Antonio Smareglia was born in Pola in the Istria region in 1854 and after his early studies in Vienna, (he was of course a citizen of the Hapsburg empire), like the composer Catalani from Lucca he moved to Milan, where he had the support of Franco Faccio and Arrigo Boito, and soon made a fairly successful debut at La Scala. La Falena was premiered in Venice on September 6, 1897 and proved not only in step with the literature and painting of the time but also anticipated coming trends in opera: PellÃ©as et MÃ©lisande would not appear until 1902, Salome not until 1905. Even Illica & Mascagni's Iris with it's floral-inspired symbolism was not staged until 1898. The truly new and most original element of La Falena is the extraordinary presence of the orchestra and it's life-giving language, which is all modulation and excursions into rare key signatures, leading many experts to dub Smareglia a Wagnerian. This was not simply because of the three evocative preludes but also Smareglia's use of the orchestra. With timbres ranging from harsh and violent to delicate and refined, the Leit-Motiv technique applied throughout as the orchestra provides the structure that holds the opera up rather than merely the accompaniment for this or that musical number.

Tracklist:

La Falena, Act I: Introduction
La Falena, Act I: Uscì Dal Bosco Un Cavallier
La Falena, Act I: Stringo Sul Seno Il Fiore
La Falena, Act I: Remo Lento, Che Parola Di Lamento
La Falena, Act I: Il Diavolo Ha Messo In Bocca
La Falena, Act I: Ho Quest'oggi Cacciato Per I Poveri
La Falena, Act I: Performer!
La Falena, Act I: O Re, Signor Degli Uomini
La Falena, Act I: A La Mia Voce Il Sonno
La Falena, Act I: Svanita Ella È
La Falena, Act I: O Signore
La Falena, Act II: Introduction
La Falena, Act II: Balzato È Dal Giaciglio
La Falena, Act II: Desto Son Io... Ella!... Ella È Qui!...
La Falena, Act II: Te... Te Voglio, Di Te La Giovinezza
La Falena, Act II: Davver’ Sei Bella!
La Falena, Act II: Se Tu Conosci Il Dio Misericorde
La Falena, Act II: Questo Vino Dell'anfore Mie
La Falena, Act II: Ve Come Sono Impuro
La Falena, Act III: Introduction
La Falena, Act III: La Verità VI Narro
La Falena, Act III: Quanto È Vissuto Morio
La Falena, Act III: Senti!... Tutti Mi Chiamano
La Falena, Act III: È L’alba...
La Falena, Act III: È Una Falena
La Falena, Act III: Santa Mattina
La Falena, Act III: O Mia Angelica Vergine

UPC: 8007068249428
Label: Bongiovanni
Release Date: 6.15.18
Format: CD

Smareglia / Gavazzeni / Veneziano - Falena (2 CD)