02 Sep 2007
VERDI: Giovanna d’Arco
Giovanna d’Arco, dramma lirico in a prologue and three acts.
Music composed by Giuseppe Verdi. Libretto by Temistocle Solera.
Recently in Repertoire
MARTÍN Y SOLER: Andromaca
Andromaca: Dramma per musica in three acts.
ROSSINI: Ermione
Ermione: Azione tragica in two acts.
TRAETTA: Ippolito ed Aricia
Ippolito ed Aricia: Tragedia in five acts.
MOZART/STRAUSS: Idomeneo
Idomeneo: Opera seria in three acts.
GLUCK: Paride ed Elena
Paride ed Elena: Dramma per musica in five acts.
GLUCK/BERLIOZ: Orphée
Orphée: Opera in four acts.
Music composed by Christoph Willibald Gluck (arranged by Hector Berlioz, 1859). Libretto by Ranieri de' Calzabigi
LULLY: Alceste, ou Le triomphe d’Alcide
Alceste, ou Le triomphe d’Alcide: Tragédie en musique in a prologue and five acts.
GLUCK: Alceste
Alceste: Tragédie opéra in three acts.
PACINI: Medea
Medea: Melodramma tragico in three acts.
SACCHINI: Oedipe à Colone
Oedipe à Colone: Tragédie lyrique in three acts.
STRAUSS : Elektra
Elektra: Tragedy in one act.
PAISIELLO: Fedra
Fedra: Dramma per musica in two acts.
BERLIOZ: Les Troyens
Les Troyens: Grand opéra in five acts.
WAGNER: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg: Music drama in three acts.
STRAUSS: Ariadne auf Naxos
Ariadne auf Naxos, Oper with a prologue and one act. Music composed by Richard Strauss. Libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal.
MOZART: Der Schauspieldirektor
Der Schauspieldirektor [The Impresario], Singspiel in one act, K486.
SALIERI: Prima la musica e poi le parole
Divertimento teatrale in one act.
GIORDANO: Andrea Chénier
Andrea Chénier, an opera in four acts.
DONIZETTI: La Figlia del Reggimento
La figlia del reggimento [La Fille du régiment (‘The Daughter of the Regiment’)], Opéra comique in two acts.
DONIZETTI: L’elisir d’amore
L’elisir d’amore, Melodramma giocoso in two acts.
OPERA TODAY ARCHIVES »
Repertoire
Streaming Audio
First Performance: 15 February 1845, Teatro alla Scala, Milan
| Principal Characters: | |
| Carlo VII, King of France | Tenor |
| Giovanna, daughter of Giacomo | Soprano |
| Giacomo, shepherd in Dom-Remi | Baritone |
| Delil, an official of the King | Tenor |
| Talbot, Supreme Commander of the English | Bass |
Setting: France during the Hundred Years’ War (1338-1453)
Synopsis:
The action takes place in the village of Dom-Remy, where Giovanna was born, then in Reims and near Rouen during the Hundred Years’ War, in 1429. Loosely based on historical events, the drama has as its protagonist the shepherdess Giovanna. Urged by a group of angels who have appeared to her in a dream, she persuades the King, Carlo VII, to put her in command of the French troops, which she then leads to victory against the English. Suspected of witchcraft by her father Giacomo, she is handed over by him to the enemy to be burnt at the stake. She implores God’s help and Giacomo, realizing that he has accused her unjustly, frees her shortly before the decisive conflict. Giovanna rushes into the fray, and the French troops led by her rout the enemy. But the King’s joy is short-lived because he is in love with the heroine who has been wounded in battle. Before dying, she sees the heavens open and the Virgin Mary comes to meet her.