I Capuleti E I Montecchi Tragedia Lirica in Due Atti
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VINCENZO BELLINI I CAPULETI E I MONTECCHI VINCENZO BELLINI VINCENZO BELLINI I CAPULETI E I MONTECCHI TRAGEDIA LIRICA IN DUE ATTI GIULIETTA Katia Ricciarelli ROMEO Dana Montague TEBALDO Dano Raffanti CAPELLI Marcello Lippi LORENZO Antonio Salvador Maestro del Coro: STEFANO ADABBO BRUNO CAMPANELLA 1 SINFONIA 4:59 ATTO PRIMO 2 ”AGGIORNA APPENA“ (Coro) 3:54 3 ”O DI CAPELLIO GENEROSI AMICI“ (Tebaldo) 2:36 CD14 ”È SERBATA A QUESTO ACCIARO“ (Tebaldo) 3:05 5 ”L‘AMO TANTO, E M‘È SÌ CARA“ (Tebaldo) 4:03 6 ”VANNE LORENZO“ (Capellio) 2:04 7 ”LIETO DEL DOLCE INCARCO“ (Romeo) 2:01 8 ”SE ROMEO T‘UCCISE UN FIGLIO“ (Romeo) 3:23 9 ”LA TREMENDA ULTRICE SPADA“ (Romeo) 3:28 10 ”ECCOMI IN LIETA VESTE...“ (Giulietta) 5:54 11 ”OH! QUANTE VOLTE, OH! QUANTE“ (Giulietta) 3:54 12 ”PROPIZIA È L‘ORA“ (Lorenzo/Giulietta) 2:36 13 ”SÌ, FUGGIRE A NOI NON RESTA“ (Romeo/Giulietta) 4:47 14 ”AH! CRUDEL, D‘ONOR RAGIONI“ (Romeo/Giulietta) 4:16 15 ”ODI TU? L‘AITAR FUNESTO“ (Romeo/Giulietta) 4:49 16 ”LIETA NOTTE, AVVENTUROSA“ (Coro) 2:45 17 ”DEH! PER PIETÀ T‘ARRESTA“ (Lorenzo) 3:05 18 ”TACE IL FRAGOR..,“ (Giulietta) 4:10 19 ”CHE MIRO?“ (Tebaldo) 2:01 20 ”SOCCORSO, SOSTEGNO, ACCORDAGLI O CIELO“ (Tutti) 3:02 21 ”ACCORRIAM... ROMEO! ROMEO!“ (Coro) 4:20 TOTAL TIME 75:22 ATTO SECONDO 1 ”NÉ ALCUN RITORNA“ (Giulietta) 4:30 2 ”MORTE IO NON TEMO, IL SAI“ (Giulietta) 4:21 3 ”AH! NON POSS‘IO PARTIRE“ (Giulietta) CD4:252 4 ”DESERTO È IL LUOGO“ (Romeo) 5:41 5 ”STOLTO! A UN SOL MIO GRIDO“ (Tebaldo/Romeo) 5:18 6 ”ELLA È MORTA, O SCIAGURATO“ (Romeo/Tebaldo) 3:13 7 ”SIAM GIUNTI“ (Coro) 4:23 8 ”ECCO LA TOMBA...“ (Romeo) 5:31 9 ”TU SOLA, O MIA GIULIETTA“ (Tutti) 12:04 TOTAL TIME 49:30 english FORGETTING SHAKESPEARE by Roberto Di Perna A duel under the sign of love Given the meagre fortunes of Donizetti’s Comparison is inevitable, even if we do operas, few people have realised not know to what extent Donizetti was that within a period of no longer than aware of this long-distance challenge. 6 six months the two major operatic Tottola’s libretto covers much the same composers in Italy in the first half of the dramatic ground in its story of the two nineteenth century (after Rossini) both young lovers, Imelda and Bonifacio took on the classic subject of love and de’ Geremei, children, like Giulietta death, a subject which had its distant Capuleti and Romeo Montecchi, of origins in Ovid (Pyramus and Thisbe), two rival families who stood in the ran through the Italian novella and was opposing factions of the Guelphs and dressed in the splendid light of the genius the Ghibellines. The elements which of Shakespeare: the story of Romeo and distinguish the musical approach of the Juliet. The first of the two composers two works are numerous. In simple terms, was Vincenzo Bellini, whose sixth opera we might say that in Donizetti’s work the I Capuleti e i Montecchi was staged at dominant element is its atmosphere of a the Fenice Theatre in Venice on 11th splendid and implacable medieval time, March 1830. Donizetti’s “reply” followed where the conflict between opposing soon after with Imelda de’Lambertazzi, factions leads into irredeemable tragedy, performed on 5th September of the which in many ways calls to mind Verdi’s same year at the San Carlo in Naples. Forza del Destino. english In Bellini, on the other hand, it is the lyrical as “romantic lyricism”) between the first element that impresses an indelible mark phase of Bellini’s production, in which he on the score, despite the martial aspect most clearly follows the Rossinian model of many passages that sound quite and often verges on syllabic style, and generic, conventional and dated. The his mature phase which, with a partial ecstatic abandon borne on the wings of recovery of belcanto style, is rendered those continually expanding “long, long, more essential and devoted to the 7 long melodies” (Verdi), the blossoming of search for the highest degree of lyrical ariosos that break the rigid alternation and dramatic expressivity. of aria-recitative, the generous use of But apart from the differences there orchestral preludes as “arias without is one historical fact that links the two words”, the synthesis of emotions, the composers both reached full maturity sensual delight taken in the human voice around 1830. While Imelda is “the culminating in the masterstroke of the most original opera until Anna Bolena” famous unison passage of the two lovers (Ashbrook), I Capuleti is the opera in in the first finale: these are only some of which Bellini attains the style that from the elements that characterise an opera then on will pervade all of his later which, taken as a whole, marks a point masterpieces, from Norma to I Puritani. of equilibrium (rightly defined by some english A contract born of a flirt Venice had not staged any outstanding the claque that opposed Norma). The “premieres” since of Rossini’s impresario Alessandro Lanari, taking Semiramide (1823) and Meyerbeer’s advantage of Bellini’s presence in Crociato in Egitto (1824); these were the lagoon city – he was there for the 8 followed by titles which have since been performance of Il Pirata, scheduled for forgotten by work-a-day composers. 16th January – had on 5th January made Thus it was that a commission for the him sign an engagement to produce a performance of a new opera, entrusted new opera in the event of Pacini’s failure to a well-known composer, fresh from to respect the schedule, Pacini being the success at La Scala of Il Pirata and missing at the time. Pacini did indeed La Straniera, created an atmosphere fail to meet the agreed times and Bellini’s of great expectancy. Yet the contract contract was duly stipulated on 20th between the Fenice theatre and Bellini January. Rehearsals began at the end of was the result of a chance occurrence: February and the opera was staged on the breach of contract of the prolific 11th March with such success that even composer Giovanni Pacini who in those the composer himself was surprised (“this months, despite the vast amount of work furore”, he wrote later, “was unexpected he had to do for various theatres, was even for me”). The premiere performance dedicating his energies to women rather featured: in the part of Romeo, Giuditta than to his musical notebooks (a flirt with Grisi who from then on was to be one of Countess Samoiloff, who later organised the Bellini stars par excellence: Rosalbina english Carradori Allan (Giulietta), later the first a move imitated by Giuditta Grisi herself interpreter of Adalgisa, and the mediocre in Turin 1836. This liberty soon became tenor Lorenzo Bonfigli. Minor parts were custom and the opera was staged in this taken by Gaetano Antoldi (Capellio) and manipulated version at La Scala in the Ranieri Pocchini Cavalieri (Lorenzo). 1834, 1837, 1844, 1849, 1861 seasons. The opera was given eight repeat The interpolation took on an “official” performances but only because the aspect with the publication of a printed 9 curtain had to fall on the carnival season. score by Ricordi which includes both Indeed its success was immediate. In finales and is still available today. Not Italy, after the performances in Senigallia until the “renaissance” of our century in summer of that same year, I Capuleti was it possible to see I Capuleti in its was seen at La Scala on 26th December, original version – though another liberty once again with Giuditta Grisi and with is often taken, Romeo’s part being sung a mezzo-soprano (Amalia Schütz) in the by a tenor. After the pioneer productions part of Giulietta, this involving a number staged in Turin (1934) and Catania of unfortunate changes of tessitura and (1935), the opera emerged definitively a variation in the second aria. The opera from the obscurity in which it had lain then went on to become one of the with Claudio Abbado’s productions at standard pieces of Maria Malibran, who La Scala (1966, 1967 and 1968). The in the Bologna performance of 1832, opera spread outside Italy with no less originated the now infamous substitution rapidity and continued to be staged of the original finale with one taken from throughout the first half of the nineteenth the Giulietta e Romeo by Nicola Vaccai, century. A first production one year after english the premiere was given in Dresden, then Trinidad (1844), to name but a handful in Madrid in 1832, Paris and London in of productions. Numerous performances 1833, followed by a veritable world tour were given in various languages: in with performances in Havana (1836). Hungarian, Russian, Czech, Danish, New Orleans (1837), Constantinople Polish as well as German and French. (1841), Rio de Janeiro (1844) and 10 Zaira‘s revenge We cannot talk about I Capuleti without Proof of this failure is seen in the fact that reference to Zaira, the only real failure in after a run of eight performances Zaira Bellini’s career. The opera, on a libretto was only given performances in Florence by his “regular” librettist Felice Romani in 1836 and then disappeared entirely based on Voltaire’s work, was staged from the playbill until it was retrieved on 16th May 1829 on the occasion of by modern-day productions in Catania the inauguration of the new Parma in 1976 and 1990. But in Bellini’s own theatre where it was coolly received, words Zaira was avenged by I Capuleti.