Francesca da Rimini is an opera in four acts, composed by Riccardo Zandonai

Riccardo Zandonai

Riccardo Zandonai was an Italian composer.-Biography:Zandonai was born in Borgo Sacco, Rovereto, then part of Austria–Hungary....

, with libretto by Tito Ricordi, (1865-1933), after a play by Gabriele D'Annunzio

Gabriele D'Annunzio

Gabriele D'Annunzio or d'Annunzio was an Italian poet, journalist, novelist, and dramatist...

. It was premiered at the Teatro Regio in Turin

Turin

Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...

 on February 19, 1914, and is still staged occasionally.

This opera is Zandonai's best-known work. In the New Grove Dictionary of Opera

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 volumes....

, Renato Chiesa calls it "one of the most original and polished Italian melodramas of the 20th century, [which] combines a powerful gift for Italian melody ... with an exceptional command of orchestration." Celebrated exponents of the title role have included Gilda dalla Rizza

Gilda dalla Rizza

Gilda Dalla Rizza was an important Italian soprano. Born in Verona, she made her operatic debut in Bologna in 1912, as Charlotte in Werther. Especially acclaimed in the verismo repertory, she was regarded as being Giacomo Puccini's favorite soprano, creating Magda in his La rondine...

, Magda Olivero

Magda Olivero

Magda Olivero is a soprano of the verismo-school of singing. She was born in Saluzzo, Italy. Olivero made her operatic debut in 1932 on Turin radio in Cattozzo’s oratorio I misteri dolorosi. She performed widely and increasingly successfully until 1941, when she married and retired from performing...

 (who recorded excerpts from the opera in 1969, for Decca Records

Decca Records

Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....

) and Renata Scotto

Renata Scotto

Renata Scotto is an Italian soprano and opera director.Recognized for her sense of style, musicality and as a remarkable singer-actress, Scotto is considered one of the preeminent singers of her generation, specializing in the bel canto repertoire with excursions into the verismo and Verdi...

.

Roles

Role	Voice type	Premiere Cast, February 19, 1914 (Conductor: Ettore Panizza Ettore Panizza Ettore Panizza was an Argentinian conductor and composer, one of the leading conductors of the early 20th century. Panizza possessed technical mastery and was popular and influential during his time, widely admired by Richard Strauss.- Biography :Panizza was born in Buenos Aires, of Italian parents... )
Francesca da Rimini Francesca da Rimini Francesca da Rimini or Francesca da Polenta was the daughter of Guido da Polenta, lord of Ravenna. She was a historical contemporary of Dante Alighieri, who portrayed her as a character in the Divine Comedy.-Arranged marriage:...	soprano Soprano A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...	Linda Cannetti
Paolo il Bello	tenor Tenor The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...	Giulio Crimi Giulio Crimi Giulio Crimi was an Italian operatic tenor.Crimi was born in Paternò, Italy. He studied in Catania with Adernò and made his debut in Palermo, as Manrico in Il trovatore, in 1910, later appearing in Treviso as Hagenbach in La Wally...
Giovanni lo Sciancato	baritone Baritone Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...	Francesco Cigada
Malatestino dall'Occhio	tenor	Giordano Paltrinieri
Adonella	soprano	Maria Vaccari
Altichiara	contralto Contralto Contralto is the deepest female classical singing voice, with the lowest tessitura, falling between tenor and mezzo-soprano. It typically ranges between the F below middle C to the second G above middle C , although at the extremes some voices can reach the E below middle C or the second B above...	Maria Marek
Il Balestriere	tenor	Giuseppe Nessi Giuseppe Nessi -Life:Nessi was born in Bergamo, near Milan in Italy. He made his debut in Saluzzo in 1916, in the role of Alfredo in La Traviata. However, on the advice of renowned Italian conductor Tullio Serafin, the majority of his career was focussed on character tenor roles...
Biancofiore	mezzo-soprano Mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...	Marina Polazzi
Garsenda	soprano	Maria Avezza
Il Giullare	bass	Pompilio Malatesta
Ostasio	bass	Osvaldo Pellegrini
Samaritana	mezzo-soprano	Raquelita Merly
Ser Toldo Berardengo	tenor	Edmondo Orlandi
La Schiava	mezzo-soprano	Gabriella Besanzoni
Il Torrigiano	baritone	Osvaldo Pellegrini
Voce del Prigioniero	tenor

Synopsis

The story takes place in Ravenna

Ravenna

Ravenna is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy and the second largest comune in Italy by land area, although, at , it is little more than half the size of the largest comune, Rome...

 and Rimini

Rimini

Rimini is a medium-sized city of 142,579 inhabitants in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, and capital city of the Province of Rimini. It is located on the Adriatic Sea, on the coast between the rivers Marecchia and Ausa...

.

Francesca, daughter of Guido I da Polenta

Guido I da Polenta

Guido I da Polenta was lord of Ravenna from 1275 until his death.The son of Lamberto da Polenta, he was ousted from Ravenna by the imperial troops in 1240. When the city was returned to the Papal States in 1248, Guido was able to return and was made chief of the local council...

, for state reasons, is to be married to Giovanni, known as Gianciotto, the malformed son of Malatesta de Verrucchio. But as Francesca would certainly refuse to marry the lame and deformed Gianciotto, she is introduced in the first act, by means of a well-laid plot, to his handsome younger brother, Paolo, known as il Bello. Under the impression that Paolo is her destined bridegroom, Francesca falls deeply in love with him at first sight; he also falls passionately in love with her, although they do not exchange a single word.

The next act shows a fight in progress between the Guelphs and Ghibellines

Guelphs and Ghibellines

The Guelphs and Ghibellines were factions supporting the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor, respectively, in central and northern Italy. During the 12th and 13th centuries, the split between these two parties was a particularly important aspect of the internal policy of the Italian city-states...

, and on the platform of a tower of the Malatesti, Francesca, now married to Gianciotto, meets Paolo and gently reproaches him for the fraud practised on her. He protests his innocence of the plot and reveals his intense passion for her. Gianciotto brings the news of Paolo's election as Captain of the People and Commune of Florence. Paolo departs for Florence.

In the third act Francesca, in her luxurious apartment, is reading the story of Lancelot and Guinevere to her women. They then dance and sing in celebration of the advent of Spring, until, on a whispered word from her slave, Francesca dismisses them. Paolo, sick with longing for her, has returned from Florence. He enters; they continue reading the story of Guinevere together, until, no longer in control of their feelings, they let their lips meet in a long kiss.

In the fourth act Malatestino, Gianciotto's youngest brother, who himself lusts for Francesca, has discovered her secret meetings with Paolo. After Francesca refuses to give in to his sexual advances, Malatestino betrays Francesca and Paolo to Gianciotto, who determines to find out the truth for himself. Accordingly, Gianciotto lies in wait outside Francesca's door, and surprising her and Paolo together at early dawn, he slays them both.

Selected recordings

Year	Cast (Francesca, Paolo, Gianciotto, Samaritana, Ostasio, Malatestino)	Conductor, Opera House and Orchestra	Label
1984	Renata Scotto Renata Scotto Renata Scotto is an Italian soprano and opera director.Recognized for her sense of style, musicality and as a remarkable singer-actress, Scotto is considered one of the preeminent singers of her generation, specializing in the bel canto repertoire with excursions into the verismo and Verdi... , Plácido Domingo Plácido Domingo Plácido Domingo KBE , born José Plácido Domingo Embil, is a Spanish tenor and conductor known for his versatile and strong voice, possessing a ringing and dramatic tone throughout its range... , Cornell MacNeil Cornell MacNeil Cornell MacNeil , was an American operatic baritone known for his exceptional voice and long career with the Metropolitan Opera, which spanned 642 performances in twenty-six roles. F... , Natalia Rom Natalia Rom Natalia Rom, soprano, was born in Kazan, in the Soviet Union , and graduated from the Leningrad Conservatory. In late 1976, she emigrated to New Orleans, where she attended Loyola University's College of Music, where she studied voice with Patricia Havranek... , Richard Fredricks Richard Fredricks Richard Fredricks is an American opera singer, and was one of the leading dramatic baritones of both the New York City Opera and the Metropolitan Opera.- New York City Opera :... , William Lewis William Lewis William Lewis was involved in English Association Football in various capacities in the early 20th century. He was first a referee, then a director and later manager of Brentford between 1900 and 1903. He became the first club secretary of Chelsea Football Club when it was founded in 1905, with his...	James Levine James Levine James Lawrence Levine is an American conductor and pianist. He is currently the music director of the Metropolitan Opera and former music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Levine's first performance conducting the Metropolitan Opera was on June 5, 1971, and as of May 2011 he has... , Metropolitan Opera Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...  orchestra and chorus	DVD: Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon is a German classical record label which was the foundation of the future corporation to be known as PolyGram. It is now part of Universal Music Group since its acquisition and absorption of PolyGram in 1999, and it is also UMG's oldest active label... Cat: 00440 073 4313

External links

• Libretto from Public-Domain Opera Libretti or karadar.com