La Wally
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La Wally is a four-act opera by Alfredo Catalani, composed on a libretto by Luigi Illica, and first performed at La Scala, Milan on January 20, 1892, only months after both Verdi's ''Otello and Puccini's Manon Lescaut received their premieres.
The libretto is based on a hugely successful Heimatroman and theatre piece by Wilhelmine von Hillern (1836-1916), Die Geyer-Wally, Eine Geschichte aus den Tyroler Alpen (literally: "The Vulture-Wally: A Story of the Tyrolean Alps").
The opera is best known for its aria Ebben? Ne andrò lontana, (Act I), sung when Wally decides to leave her home forever. Catalani had composed that aria independently as Chanson Groënlandaise in 1878 and later incorporated it into his opera. It is featured prominently in Jean-Jacques Beineix's film Diva.
The opera also features one of the most memorable of operatic deaths, in which the heroine throws herself into a passing avalanche. It is seldom performed because of the difficulty of staging this scene, but its arias are sung frequently.
Contents |
[edit] Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, 20 January 1892 (Conductor: - ) |
|---|---|---|
| Wally | soprano | |
| Stromminger | bass | |
| Afra | mezzo soprano | |
| Walter | ||
| Giuseppe Hagenbach | tenor | |
| Vincenzo Gellner | baritone | |
| Chorus: Tyroleans, shepherds, peasants, hunters, old women, village children. | ||
[edit] Synopsis
The story is set in a village in Tyrol. The father of the heroine, Stromminger, wants to arrange for her a marriage she does not want. Wally instead leaves her home with the minstrel Hagenbach.
[edit] Act 1
The Tyrolean Alps
[edit] Act 2
A festival at Solden
[edit] Act 3
A ravine
[edit] Act 4
High in the Alps
[edit] External links
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