''Beatrix Cenci'' 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 two acts by
Alberto Ginastera to a Spanish
libretto by the composer and
William Shand, based on the historical family of
Beatrice Cenci
Beatrice Cenci (; 6 February 157711 September 1599) was a Roman noblewoman who murdered her father, Count Francesco Cenci. She was beheaded in 1599 after a lurid murder trial in Rome that gave rise to an enduring legend about her.
Life
Beatri ...
, the ''Chroniques italiennes'' by
Stendhal, and ''
The Cenci
''The Cenci, A Tragedy, in Five Acts'' (1819) is a verse drama in five acts by Percy Bysshe Shelley written in the summer of 1819, and inspired by a real Italian family, the House of Cenci (in particular, Beatrice Cenci, pronounced CHEN-chee). ...
'' by
Percy Shelley
Percy Bysshe Shelley ( ; 4 August 17928 July 1822) was one of the major English Romantic poets. A radical in his poetry as well as in his political and social views, Shelley did not achieve fame during his lifetime, but recognition of his achie ...
. The first performance was on 10 September 1971 by the
Opera Society of Washington in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, as part of the opening of the
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The stage direction was by Gerald Freedman, with choreography by Joyce Trisler, and the conductor was
Julius Rudel
Julius Rudel (6 March 1921 – 26 June 2014) was an Austrian-born American opera and orchestra conductor. He was born in Vienna and was a student at the city's Academy of Music. He emigrated to the United States at the age of 17 in 1938 after ...
.
New York City Opera
The New York City Opera (NYCO) is an American opera company located in Manhattan in New York City. The company has been active from 1943 through 2013 (when it filed for bankruptcy), and again since 2016 when it was revived.
The opera company, du ...
first staged the work on 1 April 1973. The European premiere of ''Beatrix Cenci'' took place at the
Geneva
, neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier
, website = https://www.geneve.ch/
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...
Opera in September 2000.
Roles
*
Beatrix Cenci (soprano)
* Count Francesco Cenci, father to Beatrix (baritone)
* Lucrecia Cenci, stepmother to Beatrix (mezzo-soprano)
* Bernardo Cenci, brother to Beatrix (soprano, 'pants' role)
* Giacomo Cenci, brother to Beatrix (baritone)
* Orsino, a prelate (tenor)
* Andrea, servant to the Count (bass)
* Olimpio, an assassin (speaking role)
* Marzio, an assassin (speaking role)
* A guard (bass)
* First guest (tenor)
* Second guest (tenor)
* Third guest (bass)
Synopsis
The opera is in two acts and 14 scenes. The setting is the Cenci Palace,
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
, in the late 16th century.
Count Francesco Cenci has arranged for a masked ball to celebrate the death of his two sons at Salamanca. The people despise the Count, and his daughter Beatrix and his second wife Lucrecia live in fear of him. Beatrix wants to escape by having her former suitor, Orsino, communicate a letter to the Pope. Orsino, who has taken Holy Orders, destroys the letter.
At the ball, the guests are repelled at the idea of the Count celebrating the deaths of his own sons. They leave, to the terror of Beatrix, who does not want to be alone in her father's company. Orsino enters and covers his destruction of Beatrix's letter by saying that the Pope has rejected her plea. Left alone, the Count rapes Beatrix.
When in exile after reporting her father's act, Beatrix's older brother Giacomo convinces Beatrix to kill her father. She then hires two assassins for the task, Olimpio and Marzio. Lucrecia gives Cenci a sleeping potion. The assassins kill the Count and conceal his body.
Months later, Orsino announces that the Count's body has been discovered. One of the assassins has been killed, and the other has confessed to the murder. Beatrix is arrested for the crime, and then bound and tortured. Finally, she is executed at the scaffold.
References
External links
Boosey & Hawkes page on ''Beatrix Cenci''Boosey & Hawkes page on European premiere of ''Beatrix Cenci''
{{authority control
Operas by Alberto Ginastera
Spanish-language operas
Operas
1971 operas
Operas based on plays
Operas set in Italy