''Aurora'' is an

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

in three acts by the Argentine composer

Héctor Panizza Ettore Panizza (born Héctor Panizza; 12 August 187527 November 1967) was an Argentine conductor and composer, one of the leading conductors of the early 20th century. Panizza possessed technical mastery and was popular and influential during ...

(also known as Ettore Panizza) set to an Italian

libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major li ...

by Luigi Illica and Hector Quesada. Composed in 1907, ''Aurora'' became the second national opera of

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...

, after Felipe Boero's more popular ''El Matrero''. Although its plot is set in

, ''Aurora'' is Italian in style. Panizza's

score Score or scorer may refer to: *Test score, the result of an exam or test Business * Score Digital, now part of Bauer Radio * Score Entertainment, a former American trading card design and manufacturing company * Score Media, a former Canadian ...

shows a strong influence of Giordano and Mascagni. ''Aurora'' was the first Argentine opera to be commissioned for the inaugural season of the Teatro Colón in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

, where it premiered on 5 September 1908. The main

tenor A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is wide ...

aria, "Alta en el cielo" ("High in the sky"), from the ''intermedio épico'' at the finale of Act 2 was used as a national hymn to the Argentine flag. What not many people know is that the Spanish lyrics are a poor translation of the original Italian text, so many lines are obscure and hard to make sense of. The later revised version of the opera set in Spanish was premiered on 9 July 1945 and is now considered the Argentine patriotic opera ''par excellence''. ''Aurora'' was also performed at Teatro Colón in 1909 (with Hariclea Darclée), 1945, 1953, 1955, 1965, 1966, 1983 and 1999.

Sources

*Laurance, Rita
Aurora, opera
All Music Guide

External links

Original 1912 recording with tenor Amedeo Bassi
{{Authority control Operas Italian-language operas Spanish-language operas 1908 operas Operas by Héctor Panizza Operas set in South America