Il tabarro
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Operas by Giacomo Puccini |
|---|
Le Villi (1884) |
Il tabarro (The Cloak) is an opera in one act by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Giuseppe Adami, based on Didier Gold's La Houppelande. It is the first of the trio of operas known as Il trittico. First performance: Metropolitan Opera, New York City, 1918.
Contents |
[edit] Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, December 14, 1918 (Conductor: Roberto Moranzoni) |
|---|---|---|
| Michele, a barge-owner | baritone | Luigi Montesanto |
| Giorgetta, Michele's wife | soprano | Claudia Muzio |
| Luigi, a stevedore | tenor | Giulio Crimi |
| 'Tinca' ('tench'), a stevedore | tenor | Angelo Bada |
| 'Talpa' ('mole'), a stevedore | bass | Adamo Didur |
| La Frugola ('the rummager'), Talpa's wife | mezzo-soprano | Alice Gentle |
| Stevedores, a ballad-seller, midinettes, an organ-grinder, two lovers | ||
[edit] Synopsis
- Place: A barge on the Seine.
- Time: 1910.
While the stevedores work unloading the barge, Michele wonders if his wife Giorgetta is still faithful. She serves wine to the workers, and they dance to the music of an organ grinder. Frugola enters, looking for her husband. She shows everyone the fruits of her shopping in Paris and scolds the men for their drinking. Luigi laments his lot in life. He remembers with Giorgetta their old neighborhood. Michele refuses to take Luigi to Rouen. Luigi arranges a secret rendez-vous with his lover Giorgetta before leaving. Michele reminisces with Giorgetta of the days before their child died, how all three would fit under his cloak. He knows she is straying, but wants to win her back. Luigi, thinking that Michele's lit pipe is Giorgetta's signal, returns to the barge and is confronted by Michele. Michele forces Luigi to confess his affair, then kills him, hiding the body under his cloak. When Giorgetta returns, he opens wide the cloak, revealing her dead lover.
[edit] Noted arias
- "Hai ben ragione! meglio non pensare" — Luigi
- "Nulla! Silenzio!" — Michele
[edit] Selected recordings
| Year | Cast (Michele, Giorgetta, Luigi) |
Conductor, Opera House and Orchestra |
Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Juan Pons, Teresa Stratas, Plácido Domingo, |
James Levine, Metropolitan Opera orchestra and chorus |
DVD: Deutsche Grammophon Cat: 00440 073 4024 |
Note: "Cat:" is short for catalogue number by the label company
