A GALA OPERATIC EVENING

MlRELLA FRENI, soprano

and Peter Dvorsky, tenor

Members of the J3 Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by John Fiore

Presented by the BOSTON OPERA ASSOCIATION

Sunday, February 11, 1990, at 8 p.m. Symphony Hall, Boston

m ® The Boston Opera Association

Mrs. Russell J. Rowell, President

Vice-Presidents V.J Hon. Charles Francis Mahoney Anthony D. Ostrom James D. St. Clair

David C. Crockett Hon. Lawrence T. Perera Chairman, Board of Overseers Chairman, Board of Directors

Robert L. Culver Robert L. Klivans Treasurer Secretary

Bruce R. Bengston Michael J. Puzo Assistant Treasurer Assistant Secretary

Board of Directors

Mrs. Frank G. Allen Dr. Melvin D. Field Dr. Daniel H. Perlman Mr. John T. Bennett, Jr. Mr. Eugene M. Freedman Mr. William S. Reardon Mrs. John M. Bleakie Mr. Martin Gantshar Mr. John Ryan Mrs. Mary Louise Cabot Mr. Gerard A. Glass Mrs. George Lee Sargent Mr. Robert Cahners Mr. Milton L. Glass Mrs. Jacquelyn Scheinbart

Mr. William I. Cowin Miss Sally Hurlbut Mr. Robert H. Scott Dean Phyllis Curtin Mrs. Myra Kraft Dr. Lawrence T. Shields Miss Catharine-Mary Donovan Mrs. J. Peter Lyons Mr. Johannes Spanjaard Mr. George Ellison Mr. Donald M. Manzelli Mr. Charles A. Steward Mrs. Harris Fahnestock Mrs. Nancy Rice Morss Mrs. Lucius Thayer

Board of Overseers

Mr. Frank G. Allen, Jr. Mrs. Henry S. Hall, Jr. Mrs. Barbara C. Riley Mr. Robert B.M. Barton Mrs. Henry M. Halvorson Miss Ann Sargent Mrs. Ralph Bradley Mr. Robert Hilliard Mrs. Frederic W. Schwartz Mr. Max Canter Mrs. Robert Douglas Hunter Mrs. Theodore C. Sturtevant Mr. Ron Delia Chiesa Mrs. Frank J. Kenney Mr. John Larkin Thompson Mrs. Polly F. Davidson Mr. Mark A. Langan Mrs. Byron G. Tosi Mr. Alfred L. Donovan Mr. Richard S. Milstein Mr. A. Raymond Tye Mrs. Melvin D. Field Mr. Denis Paiste Mr. John H. White Mr. Hirsh Freed Mr. Bertram B. Parker Ms. Doris Yaffe

The Boston Opera Association Continues the Tradition

The Boston Opera Association has enjoyed a reputation for fiscal stability and artistic excellence for more than 100 years, since the Metropolitan Opera presented its first per- formance (Faust) outside of New York — in Boston. The Met in Boston, under the auspices of the Boston Opera Association, continued until the 1986 season, when the Metropolitan Opera decided to forego its National Tour. Over the years, the B.O.A. Met season has brought the most distinguished artists of the operatic world to this city for the pleasure of Bostonians: Caruso, Flagstad, Pinza, Mil- anov, Sills, Price, Corelli, Nilsson, Caballe, Pavarotti, and conductors Mahler, Toscanini, Leinsdorf, Monteux, Bernstein, and many more. During the last four years, the Boston Opera Association has sponsored a variety of important educational and artistic programs and special concerts, including Dame Joan Sutherland in Concert, the Houston Grand Opera production of Porgy and Bess, and the New England premieres of award-winning films starring Placido Domingo: La traviata, Carmen, and Otello. In addition, the B.O.A. inaugurated a program entitled "An Evening With ..." These very popular dinner programs at the Ritz-Carlton have featured Ms. Beverly Sills and, most recently, Mrs. Kitty Carlisle Hart. In the fall of 1988, the Boston Opera Association began its Young Artists Award Pro- gram with a gala benefit sponsored by Hermes of Paris to help establish this important award. The first B.O.A. recipient, Mr. Haijing Fu, a baritone, won the Metropolitan Opera New England Regional Auditions and went on to win the finals at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Mr. Fu recently performed a leading role in Luisa Miller in Philadelphia with Luciano Pavarotti, and in November 1989 he appeared in Symphony Hall with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. On the second anniversary of the opening of Hermes' Boston store, another benefit evening was held to continue the support of this career award for young singers. Chrys Fisher, President, Hermes of Paris, Inc., presented a major gift to the Association as an expression of Hermes' continuing support of this career award for promising young singers. Some 300 guests attended the anniversary party in celebration of Hermes' presence in Boston. Another B.O.A. opportunity to help the careers of budding professionals was the Young Artists Recital. In the spring of 1989, B.O.A. presented two exciting artists from the Met- ropolitan Opera Young Artists Development Program, soprano Margaret Jane Wray and baritone Mordechai Kaston, both making their Boston debuts. Ms. Wray later won the Richard Tucker Prize and Mr. Kaston made his Metropolitan Opera debut. In addition to encouraging young professionals, the Boston Opera Association is commit- ted to developing the audiences of tomorrow. Educational outreach programs have been part of the Association's activities for some time. However, two years ago the B.O.A. established a highly- acclaimed program, "Opera-tunity" which this year will reach more than 2,500 students. The unique features of this cultural collaboration between the B.O.A. and schools include the following:

* Students in selected classes undergo seven weeks of opera instruction twice weekly for 45 minutes. *In-school programs combine on-site instruction, workshops, and in-school perform- ances conducted by professional artists from the New York City Opera, with the classroom teacher rather than an outside person as the primary instructor. *The instructional pattern follows a unit sequence. There are two on-site performances that prepare the students for their out-of- school performance of a fully- staged opera, Hansel and Gretel, with live orchestra, costumes, lighting, etc. * Study materials emphasize acquisition of basic skills and content related to the art of opera.

Participating schools include the following in Boston: Boston Latin, Technical High School, Quincy, Ohrenburger, Curley, Greenwood, Winship, Eliot, Agassiz, Hamilton, O'Donnell, Blackstone, Hernandez, Wilson, and Mather; and suburban schools including J.F.K. Middle School and Wilson Middle School in Natick, Waltham High School, and the Chestnut Hill School.

This evening's Opera Gala at Symphony Hall, which is not on any BSO series, is made possible solely by the underwriting of the Boston Opera Association and through the sup- port of Dynatech, Merrill Lynch, Tiffany's, Neiman Marcus, the Boston Park Plaza Hotel and Towers, the Pioneer Group, Sherin and Lodgen, Guild, Monrad, and Oates, and loyal friends of the Association to whom we are deeply grateful. This unique collaboration of two of Boston's oldest cultural institutions will contribute much to the musical enrichment of both opera and symphony audiences throughout New England. It is hoped that this joint venture will result in traditional opera programs for the enjoyment of New England opera audiences and continue the tradition of artistic excellence. Benefactors, Sponsors and Patrons for the Boston Opera Association Opera Gala at Symphony

Mrs. Weston W. Adams Dr. Richard W. Dwight Mrs. John Alden Dynatech Corporation* Mrs. Frank G. Allen Mr. and Mrs. Walter Elcock Frank G. Allen, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. George Ellison Mrs. and Mrs. Rae D. Anderson Mrs. Harris Fahnestock Mr. and Mrs. David B. Arnold, Jr. Tony Faunce Mr. and Mrs. Thomas S. Barrows Dr. and Mrs. Melvin D. Field* Robert B.M. Barton Martin Gantshar Christine Bassett Milton and Renee Glass Dr. and Mrs. Karl Benedict Guild, Monrad and Oates John T. Bennett, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Frederick W. Haffenreffer Dr. and Mrs. Leo L. Beranek* Mr. and Mrs. John Haffenreffer Sandy and Elizabeth Bjorkman William E. Haible Boston Park Plaza Hotel and Towers* Mrs. Henry S. Hall, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. John M. Bradley* Mr. and Mrs. R. Douglas Hall III Mrs. Mary Louise Cabot Mrs. Henry M. Halvorson Mr. and Mrs. Robert M. Cahners Hermes of Paris Mr. and Mrs. Stanford Calderwood Mr. and Mrs. Roger M. Hewlett Edward C. Carman Mr. and Mrs. A.S. Hochberg Mr. and Mrs. C. Thomas Clagett, Jr. Emily C. Hood Mr. and Mrs. James F. Clearyt Wayne W. Horvath* Andrew Cohen Mr. and Mrs. Charles A. Hubbard Mr. and Mrs. Henry Ernest Cooper III Mrs. Charmienne Hughes Mr. and Mrs. David C. Crockett Mr. and Mrs. Robert Douglas Hunter Mr. and Mrs. William R. Cuming Sally D. Hurlbut Mr. and Mrs. Lewis S. Dabney Mr. and Mrs. Raymond D. Ivaska Cherilyn E. Davidson E. Morton Jennings, Jr. Mrs. Polly F. Davidson Mr. and Mrs. Bela T. Kalman

Mr. and Mrs. Charles H. Davis II Mr. and Mrs. George I. Kaplan Mr. and Mrs. Michael H. Davis Susan B. Kaplan Dr. Simon P. Devine Arnold Katz Mr. and Mrs. Eugene B. Doggett Mr. and Mrs. George H. Kidder Phyllis Dohanian Mr. and Mrs. Gordon Kingsley Catharine-Mary Donovan Joan and Robert Klivans Peggy7 Dray Mr. and Mrs. Carl Koch

* Benefactor tSponsor Mr. and Mrs. Robert Kraft Roger and Nina Saunders* Joyce Kulhawik Mrs. Jacqueline Scheinbart Mr. and Mrs. R. Willis Leith, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Rocco Schelzi Mr. and Mrs. Gary D. Levey Robert H. Scott Mr. and Mrs. Frank G. Lezotte Mr. and Mrs. Robert G. Scully Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. Lockwood Mr. and Mrs. Francis P. Sears Mr. and Mrs. J. Peter Lyons Ramses and Jocelyn Sedky Michael Lytton Drs. John and Elizabeth Serrage Hon. Charles Francis Mahoney* Mr. and Mrs. George C. Seybolt Mr. and Mrs. Donald M. Manzelli Sherin and Lodgen Mrs. Barbara M. Marshall Rosalie A. Simeone Rika Mazaki Howard and Harriet Simpson Merrill Lynch* Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Franklin Smith Mr. and Mrs. August R. Meyer Dr. Mary Frances Hayward Smith* Les J. Miller Mr. and Mrs. Charles A. Steward* Mr. and Mrs. Wells Morss Ruth Elsa Stickney Neiman Marcus Elizabeth B. Storer

Old Town Trolleys Mr. and Mrs. Arthur I. Strang Miss Mary-Catherine O'Neill Hiddie Suhara Hon. and Mrs. Lawrence T. Perera Toshitsugu Takeuchi Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth E. Perry Mr. and Mrs. B. Robert Talanian Pioneer Financial Group Hidetoshi Tanaka Rev. and Mrs. Hollis W. Plimpton, Jr. Mrs. Irma L. ten Kate Mr. and Mrs. William J. Poorvu Tiffany and Company! Mattina Proctor Mr. and Mrs. Prentis B. Tomlinson, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Michael J. Puzo Mr. and Mrs. Carlos Tosi Peter and Suzanne Read Ami Trauber Mr. and Mrs. H. Wayman Rogers, Jr. A. Raymond Tye Mr. and Mrs. Jerome Rosenfeld Mrs. Evelyn R. Wagstaff-Callahan Dr. and Mrs. Russell J. Rowell* Mr. and Mrs. Robert W. Watson Mr. and Mrs. James D. St. Clair Peter J. Wender Saks Fifth Avenue Mr. and Mrs. John Hazen White Ann Sargent Mrs. Florence Whitney Mrs. George Lee Sargent Mr. and Mrs. Christopher J. Zook

Names listed as of January 30, 1990 f

MIRELLA FREW'S finest records are on Deutsche Grammophon Compact Discs and CD Video

Puccini

DU1TERP1X

Freni • Carrcras Sinopoli A

TCHAIKOVSKY EUGEN ONEGIN PUCCINI Freni • von Otter • Allen • Shicof m LEVINE

FRENI DOMINGO SINOPOLI S

And now available on CD-Video laser discs

Puccini La Boheme (Zefftrelli, Karajan) Verdi Otello (Karajan) Mozart Marriage of Figero (Ponnelle, Boehm)

1990 DG/PolyGram Records The Boston Opera Association presents A Gala Evening of Puccini and Tchaikovsky

Sunday, February 11, 1990, at 8 pm

MIRELLA FRENI, soprano PETER DVORSKY, tenor MEMBERS OF THE BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA JOHN FIORE conducting with GWENETH BEAN, contralto

TCHAIKOVSKY Eugene Onegin: Polonaise (Act III) Lensky's Aria (Act II) Mr. DVORSKY Letter Scene (Act I) Ms. FRENI and Ms. BEAN

INTERMISSION

PUCCINI Tosca:

"Recondita armonia" (Act I) Mr. DVORSKY Tosca-Cavaradossi Duet (Act I) Ms. FRENI and Mr. DVORSKY "Vissi d'arte" (Act II) Ms. FRENI

PUCCINI Intermezzo from Manon Lescaut

PUCCINI La boheme, Act I (Mimi-Rodolfo scene):

"Non sono in vena ..." "Che gelida manina ..." "Mi chiamano Mimi ..." "0 soave fanciulla" Ms. FRENI and Mr. DVORSKY

The Boston Opera Association is deeply grateful to the following Special Bene- factors whose generosity has helped to underwrite this evening's gala perform- ance: Dynatech Corporation, Merrill Lynch, Dr. Mary Frances Hayward Smith, the Hon. Charles Francis Mahoney, Mr. and Mrs. Roger Saunders, and the Bos- ton Park Plaza Hotel and Towers.

Opera Gala Committee Co-Chairs: Mrs. Russell J. Rowell, Mrs. Carl Koch —

Eugene Onegin

In May 1877, Tchaikovsky was visiting some friends, Lizaveta Andreevna Lavrovskaia, a mezzo on the faculty of the Moscow Conservatory, and her husband, when the subject of their conversation turned to opera librettos. At first Madame Lavrovskaia's suggestion of using Eugene Onegin as a libretto seemed "wild" to the composer, but on further consider-

ation he found it intriguing. After rereading Pushkin's great novel, written in verse stan- zas, and perhaps the single greatest poetic masterpiece of Russian literature — comparable in that sense to Faust for Germans or The Divine Comedy for Italians — Tchaikovsky became enraptured with the idea. During a sleepless night he turned the story into a form suitable for the operatic stage. The next day he persuaded Konstantin Shilovsky to turn this into verse for musical setting. Tchaikovsky realized that his opera would be quite dif- ferent from the run-of-the mill production of his day, with its emphasis on scenic grandeur.

But, as he said, "the lyrical quality, the humanity, and the simplicity of the story . . . will compensate more than enough for these failings." The result was one of the most unusual operas ever composed, an opera of conversation. To be sure, there is passion aplenty, but it

is the emotion of real people caught in situations that we all recognize, and Tchaikovsky responded with music of an astonishing conversational directness, devoid of empty rhetoric, that is rare in opera. The story takes place in the late eighteenth century in and around St. Petersburg. In the opening scene, the young Tatiana meets Eugene Onegin, the friend of her sister's fiance Lensky. Though their conversation has been purely formal, Tatiana finds herself experienc- ing the first pangs of love; in her room that night, she releases her pent-up feelings by writing a letter to Onegin, putting her reputation and even her life in his hands. This so- called "Letter Scene" was the first passage that Tchaikovsky set when working on the opera. By the time the act ends, Onegin frankly tells Tatiana that marriage is not for him: he can be like a brother to her, but nothing more. During the second act the bored Onegin, an unwilling guest at Tatiana' s birthday party, provokes an argument with his friend Lensky by stealing from Lensky's fiancee Olga a dance she had promised to her betrothed. Angry words lead to the challenge of a duel, to be fought at dawn. Lensky is first to arrive at the determined site; there he sings his poi- gnant aria, recalling his carefree youth and lamenting the loss of his beloved Olga, which will be the outcome whether he lives or dies. Indeed, when the duel takes place, Onegin kills his friend. The final act takes place some years later. Onegin has been traveling abroad during this time, while Tatiana has married Prince Gremin, a retired general some years her senior. Again the scene is a party— but this time one of the utmost elegance, as compared to the rustic birthday party that opened Act II. Tchaikovsky creates the brilliant mood at once with a festive Polonaise, which is only the first of a series of dances that provide a musical contrast to the ironic events of the act — Onegin's return; his surprise at seeing Tatiana, now transformed from a country bumpkin into an intelligent and fashionable St. Peters- burg lady; his declaration of love; and her poignant insistence that he is too late and must now follow the path of honor.

Eugene Onegin: Act II, Scene 2 LENSKY

Kuda, kuda, kuda vi' udalilis, Where, oh where have you gone, Vyesni moyei, zlatiye dni! precious days of my youth? Shto dyen gryadushchi mnye gotovit? What does today have in store for me\ Yevo moi vzor naprasno lovit, I search in vain, V glubokoi tmye taitsya on. the future is in darkness. Nyet nuzhdi': prav sudb'i zakon! There is no need: Fate will be just!

Padu li ya, stryeloi pronzyoni, Should I fall, pierced by the arrow,

II mimo prolyetit ona, or should the arrow miss,

Vsyo blago: bdyeniya i sna it matters little: there is a time Prikhodit chas opredyelyoni; for sleeping, a time for waking: Blagoslovyen i dyen zabot, the day of care is blessed,

Blagoslovyen i tmi prikhod! and blessed is the coming of night! Blyesnyet zautra luch dyenitsi The light of early morning will shine

I zaigrayet yarki dyen: and a bright day will dawn, A ya, bit' mozhet, ya grobnitsi while I, perhaps, will enter Soidu v tainstvyenuyu syen, the dark depths of the grave, I pamyat' yunovo poeta and the memory of a young poet Poglotit myedlennaya Lyeta, will be engulfed in slow-moving Lethe,

Zabudyet mir menya, no ti . . . the world will forget me, but you . . .

Ti, Olga . . . You, Olga . . .

Skazhi, pridyosh li, dyeva krasoti, Tell me you will come, my lovely one, Slyozu prolit' nad rannyei urnoi to shed a tear on my untimely urn, I dumat': on menya lyubil, and to think: "He loved me! On mnye yedinoi posvyatil To me alone he gave Rassvyet pyechalni zhizni burnoi! the sad beginning of his stormy life!" Akh, Olga, ya tebya lyubil Ah, Olga, I loved you, Tyebye yedinoi nosvyatil To you alone I gave

rassvyet pyechalni zhizni burnoi! the sad beginning of my stormy life! Akh, Olga, ya tebya lyubil Ah, Olga, I loved you, Syerdyechni drug, zhelani drug, my dearest, longed-for friend! Pridi! Pridi! Come! Come! Zhelani drug, pridi: ya tvoi My own, come: I am your

suprug! . . . betrothed! . . . Pridi! Ya tvoi suprug! Come! I am your betrothed! Pridi! Pridi! Come! Come! Ya zhdu tebya, zhelani drug, I wait for you, my longed-for friend, Pridi! Ya tvoi suprug! come! I am your betrothed! Kuda, kuda, kuda vi udalilis, Where, where have you gone, Zlatiye dni, precious days, Zlatiye dni moyei vyesni! precious days of my youth.

Eugene Onegin: Act I, Scene 2

(Tatiana's room. Late evening.) NURSE

Nu, zaboltalas ya! Pora uzh, Tanya! Well, I talk too much! Time now, Tanya!

Rano tebya ya razbuzhu k obyednye. I'll wake you early for Mass. Zasni skoryei! Sleep well! TATIANA

Nye spitsya Nyanya, zdyes tak I can't sleep, nurse, it's so dushno! close here!

Otkroi okno i syad' ko mnye. Open the window and come sit by me. NURSE

Shto, Tanya, shto s toboi? What is the matter, Tanya? TATIANA

Mnye skuchno, I am bored. Pogovorim o starinye! Let's talk of old times. NURSE

O chyom zhe Tanya? Ya, bivalo What shall we talk about? I used Khranila v pamyati nyemalo to be able to remember a few

Starinnikh bilyei i nyebilits fairy tales and old stories

— Please turn the page quietly.— Pro zlikh dukhov i pro dyevits about evil spirits and young maidens, A ninye vsyo tyemno mnye stalo: but lately this has become very vague.

Shto znala, to zabila. Da, What I knew I have forgotten. Yes,

Prishla khudaya cheryeda! I am not what I used to be! Zashiblo! I am quite poorly! TATIANA Raskazhi mnye, Nyanya, Tell me, nurse, Pro vashi stariye goda: about your own youth: Bila ti vlyublyena togda? Were you in love then? NURSE I polno, Tanya! V nashi lyeta Enough of that, Tanya! In our young days Mi nye slikhali pro lyubov, we did not speak of love, A to pokoinitsa svyekrov, and if we had, my late mother-in-law Menya bi sognala so svyeta! would have chased me off the face of the earth! TATIANA

Da kak zhe ti vyenchalas, Nyanya? Then how did you manage to get married, nurse? NURSE Tak, vidno, Bog velyel. Moi Vanya It was as God willed. My Vanya Molozhe bil menya, moi svyet, was younger than me, my dear one, A bilo mnye trinadzat' lyet. And I was but thirteen years old. Nyedyeli dvye khodila svakha The matchmaker came for a couple of weeks

K moyei rodnye, i nakonyets to see my family, and finally Blagoslovil menya otyets. my father gave us his blessing. Ya gorko plakala so strakha, I cried bitterly from fear. Mnye s plachyem kosu rasplyeli, They undid my heart with tears, I s pyenyem v tserkov povyeli. and led me to the church with songs.

I vot, v vyeli v syemyu chuzhuyu . . . And thus they placed me in the heart

of a strange family . . . Da ti nye slushayesh menya! But you're not listening to me! TATIANA Akh, nyanya, nyanya, ya stradayu, ya Ah nurse, nurse, I suffer, I toskuyu, yearn, Mnye toshno milaya moya, I am upset, my dearest, Ya plakat', ya ridat' gotova! about to burst into bitter tears. NURSE

Ditya moyo, ti nyezdorova; My child, you are unwell;

Gospod' pomilui i spasi! the Lord have mercy on us! Dai okroplyu, tebya svyatoi vodoyu, Let me sprinkle you with holy water,

Ti vsya gorish . . . you must be feverish . . . TATIANA

Ya nye bolna, I am not ill,

Ya . . . znayesh . . . Nyanya, ya . . . I . . . you know . . . nurse, I . . . vlyublyena! am in love! Ostav menya, ostav menya! Leave me, leave me! Ya vlublyena! I am in love! NURSE

Da kak zhe . . . But how . . . TATIANA

Podi, ostav menya odnu! . . . Go, leave me alone! . . . Dai, nyanya, mnye pyero, bumagu Give me, nurse, pen and paper, move

Da stol pridvin; ya skoro lyagu . . . the table closer; I'll soon sleep . . .

Prosti . . . Forgive me . . . NURSE Pokoinoi nochi, Tanya! Good night, Tanya! (she leaves)

TATIANA Puskai pogibnu ya, no prezhdye May I perish, but first Ya v oslyepitelnoi nadyezhde I will call upon some mysterious bliss Blazhenstvo tyomnoye zovu, in the radiant hope Ya nyegu zhizni uznayu! that I shall know all life's joys! Ya pyu volshebni yad zhelanyi, I drink the magic potion of desire, Menya pryeslyeduyut myechti: I am pursued by dreams: Vyezdye, \yezdye peryedo mnoi Everywhere my fatal tempter Moi iskusityel rokovoi, appears before me, Vyezdye, vyezdye on pryedo mnoyu! always, always, he is before me! (She writes quickly, but immediately tears up what she has written.)

Nyet, vsyo nye to! Nachnu No, that's not it! I'll start over

snachala! . . . again . . .

(She reflects, then writes again.)

Akh shto so mnoi! Ya vsya goryu! Ah what's wrong! I'm on fire!

Nye znayu kak nachat' ... I don't know how to begin . . . (She writes. — She stops and reads through what she has written.) Ya k vam pishu — chevo zhe bolye? I write to you — what else can I say? Shto ya mogu yeshcho skazat'? What more can I explain? Teper, ya znayu, v vashyei volye I know you have the power Menya prezrenyem nakazat'. to punish me with your scorn. No vi, k moyei nestchastnoi dolye But you will not desert me Khot' kaplyu zhalosti khranya, and you will find a little pity Vi nye ostavitye menya! for me in my unhappiness! Snachala ya molchat' khotyela. At first I wanted to remain silent. Povyertye: moyevo stida Believe me: my shame Vi nye uznali b nikogda, would have remained unknown to you Nikogda! forever! da, klyalas ya sokhranit' v dushe Oh yes, I had sworn to keep my ardent passion

Priznanye v strasti pilkoi i a secret locked within my heart. byezumnoi! Uvi! Nye v silakh ya vladyet' svoyei But I can no longer subdue my heart! dushoi! Pust' budet to, shto bit' dolzhno so Let fate take its course, — mnoi, —

Yemu priznayus ya! Smelyei! On vsyo I'll confess to him! Courage! Let uznayet! him know everything!

(She continues to write.)

Zachyem, zachyem vi posyetili nas? Why, oh why did you visit us? V glushi zabitovo selyenya In this remote country district Ya b nikogda nye znala vas, I should never have met you, Nye znala b gorkovo muchenya. I'd never have known these heartaches. Dushi neopitnoi volnenya Time would have soothed the emotions Smiriv so vryemenyem (kak znat') of the guileless heart and (who knows) Po serdtsu ya nashla bi druga, I might have met someone to my liking, Bila bi vyernaya supruga, have become a faithful wife

I dobrodetelnaya mat' . . . and a virtuous mother . . . (She sinks into meditation. — Suddenly she recovers.)

Drugoi! . . . Nyet, nikomu na svyetye Another! — No, I could not give my Nye otdala bi serdtsa ya! heart to anyone else! — Please turn the page quietly.— To V vishnyem suzhdyeno sovyetye, This has been decreed from above,

To volya nyeba: ya tvoya! Heaven has willed it: I am yours! Vsya zhizn moya hila zalogom, My whole life has been pledged Svidanya vernovo s toboi: to this true meeting with you!

Va znayu, ti ranye poslan bogom, I know that God has sent you to me,

Do groba ti khraiiityel moi! you are my guardian till the grave!

Ti v snovidenyakh mnye yavlalsya, I saw you in my dreams.

Nezrimi ti uzh bil nye mil, and yet unknown, I loved you!

Tvoi ehudni vzglyad menya tomil, I pined for your wonderful glance! V dushe tvoi golos razdavalsya My soul has listened to your voice

I)a\Tio . . . Nyet, eto bi'l nye son! for years . . . No, this was no dream!

Ti chut' voshol, ya vmig uznala. The moment you entered, I knew you.

Vsya obomlela, zapilala, I swooned, I took fire,

I v mislyakh molvila: vot on! and I said to myself: It is he!

Vot on! It is he!

Nye pravda l'ya tebya slikhala: Was it not your voice that I heard Ti govoril so mnoi v tishi, when you spoke to me in the silence,

Kogda ya bednim pomogala when I helped the poor, Hi molitvoi uslazhdala or soothed my soul Tosku dushi? with prayers? I v eto samoye mgnovenye And at this moment,

Nye ti li, miloye vidyenye was it not the dear vision of you V prozrachnoi tyemnotye myelknul, that flashed through the transparent gloom, Priniknuv tikho k izgolovyu, quietly nestling up to my bedside,

Nye ti 1', s otradoi i lyubovyu and with love and happiness Slova nadyezhdi mnye shepnul? whispered words of hope to me?

(She approaches the table and again sits down to write. — She stops writing and muses thus.)

Kto ti, moi angel li khranityel Who are you, my guardian angel

Ili kovarni iskusityel, — or an evil tempter? Moi somnyenya razreshi. Disperse my doubts. Bit' mozhet eto vsyo pustoye, Perhaps this is all a vain dream, Obman neopitnoi dushi, the deception of an innocent heart, I suzhdyeno sovsyem inoye? and mine is to be a different fate?

(Again she rises and walks about musing.)

No tak i bit'! Sudbu moyu Then so be it! My fate Otninye ta tebye vruchayu I confide into your hands, Peryed toboyu slyozi lyu, and in tears before you Tvoyei zashchiti umolyayu, I plead for your protection,

Umolyayu! I beg you for it! Voobrazi: Ya zdyes odna! Imagine: I am alone here! Nikto menya nye ponimayet! No one understands me! Rassudok moi iznemogayet, I'm too exhausted to think, I molcha gibnut' ya dolzhna! and I must perish in silence! Ya zhdu tebya, I wait for you, Ya zhdu tebya! Yedinim slovom I wait for you! With one word Nadyezhdi serdtsa ozhivi, you can revive my hopes, 11 son tyazholi peryervi, or shatter this dream Uvi, zasluzhenim ukorom! with well-merited scorn!

(Suddenly goes to the table and quickly finishes the letter.)

Konchayu . . . strashno perechest' . . . I must end ... I dare not read it

through . . .

Stidom i strakhom zamirayu . . . I could die for shame and fear . . . No mnye porukoi chyest' yevo, but your honor is my safeguard,

I smyelo yei sebya v vyeryayu! and fearlessly I put my trust in it!

fcrL ml> ... Tosca

Tosca (1900), Puccini's first opera after La boheme, is a far darker and sterner work, though still filled with that passionate melodic declamation that characterizes his music It is based on a French play by Sardou that had been a vehicle for the great actress Sarah Bernhardt. Puccini saw a production of it and was struck by how clearly the work made its dramatic points, even though his own French was not good enough to Let him follow all the details of the plot. Tosca tells a story of vicious repression and vengeance; it is set in Rome during the late 1790s, when Napoleon's army was a threat to the secular Papal forces that controlled Rome like a police state. As the opera begins, the painter Cavaradossi, a liberal opponent of the repressive government symbolized by the rapacious Baron Scarpia, the chief of police, is painting a large canvas of Mary Magdalene in the church of Sant'Andrea della Valle. In the aria "Recondita armonia" he compares the blond loveliness of the figure in his painting (modeled on a woman he saw praying in the church the day before) with the dark beauty of his own lover, the celebrated singer Floria Tosca.

Tosca, Act I: CAVARADOSSI Recondita armonia Strange harmony

di bellezze diverse . . . ! £ bruna of diverse beauties . . . ! Floria, Floria, my ardent mistress,

l'ardente amante mia . . . is dark . . .

e te, beltade ignota, and you, unknown beauty,

cinta di chiome bionde . . . ! crowned with blonde tresses . . . ! Tu azzurro hai l'occhio, You have blue eyes, Tosca ha l'occhio nero! Tosca has black eyes! L'arte nel suo mistero Art, in its mystery,

le diverse bellezze insiem confonde: mixes the different beauties together:

ma nel ritrar costei . . . but in painting this one . . .

il mio solo pensiero, my sole thought —

ah! il mio sol pensier sei tu! ah, my sole thought is you!

Tosca sei tu! Tosca, it is you!

No sooner has Cavaradossi finished singing Tosca' s praises than he encounters an old friend, Angelotti, a political prisoner who has escaped from the great fortress of Castel

Sant'Angelo with the aid of his sister, the Marchesa Attavanti. Their conversation is inter- rupted by a knock and the imperious voice of Tosca, who jealously suspects that Cavara- dossi has been concealing a woman behind the locked door of the chapel. During the course of the duet that follows, Cavaradossi assures Tosca that her jealousy is mere foolishness — although this takes some doing, after she recognizes the face of "la Attavanti" (who had actually been at the church to leave food and clothing for her brother) in his painting.

TOSCA (outside, irritated) Mario! Mario! Mario! Mario! Mario! Mario! CAVARADOSSI (pretending calm, opens the door)

Son qui! Here I am! (Tosca enters with a kind of violence, looking around suspiciously. Mario approaches Tosca to embrace her. Tosca rebuffs him brusquely.) TOSCA

Perche chiuso? Why is it locked?

— Please turn the page quietly.— CAVARADOSSI

Lo vuole il Sagrestano . . . The Sacristan wanted it . . . TOSCA A chi parlavil To whom were you speaking?

( AYARADOSSI Ate! To you! TOSCA Alt re parole bisbigliavi. You whispered other things.

Ov'e? . . . Where is she . . . CAVARADOSSI Chi? Who? TOSCA

Colei . . . ! Quella donna . . ! Ho udito She . . . ! That woman . . . ! I heard

i lesti passi e un fruscio di the rapid footsteps and a rustle of

vesti . . . clothing . . . CAVARADOSSI Sogni! You're dreaming! TOSCA

Lo neghi? Do you deny it? CAVARADOSSI (trying to embrace her)

Lo nego e t'amo! I deny it and I love you! TOSCA (with sweet reproof) Oh! innanzi la Madonna. Oh! In front of the Madonna. No, Mario mio, lascia pria No, my Mario, first let me che la preghi, ehe l'infiori . pray to her and deck her with

flowers . . . (She slowly nears the statue of the Madonna, and artfully arranges around it the floivers she has brought with her. She kneels and prays with great devotion. Crossing herself she rises. Then she speaks to Cavaradossi, who, meanwhile, has started again with his work.)

Ora stammi a sentir . . . stassera Now listen to me . . . this evening canto, I'm singing, ma e spettaeolo breve. Tu m'aspetti but the program is short. Wait for me sull'uscio della scena at the stage entrance e alia tua villa andiam soli, and we'll go to your villa alone, soletti. all alone.

CAVARADOSSI (lost in thought) Stassera?! This evening? TOSCA £ luna piena It's a full moon e il notturno effluvio floreal and the nocturnal perfume of flowers inebria il cor. intoxicates the heart. Non sei contento? Aren't you happy at this?

(She sits on the stairs near Cavaradossi.) CAVARADOSSI (distracted) Tanto! Very much!

TOSCA (struck by his coldness)

Tornalo a dir! Say it again. CAVARADOSSI Tanto! Very much! TOSCA (irritated)

Lo dici male, lo dici male: You say it badly, you say it badly: non la sospiri la nostra casetta Don't you sigh for our little house che tutta ascosa nel verde ci that awaits us, hidden in the aspetta? verdure? nido a noi sacro, ignoto al mondo a nest sacred to us, unknown to the inter, whole world,

1 pien d'amore e di mister? full of love and of mystery ? Al tuo fianco sentire To hear at your side, per le silenziose through the silent stellate ombre, salir starry shadows, the rising

le voci delle cose . . . ! voices of all things . . . ! Dai boschi e dai roveti, Prom the woods and hedges, dall'arse erbe, dall'imo from the burnt grass, from the depth dei franti sepolcreti of the broken tombs, odorosi di timo, fragrant with thyme, la notte escon bisbigli at night there come forth whispers di minuscoli amori of tiny loves e perfidi consigli and perfidious counsels che ammolliscono i cuori. that soften hearts. Fiorite, o campi immensi, palpitate Flower, oh immense fields, quiver, aure marina, aure marine nel lunare sea breezes, sea breezes in the lunar albor, glow, ah! piovete volutta, volte stellate! ah! rain down delight, starry vaults! Arde in Tosca un folle amor! Tosca burns with a mad love! CAVARADOSSI Ah! M'awinci ne' tuoi lacci Ah! You capture me in your bonds,

mia sirena . . . my siren . . . TOSCA Arde a Tosca nel sangue In Tosca's blood burns il folle amor . . . ! mad love . . . ! CAVARADOSSI

Mia sirena, verro! My siren, I'll come! TOSCA O mio amore! Oh, my love! (Tosca reclines her head on the shoulder of Cavaradossi, who almost at once draws away from her a little, looking in the direction from which Angelotti left.) CAVARADOSSI Or lasciami al lavoro. Now leave me to work. TOSCA Mi discacci? You're sending me away? CAVARADOSSI

Urge l'opra, lo sai! The work is urgent, you know! TOSCA (irritated, rising)

. . . Vado vado! I'm going . . . I'm going!

(She moves away from Cavaradossi a little, and, turning to look at him, sees the painting and returns to him in great agitation.)

Chi e quella donna bionda lassu? Who is that blond woman up there? CAVARADOSSI

La Maddalena. Ti piace? The Magdalen. Do you like her? TOSCA £ troppo bella! She's too beautiful!

— Please turn the page quietly.— .

CAVARADOSSI (laughing and bowing) Prezioso elogio. Priceless praise. TOSCA (suspicious) Ridi? You Laugh?

Quegl'occhj eilestrini gia li Those blue eves I've seen

vidi . . . before . . . CAVARADOSSI (indifferently) Ce n'e tanti pel mondo! There are lots of them in the world! TOSCA (trying to remember)

Aspetta . . . aspetta . . . Wait . . . wait . . .

£ l'Attavanti . . . ! It's the Attavanti! CAVARADOSSI (laughing) Brava! Brava! TOSCA (blind with jealousy) La vedi? T'ama? You see her? She loves you? Tu l'ami? tu l'ami? You love her? You love her? CAVARADOSSI (tries to calm her)

Fu puro caso . . . It was pure ehanee . . . TOSCA (not hearing, with jealous rage)

Quei passi e quel bisbiglio . Those footsteps and that whispering

Ah! qui stava pur ora . . . ! Ah! She was just here . . . CAVARADOSSI Vien via! Come away! TOSCA Ah! la civetta! Ah! the minx! A me! A me! To me! To me! CAVARADOSSI (seriously)

Le vedi ieri, ma fu puro caso I saw her yesterday, but it was pure

chance . .

A pregar qui venne . . . She came here to pray . . .

non visto la ritrassi . . . Unseen, I sketched her . . . TOSCA Giura! Swear! CAVARADOSSI

Giuro! I swear!

TOSCA (with her eyes still fixed on the painting)

Come mi guarda fiso! How' fixedly she looks at me! CAVARADOSSI Vien via! Come away! TOSCA Di me, beffarda, ride. At me, mocking, she laughs. CAVARADOSSI Pollia! Madness! (Cavaradossi gently urges Tosca down the stairs. She descends

backwards, holding her hands up, in Cavaradossi's, without ceasing to look at the picture.) TOSCA (with sweet reproof)

Ah, quegli occhi . . . ! Ah, those eyes . . . ! (Cavaradossi draws Tosca affectionately to himself, looking her in the eyes.) CAVARADOSSI

Qual'occhio al mondo pud star di WTiat eye in the world is the equal paro all'ardente occhio tuo nero? of your ardent dark eyes? £ qui che I'esser mio, che l'esser It is here that my being, mio my entire being

s'affisa intero . . . is fixed . . . occhio all'amor soave, all'ira fiero this eye sweet in love, proud in anger, qual altra al mondo pud star di paro what other in the world is the equal alTocchio tuo nero? of your dark eyes? TOSCA (rapt, leaning her head on Cavaradossi's shoulder) Oh come la sai bene Oh, how well you know l'arte di farti amare! the art of making me love you!

Ma . . . falle gli occhi neri! But . . . make her eyes dark! CAVARADOSSI Mia gelosa! My jealous one! TOSCA

Si, lo sento . . . Yes, I know . . .

ti tormento senza posa. I torment you without rest. CAVARADOSSI Mia gelosa! My jealous one! TOSCA

Certa sono del perdono . . . I am certain of forgiveness . . . Certa sono del perdono I am certain of forgiveness se tu guardi al mio dolor! if you look at my anguish. CAVARADOSSI Mia Tosca idolatrata, My idolized Tosca, ogni eosa in te mi piace; I like everything about you; Tira audace e lo spasimo d'amor! the bold anger and the spasm of love! TOSCA

_( Vrta sono, eec. I am certain . . . (etc.) Dilla aneora la parola Say again that word

ehe eonsola . . . dilla aneora! that consoles me . . . say it again! CAVARADOSSI

Mia vita, amante inquieta, My life, my agitated love, diro sempre: "Floria, t'amo!" I shall always say: "Floria, I love you!" Ah! L'alma acquieta, Ah! Calm your soul,

sempre "t'amo!" ti diro! I'll always say, "I love you!" TOSCA (releasing herselffrom Cavaradossi) Dio! quante peccata! God! how many sins! M'hai tutta spettinata. You've rumpled me totally. CAVARADOSSI Or va, lasciami! No go, leave me! TOSCA Tu fino a stassera stai fermo Until this evening you stay hard al lavoro. K mi prometti at work. And promise me, sia easo o fortuna, whether by chance or fortune, sia treccia bionda o bruna, neither blonde nor dark tresses a pregar uon verra, donna nessuna? will come to pray, no woman at all?

— Please turn the page quietly.— CAVARADOSSI

Lo giuro, amore! Va! I swear it, love! Go! TOSCA Quanto m'affretti! How you rush me! CAVARADOSSI (with tender reproof, seeing her jealousy about to reappear) Ancora? Again? TOSCA (falling into his arms and offering him her cheek) No, perdona! No, forgive me! CAVARADOSSI (smiling) Davanti la Madonna? In front of the Madonna? TOSCA

fi tanto buona! She's so good!

(They kiss. Tosca, starting to go out, looks at the picture.) TOSCA

Ma falle gli occhi neri . . . ! But make her eyes dark . .

By the middle of the second act, Angelotti's escape has been discovered and Scarpia is sure that Cavaradossi has had a hand in concealing it. This delights him, because the painter has long been a rival in love, Scarpia himself having conceived a passion for Tosca. Tosca is forced to listen in an adjoining room while her lover is tortured to make him reveal Angelotti's hiding place. Fearing for her lover's life, she herself blurts out that infor- mation, and then offers to buy Cavaradossi 's freedom. But Scarpia wants no money: he wants Tosca herself. At this point Tosca sings her famous aria, "Vissi d'arte," in which she asks how all of this could happen to someone who has lived only for art and love.

Tosca, Act II:

TOSCA (in extreme grief) Vissi d'arte, vissi d'amore, I've lived for art, I've lived for love, non feci mai male ad anima viva! I've never done harm to a living soul! Con man furtiva With furtive hand quante miserie conobbi, aiutai. I aided as many unfortunates as I knew. Sempre con fe sincera Always with sincere faith la mia preghiera my prayer

ai santi tabernacoli sali. arose in holy tabernacles. Sempre con fe sincera, Always with sincere faith diedi fiori agl'altar. I placed flowers on the altar. Nell'ora del dolore In my hour of pain, perche, perche Signore, why, why Lord, perche me ne rimuneri cosi? why do you repay me like this? Diedi gioelli I gave jewels della Madonna al manto, for the mantle of the Madonna,

e diedi il canto and I gave song

agli astri, al ciel, to the stars, to heaven,

che ne ridean piu belli. which rejoiced more beautifully in them. Nell'ora del dolor In my hour of pain, perche, perche Signor, why, why Lord, ah, perche me ne rimuneri cosi? ah, why do you repay me like this? a

Intermezzo from Manon Lescaut

Manon Lescaut (1893) was the first Puccini opera for which the composer himself chose the subject. It was daring of a young composer to choose a story that had recently been treated successfully by another composer (Massenet, in Manon), but his daring paid off: it was the first work to establish his reputation outside of Italy. When the opera was per- formed in London, Bernard Shaw, then active as a music critic, wrote, "Puccini looks to me more like the heir of Verdi than any of his rivals." In the third act, Puccini's heroine, who had been arrested as an "abandoned woman" at the end of the preceding act, must sail to banishment in the French territory of Louisiana. Her journey to the port of Havre for embarkation is represented in the striking Intermezzo.

La boheme

With La boheme (1896), Puccini achieved immediate and lasting world fame. From the start, the opera has been one of the most popular and loved works of the lyric stage. Based on a novel by Henri Murger that enjoyed considerable notoriety in the mid-nineteenth cen- tury and virtually created the image of the artistic "Bohemian" — impoverished but gifted and somehow surviving— Puccini's opera, despite its tragic ending, has mostly the charac- ter of a romantic comedy. Certainly our introduction to the Bohemians is filled with good- humored jesting, and only the persistent coughing of Mimi reminds us of the fragile lives of these people, huddled in their cold garrets under the rooftops of Paris. The first act of Puccini's opera introduces us to the four young men who share digs — writer, a painter, a musician, and a philosopher. When the musician happens into a little extra money, the four decide to go out and celebrate with a wonderful dinner — a rare event in their lives. The writer, Rodolfo, promises to join them as soon as he has finished a newspaper article that is due. Once his friends have left, he finds himself not at all in the mood to write. As he struggles with his muse, he is interrupted by a knock on the door. His upstairs neighbor — Mimi, a pretty and charming maker of artificial flowers, and unknown to him until this moment — has stopped to ask him if he will light her candle, which has blown out in the dark, windy hallway.

La boheme, Act I:

(Rodolfo sits down to write, but is unable to find an idea, becomes restless, crumples the paper and throws the pen down.) RODOLFO Non sono in vena! I'm not in the mood. (Timid knock at the door.) Chi e la? Who's there? MIMI (outside) Scusi. Excuse me. RODOLFO Una donna! A woman! MIMI

Di grazia, mi s'e spento il lume. Please, my light has gone out. RODOLFO (runs to open the door) Ecco. Here. MIMI (on the threshhold, a spent candle and a key in her hand) Vorrebbe? Would you? RODOLFO S'accomodi un momento. Come in for a moment. MIMI Non occorre. That's not necessary.

— Please turn the page quietly.— RODOLFO (insisting) La prego, entri. Please, enter.

(Mimi enters, is suddenly overcome by a choking fit.) RODOLFO

Si sente male? Do you feel ill? MIMI

No . . . nulla. No . . . it's nothing. RODOLFO Impallidisce! You're pale! MIMI (seized by coughing)

II respir . . . Quelle scale My breath . . . those steps . . . (She faints, and Rodolfo is barely able to catch her and support her to a chair, while the candlestick and key fall from Mimi's hand.) RODOLFO

Ed ora come faccio? Now what do I do? (Takes some water and sprinkles it on Mimi's face.) Cosi! Like that. (looking at her with great interest.)

Che viso d'ammalata! The face of a sick girl . . . (Mimi revives.) Si sente meglio? Do you feel better? MIMI

Si. Yes. RODOLFO Qui c'e tanto freddo. Segga vicino It's so cold here. Sit near

al fuoco. the fire.

Aspetti . . . un po' di vino. Wait ... a little wine. (Runs to the table and brings a bottle and glass.) MIMI Grazie. Thank you. RODOLFO (giving her the glass and pouring)

A lei. For you. MIMI

Poco, poco. Just a little. RODOLFO Cosi? Like that? MIMI Grazie. Thank you. RODOLFO (admiring her) (Che bella bambina!) (What a beautiful child!) MIMI (rising, seeking her candlestick)

Ora permetta che accenda il lume. Now let me light my candle. Tutto e passato. It's all over. RODOLFO Tanta fretta? In such haste? MIMI

Si. Yes. (Rodolfo lights Mimi's candle and gives it to her.) MIMI Grazie. Buona sera. Thank you. Good evening. RODOLFO (accompanying her to the door, then returning to work) Buona sera. Good evening. .

MIMI (exits, then reappears at the door)

Oh! sventata, sventata! Oh, silly, silly! La chiave della stanza My room key— dove l'ha lasciata? where have I left it? RODOLPO Non stia sull'uscio; Don't stand in the doorway; il lume vacilla il vento. the wind makes the light flicker. (Mimi's light goes out.) MIMI

Oh Dio! Torni ad accenderlo. Oh goodness! Light it again. (Rodolfo runs with his candle to light Mimi's, but as he nears the door, his candle is also blown out, and the room remains dark.) RODOLFO

Oh Dio! Anche il mio s'e spento! Oh, dear! Mine has gone out, too!

MIMI Ah! e la chiave ove sara? Ah! and where can the key be? (groping forward to the table and putting her candlestick down) RODOLFO Buio pesto! Pitch darkness! (finds himself near the door, and closes it) MIMI Disgraziata! Unlucky me! RODOLFO

Ove sara? Where can it be? MIMI

Importuna e la vicina . Your neighbor is a nuisance. RODOLFO

Cosa dice, ma le pare! What are you saying? Not at all. MIMI Cerchi. Search. RODOLFO Cerco. I'm searching. (Mimi tries to find the key by sweeping her feet on the floor. Rodolfo does the same, and, finding the table, puts his candlestick on it and continues to search for the key, sweeping his hands across the floor.) MIMI

Ove sara? Where can it be?

RODOLFO (finds it and puts it in his pocket) Ah! Ah! MIMI

L'ha trovata? Did you find it? RODOLFO No! No. MIMI

Mi parve . . . I thought . . RODOLFO In verita! Really! MIMI Cerca? Looking?

— Please turn the page quietly.— RODOLFO

( Vivo. I'm Looking! (Guided by Minn's voire, Rodolfo pretends to search white drawing nearer

to her. Midi i leans over and gropes. Rodolfo's hand draws near to that of

Mi tn i. and takes it.) MIMI (surprised) Ah! All! RODOLFO (holding Mimi's hand)

Che gelida manina, What a cold little hand, se la lasci riscaldar. let it be warmed.

Cercar che giova? — Al buio non si What good is it to search? In the

trova. dark we won't find it.

Ma per fortuna — e una notte di luna, But fortunately there's a moon tonight, e qui la luna l'abbiamo vicina. and here we have the moon nearby. Aspetti signorina, Wait, miss, le diro con duo parole I'll tell you in two words chi son, chi son e che faccio, come who I am, who I am and what I do, how

vivo. I live. Vuole? Would you like that? (Mimi is silent.) Chi son? Chi son? — Sono un poeta. Who am I? Who am I? — I'm a poet. Che cosa faccio? — Scrivo. What do I do? -I write. E come vivo? —Vivo. And how do I live?— I live. In poverta mia lieta In my cheerful poverty scialo da gran signore I squander, like a great lord, rime ed inni d'amore. rhymes and hymns of love. Per sogni e per chimere For dreams and chimeras e per castelli in aria and castles in the air, l'anima ho milionaria. I have the soul of a millionaire. Talor dal mio forziere Sometimes from my strongbox

r ruban tutti i gioielli two thieves steal all my jew els: due ladri: gli occhi belli, two beautiful eyes. V'entrar con voi pur ora, They came in with you just now, ed i miei sogni usati and my usual dreams, e i bei sogni miei and my beautiful dreams tosto si dileguar! immediately disappeared!

Ma il furto non m'accora But the theft does not bother me

poiche . . . poiche v'ha preso stanza because . . . because their place has been la speranza! taken by hope! Or che mi conoscete Now that you know me, parlate voi, speak. deh! parlate. Chi siete? Ah, speak! Who are you? Vi piaccia dir! Will you please tell me! MIMI

Si. Yes. Mi chiamano Mimi, They call me Mimi, ma il mio nome e Lucia. but my name is Lucia. La storia mia My story e breve. A tela o a seta is a short one. On canvas or silk ricamo in casa e fuori. I embroider, at home and outside. Son tranquilla e lieta I am quiet and happy ed e mio svago and it's my hobby far gigli e rose. to make lilies and roses. Mi piaccion quelle cose I like those things che han si dolce malia, that have such sweet magic, ehe parlano d'amor, di primavere, that speak of love, of springtimes, che parlano di sogni e di chimere, that speak of dreams and chimeras,

quelle cose che han nome poesia . those things called poetry . . . Lei m'intende? Do you understand? RODOLFO

Si. Yes. MIMI Mi chiamano Mimi, They call me Mimi,

il perche non so. but I don't know why. Sola, mi fo Alone I make

il pranzo da me stessa. my dinner all by myself. Non vado sempre a messa I don't always go to Mass,

ma prego assai il Signor. but I often pray to the Lord. Vivo sola, soletta, I live alone, all alone, la in una bianca cameretta: up there in a little white room. guardo sui tetti e in cielo, I look out on the roofs and the sky, ma quando vien lo sgelo but when the thaw comes,

il primo sole e mio! the first sun is mine!

il primo bacio dell'aprile e mio! The first kiss of April is mine!

II primo sole e mio! The first sun is mine!

Germoglia in un vaso una rosa . . . In a vase, a rose sprouts . . .

Foglia a foglia la spio! I watch it, leaf by leaf!

Cosi gentil e il profumo d'un fior! So delicate is a flower's scent!

Ma i fior ch'io faccio, ahime, non But the flowers that I make, alas, hanno odore! have no scent! Altro di me non le saprei narrare: I don't know what else to tell you; sono la sua vicina I am your neighbor che la vien fuori d'ora a who comes now to ask a favor. importunare.

(Mimi has drawn near the window in such a way that she is illumined by moonlight; Rodolfo sees her as wrapped in a halo of light, and he contemplates her, as if ecstatic.) RODOLFO

soave fanciulla! Oh, sweet girl! O dolce viso Oh lovely face di mite circonfuso alba lunar, surrounded by a mild lunar dawn, in te, rawiso in you I recognize

il sogno ch'io vorrei sempre sognar! the dream that I'd like to dream forever! MIMI [Ah! tu sol comandi, Amor! Ah! Only you command, Love! RODOLFO Fremon gia nell'anima Already in my soul would le dolcezze estreme. extreme sweetnesses tremble. MIMI

Tu sol comandi, amor! You alone command, love! Oh! come dolce scendono Oh! how sweetly his compliments

le sue lusinghe al . . . core descend to my heart . . . RODOLFO Fremon dolcezze estreme, Extreme sweetness tremble, _nel bacio freme amor! Love trembles in the kiss! (Rodolfo kisses her.)

— Please turn the page quietly.— MIMI (Jnt ing herself) No, per picta! No, please! RODOLFO

Sei mia . . . ! You're mine . . . ! MIMI

Vaspettan gli amici . . . Your friends are waiting for you . . . RODOLFO Gia mi mandi via? Already you send me away? MIMI

Yorrei dir . . . ma non oso . . . I'd like to say . . . but I don't dare . . . RODOLFO Di\ Tell me. MIMI (with chaining slyness)

Se venissi con voi? If I might come with you? RODOLFO

Che ... ? Mimi! What . . . ? Mimi! (with enticing intention) Sarebbe cosi dolce restar qui. It would be sweet to stay here.

C'e freddo fuori . . . It's cold outside. MIMI

Vi staro vicina . . . ! I'll stay near you . . . ! RODOLFO E al ritorno? And when we get back? MIMI (mischievous) Curioso! Curious! RODOLFO

Dammi il braecio, mia piccina Give me your arm, my little one . . . MIMI (giving him her arm)

Obbedisco, signor! I obey, sir! RODOLFO

Che m'ami . . . di' . . . Say that you love me . . . MIMI (with abandon)

Io t'amo! I love you! (They go out.) MIMI, RODOLFO Amor! Amor! Amor! Love! Love! Love!

Program notes by Steven Ledbetter, copyright ©1990 Boston Symphony Orchestra, Inc. ARTISTS

Mirella Freni

- « Soprano Mirella Freni is in demand throughout the world. Her current schedule includes performances of Adriana Lecouvreur at La Scala, Munich, and Barcelona; Don ('ado in Vicuna; Eugene Onegin in Barcelona; Manon Lescaut at Barcelona, Modena, and the Metropolitan Opera; and her first perform- ances as Lisa in Tchaikovsky's Pique Dame, at La Scala, under the direction of Seiji Ozawa. This summer she will perform Pique Dame with Mr. Ozawa and the Boston Symphony Orches- tra at Tanglewood, where she made her BSO debut in 1981 in Verdi's Requiem, and also appears in a joint recital with bass Nicolai Ghiaurov. Recent engagements have included perform- ances in Puccini's La boheme as part of La Scala's tour of Japan; recital tours of Japan and the United States; San Francisco Opera performances and a PBS telecast of La boheme with Luciano Pavarotti; Met performances in Carmen as Micaela, a role she has recorded for Philips with Jessye Norman, Neil Shicoff, and Seiji Ozawa; Metropolitan Opera performances as Tatiana in Eugene Onegin under the direction of James Levine, with whom she recently recorded that opera for Deutsche Grammophon; Vienna State Opera performances of Eugene Onegin under the direction of Seiji Ozawa; and a new pro- duction of Adriana Lecouvreur opposite Peter Dvorsky at La Scala. Scheduled for release in laser-video format are three projects — productions of La boheme, Otello, and Carmen — originally created for the Salzburg Festival in collaboration with the late Herbert von Karajan. Also due on laser disc are her performances as Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro and in the title role of Madama Butterfly, both directed by the late Jean-Pierre Ponnelle. Ms. Freni's many recordings may be heard on the Deutsche Grammophon, EMI/Angel, London/Decca, and Philips labels. She recently recorded an album of Puccini and Verdi arias with conductor Giuseppe Sinopoli, with whom she has recorded Madama Butterfly and Manon Lescaut for Deutsche Grammophon. Future projects include recordings of

GALA OPENING NIGHT DINNER AT TANGLEWOOD

Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Tanglewood Music Center

Friday, July 6, at 6:30 p.m.

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Tanglewood Music Cen- ter, BSO Music Director Seiji Ozawr a will lead the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the TMC's most illustrious alumni vocalists in a gala concert of operatic excerpts on the orchestra's first concert of the 1990 Tanglewood season. Preced- ing this special concert will be an elegant, black-tie dinner at Highwood, with cocktails at 5:30 p.m. and dinner to be served at 6:30 p.m.

Tickets for the dinner are available at the Benefactor level for $275 each (also including a post-concert reception with the soloists) and at the Patron level for $150 each (dinner only). The names of all Benefactors and Patrons will be listed in the Opening Night program book.

Please note that concert tickets must be purchased separately. For further information, please call the Volunteer Office at Symphony Hall, (617) 266-1492, ext. 179. Totca with PlAcido Domingo and Samuel Ramey, and Verdi's // trovakm opposite Luciano Pavarotti. Ms Freni made her professional debut as Mieaela in 1955 and sang in most of the leading Italian opera houses during the next several seasons, she made her La Scala debut in 1962 as Xanetta in Falstaff and achieved immediate international stardom there the following year, when she was cast by Herbert von Karajan in a new Franco Zeffirellj staging of La bcih&me. Guest appearances soon took her to the world's Leading opera houses, including the Vienna State Opera, where she has been named a Kammersangerin of the Austrian government, and to the Metropolitan opera, where a gala performance next season will celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of her debut with thai company. Earlier this month, a gala performance of Manon Lescaut in her home town of Modena celebrated the thirty- fifth anniversary of her professional debut. Next fall she opens the Metropolitan Opera season as Mimi in La boheme.

Peter Dvorsky

Czechoslovakian-born tenor Peter Dvorsky is emerging as one of the leading tenors performing on the international opera and concert circuit. During the 1989-90 season he has added two new roles to his repertory — the title role of Verdi's Don Carlo, which he performed opposite Dame Kiri Te Kanawa at Chicago Lyric Opera, and Radames in Aida, at the Vienna State Opera, his home company, where he was recently named Kammer- sdnger by the Austrian government. This month he returns to the Metropolitan Opera for performances of Puccini's Manon Lescaut, with Mirella Freni in the title role. Also this year he appears with many of Europe's foremost opera companies, including those of Munich, Berlin, and Barcelona. Recordings, video, and television also occupy much of Mr. Dvorsky's schedule. Current recording projects include a new CBS recording of Boito's Mefistofele with Eva Marton and Samuel Ramey, and Cavalleria rusti- cana with Elena Obraztsova. On video he can be seen in a Chicago Lyric production of Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin with Mirella Freni, Wolfgang Brendel, and Nicolai Ghiaurov, and in two different productions of Madama Butterfly, one from La Scala, the other from Chicago Lyric Opera. He may be heard on several recital discs of arias and Slovak folk songs on the Acanta and Opus labels, in several Janacek operas recorded by Decca/Lon- don, and in symphonic repertoire on the Hungaroton label. In recent seasons, his engage- ments have included performances in Cavalleria rusticana, La traviata, Eugene Onegin, and Dvorak's Rusalka with Vienna State Opera; tour performances in Japan in La Scala's famed Zeffirelli production of La boheme opposite frequent onstage partner Mirella Freni under the direction of Carlos Kleiber; Puccini's Manon Lescaut with San Francisco Opera; Verdi's Un ballo in maschera with Houston Grand Opera; and a new production at La Scala of Cilea's Adriana Lecouvreur with Mirella Freni.

Gweneth Bean

Contralto Gweneth Bean is now in her third season with the Metropolitan Opera, singing in Suor Angelica, Die Frau ohne Schatten, Tales of Hoffmann, Der fliegende Hollander, Faust,

and Gbtterddmmerung . She is also soloist this season in Leon- ard Bernstein's Jeremiah Symphony with Christopher Keene and the Long Island Philharmonic. Ms. Bean made her Metro- politan Opera debut during the 1987-88 season; among her roles was Dryade in Strauss's Ariadne auf Naxos, seen on a "Live from the Met" telecast in the United States and Europe. In 1988 she toured with the Philadelphia Orchestra as a soloist in Bruckner's Te Deum under Riccardo Muti, sang Brangaene in Tristan und Isolde with Hugh Wolf and the New Jersey Symphony, was heard as Made- Ion in Andrea Chenier with the Opera Orchestra of New York at Carnegie Hall, and was soloist in Prokofiev's Alexander Nevsky with the Stamford Chamber Orchestra. Ms. Bean has also sung with Washington Opera, Chicago Lyric Opera, and Santa Fe Opera, among other companies. She made her Carnegie Hall debut in 1987 in the Opera Orchestra of New York's Wagner gala with Eva Marton and made her Boston Symphony Orchestra debut in Honegger's Jeanne dArc an bucher in August 1989 at Tanglewood. During the summer of 1985 she toured Europe and the United States in performances of Leonard Bernstein's Songfest under the composer's direction; in March 1986 she performed again with Mr. Bernstein, in a production of his opera A Quiet Place in Vienna. A native of Michigan, Ms. Bean is an alumna of the Chicago Lyric Opera Center for American Artists, won the Richard Tucker Music Award in 1985, and has received a grant from the William Matheus Sullivan Foundation.

John Fiore One of America's most exciting young conductors, John Fiore has embarked upon a major international career. Born in New York in 1960, Mr. Fiore received his earliest musical training from his father, a pianist and choral director, and his mother, a singer. His family later moved to Seattle, where he studied cello and other string instruments, as well as piano. Mr. Fiore began his professional activities at age fourteen, as a pianist/coach for the Seattle Opera's annual productions of Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen. He entered the Eastman School of Music and in 1981 joined the Santa Fe Opera, where he specialized in the preparation of the operas of Richard Strauss. He made his pro- fessional conducting debut in 1986 at the San Francisco Opera, with Gounod's Faust. In Europe, Mr. Fiore has worked at the Bayreuth Festival as musical assistant to James Levine for Parsifal and to Daniel Barenboim for Harry Kupfer's recent production of Wag- ner's Ring. He worked with Leonard Bernstein on the Deutsche Grammophon recording of La boheme with the Santa Cecilia Orchestra and Chorus of Rome. In the spring of 1989 he assisted Zubin Mehta with the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino's production of Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier. Mr. Fiore has conducted Die Fledermaus at Sarasota Opera, La traviata at Santa Fe Opera, Un hallo in maschera with the Canadian Opera Company, Die Fledermaus at Lyric Opera of Chicago, Madama Butterfly at San Francisco Opera, and Manon Lescaut at Cologne Opera. This season also brings his symphonic conducting debuts with the Seat- tle Symphony, leading Handel's Messiah, Colorado Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, and the Orchestra del Teatro Comunale in Florence. During the summer of 1990 Mr. Fiore will conduct Cost fan tutte at Santa Fe Opera. Next season he will conduct Rigoletto at San Francisco Opera and with Lyric Opera of Chicago, make his German orchestral debut with the Bamberg Symphony, and return to Florence for concerts with the Orchestra del Teatro Comunale. Members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra

First Violins Basses Bass Trombone Malcolm Lowe Edwin Barker §Donald Robinson Tamara Smirnova-Sajfar Bela Wurtzler Tuba Lucia Lin James Orleans Bo Youp Hwang Todd Seeber §Gary Ofenloch Max Winder John Stovall Timpani Predy Ostrovsky §Thomas Coleman Frank Epstein Leo Panasevich Flutes Gottfried Wilfinger Percussion Fenwick Smith Sheldon Rotenberg Charles Smith §Jane Garvin Alfred Schneider §Neil Grover Raymond Sird Piccolo Ikuko Mizuno Harp §Leonard Lopatin Amnon Levy Ann Hobson Pilot Jennie Shames Oboes Celesta Laura Ahlbeck Second Violins § §Deborah Emery §Andrea Berry Joseph McGauley Personnel Managers Harvey Seigel English Horn Lynn Larsen Ronan Lefkowitz Laurence Thorstenberg Si-Jing Huang Harry Shapiro Clarinets Aza Raykhtsaum Librarians Valeria Vilker Kuchment Peter Hadcock Marshall Burlingame Bonnie Bewick §Ian Greitzer William Shisler §Joseph Conte Bass Clarinet James Harper §Joseph Scheer Craig Nordstrom §Ling Ling Guan Stage Manager §Michael Rosenbloom Bassoons Alfred Robison §Daniel Banner Richard Svoboda Violas Roland Small Burton Fine Contrabassoon Robert Barnes Richard Plaster Joseph Pietropaolo Michael Zaretsky Horns Marc Jeanneret Charles Kavalovski Mark Ludwig Daniel Katzen Rachel Fagerburg Jay Wadenpfuhl §Mary Ruth Ray Richard Mackey §Anne Black Jonathan Menkis § Susan Culpo Trumpets Cellos Charles Schlueter Martha Babcock Steven Emery Sato Knudsen Timothy Morrison Joel Moerschel Robert Ripley Trombones Carol Procter Ronald Barron Jonathan Miller §Lawrence Isaacson §Miljenko Sajfar §Andrew Mark

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