The first performance was given at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan on 21 April 1889. The opera was not a success. Puccini repeatedly revised it, before eventually giving up in frustration, declaring the work irredeemable.
Edgar, Puccini's second opera, was composed on a commission from the publisher Ricordi after the successful reception of his first stage work, Le Villi. The plot indicates the influence of Wagner's Tannhäuser. Both centre on medieval knights struggling between a life of sensual indulgence and ideal love. Edgar is "torn between the sacred love of Fidelia and the profane love of Tigrana";[1] Wagner's hero indulges himself with Venus while pining for the love of Elizabeth. The gypsy-like figure of Tigrana (supposedly the child of "wandering Moors") also parallels the anti-heroine of Bizet's Carmen.
The original version had four acts and was tepidly received. In January 1890, Ricordi published a revised version, including a different ending for act 2. In the autumn of 1891, Puccini revised the work again, cutting the last act and producing a three-act version which would again be revised in 1905.
In this final form the opera had even less success than in its original four-act structure. Some of the music that was cut in 1891 was reused in Tosca and became the beautiful act 3 duet, "Amaro sol per te m'era il morire!". The funeral march from act 3 was played at Puccini's funeral, conducted by Arturo Toscanini and the aria "Addio, mio dolce amor" (Farewell, my sweet love) from the same act was sung.
Puccini finally gave up on Edgar and in later years, bitterly repudiated the work. He wrote,
It was an organism defective from the dramatic point of view. Its success was ephemeral. Although I knew that I wrote some pages which do me credit, that is not enough -- as an opera it does not exist. The basis of an opera is the subject and its treatment. In setting the libretto of Edgar I have, with all respect to the memory of my friend Fontana, made a blunder (una cantonata). It was more my fault than his.[2]
On a copy of the score that he sent to a friend, the English woman Sybil Seligman, he wrote scathing remarks against parts of the score and amended the title to read:
EDio ti GuARdi da quest'opera! (And may God protect you from this opera!)[3][4]
The autograph of the acts 1 and 3 of the original version is preserved in the Archivio Ricordi in Milan. The autograph of the acts 2 and 4, which was believed lost till 2008, was owned until her death by Simonetta Puccini, the composer's granddaughter.
Performance history
The first version was performed at the Teatro Regio in Turin on 25 June 2008, directed by Yoram David. American musicologist Dr. Linda Fairtile[5] is working on producing the critical edition of the first version, but the score performed in Turin is based on Puccini's autograph. Fairtile worked on it together with Gabriele Dotto and Claudio Toscani.
In the opera's 1905 version, it was first given in the US on 12 April 1966 and in the UK on 6 April 1967 (by Hammersmith Municipal Opera under Joseph Vandernoot).[6] However, the original version was given its UK premiere at Lewes Town Hall by New Sussex Opera on 25 October 2012.
Pure-hearted maiden Fidelia rejoices in the return of Edgar, who has been living a life of debauchery with the wild Tigrana, a woman who was abandoned by "wandering Moors" as a baby and brought up by Fidelia's father. Fidelia gives an awakening Edgar a sprig of almond blossoms, but leaves when she sees Tigrana approaching. Tigrana tries to tempt Edgar to return to their life of debauchery, but fails when Edgar avows he loves Fidelia's purity. Frank, who has always loved Tigrana, enters, but when he cannot win her affections, he berates her, and they argue.
After Tigrana mocks the villagers at prayer, they order her to leave the village. She retreats to Edgar's house, where he defends her from the angry crowd. He announces that he will go with her, and burns down his house before leaving. Frank attempts to stop them, and is wounded in a duel with Edgar. The villagers curse the fleeing lovers.
Act 2
Edgar has left the wild orgy in Tigrana's house. He is tired of his life of debauchery and longs to return to Fidelia. Tigrana comes to him to entice him back to the party, but, just as she is about to succeed, a platoon of soldiers arrives. Edgar is surprised that Frank is leading them, and asks for forgiveness. Frank grants it happily because the fight actually had broken the hold Tigrana had on him. To escape from Tigrana, Edgar joins the platoon, despite her pleading. Tigrana swears revenge as the men leave her.
Act 3
A large funeral procession carries the armored body of Edgar, who has fallen in battle. Frank and the crowd praise Edgar as a hero, but the monk who heard Edgar's dying confession denounces him. He reveals Edgar's sins and debauchery, and the crowd, easily swayed, curses Edgar. Only Fidelia stands up for Edgar and vows that she will meet him in heaven.
After the crowd leaves, Tigrana enters, crying. She is upset that no one will see her weeping for Edgar. Frank and the monk ask her to denounce Edgar, but she resists until they offer her jewels. The crowd returns. The monk claims that Edgar betrayed his country for some gold, and Tigrana reluctantly confirms this. The soldiers try to desecrate the body and discover it is only a suit of armor. The monk reveals that he is Edgar and goes to leave with Fidelia, the only one who remained true to him. The vengeful Tigrana stabs and kills Fidelia. Edgar weeps over the lifeless body as the soldiers capture Tigrana, and the crowd prays.
Noted arias
Act 1
"O fior del giorno" – Fidelia
"Già il mandorlo vicino" – Fidelia
"Questo amor, vergogna mia" – Frank
"Tu il cuor mi strazi" – Tigrana
Act 2
"Orgia, chimera dall'occhio vitreo" – Edgar
Act 3
"Addio, mio dolce amor" – Fidelia
"Nel villaggio d'Edgar" – Fidelia
"Ah! se scuoter della morte" – Tigrana (4 acts versions)
edgar, opera, edgar, operatic, dramma, lirico, three, acts, originally, four, acts, giacomo, puccini, italian, libretto, ferdinando, fontana, freely, based, play, verse, coupe, lèvres, alfred, musset, edgaropera, giacomo, pucciniset, design, giuseppe, palanti,. Edgar is an operatic dramma lirico in three acts originally four acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Ferdinando Fontana freely based on the play in verse La Coupe et les levres by Alfred de Musset EdgarOpera by Giacomo PucciniSet design by Giuseppe Palanti for Act IIILibrettistFerdinando FontanaLanguageItalianBased onAlfred de Musset s play La Coupe et les levresPremiere21 April 1889 1889 04 21 Teatro alla Scala MilanThe first performance was given at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan on 21 April 1889 The opera was not a success Puccini repeatedly revised it before eventually giving up in frustration declaring the work irredeemable Contents 1 Development and revisions 2 Performance history 3 Roles 4 Synopsis three act version 4 1 Act 1 4 2 Act 2 4 3 Act 3 5 Noted arias 6 Recordings 7 References 8 External linksDevelopment and revisions Edit Cover of the libretto Edgar Puccini s second opera was composed on a commission from the publisher Ricordi after the successful reception of his first stage work Le Villi The plot indicates the influence of Wagner s Tannhauser Both centre on medieval knights struggling between a life of sensual indulgence and ideal love Edgar is torn between the sacred love of Fidelia and the profane love of Tigrana 1 Wagner s hero indulges himself with Venus while pining for the love of Elizabeth The gypsy like figure of Tigrana supposedly the child of wandering Moors also parallels the anti heroine of Bizet s Carmen The original version had four acts and was tepidly received In January 1890 Ricordi published a revised version including a different ending for act 2 In the autumn of 1891 Puccini revised the work again cutting the last act and producing a three act version which would again be revised in 1905 In this final form the opera had even less success than in its original four act structure Some of the music that was cut in 1891 was reused in Tosca and became the beautiful act 3 duet Amaro sol per te m era il morire The funeral march from act 3 was played at Puccini s funeral conducted by Arturo Toscanini and the aria Addio mio dolce amor Farewell my sweet love from the same act was sung Puccini finally gave up on Edgar and in later years bitterly repudiated the work He wrote It was an organism defective from the dramatic point of view Its success was ephemeral Although I knew that I wrote some pages which do me credit that is not enough as an opera it does not exist The basis of an opera is the subject and its treatment In setting the libretto of Edgar I have with all respect to the memory of my friend Fontana made a blunder una cantonata It was more my fault than his 2 On a copy of the score that he sent to a friend the English woman Sybil Seligman he wrote scathing remarks against parts of the score and amended the title to read E Dio ti GuARdi da quest opera And may God protect you from this opera 3 4 The autograph of the acts 1 and 3 of the original version is preserved in the Archivio Ricordi in Milan The autograph of the acts 2 and 4 which was believed lost till 2008 was owned until her death by Simonetta Puccini the composer s granddaughter Performance history EditThe first version was performed at the Teatro Regio in Turin on 25 June 2008 directed by Yoram David American musicologist Dr Linda Fairtile 5 is working on producing the critical edition of the first version but the score performed in Turin is based on Puccini s autograph Fairtile worked on it together with Gabriele Dotto and Claudio Toscani In the opera s 1905 version it was first given in the US on 12 April 1966 and in the UK on 6 April 1967 by Hammersmith Municipal Opera under Joseph Vandernoot 6 However the original version was given its UK premiere at Lewes Town Hall by New Sussex Opera on 25 October 2012 The Berliner Operngruppe under Felix Krieger presented Edgar at Konzerthaus Berlin in February 2019 Roles Edit Librettist Ferdinando Fontana and composer Giacomo Puccini Role Voice type Premiere cast 21 April 1889 Conductor Franco Faccio Edgar tenor Grigore GabrielescuFidelia soprano Aurelia CattaneoTigrana mezzo soprano Romilda PantaleoniFrank baritone Antonio Magini ColettiGualtiero father of Fidelia and Frank bass Pio MariniChorus Farmers soldiers courtiers monks childrenSynopsis three act version EditPlace Flanders Time 1302 Act 1 Edit Pure hearted maiden Fidelia rejoices in the return of Edgar who has been living a life of debauchery with the wild Tigrana a woman who was abandoned by wandering Moors as a baby and brought up by Fidelia s father Fidelia gives an awakening Edgar a sprig of almond blossoms but leaves when she sees Tigrana approaching Tigrana tries to tempt Edgar to return to their life of debauchery but fails when Edgar avows he loves Fidelia s purity Frank who has always loved Tigrana enters but when he cannot win her affections he berates her and they argue After Tigrana mocks the villagers at prayer they order her to leave the village She retreats to Edgar s house where he defends her from the angry crowd He announces that he will go with her and burns down his house before leaving Frank attempts to stop them and is wounded in a duel with Edgar The villagers curse the fleeing lovers Act 2 Edit Edgar has left the wild orgy in Tigrana s house He is tired of his life of debauchery and longs to return to Fidelia Tigrana comes to him to entice him back to the party but just as she is about to succeed a platoon of soldiers arrives Edgar is surprised that Frank is leading them and asks for forgiveness Frank grants it happily because the fight actually had broken the hold Tigrana had on him To escape from Tigrana Edgar joins the platoon despite her pleading Tigrana swears revenge as the men leave her Act 3 Edit A large funeral procession carries the armored body of Edgar who has fallen in battle Frank and the crowd praise Edgar as a hero but the monk who heard Edgar s dying confession denounces him He reveals Edgar s sins and debauchery and the crowd easily swayed curses Edgar Only Fidelia stands up for Edgar and vows that she will meet him in heaven After the crowd leaves Tigrana enters crying She is upset that no one will see her weeping for Edgar Frank and the monk ask her to denounce Edgar but she resists until they offer her jewels The crowd returns The monk claims that Edgar betrayed his country for some gold and Tigrana reluctantly confirms this The soldiers try to desecrate the body and discover it is only a suit of armor The monk reveals that he is Edgar and goes to leave with Fidelia the only one who remained true to him The vengeful Tigrana stabs and kills Fidelia Edgar weeps over the lifeless body as the soldiers capture Tigrana and the crowd prays Noted arias EditAct 1 O fior del giorno Fidelia Gia il mandorlo vicino Fidelia Questo amor vergogna mia Frank Tu il cuor mi strazi TigranaAct 2 Orgia chimera dall occhio vitreo Edgar Act 3 Addio mio dolce amor Fidelia Nel villaggio d Edgar Fidelia Ah se scuoter della morte Tigrana 4 acts versions Act 4 Un ora almen FideliaRecordings EditYear Cast Edgar Fidelia Tigrana Frank Conductor Opera house and orchestra Label 7 1977 Carlo Bergonzi Renata Scotto Gwendolyn Killebrew Vicente Sardinero Eve Queler Opera Orchestra of New York Schola Cantorum of New York Live recording from Carnegie Hall April 1977 CD CBS Sony ClassicalCat M2K 792132006 Placido Domingo Adriana Damato Marianne Cornetti Juan Pons Alberto Veronesi Orchestra dell Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia CD Deutsche GrammophonCat 00289 477 61022008 Jose Cura Amarilli Nizza Julia Gertseva Marco Vratogna Yoram David Orchestra and chorus of Teatro Regio di Torino DVD Arthaus MusikCat 101 377References EditNotes John Louis Digaetani Puccini the Thinker The Composer s Intellectual and Dramatic Development Peter Lang New York 2001 p 17 Mosco Carner Puccini A Critical Biography Alfred A Knopf New York 1959 p 53 Fisher 2000 p 58 Kendell 2012 p Fairtile is the author of Giacomo Puccini A Guide to Research Composer Resource Manual no 48 New York Garland 1999 Hudson and Parker 2001 p 699 Recordings of Edgar on operadis opera discography org uk Sources Fisher Burton D 2000 Opera Classics Library Puccini Companion The Glorious Dozen Opera Journeys Publishing ISBN 1 930841 62 0 Hudson Elizabeth Robert Parker 2001 in Holden Amanda ed The New Penguin Opera Guide New York Penguin Putnam ISBN 0 14 029312 4 Kendell Colin The Complete Puccini The Story of the World s Most Popular Operatic Composer Amberley Publishing 2012 ISBN 978 1 4456 0445 9 Warrack John and West Ewan eds 1992 The Oxford Dictionary of Opera New York OUP ISBN 0 19 869164 5External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Edgar opera Edgar Scores at the International Music Score Library Project Digitised libretto Ricordi Libretto Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Edgar opera amp oldid 1136290432, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
