# What are your favorite Verismo operas......



## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

As above.
And what are your favorite recordings of them?
:tiphat:


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

Does _Turandot _count?


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## Star (May 27, 2017)

I'd go for Carmen.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

I'm not much of a fan of _verismo_ opera, to be honest, but I guess it would be anything by Puccini, with one or two others (namely *Cavalleria Rusticana*) coming up behind.

As one of the supreme recordigs of all time the Callas/Gobbi/De Sabata *Tosca* would be my top choice, though my favourite Puccini opera is probably *Madama Butterfly*. Much as I love De Los Angeles in the role and the Scotto/Barbirolli set, it's Callas and Karajan who get my vote. Karajan's second recording is gorgeous and lush, but his first brings us face to face with real tragedy.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Cavalleria Rusticana/Pagliacci/Andrea Chenier/Adriana Lecouvreur/Eugene Onegin/All Puccini


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

nina foresti said:


> Cavalleria Rusticana/Pagliacci/Andrea Chenier/Adriana Lecouvreur/Eugene Onegin/All Puccini


 Eugene Onegin verismo? Much too early. Incidentally, so is Carmen.


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## howlingfantods (Jul 27, 2015)

More or less in preference order:

Fanciulla del West - Capuana with Tebaldi/Del Monaco/Macneil

Cavalleria Rusticana - Erede with Tebaldi/Bjorling/Bastianini

Turandot - Leinsdorf with Nilsson/Bjorling/Tebaldi

Boheme - Serafin with Tebaldi/Bergonzi

Adriana Lecouvreur - Levine with Scotto/Domingo

Manon Lescaut - Sinopoli with Freni/Domingo 

Butterfly - Serafin with Tebaldi/Bergonzi

Pagliacci - Cellini with Bjorling/De Los Angeles

Andrea Chenier - Matacic with Tebaldi/Corelli/Bastianini

L'Amico Fritz - Gavazzeni with Freni/Pavarotti

Tosca - De Sabata with Callas/Di Stefano

Iris - Patane with Tokody/Domingo

Francesca Da Rimini - Queler with Kabaivanska/Domingo, but the highlights from Olivero/Del Monaco that come bundled with their Fedora is also excellent

Louise - Fournet with Monmart/Laroze



Hmm, lots of Tebaldi in there. I do think she's particularly good in verismo.


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## Azol (Jan 25, 2015)

Fanciulla del West
Turandot
Tosca
...basically everything by Puccini
Francesca da Rimini
Cavalleria Rusticana


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## howlingfantods (Jul 27, 2015)

howlingfantods said:


> More or less in preference order:
> 
> Fanciulla del West - Capuana with Tebaldi/Del Monaco/Macneil
> 
> ...


Forgot a couple, one of which is a headscratcher since I mentioned the extras on the same recording 

Fedora - Gardelli with Olivero/Del Monaco

L'Arlesiana - Basile with Galli/Tagliavini

I'd slot these in around the same tier as L'Amico Fritz and Tosca.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Gregg Mitchell:

Part of a long article on Eugene Onegin:

"The verismo movement is said to have started with Cavalleria rusticana in 1890: on the basis of this production, I’d say that Tchaikovsky scooped the Italians by a decade. So many of the characters’ emotions came across painfully near the bone, from nostalgia to embarrassment to fury to despair at time lost. And that direct transfer of emotions, coupled with the fact that half a dozen of the melodies are still ringing in my head, is what makes Eugene Onegin such a masterpiece."


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

nina foresti said:


> Gregg Mitchell:
> 
> Part of a long article on Eugene Onegin:
> 
> "The verismo movement is said to have started with Cavalleria rusticana in 1890: on the basis of this production, I'd say that Tchaikovsky scooped the Italians by a decade. So many of the characters' emotions came across painfully near the bone, from nostalgia to embarrassment to fury to despair at time lost. And that direct transfer of emotions, coupled with the fact that half a dozen of the melodies are still ringing in my head, is what makes Eugene Onegin such a masterpiece."


If we are to describe Romantic works like *Eugene Onegin* as _verismo_, then we should also probably include others like Verdi's *La Traviata* and Bizet's *Carmen*, but, though their subject matter might fit the description of operas which depict real people with real lives, musically they are a long way from the more declamatory style adopted by Italian composers, such as Mascagni and Giordano. _Verismo_ is usually taken to mean a post-Romantic movement in Italian opera, associated with composers like Mascagni, Leoncavallo, Giordano, Cilea, Catalani and Puccini, though Puccini always seems to me to stand a little outside the movement.


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

Yes, verismo stands basically by the definition shared by GregMitchell. And I love it.

My preferred composer of the movement is Mascagni, and I especially like _Guglielmo Ratcliff_ and _Parisina_.

And then, many other pieces from different composers. Just to name a few, on top of the stalwarts of the genre: _Mirra, Risurrezione, Loreley, L'Arlesiana, Siberia, Fosca, I Medici, Zazà, L'oracolo, L'amore dei tre re, Cecilia, Nozze Istriane, I Gioielli della Madonna, I Cavalieri di Ekebù,..._


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Far as I can figure and in a strict definition of verismo,

*Fanciulla del West and Tosca*

Else I would also include Eugene Onegin and L'amico Fritz.

One Google listing gives Porgy and Bess as verismo, not on my list, but I suppose it is verismo.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

For me, its Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana, a brutely swift melodrama, with magnificent music!


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

I am really getting into verismo at the moment. In the past I have mostly looked to bel canto for rarities to discover and I am a huge fan of Rossini, Donizetti and Bellini (I also am somewhat fond of Paccini, but he ranks quite some way behind those three). I have a significant number of the Opera Rara recordings of these, although there are also some duds that I haven't obtained for my collection. However, I think verismo rarities are even more difficult to assess. Rossini, Bellini and Donizetti get far more love than Mascagni, Leoncavallo or Giordano, not to mention Cilea, Alfano or Catalani.

Cav and Pag are still universally popular and Puccini holds his own (only Le Villi and Edgar are _true_ rarities, with even Rondine getting the attention it deserves in recent years). Then Andrea Chenier and Adriana Lecouvreur are still trotted out fairly regularly. Then that's your lot. Mascagni's other operas (L'amico Fritz and Iris are much loved on these boards, but aren't on the radar outside of Italy) are pretty much forgotten today.

Leaving Puccini aside this would be my ranking of the verismo operas I know:

1) Pagliacci
2) Cavalleria
3) Adriana Lecouvreur
4) Iris
5) Fedora
6) Andrea Chenier
7) L'amico Fritz
8) La Boheme (Leoncavallo)
9) Zaza
10) Risurrezione (Alfano)
11) Loreley
12) L'arlesiana
13) La Wally (if that counts as part of the genre)

Zandonai's Francesca da Rimini doesn't strictly count as it is post verismo, however that would be worth reviving too. There are many other operas I would like to discover (Mascagni and Giordano's in the main).

There are only two duds I've encountered out of the ones I have sampled: I Medici and Guglielmo Ratcliff. What should I try next? Isabeau, Lodoletta, Siberia or Marcella?

N.


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## vivalagentenuova (Jun 11, 2019)

The Conte said:


> There are only two duds I've encountered out of the ones I have sampled: I Medici and Guglielmo Ratcliff. What should I try next? Isabeau, Lodoletta, Siberia or Marcella?


I'm interested in Mascagni's _Il Piccolo Marat_, particularly as there are recordings with Virginia Zeani in the lead soprano role. They're somewhat rare, though. Have only heard pieces, but enough to keep me looking for a recording when it comes around.

Obviously I'm a fan of all Puccini's works after _Lescaut_. I agree with those who have said most of his operas aren't exactly verismo. The big exception is _Il tabarro_, which imo is 100% verismo and easily the pinnacle of the genre.

Otherwise, I'm a big fan of Giordano's _Andrea Chenier_. There are many great renditions of this opera and it's arias, and it's really a feast of fun moments. The libretto isn't great literature or anything, but it's totally fine and has good moments. Gerard's character is nicely drawn as a sympathetic villain, and the party music is was less annoying than anything in _Traviata_ or _Rigoletto_.

I suspect Resphighi's post-verismo operas are worth checking out, but they're hard to find. Pizzetti had recordings made with excellent casts by RAI in the 50s, but I haven't been able to find the libretti.


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

The Conte said:


> There are only two duds I've encountered out of the ones I have sampled: I Medici and Guglielmo Ratcliff. What should I try next? Isabeau, Lodoletta, Siberia or Marcella?
> 
> N.


Let me recommend one opera if you would like to taste a new composer: Antonio Smareglia's "Nozze istriane". It was premiered back in 1895 by Gemma Bellanzoni and Roberto Stagno, two great stars at the time. It has indeed a flavour of "Cavalleria" or "Pagliacci" that are your preferred pieces:


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Tsaraslondon said:


> Eugene Onegin verismo? Much too early. Incidentally, so is Carmen.


Absolutely correct.
Mea Culpa.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

As I already stated when this thread started, I'm not much of a fan, apart from Puccini, and I always think of him being somewhat outside the movement.

Other than Puccini, I enjoy *Cavalleria Rusticana* and, slightly behind it, *Pagliacci*, and I find *L'Amico Fritz* quite charming, though it also seems to sit a little outside the movement. I also don't mind the occasional performance of *Andrea Chénier*, but all others I've tried (*Adrianna Lecouvreur*, *La Wally*, *Fedora*) don't leave me wanting to investigate further.

There is one other Italian opera from this period which I like quite a lot and that is Montemezzi's *L'amore dei tre Re*, but that seems to have a closer kinship to Debussy than to verismo.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

vivalagentenuova said:


> I'm interested in Mascagni's _Il Piccolo Marat_, particularly as there are recordings with Virginia Zeani in the lead soprano role. They're somewhat rare, though. Have only heard pieces, but enough to keep me looking for a recording when it comes around.


It is OOP, but it does seem to be available second hand (if you are willing to part with $159!).

https://www.amazon.com/Piccolo-Mara...olo+marat+ziino&qid=1597771596&s=music&sr=1-1

N.


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## Dick Johnson (Apr 14, 2020)

Agree with vivalagentenuova's comment above regarding Il Tabarro. *Il Tabarro* is always the first opera that comes to mind when I think of verismo. 
Although the music is very enjoyable, it is not my favorite opera of that era and certainly not my favorite of Puccini (probably Fanciulla and Tosca). Nevertheless, Tabarro does feel the most _verismo_ at least according to my understanding of the term as an opera that intends to portray a stark reality in a sort of dark or sinister way. The characters, setting, and story of Tabarro are simple, contemporary (at the time of writing), gloomy and plausible.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

I was rather taken with a live performance of Alfano's _Risurrezione,_ but I don't know that it would have impressed me as much without Magda Olivero, who was the queen of verismo in the postwar years. I'm wondering the same thing about Mascagni's _Iris,_ an odd and sometimes lovely opera that benefits from Olivero's charisma. Zandonai's _Francesca da Rimini_ was another vehicle for her that doesn't seem to be thriving without her. I have a recording of Respighi's _La Fiamma_ which has some compelling music, but I have no libretto for it and haven't given it a second spin.

I guess my favorite versimo opera is _Il Tabarro._ It's possibly my second or third favorite Puccini too.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

I would single out *La Gioconda* as belonging to the « wrong » category. It sure seems like a _Verismo_ opera!

Of course, *Cavalleria Rusticana* belongs at the top of the pile, along with *La Navarraise* by Massenet. *Louise* might be next. *I gioielli della Madonna* would surely belong there. *Pagliacci*, of course, the *Puccini* ones, though they seem a category apart in themselves. *Adriana Lecouvreur* seems to belong to an earlier era and *Andrea Chénier*.

I always think that *Verismo* should preclude ancient costumes, and be about peasants and ordinary people in street clothes...


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

I'm listening to Mala Vita, I'm hooked!

Fedora is one of my favourite operas of this period and whilst I can understand some of the accusations of crudeness on the part of Giordano (especially compared with Puccini), most of his operas are melodically or dramatically interesting. Mala Vita goes for the jugular and makes you wonder how anyone could think Tosca were a 'shabby little shocker'. Tosca sounds like a Mozart dance hit in comparison to the popular earthiness of Mala Vita!

N.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Had to look up the term and find a list. Apparently only Italian operas qualify as verismo? I don't know how complete *this list of verismo operas* is, but from that list I like Tosca and La fancuilla del West.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

SixFootScowl said:


> Had to look up the term and find a list. Apparently only Italian operas qualify as verismo? I don't know how complete *this list of verismo operas* is, but from that list I like Tosca and La fancuilla del West.


Some non-Italian verismo operas I've enjoyed are are D'Albert's _Tiefland_, Charpentier's _Louise,_ and Madetoja's _The Ostrobothnians. _


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Woodduck said:


> I was rather taken with a live performance of Alfano's _Risurrezione,_ but I don't know that it would have impressed me as much without Magda Olivero, who was the queen of verismo in the postwar years. I'm wondering the same thing about Mascagni's _Iris,_ an odd and sometimes lovely opera that benefits from Olivero's charisma. Zandonai's _Francesca da Rimini_ was another vehicle for her that doesn't seem to be thriving without her. I have a recording of Respighi's _La Fiamma_ which has some compelling music, but I have no libretto for it and haven't given it a second spin.
> 
> I guess my favorite versimo opera is _Il Tabarro._ It's possibly my second or third favorite Puccini too.


Magda Olivero's live recordings are the gateway drug into verismo. Most recordings of the rep are live ones and either have good Italian casts from the 50s or 60s, but the sound is often lacking or they are ones from the 80s, 90s and beyond in good sound, but from provincial houses and the singing varies. There is a superb recording of Iris with Domingo and Tokoldy that makes a very strong case for the work without Olivero and there have been decent studio recordings of Leoncavallo's Boheme and Zaza, but apart from that the available recordings discourage people from discovering that corner of the rep.

N.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

schigolch said:


> Let me recommend one opera if you would like to taste a new composer: Antonio Smareglia's "Nozze istriane". It was premiered back in 1895 by Gemma Bellanzoni and Roberto Stagno, two great stars at the time. It has indeed a flavour of "Cavalleria" or "Pagliacci" that are your preferred pieces:


Thanks for this, I very much enjoyed listening to it and Smareglia was new to me. I can see the similarities with Cav and there is some good music there. You can hear the Wagnerian influence as well. One thing I would say is that there isn't a lot of variety in character of the music, which puts him very much in the shadow of Mascagni (Isabeau is a much more interesting and impressive Italian take on Wagner's style). Refice's Cecilia is another wonderful post Wagnerian Italian work. There is a lot to discover from these overlooked composers.

N.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Woodduck said:


> Some non-Italian verismo operas I've enjoyed are are D'Albert's _Tiefland_, Charpentier's _Louise,_ and Madetoja's _The Ostrobothnians. _


Maybe I need a more comprehensive list.

Also how is La fancuilla del West verismo when it has a happy ending. In fact, nobody, not a one, actually dies in the whole opera. Quite the opposite of Tosca. Maybe Puccini felt he had to counterbalance Tosca when he wrote it.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Verismo has two meanings (at least). It can be a genre of opera (similar to comedy or tragedy) or it can refer to works written in a particular period (chiefly in Italy), think of classical opera or late romantic opera. Whichever it is there are always going to be questions about what is included and what isn't.

I think we are using a broad definition here to refer to a period of time rather than a particular style of opera. Think anything written between 1890 and 1930 chiefly by Italian composers.

When I resurrected the thread I was thinking of the following composers and their main operas:

*Puccini*
It's questionable whether Puccini sits within the group or not (although Tabarro is definitely a verismo opera). In any case I was wondering about the lesser known composers and works and what people think of them.

*Catalani* (his earlier operas were written before 1890 and Loreley isn't quite verismo, however let's include him as he has more in common with the later composers than he does with Ponchielli)
- Loreley
- La Wally

*Mascagni*
(We all know Cav, but he wrote 16 operas)
- L'amico Fritz
- Iris
- Isabeau
- Lodoletta
- Parisina
- Le Maschere
- Zanetto
- Guglielmo Ratcliff
- Il piccolo Marat

*Leoncavallo*
(Again Pag is the one we are all familiar with, but there are others that are almost never performed.)
- La Boheme
- Zaza
- I medici

*Giordano*
- Andrea Chenier
- Fedora
- Siberia
- Madame Sans Gene
- Marcella
- Mala Vita
- La cena delle beffe

*Cilea*
- Adriana Lecouvreur
- L'Arlesiana
- Gloria

*Alfano*
- Cyrano di Bergerac
- Risurrezione
- Sakuntala

*Zandonai*
- Francesca da Rimini
- Giulietta e Romeo
- I cavaleri di Ekebu

*Wolf-Ferrari*
- I gioielli della madonna
- Il segreto di Susanna
- I quattro rusteghi

Most of these composers, other than Puccini, were one hit wonders, but is that as deserved as made out?

N.


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

The Conte said:


> Thanks for this, I very much enjoyed listening to it and Smareglia was new to me. I can see the similarities with Cav and there is some good music there. You can hear the Wagnerian influence as well. One thing I would say is that there isn't a lot of variety in character of the music, which puts him very much in the shadow of Mascagni (Isabeau is a much more interesting and impressive Italian take on Wagner's style). Refice's Cecilia is another wonderful post Wagnerian Italian work. There is a lot to discover from these overlooked composers.
> 
> N.


"Cecilia" was premiered by one of my favorite singers, Claudia Muzio, la Divina.






This is the complete opera: 




Another addition to the list could be "L'Oracolo".

The composer, Leoni, was one of many Italian composers writing verismo style opera. "L'oracolo" was premiered in London, back in 1905, with a great star, the baritone Antonio Scotti, and it was also offered at the MET, where it received several stagings between 1915 and 1933.

It's a short opera, set in San Francisco's Chinatown, in 1900. You can read the synopsis here:

http://opera.stanford.edu/Leoni/Oracolo/synopsis.html

In youtube, we can find this version. It's a nice hearing:


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

I love Claudia Muzio! I like Cecilia and Refice's song "Ombra di nube".

I don't know Leoni or L'oracolo. Another one to explore.

(I have a lot of new additions to my Amazon wishlist.)

N.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

SixFootScowl said:


> Had to look up the term and find a list. Apparently only Italian operas qualify as verismo? I don't know how complete *this list of verismo operas* is, but from that list I like Tosca and La fancuilla del West.


Based on post 30, I will add L'amico Fritz to my list.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

SixFootScowl said:


> Based on post 30, I will add L'amico Fritz to my list.


Do you know Mascagni's Lodoletta? It's in a similar vein to Fritz, even if not quite inspired.

N.


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

Just another example, "Cavalleria rusticana"... Yes, but not Mascagni's, Monleone's. It is also a direct adaptation of the play by Giovanni Verga.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

I really enjoyed my exploration of Verismo and I ordered a few items from Amazon. I am going to review some of the lesser known works in this thread.

*Mala Vita*

This was Giordano's first opera and whilst it's one of the strongest Italian operatic debuts, nobody could claim that it is a masterpiece. It has more in common with Cav than it does with Giordano's later works. It's very short. It's in three acts and meant to be performed as a complete evening's work, but is about the same length as Cav or Pag. It therefore could be performed without an interval as part of a double bill, or with one interval making it a short full length piece.

Compared with Puccini's main operas and the masterpieces of the period it doesn't have much worth. However, considering it as a first work and comparing it with Le Villi (for example), I think it's very good. It was performed very shortly after Cav and fits the Verismo stereotype even more than that opera. Set in a poor Neapolitan district and centering on the story of a prostitute who seeks to leave her profession, only to be forced back into it, this is the real 'shabby, little shocker', despite the quality of the work making it something akin to a poor man's Cav.

Taking all that into consideration the music is well worth listening to. There's some greatly tuneful writing in there and the Neapolitan atmosphere and use of themes from the Partenope are superbly done. There is only one recording on CD, of course, but it's well worth listening too.









https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mala_vita

N.


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## Hele (Aug 26, 2020)

Azol said:


> Fanciulla del West
> Turandot
> Tosca
> ...basically everything by Puccini
> ...


My list looks exactly the same, the only exception is Tosca, never loved this one, don't know, why.


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## Hele (Aug 26, 2020)

Oops, I totally forgot about La Gioconda ... or maybe it's not _verismo_? And also some fragments of Fedora.


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

Hele said:


> Oops, I totally forgot about La Gioconda ... or maybe it's not _verismo_? And also some fragments of Fedora.


No, "La Gioconda" can't be considered as 'verismo'. 

The major influence, of course, is Verdi. The librettist was none other than Arrigo Boito, that worked later with Verdi in both "Otello" and "Falstaff", on top of composing himself some nice operas like "Mefistofele" and "Nerone" (unfinished).


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## Hele (Aug 26, 2020)

schigolch said:


> No, "La Gioconda" can't be considered as 'verismo'.
> 
> The major influence, of course, is Verdi. The librettist was none other than Arrigo Boito, that worked later with Verdi in both "Otello" and "Falstaff", on top of composing himself some nice operas like "Mefistofele" and "Nerone" (unfinished).


Yes, my mistake, sorry


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Hele said:


> Oops, I totally forgot about La Gioconda ... or maybe it's not _verismo_? And also some fragments of Fedora.


Fedora is wonderful. There is a good recording with Magda Olivero and Mario del Monaco which is well worth getting. You should also explore Andrea Chenier.

N.


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## Hele (Aug 26, 2020)

The Conte said:


> Fedora is wonderful. There is a good recording with Magda Olivero and Mario del Monaco which is well worth getting. You should also explore Andrea Chenier.
> 
> N.


Yes, Andrea Chenier has most wonderful arias and ensembles, but somehow the whole story doesn't touch me enough. But the music is very beautiful indeed.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

I think in general Giordano was one of the more gifted of the Verismo composers and whilst his later operas mostly contain reheated doggerel, his Fedora and Siberia deserve to be more often performed.

*Siberia*

I've been getting to know this delightfully tuneful piece. Giordano seems to have had a thing for both the French revolution and Russia and Siberia incorporates even more Russian style music than Fedora. This adds interest and colour in much the same way as the revolutionary themes in Chenier. The opening chorus based on Orthodox chant is superb and it soon segues into a folk tune (the change from one to the other is somewhat uncomfortable, but both themes are wonderful in themselves).

One of the downsides of Verismo opera is weak librettos (Mascagni set at least two that had been turned down by Puccini). Siberia is often seen as a sordid and ridiculous prison camp melodrama and the story isn't indeed strong. However, I think the music is, there is much to enjoy here and the opera isn't as well crafted as Fedora or Chenier (and the libretto is poorer than the ones for those two). However, there is much to enjoy. There is a decent, recent recording of a live performance on Dynamic, which is sadly out of the CD catalogue, but available via download.

N.


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## erudite (Jul 23, 2020)

*I Pagliacci.
*
Short. Sharp. Shocking.


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