''Mateo Falcone'' () is a one-act

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 ...

composed by

César Cui César Antonovich Cui (; ; ; 26 March 1918) was a Russian composer and music critic, member of the Belyayev circle and The Five – a group of composers combined by the idea of creating a specifically Russian type of music. As an officer o ...

during 1906–1907. (Actually, Cui designated the genre of this work as "dramatic scene.") 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 ...

was adapted by the

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

from

Prosper Mérimée Prosper Mérimée (; 28 September 1803 – 23 September 1870) was a French writer in the movement of Romanticism, one of the pioneers of the novella, a short novel or long short story. He was also a noted archaeologist and historian, an import ...

's like-named story from 1829 and

Vasily Zhukovsky Vasily Andreyevich Zhukovsky (; – ) was the foremost Russian poet of the 1810s and a leading figure in Russian literature in the first half of the 19th century. He held a high position at the Romanov court as tutor to the Grand Duchess Alexan ...

's verse rendering thereof. It was premiered on 14 December 1907 (

Old Style Old Style (O.S.) and New Style (N.S.) indicate dating systems before and after a calendar change, respectively. Usually, they refer to the change from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar as enacted in various European countries betwe ...

), at the

Bolshoi Theatre The Bolshoi Theatre ( rus, Большо́й теа́тр, r=Bol'shoy teatr, p=bɐlʲˈʂoj tʲɪˈat(ə)r, t=Grand Theater) is a historic opera house in Moscow, Russia, originally designed by architect Joseph Bové. Before the October Revolutio ...

in Moscow (the work was given along with the composer's early one-act comic opera, ''

The Mandarin's Son ''The Mandarin's Son'' (''Сын мандарина'' in Cyrillic; ''Syn mandarina'' in transliteration) is comic opera in one act by César Cui, composed in 1859. The libretto, which includes spoken dialogue, was written by Viktor Krylov. No s ...

''). The premiere production of ''Mateo'' was a failure; the work never became part of the standard operatic repertoire in Russia, and seems never to have been performed again.

Background

This opera constitutes the last of three short serious operas by this composer, the other two being '' A Feast in Time of Plague'' and '' Mademoiselle Fifi''. The musical setting of the text of ''Mateo Falcone'' has a declamatory-melodic character, in keeping with the composer's veneration, if not slavish emulation, of

Alexander Dargomyzhsky Alexander Sergeyevich Dargomyzhsky ( rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич Даргомыжский, Aleksandr Sergeyevich Dargomyzhskiy, ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪdʑ dərɡɐˈmɨʂskʲɪj, Ru-Aleksandr-Sergeevich- ...

's method of "melodic recitative," which had been most thoroughly demonstrated in '' The Stone Guest''. There are no extractable "numbers" from this opera to speak of, although highlights include the orchestral passages that suggest the rustic scenery with a kind of

barcarolle A barcarolle ( ; from French, also barcarole; originally, Italian barcarola or barcaruola, from 'boat') is a traditional folk song sung by Venetian gondoliers, or a piece of music composed in that style. In classical music, two of the most fa ...

, and the intimate Latin prayer near the end (a setting of "

Ave Maria The Hail Mary or Ave Maria (from its first words in Latin), also known as the Angelic or Angelical Salutation, is a traditional Catholic prayer addressing Mary, mother of Jesus, Mary, the mother of Jesus. The prayer is based on two biblical pa ...

"), which is reminiscent of the composer's

art song An art song is a Western world, Western vocal music Musical composition, composition, usually written for one voice with piano accompaniment, and usually in the classical music, classical art music tradition. By extension, the term "art song" is ...

Characters and setting

*Mateo Falcone: ''

baritone A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...

'' *Giuseppa, his wife: ''

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

'' *Fredrick, a Corsican carpenter

*Fortunato, their son: ''

alto The musical term alto, meaning "high" in Italian (Latin: '' altus''), historically refers to the contrapuntal part higher than the tenor and its associated vocal range. In four-part voice leading alto is the second-highest part, sung in ch ...

'' *Sanpiero, a smuggler: ''

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 ...

'' *Gamba, a

sergeant Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...

: ''

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

'' *A few soldiers

gendarmes A gendarmerie () is a paramilitary or military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to "men-at-arms" (). In France and som ...

]: ''tenors and basses'' Setting: Corsica, 1800s

Synopsis

The boy Fortunato is outside of his family's house, playing a French horn, horn while his parents are away. Shots ring out in the distance, and Sanpiero runs in, wounded. Fleeing the police, he asks Fortunato to hide him. Fortunato asks for and gets some money in return, and hides Sanpiero, the smuggler. The police arrive, led by Gamba, who is a distant cousin of Mateo. They search the house and try to get information out of Fortunato, who resists with juvenile evasions until Gamba tempts the boy with an enamel-encased watch. Fortunato takes the bribe and reveals Sanpiero. Mateo and his wife return. After Gamba tells them of their son's help in capturing Sanpiero, the wounded man curses the Falcone household for betrayal as he is carried away. Mateo has only one thing to do to preserve the honor of his family: he takes his son away from the house, says prayers with him, and kills him with a single gunshot.

Bibliography

. ''Матео Фальконе'': драматическая сцена (по Меримэ и Жуковского). Фортепианное переложение с пением. 'Mateo Falcone'': dramatic scene (after Mérimée and Zhukovsky). Piano-vocal score. Москва: П. Юргенсон, 1907.

External links

Piano-vocal score atIMSLP

{{Authority control Operas by César Cui Russian-language operas 1907 operas Operas One-act operas Operas based on works by Prosper Mérimée