Franco Battiato
Gilgamesh

"Gilgamesh"

Opera in two acts by Franco Battiato

Orchestra and choir of the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma

Sovereign of Uruk, the biblical Erech, identified at the Iraqi site of Warka on the edges of the Euphrates, two-thirds divine and one-third human, an undisputed lord to whom the gods, to curb his arrogance, send Enkidu, initially his adversary and then his faithful companion. With Enkidu, Gilgamesh, who pursues fame and desires to eternalize his name with a great enterprise, turns towards a cedar forest where Khumbaba, a mighty force of evil, lurks, to free the land from its presence. Having defeated Khumbaba and gained further fame and power, Gilgamesh refuses to lie with the goddess Ishtar and grieves over the death of his friend Enkidu. Left alone, Gilgamesh attempts the last impossible human adventure, that of evading death. He sets out on a journey in search of Utnapishtim, the only human to whom the gods granted eternal life. To reach him, he undertakes an exhausting journey that first leads him to the garden of the gods, then to the encounter with the divine Siduri who tries to dissuade him from the enterprise, reminding him that humans are fated for death and the pleasures of life, yet she points the way to him: the Ocean with the mortal waters. Helped by a ferryman, Gilgamesh sails on these waters, and upon reaching the immortal man, he hears from him the earliest account of the Flood and a secret of the gods: a water flower that ensures eternal youth. Gilgamesh picks that flower, but on the return journey to Uruk, while bathing at a spring, a serpent steals the flower from him. Returned to Uruk, Gilgamesh engraves his story on stone, and as with every mortal, his life comes to an end.*

In 1992, five years after his first theatrical work "Genesi," Franco Battiato composed "Gilgamesh," an opera in two acts with an Oriental flavor.

Gilgamesh is a mythical Sumerian king, the protagonist of the first epic poem in the history of humanity, written on clay tablets about 3000 years ago. The protagonists on stage are mezzo-soprano Akemi Sakamoto and baritone Giorgio Cebrian.

I bought this CD by chance, convinced it was a Battiato album I didn't know, and being totally unfamiliar with opera, I approached the listening with quite a few prejudices. I must admit that the listening is smooth and pleasant throughout its duration. In particular, I enjoyed the second act where the music more closely resembles the sounds of the 1970s Battiato and leaves less space for the singing of the two opera singers.

Given my total incompetence in the genre, I am far from expressing an opinion; the only thing I feel like telling you is to try listening to it and then post your comments to create a pleasant discussion that goes beyond the usual sterile comments.

*From the inner booklet of the CD