Just as Puccini does with Tosca’s Scarpia motif, Mascagni creates an atmosphere of foreboding with a score that is deeply dark and menacing. The title refers to the Prince of Fleury, who disguises himself as a revolutionary to try and rescue his mother from prison and execution. Premiered in 1919, Mascagni’s Il piccolo Marat also has the French Revolution as its setting. Recommended recording: Giordano’s Andrea Chénier by Plácido Domingo et al ( Sony 88697576152) Though the poet Chénier, based on a real-life figure, is the title role, the real heroine is the countess’s daughter Maddalena who is blackmailed into saving his life from the guillotine by offering herself to Robespierre’s vile agent, Gérard. Recommended recording: Leoncavallo’s Zazà by Ermonela Jaho et al ( Opera Rara ORC55)įor Giordano’s 1896 opera Andrea Chénier, turn the clock back seven years from the early-Napoleonic era of Tosca to the Terror of the French Revolution. She accepts that, for her, contentment is not to be. When she visits his home in disguise, she is greeted by the sight of his happy daughter and contrasting memories of her own broken childhood home flood back. ![]() ![]() ![]() Zazà’s misfortune is to fall in love with a wealthy Parisian who is already married. Premiered in the same year as Tosca, Leoncavallo’s Zazà also has a singer as its central character, though in this instance her preferred stage is in the music-hall.
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