Violanta

Violanta is Korngold’s second opera, that the composer wrote in 1914, at the age of 17.

Erich Wolfgang Korngold was a child prodigy, whose early genius was recognized and admired by the likes of Gustav Mahler and Giacomo Puccini. His musical style was strongly inspired by theatre and possessed a great lyrical breath. The advent of Nazism in 1934 forced him to seek refuge in the United States, where he became the first composer of music scores for films, winning two Oscars and marking a milestone in the Hollywood film industry.

Violanta is Korngold’s second opera, that the composer wrote in 1914, at the age of 17. The setting in an imaginary and decadent fifteenth-century Venice reflects the fascination at that time for the Renaissance age and for the themes of passion and death that marked the stylistic code of many masterpieces of the early twentieth century.

Driven by a powerful desire of revenge against the man who had seduced and led her sister to suicide, Violanta persuades her husband Simone to become her accomplice and kill him. But after meeting and enticing her victim – Alfonso, the illegitimate son of the King of Naples – her feelings turn into passion, and her part is overturned. So strong is her love for him now that in order to save Alfonso’s life she takes the blow meant for him and dies.

Korngold’s music, with very refined orchestration, perfectly paints the contrast between the dark and deadly atmosphere of the oppressive world which Simone forces upon his wife and the sudden glimpses of life, sensuality, and passion brought by Alfonso, making Violanta one of the masterpieces of the early twentieth century.

Opera
Original title VIOLANTA
Genre Opera
Recording location Teatro Regio Torino
Production year 2020
Duration 88
Video format 4K
Audio format Stereo
Production Company Dynamic srl
TV Director Matteo Ricchetti
Light Design Andrea Anfossi
Composer Erich Wolfgang KORNGOLD
Orchestra / Band Orchestra e Coro Teatro Regio Torino
Conductor Pinchas Steinberg
Stage Director Pier Luigi Pizzi
Sets Pier Luigi Pizzi
Costumes Pier Luigi Pizzi
Soloist Violanta: Annemarie Kremer
Soloist Simone Trovai: Michael Kupfer-Radecky
Soloist Alfonso: Norman Reinhardt