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{{Short description|1904 opera by Franco Alfano}}
{{Infobox opera
| name              = Risurrezione
| composer          = [[Franco Alfano]]
| image             = Franco Alfano circa 1919 Emporium.jpg
| image_upright     = 0.8
| alt               = 
| caption           = The composer c. 1919
| librettist        = Cesare Hanau
| based_on          = [[Leo Tolstoy]]'s novel ''[[Resurrection (Tolstoy novel)|Resurrection]]''
| language          = Italian
| premiere_date     = {{Start date|1904|11|30|df=y}}
| premiere_location = Teatro Vittorio Emanuele, [[Turin]]
}}
'''''Risurrezione''''' (''Resurrection''), is an [[opera]] or ''dramma'' in four acts by [[Franco Alfano]]. The [[libretto]] was written by Camillo Antona Traversi and Cesare Hanau (only Hanau signed it), based on the 1899 novel ''[[Resurrection (Tolstoy novel)|Resurrection]]'' ({{langx|ru|Воскресение|link=no}}) by [[Leo Tolstoy]].<ref name=Orselli>Orselli 2021, p. 12.</ref> The first performance was given on 30 November 1904 in the {{ill|Teatro Vittorio Emanuele (Turin)|it|Teatro Vittorio Emanuele (Torino)|lt=Teatro Vittorio Emanuele}}, Turin, Italy.<ref>Maehder 1992; Waterhouse 2001.</ref>

==Performance history==
''Risurrezione'' was Alfano's most successful work. For performances at [[La Scala]] Milan in March 1906, Alfano made cuts to the score.<ref name=Orselli>Orselli 2021, p. 12.</ref> It was translated into French by [[Paul Ferrier]] and performed in Brussels, beginning on 18 April 1906.<ref name=Loewenberg>Loewenberg 1978, column 1260.</ref> It was translated into German by A. Brüggeman and performed at the [[Berlin State Opera|Königliche Oper]] in Berlin, beginning on 5 October 1909.<ref name=Loewenberg/> For the Berlin production, Alfano made further revisions to the score.<ref name=Orselli/> In Italian, it was performed in Modena (18 February 1911), [[Novara]] (18 February 1911, altered version), Madrid (21 December 1911, altered version), Santiago, Chile (summer 1928), and at the [[Teatro Regio (Turin)|Teatro Regio]] in Turin (6 January 1936). It was also given in French in [[Nice]] (8 March 1925), Chicago (31 December 1925),<ref name=Loewenberg/> and in Paris at the [[Salle Favart]] by the [[Opéra-Comique]] (16 May 1927 and 10 April 1934), in a production by [[Albert Carré]].<ref name=Wild>Wild & Charlton 2005, p. 386.</ref> The Opéra-Comique revivals starred [[Mary Garden]] as Catarina and [[René Maison]] as Prince Dimitri.<ref>Wolff 1953, p. 151.</ref> Retitled ''Katjuscha'', it was again translated into German by E. Orthmann and H. Hartleb and performed at the [[Theater des Westens|Volks-Oper]] in Berlin on 4 October 1938.<ref name=Loewenberg/> The Opéra-Comique revived Ferrier's translation again on 15 May 1954, in a new production by Jean Doat with scenery and costumes by André Bakst.<ref name=Wild/> The American soprano [[Patricia Neway]] sang Caterina with an otherwise all French cast.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1954/05/17/archives/neway-scores-in-paris-u-s-soprano-sings-in-revival-of-alfanos.html "Neway Scores in Paris; U.S. Soprano Sings in Revival of Alfano's 'Resurrection'"], ''The New York Times'', May 17, 1954.</ref> By the end of 1954, the opera had been performed more than 1,000 times around the world.<ref name=Orselli/>

The opera was performed at [[Fulham Town Hall]], London, on 30 November 1967.<ref>Waterhouse 2001.</ref> It was successfully revived at the [[Wexford Festival Opera]], beginning on 2 November 2018.<ref>Kellow 2018.</ref> The Wexford production was performed at the [[Florence May Festival]] in January 2020, and an [[HD video]] was released in 2021.<ref name=Orselli/><ref name=Ashman>Ashman 2021; Brown 2021.</ref>

==Roles==
{| class="wikitable"
|+{{sronly|Roles, voice types, premier cast}}
!Role
![[Voice type]]
!Premiere cast, 30 November 1904<ref>{{Almanacco|dmy=30-11-1904|match=Risurrezione}}</ref><br>Conductor: [[Tullio Serafin]]
|-
|Katerina Mihaylovna, ''named Katyusha''
|[[soprano]]
|Elvira Magliulo
|-
|Prince Dimitri Ivanovich Nehlyudov
|[[tenor]]
|Oreste Mieli
|-
|Sofia Ivanovna, ''his aunt''
|[[mezzo-soprano]]
|Elvira Ceresoli-Salvatori
|-
|Matryona Pavlovna, ''housekeeper''
|[[contralto]]
|
|-
|Simonson Ivanovich, ''political convict''
|[[baritone]]
|Angelo Scandiani
|-
|Anna, ''old peasant''
|contralto
|
|-
|Korablyova, ''prisoner''
|contralto
|
|-
|servant
|contralto
|
|-
|Vera, ''political convict''
|mezzo-soprano
|
|-
|Fenyichka, ''prisoner''
|soprano
|
|-
|Hunchback girl, ''prisoner''
|contralto
|
|-
|Red-haired girl, ''prisoner''
|mezzo-soprano
|
|-
|Krilycov, ''political convict''
|[[bass (voice type)|bass]]
|José Beckmans
|-
|Chief guard
|bass
|
|-
|Guard
|baritone
|
|-
|Train-station officer
|baritone
|
|-
|Officer
|tenor
|
|-
|A woman
|soprano
|
|-
|Muzhik
|baritone
|
|-
|Two peasants
|basses
|
|-
|Three prisoners
|2 sopranos / 1 contralto
|
|-
|Kozak
|baritone
|
|-
| colspan="3"|'' Church voices, Peasants, Prisoners in female prison, Political convicts, 8-year old girl''
|}

==Synopsis==
:Place: Russia and [[Siberia]]
:Time: The end of 19th century

===Act 1===
Prince Dimitri arrives to say goodbye to his aunt, Sophia Ivanovna, before leaving for the war. His old playmate Katiusha, a young peasant girl, is now Sophia Ivanovna's companion. Dimitri is overjoyed to meet her again and that night becomes her lover. The next day he leaves for the war.

===Act 2===
[[File:La stazione, bozzetto di Vittorio Rota per Risurrezione (1906) - Archivio Storico Ricordi ICON002178.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Set design for act 2 in a 1906 revival]]
The station of a small town. Katiusha, now pregnant, has been driven out of the house. She anxiously waits for Prince Dimitri who is due to pass through the station. But when she sees him arrive in the company of a prostitute, her courage fails her and she remains hidden until she goes away, pierced to her soul.

===Act 3===
Prison in Saint Petersburg. Katiusha, broken by Dimitri's neglect of her and the death of her child, ends up in a place of debauchery. She is involved in a crime and, although innocent, is condemned for murder during a difficult trial, and is to be deported to Siberia. Before she leaves, Dimitri, now overcome with remorse, comes to see her in jail and offers to marry her. But she is in such a state of abject despair that she refuses all consolation.

===Act 4===
On the road to Siberia. Katiusha has become herself again, the good sweet girl of former times. Prince Dimitri arrives. Simonson, a political prisoner, reveals he loves Katiusha, wants to marry her, and asks for the prince's consent. Dimitri says she is free to do what she wants. Dimitri shows Katiusha a letter, revealing she has been pardoned; he tells her Simonson loves her and wants to marry her, so she must choose between them. She says she will marry Simonson, because she loves him. Although she still loves Dimitri with all her soul, she tells him to leave. She has found new purpose in life helping other prisoners.

==Noted arias==
*Si, la ravviso la mia cara stanza (Yes, I see my dear room...) – Arioso of Dimitri (Act 1)
*Qualcun giù in giardino?... È Katiusha!.. (Someone is in the garden?... It's Katyusha!...) – Duetto of Katerina and Dimitri (Act 1)
*Dio pietoso, fa ch'il venga alfin (Merciful Lord, make him come at last) – Aria of Katerina (Act 2)
*Piangi, si, piangi (Cry, yes, cry) – Arioso of Dimitri (Act 3)
*Quando la vidi, una voce mi disse (When I saw her, a voice said to me) – Aria of Simonson (Act 4)
*Ed ora, va... parti!... Son felice!!! (And now, go... leave!... I'm happy!) – Finale duetto of Katerina and Dimitri (Act 4)

==Orchestration==
*3 [[Western concert flute|flute]]s (1 [[piccolo]]) / 3 [[oboe]]s (1 [[Cor anglais|English horn]]) / 3 [[clarinet]]s (1 [[bass clarinet]]) / 2 [[bassoon]]s / 1 [[contrabassoon]]
*4 [[French horn|horn]]s / 3 [[trumpet]]s / 3 [[trombone]]s / 1 [[tuba]]
*[[timpani]] / [[Percussion instrument|percussion]] ([[cymbal]]s / [[Triangle (musical instrument)|triangle]] / [[bass drum]]) / [[tubular bells]] / [[xylophone]] / [[celesta]] / 2 [[harp]]s / [[piano]]
*[[Violin]]s / [[viola]]s / [[cello]]s / [[double bass]]es

==Recordings==
* 1954 ([[monaural audio]]): [[Carla Gavazzi]] as Katinska, Nicola Filacuridi as Prince Dimitri; conducted by [[Oliviero De Fabritiis]].<ref>''Risurrezione'', [Celebrity Record Company], [United States], Golden Age of Opera, music LP (2 discs), 1960. {{OCLC|16996850}}.</ref>
* 1973 (monaural audio): [[Magda Olivero]] as Katiusha Mikailovna, Giuseppe Gismondo as Prince Dimitri, Antonio Boyer as Simonson, Anna Di Stasio as Matrena Pavlovna, Nucci Condo as Anna, Vera Magrini as La Korableva, Patrizia Pace as Fedia, Marco Stafoni as Head Warden; [[RAI National Symphony Orchestra|Turin RAI Chorus and Orchestra]], conducted by Elio Boncompagni; audio recording of a radio broadcast of 22 October 1971. Also includes a 1985 audio recording of the final scene of ''[[Turandot]]'' with Linda Kelm as Turandot and Jon Frederic West as Calaf, conducted by [[Christopher Keene]].<ref>Oliver 1993.</ref>
* 2020 ([[HD video]]): Anne Sophie Duprels as Katerina Mihaylovna (Katyusha), Matthew Vickers as Prince Dimitri Ivanovitch Nehlyudov, Leon Kim as Simonson, Francesca Di Sauro as Sofia Ivanovna, Romina Tomasoni as Matryova Pavlovna/Anna, Nadia Pirazzini as Maidservant, Ana Victória Pitts as Vera/Korablyova, Barbara Marcacci as Fenyichka; Orchestra and Chorus of the [[Florence May Festival]], conducted by [[Francesco Lanzillotta]]; stage director: Rosetta Cucchi; video director: Davide Mancini; recorded live on 17 and 21 January, 2020, Dynamic.<ref name=Ashman/>

==See also==
* [[Tod Machover]], composer of the 1999 opera ''Resurrection'', also based on Tolstoy's novel

==References==
<references />

==Sources==
* Ashman, Mike (2021). [https://reader.exacteditions.com/issues/93147/page/82 Review of Alfano ''Risurrezione''], ''Gramophone'', May 2021, p. 74.
* Brown, William R. (2021). [https://www.operanews.com/Opera_News_Magazine/2021/8/Recordings/ALFANO__Risurrezione.html "Recordings > Opera and Oratorio: Alfano: ''Risurrezione''"], ''[[Opera News]]'', vol. 86, no. 2 (August 2021).
* Kellow, Brian (2018). [https://www.operanews.com/Opera_News_Magazine/2018/2/Reviews/WEXFORD__Margherita,_Risurrezione,_Medea,.html "In Review: ''Margherita'', ''Risurrezione'', ''Medea'', Wexford Festival Opera"], ''[[Opera News]]'', vol. 82, no. 8 (February 2018).
* Loewenberg, Alfred (1978). ''Annals of Opera 1597&ndash;1940'' (third edition, revised). Totowa, New Jersey: Rowman and Littlefield. {{ISBN|9780874718515}}.
* Maehder, Jürgen (1992). [https://doi.org/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.O904241 "''Risurrezione''"], vol. 3, {{pp.|1350|1351}}, in ''[[The New Grove Dictionary of Opera]]'', four volumes, edited by Stanley Sadie. London: Macmillan. {{ISBN|0935859926}}.
* Oliver, Michael (1993). [https://reader.exacteditions.com/issues/31933/page/112 "Alfano ''Risurrezione''"], ''[[Gramophone (magazine)|Gramophone]]'', October 1993, p. 110.
* Orselli, Cesare (2021). "''Risurrezione'' by Franco Alfano", {{pp.|10|13}} (English translation by Daniela Pilarz), in the booklet accompanying the Dynamic video recording. Blu-ray: {{OCLC|1250471895|1236350090}}. DVD: {{OCLC|1268995806}}.
* Waterhouse, John C. G. (2001). "Franco Alfano", pp. 11–12, in ''The New Penguin Opera Guide'', edited by [[Amanda Holden]]. London: Penguin Books. {{ISBN|9780140293128}}.
* Wolff, Stéphane (1953). ''Un demi-siècle d'Opéra-Comique (1900-1950).'' Paris: André Bonne. {{OCLC|44733987|2174128|78755097}}

== External links ==
*{{IMSLP|work=Risurrezione (Alfano, Franco)|cname=''Risurrezione'' (Alfano)}}
* [https://www.operalibretto.com/risurrezione-franco-alfano/ Libretto of ''Risurrezione''] on operalibretto.com

{{Franco Alfano|state=expanded}}
{{Resurrection}}
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[[Category:Operas by Franco Alfano]]
[[Category:Italian-language operas]]
[[Category:Verismo operas]]
[[Category:Operas]]
[[Category:1904 operas]]
[[Category:Operas based on novels]]
[[Category:Operas set in Russia]]
[[Category:Operas based on works by Leo Tolstoy]]
[[Category:Works based on Resurrection]]