Victor Hugo’s novel “Angelo, the Tyrant of Padua” has been used for several operatic adaptations with Amilcare Ponchielli’s “La Gioconda” probably being the best known, but on this week’s Sunday Opera (6/8 3:00 p.m.), we’re looking at a different treatment by librettist Angelo Zanardini in Alfredo Catalani’s “Dejanice” which had its premiere in 1883.
In Zandarini’s text, Dejanice (Carla Basto) was once a Syracusan patrician, but has been reduced to being an exclusive concubine. She is in love with Admeto (Ottavio Garaventa), a Tuscan adventurer, who is in love with Argelia (Maria Luisa Garbato), the daughter of one of Syracuse’s triumvirates, Dardano (Rene Massis).
Dardano is against the union of Argelia and Admeto, so Admeto agrees to run away with a Carthaginian captive named Labdaco (Carlo Zardo) to raise an army to defeat Syracuse. Dejanice sees her chance to be with Admeto, so she joins them.
Through the action of the opera, Angelia and Admeto are finally reunited, but because Dardano is still against their marriage, they decide to poison themselves. However, Dejanice arrives in the nick of time to stop them and tells them that she has killed Dardano by placing poisoned lilies in his rooms so that they can be together. After telling them that she is removing two obstacles from their lives; one hate and one love. With that, she stabs herself and dies.
They’re joined in this live recording by the Orchestra and Chorus of the Teatro del Giglio di Lucca conducted by Jan Latham-Koenig.
After the opera, join Michael Kownacky for more music by Catalani including his mass that he wrote when he was eighteen, his String Quartet in A, and a “Romantic Symphony” entitled “Il Mattino.”
