![]() ![]() Stylistically, Sibelius deploys chromaticism to achieve a darkly-colored and dream-like palette. The composer thought highly of his contribution to The Lizard, describing it to his patron and confidant Axel Carpelan as "one of the most exquisite works I have written". Scholars speculate that this is because the music is dependent on the play's action. Although it was Sibelius's habit to excerpt suites from his theatre scores (as he had with, for example, King Christian II in 1898, Pelléas et Mélisande in 1905, Belshazzar's Feast in 1907, and Swanwhite in 1908), he never did so with The Lizard. Nevertheless, the production folded after just six performances, and The Lizard was never revived in Sibelius's lifetime. The critics praised Sibelius's music as having fit the mood of the play well. During Act II, Sibelius conducted the chamber ensemble, which for effect he positioned behind the stage. The play premiered on 6 April 1910 at the Swedish Theatre in Helsinki Gustaf Molander and Karin Molander created the roles of Alban and Elisiv, respectively, while the Swedish actress Valborg Hansson guest starred as Adla. Sibelius contributed music for two scenes in Act II: Tableau 1, in which Alban plays his violin at the family burial chapel, hoping to summon his deceased relatives and Tableau 3, in which Elisiv during a fever dream hears "strange" music and, later with three Eyringe ghosts, ponders the thin line between life and death. The story, which takes place at the Eyringe family estate, is a romantic triangle: Alban, an overly-sensitive nobleman with an artist's soul, is engaged to Elisiv, the tender and virtuous nurse who had cared for his late father however, he struggles to resist the carnal advances of his older cousin Adla (her name is a near homonym for ödla, the Swedish word for lizard), a cunning temptress whose plot to seduce him turns lethal. String Quartet in D minor, Op.The Lizard (in Swedish: Ödlan), Op. 8, is a theatre score for string ensemble-comprising six to nine musicians-by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius he wrote the music in 1909 to accompany the Finnish author Mikael Lybeck's 1908 three-act, Symbolist play ( skådespel) of the same name. Sibelius’s perilous financial situation caused him constant anxiety and paranoia throughout this decade, ultimately leading him back towards alcohol. But he was also in debt to the tune of ten years’ average earnings. He vowed to forsake the drinking and smoking which had beleaguered him until now. In this episode, Donald Macleod hears how - having survived a serious health scare - Sibelius began the decade creatively rejuvenated. ![]() ![]() We travel around the world with Sibelius, returning to Finland at the outbreak of the First World War, which would have a major impact on his life and work, not least with the Finnish Civil War of 1918 and Finland’s subsequent independence: these were formative events for Sibelius. This period also reflects Sibelius’s life in microcosm, including his battles with alcohol and indebtedness his need for the stimulus of foreign travel, and the periods of creative inertia, which would decisively return during his later years. Sibelius’s meditations on the symphony and its role in his creative life are a recurring theme in the week’s programmes. He would write some of his greatest works during these ten years, including his fourth and fifth symphonies and the beginnings of his sixth. ![]() The 1910s were a crucial decade in Sibelius’s life. Donald Macleod hears how, having survived a serious health scare, Sibelius began the 1910s creatively rejuvenated. ![]()
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