Inferno (opera)
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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 ...
based on Dante's ''
Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' (, ) is an Italian narrative poetry, narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun and completed around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and one of ...
'' with music by
Lucia Ronchetti Lucia Ronchetti (born 3 February 1963) is an Italian composer. Biography Ronchetti studied composition and computer music at the Conservatory of Santa Cecilia in Rome and took part in composition seminars with Sylvano Bussotti at the Scuola di ...
. 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 ...
mostly by the composer uses much of Dante's poetry. Commissioned by the
Oper Frankfurt The Oper Frankfurt (Frankfurt Opera) is a German opera company based in Frankfurt. Opera in Frankfurt am Main has a long tradition, with many world premieres such as Franz Schreker's ''Der ferne Klang'' in 1912, ''Fennimore and Gerda, Fennimore ...
, the opera was first performed in a
concert performance A concert performance or concert version is a performance of a musical theater or opera in concert form, typically without set design or costumes, and mostly without theatrical interaction between singers. Concert performances are commonly pres ...
at the
Bockenheimer Depot The Bockenheimer Depot is a former tram depot and main workshop of the Straßenbahn Frankfurt am Main, built around 1900. It is located in the Bockenheim quarter of Frankfurt. A listed monument, it now serves as a theatre venue of the Städti ...
on 27 June 2021, conducted by
Tito Ceccherini Tito Ceccherini (born 1973) is an Italian conductor with a focus on opera, and an interest in modern repertoire. He has performed at major opera houses in Europe, leading several world premieres. Career Ceccherini was born in Milan and studied ...
.


History

The Italian composer
Lucia Ronchetti Lucia Ronchetti (born 3 February 1963) is an Italian composer. Biography Ronchetti studied composition and computer music at the Conservatory of Santa Cecilia in Rome and took part in composition seminars with Sylvano Bussotti at the Scuola di ...
was inspired for her opera ''Inferno'' by the first part, ''
Inferno Inferno may refer to: * Hell, an afterlife place of suffering * Conflagration, a large uncontrolled fire Film * ''L'Inferno'', a 1911 Italian film * ''Inferno'' (1953 film), a film noir by Roy Ward Baker * ''Inferno'' (1980 film), an Italian ...
'', of Dante's ''
Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' (, ) is an Italian narrative poetry, narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun and completed around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and one of ...
'' which was written in Italian poetry, unusual at his time. She compiled the libretto mostly herself, using quotation from Dante's work unchanged. She noted that she selected episodes for the characters' eccentric and bizarre actions, without moral evaluation, as an image of a city community at the beginning of a new era, inhabited by assassins, thieves, sex workers, merchants, politicians, adulterers, friars and nuns. She felt that Dante described them with black humor, set in natural scenarios with rivers, abysses, storms, earthquakes, rains of fire and ice. The last character that Dante meets is
Lucifer The most common meaning for Lucifer in English is as a name for the Devil in Christian theology. He appeared in the King James Version of the Bible in Isaiah and before that in the Vulgate (the late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bib ...
. Ronchetti developed soundscapes for the situations. Ronchetti wrote the work on a commission by the
Oper Frankfurt The Oper Frankfurt (Frankfurt Opera) is a German opera company based in Frankfurt. Opera in Frankfurt am Main has a long tradition, with many world premieres such as Franz Schreker's ''Der ferne Klang'' in 1912, ''Fennimore and Gerda, Fennimore ...
. The opera was planned to be premiered in 2020, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was postponed, and then first performed in a
concert version A concert performance or concert version is a performance of a musical theater or opera in concert form, typically without set design or costumes, and mostly without theatrical interaction between singers. Concert performances are commonly pres ...
at the
Bockenheimer Depot The Bockenheimer Depot is a former tram depot and main workshop of the Straßenbahn Frankfurt am Main, built around 1900. It is located in the Bockenheim quarter of Frankfurt. A listed monument, it now serves as a theatre venue of the Städti ...
on 27 June 2021, conducted by
Tito Ceccherini Tito Ceccherini (born 1973) is an Italian conductor with a focus on opera, and an interest in modern repertoire. He has performed at major opera houses in Europe, leading several world premieres. Career Ceccherini was born in Milan and studied ...
. The performers are partly speaking roles, partly singers. Dante is portrayed by a speaker, and his "inner voice" by a vocal quartet. The instruments are mainly brass and timpani, with a string quartet and its players reserved for some scenes.


References


External links

*
Trailer
Oper Frankfurt The Oper Frankfurt (Frankfurt Opera) is a German opera company based in Frankfurt. Opera in Frankfurt am Main has a long tradition, with many world premieres such as Franz Schreker's ''Der ferne Klang'' in 1912, ''Fennimore and Gerda, Fennimore ...

Digital stage / Opera / Lucia Ronchetti / Inferno / Opera-movie
Festival di Spoleto {{Divine Comedy navbox, state=collapsed Operas German-language operas Italian-language operas 2021 operas Operas based on Inferno (Dante) Cultural depictions of Dante Alighieri