{"id":12360,"date":"2014-05-22T01:30:36","date_gmt":"2014-05-22T01:30:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.eoisabi.org\/?p=12360"},"modified":"2020-11-12T21:48:11","modified_gmt":"2020-11-12T21:48:11","slug":"the-rakes-progress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/englishroam.com\/?p=12360","title":{"rendered":"Igor Stravinsky [1882-1971]"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a4 \u00a0The Rake\u2019s Progress<\/a> \u00a0 [excerpt]<\/em><\/h3>\n

Premiered in Vienna in 1951,\u00a0The Rake\u2019s Progress<\/em>\u00a0is one of the few modern operas that has a permanent place in the repertories of most contemporary opera companies.\u00a0The Rake\u2019s Progress<\/em> is a masterpiece by two towering figures of the 20th century: the Russian-born composer Igor Stravinsky<\/strong>\u00a0and the British poet Wystan Hugh Auden\u00a0<\/strong>(1907-1973).<\/p>\n

It was inspired by the 18th century equivalent of a comic book: a series of eight satirical paintings by William Hogarth<\/strong>, which Stravinsky saw in 1947 at a Chicago exhibit. The series, called A Rake\u2019s Progress, depicts a young man (Tom Rakewell<\/em>)\u00a0who abandons his pregnant fianc\u00e9e, squanders his inheritance, marries a rich old woman, and ends up in London\u2019s mental asylum, Bedlam.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u2192http:\/\/www.soane.org\/collections_legacy\/the_soane_hogarths\/rakes_progress\/<\/a>\u2190<\/p>\n

At a time when artwork was becoming increasingly commercialised and when a new literary form \u2013 the novel \u2013 was coming into vogue, Hogarth came up with the idea of telling contemporary stories through a series of illustrations, the best known of which are A Rake\u2019s Progress<\/em>, A Harlot\u2019s Progress<\/em>, and Marriage \u00e0-la-mode<\/em>. In each case Hogarth painted the series and\u00a0then recreated the illustrations as engravings to be published as prints, which were widely distributed and became wildly popular throughout England, rather as comic books and graphic novels are today.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

When Stravinsky saw Hogarth\u2019s illustrations for A Rake\u2019s Progress<\/em>,\u00a0he knew he\u2019d found the subject for an opera. Stravinsky\u2019s friend Aldous Huxley suggested W. H. Auden as librettist, and Auden brought in his lover, the poet Chester Kallman as a collaborator.<\/p>\n

The two expanded Hogarth\u2019s tale to include a lover for Rakewell, Anne Truelove, whom he leaves for the lures of London nightlife. Rakewell\u2019s good fortune is orchestrated by another new addition, the Mephistophelean character Nick Shadow. The ending, however, remains the same, as the hero still becomes an inmate of Bedlam.<\/p>\n

\u2022 \u00a0The Libretto\u00a0 \u00a0[…bilingual]\u2192<\/h6>\n

When Tom Rakewell makes a wish for money, a stranger, Nick Shadow, appears with the news that Tom\u2019s uncle has died and left him a fortune. Tom leaves for London with Nick, promising that as soon as possible he\u2019ll send for his sweetheart, Anne Trulove.<\/p>\n

In London, Nick brings Tom to Mother Goose\u2019s brothel, where Tom succumbs to the temptations around him. But Tom soon grows bored and jaded. When he makes a second wish \u2013 for happiness \u2013 Nick persuades him to marry a bearded lady, Baba the Turk, arguing that happiness comes from acting freely rather than being a slave to duty or pleasure. The marriage quickly fails; Baba is a chatterbox who drives Tom nuts.<\/p>\n

After Tom dreams of a machine that will turn stones into bread, he utters \u2013 and Nick grants \u2013 his third wish. As Tom aspires to end world hunger, Nick starts marketing the fraudulent machine to potential investors. When Tom goes\u00a0bankrupt, all his possessions (including Baba) are auctioned off.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile Anne has followed Tom to London. Baba urges her to help Tom, and warns her against Nick Shadow. A year and a day after their first meeting, Nick leads Tom to a graveyard, where he claims Tom\u2019s soul as payment for his services. They play a game of cards to decide Tom\u2019s fate. Calling on Love and Anne, Tom wins \u2013 but Nick\u00a0condemns him to insanity. Tom ends up in Bedlam, believing he is Adonis and that Anne, who has come to visit him, is Venus. Anne sings him to sleep, then quietly leaves him. When he awakes to find her gone, he dies.<\/p>\n

In an epilogue, the principal characters comment that the devil finds work for idle hands.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u2192 Act 1\u00a0<\/a>\u21d0\u00a0 \u00a0 [Glyndebourne _ 1975]<\/h6>\n