''Assassinio nella cattedrale'' (''Murder in the Cathedral'') 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 and an

intermezzo In music, an intermezzo (, , plural form: intermezzi), in the most general sense, is a composition which fits between other musical or dramatic entities, such as acts of a play or movements of a larger musical work. In music history, the term ha ...

by the Italian composer Ildebrando Pizzetti, who also wrote the

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 ...

. He adapted it from an Italian translation of

T. S. Eliot Thomas Stearns Eliot (26 September 18884 January 1965) was a poet, essayist and playwright.Bush, Ronald. "T. S. Eliot's Life and Career", in John A Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (eds), ''American National Biography''. New York: Oxford University ...

's 1935 play ''

Murder in the Cathedral ''Murder in the Cathedral'' is a verse drama by T. S. Eliot, first performed in 1935 (published the same year). The play portrays the assassination of Archbishop Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral during the reign of Henry II in 1170. El ...

''. The opera was premiered at

La Scala La Scala (, , ; officially , ) is a historic opera house in Milan, Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as (, which previously was Santa Maria della Scala, Milan, a church). The premiere performa ...

, 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 Nicola Rossi-LemeniHis father's last name was Rossi, but his mother wanted her family name added, "Rossi Lemeni" (without a hyphen). However, many publications and recordings hyphenate the name. (November 6, 1920 – March 12, 1991), was a ...

as Thomas Becket. Recorded live at the La Scala premiere, 1 March 1958. Label: Opera d'OroAll 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 Herbert von Karajan (; born ''Heribert Adolf Ernst Karajan''; 5 April 1908 – 16 July 1989) was an Austrian conductor. He was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic for 34 years. During the Nazi era, he debuted at the Salzburg Festival, ...

with Hans Hotter as Thomas Becket. Recorded live at the

Vienna State Opera The Vienna State Opera (, ) is a historic opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by ...

, 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

Roles

Recordings

References

Further reading