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- Verdi, Giuseppe
Duration: 8 minutes
Description: The first performance of I Vespri Siciliani (The Sicilian Vespers), a five-act opera by Guiseppe Verdi (1813-1901), took place at the Paris Opera on June 13, 1855, under the direction of Narcisse Girard. Verdi set to music an adaptation of a libretto originally intended for Donizetti, called “The Duke of Alba”, based on the 16th-century Spanish tyrant but replacing the earliest Dutch setting with a Sicilian one. When it was first performed in Italy, the text was changed under the title “Giovanna de Guzman” to satisfy the Italian censors. In 1860, it returned to its original title with a new translation. Although not as frequently performed today, it achieved great success with both audiences and critics. In Act II, the exiled Sicilian patriot Giovanni da Procida returns secretly to his homeland after years abroad and greets Palermo in the stirring aria and chorus “O tu Palermo, terra adorata.” Filled with nostalgia, pride, and quiet determination, Procida’s hymn to his native city quickly becomes a call for national liberation as he prepares to unite his fellow Sicilians in revolt against their French occupiers. The aria establishes both the emotional heart of Procida’s character and the revolutionary spirit that drives the remainder of the opera. Today, “O tu Palermo, terra adorata” remains one of Verdi’s finest bass arias.. Instrumentation: 1+1(Picc).2.2.2: 4.2+2(Crnt).3.1: Timp: Str (4.4.3.3.3 in set): Solo Baritone. Reprint edition.