Sì (operetta)
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''Sì'' is an
operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs and including dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, and length of the work. Apart from its shorter length, the oper ...
in three acts composed 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 a
libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) 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 th ...
by Carlo Lombardo with verses by Arturo Franci. The libretto is based on Lombardo's operetta ''La duchessa del Bal Tabarin'' and libretto for ''Majestät Mimi'' set by Bruno Granichstaedten in 1911. Mascagni's only venture into operetta, it premiered on 13 December 1919 at the
Teatro Quirino The Teatro Quirino is an opera house in Rome opened in 1871. It hosted the premiere of Pietro Mascagni's operetta '' Sì''. Its historical name has been joined by the recognition for one of the most acclaimed Italian theatrical actors of the tw ...
in Rome. The operetta takes its name from its central character, Sì, an actress at the
Folies Bergère 150px, Stanisław Julian Ignacy Ostroróg">Walery, 1927 The Folies Bergère () is a cabaret music hall in Paris, France. Located at 32 Rue Richer in the 9th Arrondissement, the Folies Bergère was built as an opera house by the arc ...
, so called because she could never say no. ("Si" is the Italian word for "yes".)


Background and performance history

The friendship of Mascagni and his librettist, Carlo Lombardo, dated from 1885 when both were working as conductors for Alfonso and Ciro Scognamiglio's travelling operetta company. Mascagni went on to devote himself to composing operas, while Lombardo specialised in operetta as a composer, librettist, and
impresario An impresario (from Italian ''impresa'', 'an enterprise or undertaking') is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, Play (theatre), plays, or operas, performing a role in stage arts that is similar to that of a film producer, film or ...
. He directed the Calligaris-Lombardo operetta company and also founded Casa Lombardo, a music publishing firm dedicated to Italian operetta. According to Mascagni's biographer, Roger Flury, Lombardo "tricked" Mascagni into writing an operetta. After Masacagni had given him permission to adapt his opera '' Le maschere'' as an operetta, Lombardo proposed writing a new operetta using re-arranged music from various other Mascagni operas. As a sample of what he was planning, Lombardo produced some music from Mascagni's dramatic opera '' Silvano'' arranged as a comic duet. Mascagni, horrified by the potential "mutilation" of his scores, agreed to compose a completely new operetta instead. It was to be his first, and only, venture into the genre. Lombardo wrote the libretto for ''Sì'', basing it on his own operetta ''La duchessa del Bal Tabarin'' and on Felix Dörmann's libretto for ''Majestät Mimi'' set by Bruno Granichstaedten in 1911. Mascagni composed the score between 1918 and 1919 with some help on the orchestration from his cousin, Mario Mascagni. ''Sì'' premiered on 13 December 1919 at the
Teatro Quirino The Teatro Quirino is an opera house in Rome opened in 1871. It hosted the premiere of Pietro Mascagni's operetta '' Sì''. Its historical name has been joined by the recognition for one of the most acclaimed Italian theatrical actors of the tw ...
in Rome with several members of the Calligaris-Lombardo operetta company in the cast. The conductor was Lombardo's brother Costantino. The premiere was a great success, although Mascagni had been unhappy with the last-minute changes that the conductor had made to his score. In the ensuing years the operetta was performed throughout Italy to similar success. On 24 January 1925, it premiered in Austria at Vienna's Bürgertheater, sung in a German translation by Josco Schubert. On that occasion it was conducted by Mascagni himself, who restored the score to his original version. The German version conducted by Mascagni was also performed in
Baden-Baden Baden-Baden () is a spa town in the states of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos (river), Oos, ten kilometres (six miles) east of the ...
, Dresden, and
Wiesbaden Wiesbaden (; ) is the capital of the German state of Hesse, and the second-largest Hessian city after Frankfurt am Main. With around 283,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 24th-largest city. Wiesbaden form ...
later that year. The work eventually fell out of the repertoire and has been only infrequently revived, most notably in 1987 at the Teatro Poliziano in
Montepulciano Montepulciano () is a medieval and Renaissance hill town and ''comune'' in the Italian province of Siena in southern Tuscany. It sits high on a limestone ridge, east of Pienza, southeast of Siena, southeast of Florence, and north of Rome ...
(later released on CD) and in 2002 at the Vienna Volksoper with Eva Lind in the title role. Lombardo's libretto was also used in adapted form for ''Il re di Chez Maxim'', a 1919 operetta by Mario Pasquale Costa.


Roles


Recordings

*Mascagni: ''Sì'' – Margherita Vivian (Sì), Amelia Felle (Vera), Mauro Nicoletti (Luciano di Chablis), Marina Vera Gentile (Palmira), Antonio Comas (Cleo de Mérode), Giulio Liguori (Romal); Orchestra Sinfonica del Cantiere Internazionale d'Arte conducted by Sandro Sanna. Recorded live at the Teatro Poliziano di Montepulciano July 1987 (CD). Label: Bongiovanni #2050


References

Notes Sources * * * * * *


External links

* Lombardo, Carlo (1919
''Sì'': Libretto
Casa Musicale Sonzogno * {{DEFAULTSORT:Si 1919 operas Italian-language operas Operettas Operas by Pietro Mascagni Operas set in France Operas