Rappaccini's Daughter (opera)

La hija de Rappaccini (Rappaccini's Daughter) is an opera in two acts composed by Daniel Catán to a libretto by Juan Tovar based on the play by Octavio Paz and the short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne. It premiered at the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City in 1991 and had its US premiere in 1994 at San Diego Opera.

Synopsis

The story is set in Padua in a distant, but unspecified past. From his quarters, Giovanni, a young student of medicine, observes Beatriz, the beautiful daughter of Dr. Rappaccini, a scientist working in isolation. Beatriz is confined to the lush and locked gardens in which experiments involving poisonous plants take place. Having fallen in love, Giovanni ignores the warning of his mentor, Professor Baglioni, that Rappaccini is up to no good and he and his work should be shunned. Eventually, Giovanni sneaks into the forbidden garden to meet his lover, and begins to suffer the consequences of the encounter with the plants - and with Beatriz, who dwells among them and has been rendered both immune to their effects and poisonous to others. In the end, Beatriz dies after being given an antidote by Giovanni.

Sources

• Bernheimer, Martin (March 7, 1994). "'La Hija de Rappaccini': Venturing a Mexican Fantasy". Los Angeles Times.
• Smith, Patrick J. (March 1998). Recording review: Catan: La Hija de Rappaccini. Opera News (subscription required)
• Tommasini, Anthony (April 25, 1997). "A Mad Botanist's Idea of Fathering". New York Times