Music by: Italo Montemezzi
Libretto by: Sem Benelli
Conductor: Uff. Emanuele Andrizzi
Director: Sasha Gerritson
Performed in Italian with English Supertitles
Tickets:$25 – $50

Premiered in 1913 at La Scala in Milan, Montemezzi’s opera became an international success. Forty years after conquering Altura, the blind king Archibaldo faces growing resentment from its people. He recalls the conquest as a thrilling victory, likening it to winning a beautiful woman. His son, Manfredo, is married to the Alturan princess Fiora, who secretly loves another Alturan prince, Avito. Though Archibaldo suspects Fiora’s infidelity, his blindness and uncooperative servants leave him without proof. Amid love duets and tense confrontations, Archibaldo grows increasingly enraged and strangles Fiora at the end of the second act. In the final act, Fiora’s body lies in a crypt as the Alturans mourn. Archibaldo poisons her lips, intending to trap her lover. Avito kisses Fiora and dies, revealing their affair to Manfredo, who, in grief, also kisses her and succumbs. Archibaldo enters to confirm his scheme but is devastated to hear the voice of his dying son.

Starring:

Andrea Silvestrelli | King Archibaldo
Maria Kanyova | Fiora
Franco Pomponi | Manfredo
Andrew Morestein | Avito
Matthew DiBattista | Flaminio
Aldo Alan Navarette | Giovanetto/Fanciulo
Jade Dasha | Ancella/Giovanetta
Viktoria Vizin | Una Vecchia