Concert Programme - Leoncavallo's Zingari

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Friday 3 December 2021, 7.30pm

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Resident Orchestra at Cadogan Hall

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Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Opera Rara present

Friday 3 December 2021, 7.30pm • Cadogan Hall

Puccini arr. Rizzi Tosca Symphonic Suite 22 mins Interval (20 minutes)

Leoncavallo Zingari 60 mins Carlo Rizzi Conductor Krassimira Stoyanova Fleana Arsen Soghomonyan Radu Stephen Gaertner Tamar Łukasz Goliński Il Vecchio Opera Rara Chorus Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Due to illness, Carlos Álvarez is unable to sing the role of Tamar in this performance of Zingari. Opera Rara and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra are grateful to Stephen Gaertner for singing this role at short notice.

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Welcome Welcome to tonight’s concert featuring Leoncavallo’s one-act opera: Zingari. We have returned to the original version of the composer’s dramatic score which was premiered with great success at London’s Hippodrome Theatre in 1912. Tonight’s performance promises to be a special and unique opportunity to hear the opera as it has not been heard for more than 100 years.

This is Carlo Rizzi’s first public performance as Opera Rara’s Artistic Director. We are also delighted to be giving the world premiere of his orchestral suite drawn from Puccini’s iconic opera Tosca.

Opera Rara and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra have enjoyed a long and rich collaboration including an acclaimed recording of Meyerbeer’s Il crociato in Egitto in 1991.

Tonight’s performance marks Opera Rara’s return to live performance after an absence of almost two years. It is a pleasure for us resume our concerts again and to welcome you to what promises to be a thrilling evening of opera at its most powerful and intense.

Henry Little, Chief Executive, Opera Rara James Williams, Managing Director, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

Production credits Leoncavallo’s Zingari Original 1912 version Edited by Ian Schofield Additional orchestration for the 1912 version prepared by Martin Fitzpatrick for Opera Rara.

Surtitles created and operated by Jonathan Burton.

Eamonn Dougan Assistant Conductor and Chorus Master Steven Maughan Repetiteur Matteo Dalle Fratte Italian Language Coach Ruth Mulholland Chorus Manager

Your safety at our venues The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra asks you to follow the guidance from each of our venues during your visit. The guidelines are there to keep the audience and performers safe by limiting the rise in COVID cases, which is vital to safeguard the future of the Orchestra and live concerts.

We strongly recommend wearing a face covering throughout your visit to the concert venue, unless you are exempt.

Please make use of the hand sanitiser stations provided and be respectful of fellow audience members when enjoying tonight’s concert together.

Find out how our venues are keeping you safe at rpo.co.uk

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Tonight’s Performance Music by Puccini and Leoncavallo

Tosca Symphonic Suite

Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924), arr. Carlo Rizzi Some time ago, while conducting the Suite from Der Rosenkavalier, I found myself reflecting on the fact that in Strauss the orchestra is always intrinsic to the harmonic and melodic creation and never merely an accompaniment or support for the singers.

I remember thinking how different this was from the main Italian opera repertoire, as in the works of Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti, Verdi and... Puccini? No… I could not place Puccini in this group. I started to scan his operas in my mind and realised that some of his works could also be re-imagined in a purely orchestral arrangement, just as Strauss had done for Der Rosenkavalier.

The thought stayed with me but it was only last year, when lockdown gave me an unusual period of free time, that I was able to return properly to the possibility of ‘Puccini orchestral suites’ and to explore deeply the two operas that I believed promised the most – Tosca and Madama Butterfly. Of course, I instantly found myself facing many questions. Which parts of the operas to choose from? Should I include all the highlights and best-known arias? How long should these suites be? As I worked, I found the answers, guided by what had always been clear in my mind from the beginning – after all my re-imagining and selecting, the final arrangements had to be completely faithful to Puccini’s original orchestration, with nothing added to ‘cover’ any perceivable lack of vocal line. For me, revealing Puccini as the great orchestrator that he was, was absolutely paramount. So, while the Tosca and Madama Butterfly suites are new, every note of them comes only from Puccini’s scores and his genius.

Another question that I asked myself was to which audience I was most wanting to address these new pieces. To an audience of opera-goers or to people that are usually more drawn to the concert hall and who might be less familiar with this music? For both, of course, but I decided to give my particular consideration to the latter and to my wish to create something that would widen appreciation of these masterpieces and that could stand alongside a symphony or a concerto. It was with this in my mind that I worked to develop the suites loosely in the form of a symphonic poem rather than as a medley of the best melodies.

Tonight, in the end, I am conducting this world premiere of the Tosca Symphonic Suite in front of an extremely discerning opera audience. I am very happy and proud to do so and hope that as you listen you will enjoy immersing yourselves in all the colours, vibrancy, nuances and textures that come out of Giacomo Puccini’s orchestra.

Note by Carlo Rizzi

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Zingari

Ruggero Leoncavallo (1857–1919)

Synopsis Episode One The action opens at twilight in a gypsy camp on the banks of the River Danube. Wagons are positioned on the left side of the stage; on the right in the distance is the river and a large almond tree. Coppersmiths are finishing their work and decide to go to the river. Tamar approaches the Old Man by the fire and tells him that a strange man has been seen in the camp at night; Fleana – the Old Man’s daughter – has also been seen leaving her tent and kissing the stranger. In a short aria (Ah! taci! non lo dir!) Tamar expresses his unrequited love for Fleana. The gypsies find Fleana and the stranger and bring them bound to the Old Man. Fleana declares her love for the stranger, who is revealed as a young nobleman called Radu; he in turn declares his allegiance to her community (Principe! Radu io son).

The Old Man blesses the relationship and Fleana and Radu are left alone; to the accompaniment of an offstage female chorus, they declare their undying love (Eccolo finalmente il sogno!). The couple then hear Tamar lurking in the bushes and find he is brandishing a knife. He confesses his love for Fleana. Tamar and Radu begin to fight but Fleana separates them; she then mockingly rejects Tamar’s love. Tamar leaves and the gypsies prepare to celebrate the wedding; Fleana performs a dance at the community’s request. Using Tamar’s knife, the Old Man makes a blood oath between the couple, but Tamar is heard singing in the distance (Ah! Canto notturno). Radu’s jealousy is aroused but Fleana restrains him and they again declare their love.

Intermezzo Episode Two A year has past. The action takes place in another encampment, at night by a village church; tents are scattered nearby. The gypsies are fleeing enemies and Tamar orders them to hide. Fleana arrives and declares him the true king of the gypsies. He leaves as Radu approaches. Radu laments that Fleana has become cold and distant towards him: he is tormented at night by anxious thoughts and believes that someone is taking her away from him (Mi fai morire). He demands an answer from her. She mocks him and declares she will reveal nothing even if he ties her up and burns her (Tagliami! Abbruciami). Left alone, Radu laments his situation once more and enters his tent. Tamar is heard singing in the distance, and when he appears, Fleana joins him and they declare their love. They enter a nearby hut. Radu appears, looking for Fleana: he hears the couple inside the hut (Fleana! Ove sei?). Enraged, he locks the door, places piles of straw around the building and sets it alight. Fleana and Tamar scream in horror and the chorus appear, crying out for water to save the couple, and wishing death on Radu. Radu curses the couple, but as the hut collapses the Old Man tells the chorus to free Radu: he is a madman.

Leoncavallo’s music hall Zingari Few operatic composers have been so closely associated with one repertory work as Ruggero Leoncavallo.

Even during his lifetime, critics in Italy and abroad regularly described him as a composer haunted by the fame of his early masterpiece Pagliacci (1892): subsequent operas were said to be either damned as

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failed attempts to move away from his realist beginnings or – worse still – as misguided efforts to revive the spirit of his great success. But this narrative has always overlooked the considerable public acclaim enjoyed by several of his later works, and has also framed any return to an earlier style as a sure sign of artistic failure. None of Leoncavallo’s later operas reveals the impact of this critical trend as clearly, perhaps, as Zingari (1912) – after Pagliacci, the most widely performed of his operas during his lifetime, yet now a rarity on the operatic stage.

Leoncavallo’s ‘gypsy’ opera was explicitly intended to be a revival of the format that had made him famous two decades earlier. Commissioned by the Hippodrome Theatre in London, this short work in two ‘episodes’ – separated by an Intermezzo, is even briefer than Pagliacci, with a significantly simpler plot and a more modest number of roles. What it lacks in scale, however, it more than makes up for in impact. The final moments, when Radu burns down the hut with Fleana and Tamar inside, are arguably every bit as vivid as those of Pagliacci: the earlier work’s sophisticated metatheatrical play now replaced with the old-fashioned pleasure of theatrical flames.

The circumstances in which Zingari reached the London stage are complex. Since its opening in 1900, the Hippodrome had become one of the crown jewels in the network of music hall venues owned by Moss Empires, by then the joint enterprise of Sir Edward Moss and Sir Oswald Stoll. For its first decade the venue hosted a wide range of entertainments including acrobats, animals and musical performers, catering to the tastes of its middle-class audience. By 1909, however, the layout of the theatre had been reconfigured to make it closer to a traditional theatre (placing seats in the stalls) and the programme increasingly turned to ‘elite’, foreign theatrical genres: in the words of the theatre’s own publicity, it was ‘the Royal Opera House of variety theatres’. Under the management of Albert de Courville, the Hippodrome hosted the Ballets Russes in 1909 for the UK premiere of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, and Puccini, Mascagni and Leoncavallo were all soon invited to conduct their operas.

Puccini declined, but the other two seized the opportunity – Leoncavallo visiting in late 1911 and Mascagni in early 1912. Leoncavallo’s initial tour involved twice-daily performances of Pagliacci, heavily abbreviated to fit the theatre’s rapid turnover of audiences and preceded by entertainments including acrobats, a conjuror and a music hall pianist. Pragmatic – and no doubt needing the cash – Leoncavallo enthusiastically accepted an offer to return the following September with an entirely new opera that would fit the venue’s new profile: artistically ambitious, yet suited to appear alongside dancing animals and other spectacular novelties.

Leoncavallo’s source for Zingari’s libretto – Pushkin’s narrative poem The Gypsies (1824) – may seem an equally unlikely match for the composer’s talents. By 1912, however, the Russian text had already been the source for a number of theatrical works, including Rachmaninov’s Aleko (1892). Even more significantly for Leoncavallo, The Gypsies had exerted a crucial influence on the development of Prosper Mérimée’s novella Carmen (1845), which in its operatic form as Bizet’s classic (1875) had become a vital stimulus in the development of Italian verismo. The similarities between Zingari and Carmen are obvious both on the level of plot – the two operas both feature an outsider entering a gypsy environment, and end with murder – and in their shared enthusiasm for musical exoticism. Yet while Bizet found inspiration in Spanish dance forms, Leoncavallo instead drew on an established lexicon of gypsy musical tropes, a field already well-ploughed by composers including Liszt, Brahms and Dvořák. Leoncavallo even claimed in several interviews to have conducted ethnographic research into gypsy music, an assertion that seems highly doubtful for the period around 1912, but that no doubt reflected a much longer interest in foreign musical styles on his part (part of Leoncavallo’s youth was spent in Cairo).

Perceived gypsy ‘exoticism’ is immediately on display in the opening scene, an anvil chorus with noisy percussion that clearly recalls Act Two of Verdi’s Il trovatore (1853) as well as the camp scenes of the same composer’s La forza del destino (1862). This lively mood is soon dissipated by the baleful tones of Tamar and Il Vecchio, however, the former expressing his frustrated passion in a mournful aria evoking the slow opening of a Csárdás. Tamar later enjoys another exotic showpiece in the form of the Canto notturno: an aria that appears twice in the opera, demonstrating his identity as the poet, and that became an immediate favourite among early audiences of Zingari.

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As the action progresses, however, it is Fleana who becomes the main focus of the opera’s musical exoticism. The ornamented, melismatic lines and chromaticism of her part are vividly on display in the ‘danza’ she performs near the end of Episode One, a moment of musical performance within the opera that offers another echo of Carmen. This mode returns in a different form in her scornful rejection of Radu in Episode Two (Tagliami! Abbruciami), an aria marked alla zingaresca and characterised by both noisy percussion and metrical dissonance. In Pushkin’s poem, this episode is even more explicitly presented as a moment of sung performance – Fleana taunting Radu, Carmen-style, with song. But even in Zingari it remains clear that Fleana enjoys a distinctly musical and exotic profile that aligns her early on with Tamar.

Set against this exoticism is Radu, the aristocratic outsider, whose love duet with Fleana in the Episode One clearly recalls the Nedda-Silvio duet in Pagliacci in its nocturnal rapture and rising melodic sequences (the soloists for the premiere of Zingari, significantly, were the same as for the 1911 Hippodrome Pagliacci). This duet is enriched by an offstage female chorus that comprises one of the opera’s most inspired touches – an indication of just how much Leoncavallo’s confidence as an orchestrator had developed in the decades since Pagliacci.

The brief Intermezzo introduces a new love theme, which then becomes the basis for the love duet between Fleana and Tamar in Episode Two. This duet is preceded by a solo for the contraviolino, a newly invented string instrument halfway in size between viola and cello, quickly followed by a reprise of Tamar’s seductive Canto notturno. The opera’s final scene for Radu then offers another musical echo of Pagliacci: Radu’s earlier music in Episode Two now returns in an increasingly frenzied guise as he violently takes his revenge on the lovers.

This final scene was one of several moments that Leoncavallo changed as he revised the opera following the first London rehearsals and performances, choosing to have Radu commit suicide rather than escape. In subsequent editions of Zingari, the first appearance of Tamar’s Canto notturno would also be substantially cut as well as dozens of bars of further material, and with numerous small changes also made to the libretto – the composer characteristically striving for greater concision as he returned to the work. The orchestral score of the version used for the London performances is now lost; only the vocal score (in Leoncavallo’s own reduction) survives in both a printed edition and the composer’s manuscript. On the basis of these sources, however, it has nonetheless been possible for Opera Rara to reconstruct the ‘original’ Zingari – returning it to the London stage more than a century after Leoncavallo himself conducted the premiere.

Note by Ditlev Rindom

Libretto Dramma lirico in due episodi

Opera in two episodes

L’azione si svolge lungo le rive del basso Danubio.

Tra il primo e il secondo episodio un anno.

Oggi.

The action takes place along the banks of the lower Danube.

A year has passed between the first and second episode.

Today.

IL PRIMO EPISODIO

EPISODE ONE

L’accampamento degli zingari, in un crepuscolo caldo, in riva al Danubio, in una verde radura erbosa. Le tende lacere, rosssigne, sono disposte in un semicerchio a sinistra: insieme ai carri della tradizione vagabonda, adornati di strani disegni, di tappeti bizzarri, con la ménagerie cenciosa che serve alla piccola vita quotidiana dei loro abitatori. In fondo, si apre la prateria sconfinata che si allarga poi in una decorazione ambigua di pioppi altissimi. La lunga riva malinconica del fiume, oltre il quale è piantato il bivacco, è folta di canneti e di salici. Scompare nel fondo, a destra. Il sole vi si annega in

The gypsy camp: warm twilight in a grassy green glade on the banks of the Danube. The ragged, reddish tents are arranged in a semicircle on the left, together with gypsy-style wagons adorned with strange designs, unusual carpets, and the menagerie that serves the modest daily life of their inhabitants. Towards the back, the endless prairie opens up, eventually widening into an ambiguous decoration of tall poplars. The long melancholy bank of the river, beyond which the camp is set up, is thick with reeds and willows.

It disappears towards the back, on the right. The sun is

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un’aureola vermiglia. A destra, pure, in una penombra diffusa appare la strada del villaggio: fra due siepi di biancospino.

Un grande mandorlo in fiore, enorme, vi si staglia, e protende le lunghe rame stellate. È la primavera mite, calma, serena.

drowned out in a halo of vermilion. Also on the right, the village road appears in a diffuse penumbra between two hawthorn hedges. A huge almond tree in bloom stands out against them, extending its long starry branches. It is a mild, calm, peaceful spring.

Appare davanti al fuoco il Vecchio immobile. Più in là, in una piccola fucina improvvisata, i calderai.

The motionless Old Man appears before the fire. Further on, in a small, improvised forge, are the tinkers.

ZINGARI Batti!

Il fuoco! In questa coppa, chi berrà? La fiamma te la benedica!

Per la bocca d’un re, forse, è foggiata con due mani di Zingaro!

Ed in un cuore ha passata una spada! È l’incantesimo!

Batti! Più forte! Su! Forte!

(Tralasciano il lavoro. Alcuni si asciugano il sudore. Altri si stirano le membra.)

Tramonta! Son le lucciole che guizzano per prati le scintille!

GYPSIES Beat!

Fire! Who will drink in this cup? The flame blesses it for you!

For a king’s mouth, perhaps, it has been shaped by two Gypsy hands!

And a sword has been passed through a heart! It’s a spell!

Beat! Harder! Come on! Harder!

(They leave their work. Some wipe off their sweat. Others stretch their limbs.)

Sunset! The fireflies dart through meadows with their sparks!

DONNE (lontani) Ahò! Ah! (Le donne escono dalle tende entrano in scena) Di già la sera s’avanza! Incappucciata!

(Le donne si avvicinano a poco a poco.)

WOMEN (far away) Hey! Ah! (The women leave the tents and enter the scene) Already the evening approaches! Descending like a hood!

(The women approach gradually).

ZINGARI Poi, navigando il cielo in un miracolo di più splendide stelle son pupille...

O donne! È l’ora che la fiamma si spenga?

(Il Vecchio si alza dominando la folla.)

GYPSIES Then, sailing through the sky in a miracle of splendid stars, pupils...

O women!

Is it time for the flame to go out?

(The Old Man stands up, dominating the crowd.)

IL VECCHIO Doman risplenderà nel sole ancor!

THE OLD MAN Tomorrow it will shine in the sun again!

ZINGARI Orsù! È l’ora! Spegnetelo nell’acqua!

E che tutto la notte lo nasconda!

Scendiamo al fiume allora!

(Escono tumultuosamente. Le donne rientrano nelle tende e nelle capanne. Gli uomini corrono verso il fiume.)

Più giù! Dietro ai salci! Verso il richiamo!

GYPSIES Come on! It’s time! Put it out in the water!

And let the night conceal all!

Let’s go down to the river then!

(They go out excitedly. The women return to their tents and huts. The men run towards the river.)

Further down! Behind the willows! Towards the calling sound!

(Tamar si avvicina al Vecchio come se volesse rivelargli un grande segreto.)

(Tamar approaches the Old Man as if he wants to share a great secret with him).

TAMAR C’è uno straniero che s’aggira a notte intorno ai nostri cari, fra le tende!

E tu lo sai...

TAMAR There’s a stranger wandering around at night around our loved ones, amongst the tents!

And you know...

IL VECCHIO Lo so!

THE OLD MAN I know!

TAMAR Fleana fugge dalla sua tenda.

TAMAR Fleana flees from her tent.

IL VECCHIO E va?

THE OLD MAN And goes?

TAMAR Nei canneti che in complici richiami confondono i bisbigli, i passi, i baci!

TAMAR To the reeds whose complicit sounds conceal the whispers, the footsteps, the kisses!

IL VECCHIO Legati me li condurrete!

THE OLD MAN Tie them up and bring them to me!

TAMAR Sfreccia la femmina sugli argini, ma guarda: forse costretti dentro alla sua treccia

TAMAR The woman is scurrying around the banks, but look: perhaps we’ll bring them to you using

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in un sol laccio te li porterem!

Sono in agguato i miei fratelli!

just her braid as a leash!

My brothers are lying in wait!

IL VECCHIO E se l’amasse?

THE OLD MAN What if she loves him?

TAMAR (con uno schianto) Ah! taci! non lo dir!

Che il sol sospetto agghiaccia Il dubbio mio sì forte e sì vivo!

E più l’ombra appar se la discaccio in quell’angoscia che m’illividì E piango, allor, i sogni non vissuti che ardon le labbra oltre ogni dir!

Per l’ansia di quei baci sconosciuti ch’ella mi nega se mi fa morir!

TAMAR (abruptly) Ah! Silence! Don’t say that!

The mere suspicion is chilling My doubt is so strong and so alive!

And the shadow appears all the more if I chase it away into that grief that wounded me And I weep, then, for dreams unlived that burn my lips beyond all telling!

For the anxiety of those unknown kisses that she denies me, she is killing me!

Son qui ! Ritornano!

(Tamar ed il Vecchio continuano il loro dialogo doloroso. Dopo il secondo grido interno le donne escono alla rinfusa dalle tende e vanno incontro alle quinte a destra: parte di esse accompagnano, come andassero incontro.)

They’re here! They’re coming back!

(Tamar and the Old Man continue their sorrowful dialogue.

After the second cry from within, the women come out at random from the tents and go to the wings on the right: some of them approach together, as if going to meet up).

ZINGARI Son qui! Ah! (Gli uomini sempre all’interno avvicinandosi.)

GYPSIES They’re here! Ah! (The men still inside, approaching.)

ZINGARI Donne, incontro alla torma! Olà!

GYPSIES Women, meet the crowd! Hey!

DONNE (chiamento) Alenko! Zurna!

Dal fiume chi risale?

(Le donne sono scomparse dalla scena.)

WOMEN (calling) Alenko! Zurna!

Who’s coming up from the river?

(The women have disappeared from the scene.)

TUTTI Uno stranier! È nostro!

(Gli zingari invadono Ia scena e trascinano innanzi al Vecchio.

Radu, con le mani legate, mentre Fleana, furente, si fa più vicina a lui.)

ALL An outsider! He’s ours!

(The gypsies invade the scene and drag Radu, hands tied, before the Old Man, while Fleana, furious, moves closer to him).

ZINGARI Li abbiam colti sulla riva!

Si baciavano! Giudica! Le nostre donne non sono per i forestieri!

GYPSIES We caught them on the banks!

They were kissing! Judge! Our women are not for outsiders!

IL VECCHIO Fleana! Zingara del mio cuor, che hai tu fatto?

THE OLD MAN Fleana! Gypsy of my heart, What have you done?

FLEANA Discioglietelo prima dalle corde...

L’ospite sacro, o padre mio, ti porto!

E tale sia nel nostro campo accolto! È tradizion concorde.

Ti dirà... Zingaro vuole esser come noi. Nè alcuna legge ce lo proscrive. E poi ch’egli mi elegge sarò la sua compagna!

FLEANA Untie him first...

A sacred guest, O my father, I bring you!

And may he be welcomed as such in our camp!

It is a hallowed tradition.

He’ll tell you... he wants to be a gypsy like us. There is no law that forbids us from allowing it. And when he chooses me, I’ll be his companion!

IL VECCHIO Il tuo sospiro sia comandamento però che tu sei libera. (agli zingari) Scioglietelo! (a Radu) Ma tu chi sei ? Di te dimmi. Che vuoi?

(Ora che è in libertà, è immobile davanti a lui. E come in un’estasi egli parla.)

THE OLD MAN Your sigh shall be a commandment, but you must be free. (to the gypsies) Untie him! (to Radu) Who are you? Tell me about yourself. What do you want?

(Now that he has been freed, he stands motionless before him. And he speaks as if in ecstasy.)

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RADU Principe ! Radu io son: ella t’ha detto, e principe son, io dell’avventura!

Ma la tua vita, non mi fa paura nè mi spaventa della terra il letto!

Dammi un amore selvaggio e ribelle purché il mio cielo fiorisca di stelle!

Stracciami dunque la veste regale E tienmi al carro che balza e traballa!

Fuggo il mio regno ed il tuo m’abbarbaglia ch’è sconfinato, turchino, immortale.

Già mi credevo padrone del mondo, ma pel mio sogno altra strada non v’è che quella aperta dal mister profondo che ti consacra, mio prence, mio re!

RADU Prince! I am Radu, as she has told you, and I am a prince of adventure!

Your way of life doesn’t scare me Nor do I dread the ground for a bed!

Give me a wild and rebellious love as long as my sky is full of stars!

Tear from me then the royal robe And take me to the jerky rickety wagon!

I flee my kingdom and am dazzled by yours it is boundless, turquoise, immortal.

I used to think I owned the world, but to achieve my dream there is no other way than the one opened up by the profound mystery that consecrates you, my prince, my king!

IL VECCHIO E sia! Rimani all’ombra della tenda, che pane e sangue volentieri dividerò!

THE OLD MAN So be it! Stay in the shadow of the tent, bread and blood I will gladly share!

FLEANA (a Radu,con un grido) Sei mio! Chi più potrebbe rubarmelo?

FLEANA (to Radu, with a cry) You’re mine! Who could steal him from me now?

TAMAR (mormorandole dietro le spalle, piano) Chi t’odia per l’amor che non ti disse e che lo fa morir!

Guardati dunque! (si allontana rapidamente) (Fleana crolla le spalle e si volge alla folla.)

TAMAR (quietly murmuring behind her back) He who hates you for the love he never told you of and that is killing him!

Just look at you! (he walks away quickly) (Fleana shrugs and turns to address the crowd.)

FLEANA Zingari! Le mie nozze festeggeremo nel crepuscolo!

Sfoglierete ogni siepe, ogni ramaglia!

FLEANA Gypsies! We’ll celebrate my nuptials in the twilight!

Take the leaves from every hedge, every branch!

ZINGARI Ecco! Il mandorlo già tutta sventaglia!

La corona dei suoi fiori perlari!

GYPSIES There! The almond tree is already flaunting the crown of its pearl-like flowers!

FLEANA Canterete ogni canto!

FLEANA You will sing every song!

ZINGARI È la tua voce che valica il Danubio se singhiozzano le tiorbe!

GYPSIES It is your voice that crosses the Danube when the lutes begin their lament!

FLEANA Al fiume! Ritornate al fiume!

FLEANA To the river! Back to the river!

ZINGARI Al fiume scendiamo!

Olà! Più giù!

(Gli zingari si disperdono. Il Vecchio alza la mano come per benedire Fleana e Radu. Se ne va. I due si raccolgono allora all’ombra del grande mandorlo.)

GYPSIES Down to the river we go!

There! Further down!

(The gypsies disperse. The Old Man raises his hand as if to bless Fleana and Radu. He leaves. The two then gather in the shade of the huge almond tree.)

RADU Eccolo finalmente il sogno! Vivere così! Vespero vibra, arde, scintilla.

In ogni nube s’apre una pupilla Guardano appariscenze fuggitive.

RADU Here’s the dream at last! To live like this! Vibrant Venus is burning and sparkling.

In every cloud a pupil opens, watching over fleeting apparitions.

FLEANA Tutte le rame scattano e si piegano!

Cade una pioggia di fiori e di foglie!

Il mandorlo... il suo tesoro discioglie e ce lo getta!

FLEANA All the branches are snapping and bending!

A rain of flowers and leaves is falling!

The almond tree... is unleashing its treasure and throwing it at us!

RADU Amore! Strega!

Occhi azzuri! Adorata! Il bosco inneggia purché la bocca mia sia la tua bocca!

RADU My love! Sorceress!

Blue eyes! Beloved! The woods sing in praise as long as my mouth is your mouth!

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Trafiggimi co’ tuoi sguardi: trabocca l’anima mia che tutta in te fiammeggia!

Pierce me with your eyes: inflamed by you, my soul overflows!

FLEANA Cuore mio dolce ha un brivido la siepe!

Giù corolle più chiare della luna che il vento porta in onde di profumo!

Ci cullerete come una sottile fantasima, volante in nuvolaglie.

Navigherete sopra alle boscaglie stellate, sotto al ciel primaverile, mentre alle nostre voci disumane risponderanno per il nostro amore tutte le siepi che splendono in fior e tutti i fior che stellano le rame!

FLEANA My sweetheart the hedge flutters!

Petals brighter than the moon carried down by the wind in waves of perfume!

You will cradle us like a slender spirit, flying in wisps of clouds.

You will sail over the starry thickets, under the spring sky, whilst in response to our inhuman voices, answering for our love will be all the hedges, resplendent and in bloom, and all the flowers that cover the branches in stars!

VOCI DI DONNE Maggio! Bel maggio! Fremer di virgulti sotto i capelli! Fresco della terra sotto le carni! Piovono i tuoi baci che come fuoco avvampano in silenzio!

Fiamme nell’ossa, brividi alla pelle

WOMEN’S VOICES May! Beautiful May! New shoots pushing up beneath our hair! The fresh feel of the ground beneath our flesh! Your kisses rain down and burn in silence like fire!

Flames in your bones, your skin shivers...

RADU (inebriato, attirandola a sè) Vien qui vicino!

RADU (intoxicated, drawing her to himself) Come closer!

FLEANA (abbraciandolo teneramente) Vicino ti sto!

FLEANA (embracing him tenderly) I’m close to you!

RADU Sempre così vorrai?

RADU Is that how you’ll always want it to be?

FLEANA Sempre così vorrò!

FLEANA That’s how I’ll always want it to be!

RADU La tua bocca!

RADU Your mouth!

FLEANA (baciandolo) Così

FLEANA (kissing him) Like that

RADU Giglio!

RADU (Oh pure white) lily!

FLEANA Dolcezza!

FLEANA Sweetness!

RADU Fleana!

RADU Fleana!

FLEANA Anima mia!

FLEANA My soul!

RADU Occhi azzuri... adorata! Il bosco inneggia Purché la bocca mia sia la tua bocca!

Trafiggimi coi tuoi sguardi trabocca l’anima mia che in te fiammeggia!

RADU Blue eyes... beloved! The woods sing in praise as long as my mouth is your mouth!

Pierce me with your eyes: inflamed by you my soul overflows!

FLEANA Io ti guardo ed irraggia questi occhi un sole Zingara più non sono! Io son regina!

T’avvolgo nella mia chioma se m’arroventi con le tue parole!

(Ad un tratto, un rumore improvviso interrompe il lungo bacio d’amore.)

FLEANA I look at you and a sun makes these eyes glow, I am no longer a gypsy! I am a queen!

I will wrap you in my hair if you inflame me with your words!

(Suddenly, a sudden noise interrupts the long loving kiss.)

FLEANA Chi è nell’ombra?

FLEANA Who’s in the shadows?

RADU Dove?

RADU Where?

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(Fleana corre verso la siepe e scova nel fogliame Tamar che strisciava con un coltello fra i denti.)

(Fleana runs to the hedge and spots Tamar in the foliage, crawling along with a knife between his teeth.)

FLEANA Tamar! Alzati! Via! Mi spiavi? Rispondi!

(Il coltello cade.)

Misericordia! Tu? (È disarmato: come se un grande pianto, una grande nostalgia accorata lo invadessero.)

FLEANA Tamar! Get up! Go away!

Were you spying on me? Answer me!

(The knife falls.)

Heavens! You? (He seems defenceless and is overcome by a great fit of weeping and heartfelt longing.)

TAMAR Oh tristezza!

TAMAR Oh sadness!

RADU Chi è dunque?

RADU Who is it, then?

FLEANA È Tamar, quegli che crebbe con me, che mi seguì con un ardore giovanile. È il poeta degli Zingari! (volgendosi improvvisamente a Tamar) Che cosa chiedi? Volevi uccidermi?

Parla! II coltello! Dimmelo!

FLEANA It is Tamar, who grew up with me, who followed me with youthful ardour. He’s the Gypsies’ poet! (turning suddenly to Tamar) What is it you want? Did you want to kill me?

Speak! The knife! Tell me!

TAMAR Sì! T’odio!

TAMAR Yes! I hate you!

RADU T’ama invece!

RADU On the contrary, he loves you!

TAMAR (con passione profonda) E non seppi dirti mai l’ignoto amor! Non seppi le parole che splendono nel cuor siccome un sole e fanno aprire fasci di rosai...

Eri la vita mia! La giovinezza!

TAMAR (with deep passion) And I could never tell you about this secret love! I didn’t know how to say the words that shine in my heart like a sun and make rows of rosebushes open up...

You were my life! My youth!

FLEANA Che cosa vale l’amor tuo? Rispettami, se m’ami!

FLEANA What’s your love worth? Respect me, if you love me!

RADU Oh come t’ama... Ma più forte sei tu, però che sprezzi anche la morte! (a Tamar avventandosi su di lui) Vattene!

RADU Oh how he loves you... But the stronger one is you who even scorn death! (to Tamar pouncing on him) Get out!

TAMAR (minaccioso) Bada a te! Davanti a lei sono un fanciullo! Ma potrei schiantarti!

TAMAR (threatening) Watch out! As far as she’s concerned I’m a child!

But I could crush you!

RADU Sfidi?

RADU Is that a challenge?

TAMAR (si afferrano e lottano) Guarda!

(Tamar atterra Radu.)

TAMAR (they grab hold of each other and fight) Look!

(Tamar floors Radu.)

FLEANA (avanzandosi) Tamar! Tu sei più forte d’un uomo, ma più debole di me!

(Li divide. Radu si risolleva bieco e minaccioso. I due si guardano pronti a lanciarsi uno sull’altro. Ma Fleana li trattiene.

FLEANA (coming forward) Tamar! You’re stronger than a man, but weaker than me!

(She splits them up. Radu gets to his feet, sinister and menacing. The two stare at each other, ready to pounce. But Fleana holds them back.)

FLEANA (a Tamar) Ten va! Non hai pensato.

Amarmi volea dir stendere il tuo mantello sotto il mio strascico breve e popolare di fantasmi il sonno!

Addormentarmi, accarezzarmi nella pietà

FLEANA (to Tamar) Go away! You didn’t realise that loving me meant laying your cloak beneath my path And haunting my sleep!

As I slumber, caressing me in the piety

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del mesto canto in un incanto di santità!

Ma tu l’amore sempre ignorerai: nè uccidere, nè vivere tu sai!

Va singhiozzando dunque i tuoi tormenti.

Va là, povero zingaro! Ah!ah!ah! (riso stridente, dall’acuto al grave) Dilla ancor della notte alla sua brezza, l’angoscia delle tue canzoni ardenti.

Io sono tutta la tua giovinezza...

Che divina mi fa di crudeltà! Ah!ah!ah!

of the sad song in an enchantment of holiness!

But you will never know love: You neither know how to kill nor to live!

So go and lament your suffering.

Go, poor gypsy! Ha! Ha! Ha! (shrill laughter, from high- to low-pitched) Speak again of the night and its breeze, the pain of your passionate songs.

I am the whole of your youth...

How divinely cruel it makes me! Ha! Ha! Ha!

RADU (cinge Fleana per la vita) O solamente mia!

RADU (holding Fleana by the waist) O mine alone!

TAMAR (indietreggiando allibito) Perduta! T’ho perduta!

(Fugge dal fondo.)

TAMAR (backing away in dismay) Lost! I have lost you!

(He escapes from the back.)

ZINGARI (entrano in scena tutti) Allo stazzo! Olà! Fleana!

GYPSIES (all entering the scene) To the pasture! Hey! Fleana!

IL VECCHIO Festeggeremo le tue nozze ! Orsù!

THE OLD MAN Let’s celebrate your wedding! Come on!

ZINGARI Disciogli i balenanti tuoi capelli che li vuole la luna tempestare!

A notte prima ti saprem cantare per le nozze tue i cantici più belli.

GYPSIES Let down your magnificent hair which the moon wants to adorn!

The night before, we’ll sing you the most beautiful songs for your wedding.

IL VECCHIO Ma danza prima!

THE OLD MAN But dance first!

ZINGARI Danza!

GYPSIES Dance!

RADU (accarezzando la chioma di Fleana) Aureola nera come la notte!

RADU (stroking Fleana’s hair) A halo as black as the night!

FLEANA La la la la!

FLEANA La-la-la-la!

ZINGARI Ah! Urrà!

GYPSIES Ah! Hooray!

FLEANA Ora congiungi le nostre mani!

FLEANA Now join our hands!

IL VECCHIO Cosi sia...

(Fleana raccoglie il coltello caduto a Tamar e lo porge al Vecchio.)

THE OLD MAN So be it.

(Fleana picks up the knife Tamar had dropped and hands it to the Old Man.)

FLEANA Con questo coltello, il sacrificio!

FLEANA With this knife, the sacrifice!

RADU Del tuo sangue!

(Il Vecchio recide leggermente il dorso.della mano di Fleana, finché.una goccia di sangue appare sulla pelle bianchissima.

Anche sulla mano di Radu compie il sacrificio leggendario.

Congiunge le mani degli innamorati; che, come i due dorsi si toccano hanno il brivido del diverso sangue che si trasmette.)

RADU Of your blood!

(The Old Man lightly cuts the back of Fleana’s hand until a drop of blood appears on her pure white skin. He also performs the legendary sacrifice on Radu’s hand. He joins the hands of the lovers who, as the backs of their hands touch, feel the thrill of the other blood as it transfers from the one to the other.)

IL VECCHIO Sia benedetto il frutto del tuo amor in eterno!

(Tutti scuotono forte le lunghe rame si che in terra è una grande fiorita di neve.)

THE OLD MAN Blessed be the fruit of your love forever!

(Everyone shakes the long branches vigorously, until the ground is covered in a snow of blooms.)

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ZINGARI In eterno! Sia uno zingaro col cuor vagabondo! E la sua libera anima al vento!

GYPSIES Forever! Let him be a gypsy with a wandering heart! And his soul be free to the wind!

IL VECCHIO Zingari! All’alba toglieremo il campo!

E lontano anderà la mia tribù!

THE OLD MAN Gypsies! At dawn we’ll clear the camp!

And my tribe will go far away!

GLI ZINGARI All’alba! All’alba!

(Gli Zingari si disperdono qua e là e scompaiono.)

GIPSIES At dawn! At dawn!

(The gypsies scatter here and there and disappear.)

TAMAR (di dientro) Ah! Canto notturno nel firmamento.

Se vivere non so, a chi m’innamorò singhiozza il mio lamento!

(Nel centro della scena sono Fleana e Radu. Il Vecchio alla voce di Tamar resta pensieroso e guarda Radu che è fosco e accigliato.)

TAMAR (from inside) Ah! Night Song in the firmament.

If I am unable to live, with the one I fell in love with, cries my lament!

(In the centre of the stage are Fleana and Radu. Hearing Tamar’s voice, the Old Man is pensive and looks at Radu, who is gloomy and frowning.)

FLEANA (quasi parlato) È Tamar!

FLEANA (almost spoken) It’s Tamar!

TAMAR Come un viburno m’agito al vento.

(Il Vecchio si appressa a Radu e lo vorrebbe convincere d’andare con Fleana sotto le tende senza ascoltare il canto, ma egli rifiuta energicamente ed il Vecchio si allontana e scompare.)

Se il vento mi strappò, non ti raggiungerò fior d’ogni mio lamento!

O tenerezza! Allora ti terrò così come nube stretta nel cerchio dell’aurora!

TAMAR Like a viburnum I shake in the wind.

(The Old Man approaches Radu and tries to persuade him to go inside the tents with Fleana instead of listening to the singing, but he refuses emphatically and the Old Man turns away and disappears.)

If the wind blows me away, I won’t reach you flower of my every lament!

O tenderness! So I’ll hold you like this, like a cloud encircled by dawn!

RADU (minaccioso a Fleana) Lo senti!

RADU (threateningly to Fleana) You hear him!

FLEANA (ritenendolo con affetto) Taci!

FLEANA (holding him affectionately) Quiet now!

TAMAR Ah ! Negli occhi tuoi sarà tutto il mio cuor Come in un rio che foce non ha dovesse mai la mia vita essere, o Amor, tutta l’insidia di un’eternità!

TAMAR Ah! In your eyes my whole heart will be As in a stream that has no mouth should my life ever be, O Love, imperilled by eternity!

RADU (vorrebbe scagliarsi verso Tamar. È trattenuto da Fleana).

Lo senti!

RADU (wants to hurl himself at Tamar. He is held back by Fleana).

Do you hear him?

FLEANA Non ascoltar!

FLEANA Don’t listen!

RADU Hai sentito, Fleana !

RADU You heard him, Fleana!

FLEANA (voluttuoso) O cuor mio grande non ascoltar! Io t’amo

FLEANA (sensuous) O my great love don’t listen! I love you

RADU Tutta la vita mia ti donerò e fin ch’io viva, no, non le far male Io sono un bimbo che vuol sognare e senza il sogno viver non sa!

Ti darò la vita mia, non la schiantar!

RADU All my life I will give to you And as long as I live, no, do not harm it I am a child who wants to dream and who doesn’t know how to live without dreaming!

I will give you my life, don’t crush it!

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FLEANA (con un grido di passione: come smarrita) L’ebbrezza io sono, e tu, tu sentimi, amore!

Chiusa fra le tue braccia! Ebra! Smarrita!

Nel nostro bacio rinnoviam la vita!

Son con te, cuor del mio cuor!

FLEANA (with a cry of passion, as if lost) I am intoxication, and you, listen to me, love!

Locked in your arms! Intoxicated! Lost!

In our kiss let us renew our life!

I am with you, my dearest heart!

INTERMEZZO

INTERMEZZO

IL SECONDO EPISODIO

EPISODE TWO

Una piccola chiesa abbandonata: in vista del paese che si profila lontano, in un orizzonte chiarissimo. Montagne turchine, popolate di case microscopiche e di grandi foreste oscure, s’avventano nel fondo. Da una parte, addossato alla chiesa, il carro di Fleana e di Radu: con la porta aperta verso la scena. Due, tre tende illuminate, in cui riposano gli zingari.

Altre si intravedono più là. Dall’altra parte una capanna contadinesca, fatta di paglia e di legno, il cui battente può chiudersi di fuori: serve di nascondiglio. Il plenilunio. Alcuni zingari sono accosciati, intorno alla fiamma del focolare che arde, vicino al carro. Dormono.

A small, abandoned church that can be seen from the village, looming in the distance against a very clear horizon. Turquoise mountains covered by tiny houses and great dark forests rushing into the background. On one side, by the side of the church, Fleana and Radu’s wagon with the door open towards the stage. Two or three lighted tents in which the gypsies are resting. Others can be glimpsed further on. On the other side, a peasant hut, made of straw and wood, whose door can be closed from the outside: it serves as a hiding place. Full moon.

Some gypsies are huddled around the flames of the fire that is burning near the wagon. They are asleep.

ZINGARI Presto! Ognuno rientri nelle tende!

Siamo inseguiti!

GYPSIES Hurry! Everyone back to their tents!

We’re being pursued!

TAMAR Fingerete di dormir.

TAMAR Pretend to sleep.

UN ZINGARO Intanto chi nasconderà la preda?

A GYPSY But who’s going to hide the prey?

TAMAR I lumi!

TAMAR The lights!

UN ZINGARO Silenzio!

A GYPSY Quiet!

TAMAR Spegnete!

TAMAR Put them out!

FLEANA (ansiosamente) Siete scoperti?

(Fleana scruta l’orizzonte.)

FLEANA (anxiously) Have you been discovered?

(Fleana scans the horizon.)

TAMAR Forse!

TAMAR Perhaps!

FLEANA Non v’inseguono più!

FLEANA They’re not after you any more!

TAMAR Hanno perduto il passo! Siam salvi!

Ho guidato al bivacco la tribù!

In ogni siepe guatava un nemico!

In ogni strada tendeva il suo laccio!

TAMAR They couldn’t keep up! We’re safe!

I led the tribe to the camp!

In every hedgerow it was staring at an enemy!

On every street it set its trap!

FLEANA Tu il vero duce sei degli Zingari!

FLEANA The real leader of the Gypsies is you!

TAMAR E tu sei la regina, bella selvaggia!

(Fleana lo guarda come ammaliata.)

TAMAR And you are the queen, beautiful and wild!

(Fleana looks at him as if bewitched.)

FLEANA È Radu! T’allontana !

Egli è geloso!

FLEANA It’s Radu! Leave!

He’s jealous!

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TAMAR A questa notte!

(Tamar esce correndo dietro la capanna a sinistra.)

TAMAR Until tonight!

(Tamar exits running behind the hut on the left.)

FLEANA (sussurrato) Vieni!

(Fleana siede presso al fuoco. Radu compare dal fondo.)

FLEANA (whispering) Come!

(Fleana sits by the fire. Radu appears from the back.)

RADU M’attendevi? Fleana, io t’ho pensato nella mia strada.

Mi saltava in gola il cuor nella fuga silenziosa.

La troverò? Ho paura ogni volta che qui ti lascio sola!

Non mi rispondi ?

Taci!

Rientra.

RADU Were you waiting for me? Fleana, I thought of you on my way.

My heart was in my throat during my silent flight.

Will I find her? I’m afraid every time I leave you here alone!

Aren’t you going to answer me?

Aren’t you going to say something?

Come back inside.

FLEANA (dura) No.

FLEANA (harsh) No.

RADU Non ti conosco più!

Sei cambiata. Mi sfuggi!

RADU I don’t know you anymore!

You’ve changed. You’re avoiding me!

FLEANA No!

FLEANA No!

RADU Mi fai morire. Temo sempre ad ogni istante di perderti! La notte se mi desto e ti cerco, e ti chiamo, e non ti trovo, balzo in piedi. Sei qui! Seduta: guardi la notte immensa! Piangi! Come t’asciugherò le lacrime? M’insidia la stessa anima mia!

RADU You’re killing me. Every moment I fear I’ll lose you! In the night if I wake up and look for you, and I call you, and I can’t find you, I leap to my feet. You’re here! Sitting here: Look at the vastness of the night! You’re crying!

How can I wipe away your tears?

My very soul undermines me!

FLEANA (duramente) La tua ragione malferma...

FLEANA (harshly) You’re not thinking straight...

RADU No! Qualcuno s’aggira attorno a noi. Così come in un giorno lontan lungh’esso un fiume ti cercai. (desperatamente) E mi ti vuol ghermire!

E mi ti vuol strappare!

E mi dilania! E m’arroventa di sospetto se mordo la tua bocca!

Io non so più l’anima mia così straniera alla mia stessa gelosia!

Io non so più gridar i miei richiami Fleana, che t’avvinsero al mio core.

Ho paura di te perché non m’ami Ho paura di me, pazzo d’amor! (afferrandole il braccio, con violenza) Rispondimi!

RADU No! Someone is prowling around us. Just as I looked for you that day long ago by the river. (desperately) And he wants to snatch you from me!

And he wants to tear you away from me!

And it’s tearing me apart! And I burn with suspicion when I bite your mouth!

I no longer know my soul, a stranger to my own jealousy!

I no longer know how to shout out my calls, Fleana, that bound you to my heart.

I’m afraid of you because you don’t love me I’m afraid of myself, mad with love! (grabbing her arm violently) Answer me!

FLEANA (da in una lunga risata sardonica) Risponderti ? Ah!Ah!Ah! Ma sì!

Tagliami! Abbruciami ma vi disprezzo fuoco di rogo e lama di coltello!

Più mi torturi, più sento ribrezzo, Vecchio marito e sposo giovincello!

Più mi dilani, più l’invoco e chiamo se dovessi morirne, io l’amo!

FLEANA (in a long sardonic laugh) Answer you? Ah! Ah! Of course!

Cut me! Burn me, but I have only contempt for the fire and the blade!

The more you torture me, the more you repulse me, Old husband and young groom!

The more you tear me apart, the more I will call his name, and even if I should die, I love him!

RADU (angosciato, tremante) Non lo voglio sentir questo lamento!

RADU (distraught, trembling) I don’t want to hear this lament!

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FLEANA (Attizza il focherello vicino al carro. E va e viene prendendo piccole bracciate di legna, provocante nella sua meravigliosa bellezza.)

Che m’importa? Per me lo grido al vento!

Che se lo porta in dolce signoria!

Tagliami! Abbruciami, non dirò nulla!

Che cosa allor saprai dalla fanciulla ?

FLEANA (She pokes the little fire near the wagon and comes and goes carrying small armfuls of wood, alluring in her amazing beauty).

What do I care? For my part, I’ll shout it on the wind!

So that it may be carried sweetly!

Cut me! Burn me, I won’t say anything!

What will you learn from the girl then?

RADU Fleana!

RADU Fleana!

FLEANA Giovine passa come falco! È April e mi ghermisce pei capelli sciolti , e ridiamo di te, vecchio, che ascolti.

Aprile! Dolce morir!

FLEANA Youth passes like a hawk! It’s April and he grabs me by my flowing hair, and we laugh at you, old man, as you listen.

April! Sweet death!

RADU Taci, Fleana

RADU Silence, Fleana.

FLEANA (feroce) Tu l’hai compresa la mia canzon? Tagliami! Ah bruciami!

Adirati dunque! Va! Ah! Ah! Ah! (riso sarcastico stridente ad libitum)

FLEANA (fierce) Did you understand my song? Cut me! Burn me!

Rage then! Go on! Ha! Ha! Ha! (spontaneous, shrill, sarcastic laughter)

RADU Son pazzo!

Non puoi aver dimenticato tutto l’amore che ci martellò!

Bada!

(L’afferra e la getta per terra.)

RADU I’m crazy!

You can’t have forgotten all that love that bowled us over!

Be careful!

(He grabs her and throws her to the floor.)

FLEANA (rialzandosi minacciosa e crudele) Vile! Sol con le femmine sei forte!

FLEANA (getting to her feet, threatening and cruel) Coward! You’re only strong with girls!

RADU Fleana, pietà!

(Lo guarda con disprezzo e si avvia verso il carrozzone. Sale sulla scaletta cantarellando.)

RADU Fleana, have mercy!

(She looks at him with disdain and walks towards the carriage.

She climbs the ladder singing.)

FLEANA Tagliami! Abbruciami!

Ah! Ah! Ah! (Entra e chiude la porta.)

FLEANA Cut me! Burn me!

Ha! Ha! Ha! (She enters and closes the door.)

RADU (cade accasciato sulla scaletta del carrozzone) Ah! Perduto! Tutto!

Ho perduto la pace vagabonda Che mi s’aprì sotto il diverso cielo d’una via sconosciuta che sprofonda d’ogni nube, una stella, in ogni velo!

Non mi ricordo più della mia vita e del passato amor più nulla so: che nel cuor mi si strugge l’infinita viltà che di te sola m’avvampò!

(Pallido e smarrito egli entra nella sua tenda, vicino al carro di Fleana.)

RADU (collapses on the steps of the carriage) Ah! Lost! All is lost!

I have lost my wanderer’s peace Which opened up to me under the different sky of an unknown path that garners from every cloud, from every veil, a star!

I now remember nothing of my life and of past love I know no more: but my heart is consumed by the infinite cowardice that you alone inflamed!

(Pale and lost he enters his tent, near Fleana’s wagon.)

TAMAR Canto notturno nel firmamento, se vivere non so, a chi m’affascinò singhiozza il mio lamento!

Come un viburno m’agito al vento, se il vento mi strappò non ti raggiungerò fior d’ogni mio tormento!

O tenerezza! Allora

TAMAR Night song in the firmament, If I am unable to live, with the one who captivated me cries my lament!

Like a viburnum I shake in the wind, if the wind blows me away, I won’t reach you flower of my every torment!

O tenderness! So

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ti terrò così come nube stretta nel cerchio dell’aurora?

(Tamar compare dietro la chiesa piccola e squallida.

Giunge in mezzo alla scena.)

Ah! Negli occhi tuoi sarà tutto il mio cuor come in un rio che foce non ha, dovesse mai la mia vita essere, o amor, tutta l’insidia d’un’eternità!...

(Fleana, ansiosa, inquieta, appare sulla porticina del carro discende. Tamar va cautamente verso di lei. Cadono fra le braccia una dell’altro.)

shall I hold you like this, like a cloud Encircled by dawn?

(Tamar appears behind the small, rundown church.

He reaches the middle of the stage.)

Ah! In your eyes my whole heart will be as in a stream that has no mouth should my life ever be, O Love, imperilled by eternity!...

(Fleana, anxious and uneasy, appears at the wagon door and steps down. Tamar approaches her cautiously. They fall into each other’s arms.)

TAMAR Radu?

TAMAR Radu?

FLEANA Dorme!

FLEANA He’s asleep!

TAMAR Di quà!

TAMAR Over here!

FLEANA (spaventata, ascoltando) Silenzio!

FLEANA (frightened, listening) Quiet!

TAMAR È il tuo passo!

Bella! Bella! Sei qui tutta fremente !

Come tremi!

TAMAR It’s your footstep!

Beauty! Beauty! You’re shaking!

How you tremble!

FLEANA Tamar!

FLEANA Tamar!

TAMAR Mia finalmente! È l’ora dell’amor: chi ti strappa alle mie braccia forti? Io ti chiamavo nella mia notte… per ogni dove...??

TAMAR Mine at last!

It’s the hour of love: who can tear you away from my strong arms? I called to you at night... everywhere...?

FLEANA Anch’io, sì, ti cercavo!

FLEANA So did I, yes, I was looking for you!

TAMAR Bella! Sospiro ! Dimmelo ! Ripetilo mille volte!

TAMAR My beauty! How I sigh! Tell me! Say it again a thousand times!

FLEANA Sì! Zingaro davver ti ritrovo! Sei forte! Puoi piegarmi come giunco sottil!

FLEANA Yes! You’re a real gypsy now I see! You’re strong! You can bend me like a slender reed!

TAMAR Come mi piaci!

Ti porto via con me! Ti porto via!

TAMAR How I adore you!

I’m taking you away with me! I’m taking you away!

FLEANA Bambino! Amami?

FLEANA Child! Do you love me?

TAMAR T’amo!

TAMAR I love you!

FLEANA È poco.

(Gli dà un piccolo morso sulla nuca.)

FLEANA That’s not much.

(Gives him a little bite on the back of his neck).

TAMAR (scattando) È poco?

Fleana, cadono due stelle di fuoco!

TAMAR (startled) Not much?

Fleana, there go two shooting stars!

FLEANA Dimmi quel che desideri?

FLEANA Tell me what you want?

TAMAR Te sola.

TAMAR Only you.

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FLEANA Mi lascia!

FLEANA Leave me be!

TAMAR No!

TAMAR No!

FLEANA Lasciami. Mi fai paura....

FLEANA Leave me be. You’re scaring me....

TAMAR Sono il rogo che s’accende, su cui s’agita la notte, mentre il bosco senza fine più che al cielo si protende nel silenzio dell’ attesa!. ..

Giovinezza, ecco! T’ho presa !

TAMAR I am the fire that ignites, over which the night is convulsed, while the endless forest, rather than reaching up to the sky reaches out in the silence of waiting...

Youth, that’s it! I’ve got you!

FLEANA lncantesimo dell’ora che ci fa rabbrividir!

Chi non sente giovinezza sì vicina alla tua vita, la sua vita impallidire.

Sì che sembra di morir!

(Tamar trascina Fleana nella capanna a sinistra. I due amanti scompaiono. Dietro di loro si chiude la porta robusta.)

FLEANA Spell of the hour that makes us shiver!

Who does not feel oh youth, when so close to your life, one’s own life fading.

It does indeed feel like dying!

(Tamar drags Fleana into the hut on the left. The two lovers disappear. Behind them the sturdy door closes).

RADU (appare pallido spettrale sul limitare della tenda) Fleana! Ove sei?

(Corre verso il fondo a destra.)

Fleana!

(Ascolta, poi corre il fondo a sinistra. Ascolta ancora.

Si avanza, angosciato, verso la capanna.

Si sofferma allibito ascoltando presso Fruscio.)

Ah! Ed io che t’amavo! M’hai rovinato l’anima!

(Radu, sbarra la porta che lo separa dagli adulteri. Ed ecco, terribile, come impazzito corre vicino al carro, prende a bracciate dei fasci di paglia, li affastella sotto la porta della capanna, corre di nuovo presso il piccolo focolare, dove arde ancora la fiamma, e preso un tizzone ardente appicca il fuoco, sul segno da ambo i lati del rifugio e getta il tizzone mentre la vampa si solleva in una spira sanguigna, rapidamente.)

RADU (appears ghostly pale at the edge of the tent) Fleana! Where are you?

(He runs to the back towards the right.)

Fleana!

(He listens, then runs along the back to the left. He listens again. He moves forward, distraught, towards the hut.

He pauses in shock as he listens by the door).

Ah! And I who I loved you! You’ve destroyed my soul!

(Radu bars the door that separates him from the adulterers.

Then, in a terrifying rage as if he’s gone mad he runs towards the wagon, gathers up several bundles of straw, piles them up in front of the door of the hut, runs back to the small fire where the flame is still burning and, having taken a burning log, sets fire to the sign on either side of the hut then throws the log onto the straw and the blaze immediately shoots up in a spiral of flames).

TAMAR (di dentro) Al fuoco!

TAMAR (from inside) Fire!

FLEANA (di dentro) Aiuto!

FLEANA (from inside) Help!

BOTH (grido lundo) Ah! (Accorrono poche donne.

Altre donne accorrendo come le altre.)

BOTH (long cry) Ah! (A few women rush in.

Some more rush in after them.)

DONNE Radu! Che hai fatto?

All’acqua

WOMEN Radu! What have you done?

Water

RADU (come pazzo scacciandole) Indietro! lndietro!

(Le donne indietreggiando terrorizzate. Tutte urlando verso l’interno.)

A morte l’omicida!

Aiuto!

RADU (like a madman, chasing them away) Get back! Get back!

(The women back away in terror. They all scream towards the inside of the hut.)

Death to the murderer!

Help!

RADU E sia!

RADU So be it!

FLEANA & TAMAR (urlando) Aiuto!

FLEANA & TAMAR (screaming) Help!

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(Le donne fan cenni disperati. Alcune rientrano correndo come per a cercare aiuto.)

(The women make desperate gestures. Some come running back as if to get help.)

RADU Ma s’arroventino come l’anima mia! M’hanno rubato l’amor! Urlate! Ch’io vi senta agonizzare siccome il mio dolore!

Bruci con voi l’angoscia del mio regno perduto! L’empietà del mio tormento!

(Alcuni uomini giungono dalla destra. Le donne sembra che narrino l’accaduto mentre giungono i I. Bassi.)

RADU Let them burn like my soul! They have stolen my love! Scream! Let me hear you in agony, like my pain!

May the grief for my lost kingdom burn with you! The impiety of my torment!

(Some men enter from the right. The women seem to be telling them what’s happened as they move in.)

DONNE Che fu? Radu? Pietà!

Maledetto! Va!

WOMEN What was it? Radu? Mercy!

Damn you! Go!

ZINGARI A morte!

Maledetto!

(Radu inpugna il coltello e minaccia ci si avvicina.)

GYPSIES Death to you!

Damn you!

(Radu picks up the knife and approaches threateningly.)

IL VECCHIO (entra correndo, Radu lo minaccia) Figlia mia !

(Il Vecchio cade in ginocchio con la faccia volta al cielo.

Il tetto della capanna crolla. Le donne fuggono inorridite.

Radu getta il coltello. Alcuni Zingari si precipitano su di lui e lo afferrano. Egli si debatte in una grande risata stridula, sinistra.)

THE OLD MAN (runs in, Radu threatens him) My daughter!

(The Old Man falls to his knees with his face turned towards the sky. The roof of the hut collapses. The women flee in horror. Radu throws down the knife. Some Gypsies rush towards him and grab hold of him. Struggling, he breaks into an enormous, shrill, sinister laugh).

ZINGARI T’abbiam preso

GYPSIES We’ve got you

RADU (dibattendosi sempre) No! Ch’io sono il vento che fugge e mugghia! E si disperde!

E non vuole l’ amor, nè strada o tetto! (ridendo) Ah! Ah! Ah! (Si svincola e fugge. Alcuni vorrebbero riafferrarlo, ma il Vecchio li ferma col gesto.)

RADU (still struggling) No! I am the wind who flees and roars! And scatters!

And wants neither love nor a road nor a roof! (laughing) Ah! Ah! (He breaks free and flees. Some of them try to catch him again, but the Old Man gestures to stop them).

IL VECCHIO Lasciatelo! È pazzo! (come un grido suffocato)

THE OLD MAN Let him go!

He’s crazy! (in a muffled cry)

ZINGARI Ah!

GYPSIES Ah!

FINE DELL’OPERA

THE END

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Resident Orchestra at Cadogan Hall

#RPOat75

Wed 9 Feb 2022, 7.30pm

Thu 24 Feb 2022, 7.30pm

Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No.6

Owain Arwel Hughes conducts Sibelius

Anna Clyne This Midnight Hour Prokofiev Violin Concerto No.2 Ravel Mother Goose: Suite Stravinsky The Firebird: Suite

Glinka Ruslan and Ludmilla: Overture Glière Harp Concerto Tchaikovsky Symphony No.6, ‘Pathétique’

Grace Williams Penillion* Grieg Piano Concerto Sibelius Symphony No.5

Fumiaki Miura performs Prokofiev

Alexander Shelley Conductor Fumiaki Miura Violin RPO 2021–2022 Artist-in-Residence

Pablo González Conductor Suzy Willison-Kawalec Harp Supported by Calderwood Wealth Management

Mon 14 Feb 2022, 7.30pm

Valentine’s Opera Gala Enjoy outstanding overtures, poignant arias and exquisite duets from favourite operas, with music from Rossini, Puccini, Verdi, Bizet, Lehár and more.

Ben Glassberg Conductor Gemma Summerfield Soprano Luis Gomes Tenor

Thu 10 Mar 2022, 7.30pm

Choral Journeys

Programme includes: Vaughan Williams Benedicite Ravel Piano Concerto in G Vaughan Williams Five Mystical Songs Hilary Davan Wetton Conductor Llŷr Williams Piano City of London Choir

Book Now at rpo.co.uk Groups of 6+ save up to 35% – call 020 7608 8840 For series savings of up to 30%, call the Box Office on 020 7730 4500 or visit cadoganhall.com

Tue 12 Apr 2022, 7.30pm

Owain Arwel Hughes Conductor Jayson Gillham Piano *Supported by the ABO Sirens Fund

Wed 20 Apr 2022, 7.30pm

Fumiaki Miura performs Brahms

Schumann Genoveva: Overture Brahms Violin Concerto Dvořák Symphony No.7 Domingo Hindoyan Conductor Fumiaki Miura Violin RPO 2021–2022 Artist-in-Residence

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Patron: HRH The Prince of Wales

President: Mrs Aline Foriel-Destezet Music Director: Vasily Petrenko Principal Guest Conductor: Pinchas Zukerman Principal Associate Conductor: Alexander Shelley Permanent Associate Conductor: Grzegorz Nowak As the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) celebrates its seventy-fifth anniversary, its mission to enrich lives through orchestral experiences that are uncompromising in their excellence and inclusive in their appeal, places the RPO at the forefront of music-making in the UK and internationally. Typically performing approximately 200 concerts each season and with a worldwide audience of more than half-a-million people, the Orchestra embraces a broad repertoire that enables it to reach the most diverse audience of any British symphony orchestra. Whilst artistic integrity remains paramount, the RPO is unafraid to push boundaries and is equally at home recording video game, film and television soundtracks and working with pop stars, as it is performing the great symphonic repertoire.

The RPO collaborates with the most inspiring artists and was thrilled to welcome Vasily Petrenko as its new Music Director in August 2021. His appointment stands as a major landmark in the Orchestra’s history, signalling its determination to broaden the audience for orchestral music while enhancing its reputation as one of the world’s most versatile ensembles. Vasily Petrenko made his debut with the RPO at London’s Royal Albert Hall in March 2016 delivering a powerful interpretation of Mahler’s Symphony No.2, ‘Resurrection’. His rapport with the Orchestra’s players has been reaffirmed with subsequent London performances, and forthcoming plans include a series of Mahler’s choral symphonies at the Royal Albert Hall, the great works of English composers at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall, and tours to Germany and leading European festivals. Vasily Petrenko joins a roster of titled conductors that includes Pinchas Zukerman (Principal Guest Conductor), Alexander Shelley (Principal Associate Conductor) and Grzegorz Nowak (Permanent Associate Conductor).

In addition to the Orchestra’s annual season of concerts in London’s Royal Albert Hall, the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall and its home Cadogan Hall, the RPO is a respected cultural ambassador and enjoys a busy schedule of international touring, performing in the world’s great concerts halls and at prestigious international festivals.

The RPO is recognised as being the UK’s most in-demand orchestra, an accolade that would have pleased its founder, Sir Thomas Beecham. His mission was to lead a vital revival of UK orchestras after World War II and form an ensemble that comprised the finest musicians in the country. The Orchestra has since attracted a glittering list of principal conductors, including Rudolf Kempe, Antal Doráti, Walter Weller, André Previn, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Yuri Temirkanov, Daniele Gatti and Charles Dutoit.

The RPO aims to place orchestral music at the heart of contemporary society, collaborating with creative partners to foster a deeper engagement with communities to ensure that live orchestral music is accessible to as inclusive and diverse an audience as possible. To achieve this, in 1993 the Orchestra launched RPO Resound, which has grown to become the most innovative and respected orchestral community and education programme in the UK and internationally.

The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra has always been entrepreneurial and in 1986 it was the first UK orchestra to launch its own record label. The RPO has gone on to embrace advances in digital technology and now achieves nearly thirty million downloads of its recorded music each year. The

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Orchestra is active online (rpo.co.uk) and on social media, providing audiences with the opportunity to engage with the RPO and enjoy ‘behind-the-scenes’ insights.

Passion, versatility and uncompromising artistic standards are the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra’s hallmarks, and as it looks forward to an exciting future with its new Music Director, Vasily Petrenko, it will continue to be recognised as one of the world’s most open-minded, forward-thinking and accessible symphony orchestras.

The Orchestra First Violins

Duncan Riddell Tamás András Shana Douglas Eriko Nagayama Andrew Klee Kay Chappell Anthony Protheroe Erik Chapman Adriana Iacovache-Pana Imogen East Marciana Buta Aysen Ulucan

Second Violins

Andrew Storey Charlotte Ansbergs Stephen Payne Manuel Porta Sali-Wyn Ryan Sheila Law Nicola Hutchings Colin Callow Amy Heggart Edward Webb

Violas

Abigail Fenna David Greenlees Liz Varlow Esther Harling Jonathan Hallett Esther Vickers Michael Turner Rebecca Gould

Cellos

Jonathan Ayling Chantal Webster Roberto Sorrentino Jean-Baptiste Toselli William Heggart Naomi Watts Anna Stuart Lucy Gijsbers

Double Basses

Benjamin Cunningham Ben Wolstenholme Mark O’Leary Alexander Verster Cathy Colwell Alexander Jones

Flutes

Emer McDonough Joanna Marsh Diomedes Demetriades

Piccolo

Diomedes Demetriades

Oboes

John Roberts Timothy Watts Patrick Flanaghan

Cor Anglais

Clarinets

Sonia Sielaff James Gilbert

Bass Clarinet Richard Russell

Bassoons

Richard Ion Helen Storey

Contrabassoon Laura Vincent

French Horns

Alexander Edmundson Jonathan Maloney James Pillai David Horwich

Trumpets

Thomas Nielsen Adam Wright Toby Street

Trombones

Tuba

Kevin Morgan

Timpani

Alasdair Kelly

Percussion

Stephen Quigley Richard Horne Gillian McDonagh John McCutcheon

Harp

Daniel De Fry

Celesta

Jonathan Higgins In recognition of their outstanding commitment to the RPO, Honorary Life Members of the Orchestra: Sir Peter Ellwood CBE DL John Rutter CBE

Rupert Whitehead Ryan Hume

Bass Trombone Josh Cirtina

Patrick Flanaghan © Chris Christodolou

Carlo Rizzi Conductor

Carlo Rizzi made his debut with Opera Rara in 2017, conducting a pair of Gramophone Award-nominated discs: Echo and Espoir, with Joyce El-Khoury and Michael Spyres.

In September 2019, he was appointed Artistic Director. Under his leadership Opera Rara will record and perform rarities by Offenbach, Mercadante and Donizetti, including the first recording of Mercadante’s Il proscritto.

Carlo holds a long-standing reputation as one of the world’s foremost operatic conductors, in demand as a guest artist at the world’s most prestigious venues and festivals. Equally at home in the opera house and the concert hall, his vast repertoire spans everything from the foundation works of the operatic and symphonic canon to rarities by Bellini, Cimarosa and Donizetti, and works by Giordano, Pizzetti and Montemezzi. Combining a deep expertise in the vocal art with theatrical flair and the practical collaborative skills honed over decades of experience in the world’s finest theatres, he is acclaimed by singers and audiences alike as a master of the operatic craft.

Since 2015, Carlo has been Conductor Laureate of Welsh National Opera, following his tenure as Music Director (1992–2001 and 2004–2008) during which he was widely credited with overseeing a dramatic increase in the company’s artistic standards and international profile. He also has held long-standing relationships with the Teatro alla Scala, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden and Metropolitan Opera in New York, and his career has seen him leading numerous productions at the most distinguished operatic addresses, including the Opéra national de Paris, Teatro Real Madrid, Rossini Opera Festival of Pesaro, Netherlands Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, New National Theatre Tokyo, Opernhaus Zürich, Deutsche Oper Berlin and Théâtre Royal de La Monnaie, Brussels. © Tes

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Traeger Carlo’s recent highlights include opening the Canadian Opera Company’s 2019–2020 season with a new production of Turandot, his debut with the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Firenze in performances of Un ballo in maschera and La traviata, his debut at the Palau de les Arts in Valencia for La Cenerentola, new productions of Les vêpres siciliennes for Welsh National Opera and Zandonai’s Francesca da Rimini for Deutsche Oper Berlin, and his debut at the Norwegian Opera in Oslo in a new production of Rigoletto. In 2021–2022, he opened the Welsh National Opera season with a production of Madama Butterfly. Next season he returns to the Metropolitan Opera with productions of Tosca and La bohème, followed by a return to the Bayerische Staatsoper with a production of Tosca.

His extensive discography includes complete recordings of Gounod’s Faust, Janáček’s Katya Kabanova (in English) and Verdi’s Rigoletto and Un ballo in maschera, all with Welsh National Opera; a Deutsche Grammophon DVD and CD of Verdi’s La traviata recorded live at the Salzburg Festival with Anna Netrebko, Rolando Villazon and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, and numerous recital albums with renowned opera singers including Joseph Calleja, Juan Diego Florez, Edita Gruberova, Jennifer Larmore, Ernesto Palacio, Olga Borodina and Thomas Hampson.

@CarloRizziMusic

Krassimira Stoyanova Fleana

Born in Bulgaria, Krassimira Stoyanova studied voice and violin at the Plovdiv Conservatory. In 1995 she made her debut at the National Opera in Sofia, where she developed an extensive repertoire. She launched her international career at the Vienna State Opera, where she was awarded the title of Kammersängerin in 2009.

Krassimira appears regularly at the leading opera houses with the most renowned conductors and has worked, to date, at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, Opéra Bastille in Paris, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, La Scala in Milan and Zurich Opera House, amongst others. She has collaborated with conductors, including Daniel Barenboim, Riccardo Chailly, Myung-Whun Chung, Vladimir Fedoseyev, Daniele Gatti, Bernard Haitink, Manfred Honeck, Mariss Jansons, Fabio Luisi, James Levine, Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Muti, Seiji Ozawa, Georges Prêtre, Yuri Temirkanov, Christian Thielemann and Franz Welser-Möst.

The soprano’s opera repertoire ranges from bel canto to the great Verdi and Puccini roles, Richard Strauss and the Slavic repertoire. She also devotes herself with great passion to rarely performed works, including Donizetti’s Maria di Rohan (which she recorded for Opera Rara under the baton of Sir Mark Elder in 2009), Verdi’s La battaglia di Legnano and Dvořák’s Dimitrij.

Krassimira is also one of the most sought-after singers on the concert podium. She sang with Riccardo Muti in Beethoven’s Symphony No.9, ‘Choral’ at the Ravenna Festival, Verdi’s Requiem at Salzburg Festival, with Sir Colin Davis at St Paul’s Cathedral, with Mariss Jansons at the Vatican, with Christian Thielemann and with the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, to name but a few.

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lla Scala Recent highlights include recitals at the Bavarian and Vienna State operas, La Scala in Milan and the Vienna Musikverein, performances with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under Riccardo Muti, performances as the title role of Aida and Amelia (Simon Boccanegra) at La Scala in Milan, a new production of Ariadne auf Naxos at the Semperoper Dresden under Christian Thielemann, concerts with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, and performances as Leonora (Il trovatore) at the Bavarian State Opera.

Despite the cancellations in the last two seasons, Krassimira was seen in a new production of Luisa Miller (title role) at the Lyric Opera of Chicago and in recitals at the Graz Musikverein, Zurich Opera House and Vienna Musikverein. Furthermore she performed as Desdemona (Otello) at the Vienna State Opera, Amelia (Un ballo in maschera) at the Maggio Musicale in Florence and in Beethoven’s Symphony No.9, ‘Choral’ at La Scala.

In 2021–2022, Krassimira will star in Aida (in Rome and in new production in Dresden) as well as in and in Ariadne auf Naxos (Teatro alla Scala and in Florence).

krassimira-stoyanova.com

Arsen Soghomonyan Radu

Arsen Soghomonyan made his debut as a tenor in March of 2017 as Cavaradossi in Tosca to great acclaim at the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Opera Theatre in Moscow. Prior to his debut as a tenor, he was the leading baritone of the Stanislavsky Theatre, where his repertoire included Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Germont in La traviata, Belcore in L’elisir d’amore, Eletsky in The Queen of Spades and Napoleon in Prokofiev’s War and Peace. He has also appeared as a Guest Artist at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow.

The 2018–2019 season saw Arsen’s debut at many of Europe’s most important theatres. He appeared in the title role of Otello with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Zubin Mehta, Canio in Pagliacci at the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, and Roberto in Le Villi with Opera Rara. In the 2019–2020 season, the tenor returned to Naples as Cavaradossi in Tosca, and last season he debuted at the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich as Otello and appeared in concerts in Austria. In the 2021–2022 season, Arsen returns to Opera Rara with tonight’s concert version of Zingari, after which he will appear for the first time at the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden as Eletsky in The Queen of Spades and sing the title role of Otello in Munich.

Born in Yerevan, Armenia in 1983, Arsen graduated from the Barkhudaryan Music School, where he studied with L. Ter-Oganesyan. From 2000 to 2006, he studied with R. Hakobyants at the Komitas State Conservatory of Yerevan, during which time he made his debut as a baritone in the role of Fiorello in Il barbiere di Siviglia with the Armenian National Philharmonic Orchestra and Maestro Eduard Topchyan. He was subsequently invited to the Armenian National Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet, where he sang many of the leading baritone roles.

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In 2006, Arsen was awarded the State Prize of Armenia by the President of the Republic of Armenia. He also won First Prize at the International Pavel Lisitsian Baritone Competition in Vladikavkaz, where he received the Special Prize from the Lisitsian family and had the honour of participating in a masterclass with Pavel Lisitsian himself. Additionally, he has been a prize-winner at the Romansiada International Competition in Moscow, S. Manushko International Competition in Warsaw, and UNISA International Singing Competition in South Africa. He has collaborated with such notable conductors as Vladimir Spivakov, Felix Korobov, Tugan Sokhiev, Alberto Zedda and many others.

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Stephen Gaertner Tamar

Since his Metropolitan Opera debut as Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor in October 2007, American baritone Stephen Gaertner has emerged as an artist to watch in the operatic world. His other roles at the Metropolitan Opera have included Melot in Tristan und Isolde, Paolo Albiani in Simon Boccanegra, Iago in Otello and Chorèbe in Berlioz’s Les Troyens. He made his European debut in December 2010 with Opéra Royal de Wallonie in Liège as Escamillo in Carmen.

Recent career highlights have included appearances as the title role of Macbeth with the Savonlinna Opera Festival and with Opernfestspiele Heidenheim, Amonasro in Aida with Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, Iago in Otello with Teatro de la Ópera in San Juan, Rigoletto with Opera Grand Rapids, Riccardo in I Puritani with Teatro Verdi di Trieste, and Nabucco with Sarasota Opera. The 2021–2022 season will feature Stephen as the title role of Macbeth with Opéra de Dijon, Scarpia in Tosca with Sarasota Opera and Tonio in Pagliacci with Pittsburgh Festival Opera, all of which having been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Stephen has also been a frequent performer of opera in concert.

He appeared with Teatro Grattacielo at New York City’s Alice Tully Hall as Cristiano in Zandonai’s I Cavalieri di Ekebù and as Cascart in Leoncavallo’s Zazà (the latter under the baton of the late Alfredo Silipigni). He has also made several appearances with the Opera Orchestra of New York at Carnegie Hall: as Sonora in La fanciulla del West, Abayaldos in Donizetti’s Dom Sébastien, and Frank in Puccini’s Edgar, all under the baton of founder and Music Director Eve Queler. He has also sung Macbeth in concert with the Südwestdeutsche Philharmonie Konstanz and Carlo in La forza del destino in concert with New Amsterdam Opera in New York City. He made his UK debut in 2015 at London’s Barbican Hall as Cascart in Zazà in concert with Opera Rara and Maurizio Benini conducting the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

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He has performed extensively across North America in such diverse roles as Riccardo in I Puritani, Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor, Rigoletto, Conte di Luna in Il trovatore, Germont in La traviata, Escamillo in Carmen, Iago in Otello, Alfio in Cavalleria Rusticana, Tonio and Silvio in Pagliacci, Marcello in La bohème, Scarpia in Tosca, Sharpless in Madama Butterfly, Lanciotto in Rachmaninov’s Francesca da Rimini, Gianni Schicchi and Balstrode in Peter Grimes. His other concert appearances have included Britten’s War Requiem at Catholic University in Washington, DC and Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem at Carnegie Hall with the New England Symphonic Ensemble.

Stephen has been the recipient of awards from the Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation, Opera Index Inc. and the Oratorio Society of New York.

stephengaertner.com

Łukasz Goliński Il Vecchio

A recipient of the Best Polish Male Singer and Debut of the Year Award, Łukasz Goliński’s illustrious 2021–2022 season includes his return to the Royal Opera House as High Priest of Dagon in Samson et Dalila, Marcello in La bohème, his debuts with the Gran Teatre del Liceu Barcelona (as Count Tomsky in Pique Dame) and with Savonlinna Festival (as Escamillo in Carmen), a return to Opera Prague as Escamillo in Carmen and his debut as Germont in La traviata. His future credits include debuts with Glyndebourne Festival and Opera Zurich, as well as a return to the Royal Opera House.

Recent engagements have included Łukasz’s debut at the Salzburg Festival as Rangoni in Boris Godunov, a debut at the Staatsoper Berlin as Sonora in La fanciulla del West, and performances at Frankfurt Opera and Stockholm Royal Swedish Opera as Baron Scarpia in Tosca. He reprised his ‘charming and winningly vainglorious [...] matador’ (Artshub) Escamillo in Carmen at the Staatsoper Hamburg, Opera Frankfurt, Opera Australia and National Theatre Prague.

He also made his Berliner Philharmonie debut in a concert production of Moniuszko’s Halka as Janusz.

Critically acclaimed as ‘the perfect King Roger’ by BR-Klassik, Łukasz’s portrayal of the King in Szymanowski’s Król Roger has taken him to the Accademia di Santa Cecilia with Maestro Antonio Pappano, Royal Opera House (cover), Oper Frankfurt, Polish National Opera and Prague National Opera.

Past guest engagements of note include Fosca at the Teatro Municipal de São Paulo and Matthieu Wissmann / Innkeeper in a new production of The Fiery Angel at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence. © Kin

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Karpati As a regular soloist at the Polish National Opera in Warsaw, Łukasz has appeared as Matthieu Wissmann / Innkeeper in Mariusz Trelinski’s production of The Fiery Angel conducted by Kazushi Ono, as well as in the roles of Jagu in Paderewski’s Manru, Selim in Il turco in Italia, Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro, Sharpless in Madama Butterfly, Janusz in Halka and Lord Cecil in Maria Stuarda.

Further past engagements of note include Marcello in La bohème with Opera Nova Bydgoszcz, Escamillo in Carmen for Teatr Wielki in Poznań, Jagu in Manru, Sparafucile in Rigoletto, Elviro in Xerxes, Alvise in Ponchielli’s La Gioconda, Prince Homonay in Der Zigeunerbaron, Tonio in Pagliacci, Colas in Bastien und Bastienne and Masetto in Don Giovanni.

opera-rara.com

Opera Rara

Artistic Director: Carlo Rizzi

Opera Rara’s mission is to rediscover, restore, record and perform the lost operatic heritage of the nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries.

Opera Rara is a unique combination of opera company, recording label and live operatic archaeologist.

We search for neglected operatic masterpieces and restore them to life for contemporary audiences to enjoy. Working with the best singers, conductors, orchestras and musicologists, we are at the cutting edge of the opera world, leading the expansion of the repertoire and encouraging other opera companies to explore new and unknown operatic jewels.

2020 marked Opera Rara’s 50th anniversary and half-a-century of ground-breaking work. Our artistic success has been publicly recognised through major awards, notably at the International Opera Awards (Best Opera Recording) for Rossini’s Semiramide (2019), Donizetti’s Les Martyrs (2016) and Offenbach’s Fantasio (2015); International Classical Music Award for Semiramide (Best Opera, 2019) and for Ermonela Jaho’s debut recital album Anima Rara (Best Vocal Music Recording, 2021); Opus Klassik (Best Recording) for Semiramide (2019) and at the OPER! Awards (Best Recording) for Donizetti’s L’Ange de Nisida (2019).

Opera Rara’s latest studio recording, Donizetti’s Il Paria, with Albina Shagimuratova, René Barbera and the Britten Sinfonia conducted by Sir Mark Elder, was released in January 2021 to wide critical acclaim.

In June 2022, Opera Rara will present another forgotten gem, Mercadante’s Il proscritto, in partnership with Britten Sinfonia at the Barbican, led by Opera Rara’s Artistic Director, Carlo Rizzi. Restored from its original manuscript, this will be the first performance of one of Mercadante’s most daring and innovative scores since its Naples premiere in 1842. This project is Opera Rara’s forty-fifth full restoration of a forgotten opera.

In over fifty years of operatic archaeology, Opera Rara’s mission has been to rediscover and restore neglected works of the highest quality, giving them new life through studio recordings and live performance. The Opera Rara catalogue comprises over one hundred titles, including sixty complete opera recordings. Our work has led to a fundamental revaluation of the reputation of Donizetti, Pacini, Offenbach and Mercadante, changing the way in which these composers are perceived internationally.

Following our world premiere concerts in July 2018, Donizetti’s L’Ange de Nisida received its first full production at the Donizetti Festival in Bergamo in November 2019 and Offenbach’s Fantasio has received several stagings throughout Europe since our recording in 2015, including at the 2019 Garsington Festival.

Opera Rara Carlo Rizzi Artistic Director Henry Little Chief Executive Roger Parker Artistic Dramaturg Irene Cook Finance Director Aurelie Baujean Production and Label Director Zachary Vanderburg Development and Communications Director

Consultants Jesús Iglesias Noriega, Casting Kirstin Peltonen, Fundraising Macbeth Media Relations, Press & PR

Board of Directors Charles Alexander, Chairman Glenn Hurstfield Adolfo Laurenti Simon Mortimore QC Alison Nicol Islée Oliva Salinas Terence Sinclair Nicholas Thomas Louis Watt

Opera Rara, Cloisters House, Studio 11, 8 Battersea Park Road, London SW8 4BG Tel: 020 7613 2858 Email: info@opera-rara.com Website: opera-rara.com Opera Rara is a company limited by guarantee no. 982535 and registered as a charity no. 261403.

opera-rara.com

Opera Rara Chorus Sopranos Leilani Barratt Rosanna Harris Melodie Hornett Laura Hudson Tanya Hurst Sian Jones Bernadette Lord Natalie Montakhab Sarah Parkin Zita Syme

Mezzo-sopranos Rhonda Browne Caroline Carragher Jessica Costelloe Vanessa Heine Frances Jellard Melanie Lodge Deborah Miles Gemma Morsley Hyacinth Nicholls Kate Warshaw

Tenors Seumas Begg Mark Chaundy Philip Thomas Clieve Andrew Friedhoff Neil Gillespie Andrew Hanley Martin Hindmarsh Andrew Mackenzie Wicks Stuart McDermott Richard Monk

Henry Moss Gerald Place Andrew Sinclair Robin Whitehouse Basses Donaldson Bell Damian Carter Gerard Delrez Matthew Duncan Spiro Fernando Chris Foster

Henry Grant Kerswell Jordan HardingPointon Sam Hird Tom Kennedy Russell Matthews Darron Moore Alistair Sutherland Jochem Van Ast

Opera Rara’s Supporters Opera Rara’s projects are only made possible by the generosity of our supporters, who believe in our mission to rediscover, restore, record and perform the forgotten operatic heritage of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. We would like to take this opportunity to thank our current Annual Fund donors* and those who have contributed specifically to our work on this recording.

Guardian Society

Carlo Grosso Stefan Olsson and John Tierney

Circle Members

Charles Alexander Michael Hartnall Carlo Rizzi and Lucy Stout Sir Simon and Lady Virginia Robertson

Patrons

Sir David Bean David Bernstein Roger Bramble Michael Buckley Anthony Bunker Sir Anthony Cleaver Marco Compagnoni Timothy Congdon Jeff Fergus Hamish Forsyth Edward Gasson Patrick and Marian Griggs Malcolm Herring Allan Heinberg Glenn Hurstfield Alan Jackson Simon Lyell David McCue Chris and Dominique Moore Simon Mortimore QC Alison Nicol

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Peter Rosenthal Imogen Rumbold Islée Oliva Salinas Terence and Sian Sinclair Martin and Patricia Spiro Gerry Wakelin and Ivor Samuels Eleanor Cranmer and Nick Thomas Mark Walker Louis Watt

Friends

Marian Gilbart Read David Grant Robert Gray Edward Herzog Yvonne Horsfall-Turner Chris Knight Adolfo Laurenti Christopher Leslie Michele Leuenberger Hal Lindberg Sir Timothy Lloyd Bruce Mauleverer Lady Carolyn Newbigging John Nickson Christopher and Lucie Sims Zachary Vanderburg and Felipe Ramos Barajas Richard Anwyl Williams *This Annual Fund list is comprised of donors who gave at our Connoisseur level or higher from May 2020 to November 2021

Trusts and Foundations

Lifetime Guardians

Opera Rara is particularly grateful to those individuals and organisations who have been exceedingly generous to Opera Rara and have been guardians of our work since 1970.

Charles Alexander Arts Council England Foyle Foundation Carlo Grosso Michael Hartnall Glenn Hurstfield The Monument Trust Sir Peter Moores and the Peter Moores Foundation Stefan Olsson & John Tierney Sir Simon and Lady Virginia Robertson A full list of our current Annual Fund supporters can be found at: opera-rara.com/our-supporters

Player Profile Tamás András, First Violins

What is the best thing about being a member of the RPO? Working with a great bunch of musicians and inspiring conductors are the things that make the RPO one of the best orchestras with which to work.

Where is your favourite place to perform?

I like playing in concert halls with great acoustics and a special atmosphere.

We perform in some of the best halls in the UK and around the world.

What inspired you to become a musician as a child?

At a musical test in school, I was selected to have violin lessons at the age of five. I enjoyed playing it and, with the inspiration of my teachers and years of training, I became a professional violinist.

What has been the most valuable piece of advice you have been given in relation to music, and who was it from?

I cannot single out the most valuable bit of advice because one learns from teachers, colleagues and conductors. Being a musician is a life-long journey of learning and discovery.

If you could learn to play another instrument, which would it be and why?

I love the sound of the cello, so I would choose that – not sure about carrying it though!

What was the first recording you ever bought?

I bought a range of recordings of the great violin concertos played by Itzhak Perlman.

Discover more about our musicians online at

rpo.co.uk/players

Warmly welcoming tens of thousands of group bookers to concerts each year, including tonight, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra offers parties of 6 or more people generous discounts and benefits across its London Season at the Royal Albert Hall, Cadogan Hall and Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall.

The RPO also offers tickets from just £5 each to school and university parties.

For further details or to make a reservation, please visit rpo.co.uk/groups or call 020 7608 8840.

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Acknowledgements

The RPO gives grateful thanks to the following organisations, families and individuals:

Music Director’s Club

Mrs Aline Foriel-Destezet (RPO President) Christopher French and Ghizlan El Glaoui LG SIGNATURE

Signature Corporate Partners

Northern Trust Elephant Communications The Red Carnation Hotel Collection

Benefactors

Peter and Sally Cadbury Sir Ewan and Lady Harper Liz Kistruck Charles McGregor Chris Murray Krista Murray Anne and John Vadgama Barry Wordsworth

Creative Benefactors

HSH Dr Prince Donatus of Hohenzollern Philip Keller Sir Tim McKillop Andrew and Sarah Wates

RPO Corporate Partners

RPO Chair Partners Chair Partner for RPO Leader (Duncan Riddell) – St James’s Place Tutti First Violin (Shana Douglas) – Vico Partners Tutti First Violin (Joana Valentinaviciute) – The Gabrán Family Tutti First Violin (Erik Chapman) – Strabens Hall

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Principal Second Violin (Andrew Storey) – Peter and Jane Lumley Tutti Second Violin (Jennifer Christie) – Lou Whitehorn Tutti Second Violin (Charlotte Ansbergs) – The Bartlett Foundation Tutti Second Violin (Peter Graham) – The Ericsson Family

Tutti Second Violin (Stephen Payne) – Jonathan Warwick Tutti Second Violin (Manuel Porta) – The Gorin Halley Family Tutti Second Violin (Sali-Wyn Ryan) – Adam and Jane Warby Principal Viola (Abigail Fenna) – Nabil and Mai Habba

RPO Chair Partners continued Sub-Principal Viola (Liz Varlow) – MWM Consulting Tutti Viola – Saker Nusseibeh and Family Tutti Viola (Ugne Tiškuté) – Jo Whiterod Tutti Viola (Chian Lim) – Mayfair Private Tutti Viola (Esther Harling) – David Curtin and Susan Cooksley Tutti Viola (Jonathan Hallett) – CBC UK Ltd Co-Principal Cello (Jonathan Ayling) – John Kelly-Jones Tutti Cello (Roberto Sorrentino) – Tim and Victoria Whiting Tutti Cello (William Heggart) – Martin and Liane McCourt Tutti Cello (Naomi Watts) – Nicholas and Caroline Bewes

Tutti Double Bass (Benjamin Cunningham) – Naomi and Simon Venn Tutti Double Bass (Ben Wolstenholme) – Jeff and Petra Hochman Principal Flute (Emer McDonough) – Elio and Maria Leoni-Sceti Sub-Principal Flute (Joanna Marsh) – Sir Robert and Lady Wilson Principal Oboe (John Roberts) – Calderwood Wealth Management Sub-Principal Oboe (Timothy Watts) – Sir John and Lady Hood Principal Clarinet (Katherine Lacy) – Richard and Geraldine Prosser Sub-Principal Clarinet (Sonia Sielaff) – Simon Hooper Principal Bassoon (Richard Ion) – Open Search Sub-Principal Bassoon (Helen Storey) – Goodwin PLC

Contrabassoon (Fraser Gordon) – Peter and Sarah Harris Principal French Horn – The Ethos Foundation Sub-Principal French Horn (Kathryn Saunders) – Charles and Monica Eve Principal Trumpet – Nicholas Polkinghorne/ FLM Wealth Management Sub-Principal Trumpet (Adam Wright) – Anne Fergusson Principal Trombone (Matthew Gee) – Boldfield Computing Sub-Principal Trombone (Matthew Knight) – The Lumley Family in memory of Henry and Sheena Lumley Co-Principal Percussion (Martin Owens) – Gillian May King Principal Harp (Suzy Willison-Kawalec) – Lionside Ltd

RPO Supporters ABO Sirens Andor Charitable Trust ARCO Arts Council England Berkshire Maestros Brent Council Brent Music Service Charles and Nicola Fairweather D’Oyly Care Charitable Trust Ealing Music Service East Riding of Yorkshire Council

Elephant Communications Fairlight Arts Trust Garfield Weston Foundation Goldman Sachs Gives Goodwin PLC Hull Music Hub John Lyon’s Charity Liszt Institute – Hungarian Cultural Centre London Mill Hill County High School Northern Trust Orchestras Live St. James’s Place Foundation

Stavros Niarchos Foundation Suffolk Community Foundation: The Scarecrow Fund Sunderland Empire Sunderland Music Education Hub Suzhou Symphony Orchestra The Baring Foundation The Bartlett Foundation The Boshier-Hinton Foundation The Dunhill Medical Trust

The Kirby Laing Foundation The Worshipful Company of Weavers University of Hull Wandsworth Council Wandsworth Music Wates Family Enterprise Trust Wates Memorial Fund and anonymous donors.

RPO 1946 Club (Legacy Giving)

Nick and Pat Whitley John and Anne Vadgama and anonymous members

Caroline English Lea Engst Roman Ermolin Martin Finke Francisco Gallego Andreu Camilla Greene Edward Jezeph Marcel Klebba Bauhinia Lee Sam Lester Rachel Lumley Isabel Petrie Julia Schmitt-Krahmer Joseph Taylor Vanessa Theos Polly Watt

To find out how you and your company can support the RPO on and off the concert platform and benefit from a host of exclusive opportunities, please contact:

Philip Back Ian Campbell Huw and Kate Davies Roderick Davies Sir Peter Ellwood CBE DL Charles and Monica Eve Anne Fergusson Karen Fletcher Sir Ewan Harper CBE John Hawley Gillian May King Jan Knight Beverley LeBlanc Sir Tom McKillop Paul and Carole Nicholson Jackie Sibley James Williams

Swiss Friends of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Francis and Marie-France Minkoff Mark and Zsa Moncreiffe

RPO Young Professionals Club Aurélie Bouzelmat Jethro Brink Albert Chu Theo Crutcher Emilie Cymberg

rpo.co.uk/support-us

David Sutherland Head of Development 020 7608 8821 sutherlandd@rpo.co.uk

The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is a Registered Charity, number 244533

American Friends of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Board Members Barry Bloom (President) Huw Davies (Vice President & Secretary) James Mead (Treasurer) David Albright Les Bider Richard Chapman Eileen Foley James LoGatto Harry Macklowe Michele Park Robin Vince Diamond Circle David and Kelly Albright Les and Lynn Bider Barry and Lilia Bloom Richard Chapman J. Ira and Nicki Harris Family Foundation James and Elaine Mead Michele Park and Scott Beardsley Tad Smith and Caroline Fitzgibbons Laurie Tisch Robin and Liselotte Vince Pinchas Zukerman Circle Danny and Lillie Bensusan Jonathan and Kristyn Bloom Sara K. Bloom Ambassador Donald and Vera Blinken Steve and Joy Bunson Gerald and Kathleen Chamales Eileen and Josh Foley David and Alexandra Fox Gregory and Linda Galdi Victor and Gail Gartenstein Scott Greenberg and Alison Zirn

Peter and Jamee Gregory Rachel and David Grund IDB Bank The Irving Harris Foundation Dame Alice Kandell Igor and Christina Kryca Jim LoGatto and Barbara Kataisto Jerry and Rosanne Lombardo Harry Macklowe and Patricia Landeau Jack Martin and Colleen Crowley Simon and Pauline Milde Richard and Debra Parkoff Brett Rousch Mikhail and Sophie Segal William and Adrianne Silver Michael and Laura Tepper Tommy and Alice Tisch Greg Zaffiro and Matthew Ailey Concertmaster Circle Scott David Greenberg Trust Levin Capital Strategies LP Robert Lombardo Dan Lubin Sir Thomas Beecham Circle Robert N & Nancy A Downey Foundation Alexander Becker George and Harriet Blank Ronald Garfunkel Margaret Hathaway Bonnie Pfeifer Evans Bonnie F Rhodes Terra Capital The Wagner Family Foundation

RPO Club Mr and Mrs David & Frances Ackland Mrs Mary Allan Mr John Allen Mr Ray Allen Mr and Mrs John & Lesley Amos Mrs Jane Archer Mr & Ms Philip Back & Beverly LeBlanc Mr and Mrs John & Bev Baker Mr and Mrs Terry & Edna Baker Mr and Mrs Richard & Ann Barker Ms Helen Barnett Miss Patricia Bastin Mrs Joanna Beaumont Mr John Belling Mr and Mrs Graham & Christine Benson Mrs Wyn Biggs Mrs Jill Blackler Mrs Estelle Braham Mr Patrick S. Briggs Mr Douglas Cakebread Mr Peter Cargin Mrs Liz Carlin Dr Sheila Child Mr Richard D Clark Mr Dennis W Cliff Mr Robert Clifford Mr Peter Coates Mr Richard Coleman Mr RAD Cornwall Mr Colin Couves Mrs Ruth Gill Cox Mr Roger Creswell Mrs Marguerite Crouch Mr Clive Peter Dale Mr Philip Danby Mr Roy Davidson Mr Roderick Davies Mr David Davies Mr Jonathan Davis

Mr Dennis Davis Mr Jeffrey Delaney Mrs Felicity Donald Mr Joseph B. Drew Mr Mark Drummond Mr CJ Dundas Dr Robin J Eaglen Ms Jenny Eden Dr and Mrs Herbert Edmonds Sir Peter and Lady Judy Ellwood Mr Robert Elston Mr and Mrs Eric & Janet Fenna Mr Peter Filmer Mr Brian Firth Mr and Mrs Anthony and Sarah Flanaghan Dr Gwynneth Flower Mr Friedrich Frickenhaus Dr Derek & Heather Gallagher Mr Fidel Gallo Mrs Debbie Garvin Mr Graeme Gilchrist Dr Kevin Giles Mr John Gleadall Miss Therese Gleeson Mrs Corinne Godart Mrs Mary Godwin Mr and Mrs Philip Goodall Mr and Mrs B & A Gordon Mr Barry Green MBE Mrs Clare Grover Mr David Gutman Mr Alex Haddow Mr Andrew Hallett Mr and Mrs Malcolm & Jill Hamer Mrs Elizabeth A Hamilton Mr Robin Hammerton Dr Clive Harmer Mr Mike Hayward Mr Mark Hazell Mr John Hellinikakis Dr Joe & Mrs Helene Herzberg

rpo.co.uk/support-us

Benefactor James Black Vikki Black Michael van Buskirk Fred and Melanie Depalma David Gartenstein Jane Carter Pomerantz Zena Tamler Robert Yaffa Friends Aji Abraham Christophe Baldridge and David Skerpon Nancy Browne Shane Burn and Cathy Clarkin Terry and Robin Ewert Kenneth Handal and Mary Francina Golden John Kirkland Char Magaro Jane Murphy Stewart Oldfield Dave Osborne Jr and Sandy Bergsten Mitzi Perdue Daniel Nathans and Kate Hastings Bruce Saber Susan Shinkman James Wetzler Elizabeth Zabludoff For further information, please email: americanfriends@rpo.co.uk or visit: afrpo.com

Mr Gary Hodes Mr Robert Holden Miss Elaine James Mr and Mrs Ken & Pam King Mrs Gill King Mrs Jan Knight Mr Daniel Lowe Mr Xing Kai Loy Mrs Andrea Mr Iain Macarthur Rev Cecil Macaulay Mr Peter McGrane Mr John Miles Mrs Diana Mills Dr Paul Newton Mr and Mrs Alan & Lynda Pamment Mr David Parry Mr and Mrs David & Catherine Paul Mr Jean Pierre Payat Mr Gilbert Phan Mr Colin Reedie Mrs Kathryn Reedie Mr Alan Richardson Mr and Mrs Nicholas & Gail Rundle Mrs Susan Russell Mr Leslie Ryan Mr John R Sayers Mr and Mrs James & Susie Scott-Wakeling Mr Tony Selman Mrs Brenda Sherbourne Mr John Short Mr Joseph Short Mr John Sibley Mrs Jacqueline Sibley Mrs Alexandra Sinclair Mr Bernard Sisk Judge Steven Smith Ms Sue Smith

Mr Brian Smullen Mr Michael Spurling Mrs Penny Stanley Mr M R Stevens Mr and Mrs David & Elaine Storey Mr and Mrs Victor & Janice Taylor Mrs Vivienne Tincombe Mr Gavin Trechman Mr Peter True Mr Charles Tugwell Lt Col Gordon Turnbull Mr & Mrs John Vadgama Mr Richard Vallance Mr Peter van der Tang Mrs Anthea Vernell Mrs Lucy Vernon Mr Peter Vines Mrs Sue Vinter Mr Robert Warren Mr Roger Wells Mr David Whalley Mr Charles B White Mr & Mrs Richard Whitehead Mrs Pat Whitley Mr Barry E Wilkinson Miss Jeanette Williamson Mr Peter Woods

Join the RPO Club for benefits including a dedicated booking line and priority access to tickets.

For more information, please visit rpo.co.uk/club or call 020 7608 8840.

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Elgar

THE DREAM OF GERONTIUS THURSDAY 7 APRIL 2022, 7.30PM ROYAL ALBERT HALL With impassioned solos, searing choruses and a rich symphonic tapestry, Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius is widely regarded as one of the most celebrated choral works of the twentieth century.

Setting the scene for the evening is the intense Prelude to Wagner’s opera Parsifal, a composer whose music greatly inspired and influenced Elgar.

All details correct at time of going to press.

Artists may be subject to change.

Vasily Petrenko Conductor Christine Rice Mezzo-soprano Ed Lyon Tenor Roderick Williams OBE Baritone Philharmonia Chorus Royal Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra gratefully acknowledges the support of RPO President, Mrs Aline Foriel-Destezet.

Book Now rpo.co.uk 020 7589 8212 Find out how our venues are keeping you safe at rpo.co.uk

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra 16 Clerkenwell Green, London EC1R 0QT – info@rpo.co.uk – 020 7608 8800

Board of Directors

Administration

Chair Benjamin Cunningham Vice Chair Matthew Knight Managing Director James Williams

Managing Director James Williams Deputy Managing Director Huw Davies

Charlotte Ansbergs Shana Douglas Charles Fairweather Patrick Flanaghan Philip Keller Elizabeth Kistruck Peter Lumley Sali-Wyn Ryan Liz Varlow

Concerts Director Louise Badger Concerts Manager Frances Axford Tours and Projects Manager Dawn Day General Manager, Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra Malcolm Wilson Projects and Recordings Manager Elli Clements Concerts Coordinator Rebecca Rimmington Tours Assistant Chris Grieve Orchestra Manager Jane Aebi Orchestra Manager Kathy Balmain Librarian Patrick Williams Stage Manager Dan Johnson Assistant Stage Manager John Pullig Orchestral Driver (Part-time) Peter Lever

Trustees of the RPO Trust John Bimson Benjamin Cunningham Sir Peter Ellwood CBE DL

RPO Advisory Council Penelope Biggs Baroness Blackstone David Curtin Mark Davy Charles Eve Ariane Gorin Ronan Harris Michael Hayman MBE DL Dr Anna Mann Sir Tom McKillop John Sunnucks Andrew Wates OBE DL James Wright

RPO Sickness and Benevolent Fund Trustees David Gordon David Hirschman Richard Huxtable Joanna Marsh Helen Storey Rachel van der Tang

rpo.co.uk

Concerts

Friends’ and Groups’ Manager Jo Thomson Programme Editor Doran Crowhurst Content Coordinator Tim Lutton Production and Marketing Assistant Khadra Mohamed Development Head of Development David Sutherland Trusts and Foundations Manager Liz Purchase

RPO Resound Director of Community and Education (Maternity Cover) Lisa Rodio Community and Education Project Manager Anahi Ravagnani Community and Education Project Manager Martha Earley

Finance Finance Director Ann Firth Finance Officer Tracy Newhouse Musicians’ Fees Officer/ Finance Officer Kevin Hollands Finance Assistant William Cale

Business Development Business Development Director Huw Davies Marketing Head of Sales and Marketing Louise Williams Digital Marketing Manager Matt Otty

Details correct at the time of going to press.

Design and typesetting: Doran Crowhurst Printed by Metro Commercial Printing Ltd metroprinting.co.uk

Please recycle this programme after use.

Join the journey

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Discover more online at rpo.co.uk royalphilharmonicorchestra RPOonline RPOonline RPOonline

Friday 3 December 2021, 7.30pm

Registered charity number: 244533

Resident Orchestra at Cadogan Hall

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