Il Guarany is an opera ballo composed by Antônio Carlos Gomes

Antônio Carlos Gomes

Antônio Carlos Gomes was the first New World composer whose work was accepted by Europe.-Life:He was born in Campinas, Brazil, son of Maestro Manuel José Gomes and Fabiana Maria Jaguari Cardoso....

, based on the novel O Guarani

O Guaraní

O Guaraní is a 1926 Brazilian drama film directed by Vittorio Capellaro based on a novel by José de Alencar.The film premiered in Rio de Janeiro on October 18, 1926.-Cast:*Mazza Amanda Mauceri as Ceci*Gilberto Bianchini*Vittorio Capellaro...

, written by José de Alencar

José de Alencar

José Martiniano de Alencar was a Brazilian lawyer, politician, orator, novelist and dramatist. He is one of the most famous writers of the first generation of Brazilian Romanticism, writing historical, regionalist and Indianist romances — being the most famous The Guarani...

. The libretto

Libretto

A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...

 was written by Antonio Scalvini and Carlo D'Ormeville.

Performance history

The world premiere was at La Scala

La Scala

La Scala , is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the New Royal-Ducal Theatre at La Scala...

, Milan

Milan

Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...

 on March 19, 1870. The opera received additional European productions. The first Brazilian performance was in Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...

 on 2 December 1870, at the Theatro Lyrico Fluminense

Theatro Lyrico Fluminense

The Theatro Lyrico Fluminense was one of the main theatres in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, during the mid-19th century and was for many years the primary theatre for opera performances in that city....

. The opera is notable as the first Brazilian opera to gain acclaim outside of Brazil.

The duet 'Sento una forza indomita' for tenor and soprano had a vogue: it was in the recorded repertoire of Francesco Marconi

Francesco Marconi

Francesco Marconi was an operatic tenor from Rome who enjoyed an important international career. In 1924, a reputable biographical dictionary of musicians called him 'one of the most renowned and esteemed singers of the last 50 years'...

 with Bice Mililotti, 1908, and of Enrico Caruso with Emmy Destinn

Emmy Destinn

Emmy Destinn was a Czech operatic soprano with a strong and soaring lyric-dramatic voice. She had a career both in Europe and at the New York Metropolitan Opera.- Biography :...

, 1914.

Maria Alice Volpe has analysed the historical subtext of the Indianismo movement behind the opera.

Roles

Role	Voice type	Premiere Cast, March 19, 1870 (Conductor: Eugenio Terziani )
Dom Dom (title) Dom is a title of respect prefixed to the given name. It derives from Latin Dominus.It is used in English for certain Benedictine and Carthusian monks, and for members of certain communities of Canons Regular. Examples include Benedictine monks of the English Benedictine Congregation...  Antonio de Mariz, a Portuguese nobleman	bass	Teodoro Coloni
Cecilia, his daughter	soprano Soprano A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...	Marie Constance Sass
Peri, son of the Guarani tribal chief	tenor Tenor The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...	Giuseppe Villani
Gonzales, a Spanish adventurer	baritone Baritone Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...	Enrico Storti
Cacico, chief of the Aymoré Indians	bass	Victor Maurel Victor Maurel Victor Maurel was a French operatic baritone who enjoyed an international reputation as a great singing-actor.-Biography:...
Alonso	bass	Severino Mazza
Don Alvaro	tenor	Giuseppe Masato
Ruy-Bento	tenor	Annibale Micheloni
Pedro	bass	Severino Mazza

Sources

• Casaglia, Gherardo, "19 March 1870", Almanacco Amadeus, 2005 (in Italian). Accessed 30 October 2010.
• Guarany, Il by Gerard Béhague
  Gerard Béhague
  Gerard Henri Béhague was an eminent Franco-American ethnomusicologist and professor of Latin American music. His specialty was the music of Brazil and the Andean countries and the influence of West Africa on the music of the Caribbean and South America, especially Candomblé music...
  
  , in 'The New Grove Dictionary of Opera
  New Grove Dictionary of Opera
  The New Grove Dictionary of Opera is an encyclopedia of opera, considered to be one of the best general reference sources on the subject. It is the largest work on opera in English, and in its printed form, amounts to 5,448 pages in four volumes....
  
  ', ed. Stanley Sadie (London, 1992) ISBN 0-333-73432-7