Ernani

by Guiseppe Verdi
Opera Orchestra of New York
Eve Queler, conductor
Performers listed below

Giuseppe Verdi had arguably the most successful career in the history of opera. If opera was the cinema of 19th century Italy, then Verdi was its Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, Martin Scorcese and Francis Ford Coppola, all rolled into one. And he didn't exactly start small. Each of Verdi’s first four operas received its premiere in the grandest venue of them all: Teatro La Scala in Milan. They made Verdi a budding star -- especially Nabucco and I Lombardi -- which were both spectacular period pieces in productions that were surely full of theatrical special effects.

So, before long, other cities were clamoring for Verdi operas -- back then, you couldn't just order up a print from the distributor. When a theater in Venice offered to produce both Nabucco and a new Verdi opera, the composer took the deal. But he seemingly felt he'd outgrown special effects, at least for the time being. He wanted a drama less “grand” and more personal. Like a film director looking for subject material, Verdi looked at successful literature. He thought about a Cromwell opera after Sir Walter Scott, and he considered Shakespeare -- King Lear, maybe.

Eventually, he settled on Ernani, after a play by Victor Hugo. It was a near perfect vehicle for a confident young composer looking to let out all the emotional stops. It has three men all in love with the same, beautiful woman. One is her aging guardian; one is a dashing, rebellious bandit; the third suitor is "The Man" -- in this case, he's the King of Spain. The whole thing gets so caught up in desperate passion and personal vengeance that, for the sake of love and honor, two of these men offer to have their own heads chopped off. In one act! As you might expect, Verdi's Ernani took Venice by storm, and you can hear it this week on NPR World of Opera, in a performance by Eve Queler and Opera Orchestra of New York, from Carnegie Hall. And don't forget Lou Santacroce and At the Opera, beginning 30 minutes before curtain time.



Performers:
Richard Margison, tenor (Ernani); June Anderson, soprano (Elvira); Carlo Guelfi, baritone (Don Carlo); Paul Plishka, bass (Don Silva); William Alvarado-Ramos, baritone (Jago); Elizabeth Bishop, mezzo-soprano (Giovanna); Steven Harrison, tenor (Riccardo)


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