''Le maschere'' (''The Masks'') 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 a
Prologue
A prologue or prolog (from Greek πρόλογος ''prólogos'', from πρό ''pró'', "before" and λόγος ''lógos'', "word") is an opening to a story that establishes the context and gives background details, often some earlier story that ...
and three acts by
Pietro Mascagni
Pietro Mascagni (7 December 1863 – 2 August 1945) was an Italian composer primarily known for his operas. His 1890 masterpiece '' Cavalleria rusticana'' caused one of the greatest sensations in opera history and single-handedly ushered in the ...
to an
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
libretto by
Luigi Illica
Luigi Illica (9 May 1857 – 16 December 1919) was an Italian librettist who wrote for Giacomo Puccini (usually with Giuseppe Giacosa), Pietro Mascagni, Alfredo Catalani, Umberto Giordano, Baron Alberto Franchetti and other important Italian co ...
.
The work was Mascagni's homage to
Rossini and to the Italian
opera buffa
''Opera buffa'' (; "comic opera", plural: ''opere buffe'') is a genre of opera. It was first used as an informal description of Italian comic operas variously classified by their authors as ''commedia in musica'', ''commedia per musica'', ''dramm ...
and
commedia dell'arte traditions. It was premiered simultaneously in six Italian opera houses on 17 January 1901:
La Scala (with
Caruso as Florindo,
Carelli as Rosaura, and
Toscanini
Arturo Toscanini (; ; March 25, 1867January 16, 1957) was an Italian conductor. He was one of the most acclaimed and influential musicians of the late 19th and early 20th century, renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orch ...
conducting); the
Teatro Carlo Felice
The Teatro Carlo Felice is the principal opera house of Genoa, Italy, used for performances of opera, ballet, orchestral music, and recitals. It is located on the side of Piazza De Ferrari.
The hall is named for King Carlo Felice, and dates fro ...
in
Genoa
Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...
; the
Teatro Regio in
Turin
Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...
; the
Teatro Costanzi
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 ...
in Rome;
La Fenice in
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...
; and the
Teatro Filarmonico
The Teatro Filarmonico is the main opera theater in Verona, Italy, and is one of the leading opera houses in Europe. The Teatro Filarmonico is property of the Accademia Filarmonica di Verona. Having been built in 1716, and later rebuilt after a ...
in
Verona
Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city municipality in the region and the second largest in nor ...
. Two days later, it premiered at the
Teatro 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 ...
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 ...
.
Apart from the performance in Rome, conducted by Mascagni himself (and later in the first run by his pupil
Roberto Moranzoni
Roberto Moranzoni (October 5, 1880, Bari - December 14, 1959, Milan) was an Italian conductor, principally of opera.
Moranzoni was a pupil of Pietro Mascagni and was selected by Mascagni to give his debut performances with the composer's '' Le m ...
), ''Le maschere'' received a dismal reception, with the performance in Genoa suspended halfway through because of the audience's vociferous expressions of displeasure. The opera was sporadically performed in Italy over the next four years and then sank into obscurity. When Mascagni revised and represented the opera in 1931 it met with little lasting success. However, sporadic revivals in the late 20th century have been greeted with some critical interest.
Roles
Synopsis
In the Prologue, a travelling commedia dell'arte troupe and their
impresario
An impresario (from the Italian ''impresa'', "an enterprise or undertaking") is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, plays, or operas, performing a role in stage arts that is similar to that of a film or television producer.
His ...
present the characters they are about to play. The remaining three acts are the play itself wherein after many vicissitudes, Florindo and Rosaura, aided by Columbina and Arlecchino, manage to prevent the marriage which Rosaura's father, Pantalone, had planned for her.
Arias
The only frequently encountered aria is "Quella è una strada", a humorous aria sung - with much stuttering - by Tartaglia.
Recordings
Mascagni: ''Le Maschere'' (Maria Josè Gallego,
Vincenzo La Scola,
Amelia Felle,
Giuseppe Sabbatini, ''et al.''; Orchestra and Chorus of the
Teatro Comunale di Bologna
The Teatro Comunale di Bologna is an opera house in Bologna, Italy. Typically, it presents eight operas with six performances during its November to April season.
While there had been various theatres presenting opera in Bologna since the early 1 ...
). Conductor:
Gianluigi Gelmetti
Gianluigi Gelmetti OMRI, (11 September 1945 – 11 August 2021) was an Italian-Monégasque conductor and composer.
Early life
Gianluigi Gelmetti was born on 11 September 1945 in Rome, Italy. When 16-years old, Sergiu Celibidache let him conduct ...
. Ricordi / Fonit Cetra RFCD 2004
Mascagni: ''Le Maschere'' (Antonio Cassinelli, Cesy Broggini, Ferrando Rizzieri, Amedeo Berdini, Afro Poli.) Conductor Bruno Bartoletti. Trieste, 1961. Gala GL 100.731
References
Notes
Sources
*Flury, Roger,
Pietro Mascagni: A Bio-Bibliography', Greenwood Press, 2001. ()
*Mallach, Alan,
Pietro Mascagni and His Operas', UPNE, 2002. ()
External links
Libretto: ''Le maschere''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maschere
Italian-language operas
Operas
Operas by Pietro Mascagni