''Salvatore Giuliano'' is an opera in one act by

Lorenzo Ferrero Lorenzo Ferrero (; born 1951) is an Italian composer, librettist, author, and book editor. He started composing at an early age and has written over a hundred compositions thus far, including twelve operas, three ballets, and numerous orchestral ...

to 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 Giuseppe Di Leva, which was conceived to be performed in tandem with Pietro Mascagni's ''

Cavalleria rusticana ''Cavalleria rusticana'' (; Italian for "rustic chivalry") is an opera in one act by Pietro Mascagni to an Italian libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci, adapted from an 1880 short story of the same name and subsequent play b ...

''. The work was commissioned by the

Teatro dell'Opera di Roma The Teatro dell'Opera di Roma (Rome Opera House) is an opera house in Rome, Italy. Originally opened in November 1880 as the 2,212 seat ''Costanzi Theatre'', it has undergone several changes of name as well modifications and improvements. The pre ...

and premiered there on 25 January 1986. Set in Sicily, the story is based on the life of the legendary historical figure

Salvatore Giuliano Salvatore Giuliano (; Sicilian: Turiddu or Sarvaturi Giulianu; 16 November 1922 – 5 July 1950) was an Italian bandit, who rose to prominence in the disorder that followed the Allied invasion of Sicily in 1943. In September of that year, Giul ...

(1922–1950), a Sicilian peasant who fought the Italian authorities in the name of a separatist movement.

Performance history

The original production directed by

Luciano Damiani Luciano Damiani (14 July 1923 – 20 June 2007) was an Italian stage and costume designer, who worked both for theatre and opera productions. Theatre and opera productions Damiani studied painting and only by chance started working for the stage. ...

and conducted by

Gustav Kuhn Gustav Kuhn (born 28 August 1945) is an Austrian conductor and manager, also a composer, and a teacher and author. During his international conducting career, he founded the later "Accademia di Montegral" for young musicians and singers in 1987, ...

became the subject of a monograph entitled ''Nascita di un'opera: Salvatore Giuliano'', which was published in 1987 by photographer Lorenzo Capellini. The opera had two subsequent new productions in Germany, one conducted by Frank Cramer which was performed at

Mainfranken Theater Würzburg Mainfranken Theater Würzburg is a theatre in Würzburg, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most popu ...

on 13 May 1987 and the second conducted by Johannes Wedekind at the

Staatstheater Kassel The Staatstheater Kassel is a state-owned and operated theater in Kassel, Germany. History A permanent theatre house existed in Kassel during the first decade of the 17th century. It stood immediately next to the Ottoneum near the State Theatre ...

on 8 June 1996.

Roles

Synopsis

:Place: Western Sicily,

Montelepre Montelepre (; scn, Muncilebbri) is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Palermo, Sicily, Italy. It is known for having been the native city of Sicilian bandit Salvatore Giuliano, of architect Rosario Candela, as well as the ancest ...

and surrounding mountains :Time: The second half of the 1940s In an empty village at dawn a shot is heard and there is a glimpse of a man running. When the village awakes a representative of EVIS, the Volunteer Army for the Independence of Sicily, arrives to address the inhabitants and to introduce Salvatore Giuliano to them. In his speech, the man incites the villagers to endorse EVIS' fight for independence. After pledging his support to the cause, Giuliano remains alone with his lieutenant, Gaspare Pisciotta. They are discussing how to liberate Giuliano's mother from prison when, unexpectedly, she returns to him escorted by a Mafioso. Giuliano realizes that he has contracted a debt with the Mafia. In his mountain stronghold, Giuliano relates his life story to Maria, a Swedish journalist who came to interview him. He recalls that he became a bandit by chance, due to poverty and the injustice of the Italian state. He confesses that he hopes for a

pardon A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the ju ...

and emigration to America. The interview is interrupted by the Mafioso who returned to claim his dues. He asks Giuliano to attack the communists'

Labour Day Labour Day ('' Labor Day'' in the United States) is an annual holiday to celebrate the achievements of workers. Labour Day has its origins in the labour union movement, specifically the eight-hour day movement, which advocated eight hours for ...

parade at Portella della Ginestra in exchange for Mafia protection and help with his request for amnesty. Giuliano agrees. After the massacre, Colonel Ugo Luca, the head of the newly formed special police force for the suppression of banditry, ponders about the Minister's order to liquidate Giuliano because by now he knows too much. In the meantime, at his sister's wedding reception Giuliano carries out an irreparable act and executes five Mafiosi, who came to inform him that a reward for his capture has been set by the authorities in Rome. Appalled by this crime the Mafioso meets Colonel Luca and, while the police are carrying away the corpses, they agree to unite their forces against Giuliano. Pisciotta is summoned to the Colonel, who succeeds in convincing him to betray Giuliano, in exchange for his own life. In a desperate final attempt, Pisciotta tries to persuade Giuliano to escape but he refuses to leave. In the empty village, as in the beginning, the shadows of two men appear on the background: one shoots and the other falls. The village lights go out and the voice of a woman is heard calling: "Giuliano!"

Notable arias and excerpts

The orchestral Intermezzo depicting the

Portella della Ginestra massacre The Portella della Ginestra massacre was one of the most violent acts in the history of modern Italian politics, when 11 people were killed and 27 wounded during May Day celebrations in Sicily on 1 May 1947, in the municipality of Piana degli Alb ...

and Giuliano's aria "Poi andrò in America" were arranged as excerpts for concert performance. The aria was first performed at the

Palm Beach Opera Palm Beach Opera, a professional opera company in West Palm Beach, Florida performs at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts as well as other locations throughout South Florida, was founded in 1961 as "Civic Opera of the Palm Beaches." Over its ...

in February, 1992.

References

;Citations ;Bibliography * Bagnoli, Giorgio, ed. (1993). ''The La Scala Encyclopedia of the Opera''. New York: Simon & Schuster. * Capellini, Lorenzo (1987). ''Nascita di un'opera: Salvatore Giuliano''. Bologna: Nuova Alfa Editoriale. * Gelli, Piero, ed. (2007). ''Dizionario dell'Opera 2008'' entries: "Lorenzo Ferrero," "Salvatore Giuliano." Milano: Baldini Castoldi Dalai editore. * Holden, Amanda, ed. (2001). ''The New Penguin Opera Guide''. London: Penguin Books. * Iesuè, Alberto (1988). ''Storia della musica''. Volume 1. Padova: Franco Muzzio & C editore SpA. * Napoli, Ettore (2010). ''Guida alla musica sinfonica''. Varese: Zecchini Editore. * Renda, Francesco (2002). ''Salvatore Giuliano: Una biografia storica''. Palermo: Sellerio editore. *

Sadie, Stanley Stanley John Sadie (; 30 October 1930 – 21 March 2005) was an influential and prolific British musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the '' Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (1980), which was publ ...

, ed. (1992-2002). ''

The New Grove Dictionary of Opera ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' is an encyclopedia of opera, considered to be one of the best general reference sources on the subject. It is the largest work on opera in English, and in its printed form, amounts to 5,448 pages in four volu ...

''. London: Macmillan Publishers.

External links