La Battaglia di Legnano, by Giuseppe Verdi

Opera Orchestra of New York (from Carnegie Hall, NYC)
Eve Queler, conductor
Performers listed below

It's just possible that during the past year or so, the people of the United States have been more truly united than they have for a very long time. A grievous attack within our own borders, perpetrated by outsiders, has gotten people thinking about what it truly means to be patriotic. Flags are waving, and patriotic music is heard everywhere -- national anthems both official, and unofficial.

And believe it or not, this week's opera, while written in the 19th-century and set hundreds of years before that, goes right along with a patriotic theme. The opera is The Battle of Legnano by Verdi, and it's opening chorus, "Viva Italia," is a kind of unofficial Italian national anthem. Here's the story in a nutshell:

Act I: Two Italian soldiers, Rodrigo and Arrigo, vow to join forces and fight for Italy's freedom from German rule. They're especially glad to be together because Arrigo has returned from a battle in which everyone thought he had been killed. And that's also a problem, because Arrigo's ex-girlfriend Lida, thinking him dead, has married Rodrigo.

Act II: Rodrigo and Arrigo try to drum up support for their cause. They openly defy the German Emperor, Frederick Barbarossa, who in turn vows to destroy them.

Act III: The two soldiers join a sort of special forces unit, called the Knights of Death. Lida, who still loves Arrigo, is worried about him, and sends him a letter, which falls into the wrong hands. It eventually winds up with Rodrigo, who is understandably angry, and locks Arrigo in a tower. Arrigo is ashamed that he won't be able to fight with the Knights of Death, and flings himself from the tower window in a suicide attempt.

Act IV: Arrigo survives his fall, and makes his way to the battlefield, where he is personally responsible for killing Frederick Barbarossa. Back in town, people hear of the victory, and celebrate. But Arrigo is carried in, mortally wounded. He swears to Rodrigo that Lida has remained faithful. Then, he kisses the Italian flag, sings "Viva Italia," and dies.

Now, the drama is set in the 12th-century, when the Italian "Lombard League" was resisting German domination. But in 1849, Verdi's audiences knew what he was really getting at. They took the opera to heart like few others, and the "Viva Italia" chorus became a national rallying cry. Of course, the extremely timely nature of the opera caused it to lose its popularity once the issues it trumpeted were settled. But the effect of the opera comes as much from Verdi's stirring music as from the dated message. And to some ears anyway, that message may not seem so dated, after all.

Tune in this week. You'll hear what we mean.

Performers:
Krassimira Stoyanova (Lida); Carlo Guelfi (Rolando); Francisco Casanova (Arrigo); Carla Wood (Imelda); Vitaly Kowaljov (Emperor)

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