Tancredi is an
operaOpera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score. Opera is part of the Western classical music tradition. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
in two acts by composer Gioachino Rossini and librettist
Gaetano RossiGaetano Rossi was an Italian writer who wrote opera libretti for several composers including Rossini, Donizetti, and Meyerbeer.-Biography:...
, based on
VoltaireFrançois-Marie Arouet , better known by the pen name Voltaire, was a French Enlightenment writer, essayist, and philosopher known for his wit and his defense of civil liberties, including both freedom of religion and free trade.Voltaire was a prolific writer and produced works in almost every...
's play
Tancrède (1759). The opera made its first appearance in
VeniceVenice is a city in northern Italy, the capital of the region Veneto, a population of 271,367 . Together with Padua, the city is included in the Padua-Venice Metropolitan Area . The city historically was an independent nation...
at the
Teatro La Fenice on February 6 1813, after
Il Signor BruschinoIl signor Bruschino, ossia Il figlio per azzardo is a one act operatic farce by Gioachino Rossini to a libretto by Giuseppe Maria Foppa, based upon the play Le fils par hasard, ou ruse et folie by Alissan de Chazet and E.T.M. Ourry...
premiered in late January, giving the composer less than a month to have completed
Tancredi. The overture, borrowed from
La pietra del paragoneLa pietra del paragone is an opera, or melodramma giocoso, in two acts by Gioachino Rossini, to an original Italian libretto by Luigi Romanelli.- Performance history :...
, is a popular example of Rossini’s characteristic style, and is a regular part of the concert and recording repertoire.
Though Rossini first composed his opera with a happy ending in mind, he eventually had the poet Luigi Lechi rework the libretto to emulate the original tragic ending by Voltaire. This opera is considered by
StendhalMarie-Henri Beyle , better known by his pen name Stendhal, was a 19th-century French writer. Known for his acute analysis of his characters' psychology, he is considered one of the earliest and foremost practitioners of realism in his two novels Le Rouge et le Noir and La Chartreuse de Parme...
, Rossini's earliest biographer, to be Rossini's greatest masterpiece. The title role of Tancredi is so vocally demanding that casting the part has traditionally proved to be challenging. It requires a true contralto or a mezzo-soprano with a strong lower register who possesses great vocal agility and endurance. The title role encompasses two lengthy arias and four duets.
19th century
Tancredi premiered in 1813 at La Fenice in Venice with Adelaide Malanotte in the title role and it was soon mounted at major opera houses throughout Italy, including the
Teatro Comunale di BolognaThe Teatro Comunale di Bologna is an opera house in Bologna, Italy, and is one of the most important opera venues in Italy. Typically, it presents eight operas with six performances during its November to April season....
(1814), the Teatro Apollo in Rome (1814), the Teatro Regio di Torino (1814),
La FeniceTeatro La Fenice is an opera house in Venice, Italy. It is one of the most famous theatres in Europe, the site of many famous operatic premieres. Its name reflects its role in permitting an opera company to "rise from the ashes" despite losing the use of two theatres...
(1815), the Teatro del Fondo in Naples (1816), and the
Teatro San MoisèThe Teatro San Moisè was an opera house in Venice, active from 1640 to 1818. It was in a prominent location near the Palazzo Giustinian and the church of San Moisè at the entrance to the Grand Canal....
in Venice (1816). The opera was usually performed with the Venice (happy) ending.
The opera was first performed in England at the
King's TheatreHer Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre, in Haymarket, City of Westminster, London. The present building was designed by Charles J. Phipps and was constructed in 1897 for actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who established the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art at the theatre...
in
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
on 4 May 1820 with
Fanny Corri-PaltoniFanny Corri-Paltoni was a celebrated English operatic soprano active in Europe between 1818 and 1835. It was said that she possessed a voice of remarkable beauty and that she had a fine singing technique. She particularly excelled in the operas of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Gioachino...
as Amenaide. Its French premiere was given by the
Théâtre-Lyrique ItalienOver time, there have been several buildings and several theatrical companies named the "Théâtre-Italien" or the "Comédie-Italienne" in Paris. Following the times, the theatre has shown both plays and operas...
at the Salle Louvois in
ParisParis is the capital of France and the country's most populous city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
on 23 April 1822 with
Giuditta PastaGiuditta Angiola Maria Costanza Pasta , born in Saronno, Italy, was a soprano considered among the greatest of opera singers, to whom the 20th-century soprano Maria Callas was compared.-Studies and career:...
in the title role. It was performed in
PortugalPortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east...
for the first time at the
Teatro Nacional de São CarlosThe Teatro Nacional de São Carlos is an opera house in Lisbon, Portugal. It was opened on July 30 1793 by Queen Maria I as a replacement for the Tejo Opera House, which was destroyed in the 1755 Lisbon earthquake...
on 18 September 1822 and was given its
La ScalaLa Scala , is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the New Royal Theatre of La Scala La Scala , is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally...
premiere on 8 November 1823 with Brigida Lorenzani as Tancredi. The United States premiere occurred on 31 December 1825 at the Park Theatre in New York City using the revised version by Lechi. The Théâtre de l'Académie Royale de Musique mounted the work for the first time with
Maria MalibranThe mezzo-soprano Maria Malibran , was one of the most famous opera singers of the 19th century. Malibran was known for her stormy personality and dramatic intensity, becoming a legendary figure after her death at age 28...
in the title role on 30 March 1829.
20th and 21st century
After a 1833 revival at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna,
Tancredi was not mounted again until almost 120 years later. The
Maggio Musicale FiorentinoMaggio Musicale Fiorentino is an annual opera festival which was founded in April 1933 by conductor Vittorio Gui with the aim of presenting contemporary and forgotten operas in visually dramatic productions. It was the first music festival in Italy. The first opera presented was Verdi's early...
revived the work on 17 May 1952 with
Giulietta SimionatoGiulietta Simionato is an Italian mezzo-soprano and one of the great singers of the post-war operatic stage. Her career spanned from the 1930s until her retirement in 1966. Simionato was much admired for vibrant singing in a remarkably wide repertoire, excelling in both dramatic and comic roles...
in the title role,
Teresa Stich-RandallTeresa Stich-Randall was a European-based American soprano opera singer.-Early life and career:She was born in New Hartford, Connecticut in 1927 and studied at the Hartt School of Music in West Hartford. Her operatic debut was in the role of Henrietta M...
as Amenaide,
Francesco AlbaneseFrancesco Albanese was a lyric tenor, particularly associated with the Italian repertory....
as Argirio,
Mario PetriMario Petri was an Italian operatic bass particularly associated with Mozart and Rossini roles....
as Orbazzano, and
Tullio SerafinTullio Serafin was an Italian conductor.-Biography:Tullio Serafin was a leading Italian opera conductor with a long career and a very broad repertoire who revived many 19th century bel canto operas by Bellini, Rossini and Donizetti to become staples of 20th century repertoire...
conducting. The work was not seen again for another 25 years, at which time legendary mezzo-soprano
Marilyn HorneMarilyn Horne is an American mezzo-soprano opera singer who is particularly associated with the music of Rossini and Handel. She began her career as a light lyric soprano; however, as the years progressed, the voice settled and matured into a mezzo-soprano instrument with a full and rich timbre...
teamed up with the
Houston Grand OperaHouston Grand Opera was founded in 1955 through the joint efforts of Maestro Walter Herbert and Houston cultural leaders Mrs. Louis G. Lobit and Edward Bing. With a current annual operating budget of $20 million, HGO has grown from a small regional company...
to revive it on 13 October 1977. Ms. Horne, who is now strongly associated with the title role, insisted on the tragic Ferrara ending, citing that it is more consistent with the overall tone of the opera. Indeed, most of the recordings of this opera today use the Ferrara finish with some including the Venice finale as an extra track.
Horne's triumphant performance of Tancredi in Houston soon led to invitations from other opera houses to sing the role, and it is largely through her efforts that the opera enjoyed a surge of revivals during the latter half of the 20th century. She sang the part for performances at the
Teatro dell'Opera di RomaThe Teatro dell'Opera di Roma is an opera house in Rome, Italy. Originally opened in November 1880 as the 2,212 seat Costanzi Theatre, it has undergone several changes of name as well modifications and improvements...
(1977), the
San Francisco OperaSan Francisco Opera is the second largest opera company in North America after the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. It was founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola...
(1979), the
Aix-en-Provence FestivalThe festival international d'art lyrique is an annual international music festival which takes place each summer in Aix-en-Provence, principally in the month of July. Devoted mainly to opera, it also includes concerts of orchestral, chamber, vocal and solo instrumental music.-Establishment:The...
(1981), La Fenice (1981, 1983), and the
Lyric Opera of ChicagoLyric Opera of Chicago is one of the leading opera companies in the United States. It was founded in Chicago in 1952, under the name 'Lyric Theatre of Chicago' by Carol Fox, Nicolà Rescigno and Lawrence Kelly, with a season that included Maria Callas's American debut in Norma...
(1989) among others.
While
Tancredi is not one of the more frequently mounted operas, it has now become less of a rarity on the opera stage. Contralto
Ewa PodlesEwa Podleś is an internationally celebrated Polish contralto with a very wide vocal range and great vocal agility. After studying at the Warsaw Academy of Music under Madame Bolechowska, Podles made her stage debut as Rosina in Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia in 1975...
has recently achieved recognition in the title role, performing it at the
Vlaamse OperaThe Vlaamse Opera ' is an opera company in Belgium directed by Aviel Cahn which operates in two different opera houses in two Flemish cities, the Vlaamse Opera Antwerpen at Van Ertbornstraat 8 and the Vlaamse Opera Ghent at Schouwburgstraat 3...
(1991), La Scala (1993), the
Berlin State OperaStaatsoper Unter den Linden is a prominent German opera company. Its permanent home is the Opera House on the Unter den Linden boulevard in Berlin.-Early years:...
(1996), the
Canadian Opera CompanyThe Canadian Opera Company is an opera company based in Toronto, Ontario. It is the largest opera company in Canada and the sixth largest in North America. The COC is resident at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts...
(2005), the
Caramoor International Music FestivalThe Caramoor International Music Festival is a summer music festival founded in 1945 that is held on the estate of the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts Inc., which includes a Mediterranean-style stucco villa and is located about north of New York City in Katonah, New York.The Caramoor...
(2006) and the
Teatro RealThe Teatro Real or simply El Real , is a major opera house located in Madrid, Spain.-History:...
(2007) among others. She is scheduled to portray the role again in October 2009 at
Opera BostonOpera Boston is an opera company in Boston, Massachusetts. It specializes in innovative repertoire and rarely-heard works, along with opera education and outreach programs designed to bring opera education to children, in schools and after-school programs throughout the Boston area.Its home base is...
and has also recorded the role on the Naxos label (1995). Bulgarian
mezzo-sopranoA mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...
Vesselina Kasarova- Early life and education :Vesselina Kasarova was born in the central Bulgarian town of Stara Zagora in July 1965. Under the communist regime she studied Russian as a second language and began her music education in early childhood, taking her first piano lesson when she was only 4 years old...
has also been praised in the role, singing it at the
Salzburg FestivalThe Salzburg Festival is a prominent festival of music and drama. It is held each summer within the Austrian town of Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart...
(1992), the
Opera Orchestra of New YorkThe Opera Orchestra of New York specializes in the performance of opera in concert form. It is particularly known for its work in presenting rarely performed repertory...
(1997), and on a 1996 recording with the Bavarian Radio Chorus and Munich Radio Orchestra.
Pier Luigi PizziPier Luigi Pizzi is an Italian opera director, set designer, and costume designer.Pizzi was born in Milan, Italy, and earned a degree in architecture at the Politecnico in Milan...
staged a lauded production of
Tancredi at the
Teatro RossiniThe Teatro Rossini is an opera house in Pesaro, Italy which, as the Teatro Nuovo, , was inaugurated on 10 June 1818 with a performance of Gioacchino Rossini's La gazza ladra conducted by the composer in the town of his birth...
in
PesaroPesaro is a town and comune in the Italian region of the Marche, capital of the Pesaro e Urbino province, on the Adriatic. According to the 2007 census, its population was 92,206....
in 1999, a production which was later transported to the
Rossini Opera FestivalThe Rossini Opera Festival is an opera festival held in August of each year in Pesaro, Italy, the birthplace of the opera composer Gioachino Rossini....
in 2004, and then to Rome and Florence (where it was filmed for DVD with Daniela Barcellona in the title role) in 2005. Barcellona is scheduled to sing Tancredi again in a new staging of the opera at the Teatro Regio di Turino in November 2009 after recently reprising the part in February 2009 at the Teatro de la Maestranza. The
Theater an der WienThe Theater an der Wien is an opera house in Vienna.-Origin:The theater opened in 1801 and was the brainchild of the Viennese theatrical impresario Emanuel Schikaneder, who is best known to history as Mozart's librettist and collaborator on the opera The Magic Flute...
is scheduled to mount the work for the first time in October 2009 with
Vivica GenauxVivica Genaux is an American mezzo-soprano. Her father, an American of Belgian-Welsh descent, was a biochemistry professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and her mother, Mexican-born of Swiss-German extraction, was a language teacher...
in the title role and the
Théâtre des Champs-ÉlyséesThe Théâtre des Champs-Élysées is a Parisian theatre, famous for being the place of the scandal related to the first performance of Igor Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring in 1913....
plans to present the opera in concert in December 2009 with Nora Gubisch as Tancredi.
Roles
| Role |
Voice type |
Premiere Cast, February 6, 1813
(Conductor: - ) |
| Tancredi, an exiled Syracusean soldier |
contralto In music, a contralto is a type of classical female singing voice with a vocal range somewhere between a tenor and a mezzo-soprano. The term is used to refer to the deepest female singing voice. The typical contralto range lies between the F below middle C to two Fs above middle C...
or mezzo-sopranoA mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...
|
Adelaide Melanotte Montresor |
| Amenaide, the daughter of a noble family, in love with Tancredi |
soprano A soprano is a singing voice with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music...
|
Elisabetta Manfredini Guarmani |
| Argirio, father of Amenaide; head of his family, at war with the family of Orbazzano |
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...
|
Pietro Todràn |
| Orbazzano, the head of his noble family, at war with the family of Argirio |
bass |
Luciano Bianchi |
| Isaura, friend to Amenaide |
contralto |
Teresa Marchesi |
| Ruggiero, Tancredi's squire |
mezzo-soprano or tenor |
Carolina Sivelli |
| Knights, nobles, squires, Syracuseans, Saracens; ladies-in-waiting, warriors, pages, guards, etc |
Synopsis
- Place: the Sicilian
Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is an autonomous region of Italy. Several much smaller islands surrounding it are considered to be part of Sicily....
city-state of SyracuseSyracuse is a historic city in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Syracuse. The city is famous for its rich Greek history, culture, amphitheatres, architecture and association to Archimedes, playing an important role in ancient times as one of the top powers of the Mediterranean world;...
- Time: AD 1005
Background
The
city of SyracuseSyracuse is a historic city in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Syracuse. The city is famous for its rich Greek history, culture, amphitheatres, architecture and association to Archimedes, playing an important role in ancient times as one of the top powers of the Mediterranean world;...
is tethered by conflict and war — there is the
Byzantine empireThe Byzantine Empire or Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered on the capital of Constantinople, and ruled by Emperors in direct and de jure succession to the ancient Roman Emperors...
, with which it has an unstable truce, and the
SaracenSaracen was a term used by Europeans in the Middle Ages for Arabs at first, then later for all who professed the religion of Islam.-Etymology:...
armies headed by Solamir. Not only is Syracuse exhausted by external war, but internal war as well; the soldier Tancredi and his family have been stripped of their estates and inheritances, and he himself has been banished since his youth. Two more noble families — headed by Argirio and Orbazzano — have been warring for years. Argirio and his family — his wife and his daughter, Amenaide — have been residing as guests of the Byzantine court, where Tancredi presides in exile. Also present in the court is Solamir, the Moorish general, who wishes for the lovely Amenaide’s hand in marriage in hopes that he can create a Saracen-Syracusean alliance. However, Amenaide is secretly in love with Tancredi.
The story
As the opera opens, Argirio and Orbazzano have agreed to stop warring and have come to a truce; the Senate has given Orbazzano Tancredi’s confiscated estates, and Argirio must give him Amenaide in marriage. Amenaide, horrified by this unjust decision, secretly sends a letter to Tancredi (which does not bear his name, for fear that the letter might be intercepted), begging him to return. The letter is promptly intercepted by Orbazzano's agent near Solamir's camp, and Amenaide is sentenced to death for treachery (they thought she was sending it to Solamir). Tancredi, who has returned incognito and offered his service to Argirio, challenges Orbazzano to a duel and kills him in defence of Amenaide's honor and life (even though he believes she had betrayed him with the letter). Then he leads the Syracusans into battle with Solamir.
In the Ferrara ending, Tancredi wins the battle but is mortally wounded. He learns that Amenaide did not betray him before he dies. While in the Venice ending, he returns from the battle triumphant after having heard Solamir's dying testimony that Amenaide's letter was really meant for Tancredi.
Selected recordings
| Year |
Cast
(Tancredi, Amenaide, Argirio, Orbazzano) |
Conductor,
Opera House and Orchestra |
Label |
| 1978 |
Fiorenza Cossotto Fiorenza Cossotto is an Italian mezzo soprano. She is considered by many to be one of the great mezzo-sopranos of the 20th century, a natural successor to Giulietta Simionato.-Life and career:...
,
Lella CuberliLella Cuberli is an American soprano, particularly associated with the Belcanto repertory.Born Lella Terell in Austin, Texas, she studied in Dallas and later in Milan...
,
Werner Hollweg,
Nicola Ghiuselev |
Gabriele Ferro,
Capella Coloniesis, Chor des Westdeutschen Rundfunks |
Audio CD: Warner Fonit |
| 1982 |
Marilyn Horne Marilyn Horne is an American mezzo-soprano opera singer who is particularly associated with the music of Rossini and Handel. She began her career as a light lyric soprano; however, as the years progressed, the voice settled and matured into a mezzo-soprano instrument with a full and rich timbre...
,
Lella CuberliLella Cuberli is an American soprano, particularly associated with the Belcanto repertory.Born Lella Terell in Austin, Texas, she studied in Dallas and later in Milan...
,
Ernesto PalacioErnesto Palacio is a Peruvian tenor, particularly associated with Rossini and Mozart roles.Palacio first studied theology before turning to music...
,
Nicola Zaccaria Nicola Zaccaria was a Greek bass-baritone.Born in Piraeus, Zaccaria studied in Athens where he enjoyed his debut in 1949, aged 26. He sang at La Scala in 1953 and his position as a mainstay of the bass operatic repertoire was assured thereafter...
|
Ralf Weikert,
La Fenice Orchestra and ChorusTeatro La Fenice is an opera house in Venice, Italy. It is one of the most famous theatres in Europe, the site of many famous operatic premieres. Its name reflects its role in permitting an opera company to "rise from the ashes" despite losing the use of two theatres...
|
Audio CD: Sony Music EntertainmentSony Music Entertainment is the second-largest global recorded music company of the "big four" record companies and is controlled by Sony Corporation of America.-History:...
|
| 1992 |
Bernadette Manca di Nissa,
Maria Bayo,
Raul GimenezRaúl Giménez is an Argentinian operatic tenor, particularly associated with the Italian bel canto repertory, in which he is considered one of the best exponent in recent years....
,
Ildebrando D'ArcangeloIldebrando D'Arcangelo is an Italian bass-baritone opera singer.-Biography:A Native of Pescara, Abruzzo, D'Arcangelo began his studies in 1985 at the conservatory of Luisa D'Annunzio in Pescara, under Maria Vittoria Romano, honing his skills under Paride Venturi in Bologna.From 1989 to 1991 he...
|
Gianluigi Gelmetti Gianluigi Gelmetti is an Italian conductor and composer.He studied conducting with Franco Ferrara, Sergiu Celibidache and Hans Swarowsky. He first conducted an orchestra in Siena at age 16....
Radio Symphony Orchestra Stuttgart, SchwetzingenSchwetzingen is a German town situated in the northwest of Baden-Württemberg, around 10 km southwest of Heidelberg and 15 km southeast of Mannheim....
Festspiele Chorus |
DVD: Arthaus Musik |
| 1995 |
Ewa Podles Ewa Podleś is an internationally celebrated Polish contralto with a very wide vocal range and great vocal agility. After studying at the Warsaw Academy of Music under Madame Bolechowska, Podles made her stage debut as Rosina in Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia in 1975...
,
Sumi Jo,
Stanford Olsen,
Pietro Spagnoli |
Alberto Zedda,
Collegium Instrumentale Brugense, Capella Brugensis |
Audio CD: Naxos |
| 1996 |
Vesselina Kasarova - Early life and education :Vesselina Kasarova was born in the central Bulgarian town of Stara Zagora in July 1965. Under the communist regime she studied Russian as a second language and began her music education in early childhood, taking her first piano lesson when she was only 4 years old...
,
Eva Mei,
Ramon VargasRamon Vargas is an award-winning Mexican lyric tenor opera singer. Since his debut in the early '90s, he has developed to become one of the most acclaimed tenors of the 21st Century...
,
Harry Peeters |
Roberto Abbado Roberto Abbado is an Italian conductor. He is the nephew of conductor Claudio Abbado. He studied conducting under Franco Ferrara at La Fenice, Venice, and at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia where he became the only student of the academy ever to be asked to conduct the Orchestra...
,
Münchener Sinfonieorchester, Bayrischer Rundfunkchor |
Audio CD: RCA Victor |
| 2003 |
Daniela Barcellona,
Mariola Cantarero,
Charles WorkmanCharles Workman may refer to:*Charles H. Workman, English singer and actor*Charles Workman, hitman who killed Dutch Schultz...
,
Nicola Ulivieri |
Paolo Arrivabeni,
Orchestra e Coro del Teatro Lirico Giuseppe Verdi di Trieste |
DVD: Kicco Classics |
External links