L'amore dei tre re
Encyclopedia
L'amore dei tre re is an opera
in three acts by Italo Montemezzi
. Its Italian-language libretto
was written by playwright Sem Benelli
who based it on his own play of the same title.
in Milan
on April 10, 1913. It received mixed reviews, but quickly became an international success, especially in the United States
, where it became a staple of the repertory for several decades. The opera is now performed only rarely. It appeared for a while to be part of the standard repertory at many major houses, but after the Second War World, the number of performances decreased dramatically, and it wasn't performed in the US for nearly 30 years.
The Italian basso Ezio Pinza
was well-known for singing the role of Archibaldo at the Metropolitan Opera
and recorded it with the composer.
The story unfolds as we learn that Archibaldo's son Manfredo has been married to the native Alturan princess Fiora. But Fiora is having an affair with another Alturan prince, Avito. Although Archibaldo suspects Fiora of infidelity, he falls short of proof, since he is blind, and his own Alturan servants do not cooperate with him in uncovering the affair.
In the first two acts there are various scenarios played out in mounting intensity. There are two love duets between Avito and Fiora, and a scene in which Manfredo pours out his love for Fiora and begs her to show him affection. All of these are interspersed with scenes in which Archibaldo questions Fiora. Finally, enraged, Archibaldo strangles her at the end of the second act.
In the final act, Fiora's body is laid in a crypt, and the people of Altura mourn for her. Archibaldo has secretly poisoned Fiora's lips, so that her lover will die. Avito kisses Fiora's lips. As he dies from the poison, Avito reveals to Manfredo that he was Fiora's lover, and that Archibaldo has laid the poison. Stricken with grief at the loss of the woman he loved, Manfredo also kisses Fiora's lips. Finally, Archibaldo enters to see if his trap has caught Fiora's lover, and despairs as he hears the voice of his dying son.
, the orchestra frequently reveals the subtext of the interactions between the characters. It is clear that Archibaldo is not only suspicious of Fiora, but also desires her himself. The orchestration, in surges of rich density, also marks how characters move into states of very deep passion. When the characters are moved into these states, the music has a very distinct, transcendent and dreamlike quality.
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
in three acts by Italo Montemezzi
Italo Montemezzi
Italo Montemezzi was an Italian composer. He is best known for his opera L'amore dei tre re , once part of the standard repertoire....
. Its Italian-language 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 playwright Sem Benelli
Sem Benelli
Sem Benelli was an Italian playwright and librettist who provided the texts for several noted Italian operas, including Italo Montemezzi's L'amore dei tre re and L'incantesimo, and Umberto Giordano's La cena delle beffe. He was a native of Prato....
who based it on his own play of the same title.
Performance history
The opera premiered at La ScalaLa 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...
in 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 April 10, 1913. It received mixed reviews, but quickly became an international success, especially in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, where it became a staple of the repertory for several decades. The opera is now performed only rarely. It appeared for a while to be part of the standard repertory at many major houses, but after the Second War World, the number of performances decreased dramatically, and it wasn't performed in the US for nearly 30 years.
The Italian basso Ezio Pinza
Ezio Pinza
Ezio Pinza was an Italian basso opera singer with a rich, smooth and sonorous voice. He spent 22 seasons at New York's Metropolitan Opera, appearing in more than 750 performances of 50 operas...
was well-known for singing the role of Archibaldo at the Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
and recorded it with the composer.
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, April 10, 1913 (Conductor: Tullio Serafin Tullio Serafin -Biography:Tullio Serafin was a leading Italian opera conductor with a long career and a very broad repertoire who revived many 19th century bel canto operas by Bellini, Rossini and Donizetti to become staples of 20th century repertoire... ) |
|---|---|---|
| Archibaldo, King of Altura | bass | Nazzareno De Angelis Nazzareno De Angelis Nazzareno De Angelis was an Italian operatic bass, particularly associated with Verdi, Rossini and Wagner roles.-Career:... |
| Manfredo, his son | 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... |
Carlo Galeffi Carlo Galeffi Carlo Galeffi was a leading Italian baritone, particularly associated with the operatic works of Giuseppe Verdi and the various verismo composers.- Life and career :... |
| Fiora, Manfredo's wife | 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... |
Luisa Villani |
| Avito, former Prince of Altura | 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... |
Edoardo Ferrari-Fontana |
| Flaminio, a castle guard | tenor | Giordano Paltrinieri |
| A Handmaiden | soprano | Fernanda Guelpi |
| A Young Woman | soprano | Enrica Merli |
| A Youth | tenor | Cesare Spadoni |
| An Old Woman | mezzo-soprano Mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above... |
Rosa Garavaglia |
| An Offstage Voice | boy soprano Boy soprano A boy soprano is a young male singer with an unchanged voice in the soprano range. Although a treble, or choirboy, may also be considered to be a boy soprano, the more colloquial term boy soprano is generally only used for boys who sing, perform, or record as soloists, and who may not necessarily... |
|
| People of Altura | ||
Synopsis
The story is set in Italy during the Dark Ages. Archibaldo, the blind king, conquered the kingdom of Altura forty years before the opera begins. After forty years, the Alturan people openly object to the reign of the Germanic Archibaldo. Archibaldo recounts his memories of the thrill of conquest, and his reminiscence equates the invasion of Italy to the winning of a beautiful woman.The story unfolds as we learn that Archibaldo's son Manfredo has been married to the native Alturan princess Fiora. But Fiora is having an affair with another Alturan prince, Avito. Although Archibaldo suspects Fiora of infidelity, he falls short of proof, since he is blind, and his own Alturan servants do not cooperate with him in uncovering the affair.
In the first two acts there are various scenarios played out in mounting intensity. There are two love duets between Avito and Fiora, and a scene in which Manfredo pours out his love for Fiora and begs her to show him affection. All of these are interspersed with scenes in which Archibaldo questions Fiora. Finally, enraged, Archibaldo strangles her at the end of the second act.
In the final act, Fiora's body is laid in a crypt, and the people of Altura mourn for her. Archibaldo has secretly poisoned Fiora's lips, so that her lover will die. Avito kisses Fiora's lips. As he dies from the poison, Avito reveals to Manfredo that he was Fiora's lover, and that Archibaldo has laid the poison. Stricken with grief at the loss of the woman he loved, Manfredo also kisses Fiora's lips. Finally, Archibaldo enters to see if his trap has caught Fiora's lover, and despairs as he hears the voice of his dying son.
Music
The music of the opera is lush and complex. Similar to works such as Debussy's Pelleas et MelisandePelléas et Mélisande (opera)
Pelléas et Mélisande is an opera in five acts with music by Claude Debussy. The French libretto was adapted from Maurice Maeterlinck's Symbolist play Pelléas et Mélisande...
, the orchestra frequently reveals the subtext of the interactions between the characters. It is clear that Archibaldo is not only suspicious of Fiora, but also desires her himself. The orchestration, in surges of rich density, also marks how characters move into states of very deep passion. When the characters are moved into these states, the music has a very distinct, transcendent and dreamlike quality.
Sources
- Aldrich, Richard (February 14, 1915). "The Reappearance of Montemezzi's Opera, "L'Amore dei Tre Re" – Some Merits of Its Originality". New York Times. Accessed 19 April 2011.
- Benelli, Sem and Elkin, R. H (1913). L'amore dei tre re, tragic poem in 3 acts. G. Ricordi & Co. (Libretto in the original Italian with an English translation and synopsis by R. H. Elkin). Accessed 19 April 2011.
- Casaglia, Gherardo (2005). "10 Aprile 1913". Almanacco Amadeus. Accessed 19 April 2011 .
- Fifield, Christopher (December 2001). Recording review: L'amore Dei Tre Re (1950), Warner Fonit 8573 874787. MusicWeb International. Accessed 19 April 2011.
- Grout, Donald Jay and Williams, Hermine Weigel (2003). A Short History of Opera, 4th edition. Columbia University Press. ISBN 0231119585
- Jell, George Clarence (1933). Master Builders of Opera. Ayer Publishing (reprint). ISBN 0836919645
- Mallach, Alan (2007). The Autumn of Italian Opera: From Verismo to Modernism, 1890-1915. Northeastern University Press. ISBN 1555536832
- Metropolitan OperaMetropolitan OperaThe Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
Archives. Performance record: Pinza, Ezio (Bass). Accessed 19 April 2011. - Metropolitan Opera Archives. L'amore dei tre re, US premiere, January 2, 1914. Accessed 19 April 2011.
- New York Times (November 9, 1916). "'Love of Three Kings' Sung, Riccardo Martin and Luisa Villani in Montemezzi's Opera". Accessed 19 April 2011.
- Shoemaker, Paul (May 2003). Recording review: L'amore Dei Tre Re (1941), Guild GHCD 2234-5. MusicWeb International. Accessed 19 April 2011.
External links
- Review of the 2006 revival by the Opera Orchestra of New York on operatoday.com