Boccaccio (operetta)

Boccaccio, oder Der Prinz von Palermo[2][3] (Boccaccio, or the Prince of Palermo) is an operetta in three acts by Franz von Suppé to a German libretto by Camillo Walzel and Richard Genée, based on the play by Jean-François Bayard, Adolphe de Leuven, Léon Lévy Brunswick and Arthur de Beauplan, based in turn on The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio. Despite the opera's clear links to the Viennese opera tradition, Suppé's opera takes most of its style from Italian opera.[4]

Boccaccio
Operetta by Franz von Suppé
The composer of the operetta, c. 1885
Native title
Boccaccio, oder Der Prinz von Palermo
TranslationBoccaccio, or the Prince of Palermo
Librettist
LanguageGerman
Premiere
1 February 1879 (1879-02-01)
Carltheater, Vienna

The opera was begun somewhere around the fall of 1878[5][6] and first published in 1879 by the August Cranz company and performed at the Carltheater, Vienna, on 1 February 1879. An English translation and adaptation was completed in 1880 by Dexter Smith[7] and later by Oscar Weil and Gustav Hinrichs around 1883.[8] The first contemporary edit of the work occurred in 1950 for the premiere of the work at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, with several more iterations occurring through the 20th century.[4]

In 1940, Boccaccio was made into a film by American-born Italian film director Marcello Albani.[9]

Performance history

Following its premiere in 1883, the opera quickly made its way around the globe.

Roles and role creators
Carolina Östberg in the trouser role of Boccaccio
Roles, voice types, premiere cast
Role Voice type Premiere cast, 1 February 1879[12]
Fiametta, Lambertuccio's foster-daughter soprano Rosa Streitmann
Giovanni Boccaccio, novelist and poet mezzo-soprano Antonie Link
Beatrice, Lambertuccio's wife soprano
Isabella, Lotteringhi's wife mezzo-soprano
Peronella contralto
Pietro, Prince of Palermo tenor
Lambertuccio, the grocer baritone
Lotteringhi, the cooper baritone Franz Tewele
Scalza, the barber baritone
Leonello, Boccaccio's student friend baritone
Checco, a beggar bass Carl Blasel
Fratelli, the bookseller baritone
Majordomo baritone
Beggars, students, servants, Donna Pulci's daughters – chorus

Synopsis
Time: 1331.
Place: Florence.

In early-Renaissance Florence, the erotic novellas of the poet Boccaccio cause a stir and the locals are divided into the female fans of his scandalous tales and their jealous husbands. A plot is hatched by the husbands to chase Boccaccio from the city and have him locked up. But Boccaccio has other plans, including one to win the hand of the Duke's daughter Fiammetta, which he finally succeeds in doing after finding favour with the Duke.

Musical numbers
  • "Ich sehe einen jungen Mann dort stehn" (Boccaccio)
  • "Hab' ich nur deine Liebe" (Fiametta, later with Boccaccio)
  • Act 1 finale (book-burning)
  • Serenade (Boccaccio, Pietro, Leonetto)
  • Cooper's Song (Lotteringhi)
  • Waltz trio "Wie pocht mein Herz so ungestüm" (Fiametta, Isabella, Peronella)
  • Lovers' sextet
  • Duet "Florenz hat schöne Frauen (Mia bella florentina)" (Fiametta, Boccaccio)
  • Act 3 finale (Boccaccio's counsel)

References
  1. Heinrich von Littrow, der echte Textautor von Suppès „Boccaccio“-Hit „Hab‘ ich nur Deine Liebe“
  2. ​Boccaccio​ at the Internet Broadway Database
  3. Suppé, Franz von; Zell, F.; Genée, Richard; Boccaccio, Giovanni (1884). Boccaccio. Comic opera in three acts. New York: The McWilliams printing house.
  4. Aisenpreis, Uwe. "Franz von Suppé – Ein Morgen, ein Mittag, ein Abend in Wien". www.f-v-su.de (in German). Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  5. Weigel, Andreas [in German] (7 August 2018). "Hat Franz von Suppè seinen Boccaccio nachweislich in seiner Sommerfrische Gars komponiert?". Stars in Gars (in German). Archived from the original on 7 February 2023. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  6. Weigel, Andreas (1 June 2019). "Warum Franz von Suppès Operette Boccaccio (höchstwahrscheinlich) keine Garser Komposition ist". Stars in Gars (in German). Archived from the original on 7 February 2023. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  7. Suppé, Franz von; Boccaccio, Giovanni; Smith, Dexter; Genée, Richard; Zell, F. (1880). Boccaccio, or, The prince of Palermo; comic opera in three acts. Prince of Palermo. Boston: Ditson.
  8. "Von Suppé's sparkling comic opera in three acts, entitled: Boccaccio / libretto by Messrs. Reece & Farine", via Trove. Retrieved 28 July 2013
  9. Boccaccio at IMDb
  10. Gänzl, Kurt. "Boccaccio Operette in 3 acts". The Encyclopedia of the Musical Theatre. Retrieved 24 June 2023 – via Operetta Research Center.
  11. "BiblioTech PRO V3.2a". archives.metoperafamily.org. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  12. Casaglia, Gherardo (2005)."Boccaccio, 1 February 1879". L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia (in Italian).

Further reading
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