Ritratto (opera)

Ritratto is an opera in six scenes with music by Willem Jeths and a libretto by Frank Siera. The 2020 productions were conducted by Geoffrey Paterson and directed by Marcel Sijm, with costumes by Jan Taminiau.[1] The Dutch National Opera commissioned the work. The opera was scheduled to premiere at the Opera Forward Festival in Amsterdam on March 21, 2020, but the premiere was cancelled because of lockdown measures in the Netherlands, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands.[2]

Ritratto
Opera by Willem Jeths
LibrettistFrank Siera
LanguageEnglish, Italian, German
Premiere
  • 12 March 2020 (video recording of dress rehearsal)
  • 7 October 2020 (live premiere)
    Dutch National Opera

Plot

The opera describes the life story of an Italian high society icon at the time of the beginning of the First World War. The flamboyant wealthy heiress Luisa Casati stages herself as a living work of art and surrounds herself with leading artists of her time. When war breaks out, most of her friends, including her lover Gabriele D'Annunzio, become enthusiastic about the war. She distances herself from it in order to continue dedicating her life to art and ultimately sacrificed herself to her ideal.[3]

Roles
Roles, voice types, premiere casts
Role Voice type Video recording cast, 12 March, 2020
Conductor: Geoffrey Paterson[4]		 Live premiere cast, 7 October 2020
Conductor: Geoffrey Paterson[4]
Luisa Casati soprano Verity Wingate[4] Verity Wingate
Romaine Brooks mezzo-soprano Polly Leech[4] Polly Leech
Garbi baritone Martin Mkhize[4] Martin Mkhize
Gabriele D'Annunzio tenor Paride Cataldo[4] Paride Cataldo
Sergei Diaghilev countertenor Cameron Shahbazi[4] Gerben van der Werf
Man Ray tenor Lucas van Lierop[4] Lucas van Lierop
Jacob Epstein baritone Frederik Bergman[4] Frederik Bergman
Kees van Dongen baritone Dominic Kraemer[4] Dominic Kraemer
Filippo Tommaso Marinetti bass-baritone Sam Carl[4] Sam Carl

Orchestration

The orchestral score of the opera includes the following instruments:

Recording

An audio recording of the March 12, 2020 dress rehearsal was released on Challenge Records (1994) on October 2, 2020. [6]

References
  1. "Ritratto – production details". Dutch National Opera. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  2. "Ritratto beleeft virtuele wereldpremiÈre" (in Dutch). Place de l'Opera. 20 March 2020. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  3. "Ritratto (Opera Forward Festival) – production details". Internationaal Theater Amsterdam. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  4. "Ritratto – production details". OperaBase. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  5. "Ritratto : Opera / Willem Jeths; libretto Frank Siera Ritratto Announced" (Press release). Done Music. November 2020. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  6. "Dutch National Opera / Amsterdam Sinfonietta / Geoffrey Paterson". Challenge Records. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
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