and from there back to ancient Greece.

From a monastery text via Catullus to the Greek poet Sappho: Orff's enthusiasm was ignited by her timeless love poetry. However, as only fragments of this poet have survived, Orff felt compelled to mould lyrical fragments, individual stanzas and short verses into a whole. In contrast to the visually powerful Carmina Burana and the action-packed Catulli Carmina, the Trionfo di Afrodite is a ‘scenic concerto’ based primarily on words and music. (Johannes Schindlbeck, Orff Centre Munich)

Trionfi will be performed in a total of six performances at the Hamburg State Opera until 12 October 2024. This rarity is not to be missed. 

Further Reading:

Carl Orff: composer profile https://www.schott-music.com/en/person/carl-orff

Trionfi: work details and online score https://www.schott-music.com/en/trionfi-no250853.html 

Website Hamburg State Opera https://www.staatsoper-hamburg.de/en/schedule/event.php?AuffNr=210249

photo: Andrii Yalanskyi