Luci mie traditrici
Luci mie traditrici (Oh My Betraying Eyes) is an opera in two acts by Salvatore Sciarrino, who also wrote the libretto. It was first performed under the German title Die tödliche Blume (The Deadly Flower) on 19 May 1998 in the Schlosstheater Schwetzingen at the Schwetzingen Festival.
Composition history
Sciarrino started composing the opera in 1996. He based the libretto on the 1590 murder by the composer Carlo Gesualdo of his wife and her lover, but while working on it he discovered that Alfred Schnittke was also composing an opera (Gesualdo) on the same story. Deleting the references to Gesualdo, Sciarrino turned to a play, Il tradimento per l'onore, by Giacinto Andrea Cicognini, and also used an elegy of Claude Le Jeune, based on a text by Pierre de Ronsard.[1]
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, 19 May 1998[2]
Conductor: Pascal Rophé) |
|---|---|---|
| La Malaspina (Countess Malaspina) | soprano | Sharon Spinetti |
| Il Malaspina (Count Malaspina) | baritone | Paul Armin Edelmann |
| L'Ospite (The Guest) | countertenor | Kai Wessel |
| Un servo della casa (The Servant) | tenor | Georg Nigl |
| Voce dietro il sipario (The voice behind the scene) | countertenor | Kai Wessel |
Synopsis
- Place: The home of the Count and Countess
- Time: Late sixteenth century
Act 1
In the Prologue, a backstage voice sings Le Jeune's chanson. It is morning, and the Count and Countess declare their eternal love. The Servant announces the arrival of the Guest. After a short intermezzo, it is now mid-day. The Countess and the Guest make love. As darkness descends, the Guest leaves and the Countess is alone with the Servant.
Act 2
In the evening, the Count forgives the Countess. Later that night, the Countess opens the curtains of her bed, discovering the dead body of the Guest. The Count stabs the Countess and she collapses on the body of the Guest.
Performance history
Following the Schwetzingen premiere, the opera has been performed by the Ensemble Risognanze (2003) and at the Salzburg Festival (2008), the Berlin Festival of Contemporary Music (2010), a co-production between the Festival of Contemporary Art in Montepulciano (2010) and Oper Frankfurt (2011) as well as at the Staatsoper Berlin (2016).
Recordings
| Year | Cast La Malaspina, Il Malaspina, L'Ospite Un servo |
Conductor, Opera House and Orchestra |
Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Anette Stricker, Otto Katzameier, Kai Wessel, Simon Jaunin | Beat Furrer, Klangforum Wien | CD: Kairos Cat: KAI0012222 |
| 2003 | Junko Saito, Timothy Sharp, Galina Tchernova, Ralph Heiligtag | Tito Ceccherini, ensemble Risognanze | CD: Stradivarius Cat: STR33645 |
| 2010 | Nina Tarandek, Christian Miedl, Roland Schneider, Simon Bode | Marco Angius, Ensemble Algoritmo | DVD Video: EuroArts Cat: 2059038 |
| 2011 | Nina Tarandek, Christian Miedl, Roland Schneider, Simon Bode | Marco Angius, Ensemble Algoritmo | CD: Stradivarius Cat: STR33900 |
References
- ↑ David Patmore: Salvatore Sciarrino: Luci mie traditrici (liner notes in the EuroArts DVD of the opera).
- ↑ Salvatore Sciarrino (1947) Luci mie traditrici (1996-1998) opéra en deux actes