L'arlesiana
Encyclopedia
L'arlesiana is an opera
in three acts by Francesco Cilea
to an Italian
libretto
by Leopoldo Marenco
. It was originally written in four acts, and was first performed on 27 November 1897 at the Teatro Lirico di Milano in Milan
. It was revised as a three-act opera in 1898, and a prelude was added in 1937.
The opera is based on the play L'Arlésienne (1872) by Alphonse Daudet
, which was itself inspired by a short story from his collection Letters From My Windmill (Lettres de mon moulin) and is best known for the incidental music
composed by Georges Bizet
.
Three famous aria
s from this opera are the Lamento di Federico: È la solita storia del pastore
written for a tenor
, Come due tizzi accesi for a baritone
, and for a mezzo-soprano
, Esser madre è un inferno.
Rosa Mamai is worried about her older son Federico, who is madly in love with a woman from Arles. She asks her brother, Marco to gather some information about this unknown woman.
Vivetta arrives at the farmhouse. She has always loved Federico but she feels hurt knowing of Federico’s obsession for l'Arlesiana. Rosa and Vivetta were talking to each other when she sees l'Innocente up on the edge of the window. Baldassarre pulls the child back, and Rosa shudders, If anyone should ever fall from that height!. Federico enters. Shortly after that, Marco returns with a news from Arles. Marco says Rosa has no choice but to consent to the marriage plans.
While Baldassarre is at the farmyard, he was approached Metifio, who asks to speak to Rosa. Metifio tells Rosa that he is l'Arlesiana’s lover and the girl's parents are aware of their relationship but decided reject him when the prospect of marriage with Federico arose. He shows Rosa and Baldassarre two letters to prove his statements. When Metfio left, Federico enters. His mother showed him the letters and asks him read them. Federico feels devastated over the treachery of the woman he loves.
I'Innocente discovers Federico has been hiding in the sheepfold. Baldassarre urges Federico to forget his sorrow by helping him with work (Vieni con me sui monti). After Baldassarre has gone, Federico pulls out the letters and contemplates them bitterly. L'Innocente falls asleep while repeating a line from the old shepherd's story about the goat, and that leads into Federico's lament (È la solita storia del pastore
).
Vivetta enter and awkwardly tried to follow Rosa's advice to seduce Federico. She tells him that she loves him but Federico could not accept it and rejects her. Vivetta sobs and draw Rosa to the scene. Rosa offers her consent to his marriage with l'Arlesiana. Federico is moved by his mother's offer but he refuses, swearing that he will only give his name to a woman worthy of it. He calls for Vivetta and asks her to help him to forget about the woman he loves.
Baldassarre advises Metifio not to ruin his life for the unworthy woman. Federico is in rage and attempts to assault Metifio with a sledgehammer but they are separated by Baldassarre and Rosa. With things has calm, Rosa remains alone and laments the trials of motherhood (Esser madre è un inferno). L'Innocente awakes and tells his mother that she can go along to bed. He says he will keep watch over his brother. Rosa kisses him and caresses him as she never did before, but as she sends him back to bed.
Federico is half-delirious, repeating the last lines of the shepherd's story about the goat fighting with the wolf all night and falling dead at the break of dawn. He pictures how l’Arlesiana is being carried away on Metifio's horse. Rosa runs to him as Federico heads for the hayloft. He believes he hears l'Arlesiana cries. As his mother tries to stop him, he climbs up to the hayloft and jumps out of the window.
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 Francesco Cilea
Francesco Cilea
Francesco Cilea was an Italian composer. Today he is particularly known for his operas L'arlesiana and Adriana Lecouvreur.-Biography:...
to an Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
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...
by Leopoldo Marenco
Leopoldo Marenco
Leopoldo Marenco was an Italian dramatic poet, now known as a librettist.-Life:His father was Carlo Marenco. Like his father he held a government post under the Treasury Department, one which took him to Sardinia....
. It was originally written in four acts, and was first performed on 27 November 1897 at the Teatro Lirico di Milano 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 ,...
. It was revised as a three-act opera in 1898, and a prelude was added in 1937.
The opera is based on the play L'Arlésienne (1872) by Alphonse Daudet
Alphonse Daudet
Alphonse Daudet was a French novelist. He was the father of Léon Daudet and Lucien Daudet.- Early life :Alphonse Daudet was born in Nîmes, France. His family, on both sides, belonged to the bourgeoisie. The father, Vincent Daudet, was a silk manufacturer — a man dogged through life by misfortune...
, which was itself inspired by a short story from his collection Letters From My Windmill (Lettres de mon moulin) and is best known for the incidental music
Incidental music
Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, film or some other form not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead as the "film score" or "soundtrack"....
composed by Georges Bizet
Georges Bizet
Georges Bizet formally Alexandre César Léopold Bizet, was a French composer, mainly of operas. In a career cut short by his early death, he achieved few successes before his final work, Carmen, became one of the most popular and frequently performed works in the entire opera repertory.During a...
.
Three famous aria
Aria
An aria in music was originally any expressive melody, usually, but not always, performed by a singer. The term is now used almost exclusively to describe a self-contained piece for one voice usually with orchestral accompaniment...
s from this opera are the Lamento di Federico: È la solita storia del pastore
È la solita storia del pastore
The "Lamento di Federico", "È la solita storia del pastore", is a famous aria taken from act II of the opera L'arlesiana by Francesco Cilea. It is sung by Federico, who is deeply in love with a girl from Arles, the Arlesiana of the title, but his family has arranged his marriage with Vivetta...
written for a 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...
, Come due tizzi accesi for a 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...
, and for a 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...
, Esser madre è un inferno.
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, November 27, 1897 (Conductor: Giovanni Zuccani) |
|---|---|---|
| Federico, madly in love with a woman from Arles, (l'arlesiana) | 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... |
Enrico Caruso |
| Vivette, in love with Federico | 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... |
Matilde Ricci-De Paz |
| Rosa Mammai, Federico's mother | 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... |
Minnie Tracey |
| L'innocente, Federico's young brother | mezzo-soprano | Clotilde Orlando |
| Marco, Federico's uncle | bass | Giuseppe Frigiotti |
| Baldassare, an old shepherd | 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... |
Lelio Casini |
| Metifio, a drover Droving Droving is the practice of moving livestock over large distances by walking them "on the hoof".Droving stock to market, usually on foot and often with the aid of dogs, has a very long history in the old world... |
baritone | Mario Aristidi |
Act 1
An old shepherd Baldassarre, tells a story to l'Innocente, a younger son of Rosa Mamai about a little goat fighting with a hungry wolf all night long (Come due tizzi accesi). At the break of dawn the goat collapses and dies. L'Innocente is slightly retarded and rumour has it that the child brings good fortune to the household. l'Innocente is neglected by everyone in the family except Baldassarre.Rosa Mamai is worried about her older son Federico, who is madly in love with a woman from Arles. She asks her brother, Marco to gather some information about this unknown woman.
Vivetta arrives at the farmhouse. She has always loved Federico but she feels hurt knowing of Federico’s obsession for l'Arlesiana. Rosa and Vivetta were talking to each other when she sees l'Innocente up on the edge of the window. Baldassarre pulls the child back, and Rosa shudders, If anyone should ever fall from that height!. Federico enters. Shortly after that, Marco returns with a news from Arles. Marco says Rosa has no choice but to consent to the marriage plans.
While Baldassarre is at the farmyard, he was approached Metifio, who asks to speak to Rosa. Metifio tells Rosa that he is l'Arlesiana’s lover and the girl's parents are aware of their relationship but decided reject him when the prospect of marriage with Federico arose. He shows Rosa and Baldassarre two letters to prove his statements. When Metfio left, Federico enters. His mother showed him the letters and asks him read them. Federico feels devastated over the treachery of the woman he loves.
Act 2
Rosa and Vivetta search for Federico around the countryside. He has disappeared from home since the previous day. Rosa convinces Vivetta to behave more seductively with Federico to distracting him from thoughts of l'Arlesiana. Baldassarre and l'Innocente enter.I'Innocente discovers Federico has been hiding in the sheepfold. Baldassarre urges Federico to forget his sorrow by helping him with work (Vieni con me sui monti). After Baldassarre has gone, Federico pulls out the letters and contemplates them bitterly. L'Innocente falls asleep while repeating a line from the old shepherd's story about the goat, and that leads into Federico's lament (È la solita storia del pastore
È la solita storia del pastore
The "Lamento di Federico", "È la solita storia del pastore", is a famous aria taken from act II of the opera L'arlesiana by Francesco Cilea. It is sung by Federico, who is deeply in love with a girl from Arles, the Arlesiana of the title, but his family has arranged his marriage with Vivetta...
).
Vivetta enter and awkwardly tried to follow Rosa's advice to seduce Federico. She tells him that she loves him but Federico could not accept it and rejects her. Vivetta sobs and draw Rosa to the scene. Rosa offers her consent to his marriage with l'Arlesiana. Federico is moved by his mother's offer but he refuses, swearing that he will only give his name to a woman worthy of it. He calls for Vivetta and asks her to help him to forget about the woman he loves.
Act 3
Act 3 begins with the preparations for Federico and Vivetta's wedding. Federico affirms that he is now only thinks of Vivetta. Metifio enters and runs into Baldassarre. He asks him to return back his letters but Baldassarre says he had delivered the letters to Metifio's father. Metifio hadn't received them because he was at Arles. Metifio reveals his plans to kidnap l'Arlesiana. Federico overheard the conversation and is overcome with the old jealousy. Vivetta pleads with him to move on and go with her.Baldassarre advises Metifio not to ruin his life for the unworthy woman. Federico is in rage and attempts to assault Metifio with a sledgehammer but they are separated by Baldassarre and Rosa. With things has calm, Rosa remains alone and laments the trials of motherhood (Esser madre è un inferno). L'Innocente awakes and tells his mother that she can go along to bed. He says he will keep watch over his brother. Rosa kisses him and caresses him as she never did before, but as she sends him back to bed.
Federico is half-delirious, repeating the last lines of the shepherd's story about the goat fighting with the wolf all night and falling dead at the break of dawn. He pictures how l’Arlesiana is being carried away on Metifio's horse. Rosa runs to him as Federico heads for the hayloft. He believes he hears l'Arlesiana cries. As his mother tries to stop him, he climbs up to the hayloft and jumps out of the window.
Recordings
- L'arlesiana - Ferruccio TagliaviniFerruccio TagliaviniFerruccio Tagliavini was an Italian operatic tenor mainly active in the 1940s and 1950s...
, Pia TassinariPia TassinariPia Tassinari was an Italian soprano and later mezzo-soprano, particularly associated with the Italian and French repertories....
, Paolo SilveriPaolo SilveriPaolo Silveri was an Italian baritone, particularly associated with the Italian repertory, one of the finest Verdi baritones of his time....
, Gianna GalliGianna GalliGianna Galli was an Italian operatic soprano who had an active international career from the 1950s through the 1970s. She specialized in the lyric soprano repertoire and was particularly known for her portrayals of Puccini heroines.-Singing career:Born in Modena, Galli began studying singing in...
- Coro e Orchestra della RAI Torino, Arturo BasileArturo BasileArturo Basile was an Italian conductor. He was known mostly for his work in the Italian operatic repertoire, especially Puccini and Verdi....
- CetraCetraCetra Records was an Italian company which produced opera recordings from the 1930s onwards. Its roster of artists included Maria Callas, Renata Tebaldi, Lina Pagliughi, Ebe Stignani, Carlo Bergonzi, Galliano Masini, Giovanni Malipiero, Ferruccio Tagliavini, Carlo Tagliabue, Rolando Panerai,...
(1955)