Adriana Lecouvreur, Opera by F. Cilea
The four-act opera, Adriana Lecouvreur, is often regarded as Francesco Cilea's most celebrated work and rightly so, given its numerous revivals and reinterpretations on the stage since it was first performed. This production at the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Florence draws out all of the rivalry, passion and vengeance that have made it such a hit among opera-goers for well over a century. Adriana Lecouvreur at Florence’s opera house is sure to fascinate newcomers to the music of Cilea as well as those already acquainted with the composer's work.
The libretto for Adriana Lecouvreur was written by Arturo Colautti, who also worked as a journalist. Colautti adapted the stage play Adrienne Lecouvreur by Eugène Scribe and Ernest Legouvé. The play had been such an artistic success when it was first staged in 1849 that it went on to inspire three different operas before Cilea's adaptation. After Cilea's version received its premiere on 6 November 1902 at the Teatro Lirico in Milan, however, it would become a mainstay of the operatic repertoire while its predecessors were somewhat confined to obscurity. A man of his time, Cilea wanted a verismo opera to tell the story of his title character, an 18th-century French stage actress whose life inspired the original stage play. Cilea’s verismo approach, as well as his elegant scoring for both the orchestra and the vocalists, partly accounts for Adriana Lecouvreur's enduring popularity.
The plot of the opera centres on a classic love triangle. Adriana is in love with Maurizio, a man she knows as a soldier, but who is, in fact, the Count of Saxony. Meanwhile, Adriana faces a rival for Maurizio's affections in the form of the Princess de Bouillon. What unfolds is a story that combines romantic jealousy, mistaken identities and intrigue, with the rivalry between the two women resulting in them becoming more and more suspicious of one another. As the opera moves towards its tragic conclusion, the situation becomes increasingly dangerous, with potentially fatal consequences for one of them. Cilea's use of recurring motifs ensures the action feels continuous, even though sections of the opera rely on spoken dialogue. The sparkling arias he wrote for Adriana Lecouvreur often stand out, offering soaring high points as events unfold.
Cilea's outstanding Adriana Lecouvreur at Florence's Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino promises drama, passion and musical intensity throughout, no doubt delighting all lovers of verismo opera.