ADRIANA LECOUVREUR

Opera in four acts with music by Francesco Cilea and a libretto in Italian by Arturo Colautti, based on the play Adrienne Lecouvreur (1849) by Eugène Scribe and Ernest Legouvé.
Premiered on the 6th of November, 1902 at the Teatro Lirico in Milan

Musical and stage production Teatro Cervantes de Málaga

Maurizio Alejandro Roy
Prince of Bouillon David Lagares
Abbé de Chazeuil Luis Pacetti
Michonnet Luis Cansino
Quinault Pau Armengol
Poisson Néstor Galván
Adriana Lecouvreur Lianna Haroutounian
Princess of Bouillon Clémentine Margaine
Mlle. Jouvenot Alba Chantar
Mlle. Dangeville Mar Esteve
Adriana's assistant Asun Ayllón

Orquesta Filarmónica de Málaga
Coro de Ópera de Málaga

Stage director Joan Anton Rechi
Choir director María del Mar Muñoz Varo
Conductor Óliver Díaz

2.35 h (w/intermission)

Hand programme (ESP)

The story of the real circumstances that led to the alleged assassination of Adrienne Lecouvreur, star actress of the Comédie-Française who died in 1730 in strange circumstances, apparently having been poisoned with a bouquet of violets by another actress who yearns for the former’s lover, a conflict which in the opera unfolds between Adriana and the Princess de Bouillon.

The composer and educator Francesco Cilea converted his Adriana Lecouvreur into a masterpiece of verismo with a wise combination of the vocal ideals of bel canto and the expressive needs of the early 20th century, which demanded more realistic theatrical solutions. When the composer started writing the opera he was already aware of the experience and the success of L´Arlesiana, and like the latter, Adriana was also immediately acclaimed and rapidly disseminated abroad.
The only one of Celia’s five operas that remains in the repertoire, Adriana Lecouvreur continues to attract audiences, fully devoted to the dramatic unfolding of events and the main character’s deadly outcome. The main roles of Adriana, Maurizio and the Princess de Bouillon are some of the most difficult of the repertoire, as evidenced by the vocal skill required for the moving arias Ecco: respiro appena…’, ‘Poveri fiori’ and ‘Io son l´umile ancella’ performed by Adriana, ‘Acerba vollutà’ sung by the Princess, and ‘La dolcissima efigie’ by Maurizio.

Opera and Recitals XXXIV Opera Season