Opera Scotland

Sette Canzoni Seven Songs

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Music

Gian Francesco Malipiero (born Venice, 18 March 1882; died Treviso, 1 August 1973).

Text

The composer.

Source

Old Italian poems, by Poliziano, Jacopone da Todi, Luigi Alamanni, and Anon.

 

Premieres

First Performance: Paris (Opéra), 10 July 1920.

First Performance in UK: Edinburgh (King's Theatre), 29 August 1969.

First Performance in Scotland: As above.

Scottish Opera premiere: N/A.

 

Background

Malipiero may well be remembered in the future less for his own compositions than for the ground-breaking research he carried out between the wars into the works of Monteverdi, Gabrieli and other early masters of Italian music, who were barely remembered at the time.

His own music has been little performed in Britain, but this rarity made a good impression on Edinburgh audiences, though that may have been because of the cast, including as it did the incomparable Magda Olivero and Renato Capecchi.

The work is the second part of a trilogy, L'Orfeide. The first section is La Morte delle Maschere, and the final section L'Orfeo, ossia L'Ottava Canzone. Sette Canzoni was first performed in Paris, in a translation by Henry Prunières. The 'Seven Songs' are  I Vagabondi; A vespro; Il Ritorno; L'Ubbriaco; La Serenata; Il Campanaro; and L'Alba delle Ceneri.