Fedora (opera)

"Fedora" is an opera in three acts by Umberto Giordano to an Italian libretto by Arturo Colautti, based on the play "Fédora" by Victorien Sardou. Along with "Andrea Chénier" and "Siberia", it is one of the most notable works of Giordano. It was first performed at the Teatro Lirico in Milan on November 17, 1898 conducted by the composer with Gemma Bellincioni creating the role of Fedora, and Enrico Caruso as her lover, Loris Ipanov.

Performance History

. [ This paragraph is based on the account in Gelli, P., 2005]

"Fedora" received its US premiere on December 5, 1906 at the New York Metropolitan Opera, with Caruso as Count Loris, and Lina Cavalieri as Fedora. "Fedora" received eight performances during the Met's 1906/1907 and 1907/1908 seasons, and was revived in the 1920s when it received 25 more performances between 1923 and 1926. By the mid-20th century, however, operatic tastes had changed, and the opera became more sporadically performed. [Tommasini, A., 1996; Volpe, M., 2006; Ponick, T. 1998; Girardi, M., 2000] The 1990s saw a resurgence of interest in "Fedora", with new productions at the Vienna Staatsoper, La Scala, The New York Metropolitan Opera, Chicago Lyric Opera, and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Notable singers in post-1990 productions include Mirella Freni, Katia Ricciarelli, and Maria Guleghina as Fedora; and Plácido Domingo, José Carreras, and José Cura as Loris. Among "Fedora's" most recent performances are those at the Vienna Staatsoper in 2003, La Scala in 2004, and London's Holland Park Opera in 2006.

Roles

ynopsis

Act I

St. Petersburg, 1881. A winter's night in the palace of Count Vladimir Andrejevich. His fiancée, Princess Fedora, who is to marry the Count the following day, arrives and sings of her love for him, unaware that the dissolute Count has betrayed her with another woman. The sound of sleigh-bells is heard, and the Count is brought in mortally wounded. Doctors and a priest are summoned, and the servants are questioned. It is proposed that Count Loris Ipanov, a suspected Nihilist sympathizer, was probably the assassin. De Siriex (a diplomat), and Grech (a police inspector) plan an investigation. Fedora swears on the jeweled Byzantine cross she is wearing that Count Andrejevich's death will be avenged.

Act II

Paris. Fedora has followed Loris Ipanov there to avenge her fiancé's death. There is a reception at Fedora's house. A virtuoso pianist is playing for the party-goers. Ipanov arrives and declares his love for Fedora. She tells him that she is returning to Russia the following day. Loris is desperate because he has been exiled from Russia and cannot follow her. He confesses to Fedora that it was he who had killed Count Vladimir. Fedora asks him to return after the reception is over to tell her the whole story. When she is alone, Fedora writes a letter to the chief of the Imperial Police in Russia accusing Ipanov of Count Vladimir's murder. Loris returns and confesses that he killed Count Vladimir because he had discovered that he and his wife were lovers. The night of the homicide, Ipanov had discovered them together. Vladimir shot at Ipanov and wounded him. Ipanov returned fire, killing Vladimir. Fedora realizes that she has fallen in love with Ipanov, and that he killed not for political ends, but to defend his honor. They embrace and she convinces him to spend the night with her.

Act III

The Bernese Oberland in Switzerland. Loris and Fedora are now lovers and living in her villa. With them is her friend, Countess Olga Sukarev. De Siriex arrives to invite Olga on a bicycle ride. He tells Fedora that as a result of the letter she had written to the police chief, Loris's brother, Valeriano, was arrested for being part of the plot to murder Count Andrejevich and imprisoned in a fortress on the Neva river. One night the river flooded and the young man was drowned. When Loris's mother heard the news, she collapsed and died. Fedora is anguished - she has been the cause of two deaths. Loris receives a letter from a friend in Russia who tells him of the deaths of his mother and brother and that the cause was a woman living in Paris who had written a letter denouncing him to the police. Fedora confesses to Loris that she had written the letter and begs his forgiveness. When he initially refuses and curses her, Fedora swallows poison which she had hidden in the Byzantine cross she always wore around her neck. Loris begs the doctor to save her, but it is too late. Fedora dies in Loris's arms.

elected recordings

Noted Aria

'Amor ti Vieta' (Love forbids you) is arguably the most famous aria from the opera and is often sung by tenors in recitals, especially as an encore piece. This short aria (approximately 1:51 minutes) is sung by Count Loris when he declares his love to Fedora in Act II. An immediate favourite with the audience, it was encored by Enrico Caruso on the opera's opening night. [ Gelli, P., 2005] Caruso can be heard singing the aria, accompanied on the piano by Giordano himself, on Volume 1 of "Enrico Caruso - The Complete Opera Recordings" (Naxos 8.110703)

References

Bibliography
*'Amor ti vieta' documentation on [http://www.aria-database.com/cgi-bin/aria-search.pl?opera=Fedora&a The Aria Database] . (accessed April 1, 2007)
*Fairman, Richard, 'Review: Fedora, Opera Holland Park, London', "The Financial Times", June 11 2006.
*Gelli, Piero (ed.), "Dizionario dell'Opera", 2006, Milan: Baldini Castoldi Dalai, ISBN 8884907802
*Girardi, Michele, 'Fedora, una prima donna sull'orlo di una crisi di nervi' in "Fedora", 2000, Turin: Teatro Regio di Torino, pp. 9-20. [http://spfm.unipv.it/girardi/fedora.pdf PDF file] . (accessed April 1, 2007)
*Goebel, Wilfried, "Fedora Discography 1931-1998", on [http://www.operone.de/opern/fedora.html Operone] (accessed April 1, 2007)
*Melitz, Leo, " [http://web.archive.org/web/20021216213309/http://www.intac.com/~rfrone/operas/Books/Melitz_Complete/index.htm The Opera Goer's Complete Guide] " (Translated by Richard Salinger), 1921, New York: Garden City Publishing Company. (accessed April 1, 2007)
* [http://66.187.153.86/archives/frame.htm Metropolitan Opera Archives] . (accessed April 1, 2007)
*Ponick, T.L., 'Voices save "Fedora" from poor staging', "The Washington Times", November 1, 1998 (review of the October 1998 performance at Washington National Opera).
*Tommasini, Anthony, [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9902E6DC1E3FF934A35753C1A960958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=print '70 Years Later, a Melodrama Is Back'] , "The New York Times", October 7, 1996. (accessed April 1, 2007)
*Volpe, Michael, [http://www.rbkc.gov.uk/ohpseason/features/fedora.asp 'Fedora - just what the audience ordered'] (programme notes for the June 2006 performances by Holland Park Opera, London: Royal Borough of Kensington). (accessed April 1, 2007)