OVERVIEW

In April 2011 the opera ensemble of the NMST performed a jewel of Italian verismo opera, Fedora, by Umberto Giordano. This opera has lately become part of the repertoire of many opera houses worldwide. However, in our country the opera is not very known yet. Since its world premiere it has been staged in our country only twice: in Prague in 1906 and two years later in Brno.

In 1889 Umberto Giordani saw a play, Fédora, by French dramatist Victorien Sardou (1832-1908) in Teatro Bellini di Napoli. The French actress Sarah Berhardt (1844-1923) starred in the leading role. Giordano was so fascinated by her vivid performance that he immediately asked Sardou for permission to base an opera on the play. At that time, Giordano was a relatively unknown composer so Sardou refused his request. But seven years later he eventually gave in. It was after the premiere of Giordani’s four-act opera Andrea Chénier in La Scala in Milan. The opera which dealt with events of the French Revolution was met with great success. And even today it is one of Giordani’s most popular operas.

The opera version of Fedora had its world premiere in Teatro Lirico Internazionale in Milan on 17 November 1898, starring Gemma Bellincioni as Fedora and legendary tenor Enrico Caruso as Loris Ipanov (although at that time Caruso was just starting his great career). The opera was met with great success and soon was performed all over the world. It was performed in Vienna conducted by Gustav Mahler; it was admired in Paris by Jules Massenet (1842-1912) or Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921). At the end of 1906 Fedora was first performed in the Metropolitan Opera in New York starring Lina Cavalieri as Fedora and again Enrico Caruso as Loris. In the first half of the 20th century Fedora was regularly performed in many opera houses. But then it experienced a decrease in popularity and it appeared on stages very sporadically. In late 90s, however, new productions of the opera were created - in Vienna, in the Metropolitan Opera and then in other opera houses, which was a turning point for Fedora’s popularity. Some of the notable singers that starred in the opera as Fedora are: Mirella Freni, Katia Ricciarelli, Renata Scotto, Agnes Baltsa and Maria Guleghina. Plácido Domingo, José Carreras or José Cura fascinated audiences as Loris.

SUNG IN ITALIAN WITH CZECH SUBTITLES