Pelagio (opera)

Pelagio is an opera (tragedia lirica) in four acts by Saverio Mercadante. The Italian-language libretto was by Marco D'Arienzo. It premiered on 12 February 1857 at the Teatro San Carlo, Naples,[1] to great success.[2]

Saverio Mercadante

The opera had further successful performances in Milan and Lisbon.[2]

In modern times, Pelagio was performed in 2005 in Gijón, Spain, and in 2008 at the Festival della Valle d'Itria.[2]

Pelagio is an opera with "roots in the bel canto tradition that shows the influence of Verdi",[3] and the work has been described as rich in "excellent music",[3] with "at least one aria (for Bianca in act 4) of an almost Verdian intensity and pathos".[4]

Roles
Filippo Coletti sang the role of Pelagio
Cover page of the libretto for Pelagio
RoleVoice typePremiere cast,
12 February 1857
(Conductor: Antonio Farelli) [1][5]
Pelagius
(Italian: Pelagio)		baritoneFilippo Coletti
Abdel-Aor, governor of GijóntenorLodovico Graziani
Bianca, daughter of PelagiussopranoFortunata Tedesco
Giralda, Bianca's confidantecontraltoSchiavi
Asan, captain of the MoorsbassMarco Arati
Aliatar, a guard in Abdel-Aor's apartmentsbassNicola Monti
Mendo de Quexada, Spanish noblemanbassMichele Benedetti
An inhabitant of GijóntenorA. Lauri
Arabian soldiers, Arabian men and maidens, Spanish warriors, Spanish men and maidens

Synopsis
Place: Gijón and Asturias
Time: 8th century

The main character is the Asturian king who founded the Kingdom of Asturias and fought against the Moors. It is supposed that his daughter Bianca, brought up by Giralda because Pelagio was believed to be dead, falls in love with the Moor Abdel-Aor, governor of the city of Gijón. Bianca is thus cursed by Pelagius. The opera ends with the death of Bianca, killed by the same Abdel-Aor because he realizes that the love with Bianca has become impossible and is convinced that Bianca is betraying him to help her father.

Recordings
2008: Mariano Rivas; Orchestra Internazionale d'Italia, Bratislava Chamber Choir
(Live recording at the Festival della Valle d'Itria); CD: Dynamic CDS 636/1-2[3][6]

Pelagio: Costantino Finucci
Abdel-Aor: Danilo Formaggia
Bianca: Clara Polito
Giralda: Paola Francesca Natale

Asan: Vladimir Mebonia
Aliatar: Giovanni Coletta
Mendo de Quexada: Cristian Camilo Navarro Díaz
Inhabitant of Gijón: Vincenzo Maria Sarinelli

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References

Notes

  1. Casaglia, Gherardo (2005)."Première of Pelagio". L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia (in Italian).
  2. "Saverio Mercadante celebrato al Festival della Valle d'Itria" (PDF) (in Italian). Comune di Altamura. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
  3. Laviska, David. "Mercadante: Pelagio". MusicalCriticism.com. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
  4. Rose, in Grove 1998, p. 336
  5. "Digital filecard of Pelagios première libretto" (in Italian). Libretti d'opera, Padua University. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
  6. "Saverio Mercadante - Pelagio - Mariano Rivas (2008)". operaclass.com. Retrieved 21 February 2015.

Sources

  • Rose, Michael (1998), “Mercandante, (Giuseppe) Saverio (Raffaele)" in Stanley Sadie, (Ed.), The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, Vol. Three, pp. 334–339. London: Macmillan Publishers, Inc. ISBN 0-333-73432-7 ISBN 1-56159-228-5
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