Boccaccio (operetta)

Boccaccio, oder Der Prinz von Palermo (Boccaccio, or the Prince of Palermo) is an operetta in three acts by Franz von Suppé to a German libretto by Camillo Walzel and Richard Genée, based on the play by Jean-François Bayard, Adolphe de Leuven, Léon Lévy Brunswick and Arthur de Beauplan, based in turn on The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio.

Boccaccio
Operetta by Franz von Suppé
The composer of the operetta, c. 1885
Native title
Boccaccio, oder Der Prinz von Palermo
TranslationBoccaccio, or the Prince of Palermo
Librettist
LanguageGerman
Premiere
1 February 1879 (1879-02-01)
Carltheater, Vienna

The opera was first performed at the Carltheater, Vienna, on 1 February 1879.

An English translation was done by Oscar Weil and Gustav Hinrichs around 1883.[1]

Roles and role creators
Role Voice type Premiere cast, 1 February 1879[2]
(Conductor: )
Fiametta, Lambertuccio's foster-daughter soprano Rosa Streitmann
Giovanni Boccaccio, novelist and poet mezzo-soprano Antonie Link
Beatrice, Lambertuccio's wife soprano
Isabella, Lotteringhi's wife mezzo-soprano
Peronella contralto
Pietro, Prince of Palermo tenor
Lambertuccio, the grocer baritone
Lotteringhi, the cooper baritone Franz Tewele
Scalza, the barber baritone
Leonello, Boccaccio's student friend baritone
Checco, a beggar bass Carl Blasel
Fratelli, the bookseller baritone
Majordomo baritone
Beggars, students, servants, Donna Pulci's daughters – chorus

Synopsis
Time: 1331.
Place: Florence.

In early-Renaissance Florence, the erotic novellas of the poet Boccaccio cause a stir and the locals are divided into the female fans of his scandalous tales and their jealous husbands. A plot is hatched by the husbands to chase Boccaccio from the city and have him locked up. But Boccaccio has other plans, including one to win the hand of the Duke's daughter Fiammetta, which he finally succeeds in doing after finding favour with the Duke. Suppé's finest operetta.

Arias, duets, and ensembles
  • "Ich sehe einen jungen Mann dort stehn" (Boccaccio)
  • "Hab' ich nur deine Liebe" (Fiametta, later with Boccaccio)
  • Act 1 Finale (book-burning)
  • Serenade (Boccaccio, Pietro, Leonetto)
  • Cooper's Song (Lotteringhi)
  • Waltz Trio "Wie pocht mein Herz so ungestüm" (Fiametta, Isabella, Peronella)
  • Lovers' Sextet
  • Duet "Florenz hat schöne Frauen (Mia bella florentina)" (Fiametta, Boccaccio)
  • Act 3 Finale (Boccaccio's counsel)
gollark: And?
gollark: 500KST/apartment is crazy!
gollark: I think there's some free space in the Hexahedron.
gollark: I could probably join for a bit and make some nice free *any-use* space.
gollark: You should definitely get krist on that.

References

Notes

  1. "Von Suppé's sparkling comic opera in three acts, entitled: Boccaccio / libretto by Messrs. Reece & Farine" on trove.nla.gov.au. Retrieved 28 July 2013
  2. Amadeus Almanac, accessed 20 September 2013

Sources

  • Lamb, Andrew (1992), "Boccaccio" in The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, ed. Stanley Sadie (London) ISBN 0-333-73432-7
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