Il prigioniero
Encyclopedia
Il prigioniero is an opera in a prologue and one act, with music and libretto by Luigi Dallapiccola
. The opera was first broadcast by the Italian radio station RAI
on 1 December 1949. The work is based on the short story La torture par l'espérance ("Torture by Hope") from the collection Nouveaux contes cruels by the French writer Auguste Villiers de l'Isle-Adam
and from La Légende d'Ulenspiegel et de Lamme Goedzak by Charles de Coster
. Some of the musical material is based on Dallapiccola's earlier choral work on a similar theme, Canti di prigionia
(1938). Dallapiccola composed Il prigioniero in the period of 1944-1948. The work contains seven parts and lasts about 50 minutes.
on May 20, 1950. The performers were Magda Laszlo
, Mario Binci, Scipio Colombo
, with conductor Hermann Scherchen
. The "professional" American premiere took place on September 29, 1960, at the New York City Center
, where the cast included Norman Treigle
, Richard Cassilly
and Anne McKnight; Leopold Stokowski
conducted Christopher West's production. According to the publisher, the first dozen years after the première had over 186 performances of Il prigioniero on radio, concert platform, and stage.
The opera moves out of the cell and follows the Prisoner on his attempt at escape through the underground passages of the prison. While trying to escape, the Prisoner sees but is not seen by a torturer and is passed unnoticed by two monks too deep in theological discussion to take notice of him. The Prisoner finally believes he can smell fresh air, and when he hears a bell he believes to be that of Roelandt, he opens a door to what he hopes is freedom.
The final scene finds the Prisoner in a garden at night. He is exuberant at having escaped, and moves towards a great cedar tree that is in the foreground. He makes as if to hug the tree, only to be embraced by the words and sight of the Grand Inquisitor, who is seemingly a part of the tree. The Grand Inquisitor asks the Prisoner, "Why do you want to leave us now, on the very eve of your salvation?" At this point, the Prisoner comes around to the thought that perhaps his ultimate salvation is to be gained from the stake. The opera concludes with the Prisoner's whisper of "Freedom?"
Luigi Dallapiccola
Luigi Dallapiccola was an Italian composer known for his lyrical twelve-tone compositions.-Biography:Dallapiccola was born at Pisino d'Istria , to Italian parents....
. The opera was first broadcast by the Italian radio station RAI
RAI
RAI — Radiotelevisione italiana S.p.A. known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane, is the Italian state owned public service broadcaster controlled by the Ministry of Economic Development. Rai is the biggest television company in Italy...
on 1 December 1949. The work is based on the short story La torture par l'espérance ("Torture by Hope") from the collection Nouveaux contes cruels by the French writer Auguste Villiers de l'Isle-Adam
Auguste Villiers de l'Isle-Adam
Jean-Marie-Mathias-Philippe-Auguste, comte de Villiers de l'Isle-Adam was a French symbolist writer.-Life:Villiers de l'Isle-Adam was born in Saint-Brieuc, Brittany, to a distinguished aristocratic family...
and from La Légende d'Ulenspiegel et de Lamme Goedzak by Charles de Coster
Charles De Coster
Charles-Theodore-Henri De Coster was a Belgian novelist whose efforts laid the basis for a native Belgian literature....
. Some of the musical material is based on Dallapiccola's earlier choral work on a similar theme, Canti di prigionia
Canti di prigionia
Canti di prigionia is a setting for chorus, two pianos, two harps and percussion by the Italian composer Luigi Dallapiccola....
(1938). Dallapiccola composed Il prigioniero in the period of 1944-1948. The work contains seven parts and lasts about 50 minutes.
Performance history
The opera's first stage performance was at the Teatro Comunale FlorenceTeatro Comunale Florence
The Teatro Comunale di Firenze is an opera house in Florence, Italy. It was originally built as the open-air amphitheatre, the Politeama Fiorentino Vittorio Emanuele which was inaugurated on 17 May 1862 with a production of Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor and which seated 6,000 people...
on May 20, 1950. The performers were Magda Laszlo
Magda László
Magda László was a Hungarian operatic soprano particularly associated with 20th century operas.She studied at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, and made her debut at the Budapest Opera in 1943, as Elisabeth in Tannhäuser, later singing Amelia in Simon Boccanegra.In 1946, she settled in...
, Mario Binci, Scipio Colombo
Scipio Colombo
Scipio Colombo was an Italian operatic baritone, who sang a wide range of roles.Born in Vicenza, Italy, Colombo first studied philosophy at the University of Padua, before turning to music...
, with conductor Hermann Scherchen
Hermann Scherchen
Hermann Scherchen was a German conductor.-Life:Scherchen was originally a violist and played among the violas of the Bluthner Orchestra of Berlin while still in his teens...
. The "professional" American premiere took place on September 29, 1960, at the New York City Center
New York City Center
New York City Center is a 2,750-seat Moorish Revival theater located at 131 West 55th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues in Manhattan, New York City. It is one block south of Carnegie Hall...
, where the cast included Norman Treigle
Norman Treigle
Norman Treigle was an American operatic bass-baritone, who was acclaimed for his great abilities as a singing-actor, and specialized in roles that evoked villainy and terror....
, Richard Cassilly
Richard Cassilly
Richard Cassilly was an American operatic tenor who had a major international opera career between 1954 and 1990...
and Anne McKnight; Leopold Stokowski
Leopold Stokowski
Leopold Anthony Stokowski was a British-born, naturalised American orchestral conductor, well known for his free-hand performing style that spurned the traditional baton and for obtaining a characteristically sumptuous sound from many of the great orchestras he conducted.In America, Stokowski...
conducted Christopher West's production. According to the publisher, the first dozen years after the première had over 186 performances of Il prigioniero on radio, concert platform, and stage.
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere cast 20 May 1950 (Conductor: Hermann Scherchen Hermann Scherchen Hermann Scherchen was a German conductor.-Life:Scherchen was originally a violist and played among the violas of the Bluthner Orchestra of Berlin while still in his teens... ) |
|---|---|---|
| The Mother | 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... |
Magda László Magda László Magda László was a Hungarian operatic soprano particularly associated with 20th century operas.She studied at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, and made her debut at the Budapest Opera in 1943, as Elisabeth in Tannhäuser, later singing Amelia in Simon Boccanegra.In 1946, she settled in... |
| The Prisoner | 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... |
Scipio Colombo Scipio Colombo Scipio Colombo was an Italian operatic baritone, who sang a wide range of roles.Born in Vicenza, Italy, Colombo first studied philosophy at the University of Padua, before turning to music... |
| The Jailer | 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... |
Mario Binci |
| The Grand Inquisitor | tenor | Mario Binci |
| First priest | tenor | Mariano Caruso |
| Second priest | baritone | Giangiacomo Guelfi Giangiacomo Guelfi Giangiacomo Guelfi is an operatic baritone, particularly associated with Verdi and Puccini. Born in Rome, he studied law before turning to vocal studies, in Florence, with the great baritone Titta Ruffo. Giangiacomo made his stage debut in Spoleto, as Rigoletto in 1950... |
| A Brother of Redemption (torturer) | silent | Luciano Vela |
Prologue
As the Mother waits to visit her son in prison, she sings of a dream she has had multiple times that haunts her sleep. In it, a figure resembling King Philip II approaches her from the end of a cavern, but then changes imperceptibly into Death. The Mother's singing becomes hysterical, and the offstage chorus cuts her off, bringing the end of the prologue.Act 1
The opera takes place in Saragossa in the second half of the Sixteenth Century. The first scene opens inside a cell in the Inquisitor's Prison with the Prisoner and his Mother speaking. The Prisoner speaks of his torture and suffering, and also of how the Gaoler has brought back his hope and faith, and has made him wish to return to prayer as he did as a child. The Gaoler then interrupts the conversation with news that Flanders is in revolt and that the bell of Roelandt could soon ring out again, trying to bring new hope to the Prisoner. As the Gaoler leaves with the words "There is one who watches over you...Have faith, brother. Sleep now...and hope," he also does not close the cell door completely. Upon noticing this, the Prisoner rushes out.The opera moves out of the cell and follows the Prisoner on his attempt at escape through the underground passages of the prison. While trying to escape, the Prisoner sees but is not seen by a torturer and is passed unnoticed by two monks too deep in theological discussion to take notice of him. The Prisoner finally believes he can smell fresh air, and when he hears a bell he believes to be that of Roelandt, he opens a door to what he hopes is freedom.
The final scene finds the Prisoner in a garden at night. He is exuberant at having escaped, and moves towards a great cedar tree that is in the foreground. He makes as if to hug the tree, only to be embraced by the words and sight of the Grand Inquisitor, who is seemingly a part of the tree. The Grand Inquisitor asks the Prisoner, "Why do you want to leave us now, on the very eve of your salvation?" At this point, the Prisoner comes around to the thought that perhaps his ultimate salvation is to be gained from the stake. The opera concludes with the Prisoner's whisper of "Freedom?"
Recordings
- CBS 61344 (Italian issue, from radio performance): Liliana Poli, Eberhard WächterEberhard Waechter (baritone)Eberhard Wächter was an Austrian baritone, particularly celebrated for his performances in the operas of Mozart, Richard Wagner, and Richard Strauss...
, Gerald English, Werner Krenn, Christian BoeschChristian BoeschChristian Boesch is an internationally acclaimed Austrian operatic baritone. He is the son of the soprano Ruthilde Boesch, and studied at the Hochschule für Musik from 1959 to 1964. He was the pupil of Alfred Jerger, and made his official debut at the Stadttheater, Bern, in 1966...
; Austrian Radio Choir and Orchestra; Carl MellesCarl MellesCarl Melles was an Austrian orchestral conductor of Hungarian descent....
, conductor - Decca/London OSA-1166 (LP issue - first studio recording): Maurizio Mazzieri, Giulia Barrera, Romano Emili, Gabor CarelliGabor CarelliGabor Carelli was a Hungarian classical tenor who had an important career in operas and concerts in North America during the mid 20th century. He was notably committed to the Metropolitan Opera in New York City from 1951 to 1974 where he gave a total of 1,079 performances...
,; University of MarylandUniversity of Maryland, College ParkThe University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...
Chorus; National Symphony Orchestra; Antal DorátiAntal DorátiAntal Doráti, KBE was a Hungarian-born conductor and composer who became a naturalized American citizen in 1947.-Biography:...
, conductor - Sony Classical SK 68 323: Jorma HynninenJorma HynninenJorma Kalervo Hynninen is a Finnish baritone who performs regularly with the world's major opera companies. He has also worked in opera administration....
, Phyllis Bryn-Julson, Howard Haskin, Sven-Erik Alexandersson, Lage Wedin; Swedish Radio Choir; Eric EricsonEric Ericson, is a Swedish choral conductor and influential choral teacher. He graduated from the Royal College of Music in Stockholm in 1943 and went on to complete his studies abroad, at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, Switzerland, and in Germany, Great Britain, and the United States.Renowned for his...
Chamber Choir; Swedish Radio Symphony OrchestraSwedish Radio Symphony OrchestraSwedish Radio Symphony Orchestra is a radio orchestra based in Stockholm, Sweden, and affiliated with Sveriges Radio . The orchestra broadcasts concerts on the Swedish Radio-P2 network....
; Esa-Pekka SalonenEsa-Pekka SalonenEsa-Pekka Salonen is a Finnish orchestral conductor and composer. He is currently Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the Philharmonia Orchestra in London and Conductor Laureate of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.-Early career:...
, conductor
Sources
- Viking Opera Guide ed. Holden (Viking, 1993)
- Kobbé, Gustav. The Definitive Kobbé's Book of Opera. Ed. The Earl of Harewood. 1st American ed. New York: G.P. Putnam's and Sons, 1987. 1010-1014.