L'incantesimo
Encyclopedia
L'incantesimo is a short opera
in one act by Italian composer Italo Montemezzi
. Its libretto
was written by playwright Sem Benelli
who had previously collaborated with the composer on his most famous opera, L'amore dei tre re
. Benelli finished the text in 1933, and Montemezzi started work on the score, but the composer's unpleasant relationship with Mussolini's
government made Italy inconducive to creative work. Montemezzi resumed work on L'incantesimo during the summer of 1943 in Beverly Hills, his home during a 10 year sojourn in the United States. Upon completion of the score, he offered it to the NBC Symphony
, professing admiration for their orchestra.
. The composer conducted the NBC Symphony Orchestra
. The opera's stage premiere took place on August 9, 1952 in Verona
, Italy
, only a few months after Montemezzi's death. The following year, L'incantesimo was performed for Italian radio, and broadcast in 1954. On November 13, 2007 Teatro Grattacielo
, a New York group dedicated to reviving neglected verismo
scores, performed L'incantesimo in a concert performance at Avery Fisher Hall
in Manhattan
.
A production (believed to be the first fully staged production of the work in America) was mounted in Pittsburgh, PA, in the Hall of Sculpture at the Carnegie Museum of Art
by the Opera Theater of Pittsburgh
February 12, 13, and 14 of 2010, conducted by Bernard McDonald and directed by Jonathan Eaton. The cast included Daniel Teadt as Folco, Anna Singer as Giselda, Ric Furman as Rinaldo and Craig Priebe as Salomone.
Despite the opera's late date of composition, its musical style is firmly rooted in the late-romantic tradition, combining Italian lyricism with the orchestral techniques of Wagner
and Richard Strauss
.
Rinaldo finally appears, accompanied by the mysterious necromancer Salomone. Folco welcomes them warmly, and in his aria "Allora ascolta!", explains how, while pursuing a wolf in the snowy forest, he'd raised his eyes to behold a white hind whose face was that of Giselda. Bewildered, he had stabbed the creature, whose sad eyes seemed to beg for mercy, and then had fled, horrified, into the forest. Salomone explains that if Folco's love for Giselda can survive, he must return to the forest, find the wounded hind, and carry it lovingly back to the castle, as if it were Giselda herself. Folco assures the magician that he can certainly accomplish this.
As soon as Folco leaves, Rinaldo passionately informs Giselda that he has never forgotten his love for her, but rather has, in the loneliness of his dwelling gazed upon her, and held her as if she were all his. Giselda scolds Rinaldo, but he assures her that love can accomplish anything, and that he thus has no doubt that she will be his. But Giselda scoffs at his ardent assurances. Love can do anything? Can it change the wintry garden that they see through the window to spring? If love can do that, she tells him, then she'll believe him. But Salomone interjects, "If you love, you shall see the spring."
Folco now returns. He has not found the body of the doe in the forest, and mysteriously, cannot seem to see Giselda now either, but rather sees the body of the doe lying where she stands.
Suddenly, the garden blossoms, and Giselda sings ecstatically of its ravishing beauty, and yields herself to Rinaldo's love.
as Giselda, Mario Berini as Rinaldo, and Virgilio Lazzari as Salomone.
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
in one act by Italian composer Italo Montemezzi
Italo Montemezzi
Italo Montemezzi was an Italian composer. He is best known for his opera L'amore dei tre re , once part of the standard repertoire....
. Its libretto
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
was written by playwright Sem Benelli
Sem Benelli
Sem Benelli was an Italian playwright and librettist who provided the texts for several noted Italian operas, including Italo Montemezzi's L'amore dei tre re and L'incantesimo, and Umberto Giordano's La cena delle beffe. He was a native of Prato....
who had previously collaborated with the composer on his most famous opera, L'amore dei tre re
L'amore dei tre re
L'amore dei tre re is an opera in three acts by Italo Montemezzi. Its Italian-language libretto was written by playwright Sem Benelli who based it on his own play of the same title.-Performance history:...
. Benelli finished the text in 1933, and Montemezzi started work on the score, but the composer's unpleasant relationship with Mussolini's
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
government made Italy inconducive to creative work. Montemezzi resumed work on L'incantesimo during the summer of 1943 in Beverly Hills, his home during a 10 year sojourn in the United States. Upon completion of the score, he offered it to the NBC Symphony
NBC Symphony Orchestra
The NBC Symphony Orchestra was a radio orchestra established by David Sarnoff of the National Broadcasting Company especially for conductor Arturo Toscanini...
, professing admiration for their orchestra.
Performance History
L'incantesimo received its broadcast premiere on October 9, 1943 in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. The composer conducted the NBC Symphony Orchestra
NBC Symphony Orchestra
The NBC Symphony Orchestra was a radio orchestra established by David Sarnoff of the National Broadcasting Company especially for conductor Arturo Toscanini...
. The opera's stage premiere took place on August 9, 1952 in Verona
Verona
Verona ; German Bern, Dietrichsbern or Welschbern) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, only a few months after Montemezzi's death. The following year, L'incantesimo was performed for Italian radio, and broadcast in 1954. On November 13, 2007 Teatro Grattacielo
Teatro Grattacielo
Teatro Grattacielo is a professional opera company based in New York City specializing in concert performances of rarely heard verismo operas. The company's past performances have included the North American premieres of Mascagni's Il piccolo Marat and Riccardo Zandonai's I cavalieri di Ekebù and...
, a New York group dedicated to reviving neglected verismo
Verismo
Verismo was an Italian literary movement which peaked between approximately 1875 and the early 1900s....
scores, performed L'incantesimo in a concert performance at Avery Fisher Hall
Avery Fisher Hall
Avery Fisher Hall is a concert hall, in New York City and is part of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts complex. It is the home of the New York Philharmonic, with a capacity of 2,738 seats.-History:...
in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
.
A production (believed to be the first fully staged production of the work in America) was mounted in Pittsburgh, PA, in the Hall of Sculpture at the Carnegie Museum of Art
Carnegie Museum of Art
The Carnegie Museum of Art, located in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is an art museum founded in 1895 by the Pittsburgh-based industrialist Andrew Carnegie...
by the Opera Theater of Pittsburgh
Opera Theater of Pittsburgh
Opera Theater of Pittsburgh is an American opera company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania's Cultural District. It is one of two opera companies in the city, the other being Pittsburgh Opera...
February 12, 13, and 14 of 2010, conducted by Bernard McDonald and directed by Jonathan Eaton. The cast included Daniel Teadt as Folco, Anna Singer as Giselda, Ric Furman as Rinaldo and Craig Priebe as Salomone.
Despite the opera's late date of composition, its musical style is firmly rooted in the late-romantic tradition, combining Italian lyricism with the orchestral techniques of Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
and Richard Strauss
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...
.
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere cast 9 October 1943 (Conductor: Italo Montemezzi) |
|---|---|---|
| Folco, a nobleman | baritone Baritone Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or... |
|
| Giselda, his wife | soprano Soprano A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody... |
|
| Rinaldo, her former suitor | tenor Tenor The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2... |
|
| Salomone, a necromancer | bass Bass (voice type) A bass is a type of male singing voice and possesses the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, a bass is typically classified as having a range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C... |
|
| A servant | baritone Baritone Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or... |
Synopsis
The action takes place in Folco's wintry castle during the Middle Ages. Folco, a boastful and possessive man, has sent for Rinaldo, but, noting the falling snow, worries that his old friend will not come. Rinaldo had loved Folco's wife Giselda, and had longed to marry her. Giselda questions Folco as to why he has summoned her old love, whom she has not seen since their wedding. Folco tells her that Rinaldo is bringing with him a magician, whom Folco hopes will be able to tell him the meaning of a disturbing encounter he'd experienced while hunting earlier that day.Rinaldo finally appears, accompanied by the mysterious necromancer Salomone. Folco welcomes them warmly, and in his aria "Allora ascolta!", explains how, while pursuing a wolf in the snowy forest, he'd raised his eyes to behold a white hind whose face was that of Giselda. Bewildered, he had stabbed the creature, whose sad eyes seemed to beg for mercy, and then had fled, horrified, into the forest. Salomone explains that if Folco's love for Giselda can survive, he must return to the forest, find the wounded hind, and carry it lovingly back to the castle, as if it were Giselda herself. Folco assures the magician that he can certainly accomplish this.
As soon as Folco leaves, Rinaldo passionately informs Giselda that he has never forgotten his love for her, but rather has, in the loneliness of his dwelling gazed upon her, and held her as if she were all his. Giselda scolds Rinaldo, but he assures her that love can accomplish anything, and that he thus has no doubt that she will be his. But Giselda scoffs at his ardent assurances. Love can do anything? Can it change the wintry garden that they see through the window to spring? If love can do that, she tells him, then she'll believe him. But Salomone interjects, "If you love, you shall see the spring."
Folco now returns. He has not found the body of the doe in the forest, and mysteriously, cannot seem to see Giselda now either, but rather sees the body of the doe lying where she stands.
Suddenly, the garden blossoms, and Giselda sings ecstatically of its ravishing beauty, and yields herself to Rinaldo's love.
Recording
Private recordings of the original 1943 radio broadcast have circulated for years. This performance was released in 1999 as part of the album Souvenirs from Verismo Operas Volume 4 on the International Record Collectors Club label. It features Alexander Sved as Folco, Vivian Della ChiesaVivian Della Chiesa
Vivian Della Chiesa was an American lyric soprano who achieved a high level of popularity in the United States singing on the radio during the 1940s and the early 1950s. She performed a wide variety of classical and popular works from opera to musical theatre, jazz, and popular songs...
as Giselda, Mario Berini as Rinaldo, and Virgilio Lazzari as Salomone.