''Aurora'' 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 three acts by the Argentine composer Héctor Panizza (also known as Ettore Panizza) set to an Italian

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 ...

Luigi Illica Luigi Illica (9 May 1857 – 16 December 1919) was an Italian librettist who wrote for Giacomo Puccini (usually with Giuseppe Giacosa), Pietro Mascagni, Alfredo Catalani, Umberto Giordano, Baron Alberto Franchetti and other important Italian ...

and Hector Quesada. Composed in 1907, ''Aurora'' became the second national opera of

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, after Felipe Boero's more popular ''El Matrero''. Although its plot is set in

, ''Aurora'' is Italian in style. Panizza's

score SCORE may refer to: *SCORE (software), a music scorewriter program * SCORE (television), a weekend sports service of the defunct Financial News Network *SCORE! Educational Centers *SCORE International, an offroad racing organization *Sarawak Corrido ...

shows a strong influence of Giordano and Mascagni. ''Aurora'' was the first Argentine opera to be commissioned for the inaugural season of the

Teatro Colón The Teatro Colón () is a historic opera house in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is considered one of the ten best opera houses in the world by National Geographic. According to a survey carried out by the acoustics expert Leo Beranek among leadin ...

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

, where it premiered on 5 September 1908. The main

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

aria, "Alta en el cielo" ("High in the sky"), from the ''intermedio épico'' at the finale of Act 2 was used as a national hymn to the Argentine flag. What not many people know is that the Spanish lyrics are a poor translation of the original Italian text, so many lines are obscure and hard to make sense of. The later revised version of the opera set in Spanish was premiered on 9 July 1945 and is now considered the Argentine patriotic opera ''par excellence''. ''Aurora'' was also performed at Teatro Colón in 1909 (with Hariclea Darclée), 1945, 1953, 1955, 1965, 1966, 1983, 1999, and 2024.

Synopsis

''During the events of May 1810 in the province of Córdoba.''

Act 1

''In the church and convent of the Society of Jesus.'' The novices Marioan and Raymundo meet and discover a piece of paper that reads "Young people, greet Aurora!" She shines triumphantly. In the sky of the Fatherland, the fight for Independence begins!" So, today is when the splendid Fatherland is born!" In the church and convent of the Company of Jesus, in Córdoba, there are the novices Mariano and Raymundo, who find a piece of paper that reads: Young people: Greetings to the dawn that arises in the sky of the Homeland! The fight for Independence begins today, May 25; Today is when the splendid Homeland is born" and another message that says: " Will our Córdoba see the banner of the revolution waving? Córdoba is not cowardly! Everyone knows it! Young People, tonight, open the convent to the poople and hand over the weapons that Liniers hid there! or all is lost!" To everyone's surprise, Mariano takes the initiative and convinces his companions to join the patriotic cause. The royalist leaders, faced with the unexpected pronouncement, decide to convert the church into a fortress. Mariano finds himself faced with a terrible dilemma: when he falls in love with Aurora, daughter of the royalist leader Don Ignacio, he does not dare to give in to his love so as not to betray the cause he intends to defend. At the end of the act, the arrival of the patriots interrupts his hesitations, at the same time that the convent bells announce a new day.

Sources

*Laurance, Rita
Aurora, opera
All Music Guide

External links

Original 1912 recording with tenor Amedeo Bassi
{{Authority control Operas Italian-language operas Spanish-language operas 1908 operas Operas by Héctor Panizza Operas set in South America Operas set in the 19th century Fiction set in 1810