''Assassinio nella cattedrale'' (''Murder in the Cathedral'') is an
opera in two acts and an
intermezzo by the Italian composer
Ildebrando Pizzetti. The
libretto
A libretto (Italian for "booklet") 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 the t ...
is an adaptation by the composer of an Italian translation of
T. S. Eliot
Thomas Stearns Eliot (26 September 18884 January 1965) was a poet, essayist, publisher, playwright, literary critic and editor.Bush, Ronald. "T. S. Eliot's Life and Career", in John A Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (eds), ''American National Biogr ...
's 1935 play ''
Murder in the Cathedral''. The opera was first performed at
La Scala
La Scala (, , ; abbreviation in Italian of the official name ) is a famous opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the ' (New Royal-Ducal Theatre alla Scala). The premiere performan ...
, Milan, on 1 March 1958. The opera was performed for the first time in Canada the following year at the
Montreal Festivals.
Roles
Recordings
*''Assassinio nella cattedrale'' – La Scala Orchestra and Chorus conducted by
Gianandrea Gavazzeni with
Nicola Rossi-Lemeni as Thomas Becket. Recorded live at the La Scala premiere, 1 March 1958. Label: Opera d'Oro
[All recordings in this section are sourced from ]
*''Assassinio nella cattedrale'' –
Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI di Torino conducted by Ildebrando Pizzetti with Nicola Rossi-Lemeni as Thomas Becket. Radio broadcast recorded live in Turin, 5 December 1958. Label: Stradivarius
*''Assassinio nella cattedrale'' — Vienna State Opera Orchestra and Chorus conducted by
Herbert von Karajan with
Hans Hotter as Thomas Becket. Recorded live at the
Vienna State Opera, 9 March 1960. Sung in German. Label: Deutsche Grammophon
*''Assassinio nella cattedrale'' – Orchestra Sinfonica della Provincia di Bari conducted by Piergiorgio Morandi with
Ruggero Raimondi as Thomas Becket. Recorded live at the
Basilica di San Nicola, Bari on 22 December 2006. Label: Decca
References
Further reading
*Gelli, Piero (ed.) (2005)
''Assassinio nella cattedrale'' ''Dizionario dell'opera'', p. 102. Baldini Castoldi Dalai (republished on operamanager.it). Retrieved 17 February 2016
Operas by Ildebrando Pizzetti
Italian-language operas
1958 operas
Adaptations of works by T. S. Eliot
Cultural depictions of Thomas Becket
Operas
Opera world premieres at La Scala
Operas based on plays
Operas set in England
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