Risurrezione


Risurrezione, is an opera or dramma in four acts by Franco Alfano. The libretto was written by Camillo Antona Traversi and Cesare Hanau, based on the 1899 novel Resurrection by Leo Tolstoy. The first performance was given on 30 November 1904 in the, Turin, Italy.

Performance history

Risurrezione was Alfano's most successful work. For performances at La Scala Milan in March 1906, Alfano made cuts to the score. It was translated into French by Paul Ferrier and performed in Brussels, beginning on 18 April 1906. It was translated into German by A. Brüggeman and performed at the Königliche Oper in Berlin, beginning on 5 October 1909. For the Berlin production, Alfano made further revisions to the score. In Italian, it was performed in Modena, Novara, Madrid, Santiago, Chile, and at the Teatro Regio in Turin. It was also given in French in Nice, Chicago, and in Paris at the Salle Favart by the Opéra-Comique, in a production by Albert Carré. The Opéra-Comique revivals starred Mary Garden as Catarina and René Maison as Prince Dimitri. Retitled Katjuscha, it was again translated into German by E. Orthmann and H. Hartleb and performed at the Volks-Oper in Berlin on 4 October 1938. The Opéra-Comique revived Ferrier's translation again on 15 May 1954, in a new production by Jean Doat with scenery and costumes by André Bakst. The American soprano Patricia Neway sang Caterina with an otherwise all French cast. By the end of 1954, the opera had been performed more than 1,000 times around the world.
The opera was performed at Fulham Town Hall, London, on 30 November 1967. It was successfully revived at the Wexford Festival Opera, beginning on 2 November 2018. The Wexford production was performed at the Florence May Festival in January 2020, and an HD video was released in 2021.

Synopsis

Act 1

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 2

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 3

Prison in Saint 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 4

On the road to Siberia. Katiusha has become herself again, the good sweet girl of former times. Prince Dimitri arrives. Simonson, a political prisoner, reveals he loves Katiusha, wants to marry her, and asks for the prince's consent. Dimitri says she is free to do what she wants. Dimitri shows Katiusha a letter, revealing she has been pardoned; he tells her Simonson loves her and wants to marry her, so she must choose between them. She says she will marry Simonson, because she loves him. Although she still loves Dimitri with all her soul, she tells him to leave. She has found new purpose in life helping other prisoners.

Noted arias

  • Si, la ravviso la mia cara stanza – Arioso of Dimitri
  • Qualcun giù in giardino?... È Katiusha!.. – Duetto of Katerina and Dimitri
  • Dio pietoso, fa ch'il venga alfin – Aria of Katerina
  • Piangi, si, piangi – Arioso of Dimitri
  • Quando la vidi, una voce mi disse – Aria of Simonson
  • Ed ora, va... parti!... Son felice!!! – Finale duetto of Katerina and Dimitri

Orchestration

Recordings