Jump to content

Le maschere: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Content deleted Content added
m fi
No edit summary
Line 4: Line 4:
The work was Mascagni's homage to [[Rossini]] and to the Italian [[opera buffa]] and [[commedia dell'arte]] traditions. It was premiered simultaneously in six Italian opera houses on January 17, 1901: [[La Scala]] (with [[Enrico Caruso|Caruso]] as Florindo, [[Emma Carelli|Carelli]] as Rosaura, and [[Toscanini]] conducting); the [[Teatro Carlo Felice]] in [[Genoa]]; the [[Teatro Regio di Torino|Teatro Regio]] in [[Turin]]; the [[Teatro Costanzi]] in [[Rome]]; [[La Fenice]] in [[Venice]]; and the [[Teatro Filarmonico (Verona)|Teatro Filarmonico]] in [[Verona]]. Two days later, it premiered at the [[Teatro San Carlo]] in [[Naples]].
The work was Mascagni's homage to [[Rossini]] and to the Italian [[opera buffa]] and [[commedia dell'arte]] traditions. It was premiered simultaneously in six Italian opera houses on January 17, 1901: [[La Scala]] (with [[Enrico Caruso|Caruso]] as Florindo, [[Emma Carelli|Carelli]] as Rosaura, and [[Toscanini]] conducting); the [[Teatro Carlo Felice]] in [[Genoa]]; the [[Teatro Regio di Torino|Teatro Regio]] in [[Turin]]; the [[Teatro Costanzi]] in [[Rome]]; [[La Fenice]] in [[Venice]]; and the [[Teatro Filarmonico (Verona)|Teatro Filarmonico]] in [[Verona]]. Two days later, it premiered at the [[Teatro San Carlo]] in [[Naples]].


Apart from the performance in Rome, conducted by Mascagni himself, ''Le maschere'' received a dismal reception, with the performance in Genoa suspended half-way through because of the audience's vociferous expressions of displeasure. The opera was sporadically performed in Italy over the next four years and then sank into obscurity.
Apart from the performance in Rome, conducted by Mascagni himself, ''Le maschere'' received a dismal reception, with the performance in Genoa suspended half-way through because of the audience's vociferous expressions of displeasure. The opera was sporadically performed in Italy over the next four years and then sank into obscurity. When Mascagni revised and represented the opera in 1931 it met with little lasting success.


==Roles==
==Roles==

Revision as of 23:54, 4 April 2010

Template:Mascagni operas Le maschere (The Masks) is an opera in a Prologue and three acts by Pietro Mascagni to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica.

The work was Mascagni's homage to Rossini and to the Italian opera buffa and commedia dell'arte traditions. It was premiered simultaneously in six Italian opera houses on January 17, 1901: La Scala (with Caruso as Florindo, Carelli as Rosaura, and Toscanini conducting); the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa; the Teatro Regio in Turin; the Teatro Costanzi in Rome; La Fenice in Venice; and the Teatro Filarmonico in Verona. Two days later, it premiered at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples.

Apart from the performance in Rome, conducted by Mascagni himself, Le maschere received a dismal reception, with the performance in Genoa suspended half-way through because of the audience's vociferous expressions of displeasure. The opera was sporadically performed in Italy over the next four years and then sank into obscurity. When Mascagni revised and represented the opera in 1931 it met with little lasting success.

Roles

Souvenir postcard for the premiere of Le maschere, signed by the composer
Cast Voice type Premiere Cast at La Fenice
17 January 1901[1]
(Conductor: - )
Rosaura soprano Maria Farneti
Arlecchino Battocchio tenor E. Giordani
Colombina soprano M.a Fiori
Il Capitan Spaventa baritone Nestore della Torre
Brighella tenor Augusto Balboni
Dottor Graziano baritone Felice Foglia
Pantalone De' Bisognosi bass Ruggero Galli
Florindo tenor Elvino Ventura
Tartaglia baritone Giovanni Bellucci
Giocadio spoken Carlo Duse

Brief synopsis

In the Prologue, a travelling commedia dell'arte troupe and their impressario present the characters they are about to play. The remaining three acts are the play itself wherein after many vicissitudes, Florindo and Rosaura, aided by Columbina and Arlecchino, manage to prevent the marriage which Rosaura's father, Pantalone, had planned for her.

Selected recordings

Mascagni: Le Maschere (Maria Josè Gallego, Vincenzo La Scola, Amelia Felle, Giuseppe Sabbatini, et al.; Orchestra and Chorus of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna). Conductor: Gianluigi Gelmetti. Ricordi / Fonit Cetra RFCD 2004

Notes and references