La fiamma

Ottorino Respighi
Operas Marie Victoire (1913, premiere 2004) Belfagor (1923) La campana sommersa (1927) Maria egiziaca (1932) La fiamma (1934)
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La fiamma (The Flame) is an opera in three acts by Ottorino Respighi to a libretto by Claudio Guastalla based on Hans Wiers-Jenssen's 1908 play Anne Pedersdotter, The Witch. The plot is loosely based on the story of Anne Pedersdotter, a Norwegian woman who was accused of witchcraft and burnt at the stake in 1590. However, Respighi and Guastalla changed the setting of the opera to 7th century Ravenna. The melodramatic tale involves the illicit love of Silvana, the daughter of a witch, for her stepson Donello. When her husband Basilio dies of a heart attack, Silvana is accused of causing his death by witchcraft and is condemned to death. La fiamma premiered to considerable success on 23 January 1934 at the Teatro Reale dell'Opera in Rome in a performance conducted by Respighi himself. The production was directed by Alessandro Sanine with sets designed by Nicola Benois.

Roles

Notes and references

Sources

• Casaglia, Gherardo, "23 Gennaio 1934", Almanacco Amadeus, 2005. Accessed 2 March 2010 (in Italian).
• Crutchfield, Will, "Rare Respighi Opera at Carnegie", New York Times, 4 December 1987. Accessed 2 March 2010.
• Gelli, Piero (ed.), "Fiamma, La", Dizionario dell'Opera, Baldini Castoldi Dalai, 2007, ISBN 88-6073-184-4. Accessed online 2 March 2010.
• Lace, Ian "La Fiamma - Love and Witchcraft", MusicWeb International. Accessed 2 March 2010.

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