Beatrice di Tenda

by Vincenzo Bellini

Teatro San Carlo http://www.teatrosancarlo.it

Naples, Italy
  • Conductor Giacomo Sagripanti
  • September 2023
    23
    Saturday
    19:30 > 22:30
    3 hours

La penultima opera di Bellini ebbe una genesi travagliata. Composta in fretta, tra il gennaio e il marzo del 1833, risentì anche del ritardo con cui Romani consegnò la seconda parte del libretto. Il musicista catanese fu costretto a completare l'opera ricorrendo a motivi tratti da lavori precedenti (Bianca e Fernando e Zaira), rinunciando a completare il duetto tra Beatrice e Agnese, già abbozzato. Bellini attribuì al librettista la causa dell'insuccesso e ruppe temporaneamente i rapporti col suo poeta. Beatrice di Tenda è infatti l'ultima opera realizzata in comune dai due artisti. Dopo I puritani, su versi di Carlo Pepoli, Bellini riprese i contatti con Romani, ma il progetto di una nuova collaborazione fu vanificato dalla prematura morte del compositore.

Find out more about the Cast , the Composition , the Composer or what the Reviews say

Beatrice di Tenda

Cast

Press & Reviews

Operatraveller
A Feast of Bel Canto: Beatrice di Tenda at the Teatro San Carlo
Then there was Pratt. I wouldn’t normally comment on a singer’s couture in a concert performance such as this, but Pratt most certainly made an entrance in the first act, in a magnificent long, flowing sky-blue dress that looked like a costume from a very traditional staging of the work. She then changed into a similarly grand black number for the second act. Pratt looked every inch the regal figure even before she opened her mouth. I must admit that my previous encounters with her have left me rather cold. Tonight was different. This is a beast of a role for the singer, but when done well the pleasure for the audience is limitless. Pratt gave us some deliciously limpid soft singing, floating the tone on the breath with exquisite ease. She embellished her lines with taste and imagination – and a genuine trill. Yes, some of her runs were a bit bumpy and the very highest acuti did tend to thin out somewhat. That said, it was absolutely thrilling to watch a singer bring such total command to the role, those hours of work in the studio apparent in the absolute and complete command of everything the role could throw at her. Pratt rose to a final scene of uninhibited bravura, ornamenting the line with imagination even in the highest reaches, taking risks with adding additional trills and excursions to the stratosphere. The audience went absolutely wild for her. It was exhilarating. [...] This was one of those evenings when one left the theatre completely uplifted after watching a group of singers perform the most exciting feats of virtuosity. It gave me immense satisfaction to watch Filónczyk give us such superb bel canto baritone singing and Pratt take control and give us singing of uninhibited virtuosity. [...] As mentioned above, the audience reaction was absolutely ecstatic.
Ape Musicale
Luigi Raso
È trionfo, non è pena
Not available in English
Il ritorno di Beatrice di Tenda al Teatro di San Carlo dopo sessantun anni è salutato con applausi e ovazioni. [...] Fulcro vocale di questa Beatrice di Tenda è Jessica Pratt, la quale, inglese naturalizzata australiana, raccoglie idealmente il testimone di Beatrice da un’altra australiana, uno dei miti assoluti della lirica, Joan Sutherland, apparsa un’unica volta al San Carlo, proprio nelle vesti della storica eroina belliniana. Jessica Pratt, debuttante nei panni di Beatrice, domina con sicurezza e naturalezza l’intera parte; la sua vocalità, protesa verso il registro acuto, dà il suo meglio e si esalta nel florilegio di acuti, agilità, picchiettati e abbellimenti; appaiono meno a fuoco i registri medio e basso, ma il suo legato è una lezione di tecnica vocale. Ad emergere è l’interpretazione di una Beatrice energica, che si oppone con veemenza alle calunnie di infedeltà, che affronta la pena capitale con composta rassegnazione. [...] Alla musicalmente spumeggiante cabaletta - “Ah! La morte cui m’appresso” - intonata dalla Pratt e al lungo acuto conclusivo seguono applausi scroscianti, prolungati e calorosissimi. [...] Questa interessante ripresa si chiude con un trionfo per tutti: applausi e ovazioni come se fosse appena terminata un’incandescente Traviata. Sono queste le serate a teatro che amiamo vivere.
Première Loge
Hervé Casini
Not available in English
Nella rarissima Beatrice di Tenda, Jessica Pratt, la più italiana dei soprani inglesi, trionfa al Teatro San Carlo! Si tratta ovviamente di Jessica Pratt, belliniana per eccellenza, che, da sola, valeva il viaggio nella città partenopea. Appena lei entra in scena, nel primo atto, con un abito blu turchese ornato di gemme e un bordo dorato, poi, nel II, con un abito nero con maniche color oro metallizzato – ornamento che scompare nella scena finale -, lui artista con riccioli rossi cadenti ricorda irresistibilmente i dipinti di un Tiziano o di un Veronese. Fin dall'inizio si avverte nella cantante britannica – ma ormai adottata anche dall'Italia – il gusto profondo per l'interpretazione scenica e l'interiorizzazione di un personaggio che, attraverso il solo impatto dello sguardo dell'artista, riesce a commuovere profondamente. Le parole poi non riescono a descrivere, dalla cavatina introduttiva “Ma la sola, ohimè! son io” fino alla scena finale “Deh! se un’urna è a me concesa” e l’allegro moderato “Ah! la mort a cui m’appresso”, l’eccezionale tavolozza di colori dispiegata da Jessica Pratt, il respiro che sembra illimitato e le delicate sfumature con cui la cantante adorna ciascuna delle sue arie. Allo stesso modo, le cabalette e gli altri momenti di coraggio, di cui la partitura è piena, non lasciano priva di nuove variazioni questa Beatrice di grande annata che, questa sera, si prende tutti i rischi e sale al do acuto ma anche al contro -re – che finale! – con un tecnicismo che lascia senza parole. Una serata che sicuramente sarà ricordata a lungo.
Artenews
Federica Fanizza
Trionfa in forma di concerto la Beatrice di Tenda
Not available in English
Protagonista assoluta per una sera nei panni della sfortunata Beatrice di Tenda è stata il soprano d’origine australiana Jessica Pratt. [...] Jessica Pratt lavora di finezze cercando di smorzare l’andamento anche aspro dei fraseggi narrativi, attenta ai filati, alleggerendo le discese verso la parte più cupa della partitura, senza perdere la cantabilità nelle riprese di fiato; non spinge negli acuti ma eleva la voce: queste sono le sue caratteristiche fondamentali di una cantante che di questo repertorio si è fatta protagonista incontrastata. Si è ritagliata così su misura alle sue esigenze vocali, una Beatrice di Tenda sostanzialmente melanconica e rassegnata ma non vinta recuperando una dimensione lirica e non drammatica alla struttura della sua parte offrendo un’interpretazione di estatica e quasi metafisica astrazione esemplificati dalla straziante aria del secondo atto Deh! se un’urna è a me concessa, tutto un gioco di filati, pianissimi, note tenute e dopo, Ah! la morte a cui m’appresso, con le sue sorprendenti agilità. Ma sono stati gli ampi recitativi che richiedono capacità di fraseggi e di smorzare le frasi, dove ha dimostrato una dimensione di voce più strutturata, specie nei momenti di aspro confronto con Filippo degno contraltare a cui Bellini gli ha affidato una scrittura vocale specificamente belcantista a cui richiede di essere fraseggiatore dei duetti e intervenire con veemenza nei concertati d’assieme.

Corriere della Sera
Dario Ascoli
Il San Carlo incorona Jessica Pratt
Not available in English
Acuti filati, attacchi cristallini e tenuta di fiati sostenuti, il tutto con espressività memorabile. Fosse per il San Carlo, parleremmo di «Beatrice di Australia», sì perché negli ultimi sei decenni sono state due immense artiste della Terra dei Canguri a impersonare l’eroina belliniana: Joan Sutherland nel 1962 e Jessica Pratt, ieri.
Il Mattino
Stefano Vallanzuolo
Jessica Pratt esalta il Bellini dimenticato
Not available in English
La performance della Pratt ne giustifica la ripresa [...] Una gestione sontuosa dello strumento le consente di giungere fino all'ardita cabaletta finale in scioltezza [...] La voce cristallina, la cura dei pianissimo sempre espressivi, la disinvoltura posta al servizio del tratto virtuosistico (ivi incluso il trillo frequente), fanno di Pratt la dominatrice della serata.
Connessi all'Opera
Paola de Simone
Napoli, Teatro San Carlo – Beatrice di Tenda
Not available in English
Belliniana pura e al suo atteso debutto nel ruolo, Jessica Pratt è come immaginabile una Beatrice di gran temperamento, ferrea nella vitrea trasparenza con cui governa le tante e impervie colorature. In abiti da concerto ma dalla sapiente foggia teatrale (il primo turchino, il secondo nero e oro) a firma di Giuseppe Palella, vibra, s’impenna e interiorizza scolpendo a tutto tondo il personaggio fra ripiegamenti, cadenze e slanci acuminati, macinando note e acuti, giusto in un paio di casi non rifiniti o sospesi al meglio ma pur sempre miracolosi e spettacolari, tenendo testa alle sfide molteplici in pentagramma con tecnica di lusso e il pregio di delicatissimi sfumati. Nella cavatina con coro di damigelle “Ma la sola, ohimè! son io”, staccata dopo il bel si naturale a chiusura di scena, presenta con articolata espansione il suo animo dolce e dolente toccando corde lunari che tanto richiamano le tinte di “Casta diva”, per poi magnificamente dribblare con bravura funambolica tra gli acuti della cabaletta “Ah! la pena in lor piombò”, meritatamente coronata da entusiastici consensi. L’apice mirabile è come prevedibile raggiunto nella grande aria finale (Deh! Se un’urna è a me concessa), con girandola di peripezie nell’Allegro moderato (Ah! la morte a cui m’appresso) gestite ad arte fra gli estremi della sua estensione.
Beatrice di Tenda is a tragic opera in two acts by Vincenzo Bellini, from a libretto by Felice Romani, after the play of the same name by Carlo Tedaldi Fores [it].[1] Initially, a play by Alexandre Dumas was chosen as the subject for the opera, but Bellini had reservations about its suitability. After he and Giuditta Pasta (for whom the opera was to be written) had together seen the ballet based on the very different play, Tedaldi-Fores' Beatrice Tenda, in Milan in October 1832, she became enthusiastic about the subject and the composer set about persuading Romani that this was a good idea. Romani, who had his own concerns, the principal one being the close parallels with the story told in Donizetti's Anna Bolena, an opera which had established that composer's success in 1830. Against his better judgment, he finally agreed, although he failed to provide verses for many months. Although unsuccessful at its premiere in Venice in 1833, Bellini felt that he had counteracted the horror of its story "by means of the music, colouring it now tremendously and now sadly".[2] Later, after hearing of the opera's success in Palermo, Bellini wrote to his Neapolitan friend Francesco Florimo, stating that Beatrice "was not unworthy of her sisters".[3] Also, it was Pasta's performances in the title role that overcame the public's hostility to the piece. The opera was Bellini's penultimate work, coming between Norma (1831) and I puritani (1835) and it was the only one of his operas to be published in full score in his lifetime.
Synopsis
This is the story of Beatrice Lascaris di Tenda, the woman who was the widow of the condottiere Facino Cane and later the wife of Duke Filippo Maria Visconti, in 15th-century Milan. Filippo has grown tired of his wife Beatrice; she regrets her impetuous marriage to him after her first husband's death, a marriage that has delivered her and her people into the Duke's tyrannical power. Time: 1418 Place: The Castle of Binasco, near Milan[14] Act 1[edit] Scene 1: "Internal courtyard of the Castle of Binasco. View of the facade of the illuminated palace"[15] Francesco Bagnara's set designs for act 1, scene 1 Filippo Maria Visconti, the Duke of Milan, has attended a ball, but he leaves early and encounters his assembled courtiers. He is bored with everyone; all seem to be paying obeisance to his wife because they regard her as the more powerful, his title and power having come only from his marriage to her: “Such torment and such martyrdom I cannot bear much longer”. His sycophantic courtiers tell him how much they sympathize but wonder why he does not break free given his position as Duke. Also, they warn him that if he does not act, Beatrice's servants may well begin plotting against him. Beautiful harp music is heard. Agnese, the current object of Filippo's desire, sings from afar that life is empty without love: (Aria: Agnese: Ah! Non pensar che pieno / "Ah! Don't believe that power brings fulfillment and joy"); then Filippo, who echoes her thoughts and states how much he loves her: (Aria:Riccardo: O divina Agnese! Come t'adoro e quanto / "Oh Agnes, I should want none but you.") Again, the courtiers encourage him to seize the moment and break free after which he will have many desirable women available to him. All leave. Scene 2: "Agnese's quarters" Agnese appears, this time singing for a yet-unnamed love: Aria: Silenzio – E notte intorno / "Silence and night all around. May the voice of the lute guide you to me, my love". As she hopes that the anonymous letter, which she has sent, and now her song will guide him to her arms, Orombello suddenly appears, but he is attracted only by the sounds of sweet music. Since the letter was written to him, she assumes an attraction to her on his part, and he is somewhat confused over this turn of events. Somewhat bluntly, she moves towards asking if he is in love, and he decides to confide in her. He confesses that he is deeply in love and, when asked about a letter which she assumes to be the one she wrote to him, he reveals that he had written to Beatrice. At that point, she realises that she has a rival: (Duet: Sì: rivale… rival regnante / "A royal rival"). Agnese's expectations collapse as Orombello reveals that it Beatrice with whom he is in love and he pleads for her to understand. She is furious; her tenderness turns to vitriol and in a dramatic finale, she explodes while he attempts to protect Beatrice's honour – and her life: (Duet: La sua vita? Ma la sola, ohime! / "Her life? My life means nothing to you?"). Scene 3: "A grove in the ducal garden" Francesco Bagnara's set designs for act 1, scene 3 Beatrice enters one of her secret places. She is relaxed: "Here I can breathe freely among these shady trees" she says, as her ladies appear, also happy to be in the sun. They try to comfort her and express their affection, but she describes her unhappiness by explaining that, once a flower has withered, when cut at its roots it cannot come back to life. Then, she expresses her real feelings of frustration against Filippo: (Aria: Ma la sola, oimė! son io, / che penar per lui si veda? / "Am I the only one to whom he has brought grief"? she asks) and feels her shame, to the sorrow of her ladies. In a finale, first Beatrice, then the ladies express their frustrations: (Cabaletta: Ah! la pena in lor piombò / "Ah, they have been punished for the love that ruined me"). Filippo sees them in the distance and, believing she is avoiding him, confronts her. He questions her, regarding her as unfaithful: "I can see your guilty thoughts", he says. In a duet, he admits that his jealousy is due to the power she has, but confronts her with proof of her support for her subjects' protests by producing some secret papers stolen from her apartment. She responds that she will listen to the peoples' complaints and confronts him: Se amar non puoi, rispettami / "If you cannot love me, respect me! At least leave my honour intact!" [The libretto noted below includes a scene between Filippo and Rizzardo which is absent from the Gruberova DVD production] Scene 4: "A remote part of the Castle of Binasco. At one side, the statue of Facino Cane (Beatrice's first husband)" Francesco Bagnara's set designs for act 1, scene 4 Filippo's soldiers are seeking Orombello and conclude that eventually either love or anger will cause him to give himself away and they must match his cunning. They continue the search. Beatrice enters carrying a portrait of her beloved deceased husband, Facino. Aria: Il mio dolore, e l'ira... inutile ira / "My sorrow and anger, my futile anger I must hide from everyone" and she pleads with the Facino's spirit: "alone, unprotected, unarmed, I'm abandoned by everybody". "Not by me" a voice cries out—and it is Orombello who excitedly tells her his plans to rally the troops and help her free herself. She crushes him saying that she does not highly regard his expertise in security matters. Orombello tells of how his compassion was mistaken for love, but that he gradually came to love her and, as he kneels to protest his love and refusal to leave her, Filippo and Agnese enter, proclaiming the two traitors of having an affair. Filippo calls the guards, courtiers arrive, and all express their conflicting emotions in a scene finale with Filippo recognising that Beatrice's reputation is besmirched, she realises that "this shame is my due reward for making this wretch my equal", and Orombelo tries to persuade the Duke that she is innocent. The couple is taken away for trial for adultery. Act 2[edit] Scene 1: "Gallery in the Castle of Binasco ready for the sitting of a tribunal. Guards at the door" In a major opening chorus, the courtiers learn from Beatrice's maids of the terrible torture that has been applied to Orombello and, "no longer able to withstand the atrocious suffering, he declared his guilt", thus implicating Beatrice. The Court is summoned and Anichino, Orombello's friend, pleads for Beatrice. Agnese declares that the "longed-for hour of my revenge has come" but, at the same time she is troubled. Filippo addresses the judges. Beatrice is brought in, and protests: "who gave you the right to judge me?" Orombello then appears and Beatrice is told that she has been denounced. "What do you expect to gain from lying?" she demands of him. He desperately seeks forgiveness from Beatrice: under torture "my mind became delirious, it was pain, not I that spoke" and he proclaims her innocence to the amazement of all. She forgives him and Beatrice regains her will to live. Filippo is touched by her words: (Aria-to himself: In quegli atti, in quegli accenti / V'ha poter ch'io dir non posso / "In these actions and in these words there is a power I cannot explain"), but he quickly recovers and rejects weak-minded pity. Together, all express their individual feelings with Filippo ruthlessly pressing on while Agnese is remorseful. However, he does announce that the sentence shall be delayed. The Court overrules him, stating that more torture should be applied until the truth is spoken. Again, Filippo changes his mind and supports the Court's decision. Agnese pleads with Filppo for Beatrice and Orombello, confessing her own behaviour in defaming them. The couple is led away, with Filippo and Agnese, full of remorse, left alone. She realises that things have gone much further than she had expected and begs Filippo to drop all the charges. However, not wishing to look weak, he dismisses the idea and orders her to leave. Alone, Filippo wonders why others suffer remorse and he does not, but confesses that he is in the grip of terror. When Anichino announces that Beatrice has not broken under torture, but nevertheless, the court has condemned the couple to death, he brings the death warrant for signature. Filippo is even more conflicted, stating first that he must be firm and then remembering the joy he experienced with Beatrice: (Aria: Qui mi accolse oppresso, errante, / Qui dié fine a mie sventure... / "She welcomed me here, oppressed and homeless, here she put an end to my misfortunes. I am repaying her love with torture") Filippo declares to all who have now assembled that Beatrice shall live, but courtiers announce that troops loyal to Beatrice and to the late condottiere Facino are about to storm the walls. Hearing this, he signs the execution order and tries to justify his actions to the crowd, blaming Beatrice's behaviour: (cabaletta finale: Non son'io che la condanno; / Ė la sua, l'altrui baldanza. / "It is not only I who condemn her, but her own and others' audacity...Two realms cannot be united while she lives.") Scene 2: "Ground level vestibule above the castle prisons. Beatrice's maidens and servants emerge from the cells. All are mourning. Sentinels everywhere" Beatrice's ladies gather outside the cell while Beatrice prays. In her cell, she affirms that she said nothing under torture: (Aria: Nulla diss'io...Di sovrumana forza / Mi armava il cielo... Io nulla dissi, oh, gioja / "I said nothing! Heaven gave me superhuman strength. I said nothing..."). Agnese enters and confesses that it was she who instigated, through jealousy, the plot to accuse the couple. She explains that she was in love with Orombello and that she believed Beatrice to be her rival. From his cell, Orombello's voice is heard (Aria: Angiol di pace / "Angel of peace"). Along with the two women, he forgives Agnese as does Beatrice. Agnese leaves and Beatrice declares herself to be ready for death. (Aria finale: Deh! se un'urna ė a me concessa / Senza un fior non la lasciate / "Oh, if I'm vouchsafed a tomb, Leave it not bare of flowers".) Anicino and the ladies lament; in a spirited finale, Beatrice declares "the death that I am approaching is a triumph not defeat. I leave my sorrows back on earth."

Vincenzo Bellini

Short biography of the composer
Vincenzo Salvatore Carmelo Francesco Bellini (3 November 1801 – 23 September 1835) was an Italian opera composer, who was known for his long-flowing melodic lines for which he was named "the Swan of Catania". Many years later, in 1898, Giuseppe Verdi "praised the broad curves of Bellini's melody: 'there are extremely long melodies as no-one else had ever made before' " A large amount of what is known about Bellini's life and his activities comes from surviving letters—except for a short period—which were written over his lifetime to his friend Francesco Florimo, whom he had met as a fellow student in Naples and with whom he maintained a lifelong friendship. Other sources of information come from correspondence saved by other friends and business acquaintances. Bellini was the quintessential composer of the Italian bel canto era of the early 19th century, and his work has been summed up by the London critic Tim Ashley as: ... also hugely influential, as much admired by other composers as he was by the public. Verdi raved about his "long, long, long melodies ..." Wagner, who rarely liked anyone but himself, was spellbound by Bellini's almost uncanny ability to match music with text and psychology. Liszt and Chopin professed themselves fans. Of the 19th-century giants, only Berlioz demurred. Those musicologists who consider Bellini to be merely a melancholic tunesmith are now in the minority. In considering which of his operas can be seen to be his greatest successes over the almost two hundred years since his death, Il pirata laid much of the groundwork in 1827, achieving very early recognition in comparison to Donizetti's having written thirty operas before his major 1830 triumph with Anna Bolena. Both I Capuleti ed i Montecchi at La Fenice in 1830 and La sonnambula in Milan in 1831 reached new triumphal heights, although initially Norma, given at La Scala in 1831 did not fare as well until later performances elsewhere. "The genuine triumph" of I puritani in January 1835 in Paris capped a significant career. Certainly, Capuleti, La sonnambula, Norma, and I puritani are regularly performed today. After his initial success in Naples, most of the rest of his short life was spent outside of both Sicily and Naples, those years being followed with his living and composing in Milan and Northern Italy, and—after a visit to London—then came his final masterpiece in Paris, I puritani. Only nine months later, Bellini died in Puteaux, France at the age of 33.
Jessica has also performed in the following operas from the same composer:

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