Lodoletta is a dramma lirico or lyric opera in three acts by Pietro Mascagni. The libretto is by Giovacchino Forzano, and is based on the novel Two Little Wooden Shoes by Ouida (pseudonym of Marie Louise de la Ramée).
Composition history
editAn auction of her property, including musical rights for Two Little Wooden Shoes, was held to satisfy local creditors when Ouida died in Italy in 1908. Giacomo Puccini attempted to buy them but was outbid by a local tradesman. The winner subsequently resold them to a music publisher, which provided them to Mascagni for development into the opera.[1]
Performance history
editIt was first performed at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 30 April 1917 with Rosina Storchio in the title role. The American premiere was on 12 January 1918 at the Metropolitan Opera, New York City, with Geraldine Farrar as Lodoletta and Enrico Caruso as Flammen.
Roles
edit| Role | Voice type | Premiere cast, 30 April 1917[2][3] Conductor: Pietro Mascagni |
|---|---|---|
| Lodoletta | soprano | Rosina Storchio |
| La pazza | contralto | Cleofe Braghini |
| Maud | soprano | Luigia Pieroni |
| La vanard | soprano | Ida De Filippis |
| Flammen | tenor | Giuseppe Campioni |
| Giannotto | baritone | Enrico Molinari |
| Franz | baritone | Leone Paci |
| Antonio | bass | Augusto Dadò |
| A voice/a postman | tenor | Ettore Bonzi |
Plot summary
editThe opera is set in 1853 in Holland and Paris.
Lodoletta, a Dutch orphan, and Flammen, an artist, are lovers, but she leaves him when he suggests they should live together. After he moves to Paris, she has a change of heart and follows him, finally arriving at his house on New Year's Eve, sick and in rags. Seeing a glittering party underway inside, she realizes that they inhabit different worlds and collapses in the snow. Delirious, she imagines he is kissing her and, in the final aria, "Flammen perdonami", begs his forgiveness as she dies of exhaustion.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b Spike Hughes, album jacket notes for London 5202, Operatic Recital by Renata Tebaldi Volume 3, 12" mono LP.
- ^ Casaglia, Gherardo (2005). "Lodoletta, 30 April 1917". L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia (in Italian).
- ^ "List of cast members". italianopera.org. Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
External links
edit- Lodoletta (Mascagni): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
- Libretto (in Italian)
