''Beatrix Cenci'' is an

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

in two acts by

Alberto Ginastera Alberto Evaristo Ginastera (; April 11, 1916June 25, 1983) was an Argentine composer of classical music. He is considered to be one of the most important 20th-century classical music, 20th-century classical composers of the Americas. Biography G ...

to a Spanish

libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...

by the composer and

William Shand William Shand (1902–1997) was a Scottish-born Argentine poet, novelist and playwright. Arriving in Argentina in 1938, he worked for ''La Nación'' as a book reviewer, translator and critic. Shand translated the poetry of John Donne and Stephe ...

, based on the historical family of

Beatrice Cenci Beatrice Cenci ( , ; 6 February 157711 September 1599) was an Italian noblewoman imprisoned and repeatedly raped by her own father. She killed him, and was tried for murder. Despite outpourings of public sympathy, Cenci was beheaded in 1599 ...

, the ''Chroniques italiennes'' by

Stendhal Marie-Henri Beyle (; 23 January 1783 – 23 March 1842), better known by his pen name Stendhal (, , ), was a French writer. Best known for the novels ''Le Rouge et le Noir'' ('' The Red and the Black'', 1830) and ''La Chartreuse de Parme'' ('' T ...

, and ''

The Cenci ''The Cenci. A Tragedy, in Five Acts'' ( ; 1820) is a verse drama in five acts by Percy Bysshe Shelley written in the summer of 1819, and inspired by a real Roman family, the House of Cenci (in particular, Beatrice Cenci). Shelley composed t ...

'' by

Percy Shelley Percy Bysshe Shelley ( ; 4 August 1792 – 8 July 1822) was an English writer who is considered one of the major English Romantic poets. A radical in his poetry as well as in his political and social views, Shelley did not achieve fame durin ...

. The first performance was on 10 September 1971 by the Opera Society of Washington in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, as part of the opening of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The stage direction was by Gerald Freedman, with choreography by Joyce Trisler, and the conductor was

Julius Rudel Julius Rudel (6 March 1921 – 26 June 2014) was an Austrian-born American opera and orchestra conductor. He was born in Vienna and was a student at the city's Academy of Music. He immigrated to the United States at the age of 17 in 1938 after th ...

New York City Opera The New York City Opera (NYCO) is an American opera company located in Manhattan in New York City. The company has been active from 1943 through its 2013 bankruptcy, and again since 2016 when it was revived. The opera company, dubbed "the peopl ...

first staged the work on 1 April 1973. The European premiere of ''Beatrix Cenci'' took place at the

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

Opera in September 2000.

Roles

* Beatrix Cenci (soprano) * Count Francesco Cenci, father to Beatrix (baritone) * Lucrecia Cenci, stepmother to Beatrix (mezzo-soprano) * Bernardo Cenci, brother to Beatrix (soprano, 'pants' role) * Giacomo Cenci, brother to Beatrix (baritone) * Orsino, a prelate (tenor) * Andrea, servant to the Count (bass) * Olimpio, an assassin (speaking role) * Marzio, an assassin (speaking role) * A guard (bass) * First guest (tenor) * Second guest (tenor) * Third guest (bass)

Synopsis

The opera is in two acts and 14 scenes. The setting is the Cenci Palace,

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, in the late 16th century. Count Francesco Cenci has arranged for a masked ball to celebrate the death of his two sons at Salamanca. The people despise the Count, and his daughter Beatrix and his second wife Lucrecia live in fear of him. Beatrix wants to escape by having her former suitor, Orsino, communicate a letter to the Pope. Orsino, who has taken Holy Orders, destroys the letter. At the ball, the guests are repelled at the idea of the Count celebrating the deaths of his own sons. They leave, to the terror of Beatrix, who does not want to be alone in her father's company. Orsino enters and covers his destruction of Beatrix's letter by saying that the Pope has rejected her plea. Left alone, the Count rapes Beatrix. When in exile after reporting her father's act, Beatrix's older brother Giacomo convinces Beatrix to kill her father. She then hires two assassins for the task, Olimpio and Marzio. Lucrecia gives Cenci a sleeping potion. The assassins kill the Count and conceal his body. Months later, Orsino announces that the Count's body has been discovered. One of the assassins has been killed, and the other has confessed to the murder. Beatrix is arrested for the crime, and then bound and tortured. Finally, she is executed at the scaffold.

References

External links

Boosey & Hawkes page on ''Beatrix Cenci''

Boosey & Hawkes page on European premiere of ''Beatrix Cenci''

{{authority control Operas by Alberto Ginastera Spanish-language operas Operas 1971 operas Operas based on plays Operas set in Italy Operas set in the 16th century