Isabeau
Isabeau is a leggenda drammatica or opera in three parts by Pietro Mascagni, 1911, from an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica. Mascagni conducted its first performance on 2 June 1911 at the Teatro Coliseo, Buenos Aires.[1]
A retelling of the medieval English legend of Lady Godiva, Mascagni described it in an interview as his attempt to "return to the romanticism which inspired so much of Italian opera."[2]
Roles
[edit]| Role[3] | Voice type | Premiere cast, 2 June 1911 Conductor: Mascagni[4] |
|---|---|---|
| King Raimondo | baritone | Carlo Galeffi |
| Isabeau, his daughter | soprano | Maria Farneti |
| Cornelius, the king's minister | baritone | Giuseppe La Puma |
| Folco, a falconer | tenor | Antonio Saluda |
| Ermyntrude | soprano | Olga Simzis |
| Ermyngarde | soprano | Amalia Columbo |
| Giglietta | soprano | Maria Pozzi |
| il cavalier Faidit | baritone | Dentale Teofido |
| l'araldo maggiore | baritone |
Synopsis
[edit]King Raimondo tries to find a husband for the princess Isabeau by holding a tournament, but she is unwilling to choose a husband. When the king forces her to ride naked through the city, the people refuse to look at her out of respect. Furthermore, they demand from the king an edict condemning to blindness anyone who dares to look at her. Unaware of the edict, the falconer Folco accidentally looks upon Isabeau during her ride and is arrested. When Isabeau visits him in prison, she falls in love with him and begs her father to pardon him. However, the king's minister stirs up the passions of the people who rise up in a vigilante mob and kill Folco. Isabeau kills herself over his dying body.[2][1]
Recordings
[edit]| Year | Cast | Conductor and orchestra | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 | Marcella Pobbe, Rinaldo Rola, Pier Miranda Ferraro |
Tullio Serafin; Orchestra Sinfonica di Sanremo | Warner Fonit; Cetra Opera Collection 5050467-1045-2-5 |
References
[edit]- ^ a b Warrack, John; West, Ewan (1996). "Isabeau". The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Opera. Oxford University Press.
- ^ a b Girardi, Michele [in Italian] (1992). "Isabeau". In Sadie, Stanley; Tyrrell, John (eds.). The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (2nd ed.). London: Macmillan Publishers. ISBN 978-1-56159-239-5.
- ^ "Isabeau", italianopera.org
- ^ Casaglia, Gherardo (2005). "Isabeau, 2 June 1911". L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia (in Italian).
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