''Conchita'' 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 librett ...
in four acts and six scenes by composer
Riccardo Zandonai
Riccardo Zandonai (28 May 1883 – 5 June 1944) was an Italian composer.
Biography
Zandonai was born in Borgo Sacco, Rovereto, then part of Austria-Hungary. As a young man, he showed such an aptitude for music that he entered the Pesaro Conserv ...
. The work uses an Italian language
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 theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...
by Maurizio Vaucaire and which is based on
Pierre Louÿs
Pierre Louÿs (; 10 December 1870 – 4 June 1925) was a French poet and writer, most renowned for lesbian and classical themes in some of his writings. He is known as a writer who sought to "express pagan sensuality with stylistic perfection". ...
's 1898 novel ''
La Femme et le pantin''. The work premièred in
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
at the
Teatro dal Verme on 14 October 1911 with soprano
Tarquinia Tarquini
Tarquinia Tarquini (1882 - 25 February 1976) was an Italian dramatic soprano and the wife of composer Riccardo Zandonai.
Biography
Born in Colle di Val d'Elsa, Tarquini studied singing at the Milan Conservatory and privately in Florence. She ma ...
, who later married Zandonai in 1917, in the title role. Her portrayal was lauded by critics and she went on to perform Conchita at the
Royal Opera, London
The Royal Opera is a British opera company based in central London, resident at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. Along with the English National Opera, it is one of the two principal opera companies in London. Founded in 1946 as the Cove ...
(1912), the
Cort Theatre
The James Earl Jones Theatre, originally the Cort Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 138 West 48th Street, between Seventh Avenue and Sixth Avenue, in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States. It was built in ...
in San Francisco (1912), the
Philharmonic Auditorium
Hazard's Pavilion was a large auditorium in Los Angeles, California, at the intersection of Fifth and Olive Streets. Showman George "Roundhouse" Lehman had planned to construct a large theatre center on the land he purchased at this location, bu ...
in
Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood, ...
(1912), the
Heilig Theatre in
Portland
Portland most commonly refers to:
* Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States
* Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...
(1912), the
Metropolitan Opera House in Philadelphia (1912), the
Chicago Grand Opera Company
Two grand opera companies in Chicago, Illinois, have gone by the name Chicago Grand Opera Company during the first half of the 20th century. Like many opera ventures in Chicago, both succumbed to financial difficulties within a few years, and i ...
(1913), and the
Teatro di San Carlo
The Real Teatro di San Carlo ("Royal Theatre of Saint Charles"), as originally named by the Bourbon monarchy but today known simply as the Teatro (di) San Carlo, is an opera house in Naples, Italy, connected to the Royal Palace and adjacent t ...
in
Naples
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
(1913).
The opera was published by
G. Ricordi & Co in 1912.
Roles
Synopsis
The story takes place in
Seville
Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...
.
Conchita Pérez, a poor cigar maker, is wooed by Matteo, but she resists his advances. Matteo pays her mother some money to relieve their poverty. Offended, Conchita escapes and becomes a somewhat famous
flamenco
Flamenco (), in its strictest sense, is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and ...
dancer. Matteo tracks her down and continues his advances as she resists them. To prove his love, she organizes a meeting with a fake lover in front of Matteo who becomes very irate as a result. She finally has proof of his love for her, which she now can reciprocate.
References
{{Authority control
Operas by Riccardo Zandonai
Italian-language operas
Operas set in Spain
1911 operas
Operas
Operas based on novels
Adaptations of works by Pierre Louÿs