Le maschere
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| Operas by Pietro Mascagni |
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Cavalleria rusticana (1890) |
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, 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.
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[edit] Roles
- Rosaura: soprano
- Colombina: soprano
- Arlecchino Battocchio: tenor
- Il Capitan Spaventa: baritone
- Brighella: tenor
- Dottor Graziano: baritone
- Pantalone De' Bisognosi: bass
- Florindo: tenor
- Tartaglia: baritone
- Giocadio: spoken
[edit] 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.
[edit] Recording
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
[edit] Sources
- Roger Flury, Pietro Mascagni: A Bio-Bibliography, Greenwood Press, 2001. (ISBN 0313296626)
- Alan Mallach, Pietro Mascagni and His Operas, UPNE, 2002. (ISBN 1555535240)
[edit] External link
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