Opera Scotland

Edgar

Tours by decade

Tours by location

Music

Giacomo Puccini (born Lucca, 22 December 1858; died Brussels, 29 November 1924)

Librettist

Ferdinando Fontana

Source

Play La coupe et les lèvres (1832) by Alfred de Musset (1810-1857)

 

Premieres

First Performance: Milan (Teatro alla Scala), 21 April 1889.

First Performance (Revision): Ferrara (Teatro Comunale), 28 February 1892.

First Performance (Final Revision): Buenos Aires (Teatro de la Opera), 8 July 1905.

First Performance in UK: London (Fulham Town Hall), 6 April 1967.

First Performance in Scotland: Glasgow (Theatre Royal), 28 October 2018 (concert)

Scottish Opera premiere: as above.

 

Background

Edgar was Puccini's second opera, and his first attempt at a full-length music drama. The highly overheated, and somewhat creaky, plot owes something to German romantic operas of an earlier generation - Weber's Euryanthe, Schumann's Genoveva and even Wagner's Lohengrin - but even by comparison with those it lacks subtlety. Fontana was also the librettist for Puccini's first opera, Le villi, which shows similar gothic influences. Despite many obvious weaknesses, Edgar already contains plenty of enjoyable music.

 

Main Characters

Edgar, a knight (tenor)

Fidelia, a young woman (soprano)

Frank, Fidelia's brother, in love with Tigrana (baritone)

Tigrana, a Gypsy, still in love with Edgar (mezzo-soprano.