L'amico Fritz

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Operas by Pietro Mascagni

Cavalleria rusticana (1890)
L'amico Fritz (1891)
I Rantzau (1892)
Guglielmo Ratcliff (1895)
Silvano (1895)
Iris (1898)
Le maschere (1901)
Amica (1905)
Isabeau (1911)
Parisina (1913)
Lodoletta (1917)
Il piccolo Marat (1921)
Nerone (1935)

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L'amico Fritz is an opera in three acts by Pietro Mascagni, 1891, from a libretto by P. Suardon (Nicola Daspuro) (with additions by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti), based on the French novel L'ami Fritz by Emile Erckmann and Pierre-Alexandre Chatrian.

Contents

[edit] Performance history

The opera was first performed in Rome at the Teatro Costanzi, on 31 October 1891. While the opera enjoyed some success in its day and is probably Mascagni's most famous work after Cavalleria Rusticana, today it is performed far more rarely than Cavalleria, which remains Mascagni's only enduringly popular work.

[edit] Roles

Role Voice type Premiere Cast,
31 October 1891
(Conductor: - )
Fritz Kobus, a wealthy landowner tenor
Beppe, his friend, a gypsy mezzo-soprano
Federico, a friend to Fritz tenor
Hanezò, a friend to Fritz bass
David, a rabbi baritone
Caterina, a servant soprano
Suzel, daughter of a tenant of Fritz soprano

[edit] Arias etc.

The "Cherry duet" between Fritz and Suzel in Act II is the best known piece in the opera.

[edit] Selected recording

  • L'amico Fritz - Ferruccio Tagliavini (Fritz), Pia Tassinari (Suzel), Amalia Pini (Beppe), Saturno Meletti (David), Armando Giannotti (Federico), Pier Luigi Latinucci (Hanezò), Giulia Abba Bersone (Caterina) - Chorus and Orchestra of RAI Turin, Pietro Mascagni - Warner-Fonit (1942)