Risurrezione (in English, Resurrection), is an opera or dramma in four acts by Franco Alfano. The libretto was by Cesare Hanau based on the novel “Resurrection” (Russian: Воскресение) by Leo Tolstoy.
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Performance history
The first performance was on November 30, 1904, in the Teatro Vittorio Emanuele, Turin, Italy.
Dramatis personæ
| Katerina Mihaylovna, named Katyusha (Catherina Mikhailovna, detta Katiusha) | soprano | |
| Prince Dimitri Ivanovich Nehlyudov (Il Principe Dimitri Ivanovitch Nekhludoff) | tenor | |
| Sofia Ivanovna (Sofia Ivanovna) | his aunt | mezzosoprano |
| Matryona Pavlovna (Matrena Pavlovna) | housekeeper | contralto |
| Simonson Ivanovich (Simonson Ivanovitch) | political convict | baritone |
| Anna (Anna) | old peasant | contralto |
| Korablyova (La Korableva) | prisoner | contralto |
| Servant (La Serva) | contralto | |
| Vera (Vera) | political convict | mezzosoprano |
| Fenyichka (Fenitchka) | prisoner | soprano |
| Hunchback girl (La Gobba) | prisoner | contralto |
| Red-haired girl (La Rossa) | prisoner | mezzosoprano |
| Krilycov (Kritzloff) | political convict | bass |
| Chief guard (Un Capo Guardiano) | bass | |
| Guard (Un Guardiano) | baritone | |
| Train-station officer (Un Impiegato della Stazione) | baritone | |
| Officer (Un Ufficiale) | tenor | |
| A Woman (Una Donna) | soprano | |
| Muzhik (Un Mujich) | baritone | |
| Two peasants (I° e II° Contadino) | 2 basses | |
| Three prisoners (I°, II° e III° Detenuta) | 2 soprano contralto | |
| Kozak (Un Cossaco) | baritone | |
| Fedya (Fedia) | eight-year-old girl | |
| She-Bear (L'Orsa) | prisoner |
Church voices (Acts I & IV); Peasants (Act II); Prisoners in female prison (Act III); Political convicts (Act IV) (choir)
Time and Place
Russia and Siberia at the end of 19th century
Orchestration
3 Flutes (1 piccolo) / 3 oboes (1 English horn) / 3 clarinets (1 bass clarinet) / 2 bassoons / 1 contrabassoon 4 Horns / 3 trumpets / 3 trombones / 1 tuba Timpani / percussion (cymbals / triangle / bass drum) / tubular bells / xylophone / celesta / 2 harps / piano Violins / violas / violoncellos / double basses
Synopsis
Act I
Prince Dimitri arrives to say goodbye to his aunt, Sophia Ivanovna, before leaving for the war. His old playmate Katiusha, a young peasant girl, is now Sophia Ivanovna’s companion. Dimitri is overjoyed to meet her again and that night becomes her lover. The next day he leaves for the war.
Act II
The station of a small town. Katiusha, now pregnant, has been driven out of the house. She anxiously waits for Prince Dimitri who is due to pass through the station. But when she sees him arrive in the company of a prostitute, her courage fails her and she remains hidden until she goes away, pierced to her soul.
Act III
Prison in St Petersburg. Katiusha, broken by Dimitri’s neglect of her and the death of her child, ends up in a place of debauchery. She is involved in a crime and, although innocent, is condemned for murder during a difficult trial, and is to be deported to Siberia. Before she leaves, Dimitri, now overcome with remorse, comes to see her in jail and offers to marry her. But she is in such a state of abject despair that she refuses all consolation.
Act IV
On the road to Siberia. Katiusha has become herself again, the good sweet girl of former times. She has found the will to live by comforting her fellow deportees. Dimitri, who has followed her, now wants to marry her at any price. He obtains a pardon for her and her freedom. But Katiusha, although she still loves him with all her soul, refuses. She feels that only if they both renounce marriage can they be redeemed.
Musical excerpts
- Si, la ravviso la mia cara stanza (I know this dear room...) – Arioso of Dimitri (Act I)
- Qualcun giù in giardino?... È Katiusha!.. (Someone’s in the garden?... It’s Katyusha!...) – Duetto of Katerina and Dimitri (Act I)
- Dio pietoso, la ch'ei venga alfin (Mercifull Lord, make him come at last) – Aria of Katerina (Act II)
- Piangi, si, piangi (Cry, yes, cry) – Arioso of Dimitri (Act III)
- Quando la vidi, una voce mi disse (When I saw her, a voice said to me) – Aria of Simonson (Act IV)
- Ed ora, va... parti!... Son felice!!! (And now, go... leave!... I’m happy!!!) – Finale duetto of Katerina and Dimitri (Act IV)
Links
- Libretto
