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Opera in four acts. Libretto by Arturo Colautti based on a play by Eugène Scribe and Gabriel Legouvé. Music by Francesco Cilea. First performed on 26 November 1902 at the Teatro Lirico in Milan.
First performed at the Gran Teatre del Liceu on 7 May 1903.
Adriana Lecouvreur, premiered in Milan in 1902, is the best-known and most celebrated opera by Francesco Cilea, a member of the Verism school. Based on a French comedy by Eugène Scribe and Ernest Legouvé which was enthusiastically received at the Comédie Française in 1849, it recounts the life of a famous actress of that same theatre. The real Adrienne Lecouvreur (1692-1730), considered the finest interpreter of Racine and Corneille of her day, was admired by Voltaire, had a liaison with Marshal Maurice de Saxe and died young, after apparently being poisoned by a rival, the Duchess de Bouillon. Though Arturo Colautti´s libretto is confused and somewhat incongruous, the delicate melodic inventiveness of the music and the elegant orchestration make the opera highly attractive. Some passages have become very popular: they include the aria «Io son l’umile ancella» and the final sequence, which is reminiscent of the mad scenes of the Italian operatic tradition. The role of Adriana is a favourite among sopranos with a strong dramatic personality.
Act 1
Backstage at the Comédie-Française. Preparing for a performance, the company bustle around Michonnet (baritone) the stage manager. The Prince de Bouillon (bass), admirer of the actress Duclos, is with his companion, the Abbé (tenor). Adriana (soprano) enters reciting. Complimented, she sings ´Io son l´umile ancella´ (I am the humble servant of the creative spirit). The Prince hears that Duclos is writing a letter and arranges for its interception. Left alone with Adriana, Michonnet wants to express his love for her, but Adriana explains she has a lover - a soldier in the service of the Count of Saxony. Maurizio (tenor) is in reality the count himself. He enters and declares his love for Adriana, ´La dolcissima effigie´. They will meet after the performance. Adriana gives him some violets to put in his buttonhole. The Prince and the Abbé return. They have obtained the letter from Duclos - asking for a meeting with Maurizio later that evening near the Prince´s villa. The Prince decides to arrange a party for the company at the villa in order to expose the couple. He sends the letter on to Maurizio who then cancels his appointment with Adriana. She receives his letter on stage. Adriana agrees to join the Prince´s party.
Act 2
A villa by the Seine. The Princess de Bouillon (mezzo), not the actress Duclos, is waiting for Maurizio. She loves him, ´Acerba voluttà, dolce tortura´. He enters and she sees the violets. Where did he get them? He presents them to her. Maurizio is grateful for her help at court but admits he no longer loves her. She guesses he has a lover but he won´t reveal who she is. The Prince and the Abbé suddenly arrive and the Princess hides. Maurizio realizes they think he is with Duclos. Adriana enters and learns Maurizio´s true identity. He tells Adriana the assignation was political. They must arrange the escape of a woman who is in hiding. She is not Duclos. Adriana trusts him and agrees to help. During the intermezzo that follows the house is darkened, and Adriana tells the Princess she can escape. However the two women are mutually suspicious and the rescue attempt turns into a blazing quarrel before the Princess finally leaves. Michonnet notices a bracelet dropped by the Princess and gives it to Adriana.
Act 3
The Bouillon Palace. Maurizio has been imprisoned for debt, and the Princess is desperate to discover the identity of her rival. The Prince, who has an interest in chemistry, is putting away a powerful poison the government has asked him to analyze. Michonnet and Adriana arrive for the reception. The Princess thinks she recognizes her voice. She announces that Maurizio has been wounded in a duel and Adriana faints. Soon afterwards Maurizio enters uninjured and Adriana is ecstatic. He sings of his war exploits, ´Il russo Mencikoff´. A ballet is performed: the ´Judgement of Paris´. The Princess and Adriana challenge each other in growing recognition that they are rivals for Maurizio´s affection. Adriana learns that the bracelet Michonnet found belongs to the Princess.The latter pointedly suggests that Adriana should recite a scene from ´Ariadne abandoned´ but the Prince asks instead for a scene from Phèdre. Adriana uses the final lines of the text to make a headstrong attack on the Princess, who determines to have her revenge.
Act 4
A room in Adriana´s house. Michonnet is waiting. Adriana is delirious with anger and jealousy. Members of the theatre company come to visit her, bringing her presents on her name day, trying to persuade her to return to the theatre. Michonnet has retrieved a diamond necklace, previously pawned by Adriana to help Maurizio pay off his debts. A casket is delivered with a note from Maurizio. Adriana looks at the note and immediately feels unwell. She looks in the box and takes out the faded violets that she had once given Maurizio in the theatre. She is hurt that he should send them back to her. She kisses the flowers, ´Poveri fiori´, and throws them in the fire. Maurizio enters. He wishes to marry her. They embrace but he finds she is shaking. Maurizio tells her that he didn´t send the flowers. She becomes deranged. Michonnet and Maurizio realize that she has been poisoned. She becomes lucid again, ´Ecco la luce´, and dies.
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