On August 31, 2019, Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s Aucassin et Nicolette will premiere in its Italian language version at the Teatro Pergolesi in Jesi, Italy.
Written in 1938, just months before Castelnuovo-Tedesco left Italy to emigrate to the United States because of Mussolini’s racial laws, Aucassin et Nicolette is based on a 12th century French chantefable and was conceived for “one voice, some instruments and some marionettes”.
As the composer liked to point out, Aucassin et Nicolette outlived Mussolini, Hitler, and the chaos of World War II. The work was staged for the first time in 1952 at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, in its original French version. Later, Castelnuovo-Tedesco created an English language adaptation for the American premiere, which took place in California in 1964.
After more than 50 years, Aucassin et Nicolette finally returns to Italy. The Pergolesi Spontini Festival, directed by Cristian Carrara, brings this work back to life in a wonderful new production.
In addition, the composer’s family is confident that the upcoming publication of the score by Edizioni Curci will help to encourage new productions around the world.
The fact that so much time has passed since the last production of Aucassin et Nicolette would not have bothered Castelnuovo-Tedesco. He wrote his compositions for all eternity, in the conviction that the right moment would eventually arrive for each work.
SATURDAY 31 AUGUST 2019, 9 PM
JESI, TEATRO G.B. PERGOLESI
AUCASSIN ET NICOLETTE
12th Century Chantefable for “one voice, some instruments and some marionettes”
Italian translation by Marco Attura and Cristian Carrara
Music by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco
soprano Laura Catrani
Conductor Flavio Emilio Scogna
Direction Paul-Émile Fourny
Set design Benito Leonori
Time Machine Ensemble
NEW PRODUCTION
in co-production with Opéra-Théâtre de Metz Métropole
WORLD PREMIERE OF THE ITALIAN VERSION
Educational sponsor Trevalli Cooperlat
With contributions from the Fondazione Cariverona Bando “Cultura 2019”
https://www.fondazionepergolesispontini.com/aucassin-et-nicolette_festival-pergolesi-spontini-2019/.