Le Villi
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| Operas by Giacomo Puccini |
|---|
Le Villi (1884) |
Le Villi (The Willis or The Fairies) is an opera-ballet in two acts (originally one) composed by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Ferdinando Fontana, based on the short story Les Willis by Alphonse Karr. The original one act version was first performed at the Teatro Dal Verme, Milan on May 31, 1884. A revised, two act version was performed in at the Teatro Regio, Turin on December 26, 1884.
Le Villi is Puccini's first stage work. It was written for a competition of one-act operas, but did not even earn an honorable mention. His supporters funded the first production, whose favorable reception led to publication by Giulio Ricordi[a] . Ricordi urged the composer to expand the work, and Puccini did, producing a new version later that year, which was followed by modifications in 1888, and the final version in 1892.
The libretto is based in the Central European legend of the Willis, also used in the ballet Giselle.
Contents |
[edit] Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, May 31, 1884 (Conductor: Arturo Panizza) |
Premiere Cast, revised version, December 26, 1884 (Conductor: Giovanni Bolzoni) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guglielmo, the head forester | baritone or bass | Erminio Peltz | Agostino Gnaccarini |
| Anna, his daughter | soprano | Rosina Caponetti | Elena Boronat |
| Roberto, a young man | tenor | Antonio d'Andrade | Enrico Filippi-Bresciani |
| Narrator | spoken | ||
| Mountain folk, fairies, unseen spirits | |||
[edit] Synopsis
- Place: Black Forest.
- Time: Middle Ages.
[edit] Act 1 - Spring
Family and guests dance at a celebration of the engagement in marriage of Roberto and Anna. Roberto must leave before the ceremony to collect an inheritance, and Anna worries that she will never see him again (Aria: "Se come voi piccina"). Roberto comforts Anna telling he that it will be fine and they will marry when he returns from Mainz. Anna tells Roberto of her dreams of him dying but Roberto tells Anna that she should not worry about his love failing and that she may doubt her God but not his love for her. The crowd returns and Anna is still worried about Roberto leaving. Roberto then asks Guglielmo, Anna’s father, to bless them before his journey and Roberto sets off for Mainz.
[edit] Intermezzo
Roberto is enchanted by a seductress, and forgets Anna. Anna waits through the summer and the autumn and in the winter dies in his absence. The legend of the fairies (Le Villi) is then explained. When a woman dies of a broken heart, the fairies force the heart breaker to dance until death.
[edit] Act 2 - Winter
Anna's father, Guglielmo, holds Roberto responsible for Anna's death and calls upon the Villi to take vengeance on Roberto (Aria: "Anima santa della figlia mia"). The Villi call upon the ghost of Anna and lure Roberto into the forest. Roberto, now penniless and abandoned by the seductress, returns when news of Anna's Death reaches him. Hoping that he will be forgiven the Villi stalk Roberto as he mourns the loss of the days of his youth (Aria: "Torna ai felici dì"). Roberto then finds the one last flower left alive in the winter and tries to find hope that Anna lives but is repelled by the Villi when he ties to knock on the door of Guglielmo's house. Roberto then tries to pray for forgiveness but finds he cannot because of the curse put upon him by the Villi. As Roberto curses his fate Anna appears to him and tells him of the suffering that she had to endure because of Roberto. Roberto begs for forgiveness and he too feels the pain of Anna burning in his heart. But Roberto is not forgiven and Anna calls upon the Villi, who curse Roberto with cries of "traitor." There, the Villi and Anna dance with Roberto until he dies of exhaustion at Anna's feet.
[edit] Notes
a. ^ 'Puccini's mother received the following telegram on the night of its production: "Theatre packed, immense success; anticipations exceeded; eighteen calls; finale of first act encored thrice"'.[1]
[edit] Bibliography
- Dieter Schickling, Giacomo Puccini – Catalogue of the Works, Bärenreiter 2003, pp. 133-148 e pp. 410-411 (Appendix IV - Autograph Material for Le Villi). ISBN 3-7618-1582-4
[edit] References
- ^ Dry, Wakeling (1906). Living Masters of Music, Giacomo Puccini.. London: John Lane, The Bodley Head.
[edit] External links
- Synopsis from Naxos Records
- Libretto on geocities or on opera.stanford.edu
