Assassinio nella cattedrale

Summary

Assassinio nella cattedrale (Murder in the Cathedral) is an opera in two acts and an intermezzo by the Italian composer Ildebrando Pizzetti. The libretto is an adaptation by the composer of an Italian translation of T. S. Eliot's 1935 play Murder in the Cathedral. The opera was first performed at La Scala, Milan, on 1 March 1958. The opera was performed for the first time in Canada the following year at the Montreal Festivals.[1]

Assassinio nella cattedrale
Opera by Ildebrando Pizzetti
The assassination of Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral, the opera's central theme, in a 15th-century depiction by Francke
LibrettistIldebrando Pizzetti
LanguageItalian
Based onMurder in the Cathedral
by T. S. Eliot
Premiere
1 March 1958 (1958-03-01)
La Scala, Milan

Roles edit

Roles, voice types, premiere cast
Role Voice type Premiere cast, 1 March 1958[2]
Conductor: Gianandrea Gavazzeni
Thomas Becket bass Nicola Rossi-Lemeni
Herald tenor Aldo Bertocci
First tempter tenor Rinaldo Pelizzoni
Second tempter bass Antonio Cassinelli
Third tempter bass Nicola Zaccaria
Fourth tempter bass Lino Puglisi
First priest tenor Mario Ortica
Second priest baritone Dino Dondi
Third priest bass Adolfo Cormanni
First knight tenor Rinaldo Pelizzoni
Second knight bass Enrico Campi
Third knight bass Silvio Maionica
Fourth knight bass Marco Stefanoni
First coryphée soprano Leyla Gencer
Second coryphée mezzo-soprano Gabriella Carturan

Recordings edit

  • Assassinio nella cattedrale – La Scala Orchestra and Chorus conducted by Gianandrea Gavazzeni with Nicola Rossi-Lemeni as Thomas Becket. Recorded live at the La Scala premiere, 1 March 1958. Label: Opera d'Oro[3]
  • Assassinio nella cattedraleOrchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI di Torino conducted by Ildebrando Pizzetti with Nicola Rossi-Lemeni as Thomas Becket. Radio broadcast recorded live in Turin, 5 December 1958. Label: Stradivarius
  • Assassinio nella cattedrale — Vienna State Opera Orchestra and Chorus conducted by Herbert von Karajan with Hans Hotter as Thomas Becket. Recorded live at the Vienna State Opera, 9 March 1960. Sung in German. Label: Deutsche Grammophon
  • Assassinio nella cattedrale – Orchestra Sinfonica della Provincia di Bari conducted by Piergiorgio Morandi with Ruggero Raimondi as Thomas Becket. Recorded live at the Basilica di San Nicola, Bari on 22 December 2006. Label: Decca

References edit

  1. ^ Sandor, Marjorie (March 2013). "Once More to the Cathedral". Opera News, Vol. 77, No. 9. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
  2. ^ Casaglia, Gherardo (2005). "Assassinio nella cattedrale, 1 March 1958". L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia (in Italian).
  3. ^ All recordings in this section are sourced from OCLC 41543017

Further reading edit

  • Gelli, Piero (ed.) (2005). Assassinio nella cattedrale. Dizionario dell'opera, p. 102. Baldini Castoldi Dalai (republished on operamanager.it). Retrieved 17 February 2016 (in Italian)