Gloria (opera)

''Gloria'' is a tragic opera in three acts by Francesco Cilea with an Italian libretto by Arturo Colautti. A variation on the Romeo and Juliet story and set in 14th century Siena, the libretto is based on Victorien Sardou's 1874 play ''La Haine'' (''Hatred''). The opera premiered on 15 April 1907 at La Scala conducted by Arturo Toscanini with Solomiya Krushelnytska in the title role. ''Gloria'' was a failure at its premiere when it was withdrawn after two performances and fared little better in the 1932 revised version, although there have been two late 20th century revivals. It proved to be Cilea's last staged opera. In the 43 years following the premiere of ''Gloria'' he worked on two or three further operas which were never performed and continued to compose chamber and orchestral music.

Composition

Like Cilea's earlier operas, '' L'arlesiana'' (1897) and ''Adriana Lecouvreur'' (1902), ''Gloria'' takes its title from its female protagonist and is based on a French play. This time, Arturo Colautti, who had also written the libretto for ''Adriana Lecouvreur'', based the libretto on Victorien Sardou's ''La Haine'' (''Hatred''), a tragic tale of two lovers caught up in the conflict between the Guelphs and Ghibellines in 14th century Siena. Cilea composed ''Gloria'' while staying in the Ligurian seaside town of Varazze, which was to become his home in later life.

Performance history

The opera premiered on 15 April 1907 at La Scala in Milan, conducted by Arturo Toscanini. The title role was sung by Solomiya Krushelnytska, with Pasquale Amato as her brother Folco and Giovanni Zenatello as her lover Lionetto. Despite the distinguished cast and conductor, the premiere was a failure and the opera was withdrawn after two performances. It was revived in Rome and Genoa in 1908 and again in 1909 at the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples with Emma Carelli as Gloria. Although the reception in Naples was quite favorable, the opera failed to secure a place in the regular repertoire of Italian opera houses.

Cilea continued to revise the score of ''Gloria'' during the 20 years following its initial runs, and when Pietro Ostali, a great admirer of the composer, took over Casa Sonzogno (the original publishers of Cilea's operas), he decided to promote a revival of the work. The second version of the opera with a revised libretto by had fairly extensive cuts made at the suggestion of Ostali, most notably the act 2 confrontation scene between Folco and Lionetto. Folco's name was also changed to "Bardo".

The new version premiered on 20 April 1932 at the Teatro di San Carlo and was well received by the Neapolitan audiences. It was also given a lavish production in Rome in 1938 with Maria Caniglia and Beniamino Gigli in the leading roles and sets designed by the prominent architect and sculptor, . Although it had a successful German premiere at the Dortmund Stadttheater that same year and outdoor performances at the Castello Sforzesco in Milan and the Piazza Baraccano in Bologna in the late 1930s, ''Gloria'' soon fell into obscurity once again.

There were, however, two late 20th century revivals. In 1969, the opera was broadcast on radio in its entirety for the first time. Fernando Previtali conducted the RAI Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in Turin. The title role was sung by Margherita Roberti

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